Yeah. My wife complained a little about the .38spl with 2" barrels. Hurt her arms (?) These where actually .357’s so a heavier gun. Looking for a .357 with a 3" barrel now.
To make sure I’m clear, she was shooting .38spl
She shot my .357 GP100 that has a 6" barrel, Ran .38’s through it too and could tell the difference. But that gun is too big. Once she is proficient, I think a .380 would be good for her. I will probably buy one for myself so she can try it out in a few months. First she needs to feel comfortable with revolvers though.
And as I said, she did real good yesterday. One target she had seven rounds in the ‘10’ (I don’t know, but I suspect a few missed the target entirely).
She want’s to shoot my GP100 with an actual .357 round in it. That spanks pretty good. But she should understand the differnece.
I’ve heard that a lot, but I have a .22 target pistol that I have put a lot of rounds through and I have never had a malfunction.
Personally I think magazine design is a very underrated art form. It is much more difficult to design a really good magazine than most people think, especially if you are designing one for a rimmed cartridge.
I will also say that the slide on my target pistol might be a little difficult to rack for someone with weak hands. Just because it’s a .22 doesn’t mean that it’s going to be super-easy to rack the slide.
I personally am also on the side that says a .22 is a bit weak for personal defense. I mean, if you unload a .22 pistol at someone they are definitely going to have a rather unhappy day, and plenty of people have been killed by .22 bullets. But I think the .38 revolver is a much better choice. Much easier to load, not as weak. It wouldn’t be my choice, but like @enipla said, it’s her gun.
Was she complaining about the weight of the gun or the recoil?
This is something I noticed with me when I first started shooting, and I notice it in other new shooters, too: there is a tendency to “baby” the action. It’s something that has been taught to us since we were children: “Be gentle with mechanical things, else you will break them.” This is very true for lots of stuff, but not the action on guns. When operating a bolt, slide, safety, etc. you must do so with strength and confidence. You’re not going to break it. And failure to operate it with strength and confidence will cause the gun to jam up. Rack that slide!
It’s all about if the shooter can place the rounds on the target. Not disagreeing with you, but in general you want the largest caliber that the shooter can control effectively and accurately.
While on the surface this sounds good, I don’t think you ever told us how far she was shooting. At what range? Distance matters, with respect to accuracy.
I’ve asked, and she can’t explain it. A heavier gun (.357) shooting .38spl will have lighter recoil, but of course is heavier.
I and the Range Master showed her how to hold the weapon. But, seriously, this is her first time.
There is also a huge intimidation (fear) factor for first time shooters. So need to take it slow and easy. She may just be tense and a bit nervous. Need to redirect that that into safety and focus. Remove the fear.
She’s done very well, I think she enjoyed it. She is a competitive person that always wants to improve.
She did very well, I showed her a lot on table top lessons. And we have hearing protection that allows us to talk.
Right. Understand that this was a snub nose. Some only double action (she tried three guns). We only shot at 5 yards. But IMHO, while further distances improves your overall accuacy, for self defence, outside of 5 yards you are not defending yourself unless you are getting shot at, or being attacked with a knife.
I kept that target tight to help build her confidence too. Mine as well, I havn’t shot in ~ 10 years. I started shooting when I was 9yo though.
Yea, lots of people have died as a result of being shot with a .22LR. But that stat is sorta meaningless when it comes to self-defense. Yea, a person might eventually die. But in the mean time they will be alive long enough to hurt you.
In a self defense situation, the goal is to immediately stop the threat. (Any death is incidental. The operative word is stop.) Which means you want a round that has plenty of penetration and a large cavity diameter.
Not by those of us in the know. A poorly designed and manufactured magazine can render an otherwise excellent firearm problematic.
I own a camping/sporting goods store. I will not carry PRO MAG magazines. People get suckered into buying them because they are half the price of OEM mags. Then they get irritated on the range as they jam and double feed. And whatever you do, do not trust your safety to those magazines.
In these type of discussions, it is common for people to emphasize “accuracy” and shot placement. Yea, it’s important, but only up to a point. You and I will never be Jerry Miculek. For the vast majority of us, we must accept that a handgun is inherently an underpowered and very inaccurate tool for self defense (SD). It is used when you do not expect to be in a SD situation, and only as a last resort. (If you were to expect something, you would choose something much better, like a rifle.)
Some newbies will get frustrated when they’re not hitting the target consistently. That doesn’t bother me much, because there are other things that are just as important, if not more important. Examples include
Understanding firearm laws in your state
Gun safety Situational awareness (white, yellow, orange, red)
Strategies for de-escalation, avoidance, and retreat
Movement
Using cover
Racking slide
Clearing jams
Trigger control
Front sight focus
Mag changes
Dealing with LEOs/detectives after a SD incident
My wife, that was surrounded by 4 coyotes asked what she should do if she had a weapon. My response was to "shot in front of them, the noise and spray of gravel should get their attention. They WILL run.
Situational awareness is huge. It’s sort of like what reporters used to do ‘Who, what, where, and why’. But it has to happen in a split second.
She will practice. Knowlege is power, it’s not the other way around.
Oh absolutely. Ruger pistols are pretty reliable, but on the other hand the famous Ruger 10/22 has been problematic for me, a problem helped by getting decent magazines with steel not plastic feed lips.
Bella Twin famously killed a record grizzly bear with .22, but most people aren’t her.
“Please Remember Our Magazines Are Garbage”. They’re notorious for being a gamble at best. On the other hand, if you see Mec-Gar brand, get them, they’re the OEM for many brands and the only difference is the stamping.
I have had jams a couple of times before. But it could be that I’m not as proficient at loading a magazine as you. And it hasn’t happened all that often, and only when I’ve been firing a lot of rounds. (I have a small, clear plastic 10x10 case that lets me store 100 easy-to-grab rounds, and when I’d go to the range I would go through that whole case; that’s how I knew I was done.)
I imagine that when designing a magazine, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room (pun intended).
I assume that is the same as “trigger discipline”; keep your finger off the trigger until you are actually firing. Or maybe squeezing rather than pulling the trigger.
There are two aspects to trigger control. One has to do with safety (a.k.a. trigger discipline as noted by @Atamasama), and the other has to do with shooting accuracy & control. Trigger control is applicable to all types of guns, not just handguns.
For safety, you need to keep your finger off the trigger unless you’re actively shooting. So many times I have seen photos of people holding guns, and their damn finger is resting on the trigger. Never do that. When holding a gun, your index finger should be straight, pointing forward (in parallel with the barrel), and resting on the trigger guard.
For accuracy, proper “trigger control” can take quite a bit of practice before you can do it correctly. But once you master it, you’ll find it improves accuracy, speed, and follow-up.
When newbies shoot a gun, the sequence usually goes like this:
Get sights on target.
Touch trigger using index finger.
Quickly pull (squeeze is a better term) trigger all the way back using index finger.
Round fires.
Quickly jerk index finger all the way forward, until it is no longer touching the trigger.
Get back on target.
Go to 2.
That’s poor trigger control. Everyone does it when they first learn to shoot.
This is proper trigger control:
Get sights on target.
Touch trigger using index finger.
Squeeze trigger in a steady & controlled fashion while keeping sights on target.
Round fires.
Bring index finger forward in a smooth & controlled manner. Stop moving index finger when you feel/hear the sear set. Finger is still touching trigger, and is applying a slight amount of pressure on it; it has never left the trigger.
Get back on target.
Go to 3.
It takes a while to master the bolded text. I’ve also met seasoned shooters who knew nothing about it, interestingly.
Finally, this assumes a round is fired with each trigger pull, obviously. Not all guns have this characteristic.
This took me the longest time to understand and I’m still not great at it to be honest. But it’s huge; you move your gun the tiniest amount by jerking as you pull the trigger and by the time the bullet hits the target you are way off. I was taught to squeeze evenly (the grip and all) and it keeps the gun steady as the trigger is pulled. It’s very unintuitive. I’m not a natural shooter.
Slowly squeeze trigger while keeping sights on target.
Stop squeezing trigger if the sights suddenly go off target.
Resume squeezing trigger when the sights are back on target.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 until round goes off.
And the above is in addition to what you’re supposed to do after the round fires (i.e. move index forward until sear sets and then stop - see my previous post).
It’s easier said than done. And this is just the basics; there many other aspects we’re not even mentioning. Suffice to say, countless books have been written about the subject.
You missed three important elements I see on TV all the time: Raise your hand roughly level with the crown of your head. Hold the firearm horizontally. Flick your forearm/wrist when you jerk the trigger to increase muzzle velocity. (It’s on TV, it must be right.)