Went to the firing range today for the first time ever

[Sweet72947]

And I officially suck at shooting. I was shooting a .38 snubnose revolver (we got it from my late uncle's house). I need to get used to the recoil, I kept blinking my eyes. I think I hit the paper twice, but not on the target! I think I should try shooting at the targets that are only ten feet away next time instead of the targets that are 15ft away.

That was fun, wanna do it again!

 

[wcladymacbeth]

It is fun, isn't it? I went for the first time this past December and I love it. I personally didn't like shooting the revolver that I tried. It was a really light weight one, and it HURT my hand. I LOVE shooting Justin's .40 caliber eagle something (I don't even know what it is.... Uzi baby eagle or something?) Next time we go, I'm going to try a 9 millimeter.

Also, it makes a HUGE difference if the gun is clean, how accurate it is. The guns we've rented are always really dirty and I can't shoot the target worth a darn, but Justin cleans his every time, and I shoot pretty accurately with it. So you might try cleaning the gun before you go just to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Sweet72947]

Also, it makes a HUGE difference if the gun is clean, how accurate it is. The guns we've rented are always really dirty and I can't shoot the target worth a darn, but Justin cleans his every time, and I shoot pretty accurately with it. So you might try cleaning the gun before you go just to see if that makes a difference.

Yeah we were silly and didn't think to clean our guns before we left. We cleaned them after we got back. The barrel of the revolver wasn't too dirty, but I sure got a lot of gunk out of the chamber!

 

[bubbatd]

I sucked at both target and skeet shooting with any gun or rifle !

 

[ma-vie-en-vert]

I would love to go to a firing range! I've honestly never shot a gun in my life and would love to learn!

 

[Buckshot]

It takes a lot of practice and not just going out and shooting with poor form a million times. You need to learn what good SAFE form is and then practice. I have never seen a flincher get over it without sending a lot of rounds down range. Shooting is a great hobby, but like anything else you get out of it what you put into it. Good luck!!

 

[Barb04]

I was going to suggest starting with a 22 and working you're way up. It will have less recoil.

 

[Puckstop31]

What Buckshot said.... Good form is important.


With a pistol, hold it with a "light" grip in your shooting hand. Then using your non shooting hand, place it over your shooting hand and "pull" (but not really, just apply pressure) back towards your body. All the while keeping the weapon pointing downrange and at your target. This "pull back" pressure will give you a more stable picture.

Now a snub nose revolver is not really a good weapon to learn target shooting on. The very short barrell makes hitting the target difficult. It would be better to start with a .22 rifle and work up from there.

Have fun and good luck! Holler if you have questions. We have several certified "gun nuts" here. LOL

 

[RedHotDobe]

Isn't it fun? I remember the first time I went. So much fun. My boyfriend was there, and he was laughing every time I took a shot. I ignored it for a bit, but finally I asked him what he was laughing at (as it was obviously me, since we were the only two there) and all he said was "Just keep shooting." So I did, and eventually he followed his laughter with a "Holy ****." So again, I asked him what he was laughing at. He said he had never seen someone who had never even held a gun before shoot so well. LOL.