Go with what you love... or what you're good at?

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Culwathion

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I love shooting handguns. I like shooting rifles.

When I shoot pistols, guys look at my targets and say "That's not too bad." :banghead:

When I shoot rifles, they don't say anything. They just raise their eyebrows a little. :)

So... what to do? As a life coach would say, "Do what you love, and the money will follow." But, as a comedian once said, "Following that plan I intend to make a million dollars this year drinking beer and watching sports."

I'm now looking to upgrade to a nice, new pistol or a nice, new rifle. But only one. I have more fun being a poor pistol shot than a decent rifle shot, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe that's just a character flaw...?

Any suggestions?
 
I suggest you do what you like, and what your gut tells you.

If you want to be a better rifle shot, maybe you should practice your fundamentals a bit more.
 
Well, I will say this: a good pistol may significantly improve your accuracy if it just suits you better. I can shoot my Ruger P90 quite well, but put a Springfield XD in my hand and there's a HUGE difference. I'm much more accurate with an XD than my P90, even though I've been shooting the P90 for years and an XD only once. Some of it, of course, is the inherent accuracy of the gun, but that doesn't tell the full story.

Rifles are far more forgiving than pistols, and a person can learn to shoot almost any rifle well with practice. Pistols, however, are a very personal thing. You need to find one that works well for YOU. My advice, then, is to go for the pistol, but try a few out first if you can to find out what seems to be the best choice.
 
Culwathion

If your passion lies with handguns, then go with it and enjoy. You don't have to be a great marksman to have fun shooting. If you really like just basic plinking, get yourself a decent .22LR pistol (Ruger, Browning, Beretta, or S&W), and have fun with it. If you want to improve your shooting skills, pick up a book or find something here to improve your marksmanship. Same thing with rifle shooting; try a decent bolt action .22LR. Learn to take your time with sighting in, and trigger control. With a .22, your ammo costs are relatively low so you can have more range time to practice with.
 
Go with the love. Life's too short to do something because you like it when there's something you like better. Plus there's nothing saying that you won't become a better shot with more practice.
 
Shoot Both!

I was into handguns, exclusively, for years, and you do get good if you shoot enough. The mistake I made was buying a RRA 9mm AR-15! Still a handgun caliber, but way, way, more fun!! After that, its been all down hill for me and handguns. I still have a 45, 9mm, 32, 22, but thats it, everything else was traded for rifles. Its a sickness, just do what you can to live with it:D

Nothing more relaxing or as fun, as laying in the weeds my .308, 300yrds away from your target, and hitting it over and over! 300 is all I got to work with, or it could even more fun!!!
 
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Human nature is for us to do what we're good at and to avoid what we we need to practice.

.........get the handgun.
 
Spend your practice time polishing up your weaker skill set. A good general rule for almost all skills. If something frustrates you and you aren't "naturally" gifted in that area -- THAT's where you should be spending your time/ammo.

Good luck! :)
 
You didn't mention what particular pistol(s) or rifles(s) you are shooting. In both cases some are easier to shoot accurately then others. Thus the kind of handgun you are shooting may explain the less then steller results on a paper target. It isn't necessarily just you. This is an issue you need to think through before you buy any new gun.
 
I say do whatever you like....but personally I don't think there is any need to choose one over the other. Sounds as if you are finding your rifle shooting a bit boring? If so, make it a challenge - leave the bench, shoot off hand, engage multiple targets, etc - there's always something else to improve, either way, pistol or rifle.
 
Some times I get a "You did that! With that!" And I say "yes" As they point at my cheap little plastic 9mm High Point. Or my .357 Rossi snubbie. What "they" think doesn't matter, I am there for me, not to impress them. Some days I would be better off if I just threw a handfull of ammo at the target, but at least I got some stress relief.
 
I tend to only shoot things that grab me.

I love my LCR, simply because I like it and I can shoot it well. Now.
I love my DS because it is one of those classic guns that make me drool and shoot it each time I see it.
And I've been looking at one specific autoloader because I love the concept.

Just go with what you can drool over, fondle, clean and lovingly care for; and of course shoot the snot out of with a maniacal grin.
 
If you want to improve your pistol shooting, work on it. The good news is good pistol shooting can transfer to good rifle shooting. Trigger control is trigger control. Sight alignment and focusing on the front sight transfer to rifle. Pistol is cheaper and easier on a regular basis in a few ways.

Get a .22lr pistol and even a rifle if you don't already have them. Air pistol and air rifle are pretty good if you have a place to shoot them. Some ranges don't allow them, but some folks can shoot them at home. They can cost as much as .22lr. Being able to shoot 10 shots with one on a daily basis is hard to beat. You can shoot more. I am of the opinion that going through 5 session of 50rds each can be more beneficial than 1 session of 250rds. I also think breaking position between shots has its merit as well.

Look on youtube. There are some good shooting tips on there, and some stupid stuff as well.

"bump drill" is a pretty good drill and can be done dry fire as well as live fire. You can also do it with a pistol or rifle.

The "pie" target that shows how to analyze what made you shots go off is good also.

This one:
http://www.reloadbench.com/pdf/files/TargetRightHanded.pdf

Is from here:
http://www.reloadbench.com/pdf.html
 
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If we're talking about something for *enjoyment*...

I can't say I enjoy shooting my handguns that much. I have functional handguns for concealed carry, and I practice with them to maintain proficiency. That I improve over time or just manage to maintain my level of skill is satisfying but still a chore.

It doesn't take much for me to enjoy shooting an (accurate) rifle, however, especially when the range starts to stretch out. I'd personally be willing to spend more money on a rifle than a handgun. But I say this after funneling money into both types before I figured out what I liked.

jm
 
While I agree with the previous posts...

Put me on a $50 a month retainer, and I will always say your pistol targets look "great", "awesome", "magnificent" ...etc.

*grin*



Ya'll work your side of the street, I gots this side covered
 
Learn to love both!

I'm a pretty decent pistol shooter, capable of keeping them all in the black of a B-2 at 50 feet with agreeable handguns (i.e., not mouseguns or rattle traps). I'm a very decent rifle shot, my favorite form of practice being little bio-degradeablke pop-up targets (praire dogs) at ranges exceeding 500 yards. I'm not too good with scatterguns, my average at trap being 21 or 22 of 25 without handicap.

I enjoy the heck out of all types of shooting, though, and aim to improve them all. One hole groups with pistols, single shot rat kills at 700 yards and 25/25 are the goals. Kinda like my aim with my '78 Aspen is being able to roast the tires by mashing the pedal at 70 MPH. Lofty and unrealistic, but aiming high gets you closer than goals of mediocrity ;)
 
Not a shrink, and not suggesting you need one, but human nature is such that we tend to go with what we do best. I've known many people that preferred one sport over another, yet given the opportunity to chose which one they will play it's a different one. The one they can play well.

Practice your rifle shooting more to the point where you're much better at it, maybe even better than with a pistol, and then see if you feel the same way.
 
I don't know, maybe I misunderstood him. Either way, I still think he should go with whatever he likes the most.
 
I don't know, maybe I misunderstood him. Either way, I still think he should go with whatever he likes the most.
Click to expand...

I couldnt agree with you more. There is a guy that belongs to my gun club that has a great pistol collection. Some of them are upwards of 2K dollar 1911s. He cant hit the broadside of a barn. I mean, at 20 yards, his man sized sihlohoutte targets look like someone shot them with a taurus judge. Some off the black. He is a great guy though, and he loves to shoot those guns. I gladly shoot with him anytime he is out there and consider him an expert on handguns. A good guy too. He just cant shoot one worth a darn.
 
Guess I wasn't very clear. I'm a mediocre pistol shot, but apparently a pretty good rifle shot. Guys who let me shoot their expensive rifles always seem a little angry afterward. :D Problem is I love shooting pistols, but find shooting precision long guns a little... boring. The rounds just go where you aim them. Where's the fun in that? But then I started to think... well, if you're good at something... maybe you should see how good you can get.

The majority of the comments say, just do what you like. Makes sense. So fancy 1911, here I come.

But for the record, the best comment was the guy who wanted to be put on retainer to tell me what a good shot I am, regardless of platform. Nicely done, sir. Nicely done.
 
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