Control Group
Member
First off, a quick "hi" to everybody - I've been lurking anonymously for about a week, and the level of courtesy and expertise (along with grammar, punctuation, and spelling, for that matter) is far above what I've encountered virtually anywhere else on the web. So much so, in fact, that it's prompted me to register and ask a bunch of newbie questions (punished for your good deeds, and what not). I'm pretty much new to firearms: lots of theoretical knowledge, absolutely no practical knowledge. I've decided I want to take the step into actually shooting, and I'm hoping some of you here can help answer them.
First off, I'm leery of using any complex device without being fairly familiar with how it works. I worked on cars long before I drove them, and I think it's made me a safer, more responsible driver. I assume the same would hold true for guns. What would you all recommend for picking up a working familiarity, including routine maintenance? I'm primarily interested, for the time being, in handguns for range use. I don't have enough information/experience to decide whether I should/want to use a revolver or an automatic, so information on both would be appreciated. Or is this a lost cause for automatics? Do they differ too much from model to model to make any generalizations?
Secondly, actually learning to shoot. Where should I go? What should I expect? I admit that the idea of walking into a gun store completely ignorant of what I'm doing is more than slightly intimidating (both because I feel vaguely ashamed of myself for getting to my age without knowing more than I do, and because I don't even know enough to be able to tell if I'm being flimflammed in some way), but I'm guessing I'll just have to suck it up and take the plunge. Any advice you might have for a gun store/range virgin would be great.
Third, I have every reason to believe that I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to want to buy a handgun, but just in the last couple days I've read some posts on THR that lead me to believe that it's easy to get fleeced. What do I need to know going in? What considerations are there that might not occur to a novice (for example, should I be concerned about availability of ammo/spare parts)? I realize that I'll ultimately decide by trying a few, and finding the one that works for me (and I can afford), but I also don't want to just walk in and say "I want to try everything you've got."
Anyway, sorry to go on so long, but believe me when I say I'll appreciate any information you can give me.
First off, I'm leery of using any complex device without being fairly familiar with how it works. I worked on cars long before I drove them, and I think it's made me a safer, more responsible driver. I assume the same would hold true for guns. What would you all recommend for picking up a working familiarity, including routine maintenance? I'm primarily interested, for the time being, in handguns for range use. I don't have enough information/experience to decide whether I should/want to use a revolver or an automatic, so information on both would be appreciated. Or is this a lost cause for automatics? Do they differ too much from model to model to make any generalizations?
Secondly, actually learning to shoot. Where should I go? What should I expect? I admit that the idea of walking into a gun store completely ignorant of what I'm doing is more than slightly intimidating (both because I feel vaguely ashamed of myself for getting to my age without knowing more than I do, and because I don't even know enough to be able to tell if I'm being flimflammed in some way), but I'm guessing I'll just have to suck it up and take the plunge. Any advice you might have for a gun store/range virgin would be great.
Third, I have every reason to believe that I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to want to buy a handgun, but just in the last couple days I've read some posts on THR that lead me to believe that it's easy to get fleeced. What do I need to know going in? What considerations are there that might not occur to a novice (for example, should I be concerned about availability of ammo/spare parts)? I realize that I'll ultimately decide by trying a few, and finding the one that works for me (and I can afford), but I also don't want to just walk in and say "I want to try everything you've got."
Anyway, sorry to go on so long, but believe me when I say I'll appreciate any information you can give me.