finally replying to remaining comments
Just want to thank all the additional people who posted comments and also respond to a few of the points raised, even though several weeks have elapsed, hope everyone forgives me for not being more prompt.
MrBorland:
[IDPA] is fun, and takes your shooting and gun handling skills to a new level. The thing is, with a revolver, you can only load and shoot 6 rounds, so you'd be handicapped with a 7-shot 686+. The possible and eventual itch to shoot a match (and more speedloader options) is precisely the reason I suggest the 6-shot over the 7-shot when asked which 686 to buy.
Well... my main motivation in learning to shoot and acquiring a gun is to be able to defend myself, so the ability to have 7 shots instead of 6 was actually a significant factor in my choice. 5-Star makes a very nice speedloader for it, it was recommended here, I think by strambo. If and when I get to the point where I want to try IDPA I could always get a 6-shot one.
I recommend focusing on the front sight during the entire string.
I tried this at the range last week, worked
very well and also helped me go faster, thanks very much for the tip.
murf:
you will not shoot "one ragged hole" with tritium sights. the sight picture is too coarse for the precise sight alignment required to put em all in one hole. the target sights on that 686 will get you to that goal.
First I have to be able to SEE the sight picture. In less than bright light I can't even see that the front sight is red, and I don't see any space between the sides of the front sight and the rear sights. I understand it's pretty common to need more and more light to see as we get older.
MartinS:
Thank you for the compliment but I don't think I'm a "natural", although I guess I have two things going for me: a) I'm very good at concentrating (which is good for shooting, but unfortunately not very good for situational awareness); and b) some years back I was seriously into weightlifting, so I learned how to feel what my body's doing.
Secondly, those targets were not shot going BANG BANG BANG, but rather ................BANG ...........BANG ........BANG...
Finally, I think it might be an advantage NOT to have grown up around guns -- I imagine a person (especially of the male persuasion) who grows up around guns assumes shooting well will be easy because he sees everyone around him shooting, i.e. he expects to pick up a gun and shoot bullseyes immediately... Myself, I've been a city girl all my life, and in the time and place where I grew up boys maybe had a cap gun but that was about it, nobody had real guns, and girls didn't even have water pistols, so I am real clear that I'm starting from scratch, which means that because I'm very motivated to learn this I'm working somewhat compulsively at understanding what I'm supposed to be doing and then trying to do whatever that is.
