I joined a local sportsman's club and am headed out in about an hour to shoot my pistol for the first time. Really looking forward to this.

I drove by before it was open and looked around. It is an outdoor pistol range. I noticed that the ground is covered in spent brass. I expected that we would be required to pick up the brass, but it looks like that is not the case.

I've picked up hearing and eye protection, and some targets. Also saw that they hang the targets with a staple gun, so I threw one of those in my bag too.

Can't think of what else I might need, but I guess I will see when I get out there. Hopefully it will be a good bunch of people!

-Mike-

Welcome to the shooting sports. It sounds like you have it covered as far as what you'll need when you get there. Hopefully you've thoroughly checked out your pistol and understand how it works and the safety measures built into it (assuming a semi auto pistol here). Pay attention to the range master if there is one and make sure your pistol is safe when it comes time to go down range to change targets. This means unloaded with mag out and slide locked back or the cylinder empty and open if it's a revolver. Have a great time and let us know how it went.

Please be safe, obey the range rules and enjoy your new hobby.

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USN WWII Korea
NRA

Thanks for the reminder about making sure the gun is safe when changing targets I downloaded the manual and read it thoroughly. It had a pretty good section on safety. Also hoping the club can hook me up with a handgun safety course.

-Mike-

Thanks airman! Will do.

Also... my dad served in the Navy in WWII and Korea too. He was a corpsman and was transferred to the Marines in WWII and stayed with them through Korea. Since your screen name is "airman" I am guessing you flew. My dad was on the Aircraft Carrier Kearsarge for part of his duty.

-Mike-

Good to hear you are headed out to the range. Safe, happy and healthy shooting to you!

Congrats on your new hobby. One other item I keep in my range bag is a sharpie to mark your target so you can keep track of your shots & groups.
I also keep a couple pair of disposable earplugs in a small plastic case right in my truck, because every now and then I forget my earmuffs at the house, and that way, I at least have ear plugs.

It's sad that people don't pick up their brass, mess, etc. after themselves. A few make us all look bad.
When I go to the range, I try to pick up some of the leftover junk people leave behind. We should all be good stewards to our sport. To alot of people, we already have a bad image, we don't need slobs giving them ammunition against us.
Maybe if your fellow club members see "the new guy" picking up the place, maybe they'll follow suit.

Enjoy, and welcome to your newest addiction.

Edit - Another thing that lives in my range bag is a roll of colored duct tape. Tear off a square of it and stick it to any old piece of cardboard, etc. Voila! Poor man's bullseye target. It works, and it's a lot cheaper to shoot if you have paper or cardboard around. There's always cardboard to be had - empty soda or beer cartons, pizza boxes, you name it.
I've been shooting the same roll of duct tape for about 4 years now - not a bad $3 +/- investment.

Welcome and enjoy your new pastime.

Always great to hear from an excited shooter.

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I Love This Site

Watch out for bears and badgers. They can be very vicious on the range, and you're not allowed to shoot them.

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Hold on. SWAT's at my door.

I absolutely love finding some of the local shooting areas littered with brass.... especially if it's 45ACP or 38 Spl.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

I thought it was deer and antelope.

Welcome to the forum and have fun with your new hobby. As far as the brass, I've shot at places that had the rule once it hit the ground it was theirs. They'd pick it up, clean it and either sell the brass or reload it and sell it for range ammo.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

If you reload, be cautious about range brass. Many shooters only leave the really worn out stuff. A jumble of different brass in the same caliber doesn't do anything for accuracy.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Thanks everyone! I had a great time! My daughter went with me too. I borrowed a .22 pistol from a friend and we took turns shooting the 9mm and the .22. We had the range to ourselves and shot a lot of targets. (Great suggestion about bringing a marker. That would have helped a lot!)

Got to the range and one of the club officers was there doing some maintenance. We explained that this was our first time and he stayed with us and coached us while we shot. I kept shooting high and left with the .22, so he tried a few rounds and had the same problem. He adjusted the sights for me and then we were always in the rings at 25 yards.

My daughter got a bulls-eye on her first round. Had to pose for a picture with that one! It was HOT! 95 degrees but I was having too much fun to stop.

I'm going to have to bring more 9mm ammo next time. I went through that pretty quickly. We then went through about 500 rounds in the .22. I think my daughter and I are going to look for a used .22 because that is really economical shooting. Not as fun as the 9mm, but we could shoot the .22 for hours, so that kind of tips the scales for target shooting.

I definitely can see how this can be addicting!
-Mike-

Bring more friends and more ammo next time. The .22 in either a revolver or a semi are great training tools. It's amazing how quickly a 500 brick of ammo disappears at the range.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I guess I'll be the *downer*.
WARNING
When on ANY range by yourself (or in a small group) - Be Aware of your surroundings!
Scumbags have been known to (and will in the future) remove your guns from the bench while you're down range dealing with your targets....
I usually have a pistol of some type on me when down range. I don't worry when there are a lot of folks shooting, but probably should......

Glad you AND your daughter had a good time. Shooting is not only F U N, but a good skill set to have.
Keep it up = Practice, practice, PRACTICE

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In dog years I'm dead.

Speer44, welcome to the sport of target shooting. The only thing better than doing some target shooting is sharing it with your daughter. I took both my daughters with me when they were young and we still make time to shoot together. Sometimes, they even bring their kids.

Speer4, glad you and your daughter had such a good time and I hope you have many more days like that in the future.

Speer 44 welcome to the world of sport shooting, hope you and yours have many years of safe and enjoyable shooting.

Thanks again all! Also thanks for the tip about watching the guns when we are down range. We were shooting at the 25 yard position, so we were not too far away, but Someone could easily have grabbed them jumped in a vehicle and been gone before I got there. (You can park right behind the firing line)

My daughter has been looking at .22s on-line. Any recommendations?

This is my daughter shooting my 9mm for the first time.


This is her second target with the .22 S&W 22S at 25 yards. Pretty good for the first time she ever shot a gun.

[QUOTE=Speer4;136619931]I joined a local sportsman's club and am headed out in about an hour to shoot my pistol for the first time. Really looking forward to this.

I drove by before it was open and looked around. It is an outdoor pistol range. I noticed that the ground is covered in spent brass. I expected that we would be required to pick up the brass, but it looks like that is not the case.
(Don't worry someone is. You are probabily seeing spent steal casings, and .22lr. Can't be reloaded).

I've picked up hearing and eye protection, and some targets. Also saw that they hang the targets with a staple gun, so I threw one of those in my bag too.

Can't think of what else I might need, but I guess I will see when I get out there. Hopefully it will be a good bunch of people!

Some flat cardboard as backing for your tagets comes in handy. I always take at least one bottle of water. Also a hat.
Extra staples come in handy, your's or someone else's gun will run out when needed.
Take more ammo than you think you will need. Running out of time at a paid range is no big deal. Pack up go home. Running out of ammo, with paid time left to shoot sucks.
Just me but I carry a BoreSnake and some gun oil also.

I find people at gun ranges, are great. Tell them you are a first time shooter and they will help you.

If anybody yells anything, put your gun on safe, and lay it on the bench pointing at your target. Hands away from the gun. Look both left and right. Find what is going on. Wait until someone say's clear-OK to fire, etc.

Be safe. Follow the range rules, and the four gun rules.

Hope that like me, you love it!!! I shoot about 300 rounds a week. Slowly getting better.

Guy22

Thanks Guy22!

The club I joined is outdoor and only $40 a year. (Can't beat that!) No time limits... open 24/7. Would be nice to have an indoor range where you can send and retrieve the target mechanically, but I can use the exercise walking back and forth to see and change targets. Ha Ha!

Great suggestion about what to do if someone yells!

Thanks again!

-Mike-

Welcome to the forums and to the shooting sports. I would suggest always know the condition of the gun. I went with a friend shooting recently and he was a novice with handguns. I noticed he kept missing/leaving the last round in the chamber. He anticipated emptying the gun. In other words, he didn't shoot until the slide locked back. So when I went to shoot his gun, I would put a new magazine then try to rack the slide and a live round would pop out. Always physically check the gun.

If shooting with two people, we usually set it up so one is always near our gear while someone shoots. Not a big deal if the range is not crowded. Then we will grab a lane furthest away from others.

Wear shoes. I doubt your daughter would enjoy a just fired casing falling on her foot.

.22's are fun and cheap but I thoroughly enjoy shooting my Ruger .357 revolver. I shoot .38 spl out of it and the recoil seems to be just bit more then a .22. Plus, I can save the casing w/o searching all over the ground.

Thanks guneur! Yeah.. I already talked to her about her choice of footwear. I was thinking the same thing about hot brass.

I really appreciate all the safety advice I have gotten here already. You all have been great about sharing your experience and are making this more safe and fun as I get started. Seems like a good forum community!

-Mike-

I take my 15 year old to the range with me. The first time I took him, and I should mention its my wifes boy and they are both from China. He never even saw a gun before and he fired my glock 23 .40 cal, like he was meant to, fired many 12 gauge shells from my shotgun, and we even rented a ar-15. It's an amazing way to bond with our children. That one guy was right, about thieves also need to watch out for them. Especially if you have any state parks with free gun ranges. I have heard of a guy shooting by himself and he was robbed at gunpoint for everything he had. Sad Sad Sad.

Starting to think my daughter might be a natural shooter, if there is such a thing.

Last weekend we went back to the gun club and she tried trap shooting. We each went through a box of shells, so we did not do a LOT of shooting, but she hit 12 pigeons. Best run was 5 out of 6 in a row. Granted, they set the machine to throw them the same direction every time, but this was the first time she touched a shotgun (Sorry, not a S&W, just an an old Mossburg 12 gauge I bought when I was 17.) I was one proud dad.

So is there such a thing as a natural shooter, or is it just beginners luck. If you scroll back up this post, you will see how well she shot the .22 pistol on her first try. Seems surprising to me that she does so well with no previous experience.

http://s365.photobucket.com/albums/o...-44_238Hit.mp4


She is trying to sell her drums to buy a .22 for target shooting now.

Whether it is beginners luck or not, I am loving the bonding time with my daughter. Thinking about talking her into signing up for leagues.

-Mike-

One thing you might check out, is any youth shooting program. Some high schools still do have rifle programs, or at least Air Rifle. 4H in most states have a great shooting program in rifle, pistol, air gun, trap and skeet as well as archery. And, yes, I do believe there is such a thing as a "natural" when it comes to shooting. Good hand eye coordination and common sense.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Thanks H Richard! My "little girl" is 27 years old now, (when did that happen?) so the high school or 4H options are out. If we lived in a bigger city, there might be more options, but I think we will have to try to work through the gun club here. We just joined, but I see they have occasional Civilian Marksmanship and Appleseed events. I think those are focused on rifles, though. I'll see what we can find for training. Thanks again!

You can pick up all the 9mm and ship it to Kentucky. I will even send you a pre-paid box. Have fun at the range.

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Lt. Dan, what R U doing here?

Now that you have discovered the joys of shooting , you need to learn how much money you can save by reloading ammunition .

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S&WHF 366

What does the reloading equipment cost? Always wondered about that. What is the cost per round for reloading once you pay for the equipment.

Thanks!
-Mike-

Regarding a .22, I can recommend the S&W M&P22. It is a blast to shoot and is physically the same size as the M&P9 and M&P40. If you want you can also buy a co2 powered air pistol the same physical dimensions. They can be gotten for under $400.

Generally, handloaded ammo is about half the cost of factory hardball. You can also load hollowpoints for defense. The best deal is to cast your own bullets. For light loads some people use (auto) wheel weights. Be aware that loading takes some time.

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Luke 22:36

A friend of mine brought his 12 and 9 year old grandsons out here yesterday. They had been watching the Band of Brothers series and wanted to see some of my old military stuff. I took them down to the flooded creek with one of my M1 carbines and we shot bottles and trash as it floated by. It made for some very interesting moving targets. The boys are hooked now and want their Paw Paw to buy them a carbine.

I buy hard cast 200gr SWC .45 ACP in bulk. I can reload my own brass for between $7-8 per box of 50. Compare this to commercial ammo and you can save a lot when you reload. There is a reloading thread on this forum and you can learn a lot there. Lee reloading products are a less expensive way to get started and they work great. Unless you shoot hundreds of rounds every week, the more expensive equipment is overkill.

I also enjoy shooting air guns in my garage. They are a great way to learn the proper way to shoot without flinching. You can get some very accurate airguns for $100-200.

As with anything, the more you practice, the better you get.

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Corripe Cervisiam

Here's a tip for targets. Get a good cardboard backer, a stack of cheap paper plates, and a pack of the garage sale label dots from wally-world. Staple the plate to the cardboard and place a sticker in the center. The plate is a good size-representation of a center-mass shot or an NRA bullseye target. The florescent dot is easy to see from a distance. The smaller your target, the better the groups. For the 22, take a magic marker and draw 3 inch circles all over the plate. You can get about 9 on there and take fewer trips down range.

What is the 9mm you're shooting? Perhaps we can recommend a good trainer model.

One more thing, BRING A FIRST AID KIT and make sure you have a package of quick clot in it (try Galls). There is a big, juicy artery running down each of your legs. A neglegent discharge has a good chance of hitting one of them.

Be safe and enjoy. You're a helluva Dad!

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Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa.

I bought a used S&W 5904. I really like the gun and it is very easy to disassemble and clean. The trigger pull is a little strange, but I am getting used to it. The .22 we have been shooting fires the shot when you squeeze the trigger back a quarter inch or so. With the 9mm, the trigger is slack almost all the way back, then it stops at the last quarter inch or so and that is the release point. Just seems strange to have all the trigger travel before it fires. (But I am basing this on the only two pistols I have ever shot, so I am hardly an expert).

Thanks for the tip on the first aid kit. I had not thought about that. Hopefully we will never need it, but I'd hate to need it and not have it. Also, thank you for the kind words.

-Mike-