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NRA Pistol Instruction |
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First off, if you have signed up
for Basic Pistol, DO NOT get a firearm just for this class. We provide loaners, and cover all the
considerations below, and more, in class.
That said, if you INSIST on
getting a firearm first, or aren’t going to take my class but love my
webpages (something I’ve gotten a lot of lately, you cheap bastards!),
here are some basic guidelines. Yes, I know I repeat myself and
interweave points – this is intentional.
Some Considerations for Buying a New
Handgun
1)
USAGE –
Place a premium here, and consider well.
a.
Will you only target
shoot? Size and caliber won’t
matter then. Accuracy will be
critical. Reliability would always
be nice, but your life probably won’t
rely on it either.
b.
Will you only
carry the firearm for defense? Then
you don’t want a 10lb gun with a huge barrel you can’t conceal or
handle well. You will want the most
power you can still conceal.
c.
Will you only use
it for home defense, not carried on you?
Then gun size and weight won’t matter much, but power and reliability
will still be crucial.
2)
COST –
Everyone would love a top of the line H&K, but if you bankrupt yourself you
don’t do yourself a favor.
a.
You will pay more
for accuracy – NOT important for defense, critical for targets.
b.
You will pay more
for reliability – TOTALLY crucial for defense, not as MUCH for targets.
c.
You will pay
more for “cutesy” finishing touches like inlays – totally inappropriate
for a defense gun.
3)
FIT – If the
gun doesn’t fit you, you WILL NOT shoot well with it. Period.
a.
Just because it’s
a GREAT gun and shoots well for someone else doesn’t mean it will for
you.
b.
The gun should
feel “natural” in your hand, not nose- or butt-heavy
c.
Your fingers
should wrap around the grip solidly, no MORE and no LESS. Guns work most accurately when you can
cover the grip completely in your hands, without overlapping fingers.
d.
You should be
able to reach all controls intended to be reached from firing position (slide
release, safety, sometimes magazine release, optional decock lever) from that
position. If your fingers are too
short (or long), find another gun,
e.
If you bought a
gun that doesn’t fit you, you may still be able to change the grip panels
to remedy that.
4)
RELIABILITY –
If your life depends on it, you MUST have a gun that goes off as expected EVERY
time.
a.
The SAME loose tolerances
that give you reliable operation make a gun less accurate
b.
A totally
undependable gun is a risk, not an asset.
c.
An unmaintained
gun is a risk, not an asset.
d.
A REALLY
cheaply made gun may be a risk on the range, much less for defense.
5)
ACCURACY –
Critical for targets, not so for defense.
a.
The SAME tight
tolerances that give you extreme accuracy make a gun more likely to
malfunction.
b.
Targets: You’ll
drive yourself nuts practicing on targets if the gun can’t shoot as well
as you can. Make sure the gun is up
to your skill level before you frustrate yourself.
c.
Defense: In
defensive use, accuracy is almost irrelevant. Any justifiable defensive use will be
close-range (15-20 feet is typical), and at that range any gun should be good
enough. If you think you’ll
be doing any long-range artillery work with your handgun, think again. You are most likely NOT acting
defensively in that case, and if you are should be using a rifle instead.
6)
Caliber / “Power”
- Do you have enough Power defensively, or too much power to practice
comfortably?
a.
Target: Paper
doesn’t care if you shoot a 22 or a 44Magnum. You wallet and wrists WILL feel
the difference.
b.
Defensive: You
need a MINIMUM of a 9MM defensively.
No, smaller will NOT be a benefit, and larger may not either.
i.
Don’t
even THINK of carrying a gun you don’t practice with OFTEN. A box a month is a good rule of thumb to
keep you in practice and the gun maintained.
ii.
More power is better
ONLY if you can control that power and not be afraid of your gun when practicing
regularly.
iii.
Too much “kick”
will give you a bad flinch that will be hard to overcome without a LOT more
practice.
iv.
Too little
power will piss off an assailant and require you to empty the magazine to stop
a determined assailant, which will look BAD BAD BAD in court.
7)
REPUTATION –
Is the gun made by a company with a good reputation? There are reasons why people laugh at
Davis and revere H&K.
8)
VENDER SUPPORT –
Will your gunstore help you out if you have a problem?
a.
Do you really
want to buy from someone who wouldn’t help you out?
9)
MANUFACTURER
SUPPORT – Will the company stand behind their product if you need help?
a.
FYI: Owners
manuals are provided free from almost any company, and are often downloadable
from their websites. It’s in
the manufacturer’s best interests to avoid a lawsuit from an owner who
wasn’t told better.
b.
Most good gun
makers provide excellent support – they can afford to do so because they
don’t need to provide it often.
The Great Debate : Revolver or
Semi-Automatic?
There has been much debate over
this, and every “expert” has a different opinion. MY OWN OPINION is that Semi-autos are
much better FOR ME, but there are reasons you may disagree. The truth is that it is a very personal
choice, some of which being nothing more than personal tastes, and only YOU can
decide what is right for you. Here
are the pros and cons, and YOU must decide what factors are more important to
you:
Both:
1)
You want a good
quality, good accuracy, good reliability gun that YOU understand and know how
to operate well.
2)
A good revolver
is slightly LESS reliable than a good semi-automatic, but:
3)
A poor revolver
is MUCH better than a poor semi-automatic.
4)
“Abuse
tolerance” such as that claimed by Glock is a really STUPID concept.
a.
You should take
care of any gun you own, not see how much you can abuse it.
b.
The periodic “abuse”
such as not cleaning as often as you should (like in the middle of an 800-round
competition?) should be tolerated by ANY good and otherwise maintained gun.
Revolvers:
Good:
1)
SIMPLE to
operate for beginners – usually just pull the trigger.
2)
No “hidden”
ammo if you aren’t comfortable operating a semi auto (if checking whether
loaded, the ammo is always visible only in the cylinder).
3)
Faster dead-round
recovery if you aren’t
experienced with semi autos – just cycling the hammer gives you a new
round and new chamber.
4)
No (possibly stiff)
slide to cock, for people lacking finger strength or with arthritis.
5)
Smaller grip
size in general, for people with smaller hands.
6)
Very limited
ammo capacity. You are VERY
unlikely to need more than 6 shots defensively, if you did…?
Bad:
1)
SIMPLE to operate
– usually just pull the trigger.
Think of your kids or dumb adults here.
2)
No hidden ammo –
an experienced assailant will know when you are empty on sight (no bullets
visible in front of cylinder).
3)
Hard to reload
quickly, even WITH practice.
Speedloaders are a misnomer.
4)
Hard to reload in
impaired light (must mate each small cartridge to each chamber)
5)
Hard to conceal
under clothes (think of that big round cylinder “printing” the
front/side of your suitcoat).
6)
Heavy trigger-pull
each shot if Double Action, need to cock each shot if Single Action.
Semiautomatics:
Good:
1)
FAST to
reload – under a second between magazines with practice.
2)
Reasonable to
reload in darkness (only have to mate large magazine to magazine well).
3)
Faster accurate
cyclic rate (ability to repeatedly shoot well) for beginners.
a.
The
slide/hammer are cocked for you on SA and DA semi-autos after the first
shot. DA-only acts like revolvers.
4)
Ammo is
concealed from view, so harder for assailant to know if you are loaded
a.
Note here,
NEVER bluff! I’m talking
about when you have used up your ammo!).
5)
Capable of
partial reloads with multiple magazines (if you have time in a gunfight, you
can replace partially used magazine with a full one).
6)
Generally larger
grip size for people with larger hands, although small-gripped semi-autos are
certainly available.
7)
Due to
removable magazine, functionally unlimited ammo capacity as long as you have
loaded spare magazines.
8)
Addition of
safeties may avert accidents
a.
Kids
generally don’t know to turn off a safety, or even where to find it on
the gun.
b.
Safeties may
avert disaster with cavalier / inexperienced gun handling.
c.
Safety may
avert assailant from operating YOUR gun, at least long enough for you to take
further action.
d.
Never rely on
a safety. It’s an extra measure,
not a cure-all for bad handling!
9)
Generally easier to conceal under clothes, due to flat sides and thinner
overall girth.
Bad:
1)
Slightly more
complex for beginners to learn, but NOT that much more difficult. You practice, don’t you?
2)
Slower dead-round
recovery, especially without practicing for it
a.
Must manually
cycle the slide to clear the dead round / “stove-piped” case.
3)
Some users have
trouble cocking the stiff slide on larger-caliber semi-autos.
a.
There are “tip
up” designs that don’t require slide-movement to load.