First Experience at a gun range..

[DeadByDawn]

Well I'll tell you all I know. I shot competitively for a few years when I was in college. Also I spent time in the military. When target shooting you should be focused on the target and not your sights, they should almost be blurry to you. When aiming you should make sure that the front sight is even and level with the top of the back sights. Your arms should be fully extended in front of you. The placement of your feet should be approximately should width apart. When you are getting ready to fire, your breathing is important. You should breath normally, with only a second or two pause when you fire. You shouldn't hold your breath when you are ready to fire, the best time is right after you have exhaled, then during that pause you should slowly squeeze the trigger. It should be a nice even slow pull. The discharge of the gun should actually suprise you a little bit, that's when you know you are doing it right. Too many people jerk the trigger and throw the round off. Also your placement of the index finger on the trigger should be such that the meaty part of your fingerprint is on the center of the trigger, not the joint or inside of the knuckle. Too get good at it you have to practice a lot.

best of luck

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: DeadByDawn
LOL, you should see it when I take my 44 revolver to the indoor gun range. Tends to clear the place out pretty quick, (sort of a small indoor range). Like the others said, you learn safety FIRST, then you learn how to shoot. There are two things you need to concentrate on when target shooting: breathing & trigger pull. If your rounds are going too far left or right you are jerking the trigger, up & down tends to be breathing.

Hmm, interesting. I was shooting more to the left or up to where I'm aiming. Any other good tips I should follow?

Don't pull the trigger in one quick motion, rather, slowly squeeze back on it and let the gun surprise you when it goes off. When you pull the trigger in one quick motion you tend to jerk the gun all over the place.

 

[MooseKnuckle]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: DeadByDawn
LOL, you should see it when I take my 44 revolver to the indoor gun range. Tends to clear the place out pretty quick, (sort of a small indoor range). Like the others said, you learn safety FIRST, then you learn how to shoot. There are two things you need to concentrate on when target shooting: breathing & trigger pull. If your rounds are going too far left or right you are jerking the trigger, up & down tends to be breathing.

Hmm, interesting. I was shooting more to the left or up to where I'm aiming. Any other good tips I should follow?

High and to the left for a righty you're pushing the gun. Don't aim, point the gun. By that I mean look at the center of the target, just like you're looking at a picture on the wall. Don't squeeze the trigger too tightly, 40% of the grip should come from your grip hand; the other 60% from the wraparound. Also, shoot with two eyes open; if you don't see the flash, chances are you're blinking. I'm a much better shot with both eyes open. Check for eye dominance too; make sure you're correct in choosing your strong side. Do a Google search for Brian Enos, he's got alot of good info on perfecting your shot. Have fun and be safe; shoot often and shoot straight.

 

[DeadByDawn]

Originally posted by: MooseKnuckleI'm a much better shot with both eyes open.

Really, that's strange. Never seen that before. Do you still sight with one eye and just leave the other open?....

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: johnjosh
for those that never shot a gun in there life how hard is it to shoot a gun?

depends on gun. low caliber ones feel almost like bb guns. when i was in the scouts i got to shoot a 22 rifle when i was about 13 yrs old...so not hard.

 

[MooseKnuckle]

Originally posted by: DeadByDawn

Originally posted by: MooseKnuckleI'm a much better shot with both eyes open.

Really, that's strange. Never seen that before. Do you still sight with one eye and just leave the other open?....

Yes... I always look for the muzzle flash if I see it, I pretty much know I didn't blink or flinch.

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: johnjosh
for those that never shot a gun in there life how hard is it to shoot a gun?

awe man, I remember my first experience shooting a real gun. my friend's dad was a big gun collector/trophy hunter. One day I went out to their farm, and his dad happened to be out of town. He and another friend were out shooting a .45 at beer cans and pathetically missing. They offered, I accepted and hit a can of Bud on my first shot (I about shitmypants ) I took a couple more shots, it was friggen great! My eardrums felt like they were gonna bleed afterward, but it was fun

 

[lowfatbaconboy]

how bad is the recoil?

as someone said earlier depends on what your shooting and what position your in....

with a a 308 .....in a sitting supported position after about 4 shots ill have a bruised shoulder....(and thats with holding it properly and keeping it tight up against my shoulder)

but im a skinny bish soooo.... (135lbs 5'11'').. other friends that aren't so skinny don't have a problem with it (bruising their shoulder that is) but it does give quite a bit of kick back......

id post pictures of my psych book with some holes in it but don't wanna AT affect my friend's website

edit:
oh ya and if your ears felt like they were gona bleed WEAR EAR PROTECTION....and eye protection.....don't be stupid

 

[upsciLLion]

My first time shooting a hand gun:

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

ups

 

[Amorphus]

Originally posted by: upsciLLion
My first time shooting a hand gun:

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

ups

1) why did we need three pics of the exact same thing?
2) at what range?

 

[upsciLLion]

Originally posted by: Amorphus

Originally posted by: upsciLLion
My first time shooting a hand gun:

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

ups

1) why did we need three pics of the exact same thing?
2) at what range?

1) I dunno.
2) I dunno.

The youth group I was in during high school was given a gun handling and safety class. We were each allowed to shoot six shots from the revolver that he had supplied. He hung a target for me, moved it almost all the way to the back of the range, and signaled for me to go ahead and shoot.

ups

 

[LongCoolMother]

when you guys talk about .22 and .45 and such, is that the bullet size? and is it .22mm or cm? and is that the diameter or length or what of the bullet? thanks.

 

[lowfatbaconboy]

Originally posted by: LongCoolMother
when you guys talk about .22 and .45 and such, is that the bullet size? and is it .22mm or cm? and is that the diameter or length or what of the bullet? thanks.

.50 = 12.7mm

.45 = 11.43mm

.40 = 10.16mm

.38 = 9.652mm

when it says calibur it is the bore diameter in inches

but 5.56 and 7.62 bullets are in mm thus 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm

but there are weird ive heard that .38 is actually .357 inches....so meh

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: lowfatbaconboy

Originally posted by: LongCoolMother
when you guys talk about .22 and .45 and such, is that the bullet size? and is it .22mm or cm? and is that the diameter or length or what of the bullet? thanks.

.50 = 12.7mm

.45 = 11.43mm

.40 = 10.16mm

.38 = 9.652mm

when it says calibur it is the bore diameter in inches

but 5.56 and 7.62 bullets are in mm thus 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm

but there are weird ive heard that .38 is actually .357 inches....so meh

Also, due to the amount of explosive behind each bullet, you can't always use the width of it to determine the impact of it, although generally as you increase in caliber you have an increase in momentum. But in some cases a shell will be the same width as the round but the cartridge is longer than in another bullet that is close to the same caliber, so one will have more force behind it. And then in other cases the bullet is quite a bit thinner than the cartridge (ie, the cartridge is much fatter than the caliber of the bullet would suggest), so you have
this vs this.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: K1052
If you think its loud now, wait until the person in the next lane over uses a shotgun.

I started with a Ruger 9mm myself a few years ago. Now I own several handguns and rifles.
The biggest problem with this sport is that there is always something else you will want to try/buy.

Loudest thing I've heard so far, apart from artillery, is my Mauser Kar98K, 7.92mm bolt action rifle. I would whip that out at the range when people started sighting in their hunting rifles a few rows down.

 

[olouie]

sweet gun, how much did you get that for?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: K1052
If you think its loud now, wait until the person in the next lane over uses a shotgun.

I started with a Ruger 9mm myself a few years ago. Now I own several handguns and rifles.
The biggest problem with this sport is that there is always something else you will want to try/buy.

Loudest thing I've heard so far, apart from artillery, is my Mauser Kar98K, 7.92mm bolt action rifle. I would whip that out at the range when people started sighting in their hunting rifles a few rows down.

Aye. The loudest thing out there right now are the CETMEs with muzzle brakes. Big ass loud if you are on either side of the shooter. M44s also get a nod for a hellishly loud shot.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: K1052
If you think its loud now, wait until the person in the next lane over uses a shotgun.

I started with a Ruger 9mm myself a few years ago. Now I own several handguns and rifles.
The biggest problem with this sport is that there is always something else you will want to try/buy.

Loudest thing I've heard so far, apart from artillery, is my Mauser Kar98K, 7.92mm bolt action rifle. I would whip that out at the range when people started sighting in their hunting rifles a few rows down.

Aye. The loudest thing out there right now are the CETMEs with muzzle brakes. Big ass loud if you are on either side of the shooter. M44s also get a nod for a hellishly loud shot.

Ah yes, the CAI muzzle brake. One came on the CETME that I have, though it looks like they have stopped putting them on the newer builds.
I would never dare fire that indoors without earplugs and earmuffs.

When using Wolf ammo for the M44 the rifle doubles as a marshmallow toaster from the fireball it puts out.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: johnjosh
for those that never shot a gun in there life how hard is it to shoot a gun?

Shooting a gun is easy. Putting the round exactly where you want it is the hard part.


Lethal

 

[TallBill]

Heh, just pull the trigger

Been army trained though, so shooting aint no thang. Trying to purchase a weapon soon myself.