Looking into shooting as a hobby again

[Jeff7181]

So I've asked here about shooting before as a hobby and I decided against it for the time being.

Now an opportunity has presented itself. A friend of mine is getting rid of his "starter pistol" as he's upgraded multiple times and needs to make room in his gun safe. He's offered to give it to me at no cost if I agree to take gun safety courses before he hands it over.

It's not what I thought of when he called it a starter pistol, but maybe he was just referring to it as the gun he started with. Anyway, it's a Ruger .22 Rimfire Autoloader. I looked it up online but I don't really know what I'm looking at but the price I see on Ruger's website is over $500 for that gun. So I'm thinking it might be a good opportunity to get into the hobby since it was really the cost that put me off last time I considered it. According to Ruger's website, the ammo for this gun is economical too.

So, gun enthusiasts... what are your thoughts? Would there be a problem starting with this particular gun? I'm not too worried about maintenance as I believe part of the fun would be disassembling it to clean/maintain it.

 

[xSauronx]

its relatively cheap and probably easily available everywhere so i dont see why not.

i have an old Ruger MK II and its easy to take apart and clean, and with a .22 theres practically no recoil. hell, its not even loud enough that id warn you to use ear protection. The MK III, which is probably what you're looking at, isn't much different and uses the same ammo.

Its actually a blast to shoot since the ammo isnt pricey

 

[spidey07]

Fine pistol. 22s are fun as heck to shoot and ammo is cheap. Do it.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: xSauronx
its relatively cheap and probably easily available everywhere so i dont see why not.

i have an old Ruger MK II and its easy to take apart and clean, and with a .22 theres practically no recoil. hell, its not even loud enough that id warn you to use ear protection. The MK III, which is probably what you're looking at, isn't much different and uses the same ammo.

Its actually a blast to shoot since the ammo isnt pricey

I spoke with a former friend that was a state cop a year or two ago and he suggested going with a revolver because they're more simple and durable and easier to maintain. As I said, I think I'd have a good time taking the gun apart to clean/maintain it so I'm not worried about that. Is durability really an issue? I can't imagine Ruger makes a gun that's not durable unless he's talking about certain guns that don't hold up well in extreme climates, which I don't care about since I'm not going to war with this thing, lol.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Durability isn't going to be an issue. It's true that revolvers have fewer moving parts, so there's less to go wrong. Revolvers are also more forgiving of shoddy maintenance. But a decent quality automatic pistol will fire tens of thousands of rounds without breaking down as long as it gets a little care.

 

[spidey07]

Agreed on the durability. 10s of thousands of rounds and even then you'd only need maybe a barrel or firing pin/striker. On the cleaning aspect you can go a long time before needing to clean it. I probably only clean my pistols after 1000 rounds or so. They don't get real dirty. Rifles on the other hand I'm more picky about. Just make sure you know what to do should you have a jam - drop the magazine and get the round ejected and visually clear the chamber and keep it down range. The procedure is different in a defense situation.

 

[Ayah]

.22 is also a good round for assassinations for once you become a marksman. A .22 will bounce around in a skull without going through the other side.
But any free gun is a good place to start. You can always add more firearms to your collection later on.

 

[xSauronx]

a revolver might be a good suggestion if you knew dick about guns, and dont know anyone who knows anything about guns, and wanted something because you wanted to be sure you couldnt mess something up.

but someone who has guns is giving you a gun...a good starter pistol, go with that. do the safety course, then go shoot things. you may want something else later on, deal with it when you can afford it and you've fired some other things and are sure you want to begin building your arsenal.

i havent been out to shoot in a long time, i should do that soon. i knew a guy with this sweet lever-action .357 that was a blast to fire. I have a MK II, my dad has a .22 revolver, a pump-action .22, and all sorts of other things...and it's all fun to shoot if you have someone to go with and can afford the hobby.

 

[spidey07]

Just please, please, please follow the 4 rules.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Just please, please, please follow the 4 rules.

Always assume the gun is loaded. Don't point the gun at something you don't intend to shoot. Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire the gun. What else?

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Just please, please, please follow the 4 rules.

srs.

i dont know anyone personally who has had anything bad happen. I live in a rural area and shooting guns for fun and hunting is a popular activity. There's at least one story every year around here about someone dying or getting shot, and it almost always boils down to a rule being broken.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: spidey07
Just please, please, please follow the 4 rules.

Always assume the gun is loaded. Don't point the gun at something you don't intend to shoot. Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire the gun. What else?

Be sure of your target and what's behind it.

The other modification about putting your finger on the trigger is you don't put your booger hook in there until your sights are on the target. I also like "never let the muzzle cover anything you don't intend to destroy", really pounds it home.

And for god's sake if the gun is falling somehow, don't try to catch it. Just let it drop.

 

[melchoir]

Ruger MKII or MKIII are very nice .22 pistols. I'm currently looking to pickup an older MKII slabside when I get the chance. .22 is fun to shoot because it's so damn cheap. It's literally 10x cheaper than my .40 ammo.

 

[Triumph]

I'm not sure what "autoloader" means. Any semi automatic is an auto loader. And there's no specific Ruger "Autoloader" model that I know of. there's the Charger and the 22/45. So I'm betting it's a 22/45. Either way, free gun! And Ruger 22 is one of the most popular ones out there. I love driving tacks with mine, and so cheap as well. It will really help you learn well and develop good habits.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Triumph
I'm not sure what "autoloader" means. Any semi automatic is an auto loader. And there's no specific Ruger "Autoloader" model that I know of. there's the Charger and the 22/45. So I'm betting it's a 22/45. Either way, free gun! And Ruger 22 is one of the most popular ones out there. I love driving tacks with mine, and so cheap as well. It will really help you learn well and develop good habits.

Yes, it's the 22/45... Ruger calls it a Rimfire Autoloader on their website. /shrug

This is it. Has the 6 7/8" barrel.

 

[spidey07]

Oh hell. I've shot one of those. Do it, fun as hell to shoot and incredibly accurate.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Oh hell. I've shot one of those. Do it, fun as hell to shoot and incredibly accurate.

I figured they'd be very accurate considering they're advertised for target shooting and you can mount a scope on them, lol. Now I just need to figure out how much a local gun safety course runs.

 

[melchoir]

As noted, they're VERY accurate.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: spidey07
Oh hell. I've shot one of those. Do it, fun as hell to shoot and incredibly accurate.

I figured they'd be very accurate considering they're advertised for target shooting and you can mount a scope on them, lol. Now I just need to figure out how much a local gun safety course runs.

Call up any ranges in your area. Probably less than 150 bucks if not less. I'm also glad to see you intend to take a basic safety course. :thumbsup: I'm even MORE impressed that your bud is making it a requirement, sounds like a very responsible gun owner right there. :thumbsup::thumbsup: That is one seriously fun gun to shoot. You can shoot pennies at 25 yards. Now you're making me want to go get one.

My buddy had one and it was the most fun one to shoot out of all we had for handguns.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Triumph
I'm not sure what "autoloader" means. Any semi automatic is an auto loader. And there's no specific Ruger "Autoloader" model that I know of. there's the Charger and the 22/45. So I'm betting it's a 22/45. Either way, free gun! And Ruger 22 is one of the most popular ones out there. I love driving tacks with mine, and so cheap as well. It will really help you learn well and develop good habits.

Yes, it's the 22/45... Ruger calls it a Rimfire Autoloader on their website. /shrug

This is it. Has the 6 7/8" barrel.

thats the type of pistol it is, not the model or anything.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Triumph
I'm not sure what "autoloader" means. Any semi automatic is an auto loader. And there's no specific Ruger "Autoloader" model that I know of. there's the Charger and the 22/45. So I'm betting it's a 22/45. Either way, free gun! And Ruger 22 is one of the most popular ones out there. I love driving tacks with mine, and so cheap as well. It will really help you learn well and develop good habits.

Yes, it's the 22/45... Ruger calls it a Rimfire Autoloader on their website. /shrug

This is it. Has the 6 7/8" barrel.

thats the type of pistol it is, not the model or anything.

Pontiflex if you go further you'll find his model as his has a 6 7/8" barrel. You know better dude.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Triumph
I'm not sure what "autoloader" means. Any semi automatic is an auto loader. And there's no specific Ruger "Autoloader" model that I know of. there's the Charger and the 22/45. So I'm betting it's a 22/45. Either way, free gun! And Ruger 22 is one of the most popular ones out there. I love driving tacks with mine, and so cheap as well. It will really help you learn well and develop good habits.

Yes, it's the 22/45... Ruger calls it a Rimfire Autoloader on their website. /shrug

This is it. Has the 6 7/8" barrel.

thats the type of pistol it is, not the model or anything.

Pontiflex if you go further you'll find his model as his has a 6 7/8" barrel. You know better dude.

He says that Ruger calls it a Rimfire Autoloader. That is the pistol type. The actual model is 22/45.

And it's Pontifex, NO L

 

[sjwaste]

The first time I ever went out, it was at the NRA HQ range. They make you read a safety packet, take a test on it, and then the range official walks you out and spends a few minutes talking about safety. They observe what you're doing for most of your session if you're new. I never took a safety course, but that drove it home for me.

I've also seen them toss people for relatively minor infractions, which to me, is great. Makes me feel a lot safer there.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
The first time I ever went out, it was at the NRA HQ range. They make you read a safety packet, take a test on it, and then the range official walks you out and spends a few minutes talking about safety. They observe what you're doing for most of your session if you're new. I never took a safety course, but that drove it home for me.

I've also seen them toss people for relatively minor infractions, which to me, is great. Makes me feel a lot safer there.

As well they should. I've seen range masters trying to give guidance and ask the shooter to clear and open the action. The shooter turns, weapon in hand, let's barrel cover others or the master himself. GTFO!

 

[KillerCharlie]

I bought a Ruger 22/45 about a year ago for my first pistol. I went with the 22/45 version because the grip is basically a 1911 grip, whereas the regular pistol has an extremely high grip angle.

I would definitely go for a .22 for two reasons. First, you'll develop better shooting habits learning on it because you won't be trying to account for the recoil. Secondly, and most importantly, ammo is cheap, and you can actually find it. I was thinking about buying a 9mm lately but I can't find ammo ANYWHERE, and it'll probably be like that for a while. When ammo is available, .22 ammo is probably 1/4 the cost of 9mm - for $40 you can spend an hour shooting instead of 15 minutes.