runningfast
Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
- Messages
- 43
So, I thought I'd report in.
I wasn't raised in a gun friendly environment. My guardians weren't especially 'against' guns, but I live in one of the country's biggest cities and no one in my family hunts or is in the military or owns 'open' property, etc. So, no one in my family is comfortable with guns and thus I was never exposed to them.
Fast forward a while and I'm 22 and I'm suddenly interested. I've been doing research online for a good while and I've decided that I want a semi-automatic pistol, and eventually when I feel comfortable and safe enough with it (probably not for a good while), I'd like to carry it on my person. With all of that considered, today I went to the shop...
The model I'm most interested in (based solely on things like reputation, feature list, aesthetics, price, et cetera- obviously 'how natural it feels in my hand' is something important but something I haven't tested yet, either) is the Springfield XDm, 9mm. I handed over my identification and I got to fiddle with one.
My impressions, as a first time gun toucher!...
this thing is heavy!
this thing is mechanical and powerful!
this thing does not 'ease' in any direction!
The magazine release buttons easily popped out the magazines, but two things in particular that I found surprising: actuating the slide, and flipping up the disassembly lever. Intellectually, I'm glad that they don't move at a feather's touch, but I guess that growing up as someone who thought that guns fired when you looked at them... I didn't expect the resistance.
I'm healthy and able of body, and so I wasn't actually 'unable' to work the slide or anything, but I was definitely surprised by the resistance (and yes, I know to depress the grip safety). Just in general I thought "man, I'd be astonished if any little kid could easily rack the slide on this weapon".
I'd read the entire manual for the XDm so I was easily able to field strip it and reassemble it (I asked the worker at the counter if that was okay, not knowing the etiquette... he said that was fine). Everything is so heavy duty and solidly built!... something ya'll might find amusing: after freezing the slide with the slide stop, I let it slam back home for the first time and it did so with such quickness and power that I jumped a little bit and almost dropped the weapon. The guy at the counter was cracking up.
This post isn't about the XDm- just semi-auto pistols in general. I imagine any of the big polymer, striker-based semi-autos would leave similar impressions upon me as a newcomer.
From here, my next step is signing up for a class (nomenclature, safety rules, actual shooting, etc.) with a few of the ranges in my area. I'm going to take the total 'intro' class at both, just in case either instructor handles a topic the other neglects. I'm also a member of a regional forum for guns in my state... and a few of those guys are very friendly and I think will volunteer to show me some things. I'm excited about the entire process and I'm very aware that versus some people (especially people who grew up plinking cans and hunting and such) I'm a decade+ behind on fundamental safety awareness and everything, and I don't plan to rush the process. I am very eager to learn, though.
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I don't know how many of you are like me (complete newbies to guns), but I thought those of you who grew up with them would find this interesting.
I wasn't raised in a gun friendly environment. My guardians weren't especially 'against' guns, but I live in one of the country's biggest cities and no one in my family hunts or is in the military or owns 'open' property, etc. So, no one in my family is comfortable with guns and thus I was never exposed to them.
Fast forward a while and I'm 22 and I'm suddenly interested. I've been doing research online for a good while and I've decided that I want a semi-automatic pistol, and eventually when I feel comfortable and safe enough with it (probably not for a good while), I'd like to carry it on my person. With all of that considered, today I went to the shop...
The model I'm most interested in (based solely on things like reputation, feature list, aesthetics, price, et cetera- obviously 'how natural it feels in my hand' is something important but something I haven't tested yet, either) is the Springfield XDm, 9mm. I handed over my identification and I got to fiddle with one.
My impressions, as a first time gun toucher!...
this thing is heavy!
this thing is mechanical and powerful!
this thing does not 'ease' in any direction!
The magazine release buttons easily popped out the magazines, but two things in particular that I found surprising: actuating the slide, and flipping up the disassembly lever. Intellectually, I'm glad that they don't move at a feather's touch, but I guess that growing up as someone who thought that guns fired when you looked at them... I didn't expect the resistance.
I'm healthy and able of body, and so I wasn't actually 'unable' to work the slide or anything, but I was definitely surprised by the resistance (and yes, I know to depress the grip safety). Just in general I thought "man, I'd be astonished if any little kid could easily rack the slide on this weapon".
I'd read the entire manual for the XDm so I was easily able to field strip it and reassemble it (I asked the worker at the counter if that was okay, not knowing the etiquette... he said that was fine). Everything is so heavy duty and solidly built!... something ya'll might find amusing: after freezing the slide with the slide stop, I let it slam back home for the first time and it did so with such quickness and power that I jumped a little bit and almost dropped the weapon. The guy at the counter was cracking up.
This post isn't about the XDm- just semi-auto pistols in general. I imagine any of the big polymer, striker-based semi-autos would leave similar impressions upon me as a newcomer.
From here, my next step is signing up for a class (nomenclature, safety rules, actual shooting, etc.) with a few of the ranges in my area. I'm going to take the total 'intro' class at both, just in case either instructor handles a topic the other neglects. I'm also a member of a regional forum for guns in my state... and a few of those guys are very friendly and I think will volunteer to show me some things. I'm excited about the entire process and I'm very aware that versus some people (especially people who grew up plinking cans and hunting and such) I'm a decade+ behind on fundamental safety awareness and everything, and I don't plan to rush the process. I am very eager to learn, though.
---
I don't know how many of you are like me (complete newbies to guns), but I thought those of you who grew up with them would find this interesting.