Squawker
Member
I'll ask ahead of time for your forgiveness, as I tend to babble at times. My first hand gun shooting experience was in the late '70s, when a friend sold me a S&W 357 magnum revolver. Nice gun, nickel plated. He took me out to teach me how to shoot. I seem to have some natural ability, as when we loaded it with 38 Special rounds, I put 35 of 36 shots in the 10 ring of a silhouette target, with 1 in the 9 ring. He then put up a bull's-eye target, and we switched to 357. My first shot cut the X dead center. The next however many shots I took couldn't find the backstop! I was flinching like crazy. I decided to keep the gun loaded with 38 special for home defense, as if I used 357 I would basically have to burn them to death with the muzzle flash. Financial problems and a divorce caused me to sell the gun (actually, my friend ripped me off- he took the gun in on consignment, and then somehow, the gun disappeared. I only ended up with $50 instead of $200. But that's a different problem).
Anyway. last August, after moving to Las Vegas from the People's Republic of California, I decided to buy another hand gun, not having any shooting experience since the '70s. I decided on 9mm, as I figured that I wouldn't have any recoil problems. Since then, I've bought 3 more. 2 Glocks and a Kel-tec, all 9 mm. I did get instruction, and I completed my CCW class, awaiting the NV and Fla permits (Utah's arrived 2 weeks ago). I've considered moving up in caliber with my next gun (guess I decided to really jump in this time-also, I make more money). I've been concerned though, about the recoil, since I had so much problem controlling the 357 magnum. I had no idea what to expect from guns such as a .40 04 .45 semiauto. So yesterday at the range, I decided to rent a 45 and see how it went. I picked a Sig out, and bought a box of ammo. I decided to shoot the 45 before running around 300 rounds through the others. It turned out that I could handle it with no problems. All that worry, and no problem at all. I was able to put all 50 rounds in the 8-10 rings, most in the 9-10, much different than the 357 magnum. Now, I'm sure that the 357 would still give me some trouble, but I could probably learn to overcome that. So, when the budget opens up, Ill probably ditch the Kel-tec, and start picking out a 45.
Anyway. last August, after moving to Las Vegas from the People's Republic of California, I decided to buy another hand gun, not having any shooting experience since the '70s. I decided on 9mm, as I figured that I wouldn't have any recoil problems. Since then, I've bought 3 more. 2 Glocks and a Kel-tec, all 9 mm. I did get instruction, and I completed my CCW class, awaiting the NV and Fla permits (Utah's arrived 2 weeks ago). I've considered moving up in caliber with my next gun (guess I decided to really jump in this time-also, I make more money). I've been concerned though, about the recoil, since I had so much problem controlling the 357 magnum. I had no idea what to expect from guns such as a .40 04 .45 semiauto. So yesterday at the range, I decided to rent a 45 and see how it went. I picked a Sig out, and bought a box of ammo. I decided to shoot the 45 before running around 300 rounds through the others. It turned out that I could handle it with no problems. All that worry, and no problem at all. I was able to put all 50 rounds in the 8-10 rings, most in the 9-10, much different than the 357 magnum. Now, I'm sure that the 357 would still give me some trouble, but I could probably learn to overcome that. So, when the budget opens up, Ill probably ditch the Kel-tec, and start picking out a 45.
