Learning to shoot a handgun

[JImbothefiveth]

I intend to pick up my first handgun soon, and I'm wondering if I can learn to shoot well on my own, or if I need an instructor.

I shoot on private land, so an instructor would be an extra expense for me.
I learned to shoot rifles from my dad, when I was a kid. I gradually refined my technique, through practice and also through watching top level shooters. (not in person, more of a "watch the olympic rifle team on TV" kind of thing).

So, without anyone to teach, but with a bit of internet research, the army pistol marksmanship manual, and practice, can I learn to properly shoot a handgun on my own?

 

[Marcus L.]

Sure, but a good instructor will take your skills to levels in which you will likely not get on your own. Sometimes, you can develope bad habits if you train yourself which will be hard to break when you get trained by an instructor.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Thanks! I'm thinking an instructor might be a bit too expensive right now, but later down the road would be a good thing.

 

[theNoid]

Check out the local gun ranges as they may have some inexpensive classes for handgun beginners and the likes. Talk to your local sheriffs dept. about any public, and possibly free classes they are involved with. Check out www.IHMSA.org and contact your local people involved in that, they should be able to help or at least point you in a local helpful direction. If all else fails, ask on here about any good books/reads that can help you with the basics and then you can move on from there. Just a few thoughts...

Noidster

 

[texfed]

If you've never really shot a pistol before.....you should think about a basic pistol class!
Bad habits are very hard to break, once learned; and you'd be doing yourself a big favor by taking a good class from the start!
A lot of times , local gun clubs have free classes, particularly if they are tied in with the NRA.
You might also look at the NRA website and do a search for 'handgun classes' and you get some stuff close to your home!

 

[AndyC]

Go to a local club, keep your eyes open and scope out the people who know what they're doing - and ask if they would mind watching you.

 

[Justin]

It's possible to teach yourself to do anything. That said, doing it on your own is going to take more effort, trial and error, and expended ammunition.

If you don't have the money for a class, that's fine. But what I would suggest is finding out what sort of competitive pistol events are held in your area. Go attend them, doesn't matter if it's Bullseye or IPSC. If you want to participate, do so. Everyone there will be happy to have a new shooter who's showing interest in the sport. If you just want to watch, that's fine too.

I can pretty much guarantee you that the best pistol shooters in your area are attending these matches. And they will be uniformly happy to have you there, and to help you get started. I've learned more about pistol shooting just by bending the ear of high-ranked pistol competitors than I would have ever figured out on my own.

 

[The Bushmaster]

It's highly posible to teach yourself. In fact it's probable. I taught myself. I'm not the best shot out there, but don't take a chance I'll miss...As I have said before...I'm better then most and not as good as some...

If you can become active in a pistol range you will find lots of people that will be more then happy to help you out. Just pick one that seems to know what he's about...

Justin has a perfectly good suggestion. I would go his way...

 

[skyflyer]

i bet if you posted your location, you might get some training offers or more specific suggestions

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan

 

[Loosedhorse]

Most common mistake I see in new shooters is the "picture-taking" technique: the shooter waits until the sights are aligned just right...and jerks the trigger QUICK as soon as that happens to get the shot off before the sight picture changes. Disaster.

(I remember coaching--maybe coaxing--my mother out of the picture-taking technique: "Every time I do what you say, the bullet goes in the black!")

Usually, unless the shooter realizes what's going on, he just curses the gun or the ammo, becomes discouraged, and leaves--or says, "Man, 10 inch groups should do just fine."

The above can happen even with .22 ammo.

I take it your new gun won't be .22. Then you'll also be at risk for developing a flinch. Adding a few dummy round to your magazine--in a way so that you don't know when they're coming--should help you detect if your jerking the gun in anticipation of recoil. Give you a chance to practice your tap-rack-re-acqs, too.

If you can't afford an instructor, bring an observant friend who isn't afraid to criticize (younger brothers work very well in this role, if one is available ). They may spot problems you're not noticing. Including safety problems.

'Course, considering the "cost" of not getting started on the right foot, maybe you can't afford NOT to find an instructor? But there are an awful lot of decent self-taught shots out there.

Welcome to the struggle. Good luck.

 

[3KillerBs]

A less expensive gun with an NRA Basic Pistol class is worth twice as much as a nicer gun with a lot of trial and error.

Both DH and I experienced seeing groups the size of our spread hands reduced to palm size just because an instructor moved our shoulders 2 inches forward to re-balance our body weight, shifted our weak hand half an inch, and rotated our thumbs 10 degrees forward.

We could have shot on our own for years without having that much effect on our accuracy.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I take it your new gun won't be .22.

Actually, it will be a .22.

We could have shot on our own for years without having that much effect on our accuracy.

Maybe I should take a course after all. If I do take one, should I have been shooting a for at least a month or two, to have developed some technique? Or should I take the class immediately?

 

[TEDDY]

training

find a club that shoots bullseye.that will give you the best training as this rapid firing thing and causual shooting just waste ammo.call the NRA as they will give you names of clubs.

 

[Loosedhorse]

To me, .22 changes everything: hard to develop really bad habits with a .22 (or I should say, certain stance and grip corrections that would really help with a larger caliber are not so critical with the soft-recoiling .22). Breath control, trigger control, sight alignment and follow-through will always be important for accuracy, no matter the caliber.

Sure, do some shooting. When you're ready for an instructor (or when you go to a match to meet people) bring some targets (not JUST your best ones) so that any consistent inaccuracies can be found, and maybe traced to their source after a few observations.

I take it that you learned safety first and foremost from you sessions with your father.

 

[AndyC]

Maybe I should take a course after all. If I do take one, should I have been shooting a for at least a month or two, to have developed some technique? Or should I take the class immediately?

It's unlikely that a few months' worth of shooting will have permanently ingrained any bad habits, plus you'll learn how the firearm works which will give any accuracy coach an easier time (it's a waste of their time having to teach someone how exactly their firearm works - unless that's what you agreed to learn, of course).

You can certainly learn a lot beforehand by reading manuals and such - you just have to have the mental strength to apply those lessons, because disciplined shooting can be very tiring.