My first gun

[cdahl383]

Went shooting with my wife at my buddy’s house a few weeks ago and loved it. He’s got his own range in the back of his property. First time ever firing a gun in my life. Shot his .22 rifle, AR15, 12 gauge, 20 gauge, and a couple 9mm handguns. Really liked the .22 rifle and so did my wife.

So we bought our first gun, a Ruger 10/22. I got a few extra 10 round magazines and a couple 25 round magazines, and lots of Remington and CCI ammo. Got a nice locking cabinet for our room so the kids can’t get to it.

Went back to my buddy’s house today and got to shoot it. What a great gun! I think we put over 300 rounds through it today haha! Not as good with open sights as I was with my buddy’s rifle with a scope, but still had fun regardless. Unloading the 25 round magazines was really cool!

Really learned how to handle the gun today. Loading ammo, loading and unloading the magazine in the gun, using the safety, bolt lock, etc. Had a couple malfunctions with the cheaper ammo but clearing that was very easy. My wife enjoyed shooting it as well and also learned how to load the ammo and everything else.

Going to order more CCI ammo for next time we go shooting! I need to look into a gun cleaning kit too. I have a few things but need some oil and stuff.

Anyway, it was a great day. We got to his house around 1pm and left at 5:30 or so. Had a lot of fun! Think I found myself a new hobby!

 

[benEzra]

Nice!! You made an excellent choice....you absolutely can’t beat a 10/22 as a first gun.

 

[skeeterfogger]

Suggest you clean it after 40- 50 rounds till you get around 200-300 rounds through it. Helps the break in. Typically guns will shoot good and drop off a bit and that is when you run a patch through it. May not take as many rounds for break in but it will take some.

 

[NorthBorder]

Warning! This could turn into an addiction and there is no 12 step plan. But if I may advise, if this is your 1st and 2nd exposure to firearms please consider a firearms safety course. It may possibly save you a lot of misery in the future.
And, congratulations on a really great 22.

 

[troy fairweather]

Good for you,

 

[22250Rem]

10/22's should carry a "Caution - May Be Habit Forming" warning stamped on them somewhere. Congrats. Sounds like a good time and plenty of good memories.

 

[Blkhrt13]

welcome to the addiction

 

[cdahl383]

Suggest you clean it after 40- 50 rounds till you get around 200-300 rounds through it. Helps the break in. Typically guns will shoot good and drop off a bit and that is when you run a patch through it. May not take as many rounds for break in but it will take some.

We shot around 300 rounds through it today, so it’s likely broken in a bit already now. I’ll look into cleaning it next. I have a cleaning kit, but I need to get some oil. It just has the bird snake, patches, etc.

 

[cdahl383]

10/22's should carry a "Caution - May Be Habit Forming" warning stamped on them somewhere. Congrats. Sounds like a good time and plenty of good memories.

Haha yes I can see how it becomes addicting. I already ordered more ammo for next time haha!

 

[cdahl383]

Warning! This could turn into an addiction and there is no 12 step plan. But if I may advise, if this is your 1st and 2nd exposure to firearms please consider a firearms safety course. It may possibly save you a lot of misery in the future.
And, congratulations on a really great 22.

Yes I agree. Looking into finding some courses I could take.

As of right now I’ve learned to always act as though the gun is loaded and ready to fire even when it’s not, always have the safety on until I’m ready to fire, keep my finger along the gun and away from the trigger until I’m ready to fire, keep the gun pointed away from people and down range, and be sure of my backstop as to where the bullet is headed. I know that’s not everything, but that’s what my friend taught me and what I’ve learned just reading etc.

I’ll take a course soon though as I know it would a good for me being a new gun owner.

 

[Frulk]

Congrats! 10/22 was the first gun I bought with my own money at 16-17 years old. Great first gun. Probably won’t be your last.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Welcome to the (gun) nut house!

 

[entropy]

Glad you and your wife enjoy your new hobby! Ditto earlier posts on getting some instruction and pointers. 10/22's are an excellent gun whether one's first or 100th!

 

[X62503]

First time ever firing a gun in my life. Think I found myself a new hobby!

Well done and, may I ask, what prompted you and your wife to pick up a rifle and learn to shoot?

 

[JTHunter]

Nice going cdahl383. That polymer stock should last a lifetime or two.
Now, as to accessories - and this is where part of that addiction comes in - if you are considering using it for hunting small game, a fairly small 2-7x or 3-9x scope would be a good choice. If not for hunting, you might want to consider a zero magnification "red dot" type of sight as those can make for quick target acquisition. That might come in handy (depending on where you live) in the near future.
Be safe and have fun !

 

[cdahl383]

Well done and, may I ask, what prompted you and your wife to pick up a rifle and learn to shoot?

Honestly all the craziness going on. First the pandemic, then all these riots, talks of defunding police, crazy people taking over sections of major US cities, etc. I figured it’d be a good idea to have a gun or two in the house. Turns out it’s a lot of fun shooting targets too!

 

[cdahl383]

Nice going cdahl383. That polymer stock should last a lifetime or two.
Now, as to accessories - and this is where part of that addiction comes in - if you are considering using it for hunting small game, a fairly small 2-7x or 3-9x scope would be a good choice. If not for hunting, you might want to consider a zero magnification "red dot" type of sight as those can make for quick target acquisition. That might come in handy (depending on where you live) in the near future.
Be safe and have fun !

We won’t be hunting, just target practice and potential home defense. I know the .22 isn’t the best home defense option, but both my wife and I can shoot it easily and after searching for shotguns for a while with no luck, I figured a good first gun would be a .22.

I did shoot my buddy’s 12 and 20 gauge shotgun and they’re fun, but my wife was a bit intimidated by the 12 gauge. The 20 gauge she shot just fine, but she preferred the .22.

After today she’s now able to operate the gun on her own. So it’s a gun we can both shoot comfortably. Whenever Mossberg shotguns are available again I plan on picking up a 20 gauge.

 

[JTHunter]

We won’t be hunting, just target practice and potential home defense. I know the .22 isn’t the best home defense option, but both my wife and I can shoot it easily and after searching for shotguns for a while with no luck, I figured a good first gun would be a .22.

I did shoot my buddy’s 12 and 20 gauge shotgun and they’re fun, but my wife was a bit intimidated by the 12 gauge. The 20 gauge she shot just fine, but she preferred the .22.

After today she’s now able to operate the gun on her own. So it’s a gun we can both shoot comfortably. Whenever Mossberg shotguns are available again I plan on picking up a 20 gauge.

Good choice. For the HD aspect, be sure to get a few shells with at least #4 Buck (or larger). With a 20 gauge, you will be limited in the number of pellets of the #4 Buck (a 3" 12 ga. shell holds 40 pellets). Do NOT use "birdshot" (hunting loads) as they are too small for decent penetration.

 

[grampster]

If your wife feels comfortable with a 20 gauge shotgun, if you are lucky, you might find an Ithaca mod 37 Featherlight pump for sale. It's a bit pricey, but it's been around for a long, long time and is a fine shotgun. The Ithaca Mod 37 pump was my first shotgun of my own, I bought when I was around 16 or so in 1960. It was a 12 ga. I traded that in for an Ithaca XL900 semi auto many years ago. But I still have my FILs 16 ga Mod 37 pump.

 

[Milt1]

Cdah1383, if we could get all the anti-gun advocates out shooting like you did, the anti-gun issues in this country would go away. Thanks for sharing your story as it reminds all of us how much clean fun can be had by the shooting sports.

 

[ontarget]

At this point since you and your wife are both comfortable with the 10/22 it makes a perfect HD weapon for your circumstance. Once you are comfortable with a shotgun or carbine in a more powerful cartridge then you can get a new perfect HD weapon.
The point is, anyone in the home that may need to deploy the HD weapon needs to be comfortable with it weather it's a 10/22 or 50 BMG.
PS welcome to your new hobby.

 

[cdahl383]

Cdah1383, if we could get all the anti-gun advocates out shooting like you did, the anti-gun issues in this country would go away. Thanks for sharing your story as it reminds all of us how much clean fun can be had by the shooting sports.

I was never full on anti gun, but I never had the desire to own a gun really. My family was not big on guns. No one hunted, no one shot for fun, no one had one for home defense. Just never had any exposure to them before.

With all the recent events going on, I thought it’d be a good idea to get a gun. I talked to my one buddy who is big into guns and he offered to show my wife and I how to shoot and handle a gun etc. Once he showed us how it all worked, it wasn’t as intimidating, and it turned out to be quite fun. A lot of my previous fears and apprehension about owning a gun were eliminated. Given how crazy things are right now, I can now really see how important the 2nd amendment really is.

 

[Pat Riot]

I would submit that if you fire a 12 gauge and a 20 gauge shotgun of similar weight from the same maker the 20 gauge recoil will feel lighter. If you shoot a lighter 20 gauge shotgun the recoil will feel more like the 12 gauge. Don’t fall for the light shotgun being better for women. Also, 20 gauge ammo is often harder to find in defensive loads. Have your wife at least try the 12 gauge.

Congratulations on your new hobby. It’s nice that your wife is interested as well.

 

[cdahl383]

I would submit that if you fire a 12 gauge and a 20 gauge shotgun of similar weight from the same maker the 20 gauge recoil will feel lighter. If you shoot a lighter 20 gauge shotgun the recoil will feel more like the 12 gauge. Don’t fall for the light shotgun being better for women. Also, 20 gauge ammo is often harder to find in defensive loads. Have your wife at least try the 12 gauge.

Congratulations on your new hobby. It’s nice that your wife is interested as well.

Thanks! My buddy couldn’t believe how interested my wife was either haha! She loaded several magazines while we took little breaks to talk and stuff. She’s already pretty good at using the gun on her own now.

 

[rust collector]

Welcome aboard. Always happy to have new shooters with us. It's a skill and a challenge that gets better with practice, and when practice is fun, life is good. Taking a little care now to build awareness and muscle memory so you automatically point the muzzle in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger, and keep the action open until ready to fire will make things easier and safer for everyone.

One resource: https://www.agirlandagun.org/training/4-rules-of-gun-safety/ Another: http://www.ihea-usa.org/news-and-events/ihea-news-releases/141-firearm-safety-rules Enjoy!