results of long-anticipated private lesson

[old lady new shooter]

FYI, the Ruger GP100 can have grips as narrow as you want them if you want a better fit to your hand. Design of its frame allows perhaps the narrowest grips that can be put on a full size revolver without frame alterations. I have small hands so that boot grips on a J Frame Snubbie Revolver are about perfect. Std Grips on the GP100 feel like gripping a two by four which affects my accuracy. My wife on the other hand has long fingers and finds them just fine.

Not sure about whether the Ruger SP 101 has the same frame type.
S&W and most other revolvers have a frame that limits how narrow the grip can be without major alterations.

On heavy triggers, use the power crease rather than the tip of the trigger finger (crease in first joint of the trigger finger) in order to control the heavier trigger better. Gives you more leverage--it may slightly diminish accuracy at distance but might not. Try finding videos and/or books of old school trainers such as Tom Givens or Mas Ayoob who carried revolvers on duty. Jim Cirillo and Bill Jordan also have good insight in their books on use of the revolver. The best of the new breed of trainers is perhaps Grant Cunningham with his revolver books--one introduces you to revolvers and the other on how to use them in personal defense--I can recommend both of Grant's books as well as the authors above.

Thanks very much, I will definitely look for those authors, the only one I was familiar with before was the legendary Ayoob.

Someone mentioned Grant Cunningham a few days ago and I found out he is giving a class in Phoenix in December, I'm seriously considering going as Phoenix is relatively close and I have dear cousins there I could visit, making the trip a twofer. (Happily we are on the same page politically, they will not be freaked out by the reason for my visit!) There is going to be a class right here (!) from CFS at the end of September, they say to bring a "pistol", I asked the organizer about doing it with a revolver, she said she didn't see why not, and the writeup says if you've even attended a beginner class it will be suitable, but I'm not sure. I'll see how competent I feel by a week before. Not to mention I don't have my gun yet and even if I order it today (which I might) it will be two weeks until I get it (because they don't have it in stock and then there is a 10-day waiting period which starts once they get it), and I don't know how many rounds I have to put through it to wear it in. One big thing, the writeup says they are going to practice fast reloading, I was planning to practice that myself with a speedloader (I learned from someone here already awhile back that 5-Star are very good and they make a 7-shot for the L-frame), but obviously reloading a revolver is going to be harder to get fast at compared to a semi-automatic, and if I'm the only one there with a revolver they're not likely to spend much if any time on speedloader technique.

Pressing with the crease of the first joint, yep, I read that awhile back and that's how I was shooting in my session.

As for the grips, I don't need narrower, what I found out in my session is that I apparently actually need wider, even on the 686, although I'm going to check very carefully one more time before making my purchase. I think the Hogue grip without the finger grooves might be the right one.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I applaud your efforts and dedication. And the results show.



Don't discriminate against the young ... teach them too, please(!)

Seriously. Good job....Way to GO!!!!!

Thanks for the encouragement.

For only my second time ever shooting at all I am very happy with the results. I think it made a big difference that between the original class and the private lesson I spent several months hanging out here to learn, this place is an amazing resource.

 

[cpt-t]

I think You did just great. Shooting a pistol is fun, just be carefull but still have a good time. Shooting should be very enjoyable at least it is to me, not an unplesant chore. I could not be happier for You.
ken

 

[strambo]

My wife has a 7 shot 386 Nightguard and 5 Star speed loaders (highly recommend). She did just fine in a 2 day defensive handgun course with them. I did make her custom kydex speed loader pouches which helped, but a generic pouch with a snap cover would only add a half second maybe. 4 second reloads should be doable with not too much practice and in line with a typical beginner and an auto at a course.

I'd want 4 speed loaders and at least 2 pouches.

 

[Al Thompson]

Good shooting Tex!

One thing I've found to help is lifting weights in order to combat fatigue. Does not have to be much, a single 3 or 4 pound dumbbell gripped in both hands at first and then one later on, works. Simply hold it upright as you would a handgun and work through your ready positions a couple of times a week.....

 

[The Bushmaster]

Your next assignment, Old Lady New Shooter, is to encourage more women to shoot.

Nice job...

 

[rodensouth]

Great to see you doing so well already! The skill level will just keep improving with the good attitude you have.

When you spend more time at the range with others note their targets, and see what it looks like when folks don't bother with instruction! You are already better than the average Joe I see come in and shoot at the ranges here, and some of them are trying to "teach" their friends!

I'll be happily watching your progress.

 

[old lady new shooter]

GP100 Match Champion?

You might see if you can handle a GP100 Match Champion. The one I handled had a pretty nice trigger and was, overall, a nice gun. A standard GP100 isn't quite as refined, but it's one you might want to get your hands on as well. The large S&W revolvers (586 & 686) are also very nice and would be a good choice if they fit your hand and shoot well for you.

Guess what, yesterday I went back planning to do Jeff's alignment test and if I passed, order the 686 Plus, with the idea to change out the grip for the Hogue one with no finger grooves. I asked the guy behind the counter to do the test with me and for the record, yes, the first joint of my index finger (and even a little more) reaches the trigger with the gun held out in line with the bone of my forearm. However, to be honest, I have to hold it just right for everything to be in the proper place.

Blabla, then he started showing me other revolvers... the GP100 Match Champion felt fantastic in my hand, I think largely because of the grip, but I didn't wanna buy it without shooting it. Of course they don't have one of those for rent, but they did have a rental GP100 regular model, I shot 50 rounds though it, didn't have time for more because I had to be someplace. It has the horrible finger groove grip but different from the equivalent one on the Smith because on the Smith one the metal is exposed at the back, this one is rubber all the way around, did not fit the same, so in that respect it was more difficult to shoot. OTOH the trigger actually seemed better to me than the rental 686 one but in the other thread I learned that that one needs smithing to get rid of the "stacking", which I had noticed but didn't realize wasn't supposed to happen.

Now I'm feeling frustrated. As a former data analyst, how can you make a decision when you don't have a way to change only one variable at a time to make your comparison? There is the actual gun, there is the condition the rental gun is in, there is the grip (the thing you hold) and the grip (how you hold it, which I was also experimenting with yesterday), and if you are a newbie, are you better today than yesterday because the gun is better or because now you've shot more? :banghead::banghead::banghead:

I looked on the Hogue site to see if they sell a grip for the 686 that looks like the MC one, really couldn't tell, none of them had "stipling" in the description though. Also, I completely don't understand why grip mfrs don't publish the dimensions.

 

[old lady new shooter]

My wife has a 7 shot 386 Nightguard and 5 Star speed loaders (highly recommend). She did just fine in a 2 day defensive handgun course with them. I did make her custom kydex speed loader pouches which helped, but a generic pouch with a snap cover would only add a half second maybe. 4 second reloads should be doable with not too much practice and in line with a typical beginner and an auto at a course.

I'd want 4 speed loaders and at least 2 pouches.

Thanks, great information. I suspect your wife had had her gun for a lot longer than a couple of weeks before attending the class though... ? I was thrilled to be able to hit the target in the right place but it takes me much longer than a more experienced person. In the other thread everybody told me just concentrate on doing everything smoother, that will automatically speed me up, which makes perfect sense.

(BTW that gun looks like it was very nice, why did they stop making it?)

 

[old lady new shooter]

Good shooting Tex!

One thing I've found to help is lifting weights in order to combat fatigue. Does not have to be much, a single 3 or 4 pound dumbbell gripped in both hands at first and then one later on, works. Simply hold it upright as you would a handgun and work through your ready positions a couple of times a week.....

Thanks.

Actually holding out a smallish DB was something I thought of a few months ago, I was doing it regularly, then I got and started using a GripMaster and a wrist roller and for no good reason stopped doing the DB thing. I should probably start again.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Great to see you doing so well already! The skill level will just keep improving with the good attitude you have.

When you spend more time at the range with others note their targets, and see what it looks like when folks don't bother with instruction! You are already better than the average Joe I see come in and shoot at the ranges here, and some of them are trying to "teach" their friends!

I'll be happily watching your progress.

Thanks for the kind words.

I definitely understand where those folks are coming from, shooting off a whole cylinder without pausing is a lot more fun than painstakingly checking one's grip and sight picture between every shot. But seeing a target with almost all the shots in the 10 area is a much warmer feeling than seeing one with holes all over the place. Nevertheless, looking forward to the day when I can shoot them fast and still end up in the 10!

 

[GarySTL]

I'd not read any of your posts before, but I'm happy to see you're doing well and most importantly having fun. Shooting is a great confidence builder as you seem to be learning.

I hope you can convince some of your friends to join you in this adventure.

Keep up the good work. You'll be shooting IDPA matches next Spring.

 

[old lady new shooter]

decision made

I decided since accuracy is the most important criterion I would make a head-to-head test, or as close to that as I could get. I persuaded them to let me take the Smith with the Hogue grip and the regular GP100 (the closest comparison I could make, both have the horrible finger grooves) onto the range at the same time, and bought two targets. I shot in total three cylinders (= 18 rounds) through each one, and to reduce any possible fatigue effect of shooting earlier or later I mixed them up, cylinders 1, 4 and 6 were the Ruger, 2, 3 and 5 were the Smith. With the Smith I put 17 rounds in the 10 and 1 in the 9 just barely outside the 10; with the Ruger I put 11 rounds in the 10, 1 on the border between the 10 and the 9, 5 in the 9 proper and I don't see another hole. Being that that was a pretty definitive result I'm getting the Smith (along with a grooveless grip to put on it).

I feel so relieved!

 

[old lady new shooter]

I'd not read any of your posts before, but I'm happy to see you're doing well and most importantly having fun. Shooting is a great confidence builder as you seem to be learning.

I hope you can convince some of your friends to join you in this adventure.

Keep up the good work. You'll be shooting IDPA matches next Spring.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Jeff White]

Guess what, yesterday I went back planning to do Jeff's alignment test and if I passed, order the 686 Plus, with the idea to change out the grip for the Hogue one with no finger grooves. I asked the guy behind the counter to do the test with me and for the record, yes, the first joint of my index finger (and even a little more) reaches the trigger with the gun held out in line with the bone of my forearm. However, to be honest, I have to hold it just right for everything to be in the proper place.

If you feel you have to hold it "just right" it's probably still a little too big for you. Hopefully the grips without the finger grooves will help it fit you perfectly. If not, there are a lot of grips out there for that frame, I'm sure you can find a set that is right for you.

 

[old lady new shooter]

If you feel you have to hold it "just right" it's probably still a little too big for you. Hopefully the grips without the finger grooves will help it fit you perfectly. If not, there are a lot of grips out there for that frame, I'm sure you can find a set that is right for you.

I did some experimenting yesterday and today with my grip and I feel positive about the results. Today I needed way less time to get the correct sight picture back between shots, and most importantly I did not hurt my hand. One thing I tried I think worked particularly well, to do the squeezing with my chest muscles and let my hands more just cradle the gun. This allowed the gun to do the recoil more, um, gracefully, I think that's why it was easier to get the sight picture back relatively quickly.

This journey is just fascinating!

 

[drband]

Excellent! Hope the smooth grip works for you. [emoji41]

 

[strambo]

Thanks, great information. I suspect your wife had had her gun for a lot longer than a couple of weeks before attending the class though... ? I was thrilled to be able to hit the target in the right place but it takes me much longer than a more experienced person. In the other thread everybody told me just concentrate on doing everything smoother, that will automatically speed me up, which makes perfect sense.

(BTW that gun looks like it was very nice, why did they stop making it?)

She had it for a lot longer than 2 weeks calendar time, but only shot it once before the class. I gave her a few dry-fire training sessions before the class to get her up to speed on the basics (safety, grip, reloading) so that she would be safe and not behind the power curve at the course. She was nervous as it was way outside her comfort zone, I told her she would be better than average compared to the rest of the students...and she was.

I think the Nightguard series represents a near perfect defensive revolver. I'm sure they just weren't that popular. It looks small enough on its own but if you place it on top of my Sig P226 (full-size auto), they are dimensionally almost exact.

People want tiny airweight snubs or big bore hunting revolvers with a minority interested in competition models. Almost nobody wants a mid-size revolver as a primary defensive gun these days, autos rule. I prefer autos myself, for a given size and weight; the auto will be thinner, have higher capacity and way faster reloads.

 

[JohnKSa]

Now I'm feeling frustrated. As a former data analyst, how can you make a decision when you don't have a way to change only one variable at a time to make your comparison? There is the actual gun, there is the condition the rental gun is in, there is the grip (the thing you hold) and the grip (how you hold it, which I was also experimenting with yesterday), and if you are a newbie, are you better today than yesterday because the gun is better or because now you've shot more?

Unless you live in a very restricted area or are very "fund-limited", if you buy a gun you eventually sour on, you can sell it and buy another. Or if you buy a gun you like, and later find one you like a little better, you can buy the second one and own both.

I spent a LOT of time picking my first gun thinking it would be the only gun I ever owned. I made a very good choice (I still have it) but somehow it didn't turn out to be my one and only.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Unless you live in a very restricted area or are very "fund-limited", if you buy a gun you eventually sour on, you can sell it and buy another. Or if you buy a gun you like, and later find one you like a little better, you can buy the second one and own both.

I spent a LOT of time picking my first gun thinking it would be the only gun I ever owned. I made a very good choice (I still have it) but somehow it didn't turn out to be my one and only.

My original idea was that I only want ONE gun, I didn't understand how every gun owner I know seems to have between 5 and 7, and I wanted to feel reasonably sure that I would be able to be competent with it in not too long a time. I still don't expect to end up with a whole collection, but yeah, I might get another one for some reason. But the main thing I wanted to avoid was spending money on something that would become the gun equivalent of a "closet dress".

 

[JohnKSa]

After all my "research", I settled on a full-sized .357Mag stainless steel, double-action revolver with a 4" barrel.

I don't shoot it as often as I did when it was my only gun, but it still goes to the range once in awhile even though I now have more than just one or two other guns. And it still stays loaded all the time "in case of rain".

If I ever decided I were never going to use it again, I'd just sell it. Revolvers keep their value pretty well if you buy quality and don't abuse them. That's actually true of firearms in general.

 

[GarySTL]

You need lots of guns. Some for CCW, some for fun at the range, and perhaps some for competition. They may or may not be call the same caliber either. 22s are still pretty cheap to shoot and you can spend time shooting and only be out $12 or so for ammo.

 

[Jim Watson]

Gunowners write about their "holster boxes" full of holsters tried and discarded.
We usually have grip boxes, too. I used to use the big bulky Pachmayr Signatures but later went to rubber Hogues. I don't like the finger grooves but the circumference suits my hand size. If I were shooting more revolvers than autos, I would pay for the wood Hogues which can be ordered without finger grooves or just one.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Congrats. Amazing what a little training can do.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

My original idea was that I only want ONE gun, I didn't understand how every gun owner I know seems to have between 5 and 7, and I wanted to feel reasonably sure that I would be able to be competent with it in not too long a time. I still don't expect to end up with a whole collection, but yeah, I might get another one for some reason. But the main thing I wanted to avoid was spending money on something that would become the gun equivalent of a "closet dress".

It can be done. I think I was happier when I had fewer guns. Oddly enough, my shotguns have remained a simple collection and yet I use them more than anything else. Go figure.