What caliber is best for a new gun owner?

[brandon_mcg]

+1 on muzzle control. I also find it much easier to teach on a rifle than a pistol. Putting a scope on a rifle also makes it much easier. just tell them to put the crosshairs on the target and explain trigger control, then you dont have to worry about align this with this blah blah blah.

you always want the person to enjoy shooting.

 

[KodiakBeer]

A rifle or pistol depends on what the newcomers interest is. If he's looking at self defense or concealed carry I don't see any advantage to starting with a .22 rifle then moving to a .22 pistol then on to a centerfire pistol.

If their interest is more general, then yeah, start with a rifle.

 

[Ben86]

If the gun will fill a HD or CC role I suggest a 9mm of their liking. 9mm is a great recoil/power balance. The Glock and S&W M&P brand of pistols are a great place to start because of their simple operation and they are fantastic guns.

That said it's great to start out learning on a .22. A .22 pistol of some kind would be great to start out with for practice. I suggest the ruger 22/45 and beretta neos. The ruger might be frustrating to newbies because it's a little tricky to put back together, while the neos is so easy to disassemble/reassemble. The ISSC M22 also looks promising.

 

[ljnowell]

Most 18-year olds need to have gun SAFETY emphasized to them, not marksmanship

If at 18 they cant readily learn firearm safety then they arent the kind of people that should be shooting them anyway. At 18 me and my friends were hunting in groups together.

 

[Shadow 7D]

what ever you got to shoot
a .22 is never a bad choice
9 is also good

But if you want to start heavy, practice a lot of dry fire and recoil control so not to develop a flinch.

 

[sophijo]

Ammo

Ammo can be expensive. Pick a firearm he can afford to shoot a lot.

 

[madstabber]

rifle- ruger 10-22

pistol-ruger markIII

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

.22 is best bet.


If you want a centerfire cartridge though, I would suggest 9mm Luger or 5.56.

 

[MacDuff]

.458 Winchester Mag!

 

[therewolf]

Absolutely agree, 22. 22LR is very popular right now, and ammo is cheap.

 

[goon]

Agree with rfwobbly. I have taken a lot of friends shooting for the first time and it always starts with a .22 rifle. The only better starting place I can think of would be a Red Ryder - and I ain't got one of those.

 

[nulfisin]

22 Caliber

BUT a 12 GAUGE shotgun is where I would start. It's easier to learn how to "point" a shotgun if you haven't already had aiming a pistol or long gun ingrained into your mind. They are also great self-defense weapons, hunting tools, and fun to boot.

 

[charlie echo]

12 gauage

the most fun anyone can have with gunpowder: skeet, trap, sporting clays, & slugs...all that blows through cash quickly.

 

[easyg]

I recommend a .357 revolver or a 9mm autoloader.

There's really no reason to start with a .22 in order to learn how to shoot.

 

[kayak-man]

there's really no reason to start with a .22 in order to learn how to shoot.

Except minimal recoil and cheap ammo

 

[goon]

Yep. I still shoot .22 more than anything else simply because of the cost.

 

[natman]

I've always heard it is best to start with a 22 as they are light, inexpensive to shoot, with little to no recoil.

You heard right. Get a bolt action 22. You will need to learn how to form a sight picture, how to control your breathing, how to control the trigger and much more. The best way to perfect these skills is with a 22 where you can afford to shoot hundreds of rounds without beating yourself up or breaking the bank. The skills you learn with a 22 are directly transferable to a centerfire rifle and you'll find that a good 22 is pretty much essential anyway.

Best of luck.

 

[therewolf]

xxy

 

[therewolf]

IMO, go for the fun rifles.

Lever actions have that cool Wild-Western appeal, or you can get into a

neat 22LR AR pretty cheap, too. They're all pretty accurate. If you decide to

become a competition shooter later, you can pick up some super-accurate bolt

action rifle later.

 

[HOWARD J]

I used guns that I had to start the kids when they were 7.
Marlim 39-A .22 lever action
Colt single-action .22 revolver

Later ---they went to Marlin 60 auto .22
Ruger 22 auto pistol

Later on---9MM
38 spl.
357
41
44
Win 30-30
6mm rem

Forgot one: 9MM Uzi--16" & 2" barrel

 

[Ben86]

Yep. I still shoot .22 more than anything else simply because of the cost.

Me as well. People ask me why I don't reload, to which I reply "because I shoot .22 instead."

 

[red1973]

I agree with all those who suggested a 22LR rifle. The reasons: SAFETY! Low recoil. Low muzzle blast/report. Inexpensive ammo. Generally more places one can shoot them. Low recoil and low report/muzzle blast are essential for those just starting in the shooting sport to prevent them from developing a flinch.

 

[Matt018]

Allot of people I know just shot a .22 when they started, As in they had, pistols and rifles chambered in them. The reason being is that they could have allot of trigger time, Not worry about having ammo for one gun or not having ammo for another when they were just learning, And once they became comfortable in shooting and maintenance and such they would upgrade to a larger caliber pistol/rifle.

 

[M1key]

I learned rifle safety at age 7, shooting my dad's 22 Stevens single shot. Even got to shoot his Winchester 30-30.

Pistol safety, under adult supervision, at age 10.

And today, I'm as dangerous as I was back then.


M

 

[gym]

9mm