Should beginners start with .22 or a major caliber?

[BOBA FETT]

i learned to shoot with a 41 magnum....

[C Philip]

It depends on what you want to use a handgun for. I like handguns for self defense purposes, so I wanted my first handgun to be able to fulfill that role. It was a full size 9mm. If you can afford 2 guns right off the bat, this may not be an issue, but I could only have one.

A full size 9mm has very little recoil, and at the time of my purchase (quite a few years ago) 9mm ammo was pretty cheap.

Also, I personally don't enjoy shooting .22 all that much unless it's at cans or some reactive target.

[Rifletom]

Some interesting answers to this. I'm teaching my wife to shoot with a old Ruger MKI .22. I no longer own a .22 revolver, so the MKI has to do. And she LIKES it! She's pretty small, 5' 1", about 105-110 lb., but likes the heaviness and sturdiness of the Ruger. This surprised me as I thought the pistol would be too largeand heavy, but, she shoots it rather well. So, learning to shoot with a .22 has worked for her. Going again over the 4th of July week-end.

[wncchester]

"Should" is a strong word but it's certainly a good idea.

[Eagleks]

The advantage of .22's is .... ammo is cheaper and you can do a lot more shooting to get accustomed to it, improve your shooting, etc. Secondly, the more you shoot.... the more familarity you will have with handling the gun, doing it safely, etc. NRA training is a good thing.

A higher caliber, will just be more expensive and raise the likelihood of developing bad habits.

Plus , one other thing... you will develop your trigger pull , etc. without having the issues of recoil anticipation, etc. which can mess you up. So, you'll develop better trigger pull, and other habits.

[m_liebst]

......I mean ....well I would'nt just go and pick a .357 mag revolver or a 10mm
semiauto to be my first choice,

.....but I definitely have seen others start with the common 9mm, and even the .40.

Me.. I started with a subcompact .380, jumped to the .40, had a barrel swapped and was starting to shoot .357 sig, went down to a 9mm,..and now I'm pretty much at the bottom with the .22lr as an addition..

Recollecting all I went through though, I kinda wished I had started with the .22lr because of the almost nonexistent recoil, and the advantage of greater accuracy...., with in 50 yards ofcourse.

Oh.., and ya can shoot forever with the .22lr.

You can only shoot forever with the others if you carry the bank with you in your wallet.

A box of "50" affordable 9mm rounds will cost ya 12-15 bucks. On sale, I can get "525" 22lr cci blzrs for 17 bucks.

Like I said,... you decide

[pvt.Long]

I gotta say I learned on a .45 1911 with the hogs that are an infestation on the ranch I grew up on its one of the best handguns to have in a pinch.For a first time shooter, the .22 is great. Its cheap low recoil,very accurate easy to learn on and cheap! Even an experienced shooter should have a .22 to take out on the range to keep their skills sharp and to keep the bad habits they naturally develop at bay.

[aarondhgraham]

Assuming this is a quality handgun,,,
This would be the perfect beginner's set-up.

EAA Witness 9mm/.22 combo.

Click here please.

I really wish someone would buy one of these combo kits,,,
Then post a review so I know whether to buy one or not.

But seriously, owning a pair of identical guns,,,
Or a convertible one like the Witness is a great boon.

Go to the range,,,
Shoot a box of .22 LR,,,
Then shoot a mag or two of 9mm,,,
Lather, rinse, and repeat all afternoon long.

Aarond

Aarond

[kraigwy]

I think it depends. Depends on the shooter and the coach.

I had a shooting partner, my Sargent with I ran the AK Marksmanship Unit.

He started shooting in the Marine Reserve. His coach wouldn't let him touch a 22 until he was knee deep in 45 hardball brass out of an "as issued" 1911a1.

Seemed to work, he was picked up on the All Guard International Pistol Team. International Pistol is the most difficult pistol shooting there is.

Some adapt to a full size pistol/revolver, some don't. You have to know your student.

[Buzzcook]

He started shooting in the Marine Reserve. His coach wouldn't let him touch a 22 until he was knee deep in 45 hardball brass out of an "as issued" 1911a1.

Two things. Knee deep is a lot of shooting, his rich uncle paid for that ammo. There was a coach involved in all that shooting as well, uncle sugar probably paid for that as well.

[dajowi]

I can't tell you the number of times that I've seen children and women being handed large caliber/magnum pistols as an introduction to firearms. With the expected results being injuries, damage to the weapons when dropped or blasted out of the hands of the shooter. This is certainly one way to dissuade pro-gun attitudes.

[ice monkey]

I like the idea of starting with a full size .380 or a .32 to at least get used to the bang kick idea. Then move down to a .22 to get cheap training, and then up again to whatever they intend to carry if at all.

[sigcurious]

Assuming this is a quality handgun,,,
This would be the perfect beginner's set-up.

EAA Witness 9mm/.22 combo.

Click here please.

I really wish someone would buy one of these combo kits,,,
Then post a review so I know whether to buy one or not.

I wish so too, as I am about to make my first handgun purchase and am very interested in that kind of set up. Fortunately the long wait for permits here has given me enough time to save up for anything between that and a sig 22x classic ( : but it would be sweet to know if I could get a similar rig with both calibers for half the price. now if I could only find a cz75 to try out around here!

[aarondhgraham]

I just helped a young friend pick out a firearm for concealed carry,,,
It's her first firearm and she barely knows how to shoot it,,,
So I brow-beat her into joining my rifle & pistol club.

After attending an Intro to Handguns course at Stillwater Armory,,,
And after shooting several of my smaller handguns,,,
And a trip to the H&H gun store in Ok City,,,
She decided on a Bersa Thunder 380,,,
And a Bersa Thunder .22 as well.

Granted, I pushed my personal 22/centerfire philosophy on her,,,
But now she's going to the range once every week,,,
And when she goes she can afford to shoot.

It doesn't matter how great a gun you own,,,
If you can't afford ammo to train with,,,
You might as well carry a big stick.

The regimen I recommended is what she is following,,,
One box of .22 LR and then one mag of .380 ACP,,,
After a month of this regimen she's getting good.

But this question (like so many others we discuss),,,
Has no clear and definitive answer.

One person will say you need to avoid the centerfire recoil at first,,,
The next person will say you need to always feel that recoil and learn to deal with it.

One person will say that even though the pistols are identical, the triggers will be different,,,
Another person will say that as long as the pistols are the same make and model they will be close enough.

The one indisputable fact which I base my philosophy on is this,,,
If you don't practice you won't ever learn to shoot well,,,
you can't practice if you can't afford ammunition,,,
Nothing is more affordable than .22 LR ammo.

So unless a person absolutely hates the idea of shooting a .22 pistol,,,
Either a .22 as their first gun or a pair of matching guns will always be my advice.

But hey,,,
That's just me.

Aarond

[aarondhgraham]

but it would be sweet to know if I could get a similar rig with both calibers for half the price. now if I could only find a cz75 to try out around here!

I just wanted to make sure you knew about the CZ-75 Kadet Adapter,,,
It takes your 9mm CZ-75B and converts it to a .22 LR pistol.

I had a small windfall of cash come my way last year,,,
So I bought the full Kadet pistol rather than the Kadet adapter kit.

I can give a very high personal recommendation,,
For my CZ-75B's in 9mm and .22 LR.

Do get a CZ in your hand before you spend your hard earned money,,,
While the Sig Sauer line of pistols are all of the highest quality,,,
You might fall in mad love with the way a CZ fits your grip.

Now to be fair to the good folk at Sig,,,
A friend of mine has a .22 Classic P-???,,,
He bought the Exchange kit that converts it up to a 9mm.

We trade our .22s at the range,,,
I gotta say that Classic .22 is really sweet,,,
I just like the way the CZ-75B grip snuggles into my hand.

Later my friend,,,

Aarond

[Misssissippi Dave]

There is nothing wrong with starting with a pellet gun to learn sighting and trigger pull. I have seen many frustrated new shooters at the range. They all started with center fire pistols. Most of them trying to start with .40 caliber. I have offered to let them try a .22 pistol before giving up on the idea of pistol shooting. Those that tried a .22 pistol started talking to the people they were with about the need to get one and how much better it felt to shoot one and also hit the paper target too. I like starting people out with either pellet pistols or .22s. I think revolvers are the best and then move up to semi-auto if that is what they want to learn next.

I still shoot .22s a lot and probably always will. I believe about half of my pistols are .22s. Shooting should be enjoyable. If people don't enjoy what they are shooting what makes you think they will continue to practice enough to become proficient, let alone not develop many bad habits. There will always be the exception, but this works well for the majority of people.

[Deja vu]

I started on a 22 I think its good for learning the fundamentals.

[sigcurious]

I hope this question is appropriate for the thread. As someone facing this very decision, I was wondering what people thought of starting with 9mm then a month or two later getting a conversion kit for .22lr?

Not looking for suggestions on specific make/models(dont want to get it off topic), just what people think of someone new to handguns, going that route?

Any suggestions on makes/models are more than welcome in a PM though. Already suggested and being considered, cz75, sig22x and 1911 in 9mm.

[TylerD45ACP]

I think a major caliber. I got a Ruger MKII .22 for my first gun and I didnt like it much and wanted something bigger after a few months. This was about age 13. I wanted a larger caliber and ended up with a Sig 220 which I did not like. I moved to a Beretta 92FS 9mm which was awesome but finally got my dream gun a 1911. I got rid of the 92FS and got a S&W 1911. I also got a S&W 5906 9mm. I missed the Beretta so I got another 9mm and I liked the 5906 which is an excellent gun. I prefer the 45 and I am better with it. However to the point I believe the 9mm is the best starter caliber. Any big bore caliber from 38/.380 and above is better to start with in my opinion. The 9mm is cheap and gives the shooter a good idea of the major calibers.

[Carry_24/7]

The first pistol I learned on at around 13 years old was my neighbors Colt 1911. We only had long guns in our house when I was a kid. The .22 is a great thing, but I don't believe its an essential learning tool, except to save money on ammo.

[C0untZer0]

I only wish there were a pistol - something like a modern BHP but cheaper that had a .22 adapter for it.

If only someone made a setup like that...

[Ideal Tool]

Want recoil, for training..but at .22 price...funny, no one has suggested the Colt Ace?

[C0untZer0]

I also learned on pellet pistol and I still practice with a pellet pistol. Breathing, grip, sight alignment, trigger control and follow through are all the same. Its not like if you screw these things up with a pellet pistol it's not going to matter - it definately is. Anything I do wrong will immediately show up - I'll miss the bullseye.

I actually like a trio of guns that gives a shooter the opportunity to shoot 4 different calibers.

The first one I'd get is the S&W 585-4 CO2 pellet pistol. It is a steel pistol with the heft and feel and action (for the most part) of larger S&W revolvers. It is a S&W revolver made for S&W by Umarex. The second one I'd get would be a S&W 617, and the third pistol I would get would be a S&W 686. I would get the 4" barrel versions of these pistols.

To me that would be a really nice progression and a wide range of calibers to fire.

[Kreyzhorse]

Everyone should start with a .22lr. I understand the desire and fun that goes with shooting larger cartridges, but the .22 has low recoil, it's cheap and that means you can spend a lot of trigger time learning and or practicing to shoot.

[dpetreikis]

.22, absolutely... for several reasons (most of which already pointed out):

- cheap ammo allows sufficient practice to be affordable

- light recoil and low muzzle flash do not intimidate new shooters and do not instill fear and flinch as do larger calibers. allow easier correction of bad habits

- low recoil and accuracy of the round instills confidence in new shooter, encourages them to shoot more and more often