What to do with a brand new gun?

[Outforit]

You would be suprised how many new car "owners" manuals go unread. I would almost dare say firearms manuals are read more.

I'm a manual nut. With every thing I get. With the last car I bought, the wife got mad at me cuz we came home and she was trying to be "Romantic" and all I kept doing was flipping thru the pages.....lol
Also reminds me of the one time my motorcycle was out of commission and I had a trip planned to bike week in Maryland, a friend lent me his new BMW motorcycle, it was a lounge chair on two wheels. Well the first thing I did when I get his bike to my house was grab the huge manual and started reading. When I returned his bike I was telling him all the stuff with the radio and other electronic do-dads and he just looked at me with amazement. He did not even know how to change from one CD to another, he told me that he would just skip ahead to the last song, when that some was over it would automatically go to the next disk. I handed him the key and showed him where the manual was and just smiled at him......

He is a great guy but some people just don't know how to get the full enjoyment out of their toys. That is why god invented the owners manual.

Steve

[Montkun]

That's kind of why i love gun manuals, i'm a schematic junkie. If i can see how something breaks down, i have a knack for remembering detailed pictures of things easily. I've always been a tinker type of guy just to find out how it works, which is why i love clear casing computers and video game systems just for the fun of it.

[Foxtail207]

Very informative, and a good read. When my new 24/7 OSS DS .45acp arrives I plan on getting really familar with it, and the manuial.

[kaiged1]

I agree this is very informative and I am about to purchase what is essentially my first gun a Ruger P95AR 9mm in a Grey looking Finish, Once I held her I knew she had to be mine.. Now that I have printed this check list I know how to keep her healthy and firing right. I also signed up for 3 Handgun classes: Handgun Self Defense, Basic Safety & Maintenance, and CCW. The instructor I chose is a SWAT team member and Police Captain, He teaches manuevers like quick efficiant draw techniques, firing on the run, finding types of exceptable cover, firing while running backwards, clearing a house, and hand to hand gun take away defense, and how to spot concealed weapons. He says "You won't be firing at a paper plate at 15-20 yards for this certificate." "You will get police gun safety and police training drills hammered into your brain for 14 hrs." and get this as a public service they only charge $75 for the course and they provide the ammo,food, and free drinks at the range and NRA members get a 10% discount as well. I am glad I found these guys, also the range they use is only 5 miles from my house and NRA members don't pay a "range fee" after they take this course and the gun club membership fee is waived the first year as well..Oh and they rent guns too, so I could learn to shoot many models and pick my next purchase based on proformance.

The NRA website was very helpful I might add and I might not have found a course so close that offers more than just the status que for courses. You should add the NRA page as a must visit in that check list because they have those online learning videos and a wealth of handgun information that a newbie might be suprised to find on there..

P.S. This should definitely be a sticky so everyone can refer to it in the future.

[jeepinjason51]

Excellent, excellent, excellent OP. I just picked up my first Taurus, a PT1911, today and immediately started on the checklist. I'm really glad I field stripped and started cleaning it. That thing was packed with shipping grease.

[rongeswe2]

Great info for newbies, this really should be a sticky!

[cnj]

Good info. Thanks for posting it!

[sbrooks]

Good information

[mark45acp]

Stock up on ammo,go to range,shoot til your arms and hands hurt,purchase more ammo,clean gun,return to range.Repeat.until wife gets mad cause you won't let her shoot.

[johnburgelin]

Ditto on the Ammo. I reload a bunch of different kinds to find out what i like shooting. You could buy several different types to see what you like best. But first thing. Clean it, take it all apart and clean it, make sure it's all oiled and functioning correctly before you put ammo in it.