[chowder007]

Hey guys, ive decided to stop by the range today after work and get in a little practice. My problem is, I wasnt planing on it when I left today and didnt bring my 2nd clip. I currently have defensive ammo in my clip. Would it benefit me at all to go ahead and fire those? Im thinking it might be good just to see how they shoot but dont want to waste any if there is no point to it.

 

[ColoradoJim]

Is this the first time you have fired that type of defensive ammo in your gun? And do you have more of it if you shoot off the current magazine?

Also, someone is going to chime in with magazine vs. clip, so don't be offended when it happens.

 

[chowder007]

Is this the first time you have fired that type of defensive ammo in your gun?

Brand new gun. Haven't even shot it yet.

 

[ColoradoJim]

Brand new gun. Haven't even shot it yet.

Okeydokey, you need to fire both fmj and hp ammo through it to see how it performs. If you are using it for concealed carry or home defense, make sure you run at least four boxes of fmj through it and one box of your defensive ammo.

You want to become familiar with firing it, practice your accuracy, and make certain it reliably cycles your chosen ammo.

If you run into a jam, and if you are new to firearms, have your range officer show you how to clear the jam. There are also youtube videos out there, but never be shy about asking.

You may find that a certain brand or type of ammo doesn't play well with your gun. Rule of thumb at that point is to determine whether it is your gun or the ammo, then if it is the ammo, only buy the kind that the gun likes.

 

[Smokewagon]

You should always shoot some of your carry ammo. You want to be sure it will function properly in your defensive pistol. Some guns can be finicky, and you don't want to find that out at the wrong time.

 

[ColoradoJim]

You also might clean it first before firing as many guns use a shipping preservative oil rather than a dedicated gun lubricant.

 

[ICUKev]

Okeydokey, you need to fire both fmj and hp ammo through it to see how it performs. If you are using it for concealed carry or home defense, make sure you run at least four boxes of fmj through it and one box of your defensive ammo.

You want to become familiar with firing it, practice your accuracy, and make certain it reliably cycles your chosen ammo.

If you run into a jam, and if you are new to firearms, have your range officer show you how to clear the jam. There are also youtube videos out there, but never be shy about asking.

You may find that a certain brand or type of ammo doesn't play well with your gun. Rule of thumb at that point is to determine whether it is your gun or the ammo, then if it is the ammo, only buy the kind that the gun likes.

Yup to all this! You're new so I won't tease you much about saying clip! Pickup some ammo from store to shoot as if you use the only ammo in gun, you can't protect yourself if needed on the way home. Welcome from Missouri!

 

[olfarhors]

Is this the first time you have fired that type of defensive ammo in your gun? And do you have more of it if you shoot off the current magazine?

Also, someone is going to chime in with magazine vs. clip, so don't be offended when it happens.

WELL DARN!
its always up to me it seems to get things done around here!!!
I apologize ahead of time to who ever I stole this from!!!
Generally its accepted that shelf life on modern ammo is around 50 years, so I guess if its that old then I would Likely run them to get rid of them.
Get a calculator out and keep count as they likely cost about 1 -2 bucks per round.

 

[olfarhors]

You also might clean it first before firing as many guns use a shipping preservative oil rather than a dedicated gun lubricant.

YEA!
and some guns may have a Tarantula in the barrel, course that depends on where it comes from!!---

 

[TexasAviator]

Even on firearms that i have thousands of rounds through, if I carry it, I shoot the carry ammo every so often.

If it was me I would buy a bunch of whatever caliber you need in cheap range ammo and also a full box, at least, of the carry stuff. Have fun!

 

[TexasAviator]

You also might clean it first before firing as many guns use a shipping preservative oil rather than a dedicated gun lubricant.

Definitely clean an lube it before shooting!

 

[chowder007]

Thanks for the info everyone. I def cleaned it first before firing it. I bought the gun Friday after work and today was the first time shooting it.

I wish I had someone with me that knew what they were doing. My first target was a set of 6 smaller bulls eyes which in retrospect was a mistake. My first magazine was 12 of my self defense ammo. Gun fed them perfectly. I'm pretty sure I didn't hit the target once. I then went through a box of federal fmj on the same target. I finally started to dial it in some. I think I wasn't holding the gun well enough as I feel like I was having to raise the front sight just above the back to to hit where I wanted it to.

The second target was a full size body one. I adjusted my holding and tightened it up. The first magazine was all pretty much to the left of center body. I wasn't too concerned as I know I've read these Taurus can tend to be left and down just a tad? The second magazine was shooting at the targets head and those all seemed to go just left of center. Again wasn't concerned. My next magazine was aimed at the head again and this time I did much better. I also did much better on the next one shooting at center body. I guess now I'm confused to know if the gun truly shoots to the left a bit or if it's just me.

I feel like I didn't do all that great and it's a bit discouraging. Though by the end I def felt like I started to get the sights dialed in hitting much closer to where I expected. Would you say that's normal? I'm assuming it takes a few trips to the range to kind of figure out your aiming?

As far as ammo goes in really happy with that. I fired Hornady critical defense through it, a box of federal fmj, and a box of Winchester I had picked up from Walmart the other day and didn't get a single jam or hiccup with the gun.

I'd like to know if my sights need to be adjusted but not having any experience I wouldn't ever feel comfortable trying to dial those in myself. I was going to talk to the owner after I got my second target because he was asking me about it when I came out to buy it but when I came back out the last time they were busy and u didn't really want to bother him.

 

[jtg452]

Until you get to shooting in the same general area consistently, there's no sense in adjusting the sights. You are still getting to know the gun and figure out how to shoot it. Wait for another few hundred rounds and see if it's you or the gun.


Low, left can also be caused by the shooter. With a right handed shooter, it's caused by anticipating recoil (dropping the muzzle slightly as the shot breaks) and too much finger on the trigger.

 

[chowder007]

Until you get to shooting in the same general area consistently, there's no sense in adjusting the sights. You are still getting to know the gun and figure out how to shoot it. Wait for another few hundred rounds and see if it's you or the gun.


Low, left can also be caused by the shooter. With a right handed shooter, it's caused by anticipating recoil (dropping the muzzle slightly as the shot breaks) and too much finger on the trigger.

Thanks for this man. I'm fairly certain I was not using the tip of my trigger finger the first part. But it just feels more natural to use towards center. Why does that affect the shooting? I am a left handed shooter but am literally ambidextrous so it can feel odd to shoot either way.

I'm sure there was some dropping of the muzzle in anticipation of the shot. Things def improved as I shot more though.

 

[ColoradoJim]

Sounds like you had a good first trip to the range, all things considered!

This is a good fundamentals video on grip:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7jVbvwWtWIA

With your gun unloaded and no round in the chamber
*Important***
(First!!! eject the magazine!
Second!!! Rack the slide and eject the round if one is in the chamber.
Third!! Visually confirm there is no round in the chamber.
Fourth!!! Use your finger and touch the chamber manually to confirm there is no round in the chamber.)

** always ALWAYS do the above steps in the above order. If you flip steps 1 and 2, the gun will still be loaded. NOT GOOD!!**


Point the firearm in a safe direction always.

Then, with the gun still unloaded and the magazine out of the gun and away from you, bring the slide forward into battery.

Now, with the empty gun pointed in a safe direction, first line up the sights. You want all three dots lined up evenly. Then squeeze (don't pull) the trigger slowly. Try to keep the gun as level as possible through the trigger break.

Rack the slide and try again.

Do this until you can pull the trigger without jiggling the gun left or right.

Something you might try is placing a quarter on the slide and see if it moves while you practice your trigger pull.

Once you get the hang of it, plan your next range trip and see how you do.

Btw, Lenny is a salesman but he is also a fantastic shooter with good info, so please bear with.

 

[GhostHorse]

I feel like I didn't do all that great and it's a bit discouraging. Though by the end I def felt like I started to get the sights dialed in hitting much closer to where I expected. Would you say that's normal? I'm assuming it takes a few trips to the range to kind of figure out your aiming?

If my memory is correct and this is your first pistol, you're doing very well. Pistols are quite a bit more challenging than long guns. Study, dry fire to practice maintaining the sight picture throughout the trigger pull, and then get back to the range!

 

[JimmyA]

You can't go wrong with the advice of the forum members -- as you can see.

I might add that if you can afford training -- get it. Or save up for it. Having a qualified instructor is well worth the money. You'll gain knowledge, confidence and generally feel better about handling your firearm.

 

[bubblehead]

here is just a starting point, I found both left handed and right handed targets. View attachment TargetLeftHanded.pdf

 

[Yissnakk]

So I might have missed it, but, what's the gun? PT111, Glock, SCCY, 1911? Inquiring minds need to know these tings!

Plus it will help with the advice flow.

One thing about finger placement - if you are firing a double action only gun, more finger is better to keep it pointed straight - place the meat of the second segment of your finger on the trigger. If the gun is a single action, then use the first segment (not quite the tip) of your trigger finger.

Second is grip. Cup and saucer is pretty much useless for most shooters. you want to wrap your non-grip hand around the fingers of your grip hand (keep thumbs and thumb web out of the way of the slide!) and push outward (forward) with your grip hand and apply pressure toward your body, pulling toward you , with your non-grip (support) hand. then line up your sights and you should actually focus on the sights and perceive your target with your peripheral vision. Consult Youtube...:

 

[chowder007]

I'm pretty confident in my grip actually. I did my homework before buying.

I guess my biggest question is eyes. Now I've always closed one eye when aiming down a sight. But a bit ago I was watching this video

on aiming properly and he made it sound like you are supposed to shoot with both eyes open? Is this correct? The gun is a PT111 btw.