Popped Gun Cherry

Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
3,219
Location
Texas
Well I popped my gun ownership cherry today. After a nine month wait, yes you read that correctly, I received my FOID card on Tuesday. Reasoning for gun ownership is to have a firearm in the house and for target shooting.

Wanted a handgun first, to spend some time at the range and getting fully comfortable, so I ended up buying a Sig SP2022 9mm.

Get to pick it up on the 9th, and signed myself up for an intro class on the 23rd.

I grew up around guns my whole life, but never shot or interacted with them directly. My family is heavy in the military, my godfather is an avid hunter and amateur sports shooter, from birth until I moved out guns were always around. I have no issues with firearms and understand the enjoyment people get out of them, but, holding and knowing I would be purchasing it definitely gave me some butterflies.

Looking forward to some range time and picking up this new hobby!
 
Well I popped my gun ownership cherry today. After a nine month wait, yes you read that correctly, I received my FOID card on Tuesday. Reasoning for gun ownership is to have a firearm in the house and for target shooting.

Wanted a handgun first, to spend some time at the range and getting fully comfortable, so I ended up buying a Sig SP2022 9mm.

Get to pick it up on the 9th, and signed myself up for an intro class on the 23rd.

I grew up around guns my whole life, but never shot or interacted with them directly. My family is heavy in the military, my godfather is an avid hunter and amateur sports shooter, from birth until I moved out guns were always around. I have no issues with firearms and understand the enjoyment people get out of them, but, holding and knowing I would be purchasing it definitely gave me some butterflies.

Looking forward to some range time and picking up this new hobby!
Congrats! You may have to scramble for ammo.
 
Good choice. The double/single action, plus decocker, is a great safety feature. Plus the weight of a full size gun will make shooting very comfortable. Get more ammo if you can because one box will only make you want more! Enjoy.
 
For your intended purposes, that’s a great choice. I think you’ll be very pleased.

I’m in the “no safety on a defensive gun” camp. It’s too easy for people ( even experienced, trained people) to forget in the heat of the moment. Adrenaline messes up fine motor skills and front brain thinking... a whole bunch ...

The Sig double/single de-cocker is a good set up for defensive use. My Sig P227 has the same set up.
 
Yeah, I bought a box of Browning FMJ to start off with. Was debating if I should’ve gotten more but the shelves were full so I’m not expecting an issue for the time being.
Every time you want to go shoot you will go to the store and buy ammo? What happens if there is no Ammo on the shelves? Spare ,magazines?
 
Every time you want to go shoot you will go to the store and buy ammo? What happens if there is no Ammo on the shelves? Spare ,magazines?
Oh no, I was just saying to get started I’m good.

Will definitely be stocking up when I go shooting for the first time.
 
I would recommend that you do a couple of things.

Read the owners manual. Field strip and lubricate the gun according to the directions in the manual. Take it to the range.

Buy a couple boxes of range ammo. No more. Prices are crazy. Really crazy. No sense buying much at these prices.

Shoot and break in the gun.

Buy a couple of boxes of defensive ammo. Speer Gold Dot. Federal HST. That kind of thing.

Load and shoot that ammo. Make certain that the gun functions properly* on your selected defensive ammo.

Take it home, field strip and clean it again. Load it with your verified ammo. Then it’s ready.

When the class is complete, then you’re ready, too.


*I would never trust my life to an untested gun/ammo/magazine combination. Verify compatibility with all three critical components before placing a gun in defensive service.
 
Good shooting and yes buy more ammo!
Went to a local gun show this morning. 9mm Luger ammo was averaging $1 per round as was .223/5.56. I went hoping to find a pound or two of medium burn rate rifle powder such as Win. 748, H335, or Accurate 2230 (did not see any rifle powder at all). One vendor had some pistol powder (Hodgon Tite Group and Hodgon CFE pistol) priced at $100 per pound.
 
I would recommend that you do a couple of things.

Read the owners manual. Field strip and lubricate the gun according to the directions in the manual. Take it to the range.

Buy a couple boxes of range ammo. No more. Prices are crazy. Really crazy. No sense buying much at these prices.

Shoot and break in the gun.

Buy a couple of boxes of defensive ammo. Speer Gold Dot. Federal HST. That kind of thing.

Load and shoot that ammo. Make certain that the gun functions properly* on your selected defensive ammo.

Take it home, field strip and clean it again. Load it with your verified ammo. Then it’s ready.

When the class is complete, then you’re ready, too.


*I would never trust my life to an untested gun/ammo/magazine combination. Verify compatibility with all three critical components before placing a gun in defensive service.
Thanks, Astro. Definitely doing as much reading as possible to ensure proper care.

Based on your last line, are you saying that there are compatibility differences between various ammo makes? I understand that the shooting profiles change, but from a pure functionality standpoint, any 9mm Luger round should work, no?
 
Nice HG!
You may see the popular ammo brands are very hard to get … so read up on various brands as available
Just got some from these guys:

 
Thanks, Astro. Definitely doing as much reading as possible to ensure proper care.

Based on your last line, are you saying that there are compatibility differences between various ammo makes? I understand that the shooting profiles change, but from a pure functionality standpoint, any 9mm Luger round should work, no?
Any round should work. Any manufacturer. Any profile.

But sometimes, they don’t. Magazine feed lips can get bent. Production tolerances can be off. Bullet nose profiles vary and some guns just don’t like certain bullet shapes or brands. Some guns need a bit of break in, some outright need to go back to the factory for a tweak, because they don’t work with certain rounds.

Best to discover those points of incompatibility, if any, at the range.

Not when you’re in a gun fight.
 
Went to a local gun show this morning. 9mm Luger ammo was averaging $1 per round as was .223/5.56. I went hoping to find a pound or two of medium burn rate rifle powder such as Win. 748, H335, or Accurate 2230 (did not see any rifle powder at all). One vendor had some pistol powder (Hodgon Tite Group and Hodgon CFE pistol) priced at $100 per pound.
The real question here is: did anyone sell at those prices? Wowzer. I thought it was expensive at $0.30/round and $20/pound.

To the OP: Congrads, have fun, do lots of reading!
 
I grew up around guns my whole life, but never shot or interacted with them directly. My family is heavy in the military, my godfather is an avid hunter and amateur sports shooter, from birth until I moved out guns were always around. I have no issues with firearms and understand the enjoyment people get out of them, but, holding and knowing I would be purchasing it definitely gave me some butterflies.

Looking forward to some range time and picking up this new hobby!
If you never shot before you're probably best waiting for the intro class to shoot for the first time.
No sense rushing off to the range and teaching yourself bad habits.
 
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