Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Rumson wrote:To the OP.. You say your not familiar with firearms.. Unless you're a natural born shooter you'll need to practice, practice, practice to properly hit your target with a hand gun. The cost of range time and ammo for this practice will by far exceed the price of the handgun you're looking to purchase.

Also consider that if you do find yourself in a defensive situation, plus not familiar with shooting in general, your heart rate is going to be up very high, you'll naturally be scared (everybody else is scared in this situation) so you'll be shaking like crazy. You will not sufficiently hit your target if at all in most cases.

I would scrounge up a little more money and get a beat up pump shotgun (Remington 870-Mossberg 500 type). Go spend another $40.00 on value pack buckshot at Walmart. Spend $10.00 on snap cap practice type dummy ammo.

Practice loading and racking the shotgun with the dummy ammo in your house until you're very comfortable. Go find an outdoor range that allows shooting buckshot (I don't know of any indoor ranges that allow buckshot) and shoot twenty dollars worth of the buckshot.. At this point you'll be good to go.. An inexperienced shaky hand with a shotgun at 5-20 feet will still hit center mass every time.

Dominion Shooting Range allows buckshot.

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Dominion Shooting Range allows buckshot.[/quote]

Glad to know somebody still allows it.. My local IWLA outdoor range doesn't even go for it.. They say it's EPA lead recovery requirements.. I think they just don't want people damaging things down range with the shot spread.

The mosin nagant for $100 does seem like a real deal for now, especially because it can handle the .32 caliber cartridge. I have owned a .32 smith and wesson long (swl) caliber snub nosed revolver since 1980 and have shot it occasionaly and carried it upon special circumstance with confidence. It packs around a hundred pounds of energy, is loud, makes a nice flash, and is manageable in close in hot engagements out to about ten yards and it won't travel through too many doors, windows, or walls if you miss your target. The ammo costs between $30 to $40 for a box of 50 and you can sometimes find it at Cabella's, Dick's, and Gander Mountain. If you can save up enough for the .38 revolver that someone else mentioned for around $200 that would be a step up for you and give you more energy per shot but you could shoot through your target or doors and walls.

This entire thread contains a lot of practical discussion points for new gun owners. Please consider them all and follow the advice to seek qualified instruction from certified trainers. And practice, practice, practice, with the equipment and under as realistic conditions as you and your trainers can simulate.

About the light situation, when you can afford it, why not. But there are valid concerns and pros and cons about lights attached to weapons. My thoughts are that it is good to be prepared and better to have it and not need it than to not have it and need it. And it can free your hands up for other tasks and let you focus on potential threats. You can decide whether to use it or not at the time you might need it. There are long-standing schools of thought about using light. You should at least know what they are before using a gun light. (I know, technology keeps improving... but I grew up old school and it is hard to break from my mold...) Another thought about the gun light is that you should not use it to just warn or intimidate an intruder. If they are prepared and don't plan to leave without what thy came for, the light itself probably won't deter them.