A Newbie and his Newbie wife first outing SHOOTING experience

[RobertY]

Well I gave my review of the places that we have been looking at fire arms. Now today we stepped it up a notch. We went to the Coal Creek Armory located on Dutchtown Road in west Knoxville. Here is our experience.

The first thing I did was to mention that a few members of this forum had told us about them. They seemed very pleased with that.

The second thing we did was to tell them that my wife had zero experience and this is who we were here for today. The guy (strangely reminded me kind of like Stephen King lol) took the time to ask us questions and answered ours. He agreed with this forum that a .22 was no good for a carry self defense weapon, that all it would do was to tick a druggie off. Point taken, we have been told enough. LOL! He proceeded to show us a variety of .380's and 9mm's. He also demonstrated them and gave her safety tips. He also demonstrated a racking technique that she could do. YES!! He then let her heft all of them and answered her questions about recoil and such. This guy was very nice.

After she had decided on a 9mm model (thats right folks a 9!) we were given a page to read front and back that must be adhered to very strictly. We signed and showed our ID. Now he demonstrated how to load the clip, and demonstrated everything else like what lever did what.

Now she picked up the unloaded Sig Sauer P239 and we headed back. I have to be honest I was worried. What if she hates guns even more after firing a round? What if what if what if??? Taking our lane she puts the target to the cardboard and we tape it in place. Then I ran it out to about 8 yards and stepped back. (we already had our ear protection and eye protection on) She picked up the clip and opened the box of ammo. She loaded just 4 rounds and put the clip home and was able to thumb the lever that put the slide back. Shaking very little she took aim and fired. Holy smokes she hit the target! BUT she also laid the Sig down in a hurry and backed away from it saying she don't like it. It was loud! I picked it up and fired off two rounds and I am pleased to say that I also hit the target. LOL! Well... she looked at me and I looked at her and she picked it back up and fired the last round. She dropped the clip out and loaded it back up with I notice six rounds this time. Taking her time she fired all six. As she was busy loading the clip up with another six rounds I brought the target in and put a P beside her shots and a R beside my two shots. Needless to say those were the only shots I fired out of the box. LOL! With her last six rounds we switched targets and I ran it out to the 15 yards. Whoa... with my old eyes that looked a lot farther than 15 yards. She still hit the target twice and the paper once. We used the target similar to the one used in the permit thing. I was very pleased with her first time out.

Back in the main section we showed the guy her targets, he said she did good for a first time shooter. I was curious and asked him about the cost of the Sig. Wow! Really! Uh... baby, if you want a .9mm I think you will have to find another model. LOL! He tallied up our cost for todays excursion. $50.00. I can now see why you all say that this is an expensive hobby. hehehe...

Ending, she still does not have a Love for guns. BUT she no longer despises them and is not afraid of them. She was also pleased that her wrists are not hurting. She complains her ears do because the ear protection squished her ears.

Secretly I think she had a good time because she was in a good mood coming out.

[Garufa]

Great report. Coal Creak is a good place to go and try out different pistols on the range. Yes, the costs do add up just doing that but once you settle on something you start finding the many ways to reduce those costs. Or you could do what many others do and just start buying guns until you find what suits you best.

With a little practice shooting handguns accurately is a fairly simple thing to do and hitting paper is a good start. It does take practice to do it consistently and a 9mm is a good choice to start with as the ammo is relatively inexpensive compared to all the other centerfire rounds.

Most people do get sticker shock with Sig's. They are, uh, exquisitely priced. There are many other options out there just as capable for significantly less.

Are y'all thinking about getting HCP's or just something for home defense?

[kb4ns]

Glad y'all had an enjoyable experience! Yes, it's an expensive hobby, but there aren't many hobbies that aren't expensive!

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

Glad y'all had an enjoyable experience! Yes, it's an expensive hobby, but there aren't many hobbies that aren't expensive!

It's worth it though!

[Guest friesepferd]

sounds good! yea, i stopped by that place once and they seemed real nice.

It sounds like your wife did a great job. The first time is scary for most people, dont worry.

Altough I am a little far away (tri cities), if you would like to drive up here some time, I would have no problem bringing you to the outdoor range i go to (guns are a looot quieter when you are outside, and less scary). I dont have a huge selection of guns, but a few that I would be happy to let you try out and give you and your wife some pointers.

I was a range officer / president of our pistol club at college for quiet a while and am used to teaching new people. It also helps a lot for a female to learn from a fellow female.

[RobertY]

I figure that once we get our own fire arms and are able to use our own ammo that should shave the costs of going to a range. fries Thank You for the offer but we rarely even go as far as Knoxville. We try and stick pretty much local. I guess you could call us old farts. LOL! The little lady mainly likes to kick back and relax on her very few days off.

This forum is full of very nice people.

[Guest Arko]

Nicely written. Glad you had a good experience.

[Guest TargetShooter84]

Well, maybe Coal Creek has FINALLY changed their attitudes then from the last couple years after many of us complained on here.

Maybe a visit to the range with couple friends is in order to see if their attitudes have changed for good.

Glad you had a good experience with them and your wife enjoyed it.

[RobertY]

Garufa, sorry that I missed your question. Yes, we are planning on getting our HCP's but hers is priority. Also finding her a firearm is priority. I feel she needs both before it starts getting dark by the time she gets off work closing the store she works at. Yes I know we still have time but do not want to wait till the last minute.

I hope that is now Coal Creeks way of doing things instead of us just lucking out. We had a very pleasant time there.

People say that I tend to write the way I talk and I talk in stories. LOL! Oh well, I just try to convey what it was like to be there with us.

Now I have a dumb question. Since .22 ammo is so cheap and the .22 is relatively cheap...

Can we buy a .22 and use that as just her practice gun? Then use the .22 to qualify on the range part of the HCP. Then get a .9mm for her to carry after she has got her HCP? Or do you have to qualify with the gun that you intend to carry?

[kb4ns]

Can we buy a .22 and use that as just her practice gun? Then use the .22 to qualify on the range part of the HCP. Then get a .9mm for her to carry after she has got her HCP? Or do you have to qualify with the gun that you intend to carry?

You do not have to carry the gun you qualify with. Many people do exactly what you are suggesting. Just make sure that you practice, practice, practice with whatever you end up carrying!

[Mark A]

Yes you can (and in my opinion should) get a 22 to start with. When I have a brand new nervous shooter I always start them on a) a .22 and outdoors unless that is not feasible. The .22 is a great gun to develop good habits on and shooting outdoors is usually quieter than shooting inside a concrete box.

One thing to consider is what type of larger caliber you might work up to. Once you find a 9mm (or whatever caliber you like) pistol that you like see if there is a .22 version of it. For many of the pistols out today you can get a .22 version that has the same manual of arms so that your practice time is as valuable as possible. Later, after you have a bit more experience each of you can branch out and try different things. That's just my opinion but it has worked pretty well for a lot of new shooters.

Mark