In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.

What pistol to get for a first timer?

Artic wolfArtic wolf Member Posts: 181 ✭✭✭
edited April 2004 in Ask the Experts
Ok My son has been looking at all of these Surplus Makarov coming into the USA for a while now. He want's to learn how to shoot a pistol and he is kinda a History buff so he wants eather a Makarov or a CZ 52. He just turned 16. How are the 9x18 and 7.62x25 for recoil? If I were to pick a Makarov what Kind would be best?
Thanks for your help[:D]

Extra Recoil Isn't a problem lol When he went to a Shooting Club last year he was taught how to shoot a 12 ga Single handed. Note I didn't teach him that.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • 1KYDSTR1KYDSTR Member Posts: 2,361 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Having owned 4 different nationalities of Makarov I would say by far my favorite, even over the Russian would be the only one I still own...an East german! The recoil is a bit stouter on the Mak than the CZ; likely because of the shorter barrel and lighter weight of the MAkarov. Both are good guns. I would have a hard time deciding between the two but would lean toward the CZ because of the more substantial size and lower recoil. Either way make sure this is YOUR pistol and he gets to shoot it under your supervision until he's 18. Some states are a little hinky about youths OWNING handguns and have "laws" regulating said practice. I'm sure the lad is very responsible but I woould still check this out to be sure there are no entanglements!!

    "When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
    "Power corrupts...Absolute power corrupts absolutely"(Descartes?)
    "History is written by winners"(Patton)
    "You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
    "There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jsergovicjsergovic Member Posts: 5,526
    edited November -1
    Depending on the number of rounds he expects to shoot during each outing, he might want something more comfortable in the palm than a Mak ...

    PS: not a Ruger, a Browning Buckmark Standard (5.5" barrel) 10-shot semi-auto
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 1KYDSTR1KYDSTR Member Posts: 2,361 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I put cheap Pearce rubber grips on mine and it seemed to really help alot! Very good point though!

    "When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
    "Power corrupts...Absolute power corrupts absolutely"(Descartes?)
    "History is written by winners"(Patton)
    "You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
    "There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If he wants to learn to shoot get him a 22 auto RUGER etc much cheaper to practice and he can learn to hit what he shoots at with out the flinch that sets in with new and some times old shooters. if you don't believe me have someone at the range load a snap cap round in the middle of mag of your pistol and then start shooting if the gun snaps and you don't move the gun off target you have the makings of a good shooter.Good luck
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    I agree. Start with a .22. It's much cheaper to shoot.....thus encouraging a lot of practice, and practice makes perfect.

    It has low recoil, so you don't learn to flinch.

    It's the cheapest and best way to learn proper pistol shooting technique.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gotstolefromgotstolefrom Member Posts: 1,479 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I second the 22 use at first. You will not want to get rid of it even after he moves to more centerfires. We even bought another Ruger auto 22, the 22/45, when it came out.

    Putting the snap cap in is a great thing for everyone to do periodically. My dad would leave the 'empty saftey chamber' empty on revolvers when he was bringing me up. You cannot identify a flinch any easier.

    On an unconventional avenue..... I actually DEVELOPED a flinch when I was in my 20's. How that happened after 10 years of shooting I will never know... but it happened. I had to make an effort to relax to get rid of it. Then I used the excuse to buy a Super Blackhawk.... "If I don't flinch here I have it whipped".
    I can't say I would recommend it, but all worked out for me. I'm 50 now, and still leave in a "snapcap" periodically...part of the enjoyment.

    Buy that 22....
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • WoundedWolfWoundedWolf Member Posts: 1,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The best advice my gun instructor ever gave me about buying your first handgun is get a double-action revolver.

    This is the best type of handgun to learn the mechanics of the trigger pull. It can be dry fired all day long in the safety of your home, so you can get very comfortable with it.

    My first gun was a Ruger GP100 .357 Mag. I used to sit with it and watch TV all night. Every few minutes I would target something across the room and practice a nice consitent trigger pull while keeping those sights steady on the target.

    I now own a Ruger .22 auto and a Sig 9mm auto, but I can shoot just as accurately in double-action with my GP100 as I can with my autos. I credit that to the discipline of making that revolver my first "training" gun.

    "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." -Gandhi
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The trouble with the CZ52 for a young shooter is its slightly unusual manual of arms and its very loud report -- I worry about a young kid deciding to go without the ear protection outdoors, and this cartridge is notoriously loud. Hearing damage IS a factor for kids (or their observer friends) who decide to try it without the ear muffs.

    Frankly, if he's really into the historical guns I'd definitely look for something in the very popular .32 caliber. Then you have a more nominal decibel level and very manageable recoil in one package. There are plenty of .32s to choose from in the Mauser and Walther designs from the 30s-40s.

    T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

    NRAwethepeople.jpgNRA Life Member
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • torquimatatorquimata Member Posts: 200 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm starting my son with a 22 revolver. Think he can best learn trigger control and how to hit things with it. I also think it's safer than an auto
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • warcrobwarcrob Member Posts: 358 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I agree with the idea of a .22 for staring out, cheap to shoot and easy to manage. The biggest mistake first time pistolbuyers make is they almost always buy something too big to handle and then end up selling it because they are disatisfied with it.
    For an inexpensive pistol to start out with I'd seriously look at the High Standard Sentinel Deluxe model,it's a double action 9 shot revolver. Granted Huigh Standard went belly up sometime in the 70's but there are still plenty of them around. As for an automatic the High Standard Trophy model is highly collectable.
    An S&W,will run into a bit of money.

    If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sign In or Register to comment.