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New to Firearms

Welcome to the nut house… i mean forum, from NJ.
All the previous posters pretty much covered it as far as training and classes. There are a lot of smart people here with a wealth if knowledge.
I would suggest committing to the range one day a week for a year or at the very least once a month to get very familiar with handling your guns safely and shooting them effectively and efficiently.
You mentioned kids… make sure you have proper storage at home so that only you can access them.
Welcome to the world of gun ownership. It is a huge responsibility and no shortcuts should be taken.
Aside from that have fun.
 
Deathseed said:
Hello Everyone,

I am a new gun owners and I am trying to find out what would be important to know. I currently have a XD 9mm for home defense and a Hellcat Pro for EDC.
I haven't had much training yet other than a NRA Basic Pistol class and not sure where to go from here. I live in the state of VA.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Hello Deathseed, from Washington state. Others can help with resources in Virginia, but there are great online resources, as well. I recommend a YouTube channel called "Active Self Protection," and their alternate channel, "Active Self Protection Extra." There you will find breakdowns of actual incidents on video, and thorough discussions of what went wrong, right, etc. This won't help with the actual physical training you need, but with the mental preparation one needs to carry a gun and be ready to use it should the need arise.

On the "Extra" channel, there is a great series called "Chronicles of the Range Monkey," which follows a young woman's training from novice to highly skilled shooter. Everyone can learn a lot by watching it.

There's a lot to take in as a new gun owner. It will be overwhelming at first, but just start the journey a little at a time. You will always find abundant advice/commentary from your new freinds here. Best of luck.
 
Ranger715 said:
Hello Deathseed, from Washington state. Others can help with resources in Virginia, but there are great online resources, as well. I recommend a YouTube channel called "Active Self Protection," and their alternate channel, "Active Self Protection Extra." There you will find breakdowns of actual incidents on video, and thorough discussions of what went wrong, right, etc. This won't help with the actual physical training you need, but with the mental preparation one needs to carry a gun and be ready to use it should the need arise.

On the "Extra" channel, there is a great series called "Chronicles of the Range Monkey," which follows a young woman's training from novice to highly skilled shooter. Everyone can learn a lot by watching it.

There's a lot to take in as a new gun owner. It will be overwhelming at first, but just start the journey a little at a time. You will always find abundant advice/commentary from your new freinds here. Best of luck.
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Our own @BassCliff's story from new gun owner to training junkie might be a useful saga to follow as well. You can go back in the forum and see all his range reports from beginning to now.
 
Hi Mr. @Deathseed,

Bassbob said:
Our own @BassCliff's story from new gun owner to training junkie might be a useful saga to follow as well. You can go back in the forum and see all his range reports from beginning to now.
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Thanks Bob! That's right. I take up more than my share of bandwidth around here sharing my nooby fun. Look in the "Skills" section to see range reports from myself and others. I also have a collection of range reports on another forum. You'll know which range reports are mine. ;)

www.xdtalk.com

Springfield XD/XD(M) Range Reports

Got a range report? Post'em here for everyone to see!
www.xdtalk.com www.xdtalk.com

What I've done is to call around or visit the local ranges, or check their websites, to see what training is available. Once you go beyond the basics you can either train for self defense, or competition, or both. I'm a member at a range now that is affiliated with USCCA so they teach a lot of their curriculum. My current situation allows me to take one or two training sessions a month and then practice one day a week on the weeks I don't have a class. So basically I'm shooting once a week. I know some can go more often, some less. Just have a plan, a schedule, and stick to it.

I do a lot of dry fire practice with my G-Sight laser cartridge. It scratches my itch and allows me to practice a lot of skills when I'm away from the range. It's not the same a live fire practice but it helps with everything except recoil mitigation.

OK, I'll stop rambling. This old noob has been shooting a couple of years now so if you want a "new shooter" perspective, I might be able to help.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Deathseed said:
Hello Everyone,

I am a new gun owners and I am trying to find out what would be important to know. I currently have a XD 9mm for home defense and a Hellcat Pro for EDC.
I haven't had much training yet other than a NRA Basic Pistol class and not sure where to go from here. I live in the state of VA.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of shooting from South Texas. As you can see training should be priority. Take advantage of range time when you can and the information available in Googleland.
 
Ranger715 said:
Hello Deathseed, from Washington state. Others can help with resources in Virginia, but there are great online resources, as well. I recommend a YouTube channel called "Active Self Protection," and their alternate channel, "Active Self Protection Extra." There you will find breakdowns of actual incidents on video, and thorough discussions of what went wrong, right, etc. This won't help with the actual physical training you need, but with the mental preparation one needs to carry a gun and be ready to use it should the need arise.

On the "Extra" channel, there is a great series called "Chronicles of the Range Monkey," which follows a young woman's training from novice to highly skilled shooter. Everyone can learn a lot by watching it.

There's a lot to take in as a new gun owner. It will be overwhelming at first, but just start the journey a little at a time. You will always find abundant advice/commentary from your new freinds here. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest Guns Talk. They have a free ap on Roku. They have a shot called First Person Defender. Thye run a person through a situation running sims. Then they debrief, train, and run a similar, but slightly different scenario.

I have a learned a lot of stuff from that show
 
Welcome from the rainy Florida Panhandle. Focus your training on safe tactical gun handling and marksmanship. There is no substitute for marksmanship. The gee whiz tactical stuff comes later after you have a sound foundation of marksmanship. Have fun, as I can attest you can enjoy shooting sports well into old age.
 
Thank you for all of the information. I have looked at training but it seems that the majority of classes are during the work week and I don't have the PTO to burn for a class at 1 pm.

As to constant training, I'm not in the financial state to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on going to the range and buying ammo once a week.

I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea getting into this right before my 4th son is born.
 
Deathseed said:
Thank you for all of the information. I have looked at training but it seems that the majority of classes are during the work week and I don't have the PTO to burn for a class at 1 pm.

As to constant training, I'm not in the financial state to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on going to the range and buying ammo once a week.

I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea getting into this right before my 4th son is born.
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Don't despair. Shoot when you can afford to rent of hour of time at an indoor range as well as a box of ammo. Many of us are in the same boat and often go several months between shots.
 
Deathseed said:
Thank you for all of the information. I have looked at training but it seems that the majority of classes are during the work week and I don't have the PTO to burn for a class at 1 pm.

As to constant training, I'm not in the financial state to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on going to the range and buying ammo once a week.

I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea getting into this right before my 4th son is born.
Click to expand...
Recusant said:
Don't despair. Shoot when you can afford to rent of hour of time at an indoor range as well as a box of ammo. Many of us are in the same boat and often go several months between shots.
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Yep.
Shoot when you can, but maximize your time and budget.

Many here use a dry firing training aid, like Mantis, to work on grip and trigger skill with dry firing at home. Maybe a good option.
Work on the fundamentals at home at your leisure and maximize your $$ budget of ammo and time at the range when you do go
 
Welcome, Deathseed. It was not a mistake to get started down this road. You need to be able to protect yourself and your young family!

In your situation (short of time and money like a lot of us here are or have been!), you have two things you can do to help proficiency. Read all you can and handle your firearm frequently. I recommend finding a private place/time to minimize distractions and keep your wife and kids from thinking you have become a “gun nut” when handling your firearm. You don’t have to dedicate a large amount of time, but need to get familiar with it. Dry fire practice (I recommend snap caps) when you can and go to the range for live practice when you can. Just teach yourself to be comfortable with firearms.

Enjoy this new experience.
 
Deathseed said:
Thank you for all of the information. I have looked at training but it seems that the majority of classes are during the work week and I don't have the PTO to burn for a class at 1 pm.

As to constant training, I'm not in the financial state to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on going to the range and buying ammo once a week.

I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea getting into this right before my 4th son is born.
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it is a marathon, not a sprint.
work at your own pace. you'll be fine. there is plenty you can do that doesn't involve much $ or time away from work. learn some dry fire exercises (there are about a bazillion on the internet). pick up a laser training cartridge (Pink Rhino is $40 on amazon). Learn how to use it. Couple it with a free training app (i use LaserHit).
THIS IS NOT A BAD IDEA!!! you made a decision to get provide some protection for your family and yourself. that is never a bad idea. i am relatively new to shooting and have learned that it takes time, some money and whole lot of patience. it will be overwhelming (especially talking with us who have lots of ideas and different guns). that is okay. i felt the same way and in some instances feel that way again since i am working up to concealed carry.
you will be fine.
once again THIS IS NOT A BAD IDEA.
 
Welcome from Pennsylvania. Many here have given great valuable advice here hence why I joined myself. With time and patience you can learn. As far as training goes, I'm a Policeman for 31 years now and Firearms Instructor and I am STILL LEARNING myself. If you have a relationship with the local Police or Sheriff's dept. in your area perhaps you can reach out to them for some advice and maybe some training. Over the years I have taught many Officers and civilians alike the shooting sports although I teach both groups differently of course but wouldn't hurt to stop by your local Law Enforcement or call them. Best of Luck to you.....
 
Deathseed said:
Hello Everyone,

I am a new gun owners and I am trying to find out what would be important to know. I currently have a XD 9mm for home defense and a Hellcat Pro for EDC.
I haven't had much training yet other than a NRA Basic Pistol class and not sure where to go from here. I live in the state of VA.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Deathseed said:
Thank you for all of the information. I have looked at training but it seems that the majority of classes are during the work week and I don't have the PTO to burn for a class at 1 pm.

As to constant training, I'm not in the financial state to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on going to the range and buying ammo once a week.

I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea getting into this right before my 4th son is born.
Click to expand...
No need to give up. When you read the replies you might think we constantly go to the range but that's not always the case. I dry fire quite often at home plus I'm damn accurate when I do:). You are currently navigating family, work, and life. Learning proper shooting skills should be a breeze ;)
 
So:

Welcome to the forum.

Lots of good advice here, but if I may add something—particularly since you mentioned you are on a budget?

A .22 pistol pays for itself VERY quickly.

You can go and shoot a brick—500 rounds—for what you’d pay for under 200 rounds of 9mm. You can really lean into the fundamentals, and once you have them down…EVERY pistol you shoot you will shoot better.

Get training, too…but a .22 will give you a lot more practice time to use what you’ve learned.
 
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