Should I learn to shoot pistol or rifle?

[mwhc00]

I am a newbie (late 30s) and wanting to shoot but not sure to start with pistol or rifle? Any ideas which to choose?

[ChipEck]

Pistol is much harder, but I enjoy it much more than F-Class (rifle) or trapshooting (shotgun). It does not hurt that carrying pistol gear to matches is MUCH easier compared to rifle, because of all the associated equipment a rifle can require.

Chip

[dronning]

I'm with Chip on this. I shoot all three (shotgun - trapshooting & sporting clays, Rifle - XTC & Garand matches) but enjoy Bullseye (now officially called Precision) Pistol the most.

Check out the clubs around you and find out what is offered.

- Dave

[GaryN]

Whichever one YOU WANT to shoot.

I shoot both AP and AR.
I primarily shoot AP, because that is what I WANT to shoot.
I shoot AR when want a break from shooting AP.

Well the other reason is my waistline is not stable, and that would make it EXPENSIVE to be getting new rifle shooting outfits when the old outfit does not fit.

[Pheyden]

The basics learned from pistol training are easily enough applied to rifle, with a few amendments.

I would go with pistol. Find a nice used pistol and find a local club to practice at. If they have a coach, use his services. If not, you can always use internet based coaching services as offered by Dina Aspandiyarova (aspan76@yahoo.co.au). She does remote coaching using the video communication program Skype.

The money spent learning the correct art of pistol shooting will be a good investment and keep you from having to unlearn bad habits (damn hard to do).

[JamesH]

Typically pistol is harder but cheaper.

If you can get the hang of pistol then picking up rifle is relatively easy - but not vice versa.

[sparky]

I'm assuming you're talking about some form of competitive shooting and not just basic marksmanship practice at the range; if you are talking about the latter, get a cheap rifle and pistol and learn to use both.
I've shot a lot of disciplines (10m air pistol, 10m air rifle, 3-position air rifle, IPSC/USPSA, NRA Action Pistol, bullseye pistol, free pistol, rapid fire pistol, trap, skeet, and sporting clays) and most pistol disciplines seem to be a lot cheaper and easier to get into than many rifle disciplines, with 10m air pistol being one of the cheapest once you get over the initial sticker shock of paying $1500 for an air pistol (pellets and air are far cheaper than ammo), though there aren't often shoulder to shoulder matches nearby. NRA bullseye/conventional pistol/precision pistol/whatever the new name is is probably the next cheapest and easiest to get into and there are a lot more matches around. While it generally requires two guns to shoot the big matches, you can start out with just a good .22lr gun like a Ruger Mark II/III for about $400, get a decent set of grips, sights, etc and be ready to go for $800 or so. Ammo can be had for $5/box. Match fees can be real cheap; I just shot in a local league for $2! I think USPSA is one of the most fun, and I like the creativity in it, but it can get very time consuming and very expensive.

[Rover]

International (Olympic) Pistol. You don't need to hump a bunch of crap around. It also boggles the minds of the "spray and pray" crowd that someone can shoot that accurately.

Of course, if you're just fartin' around any cheap stuff will do.

[crankythunder]

I am captain of both a rifle team and a pistol team and also work with junior shooters as well.

I have noticed a distinct philosophical difference between rifle and pistol shooters.

The rifle shooters, while courteous, are, as a group, more introverted. As a whole, they would prefer to put their ipod and earbuds in , shoot the match, pack up and head home. Stop for a beer? Maybe next time. Maybe next time. Nothing wrong with that, just the way they are.

Pistol shooters, on the other hand, are extremely social animals, catching up with old friends, teasing, joking, having a great time with the match a secondary priority. Yacking it up with the shooter next to you is highly encouraged. Go to the bar? You betcha! Close the bar down as a matter of fact.

God I love em both!

So I say, ask yourself what type of person are you and make your choice accordingly.

Regards,
Cranky

[Rover]

Hey, Crank, let's have a beer!

[atomicbrh]

If you are just starting in your late 30's, a good place for an introduction to the shooting sports is NRA Silhouette competition. You can start with a minimum of equipment. Just a rifle and small quantity of ammunition. The competitors will loan you equipment to shoot your first match and help you learn every step of the way. It is just the standing position. I stopped shooting everything else because I was not having fun with the other disciplines. Here is the link for the forum.

www.steelchickens.com

The NRA website has a list of ranges but many of the matches are not listed there. If you ask about local matches on steelchickens people in your area will respond.

[TomAmlie]

It may be more gratifying to start with rifle. A lot of people, when they first start shooting pistol, can barely keep on the paper, much less in the black, which can be extremely discouraging. Starting with a dot makes it even worse, the way it jumps around. With a rifle, on the other hand, you're more likely to have at least a moderate sense of accomplishment earlier. You're more likely to stick with it, and develop confidence, trigger control, and sight alignment.

My $0.02 would be to start with a reasonably priced decent rimfire rifle (if such a thing can be found).

Whether starting with rifle or pistol, I'd certainly strongly recommend starting with a rimfire (.22) with iron sights. Ammo is much cheaper, and with less noise and recoil it's a much better learning platform to develop the basic skills. Using a scope or dot sight will just amplify the appearance of the movement, and make it that much harder to focus on the skills.

[Mike M.]

I am captain of both a rifle team and a pistol team and also work with junior shooters as well.

I have noticed a distinct philosophical difference between rifle and pistol shooters.

Pistol shooters, on the other hand, are extremely social animals, catching up with old friends, teasing, joking, having a great time with the match a secondary priority. Yacking it up with the shooter next to you is highly encouraged. Go to the bar? You betcha! Close the bar down as a matter of fact.

That's odd, because I'm both highly introverted....and a hard-core pistol shooter.

FWIW, traveling with pistols is much easier. Especially if you shoot MLAIC events that require a lot of guns.

[Rover]

We need to have a few beers.

[Erud]

Pistol shooting is totally lame, and I would rather clean my garage, watch paint dry, or set my hair on fire than do anything involving handguns. Rifle shooting is fun!

Just my opinion of course.

[Rover]

I would rather watch YOU do those things with a beer in my one hand and a pistol in the other.

[Mike M.]

Pistol shooting is totally lame, and I would rather clean my garage, watch paint dry, or set my hair on fire than do anything involving handguns. Rifle shooting is fun!

Just my opinion of course.

Pistol shooters need no jackets, no shooting pants, no boots, and don't wallow on the floor to shoot. :-)

[nglitz]

All entertaining replies. I'd say find out what's available nearby and go from there.
Lots of videos on youtube if you'd like to start out just watching.

[william]

Pistol shooting is totally lame, and I would rather clean my garage, watch paint dry, or set my hair on fire than do anything involving handguns. Rifle shooting is fun!

Just my opinion of course.

When you're done, would you come and clean my garage? You can wait and set your hair afire later.

[bdutton]

All entertaining replies. I'd say find out what's available nearby and go from there.
Lots of videos on youtube if you'd like to start out just watching.

Try both sports out. Maybe borrow someones equipment to see which you may end up preferring. I know people who started out pistol and then went rifle and excelled. Others started out rifle and then found that they loved pistol.

Cost and convenience should not be a factor in deciding what you love to do.