Considering the mechanics of small guns vs. larger guns, as regards likelihood of a new person to actually learn to shoot well is a welcomed adjustment to opinions about “best” first guns.

.300Blackout,

I agree. My lady (not a gun owner or enthusiast) decided she needed to understand my hobby (that took me to the range, regularly, for several hours at a time), so she agreed to go shooting with me. My “standard” self-defense pistols, at the time, were a Kimber 1911 and a Beretta M9. But, since she’d never shot a pistol, before, I felt either would be ‘too much’ to start her with.either of those . . . so I took my Ruger MkIII “Hunter” model, with the 6.88″ barrel (and my other two). The first time she shot the Ruger, the noise (even with the nearly 7″ barrel) and the (minimal) recoil, shocked her. I tried to image how she’d have reacted to the Kimber or the Beretta, and thank God I wasn’t stupid enough to start her with one of those.

Anyway, after her first shocked reaction, she went back at it, and after a single magazine, realized that the noise (especially with cans) and the recoil were entirely manageable. By the end of the second magazine, she was placing every shot in the target zone (not many bullseyes, but all of them ‘in the paint’). After giving her a chance to go through four magazines on the Ruger, I let her try the Beretta. As before, the first shot was a shock, but her experience with the Ruger let her know it was manageable. She went through four magazines on the Beretta, another two on the Ruger, and decided she was able to do this.

(Side note: Her last magazine on the Beretta, and her last two on the Ruger? Nothing outside the 8-ring. I started calling her ‘Annie Oakley’). For exactly the reasons you mentioned, started a noob on a decent .22 is a smart opening move.

Testing the words this site.

Sadly, it comes as no surprise that this site refuses to display that comment. Given the amount of effort that it took to explain that technique clearly AND concisely, I will not be typing it again.

Sadly, I can only carry it concealed during winter; the grip makes a rather large print.

1) Using your “strong” hand, hold the pistol CLOSE to your body and LOW, typically below your belly button. Make sure your strong hand’s palm is facing toward your body and the barrel is pointing at the ground in front of your feet.

2) Using your “off” hand, “pinch” the slide between your finger tips and your palm.

3) Hold your “off” hand in place and push your “strong” hand (which is holding the grip of your pistol) down toward your feet.

4) As soon as your “strong” hand has pushed your pistol down toward your feet and the slide is fully rearward, LET GO of the slide with your “off” hand.

The reason that people struggle to rack slides is because they fail one or more aspects of the technique that I outlined above. Pinching the slide with your thumb and fingers is the most common error. Holding the pistol up high at chest level with their “strong” hand wrist bent in a way that drastically weakens their grip is another common error. Last but not least, people often try (and fail) to move the slide backwards with their “off” hand rather than moving the pistol forward with their “strong” hand which means keeping their “off” hand in place.

Like I said, I have taught this and it works. The very first time, I saw a woman struggling at a gun store counter and I let her and her husband flounder for a bit. Then I demonstrated the above technique and helped her replicate it. She racked the slide easily. I repeated the same with an elderly gentlemen who said that arthritis and poor muscle strength blocked him from racking the slide on a pistol–until I helped him implement my technique above.

Learn it. Do it. Teach it.

I have watched countless people struggle to rack semi-auto pistols of all sizes: micro-compact, sub-compact, compact, and full-size. I also watched all of them rack the slide WITH EASE once I showed them proper technique.

Now that I have established that virtually everyone (short of people with severe physical maladies) can learn the easy technique to rack slides, I will argue that a new/non shooter should purchase whatever size of handgun (a) fits their hand comfortably and (b) is not so small/light that recoil is so unpleasant that they don’t want to shoot for proficiency.

And, since I am on the topic of proper technique, once you teach someone how to properly grip and hold a handgun, they can handle recoil. I watched a women shoot a Smith and Wesson M&P 40 pistol with 4-inch barrel, which ended with her eyes closed and her hands up in the air nearly over her head. I then showed her proper grip and hold–including that she must use a LOT of strength (not quite to the point of shaking). Her next shot was accurate and her overall presentation was beautiful, ending with her eyes open and pistol still pointing at the target rather than the pistol pointing up in the air with her hands over her head as she was previously doing.

Should have read: pull down buttons makes loading the “magazines” much easier.