Pistols for Teaching a Beginner

Pistols for Teaching a Beginner*

Most reasonably experienced pistol shooters have been faced with a request for informal shooting lessons. These usually come from a friend, spouse, relative, or youth interested in learning how to shoot, or at least in shooting a "real handgun" to see what it's like.

If you understand the fundamentals of pistol safety, pistol handling, and pistol shooting (especially stance, grip, sight alignment, and trigger control) and can express them clearly and posses the requisite patience and understanding to help a neophyte learn a new skill, you will do fine.

Of course, to teach someone how to shoot you must own a handgun suitable for the purpose, which brings us to the point of this article. If you get enough requests for informal lessons, it may be worthwhile to purchase a handgun specifically for use as a "trainer." The training pistol, of course, can be a perfectly useful field, plinking, and informal target pistol when it is not being used as a trainer.

The Cartridge
For teaching beginners I strongly recommend a revolver chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. That is the right cartridge and the right kind of handgun for the job.

The .22 LR cartridge is by far the best choice for a new shooter. The report of a .22 is mild and the recoil negligible, crucial factors in a training pistol. It is accurate, widely available, and inexpensive. Remember that initially a beginner will be reluctant to spend a lot of money for ammunition, and while you can probably afford to supply them with .22 LR cartridges, it would quickly become an economic burden to supply them with centerfire cartridges.

The Handgun
In my experience, practically all beginners are at first startled by the weight of real guns, but they adapt quickly and within a couple of weeks are managing medium weight handguns quite well.

I feel that learning to shoot is just that--it is not personal protection, combat, competition, plinking, or hunting. Those things come later. For teaching, what I recommend is a safe, accurate, durable, low recoil, medium weight revolver with adjustable sights and a decent trigger. The Super Single Six fills the bill in every respect. (The "lawyer approved" stock trigger can be lightened without resort to a gunsmith if you so desire.) Once they learn the fundamentals of trigger squeeze and sight alignment the novice can easily transition to whatever type of pistol they prefer for their intended purpose.

Other potentially suitable training revolvers include the Ruger SP101 (DA, fixed sights, 4" barrel, 34 ounces), S&W Model 34 22/32 Kit Gun (DA, adj. sights, 4" barrel, 22.5 ounces), and Taurus Model 94 (DA, adj. sights, 4" or 5" barrel, 25 ounces). The Ruger is a nice revolver but lacks adjustable sights. Taurus, a Brazilian brand, has steadily improved in quality over the years, but remains a lower cost knock off of the basic Smith and Wesson revolver design. A copy is seldom as good as the original.

The S&W Kit Gun is probably the best of this group. It is particularly suitable for a person with small hands, as it is light, built on a small frame, and has a skimpy grip. A good used example built in the 1950's or 1960's is probably the best option if you can find one; later production declined in quality. Pachmayr grips are a worthwhile addition for most shooters.

There are, of course, many other .22 revolvers on the new and used markets. Some of these may make acceptable trainers, but most are too heavy, too expensive, or inferior in one way or another to the models already mentioned.

Necessary accessories
As a minimum you should be able to initially supply your pupil with hearing and eye protection. That usually means a pair of "earmuff" type ear protectors and a pair of inexpensive shooting glasses (if they don't already wear glasses). If they become interested in shooting they will soon want to purchase their own "ears" and "eyes," but you need to have loaners to get them started.

If the initial shooting experience is to take place from a bench rest, you will need to provide a couple of sandbags or some other sort of rest for your pupil to use. Fortunately, pistol shooting at the introductory level is not accessory intensive.

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*Excerpts from an article at www.chuckhawks.com

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