I bought my handguns - now I need everything else!?

Question

Have very recently taken up shooting and was quickly enamored with the Glock 17 and S&W 619. Opted for the Ruger GP100 as the S&W was apparently out of production and virtually unfindable. Now an overly armed novice, I need to get to the range, pronto, and enjoy some shooting. My only question is - what is relatively clean, good range ammunition for these firearms? The salesperson also suggested used only 38s for the Ruger as they would "loosen up" the gun (and also said 357 ammo was too expensive) - can anyone chime in on "loosening up" the gun as well?

Answer 1

Congratulations on your new addiction!

You can shoot .357 in that Ruger all day long, but you should probably start out on .38s for you more than the gun.

Once you get over the initial shock of the blast and recoil, set yourself to "Managing" it. Don't fight it, just expect it and manage it and know it's coming and not going to hurt you. You will be back on target and firing your next round in no time.

I will buy and shoot any ammo I can find for shooting. I find the Winchester white box very dirty, but hey you need to clean it anyway so what the heck. I even buy and use the cheap stuff from the former Commie countries like Wolf. Hey, it's the spoils of the Cold War and I fear no ammo. People who tell you to avoid cheap ammo are wusses and you can say I said so.

For loading for defense purposes, I have always liked Federal Hydra-Shok. There are other good brands and this is just a personal preference, but it's always good quality and dependable.

Stuff you need:

First and foremost, you can never, ever, ever think and learn about SAFETY too much. Even old hands like me need to refresh and renew our "Safety Mindset" regularly.

One mistake can change the lives of dozens of people....tragically. It is a great responsibility on your part.

You made some good choices in handguns. You don't need a lot of stuff and as I've gotten older I have narrowed down the stuff I carry to the range to the necessities.

A range bag for your gear is good but you can get by with something from the Army surplus store, like a canvas tool bag or over the shoulder bag, or even a sturdy book sized backpack like you use in school.

Eye and ear protection are critical.

If you wear glasses make sure you have impact resistant plastic lenses. Ask your optometrist specifically for safety lenses. If you don't wear glasses, always wear eye protection. Keep an extra pair of those cheap industrial safety glasses in your bag for backup and friends. Get a good pair of comfortable over the ear muffs rated at at least 25 decibels. Get some of those inside the ear foam plus too. Some people use both. At 45, I do have some hearing loss (Huh?) from being a drummer in a rock band in my teens and 20s and from shooting firearms. It ain't fun, trust me. All it takes is a couple of those "ringers" and you wind up waking up with your ears ringing and you can't even hear the wife when she tells you it's her mother's birthday :-).

You will want a couple of extra mags for the Glock. Get both factory and 3rd pary mags and find out what works.

A speedloader for the revolver is good to have. HKS brand. Also get an HKS mag loader for the Glock. I love this simple device!

You can get the zip up gun rugs for each gun to protect it while carrying to and from. These are cheaper online, like most everything else.

I wear a right bicycle glove while pistol shooting. Leather padded palm, mesh back and no fingers. Perfect for a day of a few hundred rounds.

For care and cleaning, a All-in-one product like Breakfree CLP is the ticket, along with a Boresnake and a small bag of patches. I also keep a multi screwdriver with the bits in the handle and a leatherman tool.

That's about it. Spend your money on ammo and have fun!

Answer 2

It's possible the man meant break in, instead of loosening up. Why he would say it that way i have no idea. Breaking in a 357 magnum can be done using full power loads, or 38's, depending on what you, the shooter are comfortable with.
Breaking in simply means getting the barrel fouled and getting the actual mechanical parts of the firearm moving. Just like a new car may run a little "funny" for the 1st thousand miles, your new pistols may act a little funny for the 1st 500 or so rounds. I was at my range today breaking in my new 1911, as I progressed thru several boxes of ammo, the trigger got smoother, the action got smoother, and the point of impact v/s point of aim changed slightly.

Answer 3

There is absolutely no need to, nor is there any such thing as "loosen up" needed for your Ruger. You can easily shoot ANY commercial 357 Magnum ammunition you want thru it. You also have the option of 38 Special factory ammunition. 38 Special Wadcutter "reloads" make a cheaper alternative to factory ammunition and is much more cost effective than factory loads. If you want to stick with commercial factory loads buy the Remington or American Eagle ammunition mentioned earlier.
For your Glock anything inexpensive and jacketed.....

Answer 4

What they mean by loosening up is, after you put about 4 to 5 hundred rounds through it the trigger and action mechanism will smooth out.
For practice get the less expensive ball ammo like Federal American Eagle, or Remington UMC, the way that the prices are going today you may want to think about reloading your
own.
Yes, you can only shoot jacketed ammo through a Glock unless you get an aftermarket barrel from Lone Wolf Distributors

Answer 5

Anything cheap with a copper jacket will be great for plinking. I've never heard of shooting .38s for 'loosening up' a .357. You can shoot .38s to save some money though. That's what I do.

Answer 6

I like Winchester White Box for semi-auto's. It is cheap and reliable. I use Remington ammo for revolvers. It just seems more accurate to me. If you have a .357 mag, you can shoot all the .357 mag ammo you want through it. If it breaks, send it back to Ruger, I believe they have a lifetime warranty. I use .38 spec because there is less recoil. The savings is only $2.00 per box???? Additional advise is get a range bag, as many mags as you can, and bring reactive targets to the range if you can. Examples: Metal=noise, Full Warm Soda's=explode, Clay pigeon's=Break, etc..... Have fun.

Answer 7

That salesman is full of heifer dust.

Your wrists will stiffen before that GP-100 shoots itself loose!

Even so, you will have more fun shooting mostly .38 ammo because of lessened recoil and less muzzle blast.

As for ammo cost, I know the perfect solution for that. Start reloading. For the outlay of less than $300.00 you can get everything you need to start reloading your own ammo, which will cost you way less than half of what you'd pay for factory ammo.

I'm sorry, but I can't recommend any factory practice ammo. I only buy factory ammo about every other year, one box for each caliber of centerfire handgun I own, that is for concealed carry use. All my fun shooting is done with reloads. And I never buy rifle ammo, unless I need new brass.

Doc

Answer 8

The guy doe NOT know what he is talking about. The Ruger is design to chew up full charge .357 rounds and spit them out.All Rugers are practical;ly indestructable. Loosening up mean that the timing will go out, and metal fatigue will be evident. I defy anyone to show me me a Ruger which has exihibit these things.

Answer 9

willie,

I seem to recall the NRA website has a listing of the gun ranges for all states. you might want to check here:

http://www.nra.org/nralocal.aspx

loosening up? I don't think the gun needs as much as we all need practice.
I generally will shoot 50-100 rounds at the pistol range on a given day. I go a couple times a month.

Answer 10

WELL, 357 SIG ARE $$$...BUT, I GET AMMO ON A WEB SITE..THU GOOGLE WITH NO PROBLEM. I BROUGHT
SOME 357 SIG ON LINE OF REMINGTON UMC AT $9.99
A BOX ON NACHETZZE.