r/canadaguns • u/LukeWarmAmalade • May 01 '26
Feets / Collection / My build First (and hopefully not last) Pistol
Got my 22 exemption recently and had the joy of picking up this puppy in the mail. Any pointers for someone new to pistol shooting?
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u/airchinapilot May 01 '26
Get the right stance first. Be square on the target with feet shoulder-width apart - you can favor your dominant side slightly. Lean slightly forward (the inclination matters more when you shoot more powerful pistols but the principle you should practice). Bend your knees a bit so that you are not so static that you sway. The stance helps you cushion any recoil - which won't be much anyway with this one.
Bring the pistol up to your eyes, don't try to hunch down toward the sights. You will naturally do that anyway so this prevents you from hunching too much.
Get the right grip. The thumbs forward two-handed grip is needed more for a pistol with more power (that Ruger you can easily shoot single handed) but it is good to get the right two-hand grip anyway for when you might use a 9mm. This is what they teach you for IPSC. That grip gives you good control of the different axes that will move when you shoot. It feels weird at first but after a lot of practice it becomes second nature. Try to grip as firm as you can without shaking.
Practice pulling the trigger straight back. Where you put the trigger on your index depends on the size of your hand. For me it is on the right edge of the first pad.
Here is a good video (except the shooter is left-handed so it looks weird at first) explaining it.
Another guide to locking down shooting is to get a red dot on it. The dot makes it very noticeable when you are shaking and how long it takes you to align on the target. You can practice at home - obviously without ammo - just with a red dot and a target pasted on your wall. But before you put a dot on it, get good with the iron sights which are great on this pistol.
At the range start with targets placed as close as possible and then keep practicing until you can comfortably put all your shots in a center cluster, then move the targets out further and further. Don't feel silly if you are bad even up close. It takes practice.
When you get accurate with bullseye shooting, you can have a lot of fun setting up steel targets. And if you can find a range that does Steel Challenge, that's the sport for you.
None of this advice is as good as getting in person coaching.