r/canadaguns • u/CombustionGFX • Aug 14 '26

Misc Firearm familiarity

Hey all,

Has anyone here had any experience with private firearm training?

I got my PAL last year and while I aced the written portion, I didn't do so well on the practical. A lot of the types of firearms I had never seen in person before, let alone handle. To be fair, I did sort of rush them and could have taken more time to learn about them.

I was thinking of buying a Ruger 10/22 in order to start my journey and to learn more about how to operate it safely. That being said, I live somewhere where it is illegal to plink on crown land so I would need to go to a range. It would be ideal to just take it out in the woods and learn on my own but alas. I obviously know the minimums of firearm safety but I wouldn't want to put anyone at risk if something went wrong at the range. I also don't wanna look like an idiot lol.

So with all that being said, has anyone here ever hired someone for training? Were they a range officer or just a buddy who knows that specific firearm?

What would you do in my situation?

Thanks

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u/Rogan403 Aug 14 '26

IMO, like 85% of operational familiarity of a gun can be achieved before ever firing a live round out of it.

After I bought my first handgun, I first took it home and practiced taking it apart, reassembling it, manipulating the controls, and loading it and "firing" dummy rounds.

By the time I shot it for the first time 2 days later I could quickly dis and reassemble the gun then load the magazine and chamber a round while completely blindfolded.

So by the time you're at the range you should have fucked around with the gun enough that the only operating familiarity you're still lacking is with its recoil and addressing misfire.