Hello I'm Mike and I have a shooting problem. . .

[MEngland]

Hi, I'm Mike England and I have a shooting problem.

I can't hit anything I aim at.

Most of my life I never had time or money to shoot more than a few rounds from time to time.

Now, finally, I can buy a couple boxes of factory rounds or load a few and go to the gun club as often as I want.

I am enjoying learning about shooting and reloading, and yesterday a guy at the Pine Tree Pistol Club in Rockford IL tole me the Brian Enos Forum is the best place in the world to learn about reloading from re-loaders.

So I am looking forward to reading a lot about other people who have had issues similar to mine and just absorbing knowledge in general. Thanks for being here.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Welcome aboard, Mike.

When you say you "can't hit anything", how bad is it, really?

And, what are you shooting?

Lots of time, it's a lack of proper hearing protection, or faulty equipment

or unrealistic ambitions.

Best to start with a .22, lots of hearing protection, and shoot at paper

targets (so you can see where the bullets are going), from a solid

rest - make sure the sights are really right on.

Then, it's all a matter of practice ....

[TonytheTiger]

Welcome from another Northern Illinois dweller.

[BrianKr]

Welcome to the forum Mike! This is a good place to read and ask questions. I have yet to see a "natural born shooter". Why? Because there is no such thing. I guarantee you that everyone of us has been where you are as a beginner and no one came out of the birth canal knowing how to shoot.

I began shooting 50 some odd years ago and at the time if there were shooting schools and such I didn't know about them. I wish I had and I wish I'd had the $ to attend. But I was a puzzle to my parents. Neither of them knew anything about guns and did their best to stifle my interest. It's taken quite awhile for me to learn how to do things right and to unlearn things I could have gotten right with the proper coaching. Where am I going with this? I suggest you find a shooter who can take you under his/her wing to show you the proper way to shoot right from the start. I bet if you just talk to other handgun shooters at the range you go to you'll find someone who is knowledgeable and who can guide you. Ask questions until you find someone willing to take the time. I know our range has a person whose job it is to instruct noobs in technique to get them on their way. Maybe your range has someone similar? But any way you can manage it try to get someone to teach you. There are also schools and courses that can be paid for. You won't be sorry for any professional training that you receive. You might also check with the NRA for a person in your area who would be willing to teach you. At one time they also had free materials available to new shooters. They have a website and they also have a contact number listed. If they don't have free materials let me know. I can send your their Basic Handgun course packet for cost. It's not expensive and it's thorough. You won't get a certificate out of it unless you attend a course, but you want to learn how to shoot, right? Heck, I bet if you google it you'll find online training. Everything is online today.

Shooting isn't difficult to do, it just takes training and practice. Much of what needs to be done can be done at home by dry firing your gun. That's where you practice proper technique WITHOUT a loaded gun; in fact put all the ammo in another room or move yourself away from the ammo. Never be afraid or too proud to check and see if the gun's unloaded; even if you know that it is. You can learn a great deal through dry firing. It won't hurt the gun at all if it's a quality gun.

Just a bit more about dry firing... for every one round of live ammo fired it's not unusual for us to dry fire 100 times or more. That's how much you should dry fire, but only after you know proper technique. You don't want to make something permanent that you'll just need to unlearn.

What do you have for a bullet launcher?