Yet another newb.

Twinkle

Hi Y'all.  Very beginning shooter here, ready to learn!

GunNut

Howdy and welcome!  What’cha wanna learn about?

Linefinder

Glad you're here. Welcome aboard!

Mike

Twinkle

I'm going to start with the one firearm I own, a .32 H&R Mag.  I've done so little shooting but enough to know I like it!    Like a lot of LOL's (little old ladies) I'm feeling an urgency to be able to defend myself these days.

I'd like to start with a lighter caliber because the .32 just seems like a monster-sized gun right now.  Eventually, I'd like to move to other calibers.  Am signing up for my first firearms class end of this month.  Way in the future, I'd like to learn to reload.  The guy who gave me the little "instruction" that I've had told me to forget about reloading because girls just can't grasp the precision.  Anybody want to take my bet that I'll prove him wrong?

Thanks for the welcome!

Linefinder

I wouldn't waste the effort to prove him wrong. He's an idiot from the start. No true firearm affenciando would tell you that. They'd welcome you with open arms.

Find another mentor.

Mike

GunNut

Linefinder said:

I wouldn't waste the effort to prove him wrong. He's an idiot from the start. No true firearm affenciando would tell you that. They'd welcome you with open arms.

Find another mentor.

Mike

I agree 100%!

GunNut

And there’s nothing wrong with a .32 Mag...

zorba

Welcome aboard!

Twinkle

Linefinder said:

I wouldn't waste the effort to prove him wrong. He's an idiot from the start. No true firearm affenciando would tell you that. They'd welcome you with open arms.

Find another mentor.

Mike

I'm doing that right now!  All my shooting was almost nine years ago.  I was in Montana and I started hanging out with a friend of my brother's, going out and cutting wood with him.  In exchange for my help tossing blocks and stacking split wood in his truck, he'd bring a different gun for me to shoot each time while we were out in the mountains.  All together, I don't think I've fired 100 rounds -- .32 and .38 revolvers, a .22 rifle, a 7mm 08 and one other rifle of which I don't remember the caliber.

I fear that the guy just wasn't a great instructor.  Never taught me anything about stance and allowed me to fire one rifle in such a way that I got scoped right above my eye, and almost lost my nerve.

But I did manage to hit the targets!

I'm looking at the world now and really wanting to be better at defending myself.

Twinkle

zorba said:

Welcome aboard!

Thank you Zorba!  Glad to be here.

Twinkle

GunNut said:

And there’s nothing wrong with a .32 Mag...

I'm hoping I'll get used to it.

Diver43

Welcome
My wife has carried a SW 431pd for years now.  She finds the .32 H&R Mag easy to shoot and nobody will volunteer to get shot with one.  

Tugar

Welcome. Reloading isn't hard. You just need to be focused and careful. Attention to detail counts. 

As for learning, jump right in and ask. We are a friendly enough bunch. Well, most of us.

earlyagain

Nobody with any sence at all would tell someone they can't reload.

If you can read, follow instructions, see, and have hands. You can reload. Its a very rewarding hobby, and a good way to keep your mind active.

Elk creek

Welcome! The 32 H&R is a great cartridge, not too common though. I shoot the crap out of it! 

sakodude

Welcome from another 32 H&R fan. It's a far more capable cartridge than most give it credit for.

pjames777

earlyagain said:

Nobody with any sence at all would tell someone they can't reload.

If you can read, follow instructions, see, and have hands. You can reload. Its a very rewarding hobby, and a good way to keep your mind active.

Except the guy himself that couldn't grasp reloading!

JunkCollector

HI and welcome.
Your 32 when you said monster sized were you talking actual gun size or was it recoil related ?

If recoil related you could shoot 32 S&W long out of it far more pleasantly for general practice.

Varmintmist

GunNut said:

Linefinder said:

I wouldn't waste the effort to prove him wrong. He's an idiot from the start. No true firearm affenciando would tell you that. They'd welcome you with open arms.

Find another mentor.

Mike

I agree 100%!

this.

Twinkle

JunkCollector said:

HI and welcome.
Your 32 when you said monster sized were you talking actual gun size or was it recoil related ?

If recoil related you could shoot 32 S&W long out of it far more pleasantly for general practice.

Yes, gun size.  As a total newb, it just feels so big.  I guess they all do, and I'll get used to it.  Thanks for the welcome.

Twinkle

pjames777 said:

earlyagain said:

Nobody with any sence at all would tell someone they can't reload.

If you can read, follow instructions, see, and have hands. You can reload. Its a very rewarding hobby, and a good way to keep your mind active.

Except the guy himself that couldn't grasp reloading!

I know.  He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed to begin with.  I have done highly precise work with my hands and my head and I have no doubt that I will find reloading very satisfying.  I understand that it's going to take a lot of focus and I'm aware that I can't rush the process of learning.

Twinkle

sakodude said:

Welcome from another 32 H&R fan. It's a far more capable cartridge than most give it credit for.

Thanks for the welcome!  Y'all seem to be a great bunch, but I expected that.

10canyon53

Welcome!  Since I have zero experience with a .32 I will keep quiet and let those who do give you advice.    You will find that with the years of experience and knowledge represented by members here you will find the answer to just about anything firearms related you want to ask.

Twinkle

Tugar said:

Welcome. Reloading isn't hard. You just need to be focused and careful. Attention to detail counts. 

As for learning, jump right in and ask. We are a friendly enough bunch. Well, most of us.

Thanks for the welcome.  Looking forward to getting to know you folks.

JunkCollector

What gun is your 32 ?
Often just changing grips if it's your hand size can help immensely.

Twinkle

10canyon53 said:

Welcome!  Since I have zero experience with a .32 I will keep quiet and let those who do give you advice.    You will find that with the years of experience and knowledge represented by members here you will find the answer to just about anything firearms related you want to ask.

Thanks for the welcome!  This is an exciting time and yes, I have always found shooters to be very generous about sharing their knowledge and skills.

Bigslug

Neat!  I've worked with my mother quite a bit getting her dialed in on handguns, & it's been a lot of fun.

The only real concern with your .32 is logistics.  It's a workable round, but often a little hard to find - let alone in any kind of variety.  It's a very popular cartridge among handloaders - especially those who are casting their own bullets, but for off-the-shelf, you'll be a bit limited.

A .357 loaded with .38 Specials is going to be more versatile in that regard.  If you choose the factory ammo carefully, you can run that platform as hot or as mild as you like.  My mom ended up with a 6" Ruger GP-100 that she shoots light .38 wadcutter loads in.  That combo is an absolute cream puff.

Gun size concerns are fairly common with newbies.  Many times the L.O.L.s will end up with something pint size better suited to concealment.  There are often intimidation issues behind this, or sometimes it's simply a matter of weight.  Once you get out of the store and onto the range however, it's those shorter, lighter guns that are less accurate and harder to control because they kick more than bigger guns in the same caliber.

Hand strength issues are something I've worked with a lot of L.O.L.s on.  A revolver may be better than a semi auto because you don't have to cycle a slide, but a semi auto may be better than a revolver because you don't have to fight a long, heavy double action trigger.  A lot of that will depend on you.  At this point in the game, trying lots of other people's stuff is a good path to follow.

Twinkle

Bigslug said:

Neat!  I've worked with my mother quite a bit getting her dialed in on handguns, & it's been a lot of fun.

The only real concern with your .32 is logistics.  It's a workable round, but often a little hard to find - let alone in any kind of variety.  It's a very popular cartridge among handloaders - especially those who are casting their own bullets, but for off-the-shelf, you'll be a bit limited.

A .357 loaded with .38 Specials is going to be more versatile in that regard.  If you choose the factory ammo carefully, you can run that platform as hot or as mild as you like.  My mom ended up with a 6" Ruger GP-100 that she shoots light .38 wadcutter loads in.  That combo is an absolute cream puff.

Gun size concerns are fairly common with newbies.  Many times the L.O.L.s will end up with something pint size better suited to concealment.  There are often intimidation issues behind this, or sometimes it's simply a matter of weight.  Once you get out of the store and onto the range however, it's those shorter, lighter guns that are less accurate and harder to control because they kick more than bigger guns in the same caliber.

Hand strength issues are something I've worked with a lot of L.O.L.s on.  A revolver may be better than a semi auto because you don't have to cycle a slide, but a semi auto may be better than a revolver because you don't have to fight a long, heavy double action trigger.  A lot of that will depend on you.  At this point in the game, trying lots of other people's stuff is a good path to follow.

Thanks for the advice.  It's mostly going over my head right now, but I will learn.  Yes, I have realized that it's hard to find .32 rounds and this has inspired me to pay special attention to this caliber as I begin the process of learning about reloading.

Twinkle

Okay, thanks to Bigslug's comment, I have looked up an unfamiliar term, wadcutter, and learned something!  I went to the cupboard and looked at the rounds that I have purchased so far.  Federal 85 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point and 95 Grain Lead Semi-Wadcutter.

Can someone please explain, in very basic language, what the difference is?  How will I want to use these rounds differently?  Other than the difference in kick, how will I experience going from one to the other?

Many thanks in advance!

Big Al1

Been following, welcome aboard!! The Jacketed hollow point is a lead bullet wrapped in copper jacket, the hollow nose of the bullet allows for rapid expansion and a larger wound channel. The lead bullet has no jacket and and the wadcutter design, more for target use, cuts a nice round more visible hole in your target. More of a practice round. If/when you start to reload, the unjacketed bullets are less expensive and better, IMHO, for range use. Practice with the cast reloads and use factory JHP's as your carry/defense load!

earlyagain

The front of the bullet. The part that impacts the target first. Is referenced by the two different terms. 1) Hollow point. And 2) Wad cutter.

The hollow point bullet is supposed to expand on impact. Making a bigger hole than 32 caliber. The wad cutter is designed to make crisp well defined holes in paper targets to make it easier to score points for comparative competition. It also is good for displacing tissue on live targets during impact.