New guy in western NC

[BeauNC]

Hello. I'm a complete newbie to guns. I've NEVER fired a handgun and I haven't fired my .22 rifle in at least a decade. I'm not and never have been opposed to guns, but my other hobbies are sports cars and motorcycles... so I've never had the money to buy a gun. Fast forward to now and I have money so the first thing I'm doing is buying a gun. With the current state of the world I feel that I better build a collection and become proficient at using them before its too late.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I'm going down to the local gun shop and buying a CW9 as my first handgun. I picked up my handgun permit today, but no CC until I feel comfortable with the gun. I've done a lot of research and read/watched a lot of reviews online and on YouTube. My conclusion is that the CW9 is the best weapon available for my needs at under $500. But, you probably already knew that!

Anyway, I don't know how much of a regular I'll be on this forum since cars are my primary interest, but I like to keep abreast of current events and information concerning my hobbies so who knows. This is easily the least expensive of my hobbies at the moment and I'm starting to develop and appreciation of the design and engineering that goes into firearms. This has hobby/addiction potential.

[jimbar]

Welcome to the forum, from another CW9 owner. I think you'll like that gun. It's a great carry gun if you get to that point. I carry mine almost daily. I suggest a gun safety course considering you say you have virtually no experience with guns. It is time well spent.

[BeauNC]

I'm interested in safety courses and will be checking at other local gun stores to see what is available. It seems the place I'm buying from only offers the CC course.

[MW surveyor]

Welcome to the forum.

Some ranges offer NRA first gun classes, so you might want to check with ranges near where you live.

You only think that this is the least expensive now. If you get into shooting regularly, all bets are off! Wahaha

PS - read the stikeys in the Tech section before you go to the range!

[wyntrout]

Welcome to the forum and to handgun shooting. Besides the Stickies at the Homepage, read the FAQ's at Kahr.com... this will answer a lot of questions that may pop into your head:
http://www.kahr.com/faq.asp

Wynn:)

[Bawanna]

BeauNC, welcome. There are alot of well seasoned shooters here, many of which are or have been instructors at one point or another. Many have experience simply from years and years of shooting, collecting and wrenching on guns.

No question will be considered dumb here so please don't hesitate to ask anything that your concerned about down to the simplest thing. Simple questions are the ones I take care of.

Guns and shooting should be fun but it's also serious business and bad things can happen. Common sense is the big key, not rocket science but there are things to be aware of.

Kahrtalk is here to help you anyway we can, count on that.

[BeauNC]

Well, I read some of these tips a little late. I went to the local gun store around 11am today and purchased the gun. The lady behind the counter took it apart and oiled it and then I put 50 rounds through it with no issues and actually did quite well! At 7 yards most of my shots went in the center of the target, at longer distances I still did ok. Only 3 shots missed the silhouette and I did 8 head shots that I can clearly count.

After reading the tech sections about prep and cleaning I took the gun apart and inspected it for machining debris. I found some polymer shreds that I cleaned out, but I don't have any oil or cleaning supplies yet so I wasn't able to do anything else. I did clean the feed ramp though.

All in all, its not as scary as I thought it would be, but that doesn't mean I don't have respect for the gun. I'm hesitant to even leave it loaded at home for now until the newness of this experience wears off.

[Bawanna]

Your gonna be fine my friend. It's not about fear, it's about respect.

Spend time with it and get familiar with it. Get some cleaning supplies.

Time to start thinking about a holster if you haven't already. I've often carried a new gun empty (only at home) for familiarization.

When your comfy and confident, then fill er up and keep it that way.

Never forget that chamber on any auto. Take the mag out and lock the slide back and your solid. Kahrs will shoot without the mag, many others will also. Never forget the launch pad ever.

In my armorer duties I always lock slides back, never just rack and look, it's just too easy to miss things when multiple guns are getting handed to you. So far I've received 3 guns that had no mags and a live round in the chamber, scarey when you think about it.

[TheTman]

Welcome to the forum BeauNC. Good suggestions have been provided already, I'll just say welcome, and say to take as many courses as you can. I've never come away from a course without learning something. I'd also suggest using different instructors to get multiple opinions on issues. I have the CW40 and really like it. Trying to move up to the CW45 but these dang bills keep needing to be paid. I think you made a good decision on your first handgun. 9mm is pretty easy to handle, and if you want more power many +P loads are available.
I never fear a gun, (unless it's pointed at me) but I give them a lot of respect, and assume they are always loaded and ready to fire until I verify they are not. Enjoy your new purchase.

[BeauNC]

My only real "fear" is an accidental discharge. And since I'm very new to this I'm sure mistakes can happen. I know it requires an intentional pull on the trigger to make it fire, but from a newbie point of view, no trigger pull can be long enough to guard against an UNintentional pull. I understand that your finger should never be on the trigger unless you intend to fire, but **** happens when you least expect it even if you are a cautious person.

On a less serious note, I have looked into IWB holsters and the MTAC has caught my eye. I like the retention and adjustability that it offers. I've already tucked it in my waistband just to see if it prints or gouges me and I have no problems with hiding it or comfort with wearing it. That was a big reason why I chose this weapon, its narrow width more so than its other dimensions. Plus, despite having small dimensions, it has a longer barrel than most other guns of similar external dimensions. To me this says that it will shoot more accurately and have higher muzzle velocities since it has a longer barrel.

Overall I'm very happy with my choice and will just take it slow with becoming familiar with the gun.

[robdnor]

Hey BeauNC congratulations on your new kahr, its good to hear you enjoyed shooting it. as for the looking for other firearms courses, there's a range over in Brevard that i personally frequent,nice place too. There may be some courses you could find interesting. from safety to cc or even scenarios... then again i'm unsure whether you'd prefer driving from your listed location to there, or remain closer to home
hope you enjoy your kahr

[BeauNC]

Brevard isn't too far away so going down there wouldn't be a problem. What is the name of the range?

[Dietrich]

Hello from a fellow North Carolinian.I wish I were closer to you but I`m on the total opposite end of the state.If you get on Hiway 70 heading east and keep going until you come to a sign that says "State Maintenance Ends" that`s where I am.You have aroused my curiosity.Exactly what was it that raised the hair on the back of your neck and made you want to buy a handgun ? [Great choice by the way.] If we can be of any help,feel free to ask and please don`t be a stranger.

[BeauNC]

Honestly, if I had a project car or motorcycle I probably wouldn't have bought one now because I would have been too broke. I'm in between sports cars and motorcycles right now so I made sure to make this purchase before all of my money was spoken for again. However, the shooting in Tuscon, the shooting at Virginia Tech, and every other time that good people have been taken advantage of because they were not armed, is what drove me to finally doing it. The bad guys are getting more and more out of control every year it seems because the police are always 5 minutes away (no disrespect, I just know they can't always be everywhere) and not enough good guys have guns. Bad guys have nothing to fear anymore because there is a good chance nobody will oppose them. I'm tired of hearing it so I'm making a difference. I have NEVER had a gun pointed at me and I have NEVER needed a gun... so far. I've made it 31 years unarmed, and I'm going to make sure I survive another 31+ years. But, I'll be damned if I'm going down without a fight.

[robdnor]

BeauNC
the range is called Bear Arms, and is run by some great people too. its located over off Rosman highway
i'll go ahead and pm message you a website link

dietrich,
i am unsure where highway 70 is, but i often spend summers at the coast of nc, in brunswick county primarily (ocean isle, calabash, sunset beach area) but do make it up to wilmington on occasion... by chance would you know of any good ranges around that area?

[Dietrich]

BeauNC
the range is called Bear Arms, and is run by some great people too. its located over off Rosman highway
i'll go ahead and pm message you a website link

dietrich,
i am unsure where highway 70 is, but i often spend summers at the coast of nc, in brunswick county primarily (ocean isle, calabash, sunset beach area) but do make it up to wilmington on occasion... by chance would you know of any good ranges around that area?
Sorry,I can`t help you there.I live about 35 miles east of Morehead City in Carteret County which is a good ways north of Brunswick.However,if you happen to find yourself in Calabash and don`t mind going just a tad farther south,I`ve heard there are some good ranges in the Myrtle Beach area.Outdoor as well as indoor.You may also want to check out the Carolina Shooters Forum.There are some great guys there from North and South Carolina who may be able to help you find even more ranges in that area.Best,Dietrich.

[Willieboy]

Welcome BeauNC. Your getting lots of good advice. I like the fact you plan to get experience with your gun before you carry it. My advice would be more training and lots of range time. Also, in my opinion anyway, taking the gun apart and cleaning it after each range session helps you familiarize youself with the gun and helps with your understanding of what goes on inside. Just be sure you heed Bawanna's advice about being sure the chamber is empty after the magazine is out of the gun.

Good luck to you young lad.

[jlottmc]

Welcome to the asylum. Take it slow, read and heed the advise here. Diet. the only decent range I know about in your neck of the woods is B&R in Havelock. right there behind the KFC. We used to go to the Croatan and shoot just a hair away from that flea market in Newport as well. I never did find one when I lived in Caswell County.