Hello.
I'd like to introduce myself.
I'm a mostly new Gun owner here in Minneapolis.
Little history, at least where it pertains to guns.
I am ex-military, but Navy, so we didn't really have much to do with guns. We shot a pistol for proficiency in boot camp one day, and that's it. Not much use for guns on a boat, as ricochets can be just as deadly as a direct shot. I got out of the Navy 18 years ago.
After that, a few years ago I bought my first firearm as an grown man. A 9mm Magnum Research Baby Eagle. I picked it because it looked cool, would work for home defense, fit into my hands very well, and 9mm ammo was cheap. The few times I did shoot it, i had a few problems. Failure to feed (FTF right?), failure to eject. And it would occasionally drop the magazine out of the magazine well. I had a friend who was into guns alot at the time and the magazine eject thing happened to him also, so that part wasn't user error. The FTE and FTF may have been my user error. I kept meaning to send it in for repairs, but never did. Eventually I just stopped shooting it, because it was embarrassing having to always clear out jams and such.
About a year ago my house was broken into, while I wasn't home. Among the things they stole was that pistol. Not a big deal, as I had fallen out of love with it. So when I went to replace it recently I decided I wanted a revolver this time.
I've done a ton of reading. I almost picked up a .44 magnum, but I convinced myself that it was too much of a step to go from tiny little 9mm up to a .44 Magnum. Eventually I picked out a Smith & Wesson Governor. Seems to me like it's a 325 Night Guard with the ability to shoot the .410 shells through it. The 325 was my second choice. I like the idea of the big and slow .45 ACP round. Big for stopping power, slow for no overpenetration. Same thing with the .410 rounds, especially the 000 buckshot made for these handguns. I know there are alot of people on various message forums who dislike .410 pistols, I've read tons of forum posts about them. I still wanted it.
So far, I really like it. I've gotten to shoot it only once. My Fiancee's family had a shooting day out on a family farm. I have to say, she is a better shot than I am. Anyway, the accuracy was much better than I thought a 2.75" barrel should've been. The .45 ACPs kicked like a kitten. About like I remember the 9mm semi-auto feeling. The long colts were a little rougher. And finally the previously mentioned Federal .410 000 Buckshot "personal handgun defense" rounds really had some kick. Last thing in the day is we shot some skeet, everybody else with shotguns, and me with the pistol. I had some birdshot in my pistol, and managed to get 2 out of the 20 clay pigeons that I shot at. Pretty good for a beginner with a pistol. I just aimed quick and shot early.
I also got to try my Finacee's 12 gauge shotgun. It was fun, but no more fun than the pistol. I got 1 of the three rounds I shot.
Anyway, I bought the Governor for home defense, and for playing around with at the range. Eventually I'd like to get my concealed carry permit. Not that the Governor is really that concealable, but it's smaller than I expected it to be. half an inch longer than the old 9mm, and lighter.
Tonight I'll be going to an actual range with paper targets to try and see how accurate I can be when I have an actual target and some range markings. I mostly bought a bunch of Federal .45ACP rounds, a bunch of moon clips, and a mooning / demooning tool, as .45ACP is the main round I plan on using. Wish me luck