What's it like to fire a handgun for the first time?

I have a scene to write where someone is going to be firing a hand gun for the first time. She is with someone who is going to show her.

I want her to describe it via dialogue and the narrator or him to say what they see. Can anyone help?

 

It's much louder than you expect, and no matter what you're told, the way you feel the detonation with your body, directly through your hand and through the air as a shockwave, is also unexpected. There's a thrill to it. The thing in your hand is dangerous. It's a snake. You follow all the rules of the range and you're as safe as houses, but you know that death is in your hand and it's loud, and it kicks. It's alive.

 

I would add that the feel of the detonation is something we typically shield ourselves from in other situations, other venues. You hear the word kick or jump used a lot to refer to what it does, but these are words we usually engage in their biological mode. The kick of a gun isn't the slow, muscular kick of a leg. It's the frighteningly fast motion of a machine. It's the kind of motion that creates warning stickers that say DO NOT TOUCH! or DO NOT PLACE HANDS HERE! It happens and the instant violence of it makes you look at your hands to make sure all your digits are still there. You get used to it, but your question was about the first time. That's how it was for me.

 

I agree with @Wreybies that the sound is much louder than you would think. Also there is a sort of kickback when you fire a hand gun. It's hard to keep your arm straight and steady. When someone was teaching me to shoot, he warmed me about that and said to really focus on keeping my arm straight and maintaining control. It's way harder than you think it would be.

 

It's funny you say that. First time I fired a handgun I was holding it wrong and the slide took a chunk out of the meaty part (back part?) of my thumb.

 

Think about the caliber, as well. A .22 isn't going to be as dramatic as a .45.

 

It also depends on training. If you are instructed in advance, you'll know how to grip the handgun (note, one word) so as to not injure your hand with the slide (for a pistol) and have less impact from the recoil. You will know not to touch the trigger until your target is lined up.

If you fire the weapon indoors, the sound is even louder, increasing the risk of hearing trauma.

A person picking up a handgun with no prior training will have a different experience than someone who has been talked through it first.

 

And sometimes if you don't lock your elbows you will smack yourself in the face with it.
(I have never shot a pistol before, but a rifle. Heard Army stories about the the ones
who whack themselves in the head.)

 

I disagree as to the noise a handgun makes, as it very much depends on the caliber.
If it's her first time shooting, it would most likely be a 22 caliber pistol she'd be firing. It is not loud and has very little kick. There is nothing exceptional about teaching someone to fire a handgun for the first time, especially a 22. You have to impress upon them that a 22 can be every bit as devastating as bigger guns if misused. To be honest, you'll have to go out of your way to make the scene interesting. Aside from imparting the rules for safely, and responsibly handling a firearm, there isn't much more to it. The biggest hurdle is getting a gun virgin over the fear of guns. Guns are like horses, and dentists; they can sense fear.

 

This. My first weapon was actually an M-16, then a 9 mm, then an M-60. The M-16 somehow didn't give me that same fear of it exploding in my hand. Maybe it was just the length of the weapon, the way the action seemed further from me. The 9 mm was pretty much all in my hand.

 

Dapper, the flap of skin between the thumb and index finger is sometimes called a cagina, and the injury itself is usually calked slide bite. It's no joke. The injury can be very painful, and doesn't always heal completely on its own.

Iain, caliber to some degree, but also barrel length, and powder load and acoustic qualities of the firing area. I disagree as to the likely caliber of a first firing also. My first training was with a 9 mm, because it's the most popular personal defense weapon for concealed carry, and it's center-fire. We also tried a .38 revolver. You're also assuming the first firing is in a training scenario. It could well be a self-defense scenario with a found weapon.

 

The gun is a 9m, Beretta M9

 

This is very common. People don't seem to realize that the slide is just as involved with the explosion as the bullet is and can easily bite you.

Noise is the biggest thing most people don't realize. TV shows have jaded us to what guns actually sound like.

There are two jolts, most people are ready for the kickback. They may underestimate it, but they at least expect it to be there. There is also a huge shockwave from the explosion. Ever hit a hammer on a piece of metal and feel that ringing in your hands? Same feeling after shooting a gun.

The alignment of the wrist has to be in line with the barrel of the gun. Most people seem to hold the weapon around the center of mass, which is much lower than where the bullet is kicking the gun back. That's why guns tend to kick upwards with inexperienced shooters.

 

Most find it exhilarating.

 

My experience growing up around guns is that people either love it or hate it Not a lot of in between.

 

What kind of handgun and does she shoot on the range or indoors?

The first handgun I fired was a 9mm, outdoors, so the sound wasn't as surprising as the recoil. I was prepped well, but it still took me by surprise. I have small hands and weak wrists, so maybe that made it worse?

Aaand this sent me down the memory lane and prompted me to search for pictures of the first time... And what shocks me more than my awkward posture is my fashion sense. Oh the mid-'00s...

 

It was a Browning Hi-Power on a 20m outdoor range and it was awesome.

It turned out to be a much easier weapon to use than I'd expected; the recoil was a lot less severe than anticipated. With that in mind, I got a bit carried away and emptied the magazine into the target in a few seconds. The grouping wasn't all that bad, but the instructor felt the need to remind me that I wasn't Audie Murphy, which inspired some wag to suggest that my shooting was closer to that of Eddie Murphy.

 

Another thing worth mentioning would probably be how unexpectedly heavy a gun feels when you first pick it up. Not to mention the fact that a gun's power is kind of instinctively implanted in our heads, making it feel even heavier.

 

Washington, Washington, twelve stories high, made of radiation...

 

Not to mention how much the weight of the gun affects your ability to quick-fire. The lighter your weapon is, the faster you can aim it accurately.