ajg, you getting a lot of good advice here. You might want to read alot of the gun and shooting threads. Experimentation is not the way to learn about guns. Experiments go wrong and when they do with guns, people get hurt. Everybody on this board loves to shoot and none of us get enough shooting due to time and space restrictions and budget. If your in an area of New York that doesn't allow shooting, find a supervised range somewhere with a safety officer and join or maybe volunteer your time for some shooting time. Good luck to you.