All I'd shot prior to being issued a military surplus .38 special S&W revolver, was a friend's .22 semi-automatic pistol. In my youthful confidence, I felt I had "mastered" the .22 in less than a box of shells. With the 18 rounds that were issued with the gun (we had to buy our own ammo in those days), I was confident the .38 would be no problem.
Once I figured out how to load it, I took a sheet of paper, made a small black bullseye on it, and set it up on a levee bank. I backed off about 20 feet or so and squeezed off the first round. The results were not as expected!
There was a double whammy of the sound of the round going off which immediately bounced off the dirt wall in front of me. This was in the days before hearing protection. My ears were ringing!
On the second and subsequent rounds, I was squinting my eyes, and scrunching my body in anticipation of the deafening sound I knew was coming. After emptying the gun, I went to inspect the damage to the target. There was none.
Not a single bullet had hit paper. Using unassailable logic, I decided more practice was needed and went out and bought a box of 50 rounds. I set up a narrow piece of roofing tin that was about six feet long against a tree - no more shooting at the sound enhancing levee! I eventually got to the point that I could get four of six rounds in the tin. I figured if I had to shoot at someone, I'd either hit them or scare them into running. Either outcome would have been ok with me.
