Range/Bullseye Report

Maybe it isn't such a good idea to practice so hard on League Night--I tire out my arm and my eyes by, essentially, shooting the equivalent of 7 relays before the official one. It's like playing seven scrimmage soccer games right before the real game on the same day--not a good idea. Maybe next time (i.e. next-next Monday--no MPL for Memorial Day) I'll just get to the range only an hour to half-an-hour early to warm up and nothing else...a couple rounds of rapid-fire, a round or two of slow-fire, nothing more.

Oh well.

Before MPL even started I put nearly 500 rounds downrange with my two revolvers. Decided I was doing better with my newly-acquired 17-8, so I chose that one to shoot tonight.

Slow-fire was...well, maybe a little disappointing. I still shot a 165, my second-best score, but I would've liked to have done better. I used my usual 3-shot strings--since I'm using open-sights, I'm not as concerned with being exactly the same between every shot...it gets tiring, and I don't feel comfortable setting up, shooting, and breaking down after every shot. My muscles seem happier to set up, shoot, shoot, shoot, break-down. 3 shots is about the maximum I can do before fatigue really sets in, but for those three shots it's easier to just keep the muscles going like they were instead of having to set-up every time.

Anyways. Timed-fire was even more disappointing, with at 179. A respectable score, sure, but 9-points below what I scored last week, and I put let far too many shots hit outside of the black--somewhat surprising, since in practice I was getting only about 3 or 4 outside of the black. Perhaps it had something to do with my tiring myself out before the match tonight.

Rapid-fire was OK today--176, 1 better than last week but still 10 points behind my best (186).

Overall, I secured 520 out of 600 points tonight, a 20-point gain (all due to a much better slow-fire) over last week, which earned me a 286 handicap score. Not bad...not top-4, but not bad. Next time (June 2nd) we're against the Navy Team, which should be easy, what with the Navy Team's personnel problems and lower-general scorers (last week they got a 1133, the week before they did a 1130-something, and the week before that they did 1140-something; my team regularly and easily scores in the mid 1150's)

My 3-week average dropped, however, to 256. Which means that next match, if I continue to do this well, I should have a much better handicap score.

Well, first things first. Next weekend there's no MPL match due to Memorial Day, and the weekend after that I'll be doing the Tahoe thing, so we'll see how this goes...

Range Report

this box of ammo is proving somewhat unreliable...a couple FTFires that would fire on the second try, a couple that wouldn't fire at all...not good for the timed- and rapid-fire, where I won't have time to "try it again". Tomorrow, I'll burn off this box and hopefully the next one will be better.

Couldn't rein in my hands today--rapid fire, I was still putting a few outside the black, some wildly-so. Still on-paper, but just barely.

I'll fix it tomorrow. Hopefully.

---

On a side note, I'm getting all of these automated "happy birthday" messages from the various gun-forums I frequent. Must be my...oh wait, it is.

I'm 25 today.

Range Report

"That's a short night for you..." the Range Officer said as I was heading out. Indeed it was, as I needed to get home to prep my bike and stuff for tomorrow's ride.

But I still found 50 minutes to put 220 rounds downrange--100 rapid-fire through my 617, 100 rapid-fire through the 17, and 20 slow-fire through the 617. I actually did have one rapid-fire target with all 20 in the black, for a score of 195. And the one slow-fire target I shot had 18 on-target. Nice.

I should use rapid-fire as a warm-up from now on...just start off with it, to get my mind and body settled in. It's the more "frantic" of the disciplines, anyways, so it doesn't require me to be as steady as slow-fire, and timed-fire is basically sustained slow-fire.

Range Report

Started off with my 617 at 75 feet, aiming at the large target...when I wasn't getting good groups, I switched to the smaller target and my groups improved. 200 rounds thusly. Then I switched to my 17-8, 100 rounds of rapid-fire. Then back to the 617 (which is definitely heavier, because of the all stainless steel cylinder, versus the 17-8's aluminum cylinder) for 100 more rapid-fire rounds. Then to the 17-8 for 100 rounds slow-fire (having been sufficiently warmed up with rapid-fire), and then the 617 for 100 rounds slowfire. Finished up with the 17-8 with 100 rounds, rapid-fire. All told, 700 rounds, and I'd been on the range for about two and a half hours. It felt good.

The guys beside me in lane 2 were practicing their IDPA draws and such (getting sub 1-second-draw-and-fire-once drills in--wow!), and they looked over and saw my targets and said "man, that's f*cking scary!". Hopefully that meant that they were impressed by my ability to score good hits on a target 50 yards away with a revolver and open sights. =)

Today felt good because all I brought was the 17 and the 617, and so that's all I needed to focus on. No other guns in my bag with their associated magazines and stuff. Just bring what I'll shoot, shoot what I bring, and leave the rest at home. Shoot those another day. Maybe. Maybe after Tahoe and after this Bullseye thing lets up.

Plus, I want to experiment with the ammo to see what will give better grouping, to see just how much the "shotgun patterns" on my targets are me, and how much is the gun+ammo. Right off the bat, I know that having that cylinder-barrel gap and cheap bulk-ammo probably means that I'm losing velocity as the bullet jumps the gap, and that the powder charge/bullet weight may not be consistent, and Bullseye is all about being consistent (and consistenly good).

Bullseye...or not

my downward-slide continues, but mainly in the slowfire--137 today, my worst ever.

I made up for it somewhat with my timed-fire, only letting two shots out of the black for a 188 (second best), and a decent rapid-fire at 175 for a face-saving 500, but if I don't do something about it...

I need to go back to where this was new and wonderful and exciting, that feeling I get when I'm flying down a mountain on a bike or a snowboard. Just the exhilaration of movement, of excellence. It was definitely lacking while I was shooting today's slowfire. Oh, I can list a bunch of 'reasons' why I'm not doing so well--lack of meaningful practice, aging eyeglass prescription, my equipment wearing down--but in the end it all boils down to me. Bullseye is an internal sport, it's all mental. After the external factors have been accounted for (sights adjusted, bullet-weight taken into consideration, foot placement OK, etc.), the only variable thing left, the only thing uncontrollable, is the internal state.

Somehow I need to master that...

Clip vs. Magazine

"Clip" vs "Magazine". Not that anyone's going to get it right anyways...

Stand Your Ground

This was today:

---

Eric F.: dude someone pulled a knife on me today
me: seriously? when? where?
Eric F.: almost got himself shot
me: holy shit!
Eric F.: at the metro bus stop
Eric F.: I was alone in one of the covers
Eric F.: some kid rides up in a bike pills out a knife and opens it up
Eric F.: 6-8 inch
Eric F.: I didn't hear what he said because I was too busy watching the knife
Eric F.: but I stod up and told him "that is a bad idea"
me: you didn't draw on him, did you?
Eric F.: nope
me: move your hand near your sidearm?
Eric F.: he ran off
me: "make for your weapon"
me: whew
Eric F.: hehe
Eric F.: there were people around
me: the main part, probably, was that you stood your ground and were prepared to fight back
Eric F.: well I was to focused on the knife/scared shitless to hear what he said
Eric F.: probably though he would pull a knife a I would give him money
Eric F.: before people saw
me: good thing you didn't have to draw...
me: and I'm glad you're alright =)
Eric F.: hehe
Eric F.: so I called the police
Eric F.: they kept asking "what did he say?"
Eric F.: I am like he had a knife I don't care what he was saying
Eric F.: I don't know if they found him
Eric F.: probably didn't look
me: at least they know there's a guy going around with a knife
me: won't help much, though
Eric F.: yea
me: because they definitely know there's a guy going around with a gun--you.
me: heh
Eric F.: hehe
Eric F.: true true
me: wow, man, just...wow
me: one of those "never thought it would happen" sorta stories...
Eric F.: well I got 2 now
me: stories
Eric F.: house robbed
Eric F.: and knife
me: yeah
me: yay Alexandria...
Eric F.: heheh
Eric F.: I think the kid was just looking for an easy target
me: I'm quite happy that Invertix has moved out of Annandale...
me: probably
me: aren't they all?
Eric F.: yea
Eric F.: probably came from DC on the metro
me: they wouldn't do it if we were all hard targets...
Eric F.: true

Range Report

got on the range and spent 30 rounds zero-ing my 617. Bench rested and everything...well, I didn't really bench the gun itself but my arms and the butt of the grip, so all I really had to concern myself (aside from the wobbly table) was the 2-handed grip and working the trigger. Turns out the sights were adjusted too high, for some reason, so I dropped it back down 2 clicks, and I was reliably getting 17/20 hits on paper, with 14 of those hits in the black (and good groupings in the 10/X rings).

Rapidfire is where it really helped out: my first RF target, I put 19/20 in the black. The rest of my RF practice was spent trying to duplicate that. Didn't quite work, though, as many of my shots were going low. They were all on-paper (I would hope so, with the target being so close) and all orbiting the black.

I actually got kicked off after an hour and a half because there were a lot of people there tonight, but it came at the right time. I was given the 5-minute warning just as I was running out of ammo to shoot, so it worked out anyways.

With tonight's shoot, my 617 has just surpassed 8,000 rounds through it, with 5,700 being shot in the past three months. Damn. At 10,000 rounds, I'll send it back to S&W for a tune-up and to get a target hammer and trigger fitted to it. So in about three weeks, basically.

A Moratorium

alright, alright, ALRIGHT!!! No more buying guns for a while! My bank account isn't made of money!

But I've found the perfect brother for my 617--a blued 17-8 10-shot 6" (my 617 is a stainless 10-shot 6"). Ebony and Ivory indeed.

And I'm entertaining another Ruger Mk. II, even though I just bought one last month and traded for another back in January.

Just collecting .22s, and all I ever shoot is the 617...

Bah! That 1911, 686, BHP, CZ75b, et al can wait! Christmas!

Laetitia Daguenel

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=h88mgtRDZf8
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L9UfAB7y8ZA
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GtoF0r_niu0
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QZQDwRRhySQ

Laetitia Daguenel, French chick who can shoot. Dag, yo. Dag. Clearing the chamber and catching the ejected round. Dang.

Paco Kelly's Accurz'r

http://www.gunblast.com/Paco.htm
http://www.leverguns.com/store/acurizer.htm

Hmm...maybe I can wring more accuracy out of my 617 by fixing the ammunition for it? I'll need to see what kind of accuracy it has with the ammo, first.

Bullseye Pistol #8

Ugh...I didn't feel good about this one at all. I still posted an OK score: (S) 158 + (T) 178 + (R) 183 = 519. So still above 500 (out of a possible 600), but it was a 19-point drop from last time. And my handicap score wasn't all that great, either: 286.something. I'll be surprised if it makes the top-4 for my team (I seriously doubt it).

I've told the team captain that if I do this again (I wasn't specific as to what, but I meant that if my score is around the same place again, not getting a "good enough" scratch or handicap) I'll switch to an autoloader, like everyone else. Though at a certain point, it's more a problem with the shooter than the gun; I haven't shot this thing from a ransom rest at all, so I don't know exactly how accurate it is with the ammo I'm using, but I'm willing to bet that my shotgun patterns are a result of my unsteadiness, and not because of any inherent inaccuracy of the gun...

--

and on that note: what if only S&W made an L- or N-frame .22LR. Or even an X-frame...heh. Though I suppose it would probably be the most unwieldly weapon ever produced...or you could have enough metal in the cylinder to have 15 or 20 charge-holes. That would be funny...and probably not that useful. I just think I like the look of L- and N-frames much more than K-frames. I suppose this is all based on the look of the Colt Python, which Just Looks Right for a .357 Magnum revolver... Well, maybe a L-frame 10-shot revolver in .22WMR would actually make sense. Eh.

All this is a kinda roundabout way of saying that I'd like a S&W 686 (.357 Magnum) and a S&W 625 (.45ACP). And another 617 or a 17-8 as a "backup" for my current 617-6.

And a 1911 in .45.

Dammit! Broke! Maybe as a Christmas present...save up for it. One at a time.

An Interesting Observation

interesting observation:

Pro-Gun/use-of-guns-in-self-defense people: know that most people are good, will be good, but will acquire guns anyways in case a Bad Apple/Guy decides to do Bad Things to them. Believe in the best, prepare for the worst.

Anti-Gun/don't-see-the-use-of-guns-in-self-defense people: know that people are not infallible and will occasionally do Bad Things, so wish to limit access of guns to limit what Bad Things a Bad Apple/Guy can do. Believe in the worst, prepare for the best.

If that even makes sense.

Range Report

met with Eric, Mr. Brian, and Alex and took two adjacent lanes. It was all big-bore today: 9mm out of my Beretta and Mr. Brian's new XD9 Service, and .40S&W out of my P7M10 and Eric's Glock 23.

I'm happy to report that I'm still a pretty decent shot with the bigger stuff, but that's probably a result of my very frequent range-visits. Doubletaps in 9mm were good...40, not so much. But I liked the XD9 a lot--if I was to get a plastic pistol, I'd get one of those. If I did, I'd have to think about a barrel-length--I like the longer versions of most pistols, but the practicality of the compact/sub-compact versions are appealing, too.

And we took out my rifle and shot that a bit.

Good times.

Range Report

I go to the range now just to get trigger time and practice...I don't think there's much I can do to improve at this point. Of course, that could just be hubris. I do need some new glasses, as the anti-reflective coating on my current lenses is flaking off badly, and the prescription is nearly 3 years old. Maybe with new glasses, I can focus on the front sight more clearly (right now, everything is fuzzy...not just the rear sight and the target).

And I suppose I could work on being more consistent and steady--my current method is to lift the gun up, aim it, fire, aim, fire, aim, fire, and then put the gun down to rest. The idea being that I've already got my muscles set from the first initial aiming, and the second shot should be my best, and my third is riding the tail end of my strength, and then my arm starts to get fatigued after that and any more shots will be erratic. Perhaps, however, that I'm doing it wrong and I need to do it like the pros do: set up, aim, 1 shot, and then rest--for every shot in slow-fire. Though I don't have/use a scope, so how useful that technique will be with iron/open sights is debatable...

Anyways. Set up on lane 1, next to the other bullseye shooters practicing, and put 200 rounds downrange in slowfire, and 100 rounds downrange in rapid-fire. Then I got kicked off my lane (I'd been there for about 2 hours anyways).

I should get an MP3 player and load the bullseye range commands onto it and use that to practice, too.

Range Report

it seems every 2000 or 3000 trigger-pulls or so with my S&W 617, the single-action sear gets worn down to the point where it starts to get hair-trigger-y and the trigger-rebound spring actually kicks the trigger forward because there was enough pressure applied by my trigger finger to release the hammer, but not enough to keep the trigger held back. Then I have to open it up and touch it with a tool (a Dremel tool in my case--no es bueno) to get that edge back...I should definitely send the thing back to S&W to have it fixed...maybe get a target trigger and hammer installed? That'd be nice...

Anyways.

I started the range time off with 50 rounds put through my Taurus 905--the guy next to me was interested and asked how the recoil was, to which I replied "yeah, there's a bit". A bit is an understatement--the first two cylinderfuls reminded me why 9mm in a snubbie revolver is about all I can handle. But once I refamiliarized myself with the recoil and became focused on the paper threat, the recoil became quite manageable, and I even got good enough to start double-tapping. Cool beans.

Then I took out my new Ruger Mk. II Target and worked on bullseye-rapid-fire and sighting it in more. I dunno what it is, but it seems the whole rear sight-base needs to be over to the right about 1mm for the rear sight blade to be centered and zeroed on the bullseye.

And then...just to make this a day where I shoot the guns I rarely shoot, I took out my S&W 41 and remembered why I liked it: the trigger and ergonomics are far better than my Rugers.

To finish out, I put rounds through my S&W 617...and grouped better than my '41 or my Mk. II Target.

Good times.

Bullseye Pistol #7

Work sucked today, and I left angry...which made me worry about how it might affect my shooting today and made me think maybe I shouldn't shoot at all. But I got to the range with 10 minutes to spare--enough for two targets to convince me that I might do OK today. In any case, I signed up for the 2nd relay, since I seem to do pretty well when I take the 40 minutes or so for the first relay and "calm down"--part of my calming-down is to talk turkey with the other shooters...share tips about equipment (the guy who shot next to me had been having trouble with FTEs lately, due to his extractor wearing down, so I confirmed that the Volquartsen Exact-Edge Extractor was the way to go), share old stories (a guy was retelling how he'd had an N.D. while preparing for a high-powered rifle match, and the round hit the dirt in front of his target and, because it was a warm, windless day, the cloud of dirt just hung there in front of his target for everyone to see, and for everyone to know just who had fired when they weren't supposed to--he's learned his lesson, though: instead of hanging his head in embarassment, he should've been looking around for the "idiot" who both N.D.-ed and cross-fired in front of his target =). I laughed, and my crappy day was gone like that--I was ready to roll.

Got out on the range and posted my target.

Slow fire was meh...personal second-highest score yet, but it's still not much to write home about: 164 (just over 8 out of 10 hits, 82%).

Then Timed fire--here I kicked ass! 191! 95.5%!

And then rapid-fire...it was all good, except for one shot which I knew--at the moment it went off--that I had pulled badly. Sure enough, when the targets came back, I had a nice grouping around the bullseye...and one way up there in the 5-ring. D'oh! Oh well, it came out to be a 183, just 3 points shy of my best rapid-fire.

All in all, a 538--my best score yet! And my handicap score came out to be a 290.331--pretty darn high =) Hopefully I'll have helped out my team this week. It's been two consecutive weeks since I was in the top-four--it's time for a comeback!

Gun Registration Sucks/No Loophole

http://3fgburner.livejournal.com/45330.html -- Gun registration sucks. And there's no such thing as a "gun show loophole". Why can't people figure it out? Because it sounds good in-print.

Range Report: Bye Bye, Glock 21

We planned to meet at 5PM, but I was so exhausted after riding/soccer/riding this weekend that I over-napped and was 20 minutes late. Steph's first time in about a month (and my first in 24 hours). We also met Bret, who was already there, and who was interested in buying the Glock 21.

We took the lane next to him, and I saw Bruce Furr there, so I spent most of my time hopping between lanes...shooting Mr. Furr's Sig P226 in .357Sig (interesting--recoil like a 9mm, sounds like a .40S&W), his 1911 w/ .22 conversion (that ammo sucks!), Bret's Walther PPK/S (yuck!), Bret's Browning Buckmark (nice), my Glock 21 (meh), my P7M10 (cream my pants), and my Beretta 92FS.

Seriously, the Walther PPK/S (James Bond's old gun) is uncomfortable to shoot. Not because of the relatively large felt-recoil of the .380Auto (my first time shooting the stuff) in such a small gun, but because the webbing-pocket has such sharp edges that it digs into the shooter's webbing on every shot. It isn't hard enough to draw blood, but it is uncomfortable to shoot more than a few magazines' worth. The PPK isn't really meant for range work, however--it works much better as a concealed-carry-weapon. That, and it's initial double=action trigger pull is VERY heavy--heavier than any gun I've ever shot before, including all of the double-action revolvers and all of the double-action/striker-fired autos I've ever owned. Definitely has not piqued my interest in the slightest. It's funny that Bret bought it because it was "the Bond gun"--I wonder if he'll get a Walther P99 next. But then I want a CZ75 because it's Rally Vincent's gun.

The first time (and only time, until now) I shot a Sig was way back in 2006 when the drop-safety on the P7 broke, and we rented the Sig to finish shooting the .40 ammo we bought. Back then I had the impression that it was blocky and ugly compared to the sleek and sexy P7, with too many controls (a decocker? safety? slide-stop? WTF! The P7 tastefully hides all of that). I wasn't enthused. But then I learned that there was a reason to it all, and that our Navy SEALs were using the P228/M11...I became interested in a 9mm version, but the high price ($800 for a handgun? no thanks) and elitist vibe put me off.

Bruce's Sig P226 was chambered in .357SIG--basically, a 9mm-bullet in front of a .40S&W powder charge, which produces a lot of velocity and a very flat trajectory. Supposedly, .357Magnum performance in a mild-recoiling semi-auto. Whatever, I shot it and it felt like shooting 9mm, and sounded like .40S&W. Very interesting, but not really my cup of tea, since all I shoot (and all I want to shoot) is paper, and a .22LR slug going at 1200FPS will put a hole in paper just as well as a .35SIG-slug going at 1500FPS. Plus, it'll do it at about 1/20th the cost.

Then Bruce's other gun, a 1911-type with a .22LR conversion, was interesting. I wasn't all that accurate with it, but that could've been the ammo, since he said he couldn't hit worth a damn with it either. Interesting, but I'm not sure I'd go for one of those, either--a service-sized pistol, designed for a service-caliber...shooting little .22s. Sorta why I'm hesitant to get a .22 conversion kit for my Beretta. Plus, conversion kits are almost as expensive as buying a whole 'nother gun (although you can get the kits shipped right to your door, and firearms must go through an FFL).

The Buckmark was nice, but I still don't care for the fiber-optic in the front sight...

The Glock was...well, it's a Glock--it pretty much just works. But it's a plastic pistol--not my cup of tea: I'm a wood-and-steel guy.

And of course, my P7M10 was beautiful, getting the attention of Mr. Furr, who commented that the M10s are rare (and yes, they are--I'd bet he'd be astounded if he learned how little I paid for mine, too).

Finally...today was Steph's first time on the range in about a month, since her schedule is usually so busy she can't afford more than an hour or two every month to get some trigger-time in...something definitely not helpful to her aspirations of getting qualified. But she dutifully loaded up the 92 and attempted to keep the shots on-paper...something she wasn't doing well at until I suggested that she just dryfire to get used to the trigger. In between the last few magazines, we would go through a handful of dryfires. Starting out, she'd be exerting so much force on the trigger (in single-action, no less) that when the trigger would break, she'd jerk the muzzle off-paper. But 10 dry-fires later, her muscles had relearned how to keep the gun steady while the trigger over-traveled and the hammer fell. Then we'd put the magazine in, chamber a round, and she'd put the rounds into a hand-sized group at 10 feet, just below the center of the bullseye. Excellent work. Really, all she needs is trigger time. Doesn't have to be live-fire. In fact, most of her trigger time should be dry-fire (most of mine is, and I go to the range almost every day)--she should even borrow the Beretta and dry-fire it as much as possible. But that'll wait, I suppose--for now, she's doing pretty good for going as infrequently as she is.

---

In emails, Bret was interested in the Glock 21, and, after shooting it, said he liked it enough to buy it. I already had some transfer-of-ownership/CYA papers drafted up, so all we had to do was fill in the blanks, sign them, and exchange the pistol for a check, and that was that. I wash my hands of plastic pistols. Foo 'em. Maybe in the future I'll look into a Glock 19 or an XD9 Service or even a S&W SW9VE or M&P9 or something similar for "social" work, but I like my range pistols, and I like 'em metal-framed with wood grips.

Done.

Range Report

it was HARD to hold my arm steady, or even stand for any length of time. 500 rounds later, however, and I was feeling good again. Wasn't hitting the target at 50 yards as well as I thought I should be, but then I did just ride a metric century this morning, so I have an excuse in being a little tired.

Zeroed the sights on my Mk. II Target, although I probably won't use it for Bullseye (I might end up putting a scope on it, though, just to have one with a scope, once I get bored of iron sights). 100 rounds.

Then 100 rounds out of the '617...which felt terrible at 50 yards, so I changed it up a bit with 100 more at 25 yards/rapid fire. After doing that and settling down a bit, I returned to slow-fire, and felt a bit better. I also found a stance where my arm didn't wobble, where it naturally settled on the target and stayed there--my Natural Point of Aim.

Then, to spice things up, I set a target out at 30 feet and shot at it as fast as I could press the trigger with my Mk. II Standard--100 rounds.

Finally, I finished it up with 10 rounds out of the '617, in double-action.

---

Cleaned my guns just now, which I daresay is the fastest time I've ever thoroughly cleaned my firearms. Well, the '617, really. The other two Rugers only had 100 rounds each, so just running a brush and a patch down the barrels, as well as cleaning what I could with a Q-tip with the action open, was sufficient. Plus, they're Rugers. Practically bullet-proof. A pun. Ha ha.

Range Report

Definitely, yes--moving adjusting the elevation up on the rear sight of my revolver has produced extremely favorable results: in rapid fire and slow fire, I'm putting the shots more consistently in the black, and they're making nice, round groupings, with fairly good distribution. Now if I can tighten them up by one ring, then I'd be in business!

Started off with 100 rounds, rapid-fire (5 targets, 20 shots per target), then followed with 100 rounds of slow-fire (5 targets, 20 shots/target), and finished out the box of ammo with 20 more rapid-fire rounds. Pretty good.

Then...and then...the Ruger Mk. II Target. Still need to get the sights dialed-in on that one--they're too low, at both 50 yards and 25 yards, and at 25 yards I was printing low and left--indicative of a n00b error, yes, but it could also be the sights. I've never fired this thing from a rest, however, so I don't know which it actually is--I should do that next time.

Range Report

Got to the range with 40 minutes to spare, so I set up in Lane 3 and put my target downrange. Today I was going to see if raising the P.O.I. on my revolver (by adjusting the elevation up on the rear sight) would produce any decent results: turns out that it does! Who'd've guessed, but now that I can actually see the target, I have a better reference as to where I'm aiming!

Of the five targets I shot today (100 rounds), the last two (with the sights properly adjusted for a 6 O'clock hold at 50 yards) had nice, round groupings mostly in the black. Excellent!

Now I need to see how it works out at 25 yards.

Tomorrow!

Bullseye Pistol #6: I'm Back, Baby!

I was apprehensive, anxious because I still hadn't had any meaningful practice since last week's disaster, but I still had the thought of the single high-scoring slow-fire target I shot last Thursday, so I figured that it was more in my head than in my hands. Last week I was frazzled, running around here and there, and I signed up for the first relay without thinking--thus not giving myself anytime to calm down and relax and get in-the-zone before going out. Thus, my terrible score.

Today was different. I got to the range with 45 minutes to spare, went out and put 50 rounds through my new Ruger Mk. II Competition Target and 100 through my S&W 617, which took me right to the end of Public Shoot. Cleaned up and signed up for the 2nd relay to give myself 40ish minutes to calm down and flush-out. Ended up talking turkey with "T.J." of the USMC team--turns out we'd posted in the same thread on TheHighRoad.org regarding 9mm revolvers, and we had similar (negative) experiences with Taurus' guns. Tonight he was going to use his Browning Buckmark, switching up from his Ruger pre-Mk. I (i.e. Ruger "Standard"), and I was going to shoot my S&W 617 (again). Ahh, what a nice way to relax, talking about the sport.

Then the 2nd Relay was called out, and we took up our lanes. As I set up I thought, "Today is good. No problems today." Our 3-minute prep period ended and our 20-minute slow-fire began. I was calm, but not calm enough--I ended up shooting a 151. Which, admittedly, is better than last week, but it was still a little disappointing to see a few fliers out in the 5- and 6- rings, with only two shots in the bullseye.

No matter, I'll make up for it in timed- and rapid-fire, I thought. For whatever reason (probably just the distance), I tend to do far better in timed- and rapid-fire than my slow-fire. Today was no exception: I scored 187 in my timed-fire (and I had a beautiful grouping of shots in the 10/X), and 182 in my rapid-fire.

Oh. Heck. Yes! I'm back! 520 for the night--and if I had actually gotten some practice, I might've done better in the slow-fire, which would've brought my score up even more. Next week! Next week!

Stars'n'Stripes

awww, Stars & Stripes lost this week against Isaak Walton. All my fault! Well, if I hadn't shot, it wouldn't have mattered either, because I didn't even make the top-four so my score wasn't counted anyways in the team-score.

Still, for the past three weeks I was in the top-four, and then I dropped out horribly this week. Maybe my teammates got used to the idea that my name would always have a 290-something next to it.

Not this week, my friends, not this week.

Range Report

So I didn't get the job (they "were impressed by [my] qualifications" but they weren't quite the right fit for the position they were looking to fill). Shucks. Well, whatever--I was already planning on going to the range anyways. Not that I use range-time for stress relief (it hasn't ever worked for me in that capacity), but I remember an inspirational speaker we had in high-school who said and demonstrated that even if, inside, we feel crappy, if we put on a wide smile and act happy, we'll be happy.

Works well enough, when put in that context--I enjoy range time, especially when I share it with others. Shoot my ammo, make my guns dirty, use up my targets; just include me in on the fun, and it's all gravy. Alone, it's serious, down to work, training. I'm discovering that, even as I pursue inherently individual activities, if I can share them with someone else, it makes me happier. Happy cancels out crappy (to some degree). Happy means that things are looked at in a positive light, rather than a negative.

Happy means that, for the one slow-fire target I shot today with my revolver, I hit the paper 18 times out of 20, and hit the black 14 times. Close enough for Rock'n'Roll, baby! And it was more in showing off than in practice, too, for my brother had joined me tonight (his fiancee had to be at work early tomorrow, so she couldn't make it). He can shoot pretty well (gotta work on his grip, though--he's kinda stuck to that cup'n'saucer grip that does nothing for recoil control)--I took pleasure in showing him that I can shoot better =). Well of course I can: I visit the range almost ten times as often as he does--I go three times a week, he goes maybe once every three weeks.

We also got to shoot his coworker's Browning Buckmark .22 pistol--the trigger is definitely nicer than the Ruger Mk. II's trigger, no question. And the grip angle and feel were a lot more natural than the Mk. II. However: I don't like the fiber insert in the front sight--too distracting. And the trigger-reach felt a little long (this is because the magazine has a feed-angle much like the Ruger Mk. I/II/III, and so the grip has been expanded to provide a 1911-type angle, but to work with the Luger-type feed angle (the Ruger 22/45 is the same way). This then put the magazine release button just out of reach of my thumb. Other than those two gripes, it was a very nice feeling pistol indeed. Too bad field-stripping actually requires a hex-wrench.

And I'm also quite pleased to report that my brother and I shot off the rest of the brick that was causing me so many problems yesterday and today. We were getting lots of that when we were shooting the Buckmark: weak rounds, extract/eject problems (and thus feeding problems), dud rounds...ugh. So next time I shoot--fresh box. Hopefully, better quality, with only the usual handful of truly dud-rounds (the others require a second strike or striking on a different spot to light the primer), and no "primer-only" rounds.

Good times.

And dammit, the NRA range is closed on Saturday and Sunday--even if I do get back by 4PM on Sunday, my favorite place to shoot up here will be closed. Bugger!

Range Report

After today's ride, I was ready--I put my range equipment in my trunk this morning, because I just knew that I'd have time after the ride to get some practice in...I should really call it training, since I'm doing the MPL with the goal of being NRA handgun qualified as something more than just the basic "Marksman" at the end of the season.

I was actually surprised to see the range so full today...but then it was the week after a gun show, so people have to get to know their equipment better, I guess. Maybe next Wednesday, we'll see if it's thinned out some. I also saw a bunch of VT shirts here, too, but then I shouldn't be surprised--there are lots of people went to or support Virginia Tech that are interested in firearms, as well. They just all happened to be wearing a VT shirt today--I was still wearing my VT Cycling Jersey, so I fit right in =)

Got on the range after a 10-minute wait and put 50 rounds through my revolver in two-handed double-action at 30 feet as a warm up (which was also the last 50 rounds of one brick of ammo). Then I opened another brick and set to work with slowfire. Man, I was sucking: no target I shot had more than 16 holes in it, and none had more than 11 in the black. Teh suck.

Didn't help, either, that the quality-control on the lot of the brick I was using was quite terrible: a bunch of times I pressed the trigger and only a very mild "pfft" and some sparks would result, leading me to think there were a ton of squib rounds. When I poked a rod down the barrel, however, it came out the other end with no bullet, so I can only assume that the round had enough ass to kick the bullet out the barrel and then the bullet promptly fell to the floor. I'd better shoot off this brick as soon as I can, and make sure I don't have any other bricks from that lot...

Oh well. Going to the range again tomorrow, going to work on more slow-fire. I tell ya, it's nice to have to clean only one gun at the end of the day. Makes me feel the other guns are kinda lonely, though, because it's always the same gun getting cleaned.

Hmm...maybe I can find a range in Blacksburg to keep my practice up (I'm going down to the 'Burg for the Spring Football Game). Or maybe I can get back early enough on Sunday to get out to the range...Yeah, I think I'll plan on doing that.

Bullseye Pistol #5

Ugh. I just knew, going in, that I was going to do poorly. I mean, I hadn't had any meaningful practice all week, and hadn't even put any lead downrange in four days, and this stuff isn't like riding a bicycle: if you neglect it, you definitely lose it. You can't just wing it--well, you can, but you can't expect to do well doing that.

If they say that bullseye matches are won in the slowfire and lost in the timed- and rapid-fire, then I definitely lost it in the slow-fire. I didn't even practice any slowfire this week (my 500 rounds on Thursday were all rapid-fire). So it's no surprise, really, that my score dropped by 25 points in the slow-fire down to 141. That-right-there is the main reason my score sucked so badly.

My timed fire was OK, getting 178 points.

My rapid-fire was awful, however--I had a misfire on the first string, and I tried to salvage that misfired round by re-cocking the hammer on it (hold the trigger all the way rearward and then pull the hammer back all the way, and then release the trigger--it'll recock on the same round) since usually when that happens it was just a light rim-strike that caused the misfire. But it failed to light on the second try, and by then I had wasted too much time trying to save it, so I had to start pulling double-action shots to at least get some points out of the string. But I only had enough time to fire twice more (making for only 4 shots in that string).

My second string of rapid-fire wasn't much better--I again had a misfire, which did light on the second try (though I should've just let it go). And again, I only had time for two more shots, making for only 4 shots in that string.

My third and fourth strings, I loaded 6 rounds and fired all six for both strings to make up for the unfired shots in the first two strings, meaning that I had even less time to aim and fire the last 12 shots. While probably not allowed, there was no way I was going to have to do an alibi-string--that's the whole reason I load 6 rounds per string anyways: so that if a round fails to light, I can just keep right on shooting; with a semi-auto you don't have that luxury, since a FTFire doesn't usually allow a second go at the primer or any way to try at a fresh round without having to handle the gun with the other hand, thus negating any claim for an alibi.

Somehow I was able to pull a 175 in my rapid-fire, 3 better than last week.

All told, it was 141 + 178 + 175 = 494. Over 30 points dropped from last time, didn't even break 500.

I shouldn't even have put my guns in my car this morning.

I know, I know--I was bound to have an off-week. I can't keep improving by 35 points forever--there is an upper-limit (600 points), and without practice/training lower scores are to be expected. If this trend continues (and it looks like it will, given that I may not be able to get out to a range this weekend), I'll probably get in line with everyone else and start using my S&W 41. Which is technically a nicer gun, but I like the challenge that comes with the limitations of my hardware.

I should practice failure drills--load up 6 chambers, one of them with a spent casing, and then use a recording for a course of fire and practice getting rid of my tendency to re-try failed-to-light cartridges and learn how to just press onto the reserve round (which probably is against the rules, too).

Oh, and there was a slamfire (or an inadvertent trigger pull) today--the command to load was given, and everyone rammed a magazine home (except me, of course), and let the slides go forward and we heard a round go off (before the start-buzzer sounded) and a "woah!" shouted somewhere down the line, and then the caller announced a "stand easy". I'll bet whoever it was was embarrassed pretty good, but I was impressed with how everyone was calm while it was being investigated. No harm done, and we resumed the countdown.

Range Report

Took my co-worker out to the range, since he said he'd never shot a gun before. Went through the safety packet/worksheet, and paid the money.

Started off with the Ruger Mk. II to get him familiarized with the basic pistol operation and recoil--he did alright, for a first-timer. He was aiming kinda funny, bringing the pistol up to directly in line with his face and then tilting his head up and back to bring the sights in-line with his eye. This, of course, led to him wanting to tilt the pistol down to compensate, and then of course there was The Flinch.

We moved onto the Beretta 92FS--bigger bullet, bigger bang, more recoil. Once I got him to put the gun out at just above shoulder level and dip his head down to line up with the sights (and crank his hands back to compensate), his hits moved up from 12" low at 10' to just 5" low at 10'. Well done.

Then, finally, to round out his education, we took out my scoped Ruger 10/22 and put the target out to 50'--here he did very well. As well he should, since shooting a rifle is easier than shooting a handgun.

He left to go home, and I stayed on, putting 50 rounds through my friend's Glock 21, and then settling down to do some bullseye pistol work, trying to stay in-the-black at 25 yards in rapid-fire.

At no point did I have a target where I didn't have at least 4 shots outside of the black...*sigh*. Maybe I should get a cheap MP3 player, record the line-commands, and train to that.

Range Report

got back from my ride early enough to have an extra hour, and I figured that I wanted to put some rounds through some guns I haven't been shooting much, so I went to the range with my Ruger 10/22 and my Ruger Mk. II in-tow. Didn't do any specific work, just stuck targets out at 75 feet and shot at them with my Rugers.

Good times.

ZVI Kevin

It's, like, nothing but a trigger! Holy smokes this thing is small!

http://www.zvi.cz/en/products/9-mm-pistol-kevin.html -- looks like it uses the .380 ACP round, which should be OK as a last-resort caliber. I wonder what one of these would feel like to shoot...the recoil in the video doesn't look all that bad, but then there are people who can double-tap a 1911 with no problem. It should practically disappear in someone's pocket, for sure. Hell, it could even go down their sock and no one would notice...

Here's a video:

 

Bullseye #5

some good things, some bad things:

the good:
-did the slowfire using my new technique: since I'm shooting open sights, I seem to do better when I'm not setting up each shot individually, but since the gun is heavy (for a handgun), I can only shoot so many at a time before fatigue sets in and my hold becomes erratic. So I've started practicing shooting in short strings of 3 shots or less, which has been getting me my high shots-on-paper count. Tonight I did this for my slowfire and got a 166, which isn't worse (or better) than I did last week, when I was setting up each shot. The 'good' about this is that my technique works, and I'm not feeling stressed out by each shot now, either.
-In the timed fire I was doing much much better, actually using all 20 seconds to shoot each 5-shot string. This got me 187 points, 13 points up from last week.

the bad:
-in the rapid fire, I was taking almost too long to aim each shot, with the last shot of each 5-shot string coming at or right before the buzzer
-in the last string of rapid-fire, I didn't hear the start-buzzer, so I was confused when everyone let off at once, but then I figured that I had better start shooting or else I'd be forfeiting points, so I started pulling the trigger, double-action. This threw off my shots, and got me just 172 points, a whole 14 points down from last week. So in an interesting twist, my timed-fire became my best score this week (when usually it's the rapid-fire that does better). Had I actually made good shots for the last string (or practiced double-action) I might've had a better score.

Thus, I went 525/600 for the night, one point down from last week, and bringing my average down and my half-score to a 262, (whereas it was a 263 last week), meaning my handicap score was only 290 (last week it was 292). Not too bad, maybe within the top four shooters for my team, but I'm a little disappointed.

I shouldn't be, however. I can't expect to gain 35 points every week like I have been--there's only 75 points left to improve with. I'm probably going to plateau somewhere soon, too, especially given that I'm using A) a revolver and B) open sights. Still, with those challenges in mind, 525 out of 600 is a very respectable score, and one I'm quite pleased with: I've only been shooting for two years, starting with informal, large-caliber shooting and then generally settling down to .22LR and actual discipline, all with no formal training or coaching, other than my one firearms safety class back October/November 2006, and that was just shooting a revolver at a silhouette for hands-on, defensive work--nothing like the bullseye marksmanship discipline I apply myself to now.

Well, lessons learned:
-if I can't hear the buzzer, the first shot becomes my buzzer and I should start firing so I won't lose anymore time.
-I need to practice timed- and rapid-fire for timing, since I almost had a 4-shot string (rather than a 5 shot string)

I may also want to consider switching guns to my S&W 41, which is a far nicer pistol and better suited to target work. I'm also about to pick up a Ruger Mk. II Target, which should also be a more suitable pistol for this kind of shooting. If I start to plateau with the S&W 617 I use currently, I'll consider switching.

The guy next to me was using a very tricked-out Sig Hammerli Trailside and shot a beautiful all-in-the-black group during the slowfire. It had the anatomic grips and a pistol scope on it too, though--I'm currently trying to see how good I can get with the most challenging handgun I've got (having to thumb the hammer back makes it more challenging than my Ruger Mk. II Standard since there's an extra step before shooting, and loading it is a bit more annoying).

Once I max out, I'll consider using glass...and then I'll need to get one of those boxes they have, and a spotting scope, and...and...bah.

Good enough.

Range Report

I dunno what it was today, but I was consistently hitting 18 and 19 shots on-paper, and up to 17 hits in the black. Maybe it was the fact that I was on Lane 1, which is right next to the wall, so I didn't have anybody on the left to distract me. I also didn't have anyone's target on the left to distract me, either, since I do keep both eyes opened when I shoot, but I let my lazy-eye drift my left eye out of focus (so that now I'm seeing two of everything) so that I can focus on the target on the 'left'--if there's someone else's target on the (actual) left, it becomes difficult to focus on my own target. Today I didn't have that, so perhaps that was a contributing factor to my accuracy achievement.

We'll find out for sure tomorrow--I plan on taking Lane 1 in my relay.

Range Report

Got my new P7M10 mag, ran 50 rounds through it--good to go. Now I can take a box of 50 rounds, and load all 5 magazines with 10 rounds per mag and have no rounds left in the box that I have to stop and load a mag for--I can load all mags with all 50 rounds. $80 for convenience? Meh--I like having 5 mags per semi-auto, since ammo comes in multiples of 50.

Ran 50 rounds through my friend's Glock 21--its recoil is feeling softer and softer now. I dunno. I'm becoming less and less interested in it (if I did buy it, however, I'd put the stock slide-release back on it, because my thumbs-forward hold also holds down the slide-release, inhibiting slide-lock).

50 rounds through my 10/22 at 150 feet. Did pretty good, keeping most of the shots within 6" from an unsupported standing stance, with very little breathing discipline. Oh well--the 10/22 is more of a plinker (at least in its current configuration), but I don't shoot outdoors anyways...

And then down to my bread'n'butter: 350 rounds of bullseye practice--I actually had 20 shots on-paper in slow-fire once. Funny, because as I was shooting I just didn't feel solid at all. It was cold on the range today (seemed like they had the A/C on, even as it was pretty cold outside too), and I could not get comfortable, and I could swear that I was swaying on my feet between each shot. But somehow I pulled out a bunch of 17-hits, 18-hits, a 19-hit, and that 20-hit. Dunno. Need more practice =)

And happily, after I was done cleaning all of my equipment tonight, I found a way to make my new DS-10-SPEED loader work with all 10 rounds for my 617 with its grips: brute force. I was hesitant of applying too much force, but it seems that the rounds have enough lateral play when they're in the loader that I can safely force the speedloader around the grip and allow it to push all 10 rounds into the cylinder. Good deal! Should make loading easier for my Bullseye practice and matches.

With all of the money I just spent on ammo today, I should donate at least as much to my TNT Fundraiser page. I'll do that now.

Addendum: Done.

Bullseye #4

Stars & Stripes, my bullseye team, had range duty tonight, so I got there early and put 40 rounds through my 617 to get warmed up, then jumped on the second relay...and shot a 526! holy smokes! All of my worries about my fatigue and mood negatively affecting my scores this week? Out the window! Then I jumped on the 4th relay and shot my 41...and shot a 550! Sweetness! (too bad the second score doesn't count, but the first is quite respectable, being another near-40 point increase from the previous week).

I also stuck around to learn how to officiate the meeting, with the caller in the booth and watching for alibies on the line, as well as learning more of the nuances of the game (like if you have an alibi and have to reshoot, only your bottom 20 shots count, or what situations actually count for an alibi). Now if I had a good radio/announcer voice, I might actually feel confident enough to perform booth duties, too...

Anyways...happy day =) (makes up for the crappiness, at least, so it evens out)

Range report

(does anyone read these anyways?) after loafing around work today (blech), getting the phones and network and printers better set-up than yesterday (and I just know that I'm going to get a ton of calls tomorrow, and I'll bet I know just who I'll be getting them from, too), I went to the range...

I think I'm just so tired I can't hold a gun steady enough; somehow I managed to put 19 shots on-paper...once. The rest of them were in the 14-15 range. Teh Suck. And now I've started keeping track of how many were actually in the black, and not just on-paper. Even worse: they were floating around 10 shots out of 20 in the black. That's 80 points (black scoring rings start at 8, the 9, 10, and X which also counts as 10) at least, but that just means that the shots inside the black will "make up for" the shots outside the black. Dammit.

Tomorrow I might not do so well in our MPL meeting.

--

Addendum: Wow...in just 1 year I've put over 4000 rounds through my S&W 617. Nearly half of them have been in the past six weeks. Damn. I think at 10,000 rounds I'll send it to S&W for re-timing and probably a good trigger job/internal parts replacement.

range report

went to work (yay, new office...), went to paintball (Eric F.'s Bachelor Party, kinda like Remy's Bachelor Party, and "David"'s Bachelor Party, apparently; I sense a theme), went to dinner (TGIFriday's), went to the range...

My 50-yard bullseye is jamming on the suck-button hard...but then I probably need to get used to the new trigger pull (milled a touch more sear into the hammer; now the trigger pull's about double what it was before). 4 out of 6 of my targets were < 15 hits, while the other two were 18 and 17 hits. Bah.

What made my day, however, was looking at the Metro Pistol League standings--Stars & Stripes (my team) won last week and--get this--I made the top 4 shooters for handicap score on my team! I actually helped out! W00t!

range report

my brother met up with me at the range and we took two lanes side by side, putting lead downrange, over 600 rounds of .22 and 9mm. Good times.

Range Report: Bullseye #3

Big improvement!!! Better darn well be, I tell you, if I've put 800 rounds downrange in pursuit of improvement this week.

Shot my 617 with the wally-world federal bulk ammo, and got 158 on the slowfire, 162 on the timed fire, and 168 on the rapid fire! w00t! That's a 46-point improvement over last week, 39 points up from two weeks ago, and gave me a handicap score of 289-and-change. Not bad!

Practice pays off!

Just received three S&W 41 magazines today, so now I have 5 magazines for it. Hmm. What to use next week? S&W 41? S&W 617? Ruger Mk.II? I should get one of those Pardini target pistols...but, somehow, I can't justify dropping $2K on a gun unless I was extremely serious about it, and right now it's just my latest hobby. Knowing me, I'll plateau somewhere in the 520s, call it "good enough", and move onto something else like IDPA or something. And no amount of money or quality equipment will get me any better... Archery sounds like fun =)

Range Report

After today's ride, yesterweek's suckitude, and since the range is closed tomorrow for Easter Sunday, I decided that going to the range to put down 500 rounds was in order, so I went and got my name on the list. While waiting, I loaded magazines and watched the other shooters from the lounge area. Across the lounge, a couple guys sat down and started talking loudly:

Guy 1: "Hey, you know that 'kle' guy from OCDO?" (my ears perked up--I'm kle from OCDO)
Guy 2: "Yeah, what about him?"
Guy 1: "He can't shoot worth crap!" I chimed in at this point, with a knowing-grin.
Me: "Oh yeah? Well I'll tell him next time I see him!" I raised my hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm kle from OCDO."
Guy 1: "Yeah, we know--just wanted to see if we could get your attention!"

And I scooted over and joined in on their conversation. Guy 2 turned out to be the user 'unrequited' from OCDO (I forget who Guy 1 was). We then encountered a guy who, apparently, was a Patent Attorney and a Patent Officer who had also spoken at the last VCDL meeting (which was apparently a media circus regarding several 2nd Amendment current issues). We shot the shit about the USPTO and how it sucks until my name came up.

I got out on the range and loaded up my P7M10 and put 30 satisfying rounds through it. Either my hands and arms had been toughened up from the ride this morning (with its incessant road vibration from the rough roads while gripping a curved tube that approximates a firearms grip), or I'm getting less and less recoil sensitive, but the recoil from the P7M10 felt a lot softer than before. Good deal.

Then I put 50 rounds through my 10/22 at 150 feet--good times; I managed to keep all the shots in the 8" black center. Not too bad (in my opinion) from a standing, scoped rifle...

Finally, I got to the real reason I was there: to put more rounds through my '617, shooting the Metro Pistol League bullseye course of fire (20 rounds slowfire at 50 yards, 20 rounds timed fire at 25 yards, 20 rounds rapid fire at 25 yards).

I got the "time's up" and packed up and...headed over to Unrequited's lane, where they were showing a new guy how to shoot (rifles and pistols). I shot his XD45 (not bad--I like the trigger better than Glock, and the grip angle works better for me, but it's still a plastic pistol), and he shot my P7M10. Then we all left...and I put my name back on the list, as the waiting list had been whittled down to just two names. I went back out and did more bullseye practice, topping out at 4 hours today at the range, and 500 rounds (450 of .22LR, 50 .40S&W).

My slowfire scores aren't much to write home about, but I'm hoping to make up for that with my timed and rapid fire scores. In double-action, I can actually keep 85% of the shots in the black, with the other 15% in the next ring out. I also practiced single-action timed and rapid fire, and I was able to get up to similar accuracy. Cool beans--I should be a bit better at next week's MPL shoot.

Range Report

After today's ride, yesterweek's suckitude, and since the range is closed tomorrow for Easter Sunday, I decided that going to the range to put down 500 rounds was in order, so I went and got my name on the list. While waiting, I loaded magazines and watched the other shooters from the lounge area. Across the lounge, a couple guys sat down and started talking loudly:

Guy 1: "Hey, you know that 'kle' guy from OCDO?" (my ears perked up--I'm kle from OCDO)
Guy 2: "Yeah, what about him?"
Guy 1: "He can't shoot worth crap!" I chimed in at this point, with a knowing-grin.
Me: "Oh yeah? Well I'll tell him next time I see him!" I raised my hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm kle from OCDO."
Guy 1: "Yeah, we know--just wanted to see if we could get your attention!"

And I scooted over and joined in on their conversation. Guy 2 turned out to be the user 'unrequited' from OCDO (I forget who Guy 1 was). We then encountered a guy who, apparently, was a Patent Attorney and a Patent Officer who had also spoken at the last VCDL meeting (which was apparently a media circus regarding several 2nd Amendment current issues). We shot the shit about the USPTO and how it sucks until my name came up.

I got out on the range and loaded up my P7M10 and put 30 satisfying rounds through it. Either my hands and arms had been toughened up from the ride this morning (with its incessant road vibration from the rough roads while gripping a curved tube that approximates a firearms grip), or I'm getting less and less recoil sensitive, but the recoil from the P7M10 felt a lot softer than before. Good deal.

Then I put 50 rounds through my 10/22 at 150 feet--good times; I managed to keep all the shots in the 8" black center. Not too bad (in my opinion) from a standing, scoped rifle...

Finally, I got to the real reason I was there: to put more rounds through my '617, shooting the Metro Pistol League bullseye course of fire (20 rounds slowfire at 50 yards, 20 rounds timed fire at 25 yards, 20 rounds rapid fire at 25 yards).

I got the "time's up" and packed up and...headed over to Unrequited's lane, where they were showing a new guy how to shoot (rifles and pistols). I shot his XD45 (not bad--I like the trigger better than Glock, and the grip angle works better for me, but it's still a plastic pistol), and he shot my P7M10. Then we all left...and I put my name back on the list, as the waiting list had been whittled down to just two names. I went back out and did more bullseye practice, topping out at 4 hours today at the range, and 500 rounds (450 of .22LR, 50 .40S&W).

My slowfire scores aren't much to write home about, but I'm hoping to make up for that with my timed and rapid fire scores. In double-action, I can actually keep 85% of the shots in the black, with the other 15% in the next ring out. I also practiced single-action timed and rapid fire, and I was able to get up to similar accuracy. Cool beans--I should be a bit better at next week's MPL shoot.

Range Report

(00:04:59) Eric: how was shooting today?
(00:11:06) Me: it was good...therapeutic
(00:12:51) Me: 100 rounds through my rifle, after re-zeroing the sights (I had removed and re-attached the barrel, and attempted a poor-man's bedding-job on the barrel and receiver to reduce flex and movement to increase accuracy, so the sights needed to be re-adjusted)...
(00:13:43) Me: then I put 100 rounds through my '617, practicing for the slowfire portion of the Metro Pistol League's bullseye thing...
(00:14:06) Me: that was at 150 feet
(00:14:22) Me: I was able to keep up to 18 out of 20 shots on-paper
(00:14:55) Me: and then put 20 shots through the '617 at 75 feet in rapid-fire, to practice for the rapid-fire portion of the MPL bullseye
(00:15:07) Me: then I got the "time's up" from the range officers
(00:15:21) Me: so I packed up and cleared out, and put my name back on the waiting list
(00:15:38) Me: and, after a 10-minute break, I got back onto the range
(00:15:56) Me: put another 180 rounds through the '617 in rapid-fire at 75 feet
(00:16:09) Me: and then finished up with 100 more rounds through the rifle
(00:16:24) Me: 500 rounds total
(00:16:50) Me: 200 of it was the remington crap, and all of that was through the rifle
(00:17:14) Me: the rest was the better federal stuff
(00:17:26) Me: and that 300 was through the '617
(00:17:56) Me: that's probably the most rounds I've ever put through the '617 in one sitting...
(00:18:08) Me: and the ammo was good enough not to bind up the action on it
(00:18:24) Me: even though it was a bit dirtier than the remington
(00:18:46) Me: left more deposits and crap in the '617...
(00:18:55) Me: but oddly it works better in it
(00:18:57) Me: go figure
(00:19:07) Me: tomorrow...more shooting? Probably...
(00:25:03) Me: I think for bullseye pistol I'll rotate my, uh, equipment every few matches...
(00:25:15) Eric: lol
(00:25:23) Me: stick with my revolver next week
(00:26:06) Me: I think next week I'll do much better with it
(00:26:14) Me: 442/600 is pretty darn good
(00:26:23) Me: I'm certain I can do better
(00:26:43) Eric: yeah

Range Report: Bullseye #2

I decided to be a little adventurous today and try Bullseye with my S&W 617 double-action, 10-shot, 6"-barrel, .22LR-chambered revolver. I didn't do as badly as I thought I would--scored 442 points out of a possible 600, only 7 fewer points than last week. Not bad at all!

Still gotta figure out how to record my score, though...they take a 3-week average and compute that along with the week's half-score and figure out the handicap-score (how that works I have no idea--everyone just looks it up in a table in a book).

Gotta get out and practice more. I'm certain I can do much better with my '617! I'm also determined to do this using only open sights; I've got young eyes, and I can still focus on the front sight post...everyone else on my team's using red-dot or glass to help them aim--nuh uh, not for me. Open sights, all the way. 50 yards isn't that far.

Range Report

Got home from the TNT ride and visiting the gun stores in Manassas (man, that place was giving off Blacksburg vibes with its small-town-wants-to-be-big-town feel). Showered, crashed for a few hours on the couch, and then woke up at 8PM with the idea to actually do something else with my day.

So I loaded up my not-often-shot guns (my P7M10, my '617, and my '41, and of course my '905) into the car and went out to the range. Luckily, when I got there it was pretty quiet, so I was able to get in some quality trigger time.

Started off with the P7M10--20 rounds (of Independence ammo) at 30 feet, and then 30 rounds at 75 feet. Still as accurate as ever! Man, what a sweet shooter, but it's expensive to feed! $18 for a box of 50 rounds (the Walmart price is $14). Yeah, no wonder I don't shoot it all that often. But I did get a comment on it from the guy shooting in the next lane (as I expected, since the P7M10 is more rare than the P7M8 or the P7PSP). I looked over and they were shooting a CZ75B...could've been nickel-plated, though, since the controls were black.

Followed that up with 50 rounds (of Federal blue box) through my '617, two-handed, single-handed, double-action and single-action. Extremely accurate--I might even use it in the next bullseye league match on Monday!

Then I popped off another box of that crappy Remington through my 10/22, with one round hanging up in the magazine, causing the bolt to actually dent the case sidewall. Yeah--Eff this stuff. Ruger-fodder; I wouldn't shoot it in any other gun now.

50 rounds of Winchester White Box through my '905 with some self-defense practice (yay for the edge/foe electronic target carriers!).

Rounded it off with 50 rounds of the Federal blue box through the '41 in bullseye conditions (75 feet, single handed).

I feel like Rally Vincent in the first few pages of the Bonnie and Clyde arc. Well, minus the whole sexual arousal part from shooting a bunch of different guns in one sitting, but just that bit where she sets down her CZ75 and breathes a sigh of contentment. Today was a little bit like that.

Tomorrow...clean everything!

Range Report (one day late)

After a whole day of suck at work, I decided that I needed to put lots of holes through paper. Well, really I decided this before I stepped out of the house, but the day of suck justified it. I frakkin' hate babysitting people, and the new I.T. guy (I don't really know why we hired him--liked him as a person, but his technical skills are almost non-existent) is so far failing to live up to my high standards...

Picked up my brother at his place and, after transacting a deal on a bicycle messenger bag and adding some food to our stomaches, headed to the NRA range. Today [Friday], for me, was about function-checking all of the new magazines I just recently got. We zeroed the 10/22 with some benchrest and agreed after 50 rounds of the Federal Bulk Pack that the 100 rounds of Remington we'd shot before the Federal was absolute crap.

I went ahead and shot off the remaining 40 rounds of the Federal blue-box ammo I had from Monday's Bullseye League, while my brother's fiancee, who just showed up, was getting processed. Then we set to work relearning her how to shoot (3-weeks between range visits does not tend to make the basics stick) on my Mk.II. We even introduced her to the art of the rifle (as she wants to qualify in rifles too), although she found the six-pound 10/22 a bit heavy. Funny, since when she was in ROTC or whatever it was in school, she would march around with an eleven-pound M1 Garand. But then again, she wasn't shooting it, just shouldering it.

While we were working on her pistol and rifle basics, my brother took my 92FS to the next lane (it was near closing time, and things were quieting down by then) and enjoyed 70 rounds of it. I stepped over and enjoyed 20, my brother took 10 more, and his fiancee took the remaining 20 to loosen up before going back to the Mk.II and finishing the last 20 rounds.

In total, we shot about 460 rounds tonight [Friday]. One of which resulted in an ejected case bouncing off the divider and getting caught between my glasses and the skin just south of my right eye. Buuurrrrrnnnn!!!

Range Report: First Bullseye Pistol

got off work early (got in early, so it evens out), and headed out to the range to see what this Metropolitan Pistol League thing is all about...and was immediately recruited onto the Stars And Stripes team. We went through all the basics, how the league is structured, what the commands are, some of the finer points (like only loading five shots per magazine at a time). One thing I noticed: it's all old people. Not just older people--old people. With gray or white hair. Like, Bruce Furr is on my team--he's an old guy, probably mid-to-late 60's. The guy who talked me through the basics is a retired Marine of 20 years ago...

So I sign up for the 4th relay, and my relay comes up. Me and three other S&S people go out to our adjacent lanes and I look over at their equipment. The (old) guy to my right is using a High-Standard ($$), and the husband and wife to my left are shooting matching Pardinis ($$$$$). Holy cow! These guys are serious! Other people down the line have fancy boxes that hold all of their stuff, plus the lid flips up and has a place to mount a spotting scope! Hardcore! I'm feeling a little outclassed. Or atleast, I'm feeling my equipment is a little outclassed--all I'm using is a basic Ruger Mk. II Standard with the tapered, 4.75" barrel, non-adjustable sights, and the non-anatomic grips.

We load up and shoot: first the slowfire (20 minutes to put 20 rounds into a target at 50 yards), then the timed-fire (four 5-shot strings at 25 yards, 20 seconds to shoot each string), and finally, the rapid fire (four 5-shot strings at 25 yards, 10 seconds to shoot each string). 60 rounds in all.

When it's all said and done, I scored 155 on the slowfire, 142 on the timed fire, and 152 for the rapid fire (I shot the rapid fire the same way I shot the timed fire, so I had figured out how and where to aim for that). A total of 449 points out of a possible 600--pretty good, according to my teammates, since I needed a 320 for it to count. Unfortunately, scoring so high means my handicap is low (it's kinda like bowling in this regard).

It was definitely an interesting activity, and a good way to focus my shooting sessions--I'd definitely do it again.

I think I definitely want to try IDPA/IPSC next...

Range Report (belated)

Totally forgot to post a range report from yesterday's visit. After riding yesterday, I went to the range. Got there at 5:30, didn't get on the range until 6:00. Knowing the range closed at 7PM, I only had an hour to shoot. So I felt a little rushed.

I set to work, putting 90 rounds of that crappy Remington ammo through my 10/22 (with one dud round). I need to get some quality time to properly zero the scope and the iron sights. Lately, I've been going to the range and only getting about an hour each trip (whereas on earlier trips I'd get about two hours to do as I pleased). So I don't feel like I get any quality time...just get in, put lead downrange, and get out. That place is way too busy...

Then I put 100 rounds of the Remington through my Mk.II--it's reasonably accurate stuff: at 75 feet, I scored 6/10 in the 2" bullseye and the other 4 shots in the 9-ring around it, which is a score of 96--pretty good. Unfortunately, for the other 40 rounds I did at 75 feet, they weren't so good.

My '617 also got 100 rounds of the better, cleaner Federal ammo. Both single action and double action felt a lot nicer since I got in there. No sticky/rough/heavy spots, and let off was crisp and positive. Exactly what I wanted. There's still the "stacking" that comes when the various parts come into and leave contact, but it doesn't affect the sights staying on-target so much anymore. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as accurate as my Mk. II, no matter what ammo I put through it. I'm looking for 3" groupings at 75 feet, and so far, with whatever ammo I've tried, no dice. Maybe I oughtta try some CCI Minimags through it, just to see...

Finally, I fed 50 rounds through my '92, and it was flawless, as expected.

340 rounds in 1 hour. I'd have liked it to have been over 2 hours, but them's the breaks. Also, my various speed-loaders helped immensely: my Ultimate Cliploader helped to load both the Mk. II and the '617 (using the Mk. II's magazines), and my newly-acquired UpLULA helped to load all 5 '92 mags in less than a minute. Maybe I should pick up the DS-10-Speed speedloader for my '617. Now if there's a good speed-loader for the stock 10/22 '41 magazines, I'd be in business...

Range Report

I seriously need to get a set of stones if I want to do my own 'smithing on my '617--the DA pull was "chunky" because the mating faces of the trigger/hammer/sear have a lot of friction due to the angles with which they interact...took out the lockwork and touched them with a file, and dropped in a 12lb rebound spring (down from 14, which was down from 18) for good measure. It's a bit smoother now, and SA let-off is crisp to boot. Need to get back out to the range to try it out, though.

I also need to bring along a screwdriver next time--the '617's sights were set so that shots were hitting low...it could've just been me, since I haven't dicked with the sights in months. Oh well. 100 rounds through the 617, plus 20 more when I offered to let my neighbor shoot it. I must remember to stop using Remington ammo in it, though--on the last 10 rounds, it was binding up a bunch, and it was loaded with 10 Remington Golden rounds. Last time it bound-up this badly, I was working through a brick of Remington Thunderbolt .22s. Coincidence? Maybe, but I'm just going to put the 1000 rounds I have of this Golden Remington crap through my two Rugers and never buy it again.

Before that, I put 100 through my Mk. II, which was flawless this time, too. Seems like that my instincts were on the money--replacing the extractor indeed solved the problem. Plus, from what I've read, this one is made out of better steel, so it should last far longer (the last one only had about 2500 rounds before it started going south).

And finally (or firstly, since I'm going in reverse chronological order), I put 10 through my 10/22 before I decided to subtly show off to my neighbors, who were using a S&W 41, aiming at a target only about 50 feet away (mine was at 75) and using a Shoot'n'C target (that makes it easy to see where hits are landing, even at a distance) and not getting good groupings. This was mainly prompted, however, by the older fellow's rather loud comment that the younger guy try the '41 to "see what more expensive equipment will get". Horsepucky--my Mk.II was about $250, compared with the '41 which can go upwards of $800 (more, probably, because the guy had both the 7" and 5" barrel for it, and had optics ("glass") on the 5" barrel, as well as having what looked like 10 magazines--easily another $300 for the mags alone), and my Mk.II was doing far better. In this case, it's more the shooter's steadiness that wins the day.

Okay, so I fibbed a little: before my 10/22, I put 5 rounds through my friend's Nagant. That's a fun rifle, but I'm definitely feeling it in my shoulder. Felt like my dad's 12-gauge (single shot, no recoil-reducing butt-pad). Plenty accurate, too, putting all 5 shots in a nice tight group at 75 feet with open sights with a guy (me) who's never shot one before.

Good times.

---

I now have a hard case for my 10/22--no more transporting it wrapped up in an old towel. I need a hard case for my pistols. I can stuff only so many in my range bag...

Range Report

Took my '41, Mk. II, and 10/22 to the NRA range. I'm extremely pleased to report that replacing the extractor in my Mk. II with the Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor has cleared up the extraction/ejection problems I've been experiencing lately--from the first shot to the last (150 rounds in all), extraction was positive and consistent, throwing brass in the same direction and with the same force after every shot. I didn't have a single failure of any kind. Yes!

Then I tried some Bullseye with my '41--10 rounds, one-handed, at 75 feet. I know, not exactly the Bullseye Pistol format, but I wanted to get used to one handing-it. I'm also thankful for the adjustable sights. They were set a little high...probably zeroed for 100 or 50 yards. I didn't do so well, regardless--my groups were 4" or more at 75 feet with my one-handed hold, while with the 2-handed hold on the Mk. II were barely larger than 2.5 inches at 75 feet. Just gotta practice...good thing it's .22LR, which is an extremely cheap round (compared with anything else, except for reloading).

Finally, I had a little time to put some rounds through the 10/22. The first 10 shots were familiarzation, getting more used to the heavy trigger (feels like a 5lb trigger pull) and the sights and remaining stable. The next 10 were checking the scope's alignment...off to the right a bit. So I set up a rest and sat down to re-zero the scope, doing the "shoot three, adjust, shoot three more" method (yay for the scope!). I got the 5-minute warning, did a few last-minute tweaks, and emptied the magazine. The last four shots were put into the 2" bullseye at 75 feet--good enough.

When I set up, my neighbors were shooting some sort of bullpup rifle. When I looked more closely, it was an AK-47 action (semi-auto, of course) set up in a bullpup configuration--interesting. And they had a P7PSP pistol. Then they left, and the next guy set up...and put a P7M8 on the table. Interesting. I should seriously get ammo for my P7M10 so I can show off, too =) The P7 isn't as rare as it's made out to be, at least, not in my experience. The P7M10, maybe, but I see P7PSPs and P7M8s all the time. Can't wait for someone to show up with a P7K3 in any of its calibers (.22LR, .32, or .380). Maybe I should get a P7M13...but then I'd be seriously broke =)

Range Report: My First Rifle, my old stomping grounds

So I finally got around to going to the DMV to change my address and get a new license and re-register to vote, spurred by the impetus that I can't legally be transferred a firearm without the correct address...

Went down to Gilbert Small Arms and picked up my first rifle: a Ruger 10/22 Standard. Nothing fancy, no match triggers or bull barrels...or even a bolt-hold-open-on-last-round feature. But mine came with a scope (I bought it used for a pretty good price).

Then I decided, since I had already missed shooting at the NRA (the range is open to the public from 10AM-5PM on Mondays, and it was 7PM by the time I left work), I'll just shoot at Gilbert's. It's been a year since I shot there last, and man, I've forgotten how different it is in Gilbert's compared to the NRA range: it's quieter in there (gunfire is more muffled thanks to the sound absorption), but the capabilities are not as good as the NRA range (analog target carriers, no timed friend-foe-edge capability, only 25 yards), and adjustable lighting. It was a welcome change of pace.

My first 200 rounds were defensive shooting with my '905 and my 92FS--drawing from the holster, shooting, double-taps, Mozambique, emptying the gun, reloads, reholster...I even incorporated some dramatic movement--crouching--for the first time (defensive situations won't always be me and him, standing upright, square to each other 10 yards apart--in fact, I'd guess that it rarely happens that way). That was interesting.

Then it was time to try out the 10/22...the range isn't long enough to really put it through its paces, but I put 50 rounds through it anyways and decided that I'm better shooting lefty--must be all of that training with the marshmallow guns--my right arm steadies the rifle better than my left. But the trigger was what I expected it to be (heavy, having shot my friend's stock 10/22 a month ago) and the sights were pretty much spot-on, so I'm a happy camper.

And then, to finish up, I put 50 through the Mark II. I'm convinced that it's the extractor that is bring a big heap of suck to the table now...I'm still getting stove pipes and trapped cases, no matter how clean I've gotten it. Definitely not ready to compete in the Metro Pistol League...well, I do have a '41 I can use (and that is much better suited to it). And a '617 that could work, too. I think I'll try it next week...
I left the range just as the firearms safety class was starting the shooting portion of their instruction--I smiled, having done that very class over a year ago. The first time I shot .38 Specials, the first time I ever shot reloads, the first time I ever shot on command, the first (and only) time I ever shot a '10. Then I came out and paid the non-Walmart price for a case of 9mm and two bricks of .22LR--about $150. Damn. I've been spoiled by Walmart, whose prices are about three-quarters as expensive.

I also got a look at their range fees: it's $200 for an annual membership which would work about as well as that of the NRA range: go often enough (twice a month is about right) and it 'pays for itself' (I dislike that phrase, since I haven't gotten any money back from things that 'pay for themselves'). I like the NRA range for its capabilities, but I like Gilbert's for its other qualities (i.e. it's a gun shop as well as a range, it has rentals, the range is different (and the place where I shot a gun for the first time ever)). Plus it's open when the NRA range isn't...

I Like Guns

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/03/03/1340637-2-dead-5-injured-in-wendys-shooting

Brady bunch: "Ban the guns!"

Pro-gunners: "Right to keep and bear arms!"

Anti-gun people: "see? If only he didn't have one..."

Gun-Rights people: "see? If only someone else had one..."

*sigh*. This is stupid--fuck it all. I like guns--I don't like what some people do with them. Proactive (bans, background checks, laws) vs. Reactive (if/when it happens, hopefully someone will be able to end it prematurely).

I happen to be on the reactive side--I've accepted that there can never be enough proactive action to prevent it from happening again, and so I take steps to be able deal with it, if I ever have to. That's the only reason the gun is in a holster on my hip--I will never 'clear leather' for any other reason than practice, defense, and maintenance. Never offense.

(non) Range Report

So I went home and flipped on LiveJournal and saw Aciel's posts (yes, we're afraid, but then so are you; and I've "increased the reactivity" in both my household and my parents' household--actually my father started it--and we haven't had a...reaction...yet--or ever), which galvanized me into action: I would go to the range, and instead of concentrating on marksmanship (as I have been doing for the past week or so), I would concentrate on defense--drawing from concealment (or otherwise), aiming, and shooting. I even went so far as to put on an OWB holster and fill it with my Beretta 92FS (though it was unloaded). I drove to the range and I actually openly carried for a while--and this was blatant open-carry, too, not just uncovering when I enter an alcohol-serving restaurant; it was a full on, can't-miss-seeing-it-even-if-you-tried open-carry...at the range, where stuff like that is normal. Oh well.

So then I get inside and find that it's full of people! I should know this by now, but everyone shoots on the weekends. Everyone and their mothers. Literally. I put my name on the list, and then I got a call from Chia--wanna go guitar shopping now? I looked at the list: there were about ten people ahead of me, and the rule of thumb is that it's about 5 minutes per name, so I could've been waiting for almost an hour to shoot. So I took my name off the list and went and looked at guitars instead. Good times--the range'll always be there (unless the Anti-Gunners get to it first), the ammo won't shoot itself, and I'm a pretty decent shot when it comes to defensive work (at least, when the target is a piece of paper and not moving). I just need more practice.

Just a thought...

I just had a thought:

To all of those people who say that "the primary purpose of guns is to kill people, and anything else is secondary" I'd like to counter with this: What about bicycles or cars? Their primary purpose, as much as I think the guns =?= cars argument is old and lame, is to transport people and their things from point A to point B. Why, then, do we regard "going on a bike ride" or "going on a joyride" or "taking a sunday drive" as recreational activities? Why can't I regard "spending time at the range" as a recreational activity? Oh wait, I do. Are we going to ban cars and bikes because some people don't use them for their "intended" purpose?

Range Report

Turns out it was only The Reservist who joined me today, which was fine because shooting isn't new to him, so he doesn't have any bad habits to get rid of (or has already gotten rid of them). Curse the traffic, though! 40 minutes to drive what should've only been a 15 minute hop.

Anyways, we got to the range, he took the safety test, and then got in line for a lane. When we got out on the range, I went over how the 92FS works (it's pretty much like his M16--shoot, the action cycles, and shoot again). Sent out the target to 15 feet, and he was keeping tight groups easy with it. I heard the guys next to us commenting on my 92FS, noting the wood grip panels (bling!). I looked over and saw a '92 as well, but couldn't figure out what it was, so I asked: it was a 92S, which was actually blued (and not Bruniton-coated like the newer 92FS model), had a straight front-strap (the 92FS has a slightly contoured front-strap), and adjustable sights. Nice! So The Reservist got to learn the intricacies of loading pistol magazines--he commented that it wasn't like the M16 magazines, where all you have to do to load it is to press the round in from the top. Not so with pistols: you've gotta basically unload them in reverse--when you shoot a pistol, the recoil will operate the slide, which will extract and eject the spent casing from the chamber and then strip a round off the magazine and load it into the chamber, while the magazine spring will push the next round up into place to be stripped by the recoiling slide. To load the magazine, you've gotta compress the spring and slide in the round from the front--not the easiest operation in the world, and it takes practice to do it quickly (for instance, I could load 5 rounds in the same time it took him to load one).

When we had shot 150 rounds from the 92, we moved onto my friend's Glock, which is still in its "function testing" phase. I'm pleased to report that it didn't have a single failure of any kind that wasn't caused by the operator. It has an extended slide-release installed on it, and my usual thumbs-forward grip finds my right thumb resting on it, which inhibits slide-lock. My friend could get away with it because he gripped it using his left thumb to lock his right, well away from the slide release. I dunno...if I were to buy it from my friend, I'd put the original slide release back into it...but then I'm not all that interested in Plastic Pistols anyways. Don't get me wrong, though--if I could only have one pistol, I'd have a Glock because they're damned near indestructable.

Anyways, 100 rounds later, and The Reservist was still a good shot, although he noted that the '21 had considerably more recoil than the '92. We could've shot more, but it was getting late (he does have a wife, after all) so we packed it up, gathered a few handfuls of .45 brass, and cleaned up and left. Afterwards, he said that he had fun, which is good =)

Time for more cleaning...

Range Report

Left a company all hands 'meeting' (really, more like a pep rally or State Of The Union Address) to go to the range (remind me that while it tastes good, Bar Food really sucks). Man the range was packed! The local Scout troop was having a meeting there, perhaps to introduce the kids to marksmanship--I dunno, I wasn't there long enough, but I did see them gathering in the classroom and the leader gesturing toward a diagram of a rifle. Aside from the Scout meeting, there was a considerable wait-time, so I put my name on the list.

30 minutes later, my name is called, and as I get up to the counter, I run into a guy from OpenCarry.org, and we take a lane together, taking turns putting lead downrange. It's thanks to this guy that I got The Ultimate Cliploader, a Ruger 10/22, and the Black Range Card. He wasn't really there to shoot, it seemed, but just to see what was up at the range tonight. We did chat up our neighbors, who were shooting all sorts of European-designed guns (an FN Five seveN and a bunch of HKs, including a P7M8)--apparently one of them was being deployed to Germany and the other one, as a parting gift, was letting his friend shoot everything he had. Nice.

As for my own equipment: The Mk. II only had two jams out of 190 rounds, possibly caused by limp-wristing. Interestingly, it also had one FTCycle from a round that only seemed to have enough power to kick the bullet out of the barrel, but not enough to cause blowback to cycle the action--and it was on the first round, too! The first FTEject occurred about 30 rounds in, jamming up differently this time, with the spent casing almost clear of the ejection port, but with the bolt nosing it into the port-wall while simultaneously feeding a new round. Not as serious a jam as the earlier stove-piping, but somewhat annoying nonetheless. I cleared it, and it had 120 rounds of flawless function (with allowances for crappy bulk ammo) until the last magazine, by which point I was rapid-firing as fast as I could pull the trigger. I wasn't paying that much attention to wrist stiffness, so I may have caused this second jam. On the whole, I'm pretty confident that the thing just needs to be cleaned every 200 rounds or so, but at the same time I think a new extractor will help things out immensely (and the parts are already on their way).

I'm happy to report that the sight-adjustment was good for my '617, allowing me to keep the sights down the middle of the target and to focus more on keeping the correct elevation, and not so much on Kentucky Windage, although the way I adjust the aim by holding higher or lower and not really adjusting the sights is already a compensation (Kentucky Elevation perhaps?). Evidently, when I futzed with the rebound spring, I forgot to tension the mainspring all the way, so while it had an awesome double-action trigger pull, the hammer didn't have enough energy to strike the firing pin with enough force to crush the rim of a cartridge and set it off. Single-action was nice, though. Whipped out my screwdriver and fixed it, although I had another truly dud round, again (no matter how many times I tried, it wouldn't light). So my '617 is good to go. Maybe. I think I want to send it back to S&W to have the trigger, sear, and hammer replaced--there's too much take-up before the double-action starts working, the double-action trigger pull isn't very smooth (there are, like, four or five distinct levels of "stacking"), and the single action is almost a hair trigger (and the hammer will fall if I push on the hammer hard enough). I wonder what it would take to send it in to have those pieces replaced (and maybe the cylinder?) and a trigger-job performed by one of their gunsmiths. Maybe I'll call them.

Finally, my friend's Glock 21, which had the striker spring and recoil spring replaced. Here, my OCDO friend and I took turns shooting it, and each of us experienced one FTFeed--the round had nosed up too far to enter the chamber smoothly when the slide was pushing it forward. Possibly due to weak magazine springs? I dunno...I haven't been able to take the magazines apart, so even if that were the case, I am not yet able to fix it. Other than that, there weren't any FTRTB (Fail To Return To Battery) or any light primer strikes as I've experienced previously. There's probably a "sweet spot" in the spring lives of a firearm where everything just jives the right way...probably from the 200-round to the 5000-round mark. Anything before this is termed the "break-in period" and anything after this is a "high round count". In my friend's case, this Glock 21 is 15 years old, and has probably had about 6000 rounds through it in those 15 years (lessee, he said he'd do about 200 rounds per trip through this thing, twice a week, probably for 3 or 4 years straight? that comes out to about 60K rounds...maybe I'm a little off on my estimation, then =). In any case, the new springs have seemed to eliminate the old problems (FTRTB and FTFire), but have introduced a new problem (FTFeed). Ah well. Ain't my gun =)

I've thoroughly cleaned out my equipment, and I'm going shooting again tomorrow, this time with my coworker(s). This guy is in the Army Reserve and is about to be deployed to The Sandbox, but he's never handled the M9 sidearm. He's shot (maybe even carried) an M60 machine gun, he'll be carrying an M16 rifle, knows all about the SAW...but has never used the M9. Weird. And wouldn't you know it, but I've got a 92FS, the civvy version of the M9 (with slightly different serrations on the front and back-strap, but otherwise the same pistol). So we're going to shoot that tomorrow. And if my other friend/coworker comes (the guy who owns the '21), I'll bring his Old Friends so they can get reacquainted =). And then my other coworker is interested in buying the '21, but he probably won't be able to make it (since we'll be shooting after work). And then finally, yet another coworker's interested in shooting a gun. Not owning one, but he's interested in at least experiencing it once. What will most likely happen is that two of them will go (the M9 guy and my is-interested coworker).

Which will probably be as many people as I can watch at once anyways.

Volquartsen Extractor

I just ordered the Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor (I ordered two to replace the one in the 10/22 that should be coming in this week as well) after reading many good reviews about it. Hopefully my cleaning job's cleared the jamming problem up, but I'll still replace the extractor anyways, just to be on the safe side.

Range Report

My Mark II is still jamming; evidently my cleaning hasn't fixed it. I might just call up Ruger and see if I can't get a new extractor and spring shipped out to me. 150 rounds, 5 jams. Thanks to The Ultimate Cliploader, I was in and out in about 30 minutes.

This time was better, in terms of range safety--no problems whatsoever. And there was some hot chick (and her guyfriend) shooting an AR-15 from the prone position. Mmm, mmm mmm. Jeans have never looked so good...

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Went in and cleaned everything on the Mk II. Bore-brush'ed dry, wet, used the tornado brush (I don't--yet--have a boresnake, but I'll probably need one for the 10/22 that's coming in later this week), and even used a screwdriver to pry out flakes of encrusted propellant residue, and ran patches through until not a single one came out with any hint of residue. Evidently, according to Ruger's site, sticky extraction (as I'm seeing) can be caused by the bullet lube on .22 rounds. Who'd've thunk it? I should resolve to clean my pistols thoroughly after 250 rounds (although I usually do that in one range visit), and do cursory cleanings (dry-brush the innards, etc) in between.

And I got the replacement springs for my friend's Glock, so hopefully it won't fail to return to battery anymore, and it'll quit having light primer strikes too. And I got the trigger-springs pack for my 617 and I put the 14-lb spring in there (down from 17), and the pull is noticeably lighter in double-action, and in single-action it's almost a hair trigger--probably as low as I want to go (although I received 13- and 12-lb springs as well).

So I've got a lot of things to function-check for the next range visit (likely to be on Wednesday). I probably won't be satisfied with the Mk II until I've got 100 consecutive, trouble-free rounds. I've been noticing that, yes, on average the FTEs happen about once every 30 shots (today it was 150 shots, with 5 FTEs), but it isn't evenly distributed (the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th FTEs, for example, were all in the same 10-shot string, and occurred exactly once every three rounds).