It's like the old saying about fishing, "The worst day fishing is better than the best day at work", although I don't think I'd care to have a "Bad Day at the Range"! The last Bad Day I had was a couple of years ago when my wife hit the target support with my 45, and the round came straight back and smacked my in the upper lip!
OUCH!
Anyway....I had a great time this afternoon with my son. I went through about 150 rounds of 45ACP, and he went through about 100 rounds of 40S&W, putting a small dent in the 500 rounds I bought him for his birthday present.
And we BOTH realized we simply MUST get to the range more than "every couple of months"!
I took me a full magazine to get back into the rhythm I usually have, and out of my first 8 shots, 4 were outside the black! They were all within the "Dinner plate at 7 yds" credo, but I'm capable of much better than that.
It took my son a few shots to get back to his usual skill level, but then he wasn't doing rapid double-taps from low ready!
After my first magazine fiasco, I went back to the basics: good grip, good sight alignment, surprise break, and DON'T JERK THE TRIGGER! I showed him some tips about sight alignment, and I think he understands the "Front Sight...PRESS!" mental attitude for defensive shooting better now. We talked about the surprise break, the "thin glass rod" concept, and I explained to him about how being aware of the trigger reset movement will get him to know and understand his pistol better.
By the end of the two hours we were both doing better than when we walked in, and had a great time.
We're going to head up to Angeles Shooting Range in two weeks, after his 17HMR ammo gets here, along with the sabot slugs I want to try in my rebarreled and scoped Remington 1100, my "Goblin Gettin' Zombie Zapper". I also ordered a Caldwell Lead Sled Plus from Midway, and a couple of bags of lead shot to anchor it down. Learning to sight-in from a bench rest is a new thing to me, and I've written down, and printed out, some guidelines on how to do it.
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What I've Been Up To....
Started this post on Monday, then came down with a head cold, which is now progressing South. Feeling better, but still a bit woozy...... To...
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we simply MUST get to the range more than "every couple of months"!
ReplyDeleteTell me about it. I don't even have a good excuse. All I've gotta do is step out the front door.
Oh, man, that must be NICE!
ReplyDeleteThe one range we usually go to is about 25 minutes from where I live now. It *used* to be about 5 minutes away, but then I moved in with my girlfriend, got married, have to do all the "homeowner stuff"...
One of my friends told me about one that's closer to where I live now, but it's run by some really "anal" people. If you have anything on the floor, they get on your case. If you don't sweep up your brass after every magazine, they get on your case. If you fire more often than one round every TWO seconds, they get on your case, and a host of other things. I've read their range rules, and it's all spelled out, but from the people I know that have been there, they really don't allow any flexibility or latitude. I understand that you have to have rules, but from what I've heard, unless you're part of their "in crowd", shooting there isn't very enjoyable.
Agree drjim, and a word of warning on the lead sled, DO NOT overload it with weight, you want some recoil out of it to prevent cracking the back of the stock with the action. I've seen a guy take a chunk out of the back of a brand new BDL by putting too much weight and the recoil had no where to go as the stock had to absorb it all.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim, I didn't know that.
ReplyDeleteI bought 25 pounds of the cheapest lead shot they had, and 4 of the Caldwell bags to put it in.
How much weight would be a good starting point? I know my 30-30 doesn't recoil all that hard, but the Remington 1100 firing slugs REALLY kicks like a mule!
I'd start with 10-12 lbs... You are going to be on the gun when you shoot, so you can absorb the remaining recoil if required.
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