Gotta get me one of these!

Well, OK, I can't buy any more guns for a while.  But this, or something like, has moved to high on the list for the future.  Murphy's Law's SUV repair bill today probably cost him nearly as much as one of these would, but while waiting for the auto shop's phone call we went out and played for a while.  I checked this time - the range is only 10 minutes from town.   And it's really hysterical to be the driver when you have an A-type driving personality as a passenger.

As usual, I did most of the playing and he did the training.  ML brought his Marlin 1894 in .357 magnum and a 1911.  I brought the M-1, the little .38, and my 9 mm.   The aiming problem with the .38 is resolved and that aiming correctness just needs to be repeated regularly, with some single handed and moving added each time.  Still working on getting the sighting just right with the Glock - when shooting the spinner I sometimes hit the one below the one I'm aiming at, which tells me that I'm tilting the gun instead of keeping everything straight at the wrists.  ML showed me some one-hand drills - there comes that moment when you are standing there with an empty gun and thinking "Um...now how do I get a new magazine in there with one hand?"  That's interesting - I now know, at least in theory, how to chamber a round using the back sight of the Glock and my holster.  That's not something one normally thinks about.

Moved to 100 yard range, put a magazine in the M-1.  Chamber round.  Aim. Click.  Huh?  Eject round.  Magazine falls out.  Oh.  Gotta make sure I hear and feel that seating "click" when I put in a magazine.

Some straight up target practice with the rifles and then some runnin' through the jungle.  My oh my that gets the heart rate up!  ML went first.  I watched carefully, waiting for him to fall into a hole so I'd know not to go to that particular spot.  No such luck - would have been entertaining if he had.  I managed to put 10 out of 20 on my target.  Found that fairly satisfying considering I was jumping in and out of briers and poison ivy and switching magazines in the middle.  I at least had the benefit of a magazine.  Reloading the Marlin on the run looked like a serious challenge.

There was another shooter on the 50 yard line when we got there.  And he seemed to take forever for each shot.  I realize that aiming carefully is important, but Yeesh!  I can't see how he was having any fun doing it that way.  I also realize that there's a good chance that I'll never need any of the fancier skills ML is teaching me.  But it adds to the challenge of shooting.  And folks take CPR classes on the off chance they might need them one day.  I figure this is the same - I hope I'll never need it.  And it's a lot more fun than a CPR course.

Now I need to put my poison ivy exposed jeans in the wash - carefully.