Range Therapy

Any other old folks out there remember this?

Me and you and you and me

No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be

The only one for me is you, and you for me

So happy together

Well, my M1 and I are VERY happy together:

Muddy but ha ha the possible storm for Sunday missed us completely and Monday was nice and clear and warmer than expected - a great day for shooting.  Murphy's Law ran me through move and shoot drills with the M1 - you can see the shot pairs on the target.  That was fun - add a couple days a week of heavy yard work and who the heck needs a gym?  And if ML's bowling pin thought it had a hard life being knocked down by bowling balls, it needed to rethink because life as a target for a shotgun and a rifle definitely isn't easier. 

 And just when we thought 340 Defense had some class, some mutual friends showed up.

With a whole bunch of .45 caliber ammunition and a couple 1911s.  Which they generously allowed me to shoot.  Somebody who shall remain nameless had shot up all the 9 mm so I couldn't try the Glock 19 he was using.  I think it was in revenge for the spotting thing...

Then off for wings and beer.  And for me at least an evening of cleaning guns.  As well as contemplation of the idea that I need more guns.  And bigger caliber ones.

I'm in love.

It’s come late in life for me, but it has happened none the less. And I had to have help – I don’t know enough about such things to deal with this completely on my own. So Murphy’s Law stepped in and made the introductions. And I was immediately pretty sure that This Was The One. 

Handsome.  Elegant.  Perfectly proportioned in relationship to my short self.  A second date at Occupy Peacemaker, and I was sure. Once again Murphy’s Law stepped in, and he returned from his Christmas trip home with my new love:

Absolutely beautiful M-1 carbine made by Plainfield Machine Co.  Wood in perfect condition.  Barely used. Feels wonderful, like it was made just for me.  Shoots like a dream.

Today was range day, a perfect day for it, and I took possession of my new love.  Much pistol work first, with some training from ML on close encounters of the drawing your concealed weapon kind, as well as a lesson in retention. (Note to self - purchase real leather belt this weekend. This imitation crap can't take the stress.)  I am not a good multi-tasker;  pushing away with left hand and stepping back while sweeping shirt/jacket back and drawing and firing is going to require practice.  And yes, yes I can draw the .38 and find it in my hand with my shirt still wrapped around it.  In real life I hope I would have enough presence of mind (or enough sense of self preservation) to fire anyway but I wasn't going to put a hole in a perfectly good shirt for training.  ML had also repaired the H&R .22 and it is amazing how different it feels after several months of using firearms - it feels fine now whereas at first I didn't like it.  I still can't use it double action - I can pull that trigger way back but not quite far enough.  But single action feels good.

Finally, the M-1.  First time up - 25 yards:

50 yards:

100 yards (the shot in the 7 ring at about 11 o'clock is from ML's Springfield, which he was sighting):

 

And, finally, I finished messing up Murphy's Law's target at the 200 yard line - a cluster to the lower right and then I got the range:

I'm happy and excited - it was a terrific day at the range. Thanks, Murphy's Law, for bringing my baby home and showing me how to properly use it.  Thanks, Aaron of the Shekel, for parting with such a fine gun. 

Now I gotta go clean a bunch of guns...

Tuesday Lesson

...with Murphy's Law at the Izaak Walton League range involved one handed shooting.  My little .38 has a fairly heavy trigger pull, making up for the lack of a safety.  I was amazed at how much difference there is in trying to shoot one-handed - how much less steady and how much harder it is to pull the trigger.  I absolutely can't do it with my left hand - need to work on building strength there.  Right hand is hard but mostly I think I did OK.  Somebody else arrived and was a bit nit-picky about details of various rules, which made shooting uncomfortable and was distracting so I didn't think to try with the .32, which has a much easier trigger.

Also got to try ML's H&K P7. Interesting the way the gun cocks, feels nice, aims nice, fires nice.  Nice and flat - it would be easy to carry concealed. Very satisfying to chew up the center circle of the target with it.

I was actually standing further back today, and while there were some fliers I felt that most of the time I was doing reasonably well.  Mostly, I worked with the .38.  It's not a fun gun, per se, but since it's the current self defense weapon I need to be able to handle it well.  In some ways it is fun, though, because it presents a  challenge - hard trigger pull, light gun so it kicks.  Makes it satisfying when I'm able to send rounds where I want them to go.

Range day delayed

Not really - just the report on it.

I had a list of possible activities for my sister's visit - didn't include shooting.  She'd never really evidenced any interest in shooting before, but at one point she said "So, are we going shooting?".  Quick e-mail to the ever-gracious Murphy's Law.  I don't feel that I'm the one to be teaching anybody yet, so I greatly appreciate ML's willingness to do so.  I also think that everybody should be given a chance to shoot at least once under proper supervision so that they understand that guns are fine machines whose actions are based on the actions of the person handling them - they aren't evil, spirit-infested gremlins that hop out of drawers and holsters, randomly mowing down innocent by-standers.

So off we went on a Wednesday, with my .38 and .32, the old beat up shotgun I blogged about before, and ML's usual variety, including a Glock 9 mm and an M-1.

Sis had never shot before - she said jumped with each shot.

But she did pretty well and took her target home with her to show off.

I was happy to get to fire the M-1.  Nice.  Size is good for me.  Loved the sights.  I was really pleased with the results.  The paper plate died from center of mass shots.  I want one.

Time to test the shotgun.  Turns out Murphy's Law tests guns sort of the same way he drives - point it and let 'er rip.  The comforting thing about both situations is (I think), his assurance that "I'm a professional."  He did tell me that I should move away.  And he fired it from the hip rather than the shoulder.  Nothing bad happened except to the target.  Yep, that old gun still works.

So of course I had to do it, too.  I'd never fired a shotgun before and I made the newbie mistake of not snugging it up good.  That thing makes a right good KER-BLAM!

It's all healed up now, so I want to go out and see if I can NOT do that again.  Also, the ejector wasn't doing its job, so each shell had to be popped out with a little screwdriver.  I want to see if a couple weeks of saturation with Rem Oil has fixed that. 

A run to Hedgesville to check out The Arsenal of Democracy, where I was introduced to a CZ (I forget what) that fit my hand very well, then home for cleaning.  And beer.  Guns cannot be cleaned properly without lubricant.

My sister is very artsy-craftsy and I'm not.  It requires a delicate touch.  I'm prone to whacking things with something.  I still struggle with cleaning the .32 because you have to turn things just right to disassemble and reassemble the barrel and slide.  She takes it and just click click.  I take a half hour.  Jiggle jiggle.  Grumble.  Jiggle jiggle.  Grumble.

Of the five guns that were Dad's the only one that hasn't been fired is the Arisaka he brought home from Japan.  Murphy's Law gave it a good cleaning and has pronounced it fit to fire, pending the replacement of a couple parts that were missing.  So, next up:

A very enjoyable day.  Thanks again, Murphy's Law!

Mixed bag...

... at the range this week.  I want too much too soon and moved too far back at first, which cost me accuracy.  Felt better when I had chewed a good sized hole in the center of the target with the Browning after moving up again.  That's a fun gun to shoot - substantial feeling without being big or overly heavy.  Easy to control.  The little .38 is more of a problem.  I'm tending to the left, and sometimes I'm doing the mental equivalent of a face squinch just before it fires, which means I'm anticipating the shot and flinching.  The only solution I know is to go shoot it some more.

Range day!

Finally!  Hotter’n billy blue blazes but range day nonetheless.  Murphy’s Law once again allowed me to tag along to the local Izaak Walton League range.  This time the S&W AirLite Ti went for testing and the Browning .32 went for play.  The Browning had been useful earlier in the week in demonstrating budget matters:  since the ammo I ordered on-line isn’t here yet I stopped at a gun shop to pick up a box.  Ow!  Twice as much as the on-line cost! Ow! (An aside about the gun shop:  $1500 - $2000 for a BB gun?  Really?!)

I don’t know where my head was for a while, but those first few rounds with both guns wandered all over the place. 

I sure wasn’t focused, and I know I’m a new shooter but it was bad enough that I was embarrassed.  I messed up the target so bad that I finally gave up on center of mass shots, thought about it, took a couple deep breaths, made myself settle, and started on the head so I could see where the shots were going again.  Much better – if the bad guy doesn’t duck he’s in deep doo doo:

 Definitely need to do a mental check before shooting next time.  Focus!

Once I settled down the little S&W shot just fine (or, rather, the shooter shot the little S&W just fine).  Its light weight means it does jar the hand – the force has to go somewhere – but not enough to bother me.  If I shot it for hours and hours day after day I think my right thumb and index finger joints would get sore, but I’d take something more substantial to any intensive training anyway, so that’s not really a problem.  It’s a keeper – simple, light, good for concealed carry.  Need to get a couple five-shot reloaders for it.

Then we moved to the rifle range.  Um.  Yeah.  Or, no.  First time I’ve tried anything at 100 yards.  Forty rounds with the Ruger 10/22.  Five rounds actually in the target itself.  Couldn’t seem to keep a good sight picture in my head for nothing, and couldn’t seem to get the rifle snugged up right no matter what way I wiggled.  Bleah.  Gotta work on that.  I’d really like to try a gun with a cut down or junior stock on it.  My arms are short and no matter what I did I felt like something was getting pushed too far back to be right.

Then of course, one has to eat and rehydrate, then home to finish the office part of the day before cleaning.  The Browning is still a challenge to take apart and reassemble, but I’ve got most of the theory of how the parts fit together in my head now.  I know that at certain points you just have to work at things for a minute and then they’ll go into place.  All clean, reassembled, clip back in, dry fire to test.  Um.  It should dry fire with the clip in it.  Nuttin’.   Strip and inspect.  Everything looks OK.  All parts present.  Reassemble.  Nuttin’.  Repeat.   Grrrr….  I keep telling myself that it’s good practice.  And telling the gun to “Fire, blast it!”  No good.  I was just getting aggravated enough to decide to set it aside for a while when Murphy’s Law and Murphy appear at my door with more .38 ammo for the S&W.  Thank-you!  And did you somehow know I was sitting here cussing the .32?  So Murphy’s Law, whose knowledge of guns is way out there, strips the Browning.  Fiddles with it, reassembles it.  No dry fire.  Does it again.  This time the firing pin drops out and has to be reinserted.  And that may have been the key, because suddenly cranky gun is fine.  Only thing we can figure is that the pin wasn’t seated just right and when it had to be reinserted it fixed whatever was off.

So Murphy’s Law has pronounced me safe to myself and unlikely to cause  fellow shooters at a range to duck and cover.  It’s more fun to go with someone, of course – fun to ping and tease someone else about their shots.  And I like Murphy’s Law keeping an eye on what I’m doing so that things get corrected before they can become bad habits – “Get that second finger off the trigger!”  But I’m thinking I’ll join the Izaak Walton League myself now and feel safe in going alone.  And the next step is my concealed carry permit.   

Range day!

Woo hoo!  Range day!  Tried out the Browning .32  cleaned per an earlier post, and the Harrington & Richardson Model 929 .22, as well as a Smith and Wesson Model 10 .38 revolver and a Ruger 10-22 rifle borrowed from the arsenal known as Murphy’s Lair.   

Absolutely loving the Browning – it fits my hand wonderfully and my reaction to the first shot was "Wow!  That feels great!"  I was really happy – I don’t know when this gun was last fired and I had never fired it before so I didn’t know what to expect.  It was still an adventure to reassemble after cleaning but eventually that will work out and I’ll lose my fear of having to hand over a plastic bag full of gun pieces to be reassembled.

The H&R 929 laid next to an uncle's bed for years, ended up in Dad's bed stand for years after that, and then came to live with me when Dad died.   Like the Browning, t's been languishing in my dresser drawer since 1998 and I have no idea when it was last fired before that. 

It was also good, but didn’t feel as outstanding in my hand.  Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced against the plastic grips. First rounds showed that I needed to find a different spot on the sight – I was hitting low.  I think that got fairly well worked out after a bit – I need to put a spot of white-out on the correct spot on the forward sight.   My hand also is not accustomed to the trigger, and I’m a lot more on target with single action than when I try to use it double action.  I end up concentrating so much on pulling the trigger that I pull up as I am firing.  This gun went out of commission as of the last time I went to empty the rounds. The pic here does not show the little screw that the cylinder assembly pivots around.  That would be because someone had lost the original and just put a standard screw in its place.  That screw worked out at some point while I was firing and dropped into the gravel, never to be seen again.  At least a replacement can be ordered.

The S&W 10 felt good – better than the H&R.  More substantial, but not too heavy or too large for my hands.  I fired one of the same size both times I was at the range before and they felt too big, but I think my hands are becoming more comfortable with guns in them so the feel is changing.  It's becoming less awkward. And Murphy makes sure the guns in the Lair are well cared for, so it may also reflect a gun that has been carefully cleaned and oiled as compared to one that sat forever without use or care.  It also had an easier trigger, but even with that I was still pulling up.  Single action best right now with the revolvers.  Time time time. Practice practice practice.

And about the third time I did it I realized I was cocking the revolvers for the first shot while they were still pointed down rather than after they were pointed at the target.  No no no.  I stand with my feet spread but as I brought the gun up it occurred to me that that was something that could go very wrong even with accidentally firing between my feet.   Although I guess I would only do that once. It would be one of those things that leaves an impression.

The rifle was fun – light and easy to use.  And I like rifles - I want to play with more.  I need to remember to snug them up  better – I end up carrying more weight than I need to but I tend to figure that out right about as I take the last shot in the magazine.  The one problem – I don’t see the target so good even with glasses after a certain distance.  So with the longer distance I was just hoping I’d hit somewhere in the target.

 

I need to learn to breathe.  I'd realize I had taken several shots and held my breath the whole time.  Need to work on my stance - my posture causes me back problems because I throw my weight wrong when standing and that's carrying over into my shooting stance.  And after about 3 shots my glasses would fog up.  Like, what?  Is my brain overheating from concentrating on aiming?

Finished up by watching a guy finish loading and fire his black powder rifle.  Cool gun, but, jeez, sure wouldn't want to be in a hurry.   And then of course the pleasantly messy job of cleaning.

A very fun day.  Very fun and satisfying.   Thanks, Murph, for the outstanding training.  And I'm still coming to your house come the revolution - you have more toys.  I'll bring the beer.