3 Boxes of BS

Well after the week I had last week I really needed to get out to the range for some recoil therapy.

Got up early, borrowed the wife’s car and headed out to the range before it got incredibly hot.
We already have had several days of over 95 degree temps — not a lot of fun and summer hasn’t even started.

Started off the morning with a half a dozen mags of .22 out of the Browning Buckmard (remind me to return that to my very generous Tx Father in Law one day).

Was shooting at 15 yards and did okay. Not great but everything was on the paper – I really need to get to new glasses from a 2nd Amendment friendly doctor. Maybe I can actually see to shoot if I do.

Next I moved to the Taurus PT-145. I decided to refresh my carry ammunition by expenditure both of what is in the mag now and what I had been carrying.

First up 11 rounds at 7 yards. (As with most pics, click to enlarge)

Not bad I think.

Continue Reading

Okay, for the vast majority of my readers (3 out of the 4 of you) this will be old hat.

For some folks it might be useful, for me it is a way of documenting what I learned along the way. And since it is my blog, I get to write what I want

So, let’s talk about what to do when you decide to get your Concealed Handgun License as it is called here in Texas. Maybe you won’t do things backwards like I did.

I decided to get my license, started the paperwork, took the class submitted it, got my licenses — then figured out what firearm I was going to carry, had to buy said firearm, then figure out how to carry it, had to buy said holster.

Not as smart as I should have been.

I would recommend going about it a little differently.

1. Buy the firearm you are going to carry before you get your license.

Practice with it before you strap it on. I actually bought my Taurus after I recieved my license then didn’t carry it for a long time until I was confident that I could reasonable hit what I was aiming at.

Buy the gun, practice practice and then practice again.

2. Buy a cheap holster or two.

WHAT? I can hear the screams of many people already but let me explain. Most of us don’t have access to friends who can loan us holsters for our particular firearm, so what do you do to figure out how to carry it?
Buy a cheap holster or two.
You know you will have problems with that holster, but it will point out the problems with carrying in that position. Does Small of the Back interfere with you sitting down? How does IWB (inside waist band) change how you reach for things? Does an OWB (outside Waist Band) show too much when you bend over to pick up something? A cheap holster will help you answer these questions without going broke.
Just realize that the cheap holster is just that and a quality holster will make a world of difference.

3. Carry around the house and yard for a while before venturing out in public.

It is better to find out at home that you have to be careful going through doorways or else that brand new SSTz5000 Blastomatic will ‘clunk’ very loudly  then to have people wondering if you are part cyborg in public.

Many activities you formerly took for granted will present you with interesting challenges also. Does your holster keep your firearm secure when you are trying to fasten your pants after a visit to the little boys room.

Is your wardrobe sized sufficiently to let you carry IWB or do you need to buy half a dozen more pants. (People really look at you strangely if you wear the same set of slacks 5 days a week–just saying).

4. Practice drawing from your choice of concealment.

–UNLOAD THE FIREARM FIRST, then Check to be sure it is unloaded — Carrying a firearm in public won’t do a person any good if it takes 15 minutes to get into action.

I found that using an Airsoft version of my carry firearm was a great way to safely practice this.

Just general advise from a relative noob. What other suggestions do you folks have?

Please join the discussion.

Another entry into my online journal of range reports. (Since it is my blog, you folks have to suffer through range reports, think of them as vacation pictures you have to look at to get dinner).

In reality, I’m trying to document my improvement – or lack thereof- in my marksmanship skills. This gives me a handy tool to do that and the comments I get really help me improve.

In case I didn’t say it before, thanks for all the tips, comments and suggestions- they are appreciated.

Started off with 140 rounds of .22 out of the Browning Buckmark. Going to have to give that back to my Tx Father In Law one day (but not today).

This is the last target I shot. 40 rounds all in a 6 inch center (2 inch bullseye).
(All distances at 7 yards)
The really remarkable thing about this target? Another shooter had an envelope of different targets, showed them to me and told me to take what I wanted. No cost, no problems.

That is the generosity of people in the shooting community. It still warms my heart to experience it in so many different ways.

Sufficiently warmed up, I tested the Lorcin Model 380 that I was given recently. I talked about it in the post here.

Actually working with the pistol showed me several issues that I don’t like. First, no slide lock. Second, the magazine seemed to be made out of stamped aluminum. Third, the magazine release button was awkwardly placed.

All in all, not a pistol that I would rely on for a carry piece but something that I can see keeping for TEOTWAWKI. I could trade it or hand it out in case we needed extra fire power. I doubt I’ll put any money into it.

It shot decently, I’ll give it that. Only 1 failure to feed out of 24 rounds.
This is a picture of the 23 rounds I put into the target

and a close up– not bad.

After the Lorcin, I took a break and then tried my hand at the Taurus Millennium Pro PT-145.

I think I’m finally getting a handle on the sights. So I can’t blame all the problems on them any more.

That was 20 rounds, slow fire, trying for greatest accuracy I could. Pretty big improvement from even the last time.

I then switched to another target. 20 rounds at a slightly faster tempo, then another 20 rounds at even faster. Accuracy not quite as good but still within “minute of bad guy”.

Compare that to a target with 30 rounds that I shot just 4 months ago.

All in all a very enjoyable way to spend the morning and I’ve gotten a blog post out of it and probably at least one more.

Please join the discussion — especially if you have tips, suggestions or comments on the shooting. I always willing to listen and learn. Thanks.

Consider this a placeholder for a range report.  Had some fun today on the rifle range and even took a semi-new shooter out, my 16 year old son. Be back later after a late lunch.

Ok, slightly recovered from the fun today. Temps were not as high, only 92 today but the humidity was up. Getting out to the range at 11:00 didn’t help, but with a teenage son mornings are very traumatic for him….he gets that from his mother.

We met up with my Texas Father in Law (Tx FIL) and as always he is very generous letting us use his rifles. I’m trying to get exact brands and model numbers but by the time we were done, we all just wanted to go home. It was very warm and humid, wore us out but in a a good way.

First up, I proudly show off my youngest son Z’s effort at 100 yard. I believe he was using a Howa 1500, I know the caliber was .223. Here he is shooting the first 5 rounds with Tx FIL in the background working on a 223 short mag load for hunting season.

Here is a picture of the 100 yard range we were using, the targets were 8.5 by 11….impossible to even see in the picture.

and Z’s best results from the day. First 10 rounds of the .223

He also shot at Ruger Model 77 in .22-250. I had a go at the Howa, but this was mostly his day to have fun. I did get a little fun in.

Tx FIL brought out his Browning in .300 short Win Mag. WOW. What a round. When he told me to snug it into my shoulder, he wasn’t kidding…not one bit.

Pulled the first two rounds…those are the  ones low and right, but quickly corrected. I don’t think I did too bad for using a borrowed rifle and optics. I was shooting from a bench rest. I’m not quite up to shooting free hand yet.

There were a couple of other shooters out there getting ready for deer season so we stopped and talked to them. Tx FIL has been a member of the club for a very long time, I think he probably knows most of the folks in the club. It was good to meet some of the other members.

We moved down to the 25 yard pistol range to let Z try the .22 handguns.

Not bad for his very first time with a handgun. That is 40 rounds of .22 at 7 yards. He’s shot .22 rifles and 410 shotguns at Boy Scout Summer camps, but never any hand guns.

I think I’m he’s ready for me to buy him a membership. My wife’s brother lives nearby and Z’s cousin is a member of the club, so I think he will enjoy it and we can have a family range day.

Z really enjoyed archery during the youth day we had recently and the club has a great archery range. Looks like I’ll be spending some money on a compound bow really soon. My life is so rough 

Thanks for reading and letting me brag on my boy.

Please join the discussion.

Update – From my Tx FIL – the 300WSM  or 300 Winchester Short Mag is a Browning A-Bolt, the 22-250 is a Rugar Model 77 Heavy barrel, and the 223WSM is a Winchester model 70 heavy barrel and the Rem 223 is a HOWA  Model 1500 LIGHTNING rifle.

Okay, finally made it back out to the range. Good news, I can hit a target with the Taurus, bad news I’m not as accurate as I would like to be.

And as I know that no post would be complete without pictures, here we go. (click to enlarge all pics)

 

One shot at the edge of the target; everything else at least was on the black. Shooting  extremely low and left…probably jerking the trigger for the left. But the sights are the problem for low. Have to figure out what is going on with that.

I am still not sure about the Heinie sights on the PT-145….wondering if I should keep them or replace them. Probably will keep them for a while. Anyone have any experience with them or the Millennium Pro PT-145s?

After taking a break to hydrate (very important in the Texas sun…even if the firing line was shaded and covered) changing targets..I ran another 2 magazines through.

Still low left mostly but getting better. Actually had 1 in the X Ring 

Currently, my supply isn’t as high as I would like so I’m trying to balance expending rounds, getting enough practice and shooting enough to give me an idea of what I’m doing wrong.

Luckily, I have great in-laws. My Texas Father In Law has loaned me a couple of 22s, a revolver and a semi to extend my practice time.

I did better with the “traditional” sites on the Browning Buckmark that I used to today. I probably ran about 150-160 rounds through it. This set of pictures is typical of the shooting I was able to do with the Browning

Again the range was 7 yards using a standard B7 target. Still slightly left, jerking the trigger, right?

 

Okay folks,

I’m turning to the experts or at least those with more experience than I.

I’m looking for two types of training drills; those I can do at home and those to do at the range.

I want to improve my consistency and accuracy.

At home, I know to dry fire and practice getting the trigger to break as a surprise. I have heard to put a penny on the front site to help keep the site on target.

Those are the types of drills and training tips I’m looking for, what else should I do?

Short Report – I’m a newbie, it shows, I stink.

Now for the longer report:

Made it to the range last night as the last two people out there were packing up and leaving. Wow, it was awesome to have an entire shooting club to myself. Of course, this was a very good thing because no one could see how badly I shot.

It also reinforced the need for safety, because I was all alone. I exercised extreme caution and forced myself to follow all the rules. End result a completely safe and injury free session of recoil therapy.

Unfortunately for all 3 of my readers, my laptop is down and that has the only xD card reader in the house, so no pictures. (notes to self, fix laptop, buy USB card reader).

Started off with the Taurus Millennium Pro PT-145, new gun, new sights, new shooter and I was lucky to be able to stay on the 8.5″x14″ Target at 7 yards.

Started getting the hang of it at the end, but I’ll need to put many many rounds down range. Oh Darn

After that switched to the Ruger, GP-100, using .38 specials. Did better, much better with the traditional and familiar sights on this revolver. Shooting double action, I had about an 8″ group after 36 rounds. Shooting 12 rounds single action, approximately 4″ groups, both at 7 yards.

I really noticed how bad my eye sight is and how my glasses affected my shooting. I wear bi-focals and to get the sights clear I was tilting my head back. I think this was why I was shooting low.

So, back to dry firing at home. Need to investigate what I can do with my glasses to make a difference. Any other advice for a newbie?