Did You Go Shooting Today

Went shooting for the first time in a couple of months. I had a couple of guns I had bought that I had not shot yet (a Jericho, and a Keltec Sub 2k) and they both shot flawlessly.

My nephew, who is a public school teacher, had invited a young woman who is visiting our country from Argentina. He wanted to give her the American 2A experience. She wasn't interested so much in shooting the guns herself, but she was very much interested in the idea of citizens being able to own guns. As a general rule, people aren't allowed to own guns in her country. I had a nice discussion with her about our founding fathers, the constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the reason behind the Second Amendment.

We had brought with us a selection of American guns that were historically significant, such as an M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, 1911A1, Thompson, etc. I also brought a Bersa Thunder 380, since it was made in Argentina. I did get her to shoot one round with it. I pointed out that she had to come to America to be able to shoot a gun that was manufactured in her country.
 
Wife and son both had school today, but it was a holiday for me at work…so I headed to the range. Was in my bay ~7:45a, enjoying the beautiful day. 36° at 8am. The plan was to sight in some recently installed optics, and confirm distances on two that had been roughly sited in before. This was today’s lineup:

C2FF1A98-9E99-459E-835E-CE4254DF7704.jpeg

I didn’t shoot them in this order, but I’ll list them top-to-bottom with some notes.

Overall notes first:
• set one target up at 50yd, and one at 100’
• all optics were roughly sighted in Saturday by removing bolts and lining up view through barrel
• I’d start on the 100’ and make sure it was close to center…especially for windage
• for a couple I stopped there, and for the rest I finished it up at 50yd

1. 12” 5.56 SBR w/ Saker 762. New Vortex Spitfire (1X prism) installed. Sighted it in @ 50yd.
2. 11.5” 5.56 pistol w/ 5050 barrel shroud. New Spitfire installed. Sighted it in @ 50yd.
3. 15-22 pistol w/ Form 1 can. New Monstrum Blackbird (1.5X prism) installed. Sighted in @ 100’.
4. 7” 9mm SBR w/ Octane 9. This is my primary HD firearm unless I’m using what’s on my hip. New Spitfire installed. Sighted in @ 100’.
5. 10.5” 5.56 SBR w/ Saker 556. New Spitfire installed. Sighted in @ 50yd.
6. Henry BBX 38/357 w/ Osprey45. New Monstrum 1-4X scope installed. Attempted to sight it in @ 50yd.
7. Rossi Rio Bravo w/ SilencerCo Spectre 22. TruGlo 4X scope previously installed. Confirmed it was sighted in @ 100’.
8. Rossi Gallery w/ Spectre 22. TruGlo 4X scope previously installed. Confirmed it was sighted in @ 40’ (w/ CB Shorts).
9. Heritage Tactical Cowboy w/ Spectre 22. New Sousa Raid installed. Test fired, not sighted in.
10. 6” AR57 pistol w/ Form 1 can. New Spitfire installed. Sighted in @ 50yd.

8/10 went easy-peasy. So let’s just talk about what didn’t go right.

• forgot my new Athlon 20-60X spotting scope at home, even though it was on my checklist…because I didn’t check my checklist before leaving (I survived because my other one was still in a box I was taking)
• didn’t remember to take the box for the Raid, and didn’t have a screwdriver small enough to adjust it, so I just shot a few rounds of 22LR w/ bare muzzle, w/ brake, and w/ silencer…honestly all three sounded about the same (more pics and some discussion around that pistol can be found here)
• I was going to attempt to shoot some 22WMR through it as well. Ordered the cylinder (from Academy) a couple weeks ago and it showed up on Sat. I didn’t open it until I got to the range…and found this:

0890C5B8-534C-4641-A097-D169889661B0.jpeg
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• stopped by Academy on the way home and returned it, and ordered a new one directly from Heritage while I was still in Academy’s parking lot
• I don’t even know what to say about the BBX. The short version is I just quit. I don’t know if the issue is the shooter, or the gun, or the ammo, or the optic, or the silencer. Maybe sighting in @ 50yds wasn’t the best idea? I was using some 130gr round nose FMJ. I must’ve shot 35 rounds, and don’t think I ever had one come within 6” of the previous shot. Since I knew I was getting frustrated, and don’t have much 38 ammo to begin with, I thought stopping would be the best idea. Man, it sounded good though. Fun to shoot. Will try again another day, hopefully with somebody else with me to rule out the shooter being the problem.

My best swag adjustment resulted in this target. Can’t even remember which one it was…maybe the 9mm? I was far enough off I didn’t count clicks, just spun it up & left after the first shot, and got this one on the second:

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Took my dad and his friend to the range today to teach the guy how to use the 12 gauge pump he bought "just in case". the LGS sold him a box of lead chucker 00 buck instead of bird shot which is nice. He said the recoil 'wasn't bad'... until the 3rd or 4th shot. :)

We had him working with snap caps to make sure he had the load/unload procedure down; he's saying he wants to get some so he can practice that on his own. If he does, that's a good thing. if he doesn't, he's now aware of just how little he knows and seemed to scared to take it out of the safe. Also... new gun owner with one handgun, one shotgun and a SAFE. I'm glad some sales guy talked him into secure storage, I'm a fan of not arming criminals by leaving your crap laying around in a closet.
 
Took my wife to the range with me. She hasn't been keeping up with practice with her VP9. No matter. She shot very well, all centered and just a little low.
She also shot my Wilson Brig Tac 92. Her comment was "Whoa" after she stacked 5 rounds in one long-ish hole.
She only put one round through the Kimber revolver. "Nope". I don't like it.

I put 55 rounds through the revolver myself. Was getting some chronograph data and making some impressive fireballs.
 
Timfoilhat said:
Took my wife to the range with me. She hasn't been keeping up with practice with her VP9. No matter. She shot very well, all centered and just a little low.
She also shot my Wilson Brig Tac 92. Her comment was "Whoa" after she stacked 5 rounds in one long-ish hole.
She only put one round through the Kimber revolver. "Nope". I don't like it.

I put 55 rounds through the revolver myself. Was getting some chronograph data and making some impressive fireballs.
Click to expand...
Get a chance to try the Pitbull?
 
BigWaylon said:
Wife and son both had school today, but it was a holiday for me at work…so I headed to the range. Was in my bay ~7:45a, enjoying the beautiful day. 36° at 8am. The plan was to sight in some recently installed optics, and confirm distances on two that had been roughly sited in before. This was today’s lineup:

View attachment 441012

I didn’t shoot them in this order, but I’ll list them top-to-bottom with some notes.

Overall notes first:
• set one target up at 50yd, and one at 100’
• all optics were roughly sighted in Saturday by removing bolts and lining up view through barrel
• I’d start on the 100’ and make sure it was close to center…especially for windage
• for a couple I stopped there, and for the rest I finished it up at 50yd

1. 12” 5.56 SBR w/ Saker 762. New Vortex Spitfire (1X prism) installed. Sighted it in @ 50yd.
2. 11.5” 5.56 pistol w/ 5050 barrel shroud. New Spitfire installed. Sighted it in @ 50yd.
3. 15-22 pistol w/ Form 1 can. New Monstrum Blackbird (1.5X prism) installed. Sighted in @ 100’.
4. 7” 9mm SBR w/ Octane 9. This is my primary HD firearm unless I’m using what’s on my hip. New Spitfire installed. Sighted in @ 100’.
5. 10.5” 5.56 SBR w/ Saker 556. New Spitfire installed. Sighted in @ 50yd.
6. Henry BBX 38/357 w/ Osprey45. New Monstrum 1-4X scope installed. Attempted to sight it in @ 50yd.
7. Rossi Rio Bravo w/ SilencerCo Spectre 22. TruGlo 4X scope previously installed. Confirmed it was sighted in @ 100’.
8. Rossi Gallery w/ Spectre 22. TruGlo 4X scope previously installed. Confirmed it was sighted in @ 40’ (w/ CB Shorts).
9. Heritage Tactical Cowboy w/ Spectre 22. New Sousa Raid installed. Test fired, not sighted in.
10. 6” AR57 pistol w/ Form 1 can. New Spitfire installed. Sighted in @ 50yd.

8/10 went easy-peasy. So let’s just talk about what didn’t go right.

• forgot my new Athlon 20-60X spotting scope at home, even though it was on my checklist…because I didn’t check my checklist before leaving (I survived because my other one was still in a box I was taking)
• didn’t remember to take the box for the Raid, and didn’t have a screwdriver small enough to adjust it, so I just shot a few rounds of 22LR w/ bare muzzle, w/ brake, and w/ silencer…honestly all three sounded about the same (more pics and some discussion around that pistol can be found here)
• I was going to attempt to shoot some 22WMR through it as well. Ordered the cylinder (from Academy) a couple weeks ago and it showed up on Sat. I didn’t open it until I got to the range…and found this:

View attachment 441025
View attachment 441026

• stopped by Academy on the way home and returned it, and ordered a new one directly from Heritage while I was still in Academy’s parking lot
• I don’t even know what to say about the BBX. The short version is I just quit. I don’t know if the issue is the shooter, or the gun, or the ammo, or the optic, or the silencer. Maybe sighting in @ 50yds wasn’t the best idea? I was using some 130gr round nose FMJ. I must’ve shot 35 rounds, and don’t think I ever had one come within 6” of the previous shot. Since I knew I was getting frustrated, and don’t have much 38 ammo to begin with, I thought stopping would be the best idea. Man, it sounded good though. Fun to shoot. Will try again another day, hopefully with somebody else with me to rule out the shooter being the problem.

My best swag adjustment resulted in this target. Can’t even remember which one it was…maybe the 9mm? I was far enough off I didn’t count clicks, just spun it up & left after the first shot, and got this one on the second:

View attachment 441024
Click to expand...
Was making some notes in a phone on my file about zeroed distances, and realized I didn’t install the right optics on the 10.5” 5.56 SBR. I had another one (3X prism) here I’d penciled in to use. 🙄

Guess it’ll go back to the range with the next batch I have to sight in…
 
BigWaylon said:
Get a chance to try the Pitbull?
Click to expand...
Yes. :) It's almost what I'd call snappy with standard 124 gr 9mm ball. It also shoots about 4-5 inches low and an inch left at 25 yards (in my hands). On a person sized target someone aiming center mass is still getting hits, but knowing the sights are regulated a little low means it's probably a good idea to make the point of aim level with the shoulders.

Factory S&B 124 runs Avg 977 fps from the Pitbull. I made a Lehigh defensive round that's a 90 grain solid that runs avg 1053 fps from the Pitbull's 2 inch barrel and has "recoil" that isn't worth talking about. I'll give you a cylinder or two full of those if you're interested trying in my reloads.

Then I cleaned it up nicely because I have proper manners.

That CJ holster is awesome BTW. I'll bring it to lunch next Friday, I already told my boss I'm out at lunch.
 
I had a waste of ammo today!
Have not been to the range in a couple of weeks and needed to adjust the gas block in an AR-15 - 6.5 Grendel and verify zero on that gun and AR-15 - 223.

I brought 2 different bags of ammo for the 6.5, one bag I owed a guy for some brass that he gave me (20 loaded rounds of 123 gr Lapua) and a bag of Hornady 123 SST. The guy was not there, which was lucky for me. I started off with the Hornady but would not feed into the chamber. After 4 or 5 FTFs, I switch over to the Lapua. No problem feeding them. This gun was a recent build and I put a new scope on it. I thought it was new but........ At 100 yards, I had a shot pattern of 2.5 to 3 inches. The wind was blowing about 15 MPH moving the target stand around, but I needed to adjust the focus and parallax on every shot. The scope went back to Bass Pro.
Next up was the 223 which was shooting about 1.5 MOA with the silencer and a little bit more without it.

When I got home, I measured the OAL of the Hornady and it was about 2.50" and should have been 2.40ish. I reset the OAL on those rounds.
 
First Glock match for me is in about 6 weeks in Morgantown NC. Went to DPRC yesterday to practice the Glock M stage with my G 43X. Working on double tapping first and second targets then third target usually a steel plate. My goal is to get off 5 shots under 3.5 seconds with no penalty time. Doesn't happen often hence the practice. Fired 200 rnds 125 gr. 9MM.
Targets are 2 tombstone and small circle. Distance 7, 9 and 10 yds.20220222_112340.jpg
 
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Took the new Tisas 1911a1 to give her a warm up. Was very impressed. Above is my first shots out of the box at 7 yards. I am far from a good pistol shot, (in fact, during a match once an old RO leaned over to me and said “if you are ever in a gun fight, grab your rifle…”)

Put around 100 or so rounds through it and about 50 through the Ruger. Not a large volume day, as well, ammo is t cheap and I was short on time.

The Ruger is a bit more accurate in my hands, though I’m sure that’s due to gi sights V adjustable modern sights. But for “social work” the Tisas is as accurate as I can be. I’m very happy with it.

Only odd thing I noticed is that it doesn’t like 8 round Wilson Combat mags on insertion. The mag catch stops if from being inserted and I have to depress the catch to get them in. All 7 round “GI” style mags went in smoothly and effortlessly. Not a big deal to me as it’s not a dedicated self defense piece, and I like the classic flush fit 7 rounders for the classic look with it.

On the downside, I took my pocket blaster LCPII to test some flat point ammo from Freedom Munitions. And since it’s my main daily carry I like to practice at least a few mags every time I shoot. But today it gave me fits. Did not want to cycle the flat points. I thought it could be my fingers moving the magazine under recoil, as the little thing is not the easiest pistol to hold. But when I got home I emptied it, wiped it off, inserted a mag and the bullet hit flush with the ramp and wouldn’t move. So after seeing this happen a few times I grabbed a box of round nose FMJ and it all seemed to manually cycle fine. So I loaded my mags and manually cycled through each of them to make sure they loaded and ejected.

I’m confident enough to carry it, but it’s the first thing im going to shoot during my next range trip.


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Took AR-15 in 6.5 Grendel out to zero the scope. Was using Hornady 123 SST and Lupua 123 bullets. Both over 31.2 grs of CRE223 (est. 2500 ft/sec).
Started at 35 yards, then 50 yards and ended up at 100 yards. Both bullets have a BC of 0.510. It is night and day between shooting those bullets. I could not get the Hornady under 1.8 MOA. At 100 yards, I put a supressor on the gun and the POI dropped almost 4". Took the can off and loaded the Laupua rounds and shot the top 2 targets. The wind was blowing where I had to use 3 stakes to keep the traget from turning over.
20220304_131657.jpg20220304_131748.jpg
 
B00ger said:
Took the new Tisas 1911a1 to give her a warm up. Was very impressed. Above is my first shots out of the box at 7 yards. I am far from a good pistol shot, (in fact, during a match once an old RO leaned over to me and said “if you are ever in a gun fight, grab your rifle…”)
Click to expand...

Nice!

As for not being a good pistol shot...

Back in the early days of my Navy career, when they hadn't yet shifted over to the M9, the qualification for the .45 shoot was 20/30 rounds in the black in a full sized silhouette target. No numerical concentric circle scoring at all.

Now, you'd THINK this would be no problem, but one of the guys in my division would have a problem hitting the broad side of a barn from inside with the doors closed. This after lots of range time trying to get him up to speed.

We finally decided we'd make sure he was in a lane between two of us when we went to qualify and we'd each shoot 10 rounds into his target.

When we shot the course of fire, I scored 30/30 (you can't count all the holes when it's just a small ragged hole torn out of the center), the guy one the other side scored similarly.

The guy from my division?

21.

We put 20 rounds into his target and he managed to get ONE out of the 30 he had to qualify with.

🤣🤣🤣
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Nice!

As for not being a good pistol shot...

Back in the early days of my Navy career, when they hadn't yet shifted over to the M9, the qualification for the .45 shoot was 20/30 rounds in the black in a full sized silhouette target. No numerical concentric circle scoring at all.

Now, you'd THINK this would be no problem, but one of the guys in my division would have a problem hitting the broad side of a barn from inside with the doors closed. This after lots of range time trying to get him up to speed.

We finally decided we'd make sure he was in a lane between two of us when we went to qualify and we'd each shoot 10 rounds into his target.

When we shot the course of fire, I scored 30/30 (you can't count all the holes when it's just a small ragged hole torn out of the center), the guy one the other side scored similarly.

The guy from my division?

21.

We put 20 rounds into his target and he managed to get ONE out of the 30 he had to qualify with.

🤣🤣🤣
Click to expand...
How did he not put extra holes in your target shooting wide like that? Or does the roof leak over his lane now?
 
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Timfoilhat said:
How did he not put extra holes in your target shooting wide like that? Or does the roof leak over his lane now?
Click to expand...

I have no fricking clue. But his name was "Chad", so maybe that had something to do with it!

🤣🤣🤣

It's almost like he was shooting with his eyes closed the entire time, but even you or I could put a significant number of holes in a man-sized target on a range lane at the typical ridiculously close ranges for that particular course of fire.

It was 30 rounds at something like 3, 7, and 15 yards (all timed but for us would be slow fire), and in one instance you had to shift to weak hand for a few rounds. That's it.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
I have no fricking clue. But his name was "Chad", so maybe that had something to do with it!

🤣🤣🤣

It's almost like he was shooting with his eyes closed the entire time, but even you or I could put a significant number of holes in a man-sized target on a range lane at the typical ridiculously close ranges for that particular course of fire.

It was 30 rounds at something like 3, 7, and 15 yards (all timed but for us would be slow fire), and in one instance you had to shift to weak hand for a few rounds. That's it.
Click to expand...
You should give him a call and tell him he's responsible for the hole in the ozone layer.
 
.22lr and 9mm therapy today, TSA in Raleigh. Ran the Walther P22 with my modified TK Wingmans and the last round hold open is restored.
The +15 Keltec adapters for the CP-33 ran 100 % 50 rds each no problems. Taurus G2C with the TK green light pipe I added ran great, good shooter. My Beretta APX compact ran well, got to shoot it more to get used to it. I would have gone to Frontline Defense but the rifle ranges are closed due to brush fire from Friday, once it rains up there Paul will open them up.
 
TSA in Raleigh today with the .22lr Beretta Neos and M9, Glock 21 .45acp and 31 .357Sig.
Invited the couple in the next lane to check out CFF, I hope they do. Range #1 was full, good to see new shooters getting training.
 
Went back today to shoot a bit. My LCPII gave me fits last week and I thought it may be ammo related. So I swapped to regular ball ammo. It was still having FTE and some FTFs. My only assumption is my grip is somehow interfering with the slide, or I’m limp wristing it. I have kinda a hard time getting a decent grip due to its size. I hadn’t had issues before, so it’s somewhat irritating. I’ve had to pull it out of my carry rotation, so I’ll miss having an easy pocket pistol.

Now I decide, do I just put it up and try it again some day, do I sell it with full disclosure of my issues, or do I send it back to Ruger?

I then shot my CZ P01 and carry pistol P07 with excellent results. So that made me happier.

I shot a Walter PPkS, but it had a few hiccups as well. So it isn’t a good .380 time for me.

I then ended with another 50 through the new Tisas 1911a1 and it was accurate and smooth. So ended on a high note.

But it goes to show the importance of actually shooting your carry guns. The range is a wonderful place to find out a pistol isn’t working well for you rather than when one may actually need it.


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I managed to jump out for a minute and shoot theses. Shot 100 round through the GI No Name 1911 in 9mm and then about 100 rounds through the 3 revolvers. All ran perfectly with some factory 158gr ammo and my reworked 158gr reloads. The ammo monkey was able to figure out his error and correct it. @nosquibs

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Went with a buddy of mine to a local shooting preserve today and did some Quail hunting. Something I purely love but haven't
done in many years.
About the most fun I've had in a long time. Might try to go back for some Pheasant before it ends at the end of the month. They provide the guide, the dogs, and if you want will clean the birds.
 
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Frontline Defense today, several .22, 9mm, .40s&w and .357sig on the pistol side, rimfire range with the Rossi Rio Bravo lever rifle. Moved to the 500yd range for AR-47, BCA upper and first time using my 6.5 Grendel Combat Armory with PSA lowers. I like both of them, the 6.5 is nice.
Had both rifle ranges to myself, nobody knows how bad i shoot. I was thrilled, kept hearing the steel ring...... alas it was the spent brass hitting the metal folding chair at the next bench. :(
 
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I recently upgraded from my LCPII to a Sig P365 so I wanted to hit the range and test it out. Went today and put about 150 rounds through it without a problem. I’m not “in love” with it, but I am happy to have a small carry gun to fill in the LCPs place and I think I’ll grow to like it even more. 11 rounds of 9mm in my pocket is nice. Still waiting on a decent holster to come in for it, so in the mean time just carrying it in a simple pocket holster.

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But, keeping with the tradition of something having to go wrong at the range: I also took my RIA 1911 in 10mm to play with since it had been a long time since I shot it. It shot great. Accurate, fun recoil. No problems. Put around 60 rounds through it.

The problem started when I got home. I noticed some brass marks on the top of the slide, so it’s throwing brass in a weird way. And then I noticed the hammer was following the slide and wouldn’t lock back. My assumption is that something in the trigger has come loose, or isn’t in the right place. I generally don’t mind tinkering with my stuff, but I’m not knowledgeable of 1911 triggers. So going to have to take it to a smith soon. I don’t hear any rattling, so I don’t think anything has sheared off. It just baffles me that it ran fine, and only got buggered up during cleaning….and all I did when cleaning it was wiped the slide down with an oil rag. Didn’t disassemble anything.


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I was having withdrawals from not shooting. i had to break the trigger on something. With that being said, I grabbed the Savage MKII and the range bag and headed to the 500 yard range. When I got there, the wind was blowing pretty good so instead of the long range, I made it to the 100 yard range but with no targets. The 500 has steel starting at 200 yards. Someone left a 3/4 full pint water bottle, so it went on the bearm. After knocking it around some, I started policing my brass and notice some 6.5 Grendell and Creedmoor brass on the ground and some 308. Picked up about 1/2 of a gallon zip lock back. Headed back home to tumble the brass for 4-5 hours. I can honestly say that I spent more in gas today than bullets. Might have shot 50 rounds of 22 LR.
 
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wvsig said:
I managed to jump out for a minute and shoot theses. Shot 100 round through the GI No Name 1911 in 9mm and then about 100 rounds through the 3 revolvers. All ran perfectly with some factory 158gr ammo and my reworked 158gr reloads. The ammo monkey was able to figure out his error and correct it. @nosquibs

hIIFvhT.jpg
Click to expand...

Good Lord!

That pristine slide and general appearance of that GI No Name are GORGEOUS!

I never heard of it before and just googled it. Waaaaaaay too steep for me for what it is, but the fact that the slide has absolutely NOTHING detracting from it's appearance is AWESOME! No stamping, no engraving, no manufacturer or model number...unbelievable!

I want one...but not at the price I'm working up to for my Wildey!

That said...STOP THAT! I don't need people like you posting MORE ways for me to spend my hard earned money!

That's what I have a wife and kids for, you know!

😃
 
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