I still have a small backlog of range posts, BUT...

My cousin and I met at the range tonight to try out a 1911 and a 9mm of some sort.

Can I say how much I continue to love a 1911 in .45? If it weren't for Breda, I probably never would have shot C's 1911...and now I'm infatuated.

So. Springfield 1911 with a few upgraded parts (full length guide rod, lightened trigger, extended beavertail) makes me happy in places it shouldn't. I'm pleased to say V enjoyed it as much as I did...I think he'll be getting into the pistol game come Christmas. I'm so pleased. :)

On the other end of the spectrum, I encountered the Sig P226. Again. And neither of us liked it. It must be the gun itself, because this thing rattles like an old domestic pickup truck...and I had one feed failure out of 50. Thankfully it was easily cleared, but...it doesn't speak well for it. On top of that, I could feel the slide every time I shot it, and that was more than a little disconcerting. It almost felt like the slide was going to fall off. I think, henceforth, I'll be shooting *other* 9mm options.

I have to finish the write-up from V's first-ever range visit, but I haven't had much time. I'll get around to it, though.

I am SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED...

because this is on its way to me (as of some point today).

So far, the purse is gorrrrgeous. I'll post pictures of it (plus a writeup) once it arrives, of course.

Ugh, I hate Baltimore.

This hits too close to home.

Particularly when friends work in that building. Thankfully, only one person has been hurt.

URGENT(ish) question for those of you in the know...

A friend intends to visit us in October, and he'd like to bring his pistol along. Problem is, he wants to send it to himself via UPS.

How does one go about doing this? I've checked the Google machine, and it seems the consensus is one MAY be able to ship to oneself. Maybe. Can anyone substantiate this?

Thanks!

Who approved this?

C and I are discussing the idea of getting a camper to tow behind the truck.  This would allow for more affordable and accessible vacations, with the bonus of avoiding flying (and the added stress and financial bullshit).  I think we'd be able to avoid flying for the most part...unless, of course, we were to go overseas.

When greeted by the prospect of that x-ray machine, which has a sole purpose of giving the agent at the screen either wank material or a case of the giggles, I know I'd opt for the pat-down.  That should be safer and less humiliating, right?

Maybe not.

 Now I'm facing a dilemma.  I know that I have at least one trip in my future that involves flying.  When dealing with the pat-down from hell, should I:

1. Act overly excited before being touched by the officer, moan and groan like I'm enjoying it too much, then ask them to continue/keep going/do it harder when they're getting close to the end?
2. Close my eyes, "lie back, and think of England?"
3. Scream (loudly) about bad touches in my no-no places, followed by hysterical crying?

I'm torn.

At least guys have a great way of making the agents uncomfortable:

(click to embiggen)

My cousin bought his first shotgun today. After examining everything in his price range he ended up taking home a Remington 870. I'm so proud I could pop right now.

Interesting things are afoot...

So yesterday, this happened.

In the words of my friend  FightinBluHen5 (from a conversation yesterday): FUCKING AWeSOME NESSSSSSs
ShHOLY SHIT!

  YAYAYAYAYA 

My friend's not so great with using his words when he gets excited. ;)

Anyway, I look forward to watching this unfold.  Who knows - with Alan Gura on the job, maybe we'll win.

Celebrating the nation's independance with rifle time?

Sounds like a gooood time to me!

The weekend of the 4th, C and I had two houseguests - P and M.  These guys are pretty close friends of ours, and we always have fun when they come to visit.  This time, we planned some time for firearms.  Turns out the guys wanted to hit both pistol and rifle ranges.  Hey Mike - sorry for not letting you know.  It was super last minute.  Next time, I'll be making plans a little farther out so I can let you know.

Anyway, I missed out on the pistol range run, as I was suffering with a migraine, but C tells me the boys shot his .45 and at least one 9mm (as well as the shotgun).  I believe he said they rented an XDM.  They sounded like they had fun, and C enjoys the XDM a lot more than the XD.

The following day I managed to remain headache-free, so we hit the rifle range...and oh, what an afternoon we had!  We took all cleaned and serviceable rifles in the house: my little .22,my Mauser, and both of the ARs.  We packed up an ammo box with enough to keep everyone happy for a few hours.

The trek to the range wasn't horrid...I'd say MAYBE 45 minutes.  It's out to the west of the city, in a less populated area.  The range was clean, covered, nicely laid out, and fortunately for us it wasn't terribly busy that particular day.  The day also managed to stay comfortable until about 2 or so, which made it pleasant under the awning on the rifle side.

We paid for a lane (worthy of note - they charge a flat fee for a lane, rather than hourly and per person.  nice!) and set up.  We had to wait for a cease-fire to set up targets, so we unpacked and set up the rifles, instead.  We started the day with the ARs...and found they both seem to have a flaw.  Throughout 3 or so hours of shooting, both had consistent feed issues.  We have a variety of plastic and metal magazines, so we couldn't easily blame the problem on those; we only had the Prvi ammo I bought off Mike awhile back and the guns were essentially identical, with matching Del-Ton uppers, sequentially numbered lowers, and identical parts kits for the lowers.  C thinks the ammo is the issue here...I intend to pick up more .223 in various brands to really test this theory.  The boys seemed to enjoy shooting them, however, so I can't complain too much.  We just need to figure out why the rifles won't feed properly.  If anyone has any tips, please feel free to share.  We'll take all suggestions given.

I set up the Mauser about mid-way through our visit, and noticed the gentleman next to us (who has a 1941 Mauser his uncle brought back from the war) watch me set up.  He caught me before I started shooting, and offered 5 rounds of Russian 8mm.  Apparently what he had wouldn't punch as much what I brought with me.*  It's true - his stuff was gentler than my stuff.  I shot one round and realized why they make gel pads...I'd forgotten how much those things kick.  I put P in that lane to give her a little exercise while I set up the .22 in the other lane for M to play with.  I shot it a few times, then rested my shoulder while I watched the rest of the patrons at the range.

Sometimes, I wonder what's wrong with people.  There was a group at the opposite end from us that had a few rifles...one looked to be an older bolt-action, and one appeared to be an AK.  Now, there are signs all over the range specifying what you may and may not do, on top of the basic firearm handling rules everyone should know before going to a range.  This group apparently had little concept of those rules and couldn't read.  They were constantly sweeping the range with their rifles, insisted on tons of photos of the guys looking "hard" with the AK, and ignored the rules regarding no burst firing/full auto and keeping the rifle in the "box."  Frankly, I don't know why the range officer didn't boot them the first time they screwed up.  It's people like this who scare the shit out of me when I go to a public range.  I'd love to find a private range that allows new members (and doesn't cost a ton to join)...escaping the general population is mighty appealing after seeing that group of idiots.

Conversely, there was a family trio (dad and two boys) on our end of the range.  I didn't notice every rifle they had, but the boys were pretty competent with the AR they brought.  I applauded their father for bringing them.  It was a nice contrast to the idiots on the other end of the range.

Overall, it was a great way to kill an afternoon with some New England residents who don't get firearm exposure at home.  I'm glad we finally got to the rifle range.

*  It's worthy noting I have no idea the origin of my 8mm ammunition.  I aquired it at a gun show last year, and there were no real obvious identifying marks on it.  Probably not the wisest decision, but I figured the Mauser could handle it.  I was right.

Another newbie introduction at the range.

This was started on 6/7/10.  I'm not sure what date it will have when I hit publish.

Last Tuesday, I took off work to recover from the hell that is yardwork, and decided to take a friend to the range for his first visit.

I had him come to my house first, so I could introduce him to the two firearms he'd be shooting in the quiet comfort of my living room.  Knowing R has no experience with FPS-type games cemented the idea that this would be better than introducing him at the range itself.

I pulled out the .22 and the .380, and showed him the basics.  I explained the rules to him, waited until he felt comfortable, and made sure he understood everything I'd explained.  He seemed pretty clear on everything, so we headed out.

We only went through a box of .22LR and .380, partly for time and partly for availability of ammunition.  .380 is still hard to come by in my area.

R seemed to enjoy the .22 - he wasn't intimidated at all, and agreed it feels like an overgrown pop-gun.  He went through about 16 rounds before he decided to move up to the .380.  I think he was a little intimidated by it...even after we finished the box, he seemed to prefer the .22.  He's got to work on his accuracy, but I hope we can set another day for that.

All in all, I think he had fun.  I definitely did.  We've gotta do it again!

Wow, I'm behind.

Apologies for the silence...I'm more than a bit behind!  I'll try to get my two most recent range visits written up.  Those of you who are waiting on them, sorry!