Shooting Skill = Not Bad At All

 

 

The boy (actually well into manhood but still "my boy") sent me a picture of one of his latest targets. He said it was either 3 or 5 yards with him shooting his Glock 43 as fast as he could pull the trigger. Note that is not a full sized silhouette target - it is only 12"x16". 

Looks like he paid attention somewhat when being taught how to shoot - wouldn't you say!  Could it do with a tiny bit of improvement - sure it could but it is not bad at all as I see it. (As for that one above the head, do not know if that was a hole from a round or a mark on the target.)

He told me he has been going to the range once a week lately and shooting 100 rounds through his two 9mm pistols. I like it - practice is good when doing it right. I suggested he ought to shoot at least 300 rounds per range trip and maybe only go every other week. Yet, he prefers going more often and shooting less ammo because he cannot afford much more of the ammo. So, what was a responsible loving pop to do but order him a case of 9mm to help him along.

I ordered him a case of Sellier & Bellot, 115 grain, FMJ ammo from TargetSportsUSA.com. I have shot it before and like it, one of the better things about it, as far as I am concerned, is that it runs hotter than most other practice ammo. TargetSportsUSA has a great price when you consider it includes shipping for a case. Now if he shoots the 300 rounds per range trip as I recommended, he will have 100 rounds left over after three trips. Damn, this could get expensive.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

Time At The Range...

...is always good time for me. So today when I left the office, i headed to the West Side Pistol Range in the heart of Manhattan. Yep I renewed my membership and have until next April to keep having fun there.

I had my issue Glock 19 and 125 rounds to shoot, along with my Henry Survival Rifle with about 100 rounds for it. Not a lot of ammo, but I figured what the heck it was better than nothing. As opposed to my shortage of ammo, the range had no shortsage of shooters. There were about 10 people shooting when I got there. Surprisingly enough all of them were probably in their young to mid twenties. Can you imagine that - young hipsters, young yuppies, young Manhattanites, young New York City kids - at a firearms range late on a friday afternoon! Are we finally getting our message across that the shooting sports, self defense, hunting, collecting, and everything else legal to do with firearms is a good thing, an American thing. I sure hope so.

Enough for the youngsters though, let me talk about my shooting. It was okay but not great. I was tired, grumpy, and just a bit out of it when I arrived. After 125 rounds of 9mm through the Glock I was feeling a lot better. I was shooting at a distance of only about 50 feet, maybe a bit more; the range is pretty small but big enough for big fun. I put all my shots into a spread hand sized group which was okay by me, and my hand is average sized for a man. Put your hand over the center of your chest, and you will see why that was okay by me. Then I had some fun with the Henry rifle. I had a pretty good group, albeit all to the low left of the bullseye while shooting CCI Mini-Mags, then all high to the left with Remington Golden Bullets. Then with a slight sight adjustment, all of my shots went into the bullseye. That is one thing I like and dislike about the Henry, the front sight, that is, being easy to adjust with just a hard push of the fingers. While easily adjusted, it is also fairly easily knocked out of alignment. Still though I like shooting this little survival rifle, I figure it is good practice just in case I actually ever have to depend on it for its stated purpose.

While shooting the Glock, one of the owners came over to say hi to me. He is a cousin or uncle of an agent from my job, and he makes it a point to stop by to say hi to me when I visit. We chatted a bit, and seeing him reminded me that I have not seen M-------, the agent in quite awhile. I miss her, she is one of the better people on my job but is now working in another office than me. We used to work together at JFK Airport back in the day when things were better (at least for me because I was younger) and the job was somewhat more exciting. Oh well, seeing her relative would have to do for now, and he is always very pleasant.

All in all it was agood 45 minutes to hour that I spent shooting. Next time I'll have to rememebr to bring more ammo (I had thought I had some at the office but must have used it all last time).

All the best,
Glenn B

Plans For The Weekend...

...have been made and promise to keep me busy. Yesterday was my wedding anniversary, and being it was a Thursday, my wife and I decided to wait until tomorrow to go out for a little celebrating. Before our Saturday gets anywhere near to that stage though, there are other things to do. I have to work on getting my 2005 taxes straightened out; it seems the IRS thinks we owe them $4,000.00 which we do not; stupid mistake on their part but a bit of a pain to resolve. Then maybe a trip to COSTCO to pick up groceries and supplies. After that, I have to go out to Home Depot, or maybe a gardening center, to pick up plants for this year's gardening projects. That should be just loads of fun on Saturday in April, I figure it will be elbow to elbow in the gardening department. Truth is though I would like to get most of the planting done tomorrow, so who knows, maybe I will go tonight to pick up the plants. I am figuring on tomatoes, green peppers (bell and a variety of hot), strawberries, lettuce, cabbage (maybe too late already), spinach, herbs, maybe some radishes and carrots too. That is for our very small vegetable garden. We will also pick up a few flats of flowers for the wife's baskets and flower garden. Of course, i can't forget the bird seed. I keep em well fed so they don't have to eat my plants. besides that, they sing nicely and eat lots of bugs too.

Once I get that out of the way, it should be just about time for an early dinner with my darling bride. Maybe, if she is in the mood, we will even go out for a movie. We have not been out to a movie or any kind of show together in several months, I guess since December. It should make for a nice evening together, I am looking forward to it; I hope she is too!

As for tonight, I think once I get my butt into gear, I may stop by the range for a few hundred rounds of 9mm pistol shooting. That will put me into a bit less traffic for the ride home from Manhattan. It will probably also help me to relax quite a bit - not a bad thing after a day at work, and better than stopping off for a few high balls and then driving home. The booze can wait until dinner tomorrow night, then the wife can drive, or we can walk.

Yep, that sounds like a plan to me. I just happen to have thought about all of this before leaving the house this morning, so I have a range bag right next to me. Inside of it I have:

300 Rounds Federal 115 gr. 9mm JHP

50 rounds of GoldDot 124 gr. 9mm GDHP

100 rounds of Champion 22 Long Rifle solid point standard velocity

50 rounds of PMC 22LR Scoremaster 40 gr solid point standard velocity

Some other partial boxes of assorted .22LR ammunition

A Beretta 92SB 9mm pistol

Ears, eyes and anything else I need.

I also have my issued Gock 19 in its holster on my belt, and a Henry Survival rifle in my sport bag. I guess you could say I am ready to have at least a short, but yet good, time at the range this evening. Thank goodness that Home Depot near me is open 24/7, I may still make it there tonight; and if not then I'll have to face the mobs of wanna be farmers, lawn masters, and horticulturists other suburban gardeners tomorrow.

Okay, that's all set, time for me to stop jabbering via the Internet, and get my other end and the rest of me, to the range! So I am off to the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range for an hour of so of fun. Later for you, bye.

All the best,
Glenn B