Range days

The weather has improved here in Cincinnati, and I'd like to thank Punxsutawney Phil for promising an early spring.  The nice weather allowed for a pleasant trip to the range to familiarize ourselves with some newer guns, and reacquaint ourselves with some old favorites.  Safety is paramount, so all basic precautions were taken. The Four Rules were followed.  We run a "hot range", meaning all firearms are presumed to be loaded at al times.  This promotes a safer environment than a so-called "cold range" where all guns are unloaded until brought to bear on the firing line.  Supposedly unloaded guns injure lots of folks, so none of mine are unloaded.  Here's a look at our day in pictures and video.  

The author, with my AR carbine.

Great grip, excellent posture, eyes and ears covered.  The Walther P22 is a nice little plinker.

Here's a video for you. It might be a 70 year old rifle firing 40 year old ammunition, but I wouldn't step out into the open if I were you...



Some pics of the hardware of the day:

S&W P22 from I've got this new gun.

My trusty S&W M&P9.  Accurate, reliable, and fun to shoot.

Here's a few stock photos of the long guns of the day:

My Ruger 10/22, one of the most popular sporting guns ever produced.

Yugoslavian Mauser, featured in the video above.

We used various targets.

The blue men are used for handguns at defensive shooting distances.  The plain paper stapled in place allows you to shoot groups, and replace the centers without having to hang new silhouette targets each time.  The milk jugs share a target stand with a steel plate (middle) with three white circles painted on it.  The jugs react nicely when hit by rifle fire, while the steel plate provides nice audible feedback for .22 rimfire.  Below is a vid of some .22 vs. the steel plate. (the second round was a dud, quickly ejected.)  The plate shrugged off the .22's like they were nothing, but the 9mm left some dents.  Rifle fire would have punched clean holes (from experience) so we didn't bother.  Everything has it's breaking point.



So that's a look at your basic range.  Another time, we'll shoot some clays, balloons, and that other piece of steel we've been promised.  You'll also see this range again when we talk about some basic defensive shooting drills.  Until then, go to your local range and make some noise.  Remember to sweep up your brass.