A Great Couple of Days of Shooting

EddieCoyle

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Sorry, no pics, but...

I've had three great days of shooting.

On Saturday, I went to my range (Shirley Rod and Gun Club - site of the only Official 2008 NortheastShooters.com Independence Day Shoot) to shoot a bit.

I was trying out my new range "bag" which has turned out to be about the best investment I've made in a while.

I was joined by The Goose, Tele-Mark, and PDM. I PMed Tele-Mark to ask him to come shooting, but Goose and PDM are members and happened to be there anyway.

I brought some 700gr .500 Mag loads which we all tried and agreed that they were all that. The Goose let us shoot his Winchester 1907 in .351 - I felt like a 1930's prison guard. I also had my S&W Model 1917 revolver, and chronoed a bunch of powder/load combinations through my new .38 Super to find the best one for the gun (9.0 grains of Blue Dot under a 130 gr FMJ looks like it's going to do it). A good time was had by all.

On Sunday, my son and I were at the range from noon until after 4:00 and we had the place to ourselves.

We shot some 700gr .500's out of my 4". My son shot one round, and then said, "Dad, you're going to have to help me put my thumb back in its socket." I said, "You want to shoot a few more?" He said, "Yeah, give me 5 of them." That's my boy!

After that, we went through almost an entire bulk pack of Federal .22's trying to get rid of his flinch. We played one of our favorite games: "Who can empty a 10-round mag of .22s the fastest while still hitting the 40yd steel but not with the first shot" game.

We also shot a few hundred .38 Wadcutters. My son is getting to be a pretty good shooter - he had a couple of one-hole 6-shot groups at 10 yards.

Then we moved over to the rifle range to shoot at 9mm cases at 100 yards with my Savage Model 12FP heavy barrel rifle in .223. The challenge was to hit 12 .223 cases at 100 yards in less than 50 shots. We did it in less than 25. We used the rest of the rounds to shoot at a specific type of rock that explodes when you hit it. I'm not a geologist, but I think they were marble - they were smooth and white. We spent about 20 minutes picking them up from around the range and setting them up on the 100 yard bunker, then shooting them.

Today I brought my M1 to the range and had the place to myself again. I was pleased to find out that my handloaded ammo far outperformed the surplus stuff that I've been shooting. I also found a 9mm load that would run flawlessly through both of my Lugers and Mauser Broomhandle.

All in all, it was three great days of shooting.
 
Awesome!

One of these days I want to fire that hand cannon..I'm not sure if I ever fired one before.

I bought out the Hudson and Westboro Wallymart of 45 value packs getting to know my USP45 compact,so my weekend was kind of expensive.
 
Nice. To top off our day we actually went down to the gravel bank and Alan and a couple of his friends came along and we fired off some ammo also. I actually got to try out my two latest acquisitions, my 1911, and my Valmet. Both were nice. Alan brought the PSL, and a few others. So all in all it was a good day.
 
I had a great shooting weekend also. Shot a fun IDPA match at WPRC yesterday. Then today I grabbed a bunch of guns and spent over 3 hours shooting at Westford.

Reliability tested HST 9mm 124gr in my M&P compact and also figured out the problem feeding the first round in my 17rd pre-ban Browning Hi-Power mag. If you ride the slide forward AT ALL, the hollow point hits the feed ramp and jams. It only happens with all 17 loaded.

Also tested the 230gr HST in my S&W Gunsite 1911. I need some more practice before I carry that though, as the recoil in the lightweight gun gets me flinching if I'm not careful. I'm sure Jim and Mark and co laugh at the concept of 45ACP having recoil, but I'm not there yet.

I also put a couple hundred rounds through my 10/22. The training from Appleseed seems to have stuck, though I still need to practice more often.

All in all a great day at the range.
 
Nice post Eddie, thanks for sharing. Your range "bag" looks more like a range cart! [laugh] I suppose you need that for haulling all those 700 grains huh? Glad you had fun, looks like your son is a chip off the old block. Cool. [smile]
 
Just got back from the range with my oldest son (9 years old). We had an absolute blast! Well over 500 rounds through the Walther P-22 shooting at a small steel spinner plate set from about 15 yards. I kept loading and feeding him mags...ping, ping, ping, he was doing great! That little excersize really sharpened up his aim, as he wasn't just banging away at paper and seeing if he hit it. Reactive targets are great! Moved on to the AR-15 at 100 yards with some 55 grain boat tail spitzers. We set up some milk jugs with clays just resting on top and tried to see who could bust the most without hitting the jug. I'll admit I won, but he wasn't far behind. He needs to work on his breathing a little more and he'll be giving me a run for my money. Back to the pistols, he shot some .38+P out of the Ruger Security Six at 25 yards. Nice group (6") for his first time. After that we shot side by side, him with the Walther again and me with the .460. He decided to move some before the side blast from the cylinder gap singed him!
Spent a total of 4 1/2 hours at the range and had a freakin' great time! Now he wants to go back again after school tomorrow. This kid is gonna get expensive!

Jamie
 
What a great weekend indeed. Totally agree. Great to spend a few hours Sat, Sun, and today all alone with no stress and worries. All 3 days I brought my M44, 91/30, SKS and Enfield. Shot off a hundred or so in each rifle. I shut the cell phone off and fired away. After it was said and done, my family and I topped off the evening with a great BBQ. Now it's back to reality. Gotta wake up early. Good night.
 
Dammit, I wanted to hit the range today, but ended up working the lawn instead. Feh. That 700gr behemoth nearly took my damn hand off. Fun though. [smile]
 
Jim, sounds like a good time. What did you end up using for the 1917 S&W? What did you get over the Chrono? I generally shoot surplus ball, but I guess with lead you can fit the barrel better with the 1917s.

I hope I can get to the 4th of July shoot. I want to see you shoot that bad boy 500.
 
Dammit, I wanted to hit the range today, but ended up working the lawn instead. Feh. That 700gr behemoth nearly took my damn hand off. Fun though. [smile]



C'mon -- that 700 grainer is a pussycat! Now, if S&W could come up with a Scandium and titanium x-frame .500 -- I'm there! They've got to be able to get that thing under 24 ounces.....
 
C'mon -- that 700 grainer is a pussycat! Now, if S&W could come up with a Scandium and titanium x-frame .500 -- I'm there! They've got to be able to get that thing under 24 ounces.....

Hah! A pussycat you say? Is that why we couldn't hit the steel plate worth a damn? [smile] Sucker had so much recoil, I'm just amazed I actually hit the ground and didn't send the round to Ayer. [laugh]
 
Ok, it was a pussycat, but I rate it a panther. I really thought the nuclear rounds were more in your face. The 700 grainers were fun, but there was so little room for powder in the case they were less than I expected. I'll take the nuclears.
 
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