Frulk
Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2018
- Messages
- 1,594
Decided after a long hiatus of several months to head out to the range yesterday. During winter months the closest local outdoor range is open on Fridays. Figured it wouldn't be too busy and the weather was really nice so loaded up and headed over.
HUGE miscalculation on my part: EVERYONE and their extended family was there shooting new Christmas presents. EVERY bench seat was taken, and in most cases, multiple shooters were rotating on them.
The bad: Shooting next to me on the left was a large group with an older gent with an adult (his son) and two teens. Appeared to be the gent's guns. One of the teens was standing shooting a long-barreled revolver. Looked to be a Dan Wesson. He was shooting right-handed with his left hand grabbing his right arm right before the elbow. Every time he pulled the trigger the recoil would bring the gun up significantly. Last shot he put into the ceiling at about an 75+ degree angle with a small piece of wood (not sure) dropping down. There were 5 Range officers on duty. I looked to my right and a range officer was watching all the shooters intently on that side. Directly behind me were 3 range officers deep into a BS discussion about something not looking at the shooters. Down at the far left was the remaining officer on his cell taking a picture of the bench or texting.
As I was about to relay my displeasure to the officers behind me the range officer at the far-right end yelled CEASE FIRE...CEASE FIRE! A hound ran across the embankment at the end and above the range berm (100-yard range). He disappeared to the left over the long embankment running down either side of the range. I figured ok, someone is hiking in the mts behind the range and had a dog off leash. Once the dog was out of danger (took a few minutes) we were allowed back to the bench. At that time the gent moved the teens to a .22 handgun, the 3 RO's had dispersed, and I planned to discuss the issue at the end of the shooting session with whoever was in charge. Got back to shooting when another CEASE FIRE was called. A different dog was coming down the hillside above the embankment of the range. This was one was wearing a tracking collar (the other may have as well but was too far away for me to definitively determine) and appeared to be engaged in, or in training to be used to track cougars. Once he cleared the range...he ran back over the backstop and up the hillside and disappeared. We received the ok to get back to shooting.
The good: After about an hour the benches started to clear out significantly. Sun was warming things up and a thirty something came up to me and asked if he could use the seat next to me. I said sure. He set his bag on the bench and pulled a Ruger #3 out of its case and laid it on the bench. He now had my undivided attention. It's the first one I've ever seen in the flesh. A .223 version. We made small talk. He was just one of the most laid back, unassuming guys I've ever ran across at a range. Told me how he lucked into the #3 about 3-4 weeks ago at a gun show (a show I knew about but didn't go to for some reason I've already forgotten). Offered to let me shoot it (which I politely declined). We talked reloading briefly during the breaks. He was working up a .217 Zipper load but didn't bring the gun for this range visit. By the time he left there were maybe 5 folks still shooting.
As for me shooting: Brought 4 handguns and a rifle. Plan was to chrono a couple of loads I put together but had no data on. Not bringing a tripod changed all that.
Ruger Single Six Bisely in .32H&R mag: Fun little gun. Shooting the Meister lead RN bullet load I put together produces little more recoil than a .22LR in a lightweight gun, like say a Walther P22. Was hitting to the left and will need to shoot this load more to determine if I need to drift the rear windage only adjustment sight.
SP 101 3.2 inch .327 FM: This is an older version which has the windage adjustable rear sight. My carry gun for many years now. Replaced the springs in it 3 years ago or so. I shot it well and was pleased with the results today considering I hadn't pulled the trigger on it in a few months. It's now wearing a pink grip because it may be my wife's CCW in the near future. More on that in a couple of paragraphs. I shot mid-level 120 grain semi wadcutters as well as a few Meister .32H&R's. If I do make the move to another CCW I'll work up a round for my wife in .32H&R using the XTP's.
Monsoon Mass .357 Mag Dan Wesson with 8-inch barrel: I've owned this pistol pack gun for over a decade without shooting it. Bought off a friend's son who left the country long term. I truly think its never been shot. At the time I bought it my friend stated the same. Said he'd never seen or heard his son say he shot it. So, that was kind of a special treat on this outing. First, I shot a paper target at 15 yards. I didn't play with the sights and just determined where to aim to adjust for the bullseye. After that I put up the swinging steel torso target, I brought along. At 50 yards it was satisfying to hear the ringing of the torso 4-5 times per cylinder. Not bad considering I was wearing readers and not the Rx glasses.
Winchester 94 AE in .357 Mag/24-inch barrel: I just love shooting this rifle. Not much more to say really. I don't plan to hunt with it. It's not a target rifle. It won't shoot MOA at 100 yards. However, it cycles everything I've ever put in it (once the magazine/carrier bullet stop issue was resolved by a smith), can put meat on the table and if needed, pressed into service to protect hearth and home. Plus, as a lever gun does, it brings out my inner cowboy and connects me to a simpler past. I went through a couple of magazines peppering the torso and on the third one decided to see how fast I could get back on target. At about shot 6-7 the plate was swinging violently enough to knock the target stand over and that was the end of the session for the Winchester.
Keltec PMR30: I've been kicking around using this as my primary CCW. Concerns were obviously the noted issues with reliability to feed. I've read up on this with just about everything I can find. Primary issues seem to be weight of projectile and then how the mags are loaded. Once you address those reliability seems to be about as good as many other guns. I've been shooting the PMR off and on whenever I've a chance to test reliability and have yet to have a singular stoppage due to failure to feed/eject in the course of approximately 500 rounds. I literally forget I have the gun on me it's so light at 14 ounces unloaded. It has a GREAT trigger in my estimation and the sights are decent as well. Doesn't hurt to have a 30-round capacity although I currently only load it to 25 to give my fingers a break.
Results of 2 20 round mag dumps pulling the trigger as fast as I could stay/get back to center mass at 9 yards while standing.
I didn't engage anyone in the office over the previous incident I mentioned. I plan to be back there Friday to shoot and present them with my written observations.
Once home after unloading started cleaning the guns. There's a worktable in the center of the reloading room used for that process. I cover the table with a padded vinyl tablecloth and use some adjustable clips that are available from Sportsmans for picnic tables to keep the wind from blowing them off. This keeps everything from moving around while working rods in barrels, provides a minimally padded surface for the guns and an impermeable barrier in case solvents are spilled.... which I did with the Hoppes.
I really do appreciate the simplicity of a single action revolver when it comes to cleaning. It's much easier to accomplish that task when you can pull the cylinder.
HUGE miscalculation on my part: EVERYONE and their extended family was there shooting new Christmas presents. EVERY bench seat was taken, and in most cases, multiple shooters were rotating on them.
The bad: Shooting next to me on the left was a large group with an older gent with an adult (his son) and two teens. Appeared to be the gent's guns. One of the teens was standing shooting a long-barreled revolver. Looked to be a Dan Wesson. He was shooting right-handed with his left hand grabbing his right arm right before the elbow. Every time he pulled the trigger the recoil would bring the gun up significantly. Last shot he put into the ceiling at about an 75+ degree angle with a small piece of wood (not sure) dropping down. There were 5 Range officers on duty. I looked to my right and a range officer was watching all the shooters intently on that side. Directly behind me were 3 range officers deep into a BS discussion about something not looking at the shooters. Down at the far left was the remaining officer on his cell taking a picture of the bench or texting.
As I was about to relay my displeasure to the officers behind me the range officer at the far-right end yelled CEASE FIRE...CEASE FIRE! A hound ran across the embankment at the end and above the range berm (100-yard range). He disappeared to the left over the long embankment running down either side of the range. I figured ok, someone is hiking in the mts behind the range and had a dog off leash. Once the dog was out of danger (took a few minutes) we were allowed back to the bench. At that time the gent moved the teens to a .22 handgun, the 3 RO's had dispersed, and I planned to discuss the issue at the end of the shooting session with whoever was in charge. Got back to shooting when another CEASE FIRE was called. A different dog was coming down the hillside above the embankment of the range. This was one was wearing a tracking collar (the other may have as well but was too far away for me to definitively determine) and appeared to be engaged in, or in training to be used to track cougars. Once he cleared the range...he ran back over the backstop and up the hillside and disappeared. We received the ok to get back to shooting.
The good: After about an hour the benches started to clear out significantly. Sun was warming things up and a thirty something came up to me and asked if he could use the seat next to me. I said sure. He set his bag on the bench and pulled a Ruger #3 out of its case and laid it on the bench. He now had my undivided attention. It's the first one I've ever seen in the flesh. A .223 version. We made small talk. He was just one of the most laid back, unassuming guys I've ever ran across at a range. Told me how he lucked into the #3 about 3-4 weeks ago at a gun show (a show I knew about but didn't go to for some reason I've already forgotten). Offered to let me shoot it (which I politely declined). We talked reloading briefly during the breaks. He was working up a .217 Zipper load but didn't bring the gun for this range visit. By the time he left there were maybe 5 folks still shooting.
As for me shooting: Brought 4 handguns and a rifle. Plan was to chrono a couple of loads I put together but had no data on. Not bringing a tripod changed all that.
Ruger Single Six Bisely in .32H&R mag: Fun little gun. Shooting the Meister lead RN bullet load I put together produces little more recoil than a .22LR in a lightweight gun, like say a Walther P22. Was hitting to the left and will need to shoot this load more to determine if I need to drift the rear windage only adjustment sight.
SP 101 3.2 inch .327 FM: This is an older version which has the windage adjustable rear sight. My carry gun for many years now. Replaced the springs in it 3 years ago or so. I shot it well and was pleased with the results today considering I hadn't pulled the trigger on it in a few months. It's now wearing a pink grip because it may be my wife's CCW in the near future. More on that in a couple of paragraphs. I shot mid-level 120 grain semi wadcutters as well as a few Meister .32H&R's. If I do make the move to another CCW I'll work up a round for my wife in .32H&R using the XTP's.
Monsoon Mass .357 Mag Dan Wesson with 8-inch barrel: I've owned this pistol pack gun for over a decade without shooting it. Bought off a friend's son who left the country long term. I truly think its never been shot. At the time I bought it my friend stated the same. Said he'd never seen or heard his son say he shot it. So, that was kind of a special treat on this outing. First, I shot a paper target at 15 yards. I didn't play with the sights and just determined where to aim to adjust for the bullseye. After that I put up the swinging steel torso target, I brought along. At 50 yards it was satisfying to hear the ringing of the torso 4-5 times per cylinder. Not bad considering I was wearing readers and not the Rx glasses.
Winchester 94 AE in .357 Mag/24-inch barrel: I just love shooting this rifle. Not much more to say really. I don't plan to hunt with it. It's not a target rifle. It won't shoot MOA at 100 yards. However, it cycles everything I've ever put in it (once the magazine/carrier bullet stop issue was resolved by a smith), can put meat on the table and if needed, pressed into service to protect hearth and home. Plus, as a lever gun does, it brings out my inner cowboy and connects me to a simpler past. I went through a couple of magazines peppering the torso and on the third one decided to see how fast I could get back on target. At about shot 6-7 the plate was swinging violently enough to knock the target stand over and that was the end of the session for the Winchester.
Keltec PMR30: I've been kicking around using this as my primary CCW. Concerns were obviously the noted issues with reliability to feed. I've read up on this with just about everything I can find. Primary issues seem to be weight of projectile and then how the mags are loaded. Once you address those reliability seems to be about as good as many other guns. I've been shooting the PMR off and on whenever I've a chance to test reliability and have yet to have a singular stoppage due to failure to feed/eject in the course of approximately 500 rounds. I literally forget I have the gun on me it's so light at 14 ounces unloaded. It has a GREAT trigger in my estimation and the sights are decent as well. Doesn't hurt to have a 30-round capacity although I currently only load it to 25 to give my fingers a break.
Results of 2 20 round mag dumps pulling the trigger as fast as I could stay/get back to center mass at 9 yards while standing.
I didn't engage anyone in the office over the previous incident I mentioned. I plan to be back there Friday to shoot and present them with my written observations.
Once home after unloading started cleaning the guns. There's a worktable in the center of the reloading room used for that process. I cover the table with a padded vinyl tablecloth and use some adjustable clips that are available from Sportsmans for picnic tables to keep the wind from blowing them off. This keeps everything from moving around while working rods in barrels, provides a minimally padded surface for the guns and an impermeable barrier in case solvents are spilled.... which I did with the Hoppes.
I really do appreciate the simplicity of a single action revolver when it comes to cleaning. It's much easier to accomplish that task when you can pull the cylinder.
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