Shoot...
Won't be able to make PA next weekend, already have plans.
Hap Baker's was fun, but crowded. And cold. And damp.
After waiting a loooong time for a lane, RobG and I set up all the way over on lane 10 (last lane on the left). We didn't get to set up until 2:30 or so, by which time my joints were all good and stiff from standing in the damp, chilly air (I could see my breath), but I guess I'm spoiled as I usually shoot handguns at an indoor range.
RobG got things started with his upgraded SKS, while I unpacked stuff and loaded mags. He had replaced both front and rear sights, put a new stock on, and some other stuff I don't pretend to have noticed. So he set upon sighting in for a few minutes first at 25 yrds, then 50. I shot a few rounds out of the SKS and noticed all the hard work he had done really cleaned up the action nicely.
After he took a break, I took over the bench. First up was the Armalite AR-180B. This rifle had given me fits the last shoot, so much so that it had to go back to Armalite for repair. (It wouldn't cycle at all.) This time however, it had no such problems. I ripped off a quick magazine to warm myself up and settle in.
Next I opened up with the FAL, I had put on a new rear sight and it needed re-zeroing. First at 25 yrds, then 50, then 75. At that range I was having trouble keeping the front sight in position. (I had replaced the post with a cross-hair set up). The front cross-hair was getting lost in the background, making accuracy suffer. Overall, I liked the new VOW click adjustable windage rear, but have decided I need to find a new front sight. No other problems or issues with the FAL this day, it shot great.
After that came the M1903A3 (Remington) from CMP. This was my first range trip with this rifle after I got it from CMP and cleaned it up last month. I unloaded some en-block clips I had for the M1 and hand fed the first rounds. With a recoil pad in place, and the several layers of clothing I had on, recoil was reduced to a 'good shove'. Accuracy was outstanding, with almost no adjustment to the stock sights needed. I quickly moved to the 75 yrd target and easily kept a group in the black. (I realize that some of you might snicker, but I'm not a rifle guy. Heck, I can barely make out a target at 100 yrds, let alone hit it!) This rifle was the surprise of the day, being the most accurate (in my hands) and most fun to shoot. (And to think, CMP is giving these away for $400 a pop!)
Flush from my success thus far, I brought up the M1 Garand. A CMP Harrington & Richardson model cleaned up last month, this was it's first range trip. Fearing the dreaded 'Garand thumb', I was most cautious when loading the first clip. I needn't have been. The bolt release didn't work properly, so I had to assist it into battery for the first round of each clip. Opening rounds proved to be far left of the target in question, and much of my windage was taken up to get it sighted in. 50 & 75 yrd shots were easy as the Garand has excellent iron sights, but accuracy was sub-par, yielding 6 inch groups at 50 yrds in my hands. I believe this one might require some additional work. RobG got similar results when he tested it.
With one more new milsurp to play with this day, I set up with a 'select grade' K-31. The rifle itself is all it's advertised to be, built like a swiss watch, smooth action, great trigger, little tiny sights. Oh yeah, how I love little tiny sights. Did I mention I have a hard time even seeing the target at 100 yrds? I could not, for the life of me, get the K-31 sights in line. If I held the same position and disregarded the sight picture, I did OK. But I'm gonna have to do something about those sights! Recoil was a 'modest push', a little heavier than a 30.06, so a recoil pad is highly recommended. RobG got better accuracy out of this one even though it had the best trigger of the bunch.
After that it was time to play, back to the SKS for more rounds of Wolf fun. More magazines through the AR and FAL. At one point I tried the scope mount on the FAL with a Millet Red dot attached. The scope sat up to high though, I couldn't get it to adjust down enough to bring in on target. Got plenty of wood target framing though (oops).
We kept a lookout for anyone we'd recognize, even hung out a sign. But being all the way at the end, we could've easily missed someone.
Best line of the day was from another shooter who wandered over during a cease fire, looking over our collection he commented "I saw you guys kept coming in with more stuff, that’s quite an arsenal you have there.". I laughed and replied, "Well, we knew we only had a couple of hours to shoot, so we only brought what we'd need. We left everything else at home."
-LeadPumper