• You are using the old Black Responsive theme. We have installed a new dark theme for you, called UI.X. This will work better with the new upgrade of our software. You can select it at the bottom of any page.

range report, finally :)

Status
Not open for further replies.
O

old lady new shooter

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2015
Messages
30,808
So, now that I finally got to the range with my purchase yesterday I feel like I can call myself a gun owner. :)

For anyone who hasn't been following my adventures, this is my first gun and I selected a 4" 686 Plus. You can see a photo in the "not 100% happy with grip yet" thread.

Very happy to report that the trigger is smoother than either of the ones I had rented during my decision process, and the gun shoots quite accurately, even in my newbie hands, photos attached -- the humanoid-shaped target was shot two-handed, the bullseye targets one-handed as labeled. Everything was double action from 5 yards, I have been advised to stick with that distance until I'm able to make a ragged hole.

So, left foot, right foot! :)
 

Attachments

  • first 3 cylinders reduced for uploading.jpg
    first 3 cylinders reduced for uploading.jpg
    62 KB · Views: 177
  • SHO reduced for uploading.jpg
    SHO reduced for uploading.jpg
    43.1 KB · Views: 159
  • WHO reduced for uploading.jpg
    WHO reduced for uploading.jpg
    42.2 KB · Views: 151
Very good shooting. Glad to see you are using a 686 and shooting DA. You picked the best out of the box DA trigger pull (Smith and Wesson L frame) and as you shoot it you will find that it only improves as the parts polish.
 
Nice shooting, and a solid choice in a first pistol.
Were you using 357 magnum ammo or 38 specials?

My girlfriend quickly worked up to handling a few hot 357 loads through my 6" 686P, she didn't think much of the extra recoil and was punching bullseyes with it her first trip shooting a handgun.
 
Nice work and all in DA too! A quality DA trigger will go a long way to helping you master your shooting technique. My Model 686 came with one of the smoothest and lightest triggers right out of the box.
 
I remember your previous thread and the discussion about triggers. I'm glad it took you in a good direction.

Well done!
 
This child shore ain't gonna mess with you!!

That's some mighty fine shooting for first time out..
 
Nice report...but I have to say...your user name is "old lady new shooter" but you don't write like an old lady. You're not really an old lady are you?:scrutiny:
 
nice shootin, olns. may i ask, what are you aiming at on those targets? the orange circle and square?

murf
 
I think you'll be happier with the 4 inch than a snubbie. You can bench rest it and shoot DA and be amazed at the accuracy. You're already better than most shooting off-hand.
 
gotboostvr said:
Nice shooting, and a solid choice in a first pistol.
Were you using 357 magnum ammo or 38 specials?

My girlfriend quickly worked up to handling a few hot 357 loads through my 6" 686P, she didn't think much of the extra recoil and was punching bullseyes with it her first trip shooting a handgun.
Click to expand...
.38 special. Before trying to learn .357 magnum I want to get really competent with this so I can feel confident in my ability to defend myself.

Very impressed to read about your GF's achievement!
 
Iggy said:
This child shore ain't gonna mess with you!!

That's some mighty fine shooting for first time out..
Click to expand...
Well, to be accurate, the only part that was "first time out" was shooting with the left hand, I was scared to try before. Right hand only I had tried a few shots a couple of trips back. Altogether counting this session my lifetime round count is now up to about 250. Which still makes me a rank newbie but I didn't do anywhere near this well at the very beginning.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that I was taking however much time I needed, which is a lot longer than I would like to be taking but everybody explained to me that practicing correctly is key and I will automatically get faster as I practice more, so that's what I'm trying to do.
 
murf said:
nice shootin, olns. may i ask, what are you aiming at on those targets? the orange circle and square?

murf
Click to expand...

Yes. Actually the center of each, which so far I only get some of the time.

For the record, the one on the outer ring shooting left-handed was the result of trying to aim using my left eye. It would be much more intuitive, especially since for one-handed I am more comfortable standing at an angle to the target with the shooting side forward, but if that's where the shots end up I'll stick with the right eye. I would like to experiment more with this, need to get my left index finger stronger first, right now the trigger pull is very challenging for it.
 
gbran said:
I think you'll be happier with the 4 inch than a snubbie. You can bench rest it and shoot DA and be amazed at the accuracy. You're already better than most shooting off-hand.
Click to expand...
I didn't even look at anything under 4", initially I was actually thinking of the 6" but then I decided if I could be equally accurate with the 4" it would be a better choice if I only want one gun and we actually get concealed carry here.
 
.38 special. Before trying to learn .357 magnum I want to get really competent with this so I can feel confident in my ability to defend myself.
Click to expand...
There's no need to feel like you need to rush to get to .357. What you're doing with the caliber you're working with is great.

Keep doing what you're doing and when you find that it's easy to achieve the level of proficiency you want at a given range and shooting speed, increase one or both. Don't go crazy though, you don't want to learn bad habits.

Shooting like you did using both hands, weak hand and strong hand is good practice. One of the few advantages of a handgun (besides its portability) is the fact that it can be employed one-handed. Learning to make use of that feature with either hand is good.
 
JohnKSa said:
There's no need to feel like you need to rush to get to .357. What you're doing with the caliber you're working with is great.

Keep doing what you're doing and when you find that it's easy to achieve the level of proficiency you want at a given range and shooting speed, increase one or both. Don't go crazy though, you don't want to learn bad habits.

Shooting like you did using both hands, weak hand and strong hand is good practice. One of the few advantages of a handgun (besides its portability) is the fact that it can be employed one-handed. Learning to make use of that feature with either hand is good.
Click to expand...
Thanks. :)

Watching videos of people shooting both .38 special and .357 magnum through a 686, I observed that the regular people (i.e. not Hickok45) all took considerably longer to get back on target between shots with the .357, so I expect that to have a longer learning curve.

As for shooting one-handed, the first time I ever read that a person needs to be able to shoot one-handed with either hand in case BG shoots you in one arm, was the only time I needed to read it. :)
 
olns, your progress is amazing. you must be dancing with fred astaire!

the reason i asked you about the target bull is to find out if you were concentrating on the target, or your front sight. to attain your "one ragged hole" goal, you must concentrate on the front sight when the gun goes off. it must be perfectly centered (as best you can) in the rear sight.

concentrating on the front sight means you won't be concentrating on the target bull. which is ok because your mind will keep it aligned with the bull anyway. what i would suggest is a smaller bull. a small circle in the center of a blank piece of paper makes an excellent target for "one ragged hole".

along with a lot of dry fire practice, you are well on your way to your goal.

luck,

murf
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

E
  • Locked
Some groups at 25 yards.
Replies
7
Views
470
PzGren
PzGren
A
  • Locked
Smith M57, Range Report
Replies
0
Views
518
ACP230
A
C
  • Locked
Finally went to the range to try out some guns.
Replies
5
Views
509
Matt-J2
M
O
  • Locked
not 100% satisfied with grip yet
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
Zaydok Allen
Zaydok Allen
roo_ster
  • Locked
Ruger Redhawk Range Report
Replies
10
Views
1K
P95Carry
P
Back
Top