Took my son and my pistols to the Chickahominy range on Sunday.
I fired the .45 and gave my son the 9mm to practice with.
WooHoo!! (This is me jumping for joy). I finally got my RIA .45 through 100 rnds with no stem binds. It was the first 100 that I fired that day. (700-800 since the gun was bought) I got two binds that I’m not counting because they happened when I was releasing the slide forward on a new magazine. ( heavier spring?)
The second 100 rounds got me 4 stem binds as the weapon got dirtier. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, so I hadn’t brought along my full range bag with cleaning kit. I know the rest of the country has been facing some pretty terrible storms, but it was 83 degrees and sunny in VA.
Now for the “flaming” part. Get your torches ready.
We were shooting at the 15 yd berm (Looks like 10 yds to me, but I’ve never actually measured it). There is chicken wire strung of along the front of the berm on angle-iron posts. The posts are set so both sides of the angle are set off 45 degrees from the shooter. (Minimize the chance of a ricochet coming straight back). Regardless, one of the posted range rules is not to shoot the posts.
We were about half way through our second 100 rounds, when !PING!, someone about 15 ft off to our left hit one of the posts. This happens occasionally, makes me catch my breath for a second, then I go on shooting. About ten seconds later, !PING!. OK, the guy’s sights are off a little, he’ll correct it for sure now. I’m not too worried. I can tell from the sound it’s that guy with an ancient .22 revolver with short rounds, and they haven’t hit anyone yet. I load up a fresh magazine and prepare to go back to work…!PING! (can you believe this dork?)
At this point I notice my son decocks the Sig and sets it down on the rail/table (pointed down range) and turns to face me. I went ahead and set my .45 down and faced him as well.
Me: “Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”
The Fruit of My Loins (FoML): “Yeah”
Me: “You understand now why I jumped in your @ss for hitting the post with the AK that time?”
FoML: “Yeah”
!PING! (I couldn’t have timed it better if I’d paid the dork to do it for me)
FoML involuntarily gives his shoulders a quick little hunch and tucks his chin down to his chest. He wants to duck/dive for cover/run away, but he’s not because I’m standing there discussing this with him very calmly, his fight-or-flight reflex is screaming at him.
Me: “Can you tell me where that bullet went?”
FoML: “Huh-uh”
Me: “You think that <expletive> down there knows?” (I indicate the dork with a head nod)
F0ML: “Nope”
!PING!
FoML is really freaking out now. I’m even getting a little nervous. The .22 short is one of the most survivable rounds out there, but do I really want one of those rattling around in my son’s skull? I am slow to anger, but I could feel myself getting there.
Me: “You want him to stop now?
FoML: “ Yeah”
I didn’t get the chance to vent on the guy. Someone closer took the time to explain some things to him, and the post pinging stopped.
I related this story to my wife as an excellent example of an objective lesson versus a subjective lesson. (Objective: “If I smack you with this stick, it will hurt” Subjective: “See this stick? SMACK Didn’t that hurt?”
She was more of the opinion that I should have been less concerned with reinforcing FoML’s safe shooting practices and more concerned with pistol-whipping the guy after the second or third ping, and she tore me up pretty good for endangering our son like that.
I’m a pretty easy-going guy. Maybe too easy going. How many pings before you lose your temper?
I fired the .45 and gave my son the 9mm to practice with.
WooHoo!! (This is me jumping for joy). I finally got my RIA .45 through 100 rnds with no stem binds. It was the first 100 that I fired that day. (700-800 since the gun was bought) I got two binds that I’m not counting because they happened when I was releasing the slide forward on a new magazine. ( heavier spring?)
The second 100 rounds got me 4 stem binds as the weapon got dirtier. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, so I hadn’t brought along my full range bag with cleaning kit. I know the rest of the country has been facing some pretty terrible storms, but it was 83 degrees and sunny in VA.
Now for the “flaming” part. Get your torches ready.
We were shooting at the 15 yd berm (Looks like 10 yds to me, but I’ve never actually measured it). There is chicken wire strung of along the front of the berm on angle-iron posts. The posts are set so both sides of the angle are set off 45 degrees from the shooter. (Minimize the chance of a ricochet coming straight back). Regardless, one of the posted range rules is not to shoot the posts.
We were about half way through our second 100 rounds, when !PING!, someone about 15 ft off to our left hit one of the posts. This happens occasionally, makes me catch my breath for a second, then I go on shooting. About ten seconds later, !PING!. OK, the guy’s sights are off a little, he’ll correct it for sure now. I’m not too worried. I can tell from the sound it’s that guy with an ancient .22 revolver with short rounds, and they haven’t hit anyone yet. I load up a fresh magazine and prepare to go back to work…!PING! (can you believe this dork?)
At this point I notice my son decocks the Sig and sets it down on the rail/table (pointed down range) and turns to face me. I went ahead and set my .45 down and faced him as well.
Me: “Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”
The Fruit of My Loins (FoML): “Yeah”
Me: “You understand now why I jumped in your @ss for hitting the post with the AK that time?”
FoML: “Yeah”
!PING! (I couldn’t have timed it better if I’d paid the dork to do it for me)
FoML involuntarily gives his shoulders a quick little hunch and tucks his chin down to his chest. He wants to duck/dive for cover/run away, but he’s not because I’m standing there discussing this with him very calmly, his fight-or-flight reflex is screaming at him.
Me: “Can you tell me where that bullet went?”
FoML: “Huh-uh”
Me: “You think that <expletive> down there knows?” (I indicate the dork with a head nod)
F0ML: “Nope”
!PING!
FoML is really freaking out now. I’m even getting a little nervous. The .22 short is one of the most survivable rounds out there, but do I really want one of those rattling around in my son’s skull? I am slow to anger, but I could feel myself getting there.
Me: “You want him to stop now?
FoML: “ Yeah”
I didn’t get the chance to vent on the guy. Someone closer took the time to explain some things to him, and the post pinging stopped.
I related this story to my wife as an excellent example of an objective lesson versus a subjective lesson. (Objective: “If I smack you with this stick, it will hurt” Subjective: “See this stick? SMACK Didn’t that hurt?”
She was more of the opinion that I should have been less concerned with reinforcing FoML’s safe shooting practices and more concerned with pistol-whipping the guy after the second or third ping, and she tore me up pretty good for endangering our son like that.
I’m a pretty easy-going guy. Maybe too easy going. How many pings before you lose your temper?
