Life Is Good

 

You never quite know what you'll find at the local country Made-in-China-Mart in these uncertain times, apart from everyone having a tattoo regardless of age. It's like some kind of convention of extras from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Buccaneers aside, I checked out the ammo aisle by force of habit. Lo and behold, there were Valu-Paks of .22LR, 20 gauge 8 shot, and a few lonesome boxes of .22 WMR; and all at normal prices. Result. I bought a box of each, per store limit, and drove back to the Compound in high spirits. 

Inspired by this not inconsiderable victory, it seemed right to clean some guns, one gun in particular, a Ruger American .17 HMR. Clean that bolt, LSP, lest the dirty little beast seizes up and fails to fire. Which is a bit of an issue with Ruger's American rimfire line because the manufacturer in its wisdom packed the bolts in grease, which solidifies over time and stops the rifle from working as it should. So sort it out; here's a helpful video, if you're interested. 

That said, let's see how the little beast performs at JF's range tomorrow. We'll be shooting from the 200 yard line, and there's nothing wrong with that. At all.

In the meanwhile, ribs are on the grill and life is good.

Your Friend,

LSP

Monday Shoot - Ruger Rimfire Roustabout

"LSP, what are you up to tomorrow?" asked the text, followed by one simple answer, "Shooting, join in." And that's what happened, CC drove over from the Metrosprawl, we loaded up the rig with guns and headed to the range. 

I wanted to test out not one, not two but three Ruger rimfires, an American .17 HMR, .22 LR, and the country's favorite semi, a 10/22. But first off we shot off a box of skeet, smoking the biodegradable orange adversaries in good order with a CZ Bobwhite SxS 20. What a great little gun, bang on.

A Gang of Three

Then it was down to serious business with the Rugers, while CC plinked away. I hadn't shot the .17 in ages and, please don't laugh, wanted to see if the dirt cheap, made in China, Simmons 4x scope I'd bought this morning from Walmart actually worked. It boldly advertised itself as ".22 MAGNUM," so perhaps it would.

That's Weird, it Works

And it did, amazingly, right out of the box with minimal adjustment, sending the tiny high velocity rounds into a small silhouette with miraculous $26 precision. Well done, Ruger and Chicom Simmons, you shoot like a laser. I was taken aback.

Best Ruger American .22 LR Group 

Next up, I checked the zero on another Ruger American, a .22 I'd unscientifically sighted in last week at around 50 yards. After a bit of adjustment, it was well in the zone and the same went for the 10/22, which shot as it should given iron sights and LSPvision. So well done, Rugers, you work, but which one's best?

Note Expensive Scope

The American .17 was easily the most accurate, cheap optic regardless, and its .22 twin wasn't far off either, which you'd expect from these rifles because their "Patented Power Bedding® integral bedding block system positively locates the receiver and free-floats the barrel for outstanding accuracy." 

CC

At least that's the marketing and sure enough, the aluminium blocks which the American's receiver screws into seem to do the trick. The barrel's crowned too and comes with an adjustable trigger, 3-5 pounds, which doesn't hurt. 

Proper Little Blaster

Then there's the 10/22, which has been around since 1964 and's still going strong. Why? Because it's an excellent rifle, reliable, accurate, and a lot of semi-auto fun. It's also around $60 cheaper than the American rimfires.

Yet Another Ruger

So I'd say they're all good depending on what you're after. For rounds in the same hole accuracy at an affordable price, the .17 does the trick, provided there's no wind to blow the little bullet off course. 

Random LSP With Shotgun

For a less accurate but cheap to shoot all day alternative, either the 10/22 or the American .22 are more than good and inexpensive to boot. One's semi, the other's bolt, the American's perhaps more advanced but the 10/22 can get a lot of rounds off quickly. Your call.

Needless to say, I like them all, buy one of each if you're into shooting the lowly .22 and its faster cousin, the .17.

Texas

The shoot finished with a good old blast off against the enemy. Soda cans, range debris, steel plates and silhouettes all met their match as the afternoon lengthened into evening under the Texan sky, and that was that. Big fun and always good to get out and shoot.

Gun rights,

LSP 

Rimfire Warrior

Some people use the Tracking Point aiming system, which unerringly guides your shot onto the target via technology that's well nigh indistinguishable from magic. Others use iron sights and a fixed 4 power scope. I went down the latter route today.

Note Mossberg Truck Gun

It rained this morning as I was walking the dog after Mattins. That's right, it rained, for a whole minute, maybe a few seconds more. Uplifted and refreshed, I loaded up the truck with a couple of rimfires, an old JC Higgins, 22 LR, and a Ruger American, 17 HMR. Blue Ballistics got to come along too.

No Libs On The Bench

I faced off against enemy plastic water containers and some old Marlboro Light boxes, opening up off-hand at 30, 50, 75 and 100 yards with the .22. Once I got the hold sorted out the opposition went down swiftly enough, and I won't pretend that I didn't enjoy watching the water targets exploding. Take that, water enemy.

The Ruger American .17 HMR Works

The .17 was more fun, but a greater challenge. Because of the optic, you're looking for greater accuracy and not happy unless you get it. Well maybe not. It's still awesome to see a gallon water jug sail into the air after being hit by the superfast, if supertiny, .17 HMR, regardless of shot placement.

Get In The Truck, You Savage.

But what about the dog? He loved the shooting, and barked, jumped, leaped and romped in midfield, then he found his way to the source of the joy, the shooting bench. He was relegated to the truck after that.

The Water Enemy

So what was learned? Shooting rimfire is a lot of fun, no doubt about it, and it's comparatively cheap, too. The Ruger American is also a great rifle for the price, accurate as you like and then some; I'll be getting their .22 LR wood stocked variant as soon as I've saved up the vast sum of $350.

And as always,  the song remains the same, get out and shoot.

LSP

Black Gun May Day Mayhem!

It was a beautiful sunny morning in Texas, crisp and bright, so I thought I'd better make good use of time and head down to the range with a collection of black guns. Don't get me wrong, I like wood and steel, I prefer it even, but these were the guns I wanted to shoot today.

5.56

So I did. The AR's performed flawlessly, which pleased me, because I had a hand in building them. It's always good when something you've worked to create works well. The rifle variant is well-capable of MOA awesomeness, which is exactly what I was hoping for. The Ruger American .17HMR shot well too, producing the best group of the day, 3 rounds in the same hole. Then it was pistol time.

.17 HMR

I'll be honest. I wasn't too pleased with my pistol performance during LL's visit, and I wanted to fix that. "I know," I thought to myself, cleverly, "If I get a Blackhawk Serpa holster, I'll shoot my .45 like a pro." 

Whatever

The Serpa's a good holster, no doubt about it, it holds your sidearm in a vise-like, mechanical grip, and has a smooth trigger finger release. The paddle system hugs your hip too; it isn't going anywhere. Get a Serpa, just be sure to properly index your trigger finger as you draw your weapon from the holster, otherwise you might shoot your foot off. Bad result.

Serpa

But, did the holster make me a better shot? No. It didn't, and I had to shoot off a box of cheap Federal ammo at 25 yards before I got in the swing of things. 

Message to market. Neat kit is no substitute for rounds down range. There's a moral in that, if you care to draw it.

Typical Texas Range Scene

Have a great May Day evening and remember, May is Mary's month.

God bless,

LSP

Get Out in the Field

Sometimes you get to that point when you think, "What next?" You've taken care of business, walked the dog, checked the news and there's an hour or so left over to do something profitable for mind, body and spirit. You could go to General Synod and get down with the pathetic fiction of women bishops. Or you can get out in the field and go hunting. I chose the latter path.

I set out under an ominous sky to find bunnies and squirrels, thinking both would complement existing meat in the freezer for a post-Thanksgiving small game feast.

Sure enough, I'd soon flushed a rabbit but by the time my rifle was up and crosshairs on, the bunny had made it to the safety of its burrow. I marked that for future reference and moved into the woods to see if I could call any squirrels in.

I did, with one coming in quite close, and on the ground too. I was just about to squeeze the trigger when off it took like a psychic. Lucky squirrel.

Then it began to thunder like the Second Front and I made my way back to the truck.

Moral of the story? Any time spent in the field is better than going to General Synod. Also, if I'd taken a shotgun I would've returned home with rabbit and squirrel for the pot. Well, I'll go out again tomorrow and see if I can't make up the deficiency.

Remember, Global Warming is settled science. Crony Capitalist, limolib NWO tax science, that is.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Dog & Gun

Have you noticed that lib logic always produces the exact opposite of its intended result? Global Warming's a good case in point: It's hotter now, we're told by our billionaire green overlords, which is why it's colder, and in order to make everyone richer we have to be taxed more. With that in mind, I braved the freezing wind chill and took Blue Mephistopheles to the range. I wanted to achieve two things. To see how Blue Zeke would cope with gunfire and to improve my shooting with the Ruger American .17HMR.

It took a couple of shots to warm up and Blue Rustler found these exciting and fascinating. "I want to chase after the bullets," he thought, cleverly.

Blue Heraclitus was mistaken in thinking this and had to be tied to a steel target frame. This helped the shoot and I was pleased to see the tiny .17 HMR zingers moving at 2550 fps onto the bull. With a steady hand and a slightly higher power scope than I have (perhaps), there's no reason why you can't get groups in pretty much the same hole.

As it is, I was pleased with the shooting and untied Blue BarkaLot for a quick scamper up to the butts. He calmed down after that and enjoyed sniffing about the range when he wasn't watching me shoot swinging steel plates and various bits of debris.

A good morning for dog & gun. And remember, when they tell you things like "a video made them do it," or "it's colder because it's hotter," or "Islam is a religion of peace," or "we have to take your money so you'll be richer," and "we're going to disarm you so you'll be safer," don't believe them.They're lying.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Country Life in Texas

Country life in Texas is alright. Sometimes it means doing a little bit of porch 'smithing to fix a recalcitrant trigger on a Marlin 981T. Fortunately the job was simple; tighten the screw, LSP.

Add caption

At other times it's all about cleaning some rimfires after Evening Prayer. I use a bore snake, or "pull-through," as we used to call them in what was once Great Britain. 

Ruger American

Don't get me wrong, I love England, even if it is a pathetic comsymp nanny state run by a crew of corrupt and sinister Old Etonians. Good luck with that.

Justsin

Speaking of England, a recent survey (via Breitbart) reveals that 2% of CofE clergy don't believe in God and another 9% think that it's impossible to know what God's like.

White Chicken

How many of those are bishops?

Big white roosters have setup in my yard. Make of that what you will and God bless Texas.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Just Get Out And Shoot

Sunday afternoon being as good a time as any, I loaded some guns in the truck and went for a shoot. Part of that meant taking down White Flyers which were placed at various ranges in these cunning brackets that stick into the ground on a spike.

It was neat shooting the clays down with a Ruger American .17 HMR and I told myself that the targets simulated small game, like rabbits. These notoriously glow bright orange. My ancient enemy, the green silhouette, took a beating too, with a CMMG AR15. Lots of fun to shoot and I worked on breathing, which affects accuracy.

Some Ancient Old Guy With A Gun

Sometimes I'm tempted to hold my breath when I squeeze the trigger. Don't do that. Here's an excerpt from Art of the Rifle on how to breathe:

"Say you’re in the prone position. You’ve slung up, gotten your position just right, found your NPA and you’re ready to fire. Inhale. You’re reticle should drop. Now relax and let your breath escape naturally until it stops on its own. The reticle should rise. If your NPA is truly on, your reticle should rise and stop exactly on your target. You should now break the shot within 3-5 seconds. If you go longer than that, take another breath and start over. If you wait too long, you’re likely to have trouble focusing your vision, you’ll feel panicky and rushed, and your trigger finger may not perform its duty as well as you’d like.

"Now you know the proper method of breathing for optimum accuracy. What if you are in more of a hurry and the demand for accuracy is less pressing? Then just do what you need to do that will work to get the job done in the time allotted. This is rifle shooting, not dogma. One method may not apply to all situations. Just use your head."

Just use your head. I like that, good advice.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Zeroing in the Ruger American .17HMR

Don't get me wrong, I like open sights, especially the bright fiber optic front sight that comes with the Ruger American rimfire series. Still, I wanted to scope this beast up, on a budget, so I mounted a cheap but clear Hawke Optics 4x40 onto the ready-to-go grooves on top of the receiver.

By some strange quirk of providence, the act of mounting the scope seemed to count as boresighting too and the rifle wasn't too off from the get-go at 25 yards.

Using a tool box as a rest, for tip-top ultimate accuracy, I moved out to 50 yards and shot away at a silhouette until the little .17 HMR (Hornady, 17 grain) zingers were hitting pretty much where I wanted them to. Then I fell back to 100 yards and repeated the process. I used Chuck Hawks as a guide for zeroing at 145 yards. Here's what he has to say:

"A better way to zero a .17 HMR rifle is to put the 17 grain bullet 1.5" high at 100 yards, for a zero range of 145 yards. It would then hit about 0.9" high at 50 yards, 0.3" low at 150 yards, and 5.5" low at 200 yards. The maximum point blank range (+/- 1.5") of the cartridge would be about 165 yards, at which range the bullet retains about 90 ft. lbs.of energy, enough to remain effective on the smaller varmints."

I was impressed by the accuracy of the gun and the round and it obviously shot better than I do, but did it pass the Arizona Ice Tea test at 100 yards? Sure it did.

I enjoyed that so much that I think I'll have to do it all over again. Soon.

Shoot straight,

LSP