Shoot The Guns

 

A new day, a new opportunity to shoot, so off we went to the range with a few guns, a 20 SxS, a 12 OU and a Marlin .22 WMR. Idea being to get some remedial shotgunnery in, and then a little plinking with the Marlin.

The range was overgrown and semi-flooded but we made it through, get a 4x4, LSP, and set up on dry ground next to a field, baking under a big Texan sky. The erstwhile Cadet went first, on the 12, and started smoking clays like a good 'un.

I followed up on the 20 and was more or less on, unlike the Specialist who specially smoked the clays with the same gun. Hmmm, improve your game, so-called "LSP." I did, and got in the zone, shooting far better to the right than left, curiously. Perhaps there's a moral in that.

A box of  orange "White Flyer" over, we moved on to the little magnum, shooting off the bed of the truck. Take that, fifty yard adversary, and the kid's offhand was impressive, right in the zone. Nice work. Then it was time to head back to the Compound, a good morning well spent.

I love shooting and file this tale under guns and country life in Texas.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Well Shoot

One of the things about this popular mind blog is that it's supposed to be about guns and country life, as well as anything else I care to think of. Fine, so where's the guns, so-called LSP? Good question, and to put the record straight I drove out to a churchman's ranch to burn some powder.

Some Guns

We started off slinging skeet and I wanted to see if the venerable Mossberg Ultimag was working, it'd had extraction issues. But hey, the gun worked flawlessly, knocking orange adversaries out of the sky like a good 'un. 

Next up, an over and under 12 made in Brazil under license by Stoeger, an unshot gift from a kind churchperson. Would it work? Magnum mysterium. It did, smoking clays with uncanny authority. Then on to a CZ 20 SxS. Great little gun and... I could've shot better. Obviously need some remedial 20 action.

Note 5 shot minute of Copenhagen group. Nice.

Next up, another unshot rifle, a Marlin .22 WMR. How would that perform under the big Texan sky, did its previous owner zero the beast in, and at what range? Was the rimfire weapon on? Turns out it was, with the best group hitting steel at 100 yards sub moa. Nice, especially with the Marlin's bizarrely stiff trigger. Whatev, compensate, and we took the target out to 200 yards, just for kix.

Yes, Freedom. #2A

Because awesome ballistic science, something like an 8" drop was on the cards, so I held at that and, after a few test shots got in the zone, putting rounds into center mass within minute of Copenhagen. Result. Then it was time to ride out on the quads.

What's This? A Tower!

First up, an inspection of a new-built ranch house. Note this, and note it well, all you house builders. This home wisely has a tower, which is awesome. Tour over, we roared about in a Polaris kind of way around the fields and trails of bucolic Texas. 

Look at this beautiful view from a TOWER.

What a lot of fun, and I really want to thank CR for a great day out. Powerful medicine. 

Shoot on,

LSP

Shoot!

Get a haircut, hippy

We'd been planning a shoot for some time but things kept getting in the way, broken femurs, a boy graduating Basic, climate change, a deadly Chinese plague, you name it, all conspired to keep us off the range. Until today.

RHT drove over from the DFW connurb and we headed off to J's place to try out some weaponry. All well and good, and then disaster! My rig sank into the sand of an ancient seabed on the way to our objective and had to be pulled out by a handy tractor. Obstacle overcome, we set up at 200 yards and shot.

J knows how to shoot

I went first with an Aero Precision AR10 firing 168 grain .308. Would it work and more to the point, would I remember how to shoot? 

Watch out kids, don't bet the monkey, but I did, just, and ended up with a decent group in the 10 ring, which should've been in the X. RHT followed up with a Hogue stocked .308 Howa and a Redfield scoped M1A. They shot well, very well.

Good Call

Now, all of the above were great to shoot and made considerably more accurate by RHT and J's hand loads. I don't reload or cast bullets, unlike these two very friendly competition shooters, and was struck by the difference. Wow. Speaking of which, RHT and J's Howas were X-Ring on the money for a ridiculously low price. I want one.

Do Not Scorn This

Then, after a quick remedial bout with .45s it was time for lunch at Los Verdes, which always serves excellent Mexican food. Did we discuss the satanic evil of Marxism, the wickedness of banksters and the importance of wine? Possibly. You be the judge.

Back at the range it was time for RHT to roll out an 1872 Remington .50-70 and an 1873 Trapdoor Springfield .45-70. For me, this was the high point of the shoot. There's something about firing these now exotic and antique firearms which appeals. Is it the history of the thing, their provenance, or the nature of the guns themselves? There they are, muskets turned into rifles.

Regardless, the Remington wasn't too keen to get on paper but the Springfield noisily got on a gong, in the appx. 10 ring in my hands and in J's it was hitting the bull. With iron sights. At 200 yards. All 1873 of it. We were amazed. This old rifle was outshooting... ahem. What a lot of fun.

RHT on his awesome M1A

We finished off with some AR action, J stealing the show with a series of X-Ring excellence. 3 shots, left to right touching on the X. A testament to Geissele, the barrel, Nightforce optics, the loads and the shooter himself. Seriously, a lot of people would've been pleased with that group at 50 yards with a .17 HMR. Good shooting.

Random LSP guns

And that was that. Huge enjoyment out in the clean air and big skies of Texas. And about time that this shooter actually got out and shot. Big thanks to RHT for getting the wheels rolling and thanks too to J for such warm hospitality, and a great range which goes out to 1000 yards.

Bullets

Hmmm, can I shoot that far? Good question, perhaps it's time to learn. We'll see about that and calling the shot as this mission progresses.

In the meanwhile, thanks guys for a great day out, what a perfect result.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Do These Guns Work?

The weather finally cleared so I loaded up the truck with guns and headed to the range on a simple mission. To see if three deadly assault rifles still worked.

Big Green & Little Black

To find out, I set up two silhouettes, Big Green and Little Black, then got down to business at 50 yards to test a 100 yard zero. First things first, a lightweight carbine took out Big Green in the X ring with a decent little group and a better second one. 

X Ring

The rounds weren't touching but not bad for a red dot and a rusty gunman, the weapon was on. Next up, a rifle in the same caliber, topped off with an inexpensive Primary Arms optic (ACSS 1-6x24). 

It Still Works!

I was afraid the scope was off and wasn't expecting much but it worked just fine, producing a couple of decent groups on the twin terrorists, Big Green and Little Black. Take that, paper extremists.

Little Black

Then things shifted up a gear with an Aero Precision rifle chambered for 7.62. After a couple of rubbish shots I settled down and was pleased to see 3 or 4 rounds go pretty much through the same hole. Then I ran out of 7.62 and called it a day, pleased with the result. Well done, guns, you work.

7.62

And that was that. It's a neat place to shoot, with targets set up at 100 yards, a couple of benches, some steel plates and a small shooting house, which is on its roof at the moment thanks to a tornado. 

The Range

There it is, just you, the guns and the country. I like that a lot, there's a freedom in it.

Gun rights,

LSP

Resurrection Of The Body

Church was good today, as it always is, and I preached on the bodily resurrection. When was the last time you heard a sermon on that? On the reality of the resurrection, sure, but its bodily aspect? Not so much, I'll wager.

Preachers scare shy of it, I think, for two reasons. Firstly, they take it for granted and secondly, it's a hard doctrine. That a body should rise from the dead? Outrageous. But that's what we believe and Scripture's clear, so is tradition. But why is it so important.

Long story short, because anything less than a bodily resurrection isn't really a resurrection at all, leaving us with a ghost or an immaterial shade. And that's fine except that it isn't fully you because we're composite beings, made up of body and spirit. For the real person, you, to rise from the dead, there has to be a bodily rising or you're left with nothing more than a ghost.

To put it another way. The body which decays and dies is the proper subject of resurrection, unlike the soul which is immaterial. If the former doesn't rise then the latter's left free-floating and resurrection hasn't occurred, just the given continuance of the soul.

Speaking of which, it's long past time for a range day. Fill the truck up with guns, get out in the country and blast away.

Proven medicine for mind, body and spirit.

Gun rights and MAGA,

LSP

Shoot

Do your guns still work, for that matter, do you still know how to use them? There's one sure fire way to find out, go shooting and that's exactly what we did.

An AR15 performed flawlessly, putting rounds down range like a proper little heater, likewise a Glock 21. Well done, Austrians, you've produced a good 'un.

Speaking of pistols, I've noticed people have a tendency to shoot low with the Glock and some say that's because of the ergonomics of the grip. With that in mind I aimed slightly high and shot, ahem, slightly high. Excellent pistol and I always enjoy its explosive .45 ACP power.

We finished off with some .22 plinking against various threats including a bottle cap, someone's discarded Coors Lite can and our ancient enemy, unicorns.

It's argued that unicorns are harmless, mythical, noble creatures. We disagree, they're a right menace, just look what they've done to San Francisco and Austin. And the moral of the story?

Shooting is great, so get out in the fresh air and do it more often.

Gun rights,

LSP

Shoot! It's Spring

The day didn't start off well; I wasn't happy about the marketing stunt Walmart had pulled on its T shirts. These have been rebranded as "Extreme Sports Temp," in the hope that no one notices that once good T shirts are now flimsy rubbish. Way to go, Marketeers. So, to put things straight I put some guns in the rig and headed out to the range to celebrate the first day of spring.

As always, it was great to get out in the country with the guns, in this case an AR15, a Glock 21 and a Ruger American .22. Nothing too adventurous, just some relaxing target practice in the sunny Texan spring. And some pest control.

That's right, a unicorn had sneaked into the range and had to be dealt with. They're a menace, I tell you. Just look at their horns, they'll gore you, given half the chance.

So I didn't waste any time dealing with the threat. Will 5.56 and .45 take down a unicorn? Yes, they will and the Glock 21 proved especially effective at neutralizing the deceptively fluffy enemy at close range. Take that, unicorn.

Herd control over, I finished off with some gentle plinking against the range's steel plates. Remember to breathe, was my note to self.

Shoot over, it was time to head back to the Compound, mission accomplished and a good day had by all, except the unicorn. You can watch aspects of this curious adventure here.

Gun rights,

LSP

Valentine's Day Red Dot

As the rest of the world watches 50 Shades of Blockbuster Sales, I decided to celebrate romantic love by going to the range and sighting in my new Primary Arms red dot sight. I dialed it in, co-efficient with my carbine's iron sights and fired off a few 3 round groups.

From the get-go I noticed an improvement in accuracy over the BUIS, with rounds hitting in and around the X ring from a bench at 50 yards. The sight seemed on enough. Very pleasing.

Then, just for fun, I blazed away off-hand at the green terrorist's head. One "terr" down. So how do I rate the Primary Arms red dot sight, you ask. 

I know, I know, it's not an Aimpoint or an Eotech but I like it a lot, it's compact, light, seems rugged and it works. Is it tactical? Oh yes, very. But how much does it cost? That depends. If you bless someone's guns it might be free. Would you recommend one to a friend? Sure I would. Nice little optic.

Get a Primary Arms red dot sight, if you like. They're affordable and the one I sighted in works.

Happy Valentine's.

LSP 

But, But, Is It Accurate?

Is it Accurate? That depends on the Knife.

How many times have you heard it? "Is it accurate??" says some plaintive shooter, looking at a gun he (it's mostly men) wants to spend a fair amount of change on. And it's not just the purchaser's fault. Cynical huckster gun shop salesmen, (they're mostly men) gull mug punters with promises of unnerving dead-eye shooting precision. "Man. This CZ is outstanding. It'll group on a dime. It's that accurate." They want their sale, of course, and the inexperienced shooter will learn soon enough that the gun's more accurate than he is. Or she is.

Get on the X, for God's sake.

My point is, the "accuracy" talk can get stupid and annoying. Shooter, get accurate by learning how to shoot.

Here's an excellent video from Hickock45 on the subject. 

Right on, Hickock and I'm jealous of your range.

Shoot straight,

LSP