April Fools Shoot

CC swung by from the metrosprawl with a truckload of guns, he especially wanted to see if an old Winchester 1200 pump worked after visiting an armorer. We drove out into the Texan countryside to find out. 

Fail!

The 1200 was up first against the clays, which call themselves White Flyers even though they're orange. Anyway, hopes were high that the Winchester was going to work, it usually doesn't, and CC lined up to shoot, "Pull!" and off flew the orange adversaries into a big sky. Boom, down went a few clays, it looked like the gun was working.

A Glock & A Ruger

Until it didn't. After the first few rounds the troubled beast didn't want to feed, had trouble ejecting and then stopped firing altogether. You'd chamber a round, squeeze the trigger and... nothing. I advised CC to sell the April Fools gun to a pawn shop or part ex it for something useful.

Winchester Model 90?

We changed over to a CZ Bobwhite 20 and merrily smoked skeet till all the ammo was gone. What a lot of fun and what a great little gun. Thanks, TC. After a short bout with a Ruger Redhawk (sorry, Security 6) .357 Magnum and a Glock 21 .45, it was time to plink.

The Range

Shotgun shells, cans, milk jugs, bits of broken skeet, steel plates and more all fell under a deadly hail of .22 LR sent via Ruger and Remington. Hours of enjoyment and then it was time to head back to the Compound, a good time had by all.

Big Sky

In related news, New Zealand's banned pump action shotguns so that only criminals can have them. Now they're much safer.

Gun rights,

LSP

Monday Shoot

One of the good things about the Feast of the Annunciation is you get to go out and shoot, which is exactly what we did. The orange adversary fell under a flak-tower hail of shot. 

I tell you, it was like screaming Messerschmitts going down over the Channel. But here's a thought.

If you want to hit the clay or for that matter the bird, you mostly have to aim. That's right, put the bead on the target as opposed to firing off in the general direction like some crazed Hitler Youth. It makes a difference.

You see, people come to shotgunnery with all kinds of myths and psychic seconds of forever. They think, understandably perhaps, that they have to over lead the fast moving orange or feathered target. This means they don't aim at it, take too long over the thing, and miss the shot.

No. Those lead BBs are flying out of the barrel at 1,200+ fps, they're fast, really fast. So put the bead on, aim, and shoot. Don't hold back, don't hesitate, engage the target and boom, smoke the clay, drop the bird.

After a while it becomes muscle memory and you can get into the nuance and lead of the thing, not that I'm an expert, but first things first, don't overthink the shot or you'll miss.

There's a moral here if you care to draw it.

Texas Rules,

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 

Monday Shoot

One of the good things about Mondays is you can shoot, provided the new Ice Age doesn't have you snowed in and it didn't, so off I went to the range. Nothing fancy, just a Ruger American .22 and a Glock 21 .45.

I hadn't shot the Glock in a while and wondered if it'd work. It did, blasting rounds into the X Ring like a good 'un at around 15 yards. Things opened up a bit at 25 yards and I wasn't surprised, given lack of practice.

Then it was time for the old playing card trick at 10 yards and they met their match, thanks to Austrian engineering and the mighty .45 ACP. But my shooting was getting erratic, time to move on while the going was good.

And there it was, the humble .22, ready to go with a fixed 4 power scope. Was it on? Kind of ish but to be honest I'd forgotten what the little beast was zeroed for, so I unscientifically dialed it in at 50 yards.

After a bit of tweaking the scope seemed on enough and Little Green was taking damage. Sorry, fella, you lose this thankfully one sided firefight.

Then it started to rain and it was time to head back to the Compound, mission accomplished. Needed pistol practice and a pleasant zero-in plinkathon with the Ruger.

The trail out of the range always looks as though it'll present some target of opportunity, like a coyote, a small gang of pigs or even a rabbit, but it never does, oddly. Regardless, there it was, a good afternoon out in the country well spent.

Gun rights,

LSP

What Lever Gun?

"Hmm. Have you got quite enough ARs for a village parson I wonder?" asked one of the many international readers of this popular mind blog and I have to say, good point.

That in mind, there's not a single lever gun in the Compound's armory, which is clearly wrong. So the question is, which rifle to get and what caliber?

I know, I know. What'll you be using it for, so-called LSP? Well, apart from hunting bear and monster hogs (45/70), mostly for fun at the range and as a handy truck gun when driving through the badlands of Ice Age Texas.

All advice welcome,

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

No Shoot

Like all good plans, this one was simple. Walk the dog to the Pick 'n Steal, get some coffee, say Morning Prayer, take care of immediate business and then go for a shoot.

Flooding

What an excellent plan, right? And practical too, involving zeroing in a  triad of deadly assault rifles, 5.56 and 7.62. Make sure the blasters were still working, sort of thing, and then relax off with a bit of plinking against targets of opportunity; soda cans, steel plates, shotgun shells, kettles, cell phones, whatever.

Typical Clovis Points

But no. It started to rain, thunder rolled and crashed across the sky and a vengeful, biting wind cut across the Compound like the harbinger of a new Ice Age. I tell you, it's like the Younger Dryas extinction event here in the Central Zone.

Look, a Dog on a Rug

So no shoot and that's fine by Blue Somnolent but frustrating for me. Still, it's not all bad, check out this uplifting new infovideo from Carpe Doncton.

 

Childish Media - This is America
Thanks for the great idea @Cernovich

Hate Crimes are Real... They just aren't "News" pic.twitter.com/1LAkZAWwCg

— Carpe Donktum🔹 (@CarpeDonktum) February 19, 2019

What excellent art!

Gun rights,

LSP

Climate Change Shoot

One of the weird things about the climate is that it changes, no matter how much tax you pay or don't pay our elite rulers. Take Texas. 

Texas famously doesn't pay the weather tax and it's been raining for the last two days, it's been cold too. Go figure, thwart the Illuminati at your peril, but what happened? It stopped raining. That meant shoot.

We loaded up the rig with shotguns and pistols and headed out to the range. Wrap up warm? No, don't bother, the climate's changed and now it's hot and sunny. Wear your Wellington boots though because the range isn't far off a swamp. 

Right out of the gate Junior LSP was smoking clays with a Mossberg 835 Ultimag 12. Good work, kid. I followed on and shot pathetically. Dismal fail. 

But congrats young 'un and congrats 12. I thought the Mossberg was broken and needed a new set of extractors but no, the old beast was right on the money. Word to the wise, clean your weapons.

Next up, CZ's handy Bobwhite SxS 20. Great little gun and we knocked the orange clay adversary out of the sky like screaming Focke Wulfs going down over the Oder. 45s followed, a Glock 21 and a Beretta PX4 Storm.

Here's the the thing. I bought the Beretta years ago when I was pretty much a novice at pistols, apart from a brief exeat with Her Majesty's finest Brownings, which were as rubbish as I was. We made a team, the pistols couldn't hit anything and neither could I.

Whatever and fast forward, I shot thousands of rounds through the jolly PX$ Storm and there it was. Then, thanks to White Wolf Mine Consultancy Plc. I invested in a Glock 21. Same caliber, better gun.

Don't get me wrong, the Beretta's fine, it works, and I like the ergonomics of the grip, but the Glock's better. 

It's simpler, with less parts. It sits lower in the hand. It's sights are better. It's more substantial. Its magazines carry 13 rounds compared to the Storm's lacklustre 9 or 10. The Storm seems lightweight and toylike in comparison, imo.

Whatever, both guns were right on and the kid shot like a champ, plates swinging away like fury. I was impressed.

Then it was time to head for home in the light of a setting Texan sun, mission accomplished. Had we paid our Illuminati rulers some kind of tax for the privilege? 

No, we had not. Had the climate changed? Yes it had. 

Love,

LSP

Wash Out!

My youngest son, who's visiting from Canada, wanted to go for a shoot today and who can blame him. It sounded good to me too and the plan was to load up on clays, shotgun ammo, some .45 and head out into the wilderness for fun and adventure. Then it started to rain and didn't stop, it was like Wales, maybe Aberystwyth.

But the living room was dry, fortunately, and we looked out of its windows at the watery apocalypse. "Son, this isn't shooting weather." He agreed and I nodded grimly as the varied detritus of modern life flowed past the Compound, "That's an excellent point. Let's go to Karen's and get some food."

So we hydroplaned to Karen's Authentic Mexican Food in Itasca and bought a bag of bean and brisket burritos. Then we hydroplaned back and ate those bad boys like they were going out of fashion, which they're not because they're so tasty. Good work, Karen, you did it again.

The guns got a look-in too. Sure, maybe you don't want to shoot in the deluge but you can always clean the little blasters, which is what I did. Meanwhile, boy and dog amused themselves while the rain poured down.

They say, interestingly, that enough rain falls in Texas to keep the average house in water for a year. Of course this figure might be skewed by the population boom in the Lone Star Sate as people flee Illinois, California and associated workers' paradises for our sunny southern weather.

Gun rights,

LSP