Shoot

 

A young churchman called, "We're shooting skeet this evening at the ranch to knock the rust off before Opening Day. Are you in?" Sure I was, and loaded a new CZ over and under 20 gauge into the rig and drove off to the countryside.

It's not far, and before you could say Dialectical Materialism is rubbish, there we were, five shooters and a couple of spectators in a ranch shop, checking out guns, shaking hands and all of that. Then we set up in the shade of an old oak and got down to it.

First up, two shooters on the firing line with Old LSP throwing the clays. Boom! Smoke that skeet! Good work boys, didn't take long at all to get in the zone. Then it was my turn, would the CZ work, would I work? Magnum mysterium. But lo and behold, I somehow remembered how to shoot and was up there with the young 'uns. What a lot of fun. But here's the thing.

The boys were shooting 12 gauge pumps, mostly newer Remington 870 Wingmasters, to be precise, and guess what, their weapons kept jamming. My CZ 20? Worked flawlessly, as well as being lighter and easier to shoot. I tell you, I'm a double barrel 20 convert after years of 12 gauge pumpery (Mossberg Ulti Mag and Wingmaster). For that matter and for the most part, I'd go for a double 12 over a pump, they're more reliable. 

Mind you, a smooth working pump does have that rate of fire advantage, so there is that. Double v. Pump, 12 v. 20 reverie over, my shoot was done and I left the guys striking steel with various deadly assault rifles and banned in England pistols. 

What a great evening and so good to get out in the clean air and big sky of Texas, with the added bonus of putting lead on clay to boot. Maybe we need to organize a church shoot, with BBQ, obviously, and prizes for taking out John Lennon CDs at 500 yards.

#2A,

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