Shooting

I took a break from submitting college homework, conference proposals and article submissions today for a little Me Time. Just a short session at the range, total of 120 rounds fired. I worked on half of each box of ammo was spent shooting weak hand-only.In other news, I need to practice more on WHO shooting. I sucked. First up was ...

Yesterday saw me doing accuracy and chrono work for the Girsan 1911SC. Protocol was to chrono 10 consecutive shots from three separate batches/brands of ammunition with different bullet weights. Each of those loads was then tested for accuracy for three consecutive 5-shot groups at 15 yards from a rest. For the test, I used Winchester White Box 124gr FMJ, PMC ...

Day 3 at Blogorado was a bust. The front sight blade fell off again, despite being affixed with Permatex liquid gasket. My theory was that a Superglue bond would be too brittle, and that liquid gasket, being a bit more flexible, would stand up to recoil better. No dice. After curing for a couple of hours (which may not have ...

Day 2 at Blogorado was gorgeous, with a temp of 65 degrees, 15% humidity, and an elevation of 4500 feet. I started with Magtech 124 grain FMJ, listed by manufacturer with a muzzle velocity of 1109 fps. There was a failure to fire on round #35 (#185 total) when the slide did not go fully back into battery. The failures ...

Photo credit: Jennifer Hast The MC1911SC Ultimate is a compact, officer-length 1911 by Turkish manufacturer Girsan, imported by EAA. Built on a forged aluminum frame, it boasts a number of nice features, including contoured surfaces to eliminate snags, an extended beavertail, extended ambidextrous safety, conical barrel for more positive lockup, G10 grips with a capacity window cut in the side, ...

Seems like every year you go to one of these, there seems to be a theme to the exhibits. There was the Year of the AR15, the Year of the 1911, the Year of the Precision Bolt Action Rifle…… and frankly, they’re so damned ubiquitous now that it bores me to write about them. I’m not interested in the latest ...

The 2019 NRA Annual meeting begins tomorrow in Indianapolis. This morning I’ll be picking up my media credentials, and tomorrow opens the exhibit hall where I’ll be prowling for article fodder and guns and gear to T&E. Given the recent strife and financial woes of the NRA reported in the media, covering this year’s meeting promises to be… interesting.Expect the ...

No, I’m not talking about shooting in general, I’m talking about triggers. I’ve never been a particularly discerning judge about how good a particular firearm’s trigger is. I’m a wingshooter, and pulling a shotgun trigger is more an exercise of “See the bird, BANG!” than in exercising a smooth, consistent trigger pull, or appreciating how well the gun facilitates that. ...

Headed out for the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas this weekend. I’ll be blogging and sending out show reports and updates via the blog and Twitter. Follow me here and on Twitter for updates, and look for the hashtag #NRAAM2018.  

Just thought I’d give a brief public thank you and shout-out to the two conferences who booked me in March. The Code 1 Conference in Cedar Rapids, IA is run by Kirkwood Community College. KCC runs an excellent EMS education program, and a highly respected hotel/hospitality management program as well. These two dovetail nicely, as the college runs a high-class ...

Some EMS blowhard and shooting enthusiast you know wrote an article on double-duty carbines for American Hunter magazine. Go give it a read, and show me and American Hunter some love. And while you’re at it, take a hard look at having Alex Wakal at Dreadnaught Industries build you a custom AR15. He’s a good egg, does great work, and ...

Way back in the dark ages of the Internet, in 2007, Marko Kloos wrote a blog post about his favorite rifle, a shortened #4 Enfield: It’s not much to look at, worthless to a collector, and completely devoid of flash and glitz and tacticality. It has no optics, just aperture iron sights. It has no accessory rails, vertical foregrip, fancy ...

I tell you, when you’re shooting a Sten Mark II, it takes all your self-control to keep from saying, “I say, Nigel, after we put down these Jerries, I could go for a spot of tea.”

Today, I went kilted to an informal sporting clays tournament as a fundraiser for local LA Representative Dorothy Sue Hill. My goals were simple: don’t suck, and finish in the top half of shooters. I accomplished both goals. I didn’t suck, but I didn’t cover myself in glory, either. Made some stupid mental errors, and wound up with 33/50. If ...

I have an ongoing love affair with the 16 gauge shotgun, and I think its demise is largely unjustified. I realize that the 16 was never as popular elsewhere in the country as it was here in the south, but a good many wingshooters still regard the 16 as the perfect upland game gun. Not as heavy or bulky as ...