A Bad Day At The Range

 is still a pretty good day.

It was a bit disappointing, however. I took the new-to-me AR upper and the lowers that I had built for it out to play, and the darn thing just would not feed from either of the lowers or from either of the magazines. If I bounced the darn thing on the polymer magazine the round would go in, but otherwise nada.

So I packed it up and took the Glock 36 to the pistol range next door and put 50 aluminum cased rounds through it. It had one FTE, not a stovepipe, where the ejector just slipped past the rim of the empty and didn't get it out. It came out with no issues, and that was the only problem with the aluminum cases.

Next, Range Partner had brought a couple hundred old reloads with him, so I helped him burn them up. I put 100 rounds through the 36 with only a few issues due more to light loads, I never had a squib but there were one or two that didn't go bang with enough authority to properly cycle the slide.

The verdict: since changing the barrel I haven't had a single problem with the gun that could not be attributed to ammo. Also, I managed to ring the steel consistently although I couldn't consistently hit the small swinging targets. So, I still suck at this game, but not as bad as once upon a time. Dry firing helps.

Once I got home I consulted the Internet regarding my AR issues and found that I have an M4 upper receiver mounted to an AR barrel. The difference is in the feed ramps. On the plain AR the feed ramps are integral only to the barrel extension (the rear-most part of the barrel that is fluted to mate with the bolt; so much to learn with the AR platforms); the regular AR has a flat front wall on its upper receiver with no ramps and the ramps on the barrel extension stop at the outside edge. 

On the M4, however, the feed ramps continue down into the front wall of the upper receiver and the barrel extension ramps are slightly deeper so it makes a smooth transition between the ramps in the upper receiver and ones in the barrel extension. The idea is that the M4 will feed better at faster cycle rates or with rounds bigger than the standard 5.56 which, mine being a 6.8, is. 

 The result of my setup is a ledge where the ends of the AR barrel extension ramps meet the ramps in the M4 upper, and that combination with my lowers and magazines tip the rounds downward just enough to catch that ledge. Funny thing is, the original setup (I bought just the upper, the guy I bought it from kept the lower to put a different upper on it) worked just fine.

 The cure is to either swap to an M4 barrel, or take a rotary tool or round file to the barrel extension ramps to match them to the receiver ramps. There is some debate as to whether it's a good idea to do this while the barrel is mated to the upper. I think this may be a job I'll leave to a gunsmith.

In other news, it looks like I may be picking up a .357, so I have that going for me. The last .357 I owned was a Taurus that I got from a "friend" over some money he owed me and then later found out that it had been lifted from his mother in law's truck, so I had to give it back. 

I am more certain of this one's ancestry, so that won't be an issue, but it is a lightweight S&W that is...let's say, somewhat uncomfortable...to shoot a lot due to the recoil inherent in a powerful cartridge and a light gun. I'll put some .38 through it for practice and keep the high power loads for business.

It's been too long since my last range day, but now that the weather is getting better I will work at improving that.

Shooting Day

Saturday there was supposed to be a cruise-in near me.

I made plans to go to the cruise-in, which also happened to be in the same town as the shooting range, which also happened to have a yarn store. So M and I decided to make a day of it. We were going to take the new bows along...well, the old bows that I got from my father in law...but the case wouldn't fit in the Mustang so they stayed home.

First we met Range Partner for some shooty goodness and I discovered that I suck at this game and I need to practice more. I also found my Glock 19 shoots to the left until the third or fourth shot, and then it slowly comes back to the right although I was shooting consistently slightly left of centerline even when it was all warmed up.

In fact the 19 shoots so far to the left that the sights are drifted way to the right to compensate for it, which should not be a thing. I have ordered a different barrel for it, hopefully that will cure its ills. Between the 19 shooting sideways and the 36 being such a jam-o-matic I'm starting to rethink my whole Glock ownership status.

Whatever. I like the Sig better anyway...but M has effectively commandeered it. Oh no, I guess I will have to get another one...oh woe is me...

While we were there Range Partner unlimbered his Lapua for the first time in a long time, and she still sounds off with authority and rings the 300 yard gong with boring regularity. Much to my surprise I was able to make some 300 yard ring-a-dings with the 30-06, even though it's sighted in for 100 yards. The 200 yard was no problem, either. That's a flat shooting round, and I was using Winchester target rounds, so any qualms I ever had about going with a less expensive bullet slinger are now laid completely to rest. I am altogether satisfied with my Mossberg 100ATR.

After the last round had cleared the chamber we all went out for a steak. Something that I failed to mention, at my last annual checkup I had the whole battery of blood draws (and I should have worn the kilt even though it wasn't September yet), and last week my doc sent me a text message saying she was very concerned about the numbers. Nice gal, young-ish (any more they all are), small fingers, wanted me to lose weight and get more exercise, yada yada. I told her I was walking the parking lot at work 3 times a week (about a mile, getting it done in 20-21 minutes) so she would have to be satisfied with that. She's not, wants me to do it 5 days a week. I don't work 5 days a week...so guess who isn't going to get what they want? But I digress.

The medical center puts all of the test results and whatnot on a portal, so I signed in and checked my messages to see what she was on about. It turns out my cholesterol is good, my blood pressure is on the high side of good (she wants me to watch my salt. Whatever, I don't use it much anyway), but my A1c is IN THE DIABETIC RANGE!!!OMG!!!IMMEDIATELY GO ON A LOW CARB DIET AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!

Panicked, I flip over to the blood sugar test results, expecting the worst...and...it's at 7.1 (normal is under 7 for those of you who have never had to deal with it, myself included). Which, yeah, it's above normal, but seriously?

So I've cut out the bread and rice for a while, which is about the only thing carby I eat. Well, that and sugary drinks from Dunkin' Donuts where M is a regular customer, so it's back to plain old unsweetened iced tea for me when we go through the drive through (good luck with getting M to give up her DD iced coffee/extra/extra). We'll see what the numbers are in a month, I'm guessing they will be under 7 again and then maybe she can ease off of DEFCON ELEVENTY. I'll still leave the sugary drinks and rice alone though.

Anyway, so off for a steak where I get a salad for my side rather than a potato, some good conversation and then we're off to the...waitaminute...M forgot her coupon for the yarn store, which is why she wanted to go to the yarn store in the first place. Also, it's a couple of hours yet to the cruise in, and quite frankly I'm ready to call it a day. So instead I hit up the train store for some scenery supplies and we went on home.

I hope they had a good turnout at the cruise-in.

Range Days

I've had a good week.

I've been off work all week since I had some days I had to burn up or lose. This gave me a chance to complete a couple of projects around the house, and it also gave me a chance to go to the range a couple of times.

Youngest Son's birthday was last Friday and one of the range days was his. We shot rifles that day although I did take a couple of rounds through the Glocks and some through the Sig as well. I took the Arisaka and Youngest Son took the Saiga, both performed well. I am extremely happy with the scope on the Arisaka, with the iron sights I can't hit a darn thing but with the scope it is a bullseye shooter, much more capable than I am.

With the pistols I finally got them all sighted in and if I take my time and carefully line everything up, watching the flinch, I can hit the X ring with all of them (although the Glock 36 continues to demonstrate why I don't carry it anymore, having its occasional FTE every forth or fifth magazine, never the same magazine, sometimes two or three in a row).

Today it was Mrs Hades turn. We met Range Partner and his companion at the range, of course we were late and they were already busy putting lead downrange when we showed up. As usual she laid claim to the Sig and I shot the Glocks. Both of us had much success with our chosen firearms (the 36 with its usual failures) and we quickly shot through a large part of the ammo we had brought.

Afterwards we had lunch with Range Partner and his girl and then it was off to the yarn store! A relatively quick trip through netted enough to keep Mrs Hades happy for a day or two, and then it was off to the gun store where we bought more ammo to replace what we had shot off and also picked up a magazine loading tool for the Sig and an arrow rest for the bow that Father In Law had gifted us with.

When we got home Mrs Hades was insistent that she learned to clean the Sig. So we broke out the cleaning gear and the manual for the Sig and everything got the necessary attention. Afterwards as I was putting everything back in the safe I noticed I was a box short. Look as I may I could not locate the Sig. I went back through the house and there, poking up out of Mrs Hades range bag, was the missing box.

It looks as if I may have lost a Sig.

I can't think of a better place for it to go.

All in all a very good day. Heck, all in all a pretty darn good week. Too bad it all comes crashing to a bad end on Monday.

Range Day

Today we took some time out with Range Partner to sling some lead downrange. It was the first time M and Range Partner had met and the first time M has gone shooting with me (and as far as I know, only the second time she has ever shot handguns).

Along for the ride was Grand-Dad's High Standard, both the Glocks and the Sig. Range Partner brought a Glock of his own at my request, a Glock 21 with a .22 caliber conversion kit. Younger Son also came along, but he and Range Partner took turns with a .357 Taurus snubbie that Range Partner brought along.

After a review of the Four Rules (the first time M had ever heard them, so we went over them pretty extensively) and some basic instruction on grip, sights, stance and operation (I was ever grateful for the instruction I received at Tigerswan because all I did was review with her what I remembered from learning there) we loaded up and started putting rounds downrange.

First up was the 9mm Glock 19, followed by the Glock 21 with the .22 conversion kit installed. I wish I could say these were my targets...but no. Two fliers, one .22 and one 9mm, in the eight ring and the rest in the black, with two of the .22 and one 9mm solidly in the X.

Next up was the .45 Sig. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to shoot it, but she at least wanted to try it out. Four rounds went into the Sig, and when the smoke cleared two of them were in the eight ring and two in the ten. Next up she wanted to try the Glock 21 in Gods Own Caliber. So, off came the .22 conversion and on went the .45 slide and magazine, five rounds in the magazine...and as you can plainly see, two in the nine, two in the ten and one in the X.

Not bad shooting...for a guuuuurl.

Yeah. Not bad shooting for anyone, and when you consider this was her second time at the gun range to shoot handguns (and since the first time was a "here, point this that way and pull the trigger" you may as well say it was her first time) you could say that was pretty excellent shooting. Hell, she out-shot me, and I couldn't be prouder.

I really wish I could send her to one of Kathy Jackson's classes to learn how to shoot properly, but I will certainly find some instruction for her somewhere. I was OK with showing her the basics, but I'm not an instructor and everyone can do with some instruction. (Speaking of which Sean...isn't it about time for another Tigerswan class?)

There just might have to be a Glock 21 in her future as well.

Range Day AAR

I got the G-19 sighted in, barely. Of course I left the handy dandy Glock tool at home so I had to use a knife blade to adjust it. It will now shoot bullseye from a bench rest.

I, however, still suck at shooting it.

First things first, Youngest Son and I tried the Battleship targets at 50 yards with the Marlins first, but my old eyes wouldn't let me line up properly (I was using the 795 with iron sights, Youngest Boy was using the Model 60 with the scope) so we pulled them back to 25 yards. After going through a full box of .22LR (325 rounds) neither of us had won but I was closer.

Next I put a few rounds through the Arisaka and the Mossberg at 100 yards while Youngest Son peppered a zombie clown target with the Saiga. The Arisaka is still a handful, it groups in a 5" circle at 100 yards but I'm pretty certain that most of the problem is me since I'm not using a bipod with it.

The Mossberg shoots 1.5 MOA at 100 from the bipod and it likes 51 grains of IMR 4064 with its 165 grain Hornady SST's. I've heard that a Boyds wooden stock will bring the groups down to sub-MOA but 1.5 is still minute of Bambi so I'm satisfied with it.

After that Range Partner and I tried out the Battleship targets. RP won, finally, after we had gone through all the 9mm I brought (should have brought more since I was sighting the 9mm in, along with the tool...but I digress) and then switched to the G-36...and then went through all but 4 rounds of all the .45ACP that I brought.

It was pretty glaringly obvious that we both needed the practice, and I'm somewhat concerned that the G19 needed so much adjustment with its sights. Maybe a new barrel would set it right, irritating with a new gun but it puts holes where its pointed now so it's all good. Best of all was the stress reduction achieved through recoil therapy, I think that was probably needed more than the practice.

Mexican for lunch, inspection and tag renewal for the Pony and lawn mowing followed, and now I'm in skating ring hell as Boy shmoozes the chicks.

Eh. Life could be worse.

Sights, PT 2

Installing Glock sights on a Glock is simplicity itself. Drive the old ones off, drive the new ones on, no muss no fuss.

In fact, the hardest part to installing the sights was finding a brass punch. I never did find one, but the local craft store had brass shapes that were suitable for cutting up to use as punches.

The guns are cased and ready to be put in the car tomorrow, I'll be sighting in the G-19 and trying my reloads out in the Mossy 30-06. I'm also taking along some of the toys I haven't played with in a while.

A day at the range is always a good day.