Shooting

We had another good outing today. The range opens at 11AM on Sunday, and we were there a few minutes after 11. Inside the range, there were several booths occupied, but nobody had started fining yet. Just as we got our target sent out on the trolley, it seemed like everyone simultaneously started shooting as though the range master had called out “commence firing!” The range erupted with shots fired loud and not so much, ‘booms,’ ‘bangs,’ and ‘pops.’ It was kinda neat.

Looking around at the crowd in the range, we saw the usual regulars who we see every week. We make eye contact with them and nod ‘hello.’

Image: Damsel draws a bead on the target with her Para Warthog (Clickee Bigee)..

We saw a Dad giving his son a first lesson. I winced when I saw ‘sonny’ gripped his Dad’s Glock with his thumb on the rear of the slide. Dad quickly corrected sonny before he could dislocate his thumb.

There were several parties with women participants. There was a bunch who rented a shotgun and were amusing themselves with the recoil and large holes that the 12 gauge rounds left in the target – new people I guess.

On the way out, I bought ammo for next week. They were still out of 9mm reloads, but I still have some on hand in the safe at home. The guys at the range seem to think that the shortage of guns and ammo is going to relax soon.

The range is alive and well. I am comforted by the resurgent interest in the shooting hobby – no doubt as a result of the threats to the sport by the politicians that manipulated their way into power in this country. The more of us that understand guns and the second amendment, the better our chances to prevent the gun grabbers from their quest.

Sunday’s trip to the range went well for the most part. We had a couple of misfeeds with Damsel’s Warthog, but both happened when we used the ‘funky’ magazine – the one with the ‘pinkie extension.’ It’s not a stock Para magazine and the plastic cap on the bottom of the magazine does not fit very well. I think it’s time to get a stock Para Cap and re-spring that magazine. Damsel also was a bit critical of her grip when it had the stovepipe seen here. The other 98 rounds went through the Warthog without incident.

We also took my Glocks, the G26 9mm and the G30 .45 – 100 rounds went through each of those as well. I used the first silhouette target I put up at seven yards to do some “Mozambique” practice with the Glock 30 – two to the chest, one to the head, with the 10th round back to the chest. I did OK with that – the holes in the target are discernible in the accompanying image, but less than optimum – next time I will bring a sheet of yellow or green paper to put behind the target to improve visibility of the holes.

We also brought a couple of S&W guns with us – my 686 .357 revolver and my 908 9mm semi-automatic. We shot a little more than 50 rounds of .38 special through the revolver – since it’s a 7-round capacity cylinder, there is always a left-over round out of a box of 50 rounds.

The little ‘workhorse’ – the 908 9mm, saw about 50 rounds of ammo as well. The 908s are great little guns – they never complain as long as you replace the spring guide and recoil spring once in a while.

Finally, we took out the 12 and 20 gauge Remington 870s and shot up a couple more silhouette targets with 25 rounds of each gauge. I took some videos of Damsel shooting her 20 gauge and our 12 gauge, but I inadvertently had the little Canon A710 on a ‘color swap’ setting and the videos didn’t turn out well so they weren’t suitable to post.

The ammo report: last week I was unable to buy .45 reloads – this week they had them but no 9mm reloads. Fortunately, we had some on hand that we bought at a local sports emporium.

One thing that can be said about this session: Damn, it was a good time, satisfying and a lot of fun.

We have a lot of fun when we go to the shooting range. Sunday, Damsel was shooting at a silhouette target with her 20 gauge Remington 870. She gets such a kick out of demolishing the last hanging vestige of the target.

I really love going to the range with her.

The remarkable thing about our weekly trip to the range for target practice is that there were no anomalies to report. Well, other than the knot heads who brought some 12 gauge steel shot shells into the range and were putting on a fireworks show downrange until the range master corrected the problem.

As for us, we had a lot of fun. Damsel’s Warthog performed flawlessly after the replacement parts were installed a couple of weeks ago. She sure loves that little gun, recalcitrant or not. I shot ten rounds through it and experienced the kick that it gives with the new springs. She will be keeping an eye on the wear on the internal parts so we can replace the springs and caps before needed.

Damsel also brought her Smith and Wesson 686. In the photo above, you can see the plume from the .38 special reloads we were shooting today.

The little S&W 908s 9mm pistol gave no problems, as usual. My two Glocks were, as always, a pleasure to shoot.

The end of the session is when we break out the long guns – Damsel’s 20 gauge youth model and our 12 gauge security gun – both Remington 870s. Shooting the shotguns made the finalé a grand thing, indeed.

What a great outing!

When we go to the range, we take a bunch of guns, and wind up blogging afterward about the Glocks, or the Warthog or the 870 shotguns. We seldom have anything to say about our Smith and Wesson 908 9mm semi auto pistols – mainly because they just keep on shooting and require little attention otherwise. We have had these since the summer of 2006. Damsel got hers first and I got mine (shown) a couple of weeks after that.

Honestly, they just keep on ticking. We have replaced the recoil springs and spring guides in each of them once. They’re probably due again but they seem to be just fine for now.

Specifications:

Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 8 Rounds +1
Barrel Length: 3-1/2″
Front Sight: White Dot
Rear Sight: Fixed 2-Dot
Grip: Straight Backstrap
Trigger: .305″ Combat
Hammer: .260″ Bobbed
External Safety: Single Side
Frame: Compact
Finish: Black
Overall length: 6-13/16″
Material: Aluminum Alloy / Carbon Steel
Weight Empty: 24 ounces

Click on the image for a larger view.