Sports

We didn’t do anything much different at the range today, except we didn’t take Damsel’s 20 Gauge shotgun. We’re going to send it to the gunsmith for some ‘tune up’ so, hopefully, it will be easer to reassemble the bolt, slide and fore-end into the receiver after cleaning.

Here is the pictorial version of the report:

The handguns we took, Damsel shooting the Warthog (good report – 100 rounds no problems), Damsel carrying the guns to the truck after shooting (I usually help, but I was hauling a load of ammo that we just bought) and the pieces of Glocks and Rem 870 spread out for cleanup.

Today’s outing was a lot of fun – again. We took our usual assortment of hand guns and our Remington 870 shotguns.

Our range was really busy today. Late in the summer, we noticed a lull in attendance, but the last couple of fall weekends, the shooters are back. It’s a good thing that people keep current with their firearms practice.

We shared a booth and took turns randomly shooting the handguns. We shot close to 200 rounds of .45s and about 100 rounds of 9mm. We also shot a handful of .38s through the revolver (and a couple of 158gr. .357 magnums left over from the last box we bought).

After we finished with the handguns, we got out the shotguns and put 25 rounds of 12 and 20 gauge through them. Damsel’s is a 20 gauge ‘youth model’ that we bought since her reach is a bit shorter than needed for the full-sized 870 – or so I thought – she is now just as comfortable with my full sized 870 as she is with her smaller one. That’s her in the video with her Warthog and my 870. The guns in the Pelican Case are the Glocks on the left (26 and 30), the S&W 686 revolver, S&W 908s and the Warthog.

Our trip to the range today was a lot of fun. When we got there, the place started getting really busy. We were glad to see the activity pick up after the usual summertime slowdown. We saw families shooting together, but not as many kids as we have seen in the past.

Firearms Inventory

• Glock 30 .45ACP
• Para Warthog .45ACP
• Glock 26 9x19mm
• Smith & Wesson 908 9x19mm
• Smith & Wesson 686 .357 magnum
• Remington 870 20 gauge
• Remington 870 12 gauge

We generally start out with the handguns and finish with the shotguns. Today, we just mixed it up with the handguns and switched off between the 12 and 20 gauge. I didn’t count the number of rounds we shot, but it was on a par with our usual, I’m sure. For sure there were 100 rounds of .45 ACP through each of the Para Warthog and the Glock 30. We finished with 25 rounds through each of the shotguns.

As an aside, when I dismantled the 20 gauge shotgun for cleaning, I really hacked myself up getting it back together. Damsel did 4 band-aids of first aid on my fingers and hands. My fingers are just a little big for the 20 gauge – I have no problem with the 12 gauge even though the edges on the receiver are just as sharp.

We haven’t been shooting for a couple of weeks, so today was especially enjoyable. Our gunography consisted of my Glocks (G26 and G30 ) and Damsel’s “Girls,” the Warthog, the S&W 908s and her S&W 686. I also took my ancient Ithaca single-shot 20 gauge shotgun, our 12 gauge security gun and Damsel’s 20 gauge, the latter two being versions of Remington’s 870 series.

We have come to the conclusion that the sights need to be adjusted on the revolver; everything else seemed to hit where we aimed (more or less) but the revolver consistently shot below the target.

The Warthog performed flawlessly for the first 49 rounds. The very last round in the last magazine stuck on its way into the chamber. After clearing the round and re-inserting into the mag, she fired fine. On inspecting, it appeared that the friction spot on top of the barrel was a little dry, possibly contributing to the misfeed.

The Glocks both worked like “Glockwork” for a total of fifty rounds each. I lost count of the .357 rounds through the 686, but it was probably somewhere around fifty as well. The other S&W pistol saw a similar number of rounds and worked just fine.

The old Ithaca only got five rounds of 20 gauge since that was all I brought for it. The Remingtons each saw twenty-five rounds.

We missed our weekly trip to the shooting range last week since we were out of town. This week, however, we made up for the missed fun last week.

Firearms Inventory

• Glock 30 .45ACP
• Para Warthog .45ACP
• Glock 26 9x19mm
• Smith & Wesson 908 9x19mm
• Smith & Wesson 686 .357 magnum
• Remington 870 20 gauge
• Remington 870 12 gauge

We brought both .38 special and .357 magnum ammo for the revolver. We put up a target and started off with the revolver. We then mixed it up with all the handguns. I think we shot a total of 90 rounds of 9mm through both the S&W 908 and the Glock 26, about the same number of .45ACP through the Para Warthog and Glock 30. We also put 20 rounds of .38 special and 20 rounds of .357 magnum through the 686. At the end of the session, we each put 25 rounds through each of the Remingtons.

The Para Warthog did very well today. Towards the end of the session, she got a little dry and one round failed to feed. A quick drop of oil on the top of the receiver and racking it a few times fixed that problem and she fed the rest of the session without incident.

Sunday is our day for the range. In spite of the fact that we’re great NFL junkies (yes, both of us), we go off to the range while the early games are still underway (they start at 10AM here on the west coast). We miss the first half, but make it home to clean the guns while watching the second half.

We didn’t bring the shotguns today because we were going to use the session to try and improve our marksmanship with the handguns. We made a little headway on that by trying out some of the grips and tips posted by the gunbloggers that went to Blackwater to train with Todd Jarrett. We both noticed a little improvement, but we have a way to go.

Damsel shoots her Warthog and S&W 686 in the video I spliced together today. At one point while shooting the Warthog, she turns to tell me that the hole pattern on the target looked like a happy face. Remember Mel Gibson’s session at the range in Lethal Weapon? In the other part of the video, it looks like only a couple of the seven .38 special rounds produced a nice plume. Actually, they all did, it’s just that the 30 frame per second rate on my camera sometimes misses the millisecond duration of the plumes.

As always, it was fun.

Sunday we took these guns to the range. My two Glocks, a .45 ACP G30 and a 9mm G26 are in the left side of the Pelican 1450 Case. Damsel’s .45 ACP Warthog and 9mm S&W 908s are on the right and her .357 magnum S&W 686 in the center.

The case hasn’t been this crowded since before our vacation when Damsel sent the Warthog to the shop. Although you can remove small cubes of foam to customize for a particular item or items, we haven’t removed any because the guns we take from week to week are not always the same. Besides, the foam compresses and the fit is snug. The snug fit keeps the guns firmly separated during transport.