I just wanted to post a quick note to thank "Smith45acp" for his hospitality, and setting up this "range day". Every had a TON of fun, it was a very safe and laid-back day, and we all learned some new things too.
I especially liked shooting the steel plates, and although we started the day shooting them from a stationary position, I came up with the idea of doing a sort of "move and shoot" type thing, which we did later in the afternoon, after I realised that 1) people were having a really tough time hitting the last target (it was about 50 yards out) and that I had a shot timer app on my iPhone. ("Exilin77" downloaded this app too, so we had two shot timers, and could take turns chasing the shooters and getting their data). This was the first time most of the folks had done anything like this, and we all agreed that it was a LOAD of fun, and the element of competition sparked a lot of interesting conversations, started up a few challenges, and showed us all where we were excelling, and where we needed some work.
We're already making plans to make that course a little more interesting (maybe a few "poppers" or "swinging targets", and perhaps a few barriers to shoot around or through in the future!). Yeah, sure, were not "IPSC Grandmasters" in the crowd, but it was a LOT ore fun than a formal competition, was a no-pressure environment, and was something new that most of the folks had never done.
We also went through a PRODIGIOUS amount of 12ga ammo and clays. By then end of the day, we'd burned through 3 cases of clays, and were having a GREAT time busting those little orange and black disks. Many of us were pleasantly surprised by our own performances (I was a lot better at what we were doing which was more like trap than my regular game of "5 stand"), and when all was said and done, some of us wished we had about 3 more hours of daylight and another case of clays, and perhaps a few more boxes of ammo for the pistols...
The real "sleeper" of the day, firearms-wise was the Ruger Mark 1 (I think it was "Smith45acp's") Everyone was VERY surprised at how easy to shoot and accurate it was. That little all-steel rimfire pistol just seemed to hit every target you pointed it at, and everyone who had the chance to shoot it was VERY impressed with it's ease of shooting and accuracy...
My new Glock 36 is still in the "break in" phase, and I had a few FTEs and FTFs on the "move and shoot" course (which luckily did NOT get video recorded.) but I think by the next time we have another range day, I will have all the kinks ironed out. My Para performed very well, but by about 5pm, I was starting to wish I had some fiber optic or tritium sights. Well, maybe it was all the GSR on the front blade that was slowing me down...
Great day! Anyone who couldn't make it missed a REALLY fun afternoon. Next time, we'll have more clays, a more interactive pistol course, and perhaps a proper spotting scope for the rifle range, to make judging our long-distance shots a little easier.
And chairs--
we all need to remember to bring camp chairs next time. Some of us "old timers" were starting to notice our feet and calves by the end of the day, from standing, walking and running for several hours...
But all in all, it was a REALLY fun range day, and everyone had a great time.
Thanks again ""Smith45acp" for putting this together, and opening up your land to us to use. Maybe next time we'll have an even bigger crowd!
Three cheers for Smith45acp!!! :monkey:monkey:monkey
