Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters are having their IDPA classifier on Saturday, February 25th. Also, Central Carolinas Shooting Club is having their IDPA classifier on Saturday, March 10th.
Made Marksman class last time in October, shooting for Sharpshooter this year.
Here's a video of someone shooting the classifier:
Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
IDPA Match at Central Carolinas Shooting Club 2-11-2012 Part 2
Continued...
Stage 4 - This stage consisted of 3 paper targets which are engaged with 2 rounds each. Minimum round count was 6, but you could make up shots. In this stage, you are simulating speaking to 911 when you have to engage 3 targets with strong hand only. I am NOT very good with one hand only shooting. I shot this stage in 8.04 seconds and down 4 points for a total time of 10.04 seconds.
Stage 5 - This stage consisted of 1 steel target at the end of a "hallway" and 5 paper targets spread out on each side of the hallway as you advanced. Each paper target received two body shots and one head shot for a minimum round count of 16. I shot an extra 3 shots on the paper targets to the right. For some reason, I have a hard time aiming around the left sides of barricades. Something I need to work on. Anyway, I finished this at a snails pace of 50.03 seconds and down 1 point for a total of 50.53 seconds.
And finally, we have a walk-through of stage 5. Always tough to see what's happening when you video from behind, so Deb walked it for me and showed each target.
Hope you all enjoy the videos. I'll hopefully be shooting at the next Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters match which will be a classifier. Maybe this time I can do better and move up from Marksman to Sharpshooter.
Well, that's it for me today. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Stage 4 - This stage consisted of 3 paper targets which are engaged with 2 rounds each. Minimum round count was 6, but you could make up shots. In this stage, you are simulating speaking to 911 when you have to engage 3 targets with strong hand only. I am NOT very good with one hand only shooting. I shot this stage in 8.04 seconds and down 4 points for a total time of 10.04 seconds.
Stage 5 - This stage consisted of 1 steel target at the end of a "hallway" and 5 paper targets spread out on each side of the hallway as you advanced. Each paper target received two body shots and one head shot for a minimum round count of 16. I shot an extra 3 shots on the paper targets to the right. For some reason, I have a hard time aiming around the left sides of barricades. Something I need to work on. Anyway, I finished this at a snails pace of 50.03 seconds and down 1 point for a total of 50.53 seconds.
So, final tally. Minimum round count was 63 of which I took 70 shots. My raw time was 133.42 and I was down 6 points (add 3 seconds) and had 1 hit on a non-threat (add 5 seconds) for a total time of 141.42.
Hope you all enjoy the videos. I'll hopefully be shooting at the next Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters match which will be a classifier. Maybe this time I can do better and move up from Marksman to Sharpshooter.
Well, that's it for me today. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
IDPA Match at Central Carolinas Shooting Club 2-11-2012 Part 1
Had a fun time at the match today at CCSC. Good amount of people which kind of surprised me as there is a fairly major match going on up by Raleigh this weekend. I think we still had close to 60 shooters. Weather complied with us, but was a bit chilly and windy. Even got a few flakes of snow and then some frozen rain for about a minute or so.
Anyway, here are the first 4 courses of fire.
Stage 1 - Mix of paper and steel targets. Seventeen round minimum count to engage 6 paper and 3 steel targets. One steel target was an activator for a drop turner. Videos, compliments of my lovely wife are of me shooting! Yay. This one cut off about 5 seconds early. I thought I was done, but had one more target just around the corner of the barrel. You'll see it to the left at the end. I finished this stage in 32.99 seconds and no points down.
Stage 2 - Six paper targets of which one is a pop-up target that is activated by opening the door. Total round count was 12 for this stage of which I shot 15. I shot an extra shot at one of the first 3 targets, one at the long range target, and one at the target behind the no threat (black hands target). Finished in 29.05 seconds, with one point down, but just barely hit the non-threat target, so that cost me 5.5 additional seconds for a total of 34.55 seconds.
Stage 3 - This stage was shot in two strings of 6 shots each (limited, can't shoot any more than 6).
First string had you engage the center target first with one shot, then each of the other two targets with one shot, before each target received a 2nd shot. This was a clean run for me at 6.3 seconds with no points down.
The second string was about the same as the first, except you engage each target with one body shot and one head shot. Again, you had to start with the center target first and then each of the next two targets. This was again a clean run with no points down at a time of 6.74 seconds.
Hope you all enjoy the videos. I'll hopefully be shooting at the next Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters match which will be a classifier. Maybe this time I can do better and move up from Marksman to Sharpshooter.
Well, that's it for me today. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Anyway, here are the first 4 courses of fire.
Stage 1 - Mix of paper and steel targets. Seventeen round minimum count to engage 6 paper and 3 steel targets. One steel target was an activator for a drop turner. Videos, compliments of my lovely wife are of me shooting! Yay. This one cut off about 5 seconds early. I thought I was done, but had one more target just around the corner of the barrel. You'll see it to the left at the end. I finished this stage in 32.99 seconds and no points down.
Stage 2 - Six paper targets of which one is a pop-up target that is activated by opening the door. Total round count was 12 for this stage of which I shot 15. I shot an extra shot at one of the first 3 targets, one at the long range target, and one at the target behind the no threat (black hands target). Finished in 29.05 seconds, with one point down, but just barely hit the non-threat target, so that cost me 5.5 additional seconds for a total of 34.55 seconds.
Stage 3 - This stage was shot in two strings of 6 shots each (limited, can't shoot any more than 6).
First string had you engage the center target first with one shot, then each of the other two targets with one shot, before each target received a 2nd shot. This was a clean run for me at 6.3 seconds with no points down.
The second string was about the same as the first, except you engage each target with one body shot and one head shot. Again, you had to start with the center target first and then each of the next two targets. This was again a clean run with no points down at a time of 6.74 seconds.
Hope you all enjoy the videos. I'll hopefully be shooting at the next Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters match which will be a classifier. Maybe this time I can do better and move up from Marksman to Sharpshooter.
Well, that's it for me today. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Four questions to ask yourself when choosing a holster
Nice little article on guns.com about holster selection. For readers note: my concealed carry holster is a Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe for my Glock 19 and my competition holsters are Bladetech Revolution for my Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm and one for my Glock 19.
Find the article here: http://www.guns.com/questions-buying-concealed-carry-holster.html
Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Find the article here: http://www.guns.com/questions-buying-concealed-carry-holster.html
Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
MWDS scores in from 1/29/2012 match
Not too bad. I finished up at 142.92 seconds and down 21 points across the 6 stages.
Stage 1 - 23.53 seconds and down 7 (this was the strong hand/weak hand shooting stage. thought I did much worse than I did.)
Stage 2 - 24.41 seconds and down 0
Stage 3 - 26.45 seconds and down 5 (this was my last stage where I got the procedural after having to re-start it).
Stage 4 - 18.78 seconds and down 0
Stage 5 - 32.70 seconds and down 9
Stage 6 - 17.05 seconds and down 0
So, those down 0 stages would be my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down 0 stages. Yay for accuracy!
Overall, I was the 21st most accurate shooter out of 103 and the 9th most accurate stock service pistol shooter.
Overall I was the 62nd in time and was 32nd out of 58 SSP (stock service pistol) shooters.
Well, that's it for now. Have another match this weekend at Central Carolinas Shooting Club. Have a great week and remember, Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight!
Stage 1 - 23.53 seconds and down 7 (this was the strong hand/weak hand shooting stage. thought I did much worse than I did.)
Stage 2 - 24.41 seconds and down 0
Stage 3 - 26.45 seconds and down 5 (this was my last stage where I got the procedural after having to re-start it).
Stage 4 - 18.78 seconds and down 0
Stage 5 - 32.70 seconds and down 9
Stage 6 - 17.05 seconds and down 0
So, those down 0 stages would be my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down 0 stages. Yay for accuracy!
Overall, I was the 21st most accurate shooter out of 103 and the 9th most accurate stock service pistol shooter.
Overall I was the 62nd in time and was 32nd out of 58 SSP (stock service pistol) shooters.
Well, that's it for now. Have another match this weekend at Central Carolinas Shooting Club. Have a great week and remember, Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday at the range
So, after a lot of fun on Saturday at the Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters IDPA match, I decided to go to the range and shoot my rifle. For those that haven't read past posts, I purchased a CMMG M4LE 5.56 carbine. Love shooting it, but the closest range where I can shoot 5.56 is about 40 miles away. So, I went in search of the CMMG .22lr conversion kit and found it on sale at CDNNinvestments.com. Not only was the price better than what I could find locally, but it also came with a free 25 round magazine. Sweet! It was also only $6 shipping. If I could have found it at or close to that price, I would have bought it locally, but alas, it was not to be.
So, I loaded up the gun, conversion kit, and my oldest son who likes shooting rifles more than pistols which my youngest son likes. We went to Elite Training Academy which is just a few miles from the house with a brand new Winchester Whitebox .22lr value box. $22 for 550 rounds isn't too bad a deal. We loaded up the magazines (I have two with the free one) and proceeded to have some fun. One thing we noted was one magazine was much more difficult to eject than the other. Well, eject isn't really the right word. I had to hold the rifle and the mag release button while my son pulled it out with both hands. After doing that twice, we just decided to use the one mag until I could figure out what was wrong.
As we were shooting, another father came in with his teenage daughter and son who was around 9 years old. The son noticed that we were shooting an "ar-15" and was very intersted. I'd see him out of the corner of my eye when he wasn't shooting with his father. Eventually he came up and asked if we were shooting an ar-15 and I said yes we were and if it was ok with his father, he was more than welcome to shoot it. Zoom! Off he goes, "Dad, I need your help!, Dad, I need your help!". I could only smile seeing the enthusiasm. He spoke to his father who came down and introduced himself. I let him know that his son and daughter were welcome to shoot the rifle as well as the father. The son came down first and we let him shoot off 20 rounds. The smile on his face couldn't have gotten much bigger. He was afraid there'd be some recoil, but I put him at ease. Soon after, the daughter came down who was also concerned about recoil, but I let her know that with the rounds we were shooting, it would be negligible. After shooting, she was very happy with a big smile and a thank-you.
What turned out to start was just some quality father-son time turned into a great day for us and some young shooters which made me feel even better. Seeing the huge smile on his face was a great reward for me.
Well, that's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
**Oh, and the magazine that was sticking? Fixed that by removing two tabs on it. Smoothly ejects our normally now. I didn't figure the CMMG magazine would have issues ejecting out of a CMMG rifle, but the tabs were installed for other manufacturers. Go figure.
So, I loaded up the gun, conversion kit, and my oldest son who likes shooting rifles more than pistols which my youngest son likes. We went to Elite Training Academy which is just a few miles from the house with a brand new Winchester Whitebox .22lr value box. $22 for 550 rounds isn't too bad a deal. We loaded up the magazines (I have two with the free one) and proceeded to have some fun. One thing we noted was one magazine was much more difficult to eject than the other. Well, eject isn't really the right word. I had to hold the rifle and the mag release button while my son pulled it out with both hands. After doing that twice, we just decided to use the one mag until I could figure out what was wrong.
As we were shooting, another father came in with his teenage daughter and son who was around 9 years old. The son noticed that we were shooting an "ar-15" and was very intersted. I'd see him out of the corner of my eye when he wasn't shooting with his father. Eventually he came up and asked if we were shooting an ar-15 and I said yes we were and if it was ok with his father, he was more than welcome to shoot it. Zoom! Off he goes, "Dad, I need your help!, Dad, I need your help!". I could only smile seeing the enthusiasm. He spoke to his father who came down and introduced himself. I let him know that his son and daughter were welcome to shoot the rifle as well as the father. The son came down first and we let him shoot off 20 rounds. The smile on his face couldn't have gotten much bigger. He was afraid there'd be some recoil, but I put him at ease. Soon after, the daughter came down who was also concerned about recoil, but I let her know that with the rounds we were shooting, it would be negligible. After shooting, she was very happy with a big smile and a thank-you.
What turned out to start was just some quality father-son time turned into a great day for us and some young shooters which made me feel even better. Seeing the huge smile on his face was a great reward for me.
Well, that's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
**Oh, and the magazine that was sticking? Fixed that by removing two tabs on it. Smoothly ejects our normally now. I didn't figure the CMMG magazine would have issues ejecting out of a CMMG rifle, but the tabs were installed for other manufacturers. Go figure.
Saturday match at MWDS
This past Saturday, we had a great match at Mecklenburg Wildlife Defensive Shooters. At last count, they had 103 shooters which may have been a record. The weather was beautiful with lots of sun, bright blue skies, and the smell of gunpowder. For as many shooters as we had, we still finished in around 4.5 hours.
MWDS always puts on decent matches and this one was no exception. Scores aren't available yet, but we had a lot of fun. Not much movement on this match, but lots of head shots and some strong and weak hand only shooting. I didn't pay much attention to my scores as this is the first "match" that I've shot since early December and I've only shot a couple hundred rounds since then. This match was mostly about accuracy and not breaking the rules. I did fine all the way up until the 6th stage. Wound up with my only procedural of the day. Everything else was good. No safety rules broken, no hits on a non-threat, and no misses.
I wanted to start on stage one and work my way through, unfortunately, stage 1 was booked, so I moved over and started on stage four. So, stage four had you facing four targets at about 4-5 yards, draw and shoot each target once, then each target twice, and finally one head shot for each target. Below is the video for stage 4. Sorry I missed the beginning.
MWDS always puts on decent matches and this one was no exception. Scores aren't available yet, but we had a lot of fun. Not much movement on this match, but lots of head shots and some strong and weak hand only shooting. I didn't pay much attention to my scores as this is the first "match" that I've shot since early December and I've only shot a couple hundred rounds since then. This match was mostly about accuracy and not breaking the rules. I did fine all the way up until the 6th stage. Wound up with my only procedural of the day. Everything else was good. No safety rules broken, no hits on a non-threat, and no misses.
I wanted to start on stage one and work my way through, unfortunately, stage 1 was booked, so I moved over and started on stage four. So, stage four had you facing four targets at about 4-5 yards, draw and shoot each target once, then each target twice, and finally one head shot for each target. Below is the video for stage 4. Sorry I missed the beginning.
Stage 5 had you shooting at targets at approximately 15 yards. Starting behind a barricade (like the qualifier), you drew your weapon and shot twice at each of 3 targets, perform a tactical reload with retention, and fire at the 3 targets again from the other side.Again, no real problems here. See video below:
Stage 6 was a sitting stage. From a seated position, you drew your weapon, and fired two shots at the threat target first (behind and between the two no-threat targets), then engaged the other 5 targets with two shots each. Below you can see one of our fastest shooters take care of the "problem".
Back up the hill and down the hill to stage 1. This was a one-handed stage. From approximately 7-8 yards, you draw and shoot one handed, 3 shots at each target, tactical reload with retention, and then shoot 3 shots at each target with your other hand. This wasn't a great stage for me as I don't shoot a lot of one handed rounds. It was good in the fact that I didn't miss any shots with all 12 on target. I think I was down 5 of one target and 7 on the other target. I again took video of one of our best shooters which can be seen below:
Stage two was the first movement stage for us. From behind the barricade, you draw and shoot two shots to the body and one shot to the head of each target while "slicing the pie", move forward, and shoot two shots to the body and one shot to the head of the next two targets. Had to be cognizant of moving forward in that you don't go out too wide and become open to the far targets. See video below, again, sorry I got it started a bit late. Shooting video on my android does leave a bit of lag between pushing record and it starting.
And finally on to stage 3. This is the stage I flubbed. The scenario is this. You are at an ATM machine taking a withdrawal when you are confronted by 3 thugs with an innocent by stander close by. Your turn, draw your weapon, shoot the thugs in any order, but 1 shot each before following up with a 2nd shot. Then move forward to the end of the wall and shoot two shots at each of four targets. Oh, and they switch the non-threat out for each shooter. Basically they had a pair of hands painted on cardboard and hung it around the necks of a different target for each shooter. Unfortunately, by this time I was a bit tired and had a migraine coming up. Didn't help that my gun locked up tight after firing the first 3 rounds at each target. The spent casing must've swelled up to much to be extracted and the next round nose-dived under it. Slide was locked back fully and the mag wouldn't eject. I attempted the standard tap and rack maneuver, but the slide was going no where and I couldn't get the magazine out of it. After the safety office called stop and we were discussing what happened, I managed to get the magazine out, but was totally frazzled at that point.
Anyway, because it was a club match and not sanctioned, they did allow me to re-shoot it. Unfortunately, I forgot about engaging each target once before the follow up shots. Turned, drew my weapon, and fired 6 beautiful down zero shots, but not in the prescribed manner for my procedural error. Moved to the end of the barricade and finished with 8 good shots at the other four targets. I believe I was down a total of 2 points this stage, but add in the procedural and it was easily the worst stage for me. Please excuse the video. It was rough trying to find an angle to get the targets inside the ATM bay and still get the 4 outside the bay, but I did the best I could. See below:
Well, that's it for me. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
**Forgot to add that MWDS is going to have a classifier next month for those who need to qualify or re-qualify. It will most likely be held on Sunday instead of Saturday.**
**Forgot to add that MWDS is going to have a classifier next month for those who need to qualify or re-qualify. It will most likely be held on Sunday instead of Saturday.**
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Support Starbucks on Valentines Day
So, apparently Starbucks has a policy of not banning concealed or open carry on the premises. Unfortunately, the National Gun Victims Action Council has decided that Starbucks needs to be boycotted on Valentines Day to push Starbucks to change their policy. So, I thought it would be a great idea if we as a gun community were to support Starbucks on that day. I know I'm going to make sure to visit that day and get a coffee while carrying. Hope many of you will join me.
See the mis-guided NGVAC article here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/23/4208271/starbucks-pro-gun-policy-prompts.html
That's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
See the mis-guided NGVAC article here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/23/4208271/starbucks-pro-gun-policy-prompts.html
That's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Customer shoots robbery suspect.
Score one for the good guys. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46084559/ns/local_news-charlotte_nc/#.TxweuqW0xqA
Customer shoots robbery suspect at SC Waffle Shop
SPARTANBURG, SC (AP) -- Authorities say a customer at a South Carolina Waffle shop pulled a gun and shot one of two men trying to rob the restaurant.
The Greenville News reports (http://grnol.co/AkoQDk ) that the shooting took place early Saturday morning inside a Waffle Shop off Interstate 85 in Spartanburg County.
Coroner Rusty Clevenger identified the dead man as 19-year-old Dante Lamont Williams of Roebuck, who was shot in the head and body.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright declined to identity the customer, citing concerns for his safety. Authorities said the customer had a concealed weapon permit and tried to hold the two men at gunpoint until officers arrived, but that one suspect began to point his gun at the customer, who then fired shots. The second robber fled and is being sought by authorities.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Good article about a woman and her introduction to firearms.
I thought this was a good article about a woman taking her first training class and her experiences. Make sure to leave positive comments for her at the end. She still has some "fear" issues and could use our support.
Should I buy a gun?
That's it for me. Remember to shoot safe, shoot straight!
Should I buy a gun?
That's it for me. Remember to shoot safe, shoot straight!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tagging Gun Owners
Had heard about this happening to a match here in NC a couple of months ago. Thought maybe it was a one time occurrence. Guess not.
Warning: Tagging Gun Owners
Posted on January 4, 2012 by Georgetown PD
Gun lovers public service announcement: While I was in a Texas gun store today, my car was tagged on the wheel in the parking lot. The gangs do this on wheels or bumpers at gun stores, shooting ranges, gun shows etc. Later when you are parked at a restaurant, hotel, or other location that’s less well guarded or under video surveillance, other gang members spot the marker and break into the car for a quick gun grab. This is so RAMPANT in San Antonio where we were for a National shoot this summer, the Sheriff of Bexar County came out to brief the 400 participants of our competition. Too bad three teams had already been victimized the first day. This is the first I’ve heard of this in Texas. Please pass this info along to your 2nd amendment list. Daily check you car, truck or motor home for unusual painted dots, marks, check marks or other strange looking symbols that are not normal to your type vehicle. It could prevent you from being a victim of robbery, or even save your life if you catch the thief in the act.
This next comment from a Gun Site instructor:
I don’t know how widespread this is becoming, but the info regarding the NSCA Nationals in San Antonio is correct, as all of us who compete in sporting clays know. Competitors there were having their vehicles marked with a small adhesive dot on the rear license plate or rear bumper, then followed for miles and having their vehicles quickly and efficiently broken in to when parked for lunch etc.
Some crews were working the parking lot at the Nationals itself. 27 high end shotguns were taken there recently. They know when 1400 shooters with high $$ competition guns are in town.
BTW I shot with a young man who was trying out a new gun at the Nationals. He and his father lost all their guns and equipment while making a quick stop for lunch at a BBQ place in Corpus Christi the month before.
Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Out with the old, in with the new....... not really
So, I was supposed to shoot the club match at Central Carolinas Shooting Club this past Saturday. Supposed was the optimum word. Let's face it, I'm a wuss when it comes to cold weather and it wasn't getting above 40 until early afternoon according to weather.com, so I stayed all snug in my bed with about 4 blankets covering me up and slept in.
So, instead of shooting on Saturday, and lord knows I couldn't shoot on Sunday with two NFL playoff games going on, I decided to shoot on Monday which was a holiday for me.This is where the "out with the old, in with the new" kinda comes into play. No, I didn't get rid of anything, just didn't shoot it as much, but I did get to shoot something new.
I had been saving up for a M4/AR15 rifle as I want to get into rifle matches and 3gun matches in the future. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, because lets face it, I'm not going to be shooting professionally for any major manufacturer and traveling around the United States on someone else's dime. At most, I might travel to Virginia and Maryland where I have family or South Carolina because it's not far away. Anyway, for the price I was looking to spend, there were several vendors available. I finally decided on a CMMG M4LE in 5.56 nato. With shipping included, I believe the price was $714.
So, I received the gun just about two weeks ago and boy was I hopped up to shoot it, but something strange happened. I went to several gun shops, Walmart, and Dicks Sporting Goods and you know what? Everyone was out of 5.56 and .223 Remington ammo. Guess with all the guns purchased for Christmas, that everyone bought up all the ammo as well. I can tell you from experience, it's not real fun when you have a new toy and can't play with it. Anyway, I ordered 500 rounds of .223 Remington from USAAMMO.com and received it a couple of days ago.
So, I went to Shooters Express in Belmont which is the only place I know where I can shoot a rifle that won't cost me an arm and both legs to shoot at to become a member (Charlotte Rifle and Pistol Club), or have a fairly long waiting list (Mecklenburg Wildlife Club). Now Shooters Express does have a couple of rifle lanes, but they're only out to 25 yards. Good enough for me as I haven't shot a rifle since 1991 and have never shot an M4/AR15. So, I send my Osama Bin Zombie target out to 25 yards, load up my rifle, sight in and fire. Hmmm, not much of a kick. Didn't really expect it with a .223 remington round, but definitely different than shooting an M14. So, after 10 rounds, I bring the target back and find all my shots low. Still on the target and definitely taking out major organs, but not where I was aiming. Helps when you use the center sight and not the protective flanges around the sight. DOH!
Next 10 rounds are much better, basically right around the lower sternum area, but not where I'm aiming, so I adjust and fire the next 20 rounds right through the center mass heart area, as if a zombie has a working heart. I know, I know, why am I shooting a zombie in the heart. Well, I'm saving the head for my pistol work. Anyway, these first 40 rounds are shot free style, standing up and holding the rifle. Finished up with the 10 low rounds and the next 30 in the area of roughly a baseball. I shot the last 10 rounds seated and using a table for support. Still not off a sandbag, but supported anyway. These last 10 rounds made a nice group roughly the size of a golf-ball with several holes touching. Sweet. Again, it's only 25 yards, but hey, let's let some success stand.
Now I pull my Osama Bin Zombie target up to 10 yards and load up my Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm. I had forgotten that with my new trigger pull, I'm shooting a little high. Remembered that when I saw my first couple of rounds slightly high, but definitely taking the turban off. Accounted for the new trigger pull and finished off my box of 50 Speer Lawman 115gr FMJ. Nice group. Threw a couple outside, but all 49 out of 50 were in the space of a softball with most of them in the size of a baseball. Nicely centered too.
Finished up, packed everything up and went to browse in the store. Found lots of nice eye candy, but they were crowded, so didn't ask to see anything. Been looking for a new range bag. My current bag is a canvas gym bag. Poor thing is not designed to hold up to carrying a couple hundred rounds of ammo, couple of pistols, ear protection, safety glasses and such and is starting to break down. Also looked at the rifle cases as well to see what they have. Right now I'm still transporting my rifle in the cardboard box, and frankly, that's just not cool. So, if anyone has a recommendation for a good value range bag and rifle case, sound off! It would be much appreciated.
That's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
So, instead of shooting on Saturday, and lord knows I couldn't shoot on Sunday with two NFL playoff games going on, I decided to shoot on Monday which was a holiday for me.This is where the "out with the old, in with the new" kinda comes into play. No, I didn't get rid of anything, just didn't shoot it as much, but I did get to shoot something new.
I had been saving up for a M4/AR15 rifle as I want to get into rifle matches and 3gun matches in the future. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, because lets face it, I'm not going to be shooting professionally for any major manufacturer and traveling around the United States on someone else's dime. At most, I might travel to Virginia and Maryland where I have family or South Carolina because it's not far away. Anyway, for the price I was looking to spend, there were several vendors available. I finally decided on a CMMG M4LE in 5.56 nato. With shipping included, I believe the price was $714.
So, I received the gun just about two weeks ago and boy was I hopped up to shoot it, but something strange happened. I went to several gun shops, Walmart, and Dicks Sporting Goods and you know what? Everyone was out of 5.56 and .223 Remington ammo. Guess with all the guns purchased for Christmas, that everyone bought up all the ammo as well. I can tell you from experience, it's not real fun when you have a new toy and can't play with it. Anyway, I ordered 500 rounds of .223 Remington from USAAMMO.com and received it a couple of days ago.
So, I went to Shooters Express in Belmont which is the only place I know where I can shoot a rifle that won't cost me an arm and both legs to shoot at to become a member (Charlotte Rifle and Pistol Club), or have a fairly long waiting list (Mecklenburg Wildlife Club). Now Shooters Express does have a couple of rifle lanes, but they're only out to 25 yards. Good enough for me as I haven't shot a rifle since 1991 and have never shot an M4/AR15. So, I send my Osama Bin Zombie target out to 25 yards, load up my rifle, sight in and fire. Hmmm, not much of a kick. Didn't really expect it with a .223 remington round, but definitely different than shooting an M14. So, after 10 rounds, I bring the target back and find all my shots low. Still on the target and definitely taking out major organs, but not where I was aiming. Helps when you use the center sight and not the protective flanges around the sight. DOH!
Next 10 rounds are much better, basically right around the lower sternum area, but not where I'm aiming, so I adjust and fire the next 20 rounds right through the center mass heart area, as if a zombie has a working heart. I know, I know, why am I shooting a zombie in the heart. Well, I'm saving the head for my pistol work. Anyway, these first 40 rounds are shot free style, standing up and holding the rifle. Finished up with the 10 low rounds and the next 30 in the area of roughly a baseball. I shot the last 10 rounds seated and using a table for support. Still not off a sandbag, but supported anyway. These last 10 rounds made a nice group roughly the size of a golf-ball with several holes touching. Sweet. Again, it's only 25 yards, but hey, let's let some success stand.
Now I pull my Osama Bin Zombie target up to 10 yards and load up my Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm. I had forgotten that with my new trigger pull, I'm shooting a little high. Remembered that when I saw my first couple of rounds slightly high, but definitely taking the turban off. Accounted for the new trigger pull and finished off my box of 50 Speer Lawman 115gr FMJ. Nice group. Threw a couple outside, but all 49 out of 50 were in the space of a softball with most of them in the size of a baseball. Nicely centered too.
Finished up, packed everything up and went to browse in the store. Found lots of nice eye candy, but they were crowded, so didn't ask to see anything. Been looking for a new range bag. My current bag is a canvas gym bag. Poor thing is not designed to hold up to carrying a couple hundred rounds of ammo, couple of pistols, ear protection, safety glasses and such and is starting to break down. Also looked at the rifle cases as well to see what they have. Right now I'm still transporting my rifle in the cardboard box, and frankly, that's just not cool. So, if anyone has a recommendation for a good value range bag and rifle case, sound off! It would be much appreciated.
That's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New post.....finally
Been a while since I last posted. I've been taking off the end of the year to attempt to let my shoulder heal a bit more, so no workouts and no shooting since the first Saturday in December. Shoulder does feel a little better. Doctor thinks it's just a touch of tendinitis left over from tearing the muscle. So, just a couple more days and I'll be back shooting again (first Saturday in January at CCSC). In the meantime, been enjoying the holidays. Hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas. My favorite toys so far have been my Kindle Fire, and my Black and Decker 1 cup coffee maker.
Today, I took my oldest son to Shooters Express down in Belmont to celebrate his 16th birthday which was on the 27th. I took him to shoot some of the full auto's that they have. We started out with a H&K MP5:
The gun we shot did not have the barrel shroud, so ignore it. This firearm ran much better, although it was only semi-auto or full auto, no 3 round burst like the MP5. Because we had so many issues with the MP5, the RO gave us a 15% discount on the ammo. I like Shooters Express, just wish they weren't over 30 miles away, otherwise I'd go there more often. Anyway, here is a pic of my son holding the Colt:
And a video of him dumping some rounds full auto:
Well, that's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Today, I took my oldest son to Shooters Express down in Belmont to celebrate his 16th birthday which was on the 27th. I took him to shoot some of the full auto's that they have. We started out with a H&K MP5:
We didn't get very far with it. Seemed like it didn't want to feed rounds very well. The range master had warned us about it, but we decided to try it anyway. After a few futile minutes with the best being a 3 round burst, we switched out to a Colt M16 in 9mm:
The gun we shot did not have the barrel shroud, so ignore it. This firearm ran much better, although it was only semi-auto or full auto, no 3 round burst like the MP5. Because we had so many issues with the MP5, the RO gave us a 15% discount on the ammo. I like Shooters Express, just wish they weren't over 30 miles away, otherwise I'd go there more often. Anyway, here is a pic of my son holding the Colt:
And finally a video of semi-auto fire:
Well, that's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Results back from the latest club match
Ok, so I didn't win, but in the end, I felt like I won with the way I shot. I was fifth out of six marksman stock service pistol shooters, but I had the fewest points down at 22, with my closest competitor at 27 points down. Like my mentor told me, accuracy first, speed will come later. Final scores show me with a total time of 127.83 seconds, a raw time of 113.83 seconds, with 22 points down, 1 procedural, 0 hits on a non-threat which I was sure I would get on the clamshell on stage 5, and 0 failure to neutralize. Looking overall, 10 of the 43 other competitors had the same or fewer points down than I did, so I guess this new trigger pull is really making a difference. Thanks go to Morgan Allen for giving me that tip. Now I just need to keep practicing and slowly and safely increase my speeds.
Well, that's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Well, that's it for me. Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Great fun at the CCSC match today!
Great time today with the folks of CCSC. Richard Hart put on a great match with some challenging stages with lots of movers, droppers, pop-ups, and shooter movement. I don't have any videos of me shooting, but tried to get a video of someone shooting each stage.
Stage one was the most difficult with the most moving targets. We had two drop turners and a pop-up which dropped after a few seconds. I had my worst target on this stage. I missed one shot on the pop-up and a shot in the 1 zone, so that cost me 6 points. Out of the rest of the 6 targets I was clean except for two down. Overall, finished the stage in 31.27 seconds and down 8 points. Missed the pop-up as it was the 2nd part of a dual activator with the other being a double drop-turner. Should have shot the steel, then the pop-up, then caught the drop turner on the second turn. Here is a couple video showing what the stage looked like:
Basically you shoot both targets to each side, then move up to the barrier. You can shoot either side and I shot the right side first. I then shot the steel which activated the drop-turner. Shoot the drop turner, then the other static target. From there, I did my reload and moved to the left. Hit the steel, then the drop tuner, and tried the pop-up, then finished with the static target.
Stage 2 had a first for me. An electrically activated target. You're standing in a doorway, press the doorbell, and two targets on a rail come towards you. These are like drop turners that move forward. You shoot 2 rounds at each, then move to your right to a window and shoot two targets as they become visible with a non-threat in front of them. After those, you move to the rear and right and shoot a long distance target (guessing 15-20 yards), then another target that is tilted about 45 degrees and under hard cover. Excuse the video, people kept getting in the way...... /sigh. I finished in 27.03 and down 3 points. One point down on one of the targets covered by the non-threat, one point down on the far target, and one point down on the leaning target.
I missed getting a video of stage 3, but the basic premise is that you have 6 rounds in your handgun and you are at the inside corner of an inverted L. From cover, you enter an "alleyway" and fire 6 rounds at a static target, 5 to the body, one to the head while retreating to the next cover point on your left. Once you reach cover, you reload and engage another target to the left with 3 rounds to the body. Went down 6 points on this stage. This should have been an easy stage, but I messed up. Put up and excellent group on the target while retreating. Problem is I forgot I had to put one round in the head. All 6 shots were in the zero zone. Knew I did it as soon as I fired the sixth shot. Oh well. Oh, and you can't reload and re-shoot the target either. After that, it was an easy engage on the other target. Finished this stage in 12.33 seconds and down 5 points for missing the head shot.
Stage 4 was interesting. Your gun starts in a "lockbox" with the magazine installed, but no round in the chamber. You sit in a chair a couple yards away. On the buzzer, you move forward and retrieve your gun, move slightly left to cover as a "bad guy" in view-able through the window. You engage 2 shots on each target to your right, then engage the target through the window. Finished this COF in 10.68 seconds and down 0 points. MY FIRST DOWN ZERO EVER!!!!!!!
Here's Jeff Dampac (really good shooter) showing how it's supposed to be done.
And the last stage..... had a lot of movement starting from left to right, shooting on the move, and shooting a clam-shell target, a first for me. This video gets most of what you need to see. There is a target as the shooter comes around the barricade that must be shot on the move. I finished this stage in 32.52 seconds and down 6 points. Well, that and a procedural which cost me another 3 points. I forgot why I got the procedural, but was excellently surprised when I got a 0 on the clam-shell target. One in the chest 0 zone and one in the head 0 zone. Yeah, that was luck. The clam-shell is really quick. Here's the video:
Lots of fun today. My shooting was much better thanks to a change in my trigger pull which was suggested by Morgan Allen.
On another note, CCSC will be having a "Fun Shoot" on December 31st. You pay a fee and you get to shoot a bunch of different types of guns and at different types of targets from "Steel Challenge", to IDPA, to rifles. Looking forward to maybe taking a couple of shots with an AR type rifle.
Well, that's it for me. Hope you folks have been having a great weekend! Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
Stage one was the most difficult with the most moving targets. We had two drop turners and a pop-up which dropped after a few seconds. I had my worst target on this stage. I missed one shot on the pop-up and a shot in the 1 zone, so that cost me 6 points. Out of the rest of the 6 targets I was clean except for two down. Overall, finished the stage in 31.27 seconds and down 8 points. Missed the pop-up as it was the 2nd part of a dual activator with the other being a double drop-turner. Should have shot the steel, then the pop-up, then caught the drop turner on the second turn. Here is a couple video showing what the stage looked like:
Basically you shoot both targets to each side, then move up to the barrier. You can shoot either side and I shot the right side first. I then shot the steel which activated the drop-turner. Shoot the drop turner, then the other static target. From there, I did my reload and moved to the left. Hit the steel, then the drop tuner, and tried the pop-up, then finished with the static target.
Stage 2 had a first for me. An electrically activated target. You're standing in a doorway, press the doorbell, and two targets on a rail come towards you. These are like drop turners that move forward. You shoot 2 rounds at each, then move to your right to a window and shoot two targets as they become visible with a non-threat in front of them. After those, you move to the rear and right and shoot a long distance target (guessing 15-20 yards), then another target that is tilted about 45 degrees and under hard cover. Excuse the video, people kept getting in the way...... /sigh. I finished in 27.03 and down 3 points. One point down on one of the targets covered by the non-threat, one point down on the far target, and one point down on the leaning target.
I missed getting a video of stage 3, but the basic premise is that you have 6 rounds in your handgun and you are at the inside corner of an inverted L. From cover, you enter an "alleyway" and fire 6 rounds at a static target, 5 to the body, one to the head while retreating to the next cover point on your left. Once you reach cover, you reload and engage another target to the left with 3 rounds to the body. Went down 6 points on this stage. This should have been an easy stage, but I messed up. Put up and excellent group on the target while retreating. Problem is I forgot I had to put one round in the head. All 6 shots were in the zero zone. Knew I did it as soon as I fired the sixth shot. Oh well. Oh, and you can't reload and re-shoot the target either. After that, it was an easy engage on the other target. Finished this stage in 12.33 seconds and down 5 points for missing the head shot.
Stage 4 was interesting. Your gun starts in a "lockbox" with the magazine installed, but no round in the chamber. You sit in a chair a couple yards away. On the buzzer, you move forward and retrieve your gun, move slightly left to cover as a "bad guy" in view-able through the window. You engage 2 shots on each target to your right, then engage the target through the window. Finished this COF in 10.68 seconds and down 0 points. MY FIRST DOWN ZERO EVER!!!!!!!
Here's Jeff Dampac (really good shooter) showing how it's supposed to be done.
And the last stage..... had a lot of movement starting from left to right, shooting on the move, and shooting a clam-shell target, a first for me. This video gets most of what you need to see. There is a target as the shooter comes around the barricade that must be shot on the move. I finished this stage in 32.52 seconds and down 6 points. Well, that and a procedural which cost me another 3 points. I forgot why I got the procedural, but was excellently surprised when I got a 0 on the clam-shell target. One in the chest 0 zone and one in the head 0 zone. Yeah, that was luck. The clam-shell is really quick. Here's the video:
Lots of fun today. My shooting was much better thanks to a change in my trigger pull which was suggested by Morgan Allen.
On another note, CCSC will be having a "Fun Shoot" on December 31st. You pay a fee and you get to shoot a bunch of different types of guns and at different types of targets from "Steel Challenge", to IDPA, to rifles. Looking forward to maybe taking a couple of shots with an AR type rifle.
Well, that's it for me. Hope you folks have been having a great weekend! Remember, shoot safe, shoot straight!
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