Sunday, December 09, 2012

Sunday Rainin' Range Trip

I planned to go to the range today with Rob.

Of course that means that after a beautiful clear day yesterday it has to be cold with some consistent drizzling rain today.

The rain was insufficient to stop me from going, and I even convinced Rob to come along with the refrain that "If it isn't raining, it isn't training".

So we arrived at the range set some targets up and got some shooting in.

First I shot my Glock 23. This is the home defense pistol that lives in the Gun Vault in the bedroom, complete with a Crimson Trace laser grip and it had been feeling neglected recently. I had just changed the trigger from the standard serrated version to a smooth one and I wanted to make sure it would function.

First I shot through its standard load of 14 180-grain hydra-shocks, as it was time to rotate the ammo - and the best way to do so is to shoot the older stuff up. Functioning and accuracy was perfect, and the shift to the smooth trigger made it feel a lot nicer to shoot. No longer did it rub against the trigger finger while shooting. I really recommend switching to the smooth trigger as you'll see quite a difference in feel. Using the laser I could transition to targets a lot quicker than using the iron sights and all 6 plates on the rack and three poppers dropped quickly, as did two paper targets which both received A-zone hits.

I shot fifty more rounds through it and then switched to the Glock 17, which as usual functioned perfectly without complaint.

I also brought out the M&P and it functioned without any trigger problems this time. But, the rear sight shifted badly rightward as it was being shot, making accurate fire rather difficult. Once I was home I unscrewed the set screw and tapped it back to center and tightened down the screw again. Sheesh, am I cursed with the M&P or what? I really want to like the M&P but it just keeps giving me reasons not to trust it.

Then I switched to the Kahr and all was right with the world again. Considering I carry this handy little pocket 9mm more than any other I decided to get some focused practice in with it. Functioning was perfect.

Rob also had brought his Kahr out so we traded off and then did some dueling Kahrs. We I started from the left and he from the right of the six plate rack, and the object was to knock them down faster than the other person from the draw. This was good practice drawing from my pocket holster and quickly lining up and hitting the targets. Lots of fun was had and a little friendly competition made for some good practice.

After becoming thoroughly soaked and having shot lots of ammunition, we declared we had had enough so we packed up and headed out and grabbed some coffee to warm up. After the coffee stop we went to Gander Mountain where they were sadly completely out of both the primers I wanted and the reloading powders I was looking for, so I was skunked. Rob picked up some useful items however, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

It was a wet but fun range trip. I returned home and then had a serious pistol cleaning session. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon rain and all.

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