I took another total-newbie to the pistol range the other day, a place I go to quite a bit and feel comfortable with. I like taking novice shooters out: it’s a skill I think everyone should at least be able to perform (if not like it, I’m not saying everyone should love it) and many continue, citing their positive early experiences.

I try my best to instill safety (x3) and fun. Everyone enjoys their first trip to shoot with me so far, and I’ve taken several. I like this.

We start with a single action .22 pistol I bought from Kim DuToit a long time ago, and progress as the shooter gets comfortable. Next is a Ruger .22 automatic, then a 9mm, .40 (both Sigs), then to cap the experience some shots through a Desert Eagle in 44 Mag. (It’s a long story, I wasn’t looking for it, it found me).

Adding to this range session was my latest acquisition, a .45 Springfield XD-45. After the novitiate was comfortably independently shooting the 9mm, I started getting to know the .45, and it’s fine. More than fine, it shoots like I want it to, and well. More on this someday.

(Like most people who go to the range with some frequency, I also watch all the shooters on the line and get a feel for how they handle their weapons, how they shoot generally, with an eye for when I need to get myself and my shooters off the line. This day, no real worries, except for That Guy. TG was shooting some very big calibers from pistols, and was reliably hitting the back wall. That and he’s not a safety hazard to others were the best that could be said). (The lady getting the lesson would easily qualify for her CHL, and good for her).

We’re shooting for an hour and a half or so, with a decent amount of the gentle instruction needed, the very occasional safety thing (thumbs on autos are most common), and life is very good. I have some Zombie Targets to keep shooters having fun (be honest, shooting round dots on paper gets boring), and I’m having some fun emptying/testing new mags on one of the zombies from the new XD. (Zombie Steve didn’t make it).

So, we’re packing up, and That Guy turned and asked me “Do you have a card”? (I froze; I’ve never been asked this on a range, several times in the ED, but I have learned to expect that.) “Uh, no..?” I lamely replied, and TG confessed “I’ve bought these guns and can’t hit anything, I need some lessons”. Aah, I have an answer for you: this range has a couple of good instructors, so as tactfully as I could I recommended he contact the ranges’ instruction staff.

Made me feel good, though. Maybe I should do some instruction. Wouldn’t replace my day job, though…

has made my blog barren, joyless, and, well, dull.

It seems I’ve been working nonstop, and when I’ve had time to myself it’s been consumed with plans for my yearly MegaParty for our Scribes. It’ll be a good one (Seventh, for you counters). (Unless you’ve gotten an invitation, you’re welcome to throw your own party).

Work has drama, but it’s micro-political and therefore sounds whiny when I type it out. I’ll spare you. You’re welcome.

Our joint has started being very aggressive about Induced Hypothermia in resuscitated arrests, and I contributed to a success story, something that’s rare in medicine: a resuscitated arrest that left the hospital neurologically intact 1 week later. Anecdotal, I know, but still. I don’t know if I’ve had one of these before. I hope it’s a trend.

As for shootin’ stuff, I’ve had a self-imposed restriction on adding any new calibers of firearms, as at a certain point keeping up with all the different ammo types can be daunting, and expensive. That took care of itself recently when I was shooting my new 357Sig rounds through my Sigs with Barsto barrels (which I had just dropped in, and not had fitted by a gunsmith). I got talked into 357Sig rather than choosing it, but thought it deserved a good try.

That try had 6 failures to feed in 100 rounds, and said gear has been shelved. As I wasn’t crazy about it to start with the extra effort to make it work was easy to avoid.

Therefore, a new caliber opened up. I’ve never owned a .45, and that’ll change soon. I have my eye on the Springfield XD in 45, I’ve shot the range loaner and found it surprisingly likable and well-fitting for a non-Sig pistol (I’m mostly a Sig pistol snob), so different experiences pay off.

For those screaming at their screens that I need to get a 1911-style 45, rest assured I’ve shot several of them over the years, shot one recently, and, eh. I can shoot it, don’t like it, and you may now call me a Philistine.

Tomorrow I get to take another shooting-newbie out and teach him from zero, an experience I relish. So, good. Some play!

I’m more interested in the sub-plot of this cops and robbers, and armed citizen story:

FORT WORTH — A 55-year-old man who police suspect tried to run down a Fort Worth officer last month, prompting the officer and a concerned citizen to open fire at the car, is now in jail, police officials confirmed Tuesday.
…

…

The officer, unaware of the 911 call, had gone to investigate the businessman’s report when the driver of the Mercedes suddenly accelerated toward him, police have said. The officer was able to dodge the car and fired several shots at the fleeing Mercedes.

A citizen who heard the gunfire and believed the officer had been shot and killed, retrieved his own gun and also shot multiple times at the Mercedes as it passed him on West Exchange, police have said.
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Criado said the concerned citizen did not have a concealed handgun license but “we don’t see any reason to charge the citizen who fired at the suspects believing they had killed the officer.”

via Man suspected of trying to run down officer in Stockyards arrested | Crime and Safety | ….

In many lesser states our Concerned Citizen would be in huge trouble.  But this is Texas; let this be a lesson to you.

It’s a 45 round from a factory box of Fiocci ammo. The round is loaded pointy end first.

Writing about shooting is probably not going to broaden my audience (as this isn’t a shooting blog, I’m not an expert by any means so there’s no reason to consider what I write) and runs the risk of driving away a few readers.

OTOH, it’s my blog, and this is what interests me.  Also, there’s no HIPAA for shooting, so I can talk about it.

I’ve recently become interested in long-range shooting, have taken a long class, gotten myself a very nice setup, and done a little practice.  I do it for a lot of reasons: I like the precision and self-control required, there’s plenty of technology (more than I thought), feedback is immediate on the target, and I finally found a sport I can do lying down.

(I’m not a hunter.  Mostly because it doesn’t interest me, and I’m not hungry.  Should I miss a few meals, I’ll have no trouble becoming a hunter, and this training would come in handy.)

Speaking of training, I am fortunate to live fairly close to a high-end training center that specializes in just that.  I took one of their courses, bought a very much better rifle after the class, and did some training afterward, though not enough (dang job).  One of the best ways to see if you’re learning something is to compete, so off to a long range shootout yesterday.

The competition was quite well organized, well (and safely) run.  The competition was to shoot sporting clays, which were 120mm (4.7”), 90mm (3.5”) and 60mm (2.4”) orange targets.  From 400 yards.  Clays are fun to shoot as they usually break very nicely, visible through the rifle scope, so hit/miss is easily discernible.  Big=10 pts, medium=20, little=30, so relay max =150 points, with 5 relays in the competition.  Oh, and you get 8 minutes to fire a maximum of 10 shots per relay.

There was a sighting-in period, then the competition.  I had to move my firing position after sight-in, as my rifle has a muzzle brake (it reduces my felt recoil substantially: my rifle goes boom but doesn’t kick) but it blows air backwards.  This was showering the shooter next to me with dirt.  So moved, built a little barrier with a soft rifle case, and he’s good.

First frame I had the first-competition jitters: all these guys are better than me, and I haven’t actually practiced at this distance; there were a bunch of shooters who brought massive shooting benches from home, with clamps to hold their amazingly detailed rifles and their 40 power scopes in place, I’m shooting prone.

Before my first shot, my goal: be in the middle.  At the end of my 10 rounds, new goal: don’t be last.  Terrible shooting, just awful, and it’s all me.

Second frame: better, but left the two little ones; cleaned the third frame, and left one little one on 4&5.  I might make the middle!  As with most things, being comfortable makes all the difference.

There were 6 perfect scores, all bench shooters, and they had a one-shot shootoff; 48 shooters, I scored 550, for 16th place.  Upper third!  That’s encouraging, but the gunner in me now has to do better.  I enjoyed it, and exceeded my expectations quite a bit (especially with quite the inauspicious start).

Next: handloading!  Time to get the variation out of the ammo…

Many thanks to the Tarleton State High Power Rifle Team for pulling and resetting targets.  They did a quick and terrific job, helping the competition go as smoothly as I can imagine.