Gun Thread: Catching Up With Mail Edition! [Weasel]

Dayum! Y'all really blowed-up the Gun Thread mailbox this week! So much so, you've pretty much written the thread by yourselves! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Life is bueno, amigos and amigettes, even stuck at home because of the skerry Chinese Cooties. I'm looking at good weather opportunities this week to head to the farm and work on the '03 Springfield video I promised. So without further introductory blabbering on my part, lets get right to it, shall we?

Paper or plastic?

Bama Bubba's entry below caused me to stop and think about gun grips. Although we have no shortage of great rivalries on the blog; Ginger v. MaryAnn, Carrots v. No Carrots, 9mm v. .45ACP to name a few, I thought it was my duty as an American to add one more. Rubber grips v. Wooden grips.

Sure, sure - it's a matter of preference, but you do have a preference, don't you? Hmmm? In the photo we have two revolvers, both sporting S&W factory combat grips. Goncalo Alves smooth combat grips on the 629, and Hogue rubber combat grips on the 626. The rubber grips are very practical and comfortable on the .357, but damn don't the wood grips look good on the .44 Magnum? The wood grips are fine for a while, but after a day with full magnum loads, they begin to wear out your hand. I prefer the look of the Hogue's over similar offerings from Pachmayr (not pictured), but the Pachmayr Decelerator line is hard to beat for comfort, with an almost gel-like feeling on the backstrap.

So how do you roll? Wood or rubber?

First up, we have a range report from our pal WTM.

Well, I didn’t make it to the range last week due to circumstances but I went yesterday. Friday is NOT a good day to go to that range, and Saturday is even worse.

Below is my target at 15 yards, using the .45LC Judge, again firing semi-rapid double action. My first three shots were in the X and 10 ring, believe it or not, and it was all downhill from there. The arthritis wasn’t too bad, but it was quite windy. I think I was not using the proper stance for the gusty wind, for it was rocking me, and that could help explain the spread. Still not to bad at 15 yards double-action. Heh - I may have to use this gun to qualify for my CCP after all. Probably a first.

I also took my .22 rifle but the wind made scope adjustment difficult. I had also taken my .308 and .45-70, but, between the wind and the Friday crowd, I decided to call it a day earlier than had been planned. This morning my trigger finger is distressed, for it seems that not only does a stiff trigger affect it, but disassembly and reassembly of three relatively new .45 pistols does as well. The recoil spring in that RIA 1911A1 is the stiffest I have ever dealt with, and the trigger finger did not appreciate it. The Glock 21 and the Ruger P345 weren’t as bad.

Well, as we all know, the job ain’t done until the paperwork is complete. Shooting is fun but the cleanup - not so much.

Here at CasaWTM, I do my cleaning in the garage, on the wife’s side. I use a folding table I got from Wal-Mart, overlaid with a cleaning mat, which is overlaid with a large, folded adult incontinence pad. These do a great job at absorbing, as we see here. The cleaning kit is at the far end on the right, and three large plastic bins hold all the chemicals, swabs, patches, rags, paper towels, etc. needed for the job. Bore snakes are in there somewhere.

I used just Hoppe’s solvent for many years, then got involved with Safariland’s CLP. Recently I took up with Ballistol but the judge is still out on that. In the large glass bottle seen in the nearest bin, I keep GI Rifle Solvent, circa 1966, that I picked up at a gun show about 1980. It came in a metal can which rusted through and so I poured it into a clean vinegar bottle. I also have specialty cleaners to go after lead and copper fouling. For shotguns, I use Remington’s cleaner, seen in front of the paper towel roll.

Thanks for the report, WTM, and nice shooting!! And for what its worth, I really like Ballistol.

Our pal DB Cooper sends a nice report on a precision shooting school he recently attended.

Just got back from the Gunsite 7 day Precision Rifle 2-man team course. Due to Corona-Panic, there were only 3 of us so it became a 3-man team with lots of extra personal instruction/evaluation. Normal class size is 4 to 6 two-man teams. We definitely got our money's worth!

After zeroing and truing and building dope cards for each rifle, we transitioned to UKD (Unknown Distance engagements. These are a multitude of hidden targets in the high desert. 6 inch to 9 inch plates, 12 inch rectangles, Frankenstein's, mini Frankenstein's and rectangles. All Camo in color. 300 to over 1000 yards. No electronics. Must find and reticle range each target and call shots onto the target. 2 shots only. Each shooting position hiked to would have 5 to 6 or 7 hidden targets. We used a Leopold Mk 4 Mil reticle spotting scope and a Mil-dot Master slide range computer. Uphill, downhill, across valleys. Wind was strong most days. We had two 6.5 Creedmoors and one .308. The .308 is a School Bus compared to the Creedmoor and I got pretty good at calling huge wind calls out to about 950 on it. The Creedmoor is much more forgiving for calling shots and rarely had to go much more than .7 mil on a correction for wind.

We also did lots of holdover and under engagements which don't sound terribly hard till you do them. 3 random targets at different ranges. Time limit involved, must figure elevation and wind dope on all three and calculate the appropriate holdover or under for which ever elevation you chose to start with. Sequence of targets engaged was picked by the Rangemaster. We did a night shoot at 3,4 & 5 hundred yards which was very interesting. I managed to hit all 9 of my engagements that night.

We shot about 500 rounds over 7 days and shot from 8 to about 4:45 each day. Lots of math and ranging and a good time and learning.

Electronics are great and I brought a bunch with me but learning the basics with a plain reticle and a slide rule computer was the right base learning to build on. It was challenging and was quite rewarding. I would highly recommend it. Looking at a target at an unknown distance and ranging and hitting it is a fun feeling.

Nice to hear you enjoyed yourself! It's a blast and an intensive course like this will really drill you on the fundamentals. Keep up the good work and keep practicing!

Next our pal ck report sends a report on his shooting spot above the Great Salt Lake, as well as a nice testimonial regarding Bushnell. I really like these sorts of reports, showing gun and accessory manufacturers standing behind their products and treating their customers well.

I feel like I hit the jackpot. I sent in one of my trusty Tasco 6-24x42 scopes to Bushnell on warranty and they sent back their brand new Bushnell Engage 6-24x50 (retail $479), holy smokes, a cheap guy like me with a $500 scope. It's a beauty, now I'm waiting on a scope mount. We get vicious updrafts, we're at about 6,500 ft on a steep incline from the Great Salt Lake at 400 ft. The picture shows our predominate south winds, when it shifts around to the west it blows straight from the lake up and over the ridge . We shoot straight north and are pretty level all the way to our 600 yard berm.

I am seriously jealous of that view, ck, and congratulations on the new scope!

Next we have an email from our pal Bama Bubba who shares a range visit report and picture with his Taurus in .45ACP:

Too cold to work outside, too sunny to stay inside, making it a perfect day to visit the range and get in some practice with my old reliable Taurus .45. In Alabama the ranges, at least the outdoor ranges, are not closed. I don’t know about indoor ranges. Yes, that’s tennis racket tape around the grip. Works great!

Thanks Bama Bubba, and nice shooting! I have been using skateboard anti-skid tape on my match guns for years which works well too!

And from deep in the heart of Texas, Jim Sunk New Dawn sends us this recap of a range day with his skerry assault rifle and shiny new spotting scope!

Broke in the new Vortex Spotting Scope. Schweet!

AR-15 day. 62 gr. Federal Match. Shot four into one tiny cloverleaf, close to a one-hole group. Bummer though, the very first shot sat 1/2" off to the left. I don't know if I flubbed the first shot, or if it was a Cold Bore artifact. But it'll give me a great excuse for more shooting, to find out! 18" medium weight Lothar-Walther bbl., 1/8 twist, .223 Wylde chamber. Rock River receiver, Geseile single stage trigger, ACE (long) Skeleton Stock. 4x16x50 Vortex Viper PST / MOA.

Easily eight or nine pounds of rifle and scope, it's no pencil-barrel special. Not a "bull" barrel. Standard AR-15 type muzzle brake (birdcage) looks right at home on it. JP Precision made a "coke bottle" brake for 'em that was the most effective I've shot. NO recoil, not even a hiccup in the scope. Can't find 'em any more though?

Impressed my neighbor too, with the Titanium Taurus with it's 2" barrel. Five in the 2" circle on the Shoot n' See target at seven yards. Double action.

Turns out, he's a damn good shot, too. Two minor coaching tips and he was shooting "lights out" on the pistol line.

Thanks, Jim! Sounds like a great day at the range!

Sad people who cannot make the new NoVaMoMe date of August 29th

Due the Chinese Cooties hysteria in Virginia, the NoVaMoMe 2020 has been postponed until Saturday, August 29th. The time and location remain the same. If you haven't already, please check your email and let the Central Planning Committee know if you are able to make the new date. If not, your registration fee will be refunded and we will open your spot to those on the wait list. Questions? Just email us at NoVaMoMe2020 at gee mail dot com. Thank you!

Link-O-Rama

I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA

Our pal Sock Monkey sends us this week's entry. I like the cut of your jib, mister! Do you have a newsletter, perchance?

Please note the new and improved gmail account morongunthread at gmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!

That's it for this week - have you been to the range?

posted by Open Blogger at 07:00 PM

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