Home, Home on the Range

sidroski wrote:

Ed Hunter wrote:Actually they're not 'my’ beer cans. The guys save them for me during our weekly poker night. They're just handy (pop cans will do) to get the pop tab for a hanger.

Ed
The only thing more dangerous than shooting and drinking is gambling and drinking!

Amen to that!

I made a post this date to the topic “9mm 1911’s”, in this Handgun forum. You might want to take a peek.

This is another ‘game’ you might want to try at the range – running one of your pistols against another of your pistols.

The idea behind this bit of ‘self-competition’ is that it can provide some variety to your range experience, provide some additional challenges, perhaps enhance a little your range skills, and in the end be fun.

Check it out if you’re interested.

6/10/10

Re: Shooting The Dots

First of all, this is not an original idea. Rather this comes from an article, “Shooting Dots” by John Benner, in the May/June issue of “Concealed Carry” magazine.

John writes, in part, “When I want to tune up...the first thing I do is go to the range and shoot dots. We use a 3-inch dot on cardboard, but any will do. This forces you to focus on trigger management and sight alignment, with trigger management being paramount. I generally start with one shot, work up to multiples on one target and adding speed. This can be done from the ready and the draw positions. Then, if you are successful, go to multiple dots.”

He continues in the article that this is shot at 15 feet.

OK, with that in mind I decided to give it a try.

Took a clean page from a flip-chart (you know, Stone Age power point), cut a three-inch hole in a piece of cardboard, got a can of red spray paint, and away I went.

This is the result. May not be too professional but it sort of meets the need.



I gave it a try this morning. Here’s the result.



Off hand, 15 feet, 5 rounds each line, 1 – 1 – 3, 9mm top and 45 lower. Not exactly outstanding. One could argue that the 3rd dot, 9mm, might have been too slow and the 3rd dot 45 might have been too fast. Then again one might argue that I should take up stamp collecting.

You may want to give it a try. As John Benner writes, “...a three inch dot to focus on trigger management and sight alignment”

Cannery Row – An Enhancement

Well, maybe not an enhancement, but at least another option.

So, not to ramble on too much (if you believe that), here’s what I’ve added –

For background on this, scroll up to my introductory post dated 4/1/10.

One change I have made to that arrangement as described 4/1/10 is to shift the target back from the original 45 feet (15yds) to 50 feet. As I’ve explained numerous times before, that’s as long as my tape measure is.

Take one of those nominal 3lb coffee cans (39 oz ??) and cut out the bottom. This will give you a disk about 5 7/8 inches in diameter, a size that would be just reaching into the 6-ring on an NRA 25yd slow-fire pistol target.

Suspend it. I used a fine wire that I believe florists use in making up arrangements. The wire is easy to work.

Here’s what it would look like.



“So what?”, you ask.

That’s a good question. You might achieve the same results popping away at the ubiquitous NRA 25yd slow-fire pistol target. However, it’s my opinion that this sort of stuff adds a bit of sensory feedback that can prove self-rewarding, may keep you at your drill longer, and gain you some added skill in the process.

So, have at it off-hand.



Those 45’s sure do make big holes. Unfortunately they sure were grouped low, at which point you ask, “How many went TOO low?”

“Ummmm’, I reply, “Let’s talk about something else”.

NOTE: After trying this I have changed the suspension from a one-point to a two-point. The one-point allows the disk to twist at the most inopportune times. It’s sort of off-putting to get your sight picture and the disk at that point do its Chubby Checker imitation.

Good idea -- thanks for sharing!!

7/18/10

The premise behind my initiating this thread back in April was that, in my opinion, “...it helps to look at some more or less innovative ideas on what we do at the range. Things we do to make it more fun, to increase interest, and even perhaps to hone our skills.”

I came across a webpage in the current issue of Concealed Carry that seems to fall within that premise. It is ‘pistol-training.com’, a source of information for anyone involved in teaching or learning about pistol skills. This site is 100% free.

Take a peek at it - http://pistol-training.com/

On the home page click the ‘Drills’ tab. There is a list down the left side on many drills some of which you may want to try.

If you’re already aware of this, I apologize for the repeat.

Re: Whitetail Ridge Outdoors – An Update


In the “9mm 1911” topic I wrote, a couple of weeks ago, “...they have their new pistol berm completed and ready for use. They still have to install a shooting cover and tables, but that is in the process.”

Was out to WRO this morning (man, was it hot). Got there early, about 8:45. We went ahead and got a table set up 25 yards (yep, I have a new tape measure – there’s a story there but we’ll let that ride), plus a little breathing space, from the berm. They are to get a cover up in the very near future. I think this is going to work well. It parallels the rifle range, separated (perhaps 25 yards) by a ditch and a thin scope of woods with a path connecting the two. I hope it doesn’t get muddy when it rains.

Was on the way home by 10AM. As I said, it was hot.

thats some pretty good shootin yall

is wro in tupelo ,love that canery row,, looks great

Thanks, Ed, we had a great time! JBPMidas jr. got to popping those .22's pretty fast. He's never shot them like that. I'm excited about the future!

RIVERBILLY wrote:is wro in tupelo ,love that canery row,, looks great

It's a Blue Springs route, on Birmingham Ridge Road just a bit south of Hwy 348. Go to: http://www.whitetailridgeoutdoors.com

If you'd like to go sometime, I'd be glad to take you as my guest.

Ed Hunter wrote:

RIVERBILLY wrote:is wro in tupelo ,love that canery row,, looks great

It's a Blue Springs route, on Birmingham Ridge Road just a bit south of Hwy 348. Go to: http://www.whitetailridgeoutdoors.com

If you'd like to go sometime, I'd be glad to take you as my guest.

yeah thats it ,had a bad day there one time bout 7 r 8 yrs ago AIN'T been back,anyway I got a great place to shoot "r will have a few weeks"

Good idea on using the political poster frames as target stands. Lightweight, portable, and universal. And not only are they ubiquitous, they seem to be everywhere.

mstrsippy wrote:...And not only are they ubiquitous, they seem to be everywhere.

And omnipresent too!