Range Report

In addition to burning through a box of ammo from Lucky Gunner, Girlie Bear and I continued her training.  She really wants to hunt this fall, so I'm introducing her to more than the single shot .22 she's been working with.

After letting her warm up on the CombiRifle, I introduced her to the 10/22.  Once she got the hang of "Check clear and safety, load magazine, charge, safety off, aim, squeeze, repeat, safety, check clear, remove magazine", she did pretty well.  She burned up a box of 100 shells, but it took her almost two hours to do it.

While she was shooting at her 25 yard target, I started noticing puffs of dirt in front of my 100 yard target.  Girlie Bear was pushing out beyond her target and seeing if she could hit a target at 100 yards with a .22.  I'm so proud.  When we went out to check targets, I had her show me where she was aiming, then I told her how to aim a little high.  After that, she started at least hitting the target stand at 100 yards, and put a few holes in the target as well.  

While she was doing that, I changed out the barrels on her CombiRifle so she could shoot a shotgun for the first time.  I loaded up some light 20 gauge dove loads.  I didn't want to hurt her shoulder too much and scare her the first time she shot something heavier than a .22.  I will say that the very light CombiRifle kicks quite a bit when using it as a shotgun.  There is absolutely nothing to slow it down as it kicks back into your shoulder.

After shooting a few shells myself to make sure the gun didn't have any issues, I showed Girlie Bear how to hold it.  I put her left foot forward, leaned her into the gun, made sure the gun was firmly against her shoulder, and told her to shoot when she was ready.  She shot, made sure her target got knocked over, and then almost dropped the gun.  She started giggling like a fiend while tears ran down her face.  I meant to get a picture of her first time with a shotgun, but I was too busy making sure the gun didn't hit the ground and that she was OK to snap a photo.

Girlie Bear decided after that one round to go back to the 10/22.  She said it kicked a lot more than she thought it would, and her shoulder really hurt.  I didn't push the issue, but I did tell her that if she wanted to hunt at Fort Knox this fall, she's going to have to learn to shoot something that kicked more than a .22.  I'll pick her up a recoil pad for her shoulder and see if I can find a dedicated shotgun so she can shoot something with a bit of weight.

One of my buddies from work also came out with his son-in-law in tow.  He started out shooting his Bersa Thunder, which had some extractor issues for the first few magazines.  After that, though, it was solid.  He also shot his Ruger SR9, and is in love with that little pistol.  I'll have to borrow it from him sometime and try it out.  It may be a good pistol for Girlie Bear and/or Irish Woman to plink with.

Another highlight of the day was the gentleman who sat next to us.  He was taking his time and enjoying himself while he shot four different suppressed firearms.  His favorite seemed to be a suppressed automatic MAC-10.  That thing sent streams of brass across the range, and by the time he was done there was quite a prodigious pile of .45 brass two tables to his right.

So, I got to shoot up a box of free ammo, and Girlie Bear stretched her limits a bit with the .22 and shot a 20 gauge.  Overall, it was a great day at the range.

Range Report - KCR Machine Gun Shoot

Girlie Bear and I just got back from the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot.  This is her second time going, and she had a ball.  This was the first time she's ever seen tracer fire, and she thought that was the neatest thing since sliced bread.  Next time, if it's wet enough for tracers, I'll take her at night so she can fully appreciate them. She also thought it was funny to watch an a machine gun steam as it boiled of its water reservoir.  Her aunt and uncle met us there, and we all had a great time watching the shooting and walking through the gun show.

As always, the staff at KCR ran things like clockwork.  Safety was the first thing they ensured, with lots of firing line staff and a reminder to have ear protection at the gate.  The same lady who sang the national anthem as last time did a wonderful job.  One thing about the crowd there:  When she was singing, no-one moved.  Go to any high school, college, or professional sports event and see how the crowd acts while someone sings the Star Spangled Banner.

Girlie Bear decided not to shoot a machine gun, and I was saving my money for the gun show.  After walking around the show, I can definitely say that the ammunition shortage is over.  There were cases of every caliber I could imagine, except for the 7.62x54R or 9x18 Makarov that I was looking for.  There were several magazine dealers there who were heavily stocked, especially with the high capacity magazines that some politicians want banned.  I was able to find one dealer that had magazines for my CZ-82.  $34.95 for a new factory magazine.  Ouch.  I will probably save up and just buy 5 or 10 of the milsurp ones that some of the on-line dealers have for about $25.

The things that seemed to be moving this time were MRE's and other long-lasting food, bulk ammo, and surplus clothing.  One lady who was selling gold and silver coins said that she had almost sold out of the stock she brought with her.

The AR-15 dealers were also doing a brisk business. I saw just about every variation of that platform being bought today.  The supply of surplus guns was pretty well exhausted by Sunday morning, but there were still a few M-1 Garands and Carbines for about $800.  Inside the KCR main building, I saw a used Charles Daly 1911 for about $500 that talked seductively to me.  I may have to go out there one of these weekends, take her out for a shoot, and maybe free her from her bondage under the glass.

Girlie Bear was on camera duty this go-round, so I'll pull her efforts off of the camera later and post the best pictures.