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My secondary personal hobby is recreational shooting (which for many years was #1). Originally this centered on pistol shooting at indoor ranges (can't beat just pushing a button and having your target come back to you... no waiting around for the range to go cold).
However later on I discovered I had a lot more fun shooting a rifle at longer ranges. Who'd a thunk that a hobby that results in deafening explosions at regular intervals could be so relaxing?
As soon as I manage to dig them up I will post some of the material I have collected on my personal favorites. In brief:
- .45 caliber is where its at. Once you become accustomed to the recoil it ain't no big deal. If I were inclined to carry a pistol, perhaps I would lug around the H&K USP Compact .45, with its rounded yet-still-angular edges its a perfect IWB no-holster carry piece that is both invisible and comfortable. Note the red loaded-chamber indicator, which is all but invisible unless you are holding it, or trying real hard to catch it with a flash camera.
- Often dismissed as overpowered and too much gun to handle, the .44 Magnum is also easy to control once you get used to it. Only a Darwin Award contender would face one down. My vintage countersunk-chamber 8 3/8" blued Smith & Wesson Model 29 with Goncalo Alves grips is a truly amazing piece of work. Makes me look a lot better than I am. Never fails to freak people out when they see me hitting a dinger at 200 yards with it (well, OK so I'm prone, and only hit 3 out of 5 times ... but hitting a 1.5-foot plate with a pistol at a range some guys with rifles miss is always a conversation-starter).
- A dysfunctional family portrait: AR-15 with Turner AWS sling, First Samco mag coupler attaching Colt 30rd and Orlite 30rd mag (Mag-Safes followed by Isreali-manufactured NATO-spec green-tips... go find another house to rob). The most comfortable .45 on Earth: The Sig P220. And the most famous .45 on Earth, a well-customized 1911... backed up by Old Painless himself: a Winchester 1300 Defender packed with Brenneke KO Slugs. Thump. Thud.
- If I had to pick one rifle and leave the rest, I'd choose the Springfield M1A National Match (i.e. the M14). Open sights, 325 yards, 18" steel plate. Ding ding ding every time. Using USGI steel-core ball ammo you can pack one hell of a wallop. Add in a 20-rd box magazine (I have some purchased pre-ban, which is still in effect here in CA) and you have a big, heavy beast that will hit any target on the range.
The scope and the Butler Creek end caps sure looks cool, but in actual use I found it to be worthless. No doubt in part due to the Springfield mount which is constantly coming loose. The iron sights can bullseye anything so I never use it. However if you want a *great* adjustable cheek comb the one on there is one of the best, and comes from Fulton Armory, which is also where I'd purchase a decent scope mount (the only one on the market) if I was going to buy one. I replaced the marginal Springfield-brand sling with a black 54" Turner AWS. I have Turner slings on all my rifles.
- I am going to have to get some pics of my baby: a 1903 Springfield .30-06 that I found in the back room of a gun shop. A later nickel-steel (i.e. shootable all day) receiver, scant-C stock in prime condition, still blued and park'd, cartouche's galore (arsenal rebuilt at Springfield in late 1943), gauges show almost nil throat erosion, muzzle wear. Love that ladder sight. Another instant conversation-starter and a true joy to shoot/master.
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Hey, read this:
This web site is actively used as a software test platform for my ContentMonger Pro content management software. As such you may see weird things happen as I work, bugfix and experiment. Hopefully it won't inconvenience you but if it does, sorry about that. Whatever you see going on is very likely to fix itself shortly as I am aware that traffic on this site is now fairly significant.
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Personal BS
