Lately it's been all about boats (well only one, really) and guns (definitely more than one) and shooting and not so much the knitting, which has been sporadic. Sporadic or not, I've only 1½ more stripes left—34 more rows on the acrylic Dr Who Scarf. And all the ends have all be woven in. I may be finished with the knitting today or tomorrow. Then on to the washing, lightly block it and then make and attach the tassels.
The second wool Dr Who scarf has been delivered. Two down and the third one is almost complete.
As I mentioned in my last post, Mr WK and I took a break from workin' on Spray to shoot an IDPA match at Corndodger Station last Sunday. Early this year the first steps were taken to make a new range with four bays. Since then it's snowed and rained and then rained and rained some more. Last Sunday was the first time it was dry enough to use the new range. Some areas near the back berms were still soft and muddy and we used a couple of rocks to step on to paste those targets. We can also shoot a full 180°.
This month we had 26 shooters. Several of us took the Safety Officer class this winter so we had plenty of SO's. We used only three bays as the fourth bay is not finished and split into three groups. That moved things along rather quickly. Two of the bays held two CoF's.
Over the winter our club acquired a vehicle that runs, just not well, that we can use for CoF's (Courses of Fire). I think it was shot twice in an earlier match at Corndodger Station this year but not in any vital areas. Our match directors are making good use of some of the tactics we learned in the Fighting From a Vehicle class many of us took last August.
The CoF with the vehicle started with the shooter in the vehicle, gun holstered, door closed, hands on the wheel, and a threat target just outside the fully opened passenger window. At the buzzer, you drew and shot the threat target through the passenger window (one or two hands, didn't matter), exited the vehicle and fired at two BGs (bad guys) 5 yards ahead of the middle of the hood from the V between the open door and the vehicle, moved to the rear of the vehicle and shot a BG 7 yards off the right rear of the vehicle then moved to the right rear of the vehicle and shot two more BGs in line with but 15 yards downrange from the two BGs in front of the hood.
As we've come to anticipate the CoF's for "our" first Corndodger Station IDPA match this year were challenging but fun. Another "favorite" CoF was 15+ yards; 4 threat targets; every one out in the open, no one moving and not shooting from behind cover. Straight up; stand there, aim and fire. Piece. Of. Cake. ... Eight shots — to the body four out and four back — strong hand — bang, bang, bang, bangbang, bang, bang, bang — then — — Four Head Shots with your WEAK hand. Yeah.
Then there was the CoF with the dogs. Three dogs attacking your dog or your kid or whomever but all low to the ground and close together. The non-threat in the middle overlapped by a "dog" on each side and on top. So you had to be careful WHERE you shot the three threat targets so you wouldn't shoot through the threat into the non-threat target behind. And this was also at 20 or so yards. At least you could use both hands ... this time.
The second of our twice-a-month indoor matches was the following Thursday. Again, great CoF's. Lotta movin' and shootin', runnin' and gunnin'.
Those were the "official" shoots. Mr WK and I also just went shooting on our own. When we have an indoor match we often try to arrive an hour and a half or at least an hour before the match so we can just shoot. Which is exactly what did on Thursday. Mr WK has a S&W M&P full-sized .40. When we first began to reload we shot 155 gn projectiles. When we bumped up hard against the shortages last year we bought almost anything, bullet-wise we could find; which means that at one point we bought some 155 gn and some 165 gn bullets. The bullets are both "flat point" but the 165 gn projectiles are rounded closer to the flat point than the 155 gn projectiles. Somewhere along the way, we'd loaded 165 gn projectiles then switched to 155 gn projectiles and we didn't change the amount of cartridge crimp.
Cue the harp music and the blurred quick montage of a flashback . . . . At the last match in February of all things, Mr WK had several failure to feed issues which rarely happened with that gun. Was it the gun? Was it the ammo? Was it the shooter? After much trial and error and testing, it was the ammo. The 155 gn ammo to be exact and only in that gun. The S&W 4006 .40 would eat anything we fed it. The M&P would only consistently shoot the 165 gn projectiles. Mr WK is now in the process of re-crimping several hundred rounds. The final, final, final, final test of the fix was Thursday and it shot 100 rounds of re-crimped 155 gn flawlessly. Not a single failure to feed. While all this was going on, Mr WK only shot 165 gn bullets from that M&P. He's decided he likes those better anyway, which is good because we HAVE more of those.
Sunday, we spent a great chunk of the afternoon at the outdoor range just west of Topeka. We took several long guns; both .30 calibers, both .223s, the bolt-action Marlin .22LR and a .357 magnum revolver. We started off at the pistol range as Mr WK wanted shoot it. I ranged around behind him lookin' for stranger brass then I moved up to the empty free-form pistol range and was rewarded with a nice handful.
Then we drove down to the rimfire range. We've had the inexpensive scope that "came with" the Marlin on and off so many times. We bought a better scope for it but it's now on ... ??? ... something else. A very inexpensive four power scope for that rifle is not good. We can do OK at 50 yards but can't see well enough with it to shoot well at 100 yards. We can both consistently hit the steel turkey at 100 yards but that's a HUGE target — and we're not aiming at the head. But we sighted the inexpensive scope in at 50 yards then moved up to the high-power range. A better scope for that rifle is in our future.
At the high-power range, we checked-in with the only other shooters there then I set off to tack up targets at 200 and 100 yards. I'd zeroed my .308 at 100 yards and had just begun zeroing at 200 yards when we stopped last time. When we were here last time, as always we got to chattin' with the other shooters and found out that the 1/10 twist of my .308 bull barrel will be most accurate with a 165 gn projectile. I'd already purchased and received 2K 150 gn bullets for my .308 and Mr WK's 30-06 Mossberg but I bought a box of 100 just to see. There is a bit more recoil in the 165 gn bullets but I don't see any difference in accuracy. Perhaps if I tinkered with the powder and load and shot at distances of more than 300 yards ... but I have no desire to compete in a high power match. However, when you shoot a lot, an accumulated amount of "a bit more recoil" makes a difference. I'm going to stick with the 150 gn projectiles and zero for them at 200 yards. I'm shooting ½-1" groups at 200 yards with the 150 gn bullets so I'm not too worried about accuracy.
I also remembered to move the bra strap off my left shoulder so I wouldn't have a bruise the exact size of the little adjustment thingy. I'm still working with what combination of bench rest shooting bags work best for me and how I shoot. I have it mostly figured out but I need to tweak it. I need to remember to bring one of our type IV throwable boat cushions out with us next time. I'm short and I think if I can lift myself off the bench a bit more I can get a better position and won't have the stock up against my collar bone; which is tender today. It was fine when it was 20°and I had on several layers and a great huge coat but in just a T-shirt, not so much.
Mr WK put several rounds downrange with his 30-06. He's zeroed at 100 yards and uses the mil dots on his scope to shoot 200 yards. He can shoot 2" groups at either yardage. I brought my .223 but again but never shot it. Mr WK has a Bushmaster with a 20" target barrel. As with his 30-06 he's zeroed at 100 yards and uses the mil dots for 200 yards and shoots 2" groups bench resting it.
This morning, it was cool and overcast because of the rain the previous evening. We got home about 30 minutes ahead of it. We sat on our little patio, enjoyed the sounds of the little waterfall in our tiny fountain, listened to and watched the birds at the feeders, drank coffee, noshed on lemon blueberry pound cake and cleaned guns.
Life is good.
blogging to: a quiet house
reading: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
and
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Parting Shot:
The second wool Dr Who scarf has been delivered. Two down and the third one is almost complete.
As I mentioned in my last post, Mr WK and I took a break from workin' on Spray to shoot an IDPA match at Corndodger Station last Sunday. Early this year the first steps were taken to make a new range with four bays. Since then it's snowed and rained and then rained and rained some more. Last Sunday was the first time it was dry enough to use the new range. Some areas near the back berms were still soft and muddy and we used a couple of rocks to step on to paste those targets. We can also shoot a full 180°.
This month we had 26 shooters. Several of us took the Safety Officer class this winter so we had plenty of SO's. We used only three bays as the fourth bay is not finished and split into three groups. That moved things along rather quickly. Two of the bays held two CoF's.
Over the winter our club acquired a vehicle that runs, just not well, that we can use for CoF's (Courses of Fire). I think it was shot twice in an earlier match at Corndodger Station this year but not in any vital areas. Our match directors are making good use of some of the tactics we learned in the Fighting From a Vehicle class many of us took last August.
The CoF with the vehicle started with the shooter in the vehicle, gun holstered, door closed, hands on the wheel, and a threat target just outside the fully opened passenger window. At the buzzer, you drew and shot the threat target through the passenger window (one or two hands, didn't matter), exited the vehicle and fired at two BGs (bad guys) 5 yards ahead of the middle of the hood from the V between the open door and the vehicle, moved to the rear of the vehicle and shot a BG 7 yards off the right rear of the vehicle then moved to the right rear of the vehicle and shot two more BGs in line with but 15 yards downrange from the two BGs in front of the hood.
As we've come to anticipate the CoF's for "our" first Corndodger Station IDPA match this year were challenging but fun. Another "favorite" CoF was 15+ yards; 4 threat targets; every one out in the open, no one moving and not shooting from behind cover. Straight up; stand there, aim and fire. Piece. Of. Cake. ... Eight shots — to the body four out and four back — strong hand — bang, bang, bang, bangbang, bang, bang, bang — then — — Four Head Shots with your WEAK hand. Yeah.
Then there was the CoF with the dogs. Three dogs attacking your dog or your kid or whomever but all low to the ground and close together. The non-threat in the middle overlapped by a "dog" on each side and on top. So you had to be careful WHERE you shot the three threat targets so you wouldn't shoot through the threat into the non-threat target behind. And this was also at 20 or so yards. At least you could use both hands ... this time.
The second of our twice-a-month indoor matches was the following Thursday. Again, great CoF's. Lotta movin' and shootin', runnin' and gunnin'.
- bad guys runnin' atcha and bad guys runnin' away from ya, ostensibly shooting back at you as they ran
- shootin' with your weak hand, your strong hand and either or both hands in the same CoF
- tactical reloads, reloads with retention and shooting to slide lock then reloading
- tactical sequence (slicin' the pie) and tactical priority in the same CoF
- and the ever popular chargin' the bad guys.
Those were the "official" shoots. Mr WK and I also just went shooting on our own. When we have an indoor match we often try to arrive an hour and a half or at least an hour before the match so we can just shoot. Which is exactly what did on Thursday. Mr WK has a S&W M&P full-sized .40. When we first began to reload we shot 155 gn projectiles. When we bumped up hard against the shortages last year we bought almost anything, bullet-wise we could find; which means that at one point we bought some 155 gn and some 165 gn bullets. The bullets are both "flat point" but the 165 gn projectiles are rounded closer to the flat point than the 155 gn projectiles. Somewhere along the way, we'd loaded 165 gn projectiles then switched to 155 gn projectiles and we didn't change the amount of cartridge crimp.
Cue the harp music and the blurred quick montage of a flashback . . . . At the last match in February of all things, Mr WK had several failure to feed issues which rarely happened with that gun. Was it the gun? Was it the ammo? Was it the shooter? After much trial and error and testing, it was the ammo. The 155 gn ammo to be exact and only in that gun. The S&W 4006 .40 would eat anything we fed it. The M&P would only consistently shoot the 165 gn projectiles. Mr WK is now in the process of re-crimping several hundred rounds. The final, final, final, final test of the fix was Thursday and it shot 100 rounds of re-crimped 155 gn flawlessly. Not a single failure to feed. While all this was going on, Mr WK only shot 165 gn bullets from that M&P. He's decided he likes those better anyway, which is good because we HAVE more of those.
Sunday, we spent a great chunk of the afternoon at the outdoor range just west of Topeka. We took several long guns; both .30 calibers, both .223s, the bolt-action Marlin .22LR and a .357 magnum revolver. We started off at the pistol range as Mr WK wanted shoot it. I ranged around behind him lookin' for stranger brass then I moved up to the empty free-form pistol range and was rewarded with a nice handful.
Then we drove down to the rimfire range. We've had the inexpensive scope that "came with" the Marlin on and off so many times. We bought a better scope for it but it's now on ... ??? ... something else. A very inexpensive four power scope for that rifle is not good. We can do OK at 50 yards but can't see well enough with it to shoot well at 100 yards. We can both consistently hit the steel turkey at 100 yards but that's a HUGE target — and we're not aiming at the head. But we sighted the inexpensive scope in at 50 yards then moved up to the high-power range. A better scope for that rifle is in our future.
At the high-power range, we checked-in with the only other shooters there then I set off to tack up targets at 200 and 100 yards. I'd zeroed my .308 at 100 yards and had just begun zeroing at 200 yards when we stopped last time. When we were here last time, as always we got to chattin' with the other shooters and found out that the 1/10 twist of my .308 bull barrel will be most accurate with a 165 gn projectile. I'd already purchased and received 2K 150 gn bullets for my .308 and Mr WK's 30-06 Mossberg but I bought a box of 100 just to see. There is a bit more recoil in the 165 gn bullets but I don't see any difference in accuracy. Perhaps if I tinkered with the powder and load and shot at distances of more than 300 yards ... but I have no desire to compete in a high power match. However, when you shoot a lot, an accumulated amount of "a bit more recoil" makes a difference. I'm going to stick with the 150 gn projectiles and zero for them at 200 yards. I'm shooting ½-1" groups at 200 yards with the 150 gn bullets so I'm not too worried about accuracy.
I also remembered to move the bra strap off my left shoulder so I wouldn't have a bruise the exact size of the little adjustment thingy. I'm still working with what combination of bench rest shooting bags work best for me and how I shoot. I have it mostly figured out but I need to tweak it. I need to remember to bring one of our type IV throwable boat cushions out with us next time. I'm short and I think if I can lift myself off the bench a bit more I can get a better position and won't have the stock up against my collar bone; which is tender today. It was fine when it was 20°and I had on several layers and a great huge coat but in just a T-shirt, not so much.
Mr WK put several rounds downrange with his 30-06. He's zeroed at 100 yards and uses the mil dots on his scope to shoot 200 yards. He can shoot 2" groups at either yardage. I brought my .223 but again but never shot it. Mr WK has a Bushmaster with a 20" target barrel. As with his 30-06 he's zeroed at 100 yards and uses the mil dots for 200 yards and shoots 2" groups bench resting it.
This morning, it was cool and overcast because of the rain the previous evening. We got home about 30 minutes ahead of it. We sat on our little patio, enjoyed the sounds of the little waterfall in our tiny fountain, listened to and watched the birds at the feeders, drank coffee, noshed on lemon blueberry pound cake and cleaned guns.
Life is good.
blogging to: a quiet house
reading: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
and
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Parting Shot:
Taps
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
‘Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
‘Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.
