Sunday, October 28, 2012

Shooting All The Things (warning: no pics)

I met up with some fine folks from the Colfax Gun Club today and proceeded to shoot lots and lots of steel with many different guns. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I was having a good time and wasn't really thinking about blogging.

Anyway, I did learn a few things today. First, the Ruger LC9 is shockingly accurate. I shot a friend's LC9, which had various modifications, at a steel 1/2-scale silhouette at 75 yards and although I didn't hit it, I was missing it by fractions of an inch. (The Hi-Power hit 2 out of 20, then 0-13). Everyone should try shooting their handgun at fairly absurd distances now and again because it magnifies your slightest error exponentially.

Then it was on to the rifle side of the range (which was very nice, by the way). There was a 1/2 scale silhouette and a 5" steel circle at 200 yards. I was all over the place with my Savage 308, which turned out to be just me sucking. After three rounds, I settled down and did pretty well, ringing the silhouette every time and the circle almost every time. It was here that I learned how accurate a well-built AR15 can be. James brought a freshly-assembled frankengun AR that was incredibly accurate. I don't believe either of us missed the circle. Ever. We started out on Hornady match rounds, which I believe were 75gr, then moved on to all sorts of cheaper 55gr .223Rem, which was also able to ring the steel every time. If you ever get a chance to build an AR varmint/SASS rig, go for it. I'm thinking about it already and my PSA upper isn't even here yet.

I hope all four of my readers had a fun weekend and got to do some shooting also. Back to the grind for now.

3 comments:

James said...

I managed 2/8 with the LC9 at 75. In fairness, I was leaning against a pole.

I think it's very nearly zeroed for that range, which is ridiculous. I'll have to confirm with some shooting from a rest. I prefer the way I have my G21 setup - 0-25 yards is pretty much dead-nuts on, beyond you can hold a little high. I'd prefer to have holdover at longer distance than at closer distances - I held at the bottom of the plate at 7 yards to make good hits with the LC9, and I've observed this on more than one LC9 shooting paper/cardboard. You shouldn't have to think about hold over (hold under?) at that sort of distance. Part of me wonders if Ruger intentionally sets the sights that way not to give you extreme accuracy at 75 yards, but to make poor or inexperienced shooters with a huge flinch feel better about their shooting and stop blaming the gun for "shooting low" at ten feet.

If so, that's shitty of them for sticking it to the 25% of owners who can beat a flinch.

The Flatland Gun Nut said...

I did worse shooting the FNHP from a bench than kneeling. Not sure how that works. Anyway, I have a contact in Clearfield that might be able to get me an 8" steel gong for free. It is mild steel, but 1 3/4" thick.

James said...

1 3/4" thick! What's that in tonnes?