Choosing a range . . .

 
How does a new shooter go about finding a place to shoot? In my younger days, I could simply go into my back yard or a near-by wood lot and blast away. Those days are long since gone. So how do you do it?

Well, there is undoubtedly a local shooting community – it might just take a little digging to find it. One great resource are your local police officers. Many shoot competitively to sharpen their work-day shooting skills and they do this at a local range. Gun stores, local clubs like the Izaac Walton League or other conservation groups can point you in the right direction as well. Your shooting instructor (assuming you have taken class recently) will certainly have a location set aside for their class that many times will offer memberships as well.

One resource I am typically leery of is un-managed public shooting ranges. We have a couple of these in my area and they can be a disquieting experience. Not everyone obeys the 4 rules of gun safety. Not everyone goes to the range sober. Not everyone is trustworthy. While I have made very limited use of a range near one of my course locations, I don’t make a habit of it.

What can you expect from a local shooting club? My experience has been that there are lots of friendly people there, all interested in the same sport you are. They folks are a great resource. Most will be willing to lend a hand if you need it, answer questions if you have them and – in many cases – give you the opportunity to try their weapons if you have a mind to.

Managed ranges will typically have a clear set of Range Rules that you will be expected to know. Many times these will be gone over with you either individually or as a group at the beginning of the shooting season by the range’s RSO (Range Safety Officer). Many of these types of ranges are secured requiring either a pin number, lock combination or swipe card to gain entry. These are all good things. It clearly shows the club takes its responsibilities seriously and it provides you a level of comfort that shooters are all starting out with the came clear view the range’s rules and expectations.

Prices will very and dues are usually a two-tiered structure, first for club membership with an additional fee being required as a “range fee”. Shooting ranges require constant attention, supervision and observation. Not to mention additional costs for target stands, steel targets, berm maintenance – all of which make the shooting sports a bit more expensive. I would expect most club fees would be from $50 to $100 per year with and additional $20+ for a range fee. It is also not unusual for additional fees to be required if you decide to enter different shooting competitions (on a per competition basis) at the range as well.

The biggest plus for you joining a recognized shooting club in your area is simply your access to other shooters. I learn each and every time I shoot with a new partner. And they learn from me as well. Clubs bring us all together. Find a club, join and enjoy, a new competitive season is just around the corner!!

Range day – what to bring, what to bring . . . . .

You need to schedule range days, as many as possible, every month – including winter. Then, you need to keep the schedule – rain, shine, sunny, cloudy, calm, windy, hot, cold or butt-assed cold, dry, wet, rain, snow, ice. The guy/gal that picks you as a target, that intends to rob you, beat you, kill you will not wait for a gorgeous summer day (ok, he/she might) so your range time needs to cover all the bases. Once scheduled, what do you bring? I’m going to split this up into three sections – Clothing and your Range Bag and Miscellaneous stuff.
Clothing:

• Dress for the weather – although I routinely recommend long pants that are a loose fit rather than shorts. If it’s cold – a solid layering system that allows you to shed some clothing if your range work heats you up. But, in general, here’s the list:

• Hat (I prefer a baseball cap so the bill covers my face over my shooting glasses)
• Comfortable shirt
• Comfortable pants
• Sturdy shoes and hiking socks (once had a lady show up in January wearing high-heel boots)
• Bandana
• Rain gear – rain pants and coat, not a poncho (you shoot, regardless if it’s pouring or not)
• You may want knee pads depending on the drills you intend on running.
• Strong side holster
• Minimum of two magazine holders or speed-loader holders
• Sturdy pistol belt
• Shooting gloves if your drills call for them

Range Bag;

• Your weapon (no, really, double check!!!)
• Minimum of 3 magazines or speed loaders – more is better
• Ammunition for your drills (also, really, double check!!!)
• Hearing protection
• Eye protection
• A small set of tools
• Cleaning Kit
• Stapler with extra staples
• First Aide Kit – primarily for cuts and nicks
• Note book for shooting notes on your drills
• Targets specific to any drills that you may need
• Timer if needed for your drills

Miscellaneous;

• Sun screen (you burn, sunny or cloudy)
• Chap stick
• Something to eat (jerky, food bars – I usually skip the sandwiches)
• Something to drink (water, soda, juice – more than you think you should bring)
• Sweat towel – a standard hand towel, I always carry an OD towel – shooting, hiking, canoeing or just riding in my Jeep

Finally, develop a plan. Your first trips, I would recommend doing everything from the compressed high-ready. Firm grip on your weapon, your weapon held center chest with the barrel parallel to the ground. I prefer a “modified weaver” stance – feet shoulder width apart, strong side foot back about one foot’s length from the weak side foot. The drills are limited to extension and release of safety (if needed), target acquisition, target engagement with a random number of rounds (1 to 3), engaging the safety (again if needed) and bringing your weapon back to a compressed high-ready.

Your plan should include a number of different drills ( see http://pistol-training.com for some ideas) and also the inclusion of snap-caps to simulate weapon malfunctions.
Limit your time to an hour. After an hour people naturally loose their ability to focus and concentrate. Speed is NOT your goal – being smooth and accurate is. Do each step – extension, safety release, target acquisition, target engagement, engaging the safety, returning to the compressed high-ready – PERFECTLY. Slow down if you are sloppy. Speed up until you get sloppy. You are training muscle memory during these sessions so when the fellow with the gun, knife, ax, machete is getting ready to send you to your Maker, you can change the situation without having to think through the steps. Speed comes with time as do holster draws. For now, for your first few trips, lets work on these basics first; we’ll talk about the rest later.

A look at what’s in my bag:
 

Trust NO ONE!!!!!

 
Trusting a fellow shooter can get your hurt – or dead. My personal example. A very good friend of mine had a .45 1911 worked on quite some time back. He was very happy with the job and was anxious to show me. It was a defensive weapon that he kept on an upper bookshelf in his den. He reached for it, dropped the magazine and went to hand it to me. I asked him to check the chamber. “Don’t worry; there isn’t a round in the chamber.” I acknowledged he was probably right, I just asked him to humor me. And he did – imagine his surprise as a cartridge was ejected as he racked the slide. Was I angry? Nope. While it’s fully his responsibility to know the state of his weapon and to only hand it to me when he was sure it was safe (and he was sure), it is MY RESPONSIBILITY to know that each and every weapon handed to me is safe – PERIOD. Do not depend on someone else to save you, to protect you or to prevent you from being harmed – it is YOUR JOB to do that and no one else’s.

In my classes, I display over a dozen firearms. Double and single action revolvers, .22 cal, 9mm and .45 cal semi-automatic pistols and even a 6mm airsoft pistol. The images below show you how I present them to the students. The action is open, the cylinder open, the loading gate open and all magazines out. They stay this way throughout the entire course and any time a firearm is passed from me to a student or from one student to another, the chamber and the magazine are double checked before the exchange happens. This, IMNSHO, should be done in all firearm classes – period. If it’s not – remember your safety is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Don’t surrender your safety to anyone – check each and every firearm to make sure the magazine is out, the chamber is empty, the cylinder is open or the loading gate is open.

Remember, help is not coming, you are not going to be saved, you are responsible for your own survival and safety – period – YOU.

From the beginning

So, you’ve decided to take a training course – what are the basics you should know? Well, let’s start with “safety first”. The NRA has their three basic rules:

1: Always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction.
2: Never load your firearm until you are ready to use it.
3: Keep your finger OFF THE TRIGGER until you are on target.

A forth is typically added:

4: Be sure of your target and what’s behind it.

The word “Always” means exactly that – ALWAYS, with out fail, without exception. If you follow this single rule, regardless of anything else, no one can get hurt.

The word “Never” means exactly that – NEVER, without fail, without exception. If you follow this single rule the possibility of hurting someone during cleaning or dry fire or working behind the firing line on a range evaporates.

The words “OFF THE TRIGGER” means totally, fully and completely outside the trigger guard until you are on target – a target that you have fully identified. If you follow these words, you can be assured you shoot only that which you intend to shoot – and nothing else.

Finally, the forth set of words “Be sure” means exactly that – be positive, without doubt, fully aware of what you are about to shoot AND what will you hit if you miss or if your round fully penetrates your target and exits merrily onward destroying all it its path.

This is the beginning. This is the starting point. The weapon in your hand, the device that is designed to kill things, to end lives, to permanently interrupt the breathing cycle will do it’s job with unerring effectiveness. It is YOUR DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY to exercise your right to carry and use this weapon safely.

Always – Never – OFF THE TRIGGER – Be sure . . . . . . these are words to live by as your enter your shooting career.

Creating a society of victims

I couldn’t work up a head of steam about the Brady Campaign’s candle light vigil against gun violence. I long ago wrote them off as nut-jobs undeserving of my attention. However, their goal is instructive. For all their words about eliminating guns and there-by reducing the number of gun-violence victims, their result is really just the opposite – they create victims.
I’ve been chewing on this for years and have shared my thoughts with friends. Many times I see the “knowing nod” that usually means I’m just a bit “out there” on this whole “creating victims” deal. So, I thought I would share this with you folks and see where you come down on the issue. 

A little history – I am officially becoming a C.O.G. – a Crotchety Old Guy. I have no problem with that, been one all my life. But it does give me a longer period of time to view this issue.
  Violence is simply part of life. In my youth my protagonist was a fellow by the name of Jack – 5^th-6th^th grade playground was a bitch for me, usually because of him. He was the typical bully using physical violence to get what he wanted. However, at that time you still had the opportunity to “work things out” – usually on the playground, sometimes after school. But, we had the freedom to confront and resolve the issue. For me and Jack it ended the day he pounded on me and I bit the top of his knuckle off. I stood my ground, fought back and ended my victim hood. Jack’s end came years later with him on his knees, a .45 at the back of his head and the disappearance of his face. It wasn’t surprising to anyone who knew Jack. 

The lesson I learned on the playground in 1961-1962 was that you needed to defend yourself – that it was not OK to be hammered on and that I didn’t need to depend on anyone else to save me, I was responsible for me. 

Fast forward to 1970 and Vietnam. War is a terrific place to learn all about violence. On the battlefield it is painfully obvious that violence does, indeed, settle issues and that victims – those who see themselves as victims – die. 

As a country, with the end of Vietnam, we then entered this very weird, anti-violence at any cost time period that today has solidified into a society so “violence adverse” that a child who points a piece of pizza like a gun is suspended from school. Along the way my own son went through the whole bully thing. His was during 3^rd grade with a particular fellow pounding on him on a regular basis. Discussions with the teachers and principle had no affect. Our school had (and still does have) a policy of both kids being equally at fault so the victim and attacker have equal punishments. This went on for a month while I tried to be “civilized”. Nothing. Finally I had a discussion with his teacher and the principal. My son had a problem and he was going to fix it. I shared directly that the next time he was attacked he would simply pound the young fellow into the ground and take his suspension. And, that’s how it went down. But, he learned he didn’t need to be a victim in his own life. And, he learned an even more valuable  lesson – he was ultimately responsible for his own defense, period. Not the teachers, not the principal, not his parents – HE was responsible. 

Let’s fast-forward to today and the most egregious example I can think of where young men and women were taught that violence was bad and to be avoided at all costs. This past summer in Norway, on the small island of Utoeya, a gunman dressed as a policeman came ashore and called the campers together. These were kids in their mid-teens. After they surrounded him he pulled an automatic weapon and, over the next hour, shot 80 kids to death. Their immediate response was to run. One man, surrounded by 50+ kids had a field day hunting them. My point here is that they did what they were conditioned to do – to flee, hide and hope. What if these same kids had been taught to respond to stop violence, not flee it. Would some have died – certainly. But, would this animal have had an hour hunt 80 of them down and kill them?? No. 

Of course, we have our own example of this – Columbine High School in Colorado. Two animals had as much time as they wanted to roam the school corridors and classrooms, taking time in one case to bend down and talk to a girl hiding under her desk to ask if she truly believed in Jesus before he shot her to death. The children of 1999 reacted as trained by today’s compassionate society and acted like lowly cattle being herded into their classrooms for slaughter. We are again presented with the possibility that if these students been taught to be responsible for their own safety, taught to fight violence brought against them and taught that help is not coming – the outcome would have been much less tragic.
Today you listen to the caterwauls of the anti-gun crowd talking about the need to eliminate all guns in the hope that gun violence will stop. They have learned nothing. What if each and every violent criminal had to stop and wonder if the cute little blonde he was about to attack was packing a .45 in her handbag? What if every robber walking into a local gas station/market had to wonder if the clerk or the other customers were armed? What if every burglar breaking down a door or a window had to wonder if they would be met with a shotgun blast? 

When you meet violence with overwhelming violence – it ends. When you meet violence with a victim’s mindset, you’re dead. Simple as that. 

We need to be teaching our children to stop violence - not wait for it to stop. Soon. Today. Now.

The Bookshelf

 
The purpose of e.IA.f.t. is – in the words of the NRA – is to provide you with the “knowledge, skills and attitude” to safely handle your firearm, to protect yourself, your family and those around you and to survive.

Knowledge is the understanding of your environment and the tools at hand. A skill set can only be learned by doing – whether it be shooting, canoeing, wilderness survival, fire building – you have to be able to successfully perform these skills in a consistent manner. And a learner must always have an open attitude – to learn from everything - their friends, instructors, experiences and various authors.

What I have listed on “The Bookshelf” are the books I have acquired and read over the years that pertain to five primary areas: Canoeing, Hiking, National Parks, Shooting and Survival.

Personal defense covers quite a bit or ground – in covers more than your skill with a firearm. You need to survive the encounter; you may need to survive in a much more primitive environment for an undetermined length of time. This may be due to natural events (hurricanes, tornados, windstorms, etc) or it may be due to a break down in our society. Either way, personal defense can easily include a survival element much broader than putting down an immediate physical threat.

Obviously, many defensive situations can be emulated on a shooting range. However, past that, other skills that can come in handy are better suited for wilderness practice. Some examples would be navigation, fire building, building and using different types of shelter, knot tying, determining what should be in your backpack, water purification, wilderness hygiene, the proper way to poop in the woods – to name just a few. Over the past 40 years I have traveled the country learning and using these skills, sharing them with folks and simply having a lot of fun. My two most enjoyable pastimes are canoeing and hiking. And, my two favorite areas are Glacier National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) between Minnesota and Canada. There are many, many other places I have enjoyed, yet these two are at the top of my list. My reading material reflect things I have focused on learning. My treks, canoe trips and weekend overnights have been spent practicing what I have learned.

I hope you find as much value in these books and their authors as I have. If you have some offerings to add, please, pass them on and I will include them.

Enjoy!

The Bookshelf

Review of the Truglo Red-Dot sight

Santa seemed to be otherwise engaged with family presents this year, he “forgot” my request for a Truglo Red-Dot sight. Not to worry, Amazon had a few in stock so I saved him a stop and sent off an order just before Christmas. I am sorry to report Amazon beat Santa, but then it’s his busy time of year!

So, we have been having amazing weather here in Iowa – forecasts of 50F in the next few days, no snow, clear weather – it’s amazing! So, with a few free hours today, off I went to the range to sight in the Truglo Red-Dot.

I mounted it to a weaver/picatinny rail on my Ruger .22/.45 and loaded up. Everyone has their own process for sighting in. I typically use my range bag as a gun rest and use 5-round groups. The distance today was 30 feet. I always adjust for windage first then elevation. The adjustments were simple, a left-right adjustment on the left side of the sight for windage and an elevation adjustment on the top. A single click was a quarter inch adjustment.
The Truglo mounted easily and securely. The model .22/.45 had a 4 inch barrel and the sight sat   just forward of the ejection port. The Truglo provides both a red and green designator in the sight picture. Four levels of intensity are available along with four different designators from a simple dot to a concentric ring image.


Out of the box, my first group was low and left. Two magazines of 5 each provided more than enough hits to center on the target. The same process allowed the elevation to come right in as well. From then on it was simply fun. While I have a couple of red dots for my black guns (an Eotech and another Truglo), I’ve not tried them on a handgun before. So, I spent the next hour doing various drills – single target, multiple targets, circle drills – the Truglo worked perfectly. My smallest group at 30 feet was right at .75 inches when shot off my range bag. Otherwise, 1-2 inch groups were easily attained off hand from the 30 foot line.
So, based on a single trip to the range and around 200 rounds expended, I give it a tentative “thumbs up”. I’ll put some more miles on it and do a follow-up sometime this spring.