...Not shooting very much any more and it bothers me. I've been hitting the weekends dead tired, nearly broke, in need of laundry and, for the last couple of months, not feelin' too good. But those are excuses. As is the extreme crowdedness of the local indoor range, though that would not bother me so much were it not for the occasional nitwit who behaves in a more casual manner than suits me. (It's a well-enforced cold range and they will eject offenders. Still, I have seen things that pushed even my extreme shyness towards yellin').
Nope, I dunno what it is but the struggle to find time is just not worth the payoff right now. I shoot well enough to defend myself and I'll never shoot well enough to compete seriously (haven't got the eyesight), so why bother? --Maybe I'll have a different opinion when the Eagle Creek outdoor range is open. Hope so.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
13 comments:
I'm not a fan of the indoor range, for the reasons you mentioned, and although I've appreciated the invites, I'd just as soon wait until the outdoor or LEO range is more active.
So I'll be rusty, it will still be worth the wait.
Dry practice, m'dear, dry practice. A mere fifteen minutes a day can do wonders, plus it's free.
Massad Ayoob had an article, in either Guns, or American Handgunner a few years ago, about why he tried to avoid indoor firing ranges. His major concern? Lead dust. He would wear a lead specific dust mask, when he did have to use an indoor range.
The other issue you mention, crowding, has been the real problem near me. The crows are unbelievable. You can't get in without a wait.
--Never mind, I'm whining. Posting suspended until I stop.
Sam, I did the dry-fire thing a lot years ago, then stopped: they are supposed to go BANG and destroy what you are aiming at when you pull the trigger. Not doing so might build marvelous muscle memory but for me, it creates very bad habits. The only reason I didn't have an ND was dumb luck and DAO.
Finally got a .22 conversion kit for my 1911A1 and went out yesterday and unloaded about 300 rounds through it. It has been 4 years since I have put more then 20-30 rounds of .45 through it and it showed. Now I plan on going through a brick of .22 a month.
The gunclub that I joined has both an indoor (pistol/rimfire) and outdoor range. I like to go late on a Sunday afternoon. Much of the time, I'm the only one there and I have all the privacy that I need.
Occasionally, someone will be sitting on the rifle range when I arrive. I move down to one of the pistol bays and shoot there for awhile until the rifle range is empty or if there is enough separation between shooter to make me comfortable.
I don't mind shooting with friends. I just prefer to have some distance with shooters whom I don't know.
Don't have the eye sight to compete? - go to the dark side.
Put a red-dot sight of some kind on a pistol and use that. The dot appears at infinity when you look through the tube, and for all intents is cast on the target (we know it's not, it's not a laser).
There are a couple of makers of slide-ride, low profile, red-dot sights out there, and for aging or non-perfect eyes they are the bees knees in competition.
I actually got out shooting today, after far too long. Did pretty well, given the cold, gusts, eyeballs, and irons, at least with the AR.
I clearly need to spend more time on handguns. I sucked, particularly with the 1911. And there's apparently some goofball hangup going on between my McCormick mags and the slide catch. [GRUMBLE]
Still, any day at the range is a good one, as long as you don't have a bad ND, or a Kaboom.
Our RobertaX...shy??? Don't seem that way...
I have considered getting one of those airsoft pistols for dry fire. The motions would be the same, even if not exactly so...I really don't like the idea of dry firing a real weapon that much. I'd think it would contaminate the safety mindset. "A weapon is always loaded (except for)..." doesn't sit well. To me it's an absolute.
Not to meantion that it decreases wear and tear on the actual weapon.
Count me as a dryfire fan. The practice has dramatically improved my ability to shoot accurately.
Set up a routine with no live ammo anywhere in the room you practice in and go for it.
Add snap caps to equation and malfunction drills can be run as well. To a degree anyway.
With 52 y/o glaucoma battered very myopic eyes, I'm no threat to win any competition, but still I get out there. It's fun and I love it when I can see some improvement in my shooting.
I substituted dry fire for pellet pistol and steel trap in the basement. (I'd love one of those Action Air guns, but don't have the dough.) Yes, there is the issue of lead dust/chips. The problem with pretend shooting is that it's like practicing an instrument without a metronome. Measurement of results is important.
I don't like indoor ranges, either. I used to haul my butt to one at 7:30 at night, during the winter. It helped get my shooting back on track, but I limited exposure to one hour a week. I picked an off night during the weekdays, and I was usually alone. I can no longer afford to do this.
I don't know how unpredictable are your work hours, but I'm willing to bet that you wear a soul-sucking beeper that goes off all hours of the night. Luckily, I don't work in that sort of environment any longer, but I do have surprise meetings.
Is there at least one night where you can go? Is it possible to go on a slow night? Now that I belong to a club, I'm putting together a go-bag, instead of hauling around one of those extra-wide range bags that get stuck and rip on every corner. The idea is that absolutely all the essentials are in it, and all I have to do is grab it. YMMV--for me getting the kit squared away is a big time-waster.
It's probably a good idea to find a range that allows you to pay a membership fee instead of hourly fees. That way, if you have to re-stuff your go-bag because you're suddenly on call again, you're not losing money. It's amazing how many clueless range operators economically punish their customers, and wonder why they never come back.
You know what else works where motivation is required? A buddy system! Say, do you have any buddies that also like to shoot? :-)
I don't know if any of this will work; I guess I'm tryin' to pep talk ya. I am a long way from satisfied with my shooting skills, but few things are as effective for worry-deprivation therapy as shooting.
Can't believe there aren't any small old gun clubs around you. That's definitely the way to go if you want practice instead of competition. Cheaper, too, usually.
The night shift approach is a real winner. It's the only reason we never get congestion at my indoor range. After second shift, especially if you get off after closing time, it's a great way to unwind and set your day in order.
http://tinyurl.com/dzg5z4
Lot of clubs on this list.
One of them must be worth going to. Don't the Monthly Gunblog Buddies belong around different places? Ask them.
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