Friday, January 11, 2013

Beech Grove Firearms -- A Visit

     Tamara and I visited the new Beech Grove Firearms facility Thursday, to shop a little and shoot at their range. (They are on that facebook thingie, too, for you youngsters.)

     What a range!  20 lanes, shiny-spankin' new and well laid out.  I'm impressed and I will be back.

     INGO visited the store in October, not too long after the move:
     The store proper is good-sized and was very well stocked before the latest political flap; today it was A) busy (on a weekday afternoon!) and B) while the stock was decent, they have sold a lot of guns and related items; the crowded cases seen in the video are crowded no more.  --Remember, new guns are arriving every week.

     The range is accessed via a hallway at the back of the store, where there is a staffed control/sign-in counter (and paperwork to fill out); from there, you pass through a (tight) sound lock and enter the range at one end.  Tam and I were on 12 and 11, just past halfway.
     There are electronically-controlled target carriers and plenty of countertop. (There is also a range officer, btw, something I was happy to see.)  I was able to try out my various new guns -- the little H&R .22 top-break has issues (they no go "bang" consistently), the H&A "Christmas gun" top-break revolver in .32 S&W works just fine (and makes a truly thunderous boom!), the Savage single-shot unrevolver is a treat (I need to center up the sights*) and the S&W K-22 Combat Masterpiece? ...wow...  Just wow. Fits my hand, DA is smooth as can be, and ka-pow! The bullets go right where I was aimin'.  Like my other two best .22 revolvers (High-Standard R101 and the Iver Johnson Sealed 8) -- and the Ruger Mk. II with Pac-Lite upper -- the mechanics of the gun run so well, they just get out of the way of the process of lining up the sights and pressing the trigger.  It truly is a joy to shoot; the lockwork is easily the smoothest of any .22 I own.

     This is "Team INGO's" home range, by the way.

     I will be back.
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* N.B.: Though I keep waiting for the first counter-example to show up, I have yet to own a handgun that didn't shoot to point of aim at 7 to 10 yards once the sights were mechanically centered.  If you consistently find yourself cranking the rear sight to one side or another, that's a sure sign you need to get some help with how you are shooting; or anyway, it was for me.

5 comments:

Tam said...

That Savage is just neat-o. :)

Anonymous said...

Might want to look at the 1895 Russian Nagant 7shot revolver that is seen in various gun adds. Cylinder moves forward and seals off the cylinder and barrel. Interesting revolver used by Russia until around 1930, cartridge is similar to 32-20 old loadings. Costs are around $100. and often comes with proper holster. Ammo varies in price I have found spam cans, 1038 rounds for $338. Wolf brand makes it as well IIRC. They are fun revolver and usually won't break the purse. I have had two and now down to one. Best regards, DAVE S.

Roberta X said...

Already own one -- possibly the nastiest double-action of any revolver. SA is merely scratchy and hard.

Mechanically they're as neat as can be, and for someone who needs a reliable handgun, they are a bargain; I'd buy a Nagant well ahead of any low-end "new" gun.

Mark Alger said...

A possibly naive question, but I have no idea of the answer: why are all the muzzles pointed at the customer?

M

Roberta X said...

"Bastid's got it comin'"? Er, no. Habit and tradition: the cabinets open from the back, clerk picks up gun, checks it, hands it to you (pointing down), you check it, get fingerprints and drool all over it and hand it back. He checks it and sticks it back in the cabinet pointing away from himself. And usually not right at the customer, either.

It is generally (as a practical matter) accepted that a firearm with nobody handling it is deemed safe.

OTOH, a gun store clerk who muzzle-sweeps me will see me skip back and say, "hey!" and it is likewise very bad practice to "paint" others while handling a firearm even if you have just checked it. --'Cos bad habits get people hurt.