Bogieblog

Time Spent with WS's Family

Thanksgiving day WS and his brother set up a target so his brother D could use his Glock 17 for the first time (he’s had it several years). After we loaded the magazines, D offered the handgun to WS, who declined. D didn’t want to shoot first, so I was happy to do so. I shot a good grouping with the first 8 shots, then I offered it to D. H immediately got slide bit. I apologized to him as I has assumed that he had at least shot a handgun before and knew how to hold it so as not to get hit by the slide. I then showed him the technique that I use and he had a much better time.

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Friday we went for a drive and visited some people that wouldn’t be at the family event on Saturday. We were taken on the “scenic” route – in this case the scenery was of the windmill farms. Was told that there are somewhere around 500 windmills along the corridor that we visited. It was kind of cool to see. The pictures will give lie to the fact that everyone thinks that Kansas is totally flat. It was so un-flat that I could rarely get more than 3 or 4 windmills in a picture. We did top a bluff and I was able to get a good shot of dozens of the machines though.

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Saturday: A family get together (WS’s family) was held at a church function room. It was a pot luck lunch and there was lots of good food present (the Santa Fe Soup was one of the offerings). We also did family pictures, using personal digital cameras. A lot of the family that I have only met once (or never) was present as well as the immediate family that we always visit with.

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Sunday, WS’s sister and her boyfriend came over for more shooting fun. They brought with them a Hi-Point 995 rifle (an older model – not the newer type that has rails and all kinds of crap on it), a Ruger .22 and a BB. They were supposed to bring an LCP also (which we had gotten ammo for), but they somehow forgot it. Oh well, we all had fun with what was brought along with D’s Glock 17. We also had a new shooter, WD’s grandnephew, who is about 8 years old. He shot well, but needed reminding about safety rules a couple of times. He couldn’t handle the long stock of the Hi-Point (although as you can see by the picture, he tried), but there were enough other firearms there to keep him busy. It was a cold afternoon (lower 40’s, cloudy and windy), so after 90 minutes or so, everyone was ready to come in and get warm.

Early Monday morning we left for Kansas City, to return to our regular lives.

Concealment is a Good Thing

One last item from the wedding we attended up in Pittsburg, NH over the Fourth of July weekend. Friends that had been camping there during the week informed us that there were bears around. Not only that, but they didn't seem to be afraid of people. The evidence of the non-fear was bear scat left just in front of their tent - a sight they were greeted with as they got up one morning.

WS and I decided that it might be prudent to be prepared, so I took my Sig. I had it physically on me at all times (except while sleeping), but I think I concealed it pretty well;

 
So, you get to guess where it is at. There are a couple of tells, but they are subtle and unless you are looking for them, the average person would not even suspect that I was carrying. Of course, if any of the people from the 2A blogs show up here - they will probably get it right off. Fortunately for you lay-people, they don't frequent this site, so you get first crack at it.

As an aside - you can tell how much sun we hadn't had up to that point; I don't even have a tan yet in the pictures! My arms are much darker now.

Gribble Murder Trial Results

In October 2009, we were in Kansas to help Cop Car give her HH a surprise on the night of his receiving an award from the Red Cross. I took my laptop so I could check on what was happening in NH (and keep up with email). I was horrified when I read that Kimberly Cates and her daughter had been hacked to death with machetes (the first story I read said they both were dead - the daugher ended up surviving).

This happened in the small town of Mont Vernon. A town I passed thru every workday for 21 years. A small, sleepy town - one that people always think of as "safe". If this type of crime had happened in Nashua, Manchester, or Concord, I would not have been affected as deeply. But it didn't, it happened in a small town that is very much like the town we live in.

It was they story of this attack by a group of teenagers, in the dead of night, to kill anyone that was at the randomly picked home, that changed a portion of our lives. I decided right there and then that we needed a fast-access gun safe. Sure, we had a gun safe, but it is big (to hold granpa's shotgun and WS's Dad's old rifle) so it is in a less-used room, has a dial access, and is usually behind a bunch of stuff. It is neccessary to have both light and time to get to anything in that safe.

Shortly after we arrived back home, we obtained and installed a fast-access safe for the handguns. One that can be operated in the dark, in just a few seconds.

Anyway, the reason this comes to mind is that the ringleader, who admitted guilt but claimed insanity, has been found NOT insane by a jury. Good.

May it not be too long before his life sentence is over.

Teacup Hollywood Weaver

Caleb has a post that points out that most movie/TV charecters use incorrect grip when shooting a handgun. many people see the Teacup Hollywood Weaver stance and grip, and believe that is the way to shoot. He used the following picture of Jack Bauer (of 24 fame) to illustrate his terminology:

 

I have seen this at the range. Usually I see a modified version, where the offhand (in Jack's case, the left hand) is flat or just cupping (the thumb is not up toward the grip).

The last time we were at the range, a young man and his girlfriend were in the next lane. I noticed that her shots were all over the very large target. I also noticed she was only shooting a couple of shots, then he would shoot several (his shot placements weren't much better than hers - and they were shooting at 5 yards).

Once I had exhausted my turn at shooting and let WS have a turn, I stood back while reloading and got my chance to watch the young woman shoot. I noticed immediately that she was teacupping.

A short time later we were getting ready to leave and as I was waiting for WS to finish putting everything back into his range bag, I got a chance to talk to the young lady.

I told her that I had noticed her shooting and suggested modifying her grip. I demonstrated a two-handed grip (with an imaginary gun) and told her that would afford her better control.

She told me she shot better that way. “Yeah?” I questioned. She went on to explain that her first shot of her boyfriends 44-mag was way off the paper (don’t get me started on shooting a 44 for the first shots of her life) so she changed to teacup and at least hit the (very large) target.

It never dawned on her that she wasn't ready for the major kickback on the first shot, but was ready for it after that. I asked her to try the two-handed grip again.

Don't know if she took my advise, as we left just then. I hope that she got  took a class to give her a better introduction to handguns and shooting. I hope that she wasn't put off shooting as a result of shooting a large caliber handgun as a first experience. I hope that they both work at becoming more proficient and safe.

Maybe I/we will run into them at the range again at some point and get the answers to my questions. Guessing not, but it would be nice.

NH Scores 9

WooHoo! We have scored 9 points on the Brady list for lack of gun control laws (Maine is at 11 and Vermont at 8). Utah is at zero. California is at 79 points.

Hmm, last I checked, there was less gun deaths in those scoring lowest as to highest (NH is#8 lowest for % by population with a 6.1 versus 10.2 US average). Oh look, as of 2008, NH was the second lowest in murders at 50 (out of 51) versus California being a 12 (51 is lowest, 1 is highest on the scale). Also, last I checked, pointy objects were the cause of as many deaths as guns in NH (4 a piece with general beating deaths just behind at 3).

And don't believe their hype that there is no background check - everyone goes thru the instant background check as mandated by Federal law.

Anyway, just want to congratulate my state on giving the Brady Campaign heartburn by being in the top 10!

They Need to Work on Their Answers

This can't be right - there aren't any Sigs as a possibility and last time I held a 1911, I didn't like the way it felt in my hand.

What type of handgun are you? Your Result: Colt Model 1911A1 Designed by John Browning and adopted by the US military in 1911, the 1911 has spawned countless variants and is one of the most popular handguns of all time. Many experts consider the 1911 the epitome of fighting handgun design. It is most commonly chambered for the famous .45 ACP cartridge. Shown above is an Ed Brown Special Forces Model.
Smith and Wesson Model 686
Springfield XD .45
TC Encore
Glock 17
Luger P'08 and Variants
Heckler and Koch USP .40
FN M1900
Desert Eagle .50 Action Express
Kel Tec P3AT
What type of handgun are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Don't remember where I found this from, I saved the link during the week and just got to it.

Day at the Range

Ws and I went to the range yesterday to scare the heck out of some paper targets. We had 3 handguns with us; WS's XD(m), my Sig and a Glock 17 (which I have used before). I am getting used to the Glock as for competition, it will be better than my Sig for four reasons:

1. The Glock magazine can hold double the rounds than my Sig
2. The Glock is double action for every shot and the Sig is DA for the first shot and single action for the remainder. This is very important because in classes they make those with DA/SA de-cock at the end of shots, so every shot is DA. This takes time and is especially awkward if you are doing one-handed lefty drills.
3. The Glock 17 has a longer barrel than my Sig 239 - which tends to help with accuracy over longer shots.
4. Conversion kits to .22LR are available for Glocks that are fairly cheap. I can't get a conversion for the Sig model that I have (and even if I could, it costs an arm and a leg).

I set up two tagets side-by-side. Here are the pics.

   These are the first shots taken with the Sig (for those that care, the sillouettes are small targets not the large ones). I am very familiar with the Sig, so I figured my warm up shots should be on it first. All shots were taken at 5 yards and several went thru the big hole in the red area.

  Next I shot the Glock, which I have only used one other time. Obviously I'm not as comfortabel with that gun, most likely because it has a wider grip. The barrel is longer, which will help with accuracy in the long run.

  About an hour later (aren't you glad I'm not boring you with pics of all the distances and hand combos?), I picked up WS's XD(m) and threw a few rounds at a target. The ones in the red and a couple in the inner ring are from 5 yards under the same circumstances as the two targets above. The outer shots were from different distances or hand configurations. Since I shoot the XD(m) at every range outing, I am more familiar with this gun than the Glock. I shoot it well, I just don't like how it feels in my hand.

For the most part I was satisfied with my shooting yesterday. I was dismayed over one issue; the Glock had a hard time with some of the ammo. With ammo scarcity and prices, we bought a bunch of factory reloads, which we were using for the first time. The Glock could not get more than two shots in a row without a fail to feed or a fail to eject issue. Fortunately I had taken some other ammo in case of problems so after going thru less than 50 shots, I gave up and changed the Glock over to Blazer Brass, which it didn't have any problems with. Between them, the Sig and XD(m) pretty much ate up 500 round of the reloads with just 6 FF or FE (total).

So that was the day at the range - and a good time was had by all!

Torturing Sigs

Lissa pointed me to this article. Nice to know Sig's motto "To Hell and Back" isn't just a motto, but a reality. However, I don't plan on putting mine thru such a torture test, just pitting it against a bunch of paper targets this afternoon.

Dunbarton Steel Challenge

Yesterday we went to the Pioneer Sportsmans Club in Dunbarton, NH to the Steel Challenge. We got invited by a friend of a friend who is a memeber there, who was also working the meet. We didn't shoot, although we did take our gear with us, but the whole purpose of going was to see what it is all about.

It looks like a great deal of fun; shooting steel plate targets set at verying distances, in a specific pattern, all for time. Part of the fun is that you aren't looking for bullseyes, but go by sound - if the bullet hits the plate, you get a definite "plunk", so know that you hit. There were 5 stages at this meet; 4 with 5 plates to hit and 1 with 4 plates to hit.

I was surprised that some guys from Sig Sauer were there; not their "big" team, but representatives from the plant itself that travels to smaller shows, like this one, for publicity. Both WS and I got hats and pens, and I took a pic:

   All the guys in dark shirts are from Sig - including the guy up on the line. Sorry, didn't know if it was kosher to ask them to stand for pics, so went with one that didn't show faces and you can only see the partial "Sig" name on the shooters shirt.

Police Arms

I am training a woman to do my job. No, this isn’t a post about my job, but rather her husband’s job. Her husband is a Detective in Massachusetts (he has been a full time police officer of some sort for almost 20 years). She relayed a conversation that they had had a week or two ago.

It seems that the good Detective was at the police station and a lady came in to talk to him (don’t know in what capacity, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t as a suspect). She suddenly noticed the gun and holster on his hip. She asked him to remove it before she would talk to him. As you might have guessed, he declined the offer.

She then insisted that she was scared of guns and she would not talk to him unless he took it off.

Excuse me? I can’t imagine what must have gone thru his head. As the coworker was relaying the story, I was thinking things along these lines, “WTF, she’s talking to an on-duty policeman, in the police station, and she doesn’t expect a gun to be around? Does she think it will suddenly jump out of its holster and take over the place all by itself? Does she expect that if he takes it off, he will be less likely to shoot her? Does she think that regardless of where she is talking to a FREAKING policeman, that he should not have his weapon on him?”

When she found that no one in the station would comply with her request, she finally talked to the detective while he retained his sidearm.

That leads me to this story, brought to my attention by Jay, where the media is shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YA, that many Massachusetts police forces have semi-automatic weapons. OMG, we are all gonna die if they are not returned to the old ways at once (circa 1890 since semi’s & double-action revolvers have been used by law enforcement for a long time)! What in the heck can the cops be thinking - only the bad guys should have guns that can fire without having to manually load/chamber another round before the trigger can be pulled again?!?!

I’m sorry; I want every good guy (and gal) that is competent, ready, willing and able, to have a semi-auto gun or two available. It evens the playing field when the bad guys show up!