In the Black!

FINALLY a satisfying day at the range. With my exceedingly tactical Stanley rolling toolbox.

I started out with the PSL/Romak III. I thought I had fixed the trigger spring problem, but it failed to cock itself after two pretty awful shots. So I put it away and got out the K31, and I shot this target at 50 yards with my Rock, Jr. rest.

I felt pretty good about that. The shots at the upper edge are PSL shots. I didn’t do great, but I was getting better. Turned out the scope was loose for a couple of those, but I wasn’t shooting well enough for it to matter.

Second bunch:

Much better. So I got cocky and moved to 100 yards.

Given my previous efforts, I was pretty happy. And I realized something. My trigger pull was most of the problem. A guy next to me was telling me I needed a rear bag to keep the gun on target, but the sights stuck to the red dot in the center of the bullseye like they had been nailed to it. So I worked on it, and things got better. So much better I sometimes thought I had missed the target entirely, because the pattern didn’t open up when I shot.

I am totally thrilled with these results. I had one flyer, but working on the trigger pull made a gigantic difference. Now I know what my big problem is, so I expect to improve a lot from here on out. And even now, I can shoot well enough to kill stuff.

I moved on to the pistol side. I missed the old days, when I shot better than I currently do, and I wondered if going from a Glock to a 1911 was the problem. So I shot my Glock 22, in .40 S&W. It really is easier to hang onto and shoot. First 25, at 7 yards:

I was actually happy with that, because while I wandered vertically, I started noticing and fixing things about my trigger pull. I seem to be flinching sometimes, from back in the wrist. It’s obviously not a bad flinch, but it’s something to work on. I shot another 25 rounds, and then I shot 25 with the SW1911, to see the difference. Trail Glades has a ridiculous rule that you can’t have more than one bullseye on a pistol target, so I decided to shoot a hole in the upper right area and use it as a second bullseye. Let’s see them make a rule against THAT.

My concentration went to hell on the last 25 because I was tired, and because one of the range officers dragged a bunch of noobs over to my area and started using me as a teaching example. Very flattering, but not great for my aim. Anyway, the first 10 or so shot well enough to convince me that the 1911 is more accurate for me.

Man, I feel better. Finally, some progress. I was starting to think I would never be able to shoot a scoped rifle. Now I have hope again. And I think the lesson I learned from the rifle is going to make a big difference in my pistol shooting. I really look forward to that.

Nice $350 scoped rifle, huh?