Not Really

I finally did what I should have done a long time ago. I bought a tarp so I could shoot semiautos in the pasture.

A semiautomatic firearm doesn’t just eject shells. It throws them. They can land a good ways off. That’s bad when you’re shooting in grass and you want to save your brass. I’ve been putting off shooting reloads because I didn’t want to lose anything.

I don’t know why I’m worried about brass. I had this idea that I was low on brass, and then I went in the garage to look for .45 reloads. It’s time to admit it. I have an illness. I have enough brass to start a bell factory. I still hate losing it, though, especially since I shoot by myself. I used to shoot at a public range where free brass was all over the ground. Now I have to buy it.

I still lost 10% of my brass, but that’s better than 93% or whatever.

Here’s what I learned from today’s shooting session: not practicing is BAD.

I used to shoot every pistol I have well enough to put just about every shot into an area roughly the size of a half dollar at 7 yards. Today things did not go that well. Here is the first target.

Disturbing. Doubleplusungood.

I worked on remembering the things I used to do. Tightened my grip. Aimed small. Avoided jerking. Tried to get a good and consistent sight picture. Thought about follow-through.

Every target was better than the last one, and I finally ended up with this.

I am not happy, but that’s better than the first one.

I had 5 shots go through one big hole, and then I must have changed something, because I got the other hole below it. And I’m pulling everything to the left. The shooter’s “Wheel of Misfortune” says my problem is “too little trigger finger,” but I think my fingers are average-sized.

Rimshot.

I’m pretty sure my rifle problems are different from my pistol problems, which makes you wonder if the Wheel of Misfortune is really the Big Giant Wheel of BS.

It could be that I’m just bad at getting a correctly aligned pistol sight picture.

Oh, man. I just realized I was focusing on the target, not the front sight. I can’t believe I did that. Rifles (and lack of practice) did that to me. When you shoot through a scope, the target is beautiful and sharp, and so is the reticle, so you naturally focus on the target.

I was using free Hornady hollow points that came with my loading press. I don’t know if they’re any good for self defense, and I don’t really care, because the odds that I will ever use a 1911 to protect myself are pretty low. They’re heavy, the bullets are slow, and the capacity is low. Even a compact Glock holds a lot more.

I know saying things like that makes 1911-lovers squeal. Hey, I have issues with Glocks, too. They look like little L-shaped cardboard boxes. But comparing a 1911 to a Glock–in a firefight–is like comparing a 1965 Corvette convertible to a new Porsche 911.

I know. I know. I would rather have the Corvette, too. The 911 is really just Hitler’s People’s Car with some body refinements and a better engine. But you wouldn’t want to race a 911 in an old Corvette.

Ordinarily, one would shoot cheap 100% lead bullets for practice, and I have a lot of those, but I truly don’t see any purpose in conserving Hornady hollow points. They won’t expand in a burglar, and I wouldn’t use them for that purpose to begin with, unless he attacked me during target practice.

I still feel funny about it.

I had forgotten how filthy the powder was. I think it’s Unique. Anyway, it’s so dirty the fingers on my right hand turned grey. I may actually have to clean a firearm; a practice I frown upon.

Is it nice shooting my own reloads in my backyard in a super-red county, into my own berm, while listening to Christian music on bluetooth headphones? You could say that.

Perhaps I should get a .22 pistol for practice. I need one anyway for hunting. It would allow me to shoot cheaply, and the path to excellence is practice.

The Ruger Mark IV looks very good, but it’s very expensive compared to the other gun I like: the S&W something or other. The Smith is light. It practically falls apart for cleaning. It comes with cute fiber optic sights. Not bad.

I want a Colt Woodsman, but I don’t like the idea of wearing one out on targets. A Woodsman is a classy gun. Too nice to ruin with Remington Golden Bullets.

You know how these questions tend to resolve themselves. “Which one should I get? Why not both?”

I’ve been looking at gun prices, and I realize I should have bought more weapons in the past. They keep going up in value. I probably should have gotten a Swedish Mauser when they were cheap, to learn how to use iron sights on a high-powered rifle without going broke. I keep seeing things I wanted to buy at $250 or $375, selling for $450 or $600.

It’s funny; you see a gun that used to sell for $150, selling for $200, and you feel like it’s too late to get one. Then a year later it’s $300, and it’s still a bargain.

I wonder which cheap-in-2018 gun I should be buying right now. Maybe the Smith. It’s extremely cheap, and it’s hard to see why. Under $400.

I plan to get the kinks out of my shooting, now that I have no excuse not to. I may need a bigger tarp. Whatever it takes. There is no way to explain away a failure to practice when you live on a gun range.

Tomorrow I may take the .204 Ruger out again. I got all 57 batteries charged up, and I believe I can cure my too-high-bipod problem with my shooting rest. I have a funny feeling that gun is going to be very, very accurate with factory ammunition, and when that ammunition is gone, I can reload it, and then I’ll have the best ammunition possible. All I need is a fat coyote that doesn’t move much.

I feel like apologizing to the world for letting my pistol skills deteriorate, but I think I can redeem myself.