Interesting Range in France

French Range on Top of A Mountain

While checking out Manfred's blog "Armes Et Tir Passion" I came across an interesting range in Nice, France. Shooters being somewhat ingenious by nature, when they wanted to set up a range, they took land that was available, but in this case it was on the top of a mountain. In fact, possibley the highest mountain in the vicinity, judging by the antenna tower on the top of the mountain along side of the range.

Now my French is limited to ""Chevrolet" and "Rendezvous" and I barely speak English, speaking American instead, but it was interesting cruising around their site looking at the pictures. The main page has a slide show part way down the page with a lot more pictures of their facility.

....... and they shoot pins, too!

Wrens in the Carport

FEED ME ! ! !

In a previous post I mentioned that I had discovered a wren's nest in the carport in a cardboard box stacked next to the garbage can, and underneath several other boxes. I was afraid that I might have disturbed it when I moved a couple of the boxes. I put everything back as close to "As Was" as possible, and crossed my fingers that momma bird would return, as there were several small pinkish eggs in the nest.

I checked today and sure enough, the eggs have hatched and there are now at least three little wren chicks in the nest, maybe more. I can't get very close to the nest to take a good picture, but I did the best I could.

I know that they mature really quickly, but I wonder how long it takes from hatching to being able to fly for wrens. Anybody know?

Natchez Shooter's Supply To Sponsor GBR-II

I have just received word from Natchez Shooter's Supply that they will be generously supporting this year's Gun Blogger Rendezvous through the donation of gift certificates, and possibly some hats and shirts.

Natchez is another company with whom I have dealt with in the past, and have always found them to be courteous and helpful. If you don't have a Natchez catalog, give them a call at 1-800-251-7839 and get one on the way. They have a huge amount of stuff, and while you're at it, thank them for their support of ther Gun Blogger Rendezvous. It never hurts to say "Thanks!"

The Rendezvous greatly appreciates their generous support! Thanks, guys!!

Washington Legislative Report - Wrap Up

I just concluded the final Olympia Lawmakers/Bloggers Conference Call for this session of Washington state legislature, and it was a bit depressing. With the Republicans outnumbered roughly two to one, it was just about impossible for any Republican ideas to make any headway at all.

At the start of the session, the Republicans identified four main categories of legislation that needed some action; Tax Relief and Spending restraint, Transportation, Health care, and Education.

Tax Relief: No tax reform legislation passed. Legislation to establish property tax growth as had been approved by the voters but overturned in court was not allowed to even be voted upon.

Spending Restraint: The new budget will not only wipe out the 2 billion dollar surplus, it will put us roughly 2 billion dollars in debt, and not one penny of the surplus will be returned to the taxpayers. Voted in the largest budget increase in history for this state.

Transportation: No legislation to resolve the Alaskan Way Viaduct problem in Seattle, although they DID talk about it a bit. Voted to borrow a lot more money to pay for cost over-runs on current transportation projects.

Education: They voted to spend more money on the State Colleges, while still allowing in-state tuition for illegal aliens. We now have a standardized curriculum for sex education for our schools, although there is no standardized curriculum for math, English, history, or any other subject. No action was taken on standardized testing in K through 12 education to see if the students are actually learning anything, but a study group was formed to study the issue. I believe this is the 18th. study group to address this issue.......

And finally, a Global Climate Change Task Force was created by this year's legislature. Perhaps they should just pass a law outlawing global climate change?

Was there any good news? Not very much. The law to restrict private gun sales at gun shows died in committee, which is good, but it should have never been in the legislature in the first place.

It must be incredibly frustrating to be a Republican legislator in this state............

e-Postal Match #2 - "GOLF"

Azreel at Freespiritmind is known for his creative and often difficult target designs in the e-Postal matches, and this month's e-Postal match lives up to his reputation.

There are lots of different classes, and it involves both off-hand and supported shooting modes to give you plenty of challenge. There are no limits to the number of shots you can take, but you have to hit the hole, just like golf. Oh, there are also penalties assessed for hitting sand traps, going out of bounds, and hitting the water hazard, too!

Here's the link to the post with the rules, and the link to download the target is also there in the post.

F O R E ! ! ! !

Idol Gives Back - My Thoughts

I watched the American Idol "Idol Gives Back" telethon last night, and I commend them on their concern with the death and poverty in Africa. Unfortunately, they missed the point by a mile when they skipped/overlooked/ignored the real root causes of the problems in Africa, and failed to address those problems. Now don't get me wrong, any humanitarian efforts to help these people that can actually have an effect should be done, if at all possible and feasible.

Lets take a quick look at the three main issues; malaria, AIDS, and poverty. Malaria, as we all know, is transmitted by mosquitoes. Kill off the mosquitoes carrying the disease, and malaria pretty much disappears. There are two basic actions to get rid of the mosquitoes, pesticides, and draining the swampy areas that are the mosquito breeding grounds. Draining swamps often requires heavy equipment, not always available in the African outback. Spraying with pesticides, however, can be done easily, cheaply, and effectively, using DDT. According to Africa Fighting Malaria's website, only two countries in Africa are using DDT to control malaria, South Africa and Zambia, and both are having spectacular results.

From AfricaFightingMalaria's website:

"But international political pressure against DDT deployment is undermining wider use. There is even a United Nations treaty--the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants--which restricts DDT production, trade, and use, making it more expensive. In effect, disease control is being sacrificed for the sake of an international environmentalist agenda. Worse still, aid agencies, especially the U.S. Agency for International Development, have pressured countries not to use DDT, implicitly conditioning even non-malarial aid on halting DDT use."

"Environmental ideology ought not to be driving malaria control strategies. Developing countries need to be able to use technologies that are appropriate to their levels of development. The anti-DDT eco-imperialism actively pursued by the WHO, the Global Fund, and USAID shuts off a number of development options for these countries, keeping them poor and unhealthy."

You should go read the entire article on their site. You will come away with a completely different view of the malaria problem in Africa. Idol Gives Back wants to send them medicine for treating malaria once they have contracted it, and mosquito netting to keep them from getting bit by the mosquitoes. Netting won't keep you from getting bit, it just reduces the number of times you DO get bit. Just about anyone from Alaska can tell you that.

AIDS is killing millions in Africa. I suspect very few of those got AIDS from shooting up with dirty hypodermic needles. That leaves one other method of getting AIDS. Idol Give Back could buy a lot of condoms with all that money they collected last night. Will they buy any at all? I have my doubts, but we'll see....

Lastly, poverty. This is almost entirely the fault of the governments of the individual countries. When you start out with huge natural resources as Africa has, you almost have to work at it to fail and remain a third world country. Even if you have very little for natural resources, you can still have a high standard of living, as Japan has so clearly shown.

Have you noticed that there don't seem to be very many communist governed countries that have a high standard of living? Not too common under iron fist dictatorships, either. For the most part, the keys to economic success and a high standard of living seems to be capitalism and basic freedoms, as then there is an incentive for people to figure out a way to succeed.

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the Idol Gives Back telethon will do a little bit to help a relatively small number of people currently suffering and dying in Africa, but by not addressing the root problems, there will be little change in the grand scheme of things, which is a shame, as their efforts are certainly well-intended........

High Five Target

Since I turned in a "High Fives" e-Postal Match score of 98, I figured I better post a picture of it so you'all would believe me! Now, hitting the 1/2" center with a .22 with a red dot sight from a bench rest at 27 feet isn't all that hard, primarily it's a matter of not rushing what you are doing and let the gun do it's job. Offhand, however, is another story. This was an amazingly lucky target. I doubt I could match it again in ten tries!

I fired three or four shots from the bench, and a couple off-hand just to loosen up, then shot the target. This was my first try at the target, and as I said, a whole lot of luck went into this one. Sometimes things just fall into place and you shoot better than you really can shoot.

Where was that luck last weekend at the pin shoot when I couldn't have hit the berm with a shovel?

High Five Target

Since I turned in a "High Fives" e-Postal Match score of 98, I figured I better post a picture of it so you'all would believe me! Now, hitting the 1/2" center with a .22 with a red dot sight from a bench rest at 27 feet isn't all that hard, primarily it's a matter of not rushing what you are doing and let the gun do it's job. Offhand, however, is another story. This was an amazingly lucky target. I doubt I could match it again in ten tries!

I fired three or four shots from the bench, and a couple off-hand just to loosen up, then shot the target. This was my first try at the target, and as I said, a whole lot of luck went into this one. Sometimes things just fall into place and you shoot better than you really can shoot.

Where was that luck last weekend at the pin shoot when I couldn't have hit the berm with a shovel?

Gun Blogger Rendezvous Reservations Info

Things are cruising right along in preparation for this year's Rendezvous. We have now received the group code from Circus Circus so you can book your rooms and get the discount group rates. This year we set it up so you can get special rates for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Several folks last year didn't head home until Monday, so the Sunday night rate will prove handy this year.

The room rates for Thursday, October 11th., and Sunday, October 14th. are $49 per night. The rate for Friday October 12th., and Saturday, October 13th. are $89 per night. All room rates also have an additional tax added to the price. Included in the room rate is free wireless internet (usually an extra $10 per day) and a package of coupons for some freebies and discounts. The room rate also covers the hospitality rooms for us for all four nights, so we have a common meeting location for our group.

To book your accommodations, telephone Circus Circus reservations at 1-800-648-5010 and give them the group code of

IGUN07

If you have any problem with getting your room reserved, let me know, but you shouldn't have any trouble. JimmyB, The Conservative UAW Guy has already got his reservations in and it went smoothly.

When you get your reservations in, please send me an email at

b l o g (at) w h i d b e y (dot) c o m

And let me know so I can put your name on the list, and get you mentioned on the blog as planning to attend.

You will also need to register each person attending the Rendezvous to cover the Saturday dinner. I will have the Rendezvous registration information posted in a few days.

As last year, any money raised by the Rendezvous beyond immediate expenses will go to help others in need. Last year we helped Dan McKown.

Remember, the Gun Blogger Rendezvous is not just for Gun and Mil Bloggers. Anyone with interest in shooting sports, blog readers, and anyone else who would like to meet and hang out with a bunch of right wing gun totin' wackos bloggers with similar interests, go for it! We'd love to see you there.

Keep checking in for more information as it becomes available.

e-Postal Match "High Fives" Results

Class I - Rimfire Iron Sight

	Name	Score	Caliber	Handgun Type
1	Ahab	93	.22WMR	EAA Bounty Hunter
2	CrebralFix	93	.22	Ruger 22/45
3	Ahab	91	.22	Walther P22
4	Mr. Completely	89	.22	High Standard SC 106
5	Kim DuToit	85	.22	Colt Officer's Match Rev.
6	US Citizen	84	.22	Ruger MK-III
7	Davebo	76	.22	Ruger MK-II
8	Fodder	75	.22	Colt SAFrontier Scout
9	Mr. Completely	65	.22	JC Higgins Mod 88 Rev.
10	Merle	59	.22Mag	Ruger SSS 9 1/2"
11	US Citizen	51	.22	Ruger MK-I
12	Davebo	41	.22	Ruger MK-I

Class II - Rimfire Optic Sight

1	Mr. Completely	98	.22	High Standard SC 106
2	JimmyB	94	.22	Ruger MK-II
3	KeeWee	87	.22	High Standard SK 103
4	US Citizen	78	.22	Smith & Wesson 22A
5	Merle	60	.22	Ruger MK-II

Class III - Centerfire Iron Sight

1	Ahab	86	.38	Ruger GP 100
2	Sailor Curt	84	.45ACP	Ruger P97
3	Ahab	83	.38	Taurus Tracker
4	Ahab	81	.32ACP	1935 Beretta
5	Kim DuToit	75	.45ACP	Springfield 1911
6	US Citizen	74	.45ACP	Kimber Pro Carry
7	JimmyB	64	.45ACP	Norinco 1911
8	Fodder	63	.45ACP	Colt 1911A1
9	JimmyB	50	9mm	Glock 19
10	Merle	40	38/200	Enfield No. 2 Mk. I
11	Merle	39	.45ACP	Colt Combat Commander
12	Merle	30	9mm.	Walther P38
13	Merle	22	9mm.	FN Lightweight Hi Power
14	Merle	19	7.62x25	CZ-52

Class IV - Centerfire Optic Sight

1	JimmyB	85	.45ACP	Colt Series 80 Gold Cup 1911
2	Mr. Completely	84	.38	Taurus 66 Revolver
3	Mr. Completely	78	.480	Ruger Super Red Hawk
4	Mr. Completely	65	9mm.	Taurus PT-92

---

All Entries by Score

1	Mr. Completely	98	.22	High Standard SC 106
2	JimmyB	94	.22	Ruger MK-II
3	Ahab	93	.22WMR	EAA Bounty Hunter
4	CrebralFix	93	.22	Ruger 22/45
5	Ahab	91	.22	Walther P22
6	Mr. Completely	89	.22	High Standard SC 106
7	KeeWee	87	.22	High Standard SK103
8	Ahab	86	.38	Ruger GP 100
9	Kim DuToit	85	.22	Colt Officer's Match Rev.
10	JimmyB	85	.45ACP	Colt Series 80 Gold Cup 1911
11	US Citizen	84	.22	Ruger MK-III
12	Sailor Curt	84	.45ACP	Ruger P97
13	Mr. Completely	84	.38	Taurus 66 Revolver
14	Ahab	83	.38	Taurus Tracker
15	Ahab	81	.32ACP	1935 Beretta
16	US Citizen	78	.22	Smith & Wesson 22A
17	Mr. Completely	78	.480	Ruger Super Red Hawk
18	Davebo	76	.22	Ruger MK-II
19	Fodder	75	.22	Colt SAFrontier Scout
20	Kim DuToit	75	.45ACP	Springfield 1911
22	US Citizen	74	.45ACP	Kimber Pro Carry
23	Mr. Completely	65	.22	JC Higgins Model 88 Rev.
24	Mr. Completely	65	9mm.	Taurus PT-92
25	JimmyB	64	.45ACP	Norinco 1911
26	Fodder	63	.45ACP	Colt 1911A1
27	Merle	60	.22	Ruger MK-II
28	Merle	59	.22Mag	Ruger SSS 9 1/2"
29	US Citizen	51	.22	Ruger MK-I
30	JimmyB	50	9mm	Glock 19
31	Davebo	41	.22	Ruger MK-I
32	Merle	40	38/200	Enfield No. 2 Mk. I
33	Merle	39	.45ACP	Colt Combat Commander
34	Merle	30	9mm.	Walther P38
35	Merle	22	9mm.	FN Lightweight Hi Power
36	Merle	19	7.62x25	CZ-52

---

The entries are now in and the scores are entered, and here's the results of "High Fives", the first e-Postal handgun match of the year. We had a great turnout for the first match of the season. We had a lot of very close scores, and the Rimfire Iron Sight class ended up tied between Ahab and Crebralfix, each with 93 out of 100. The tie was broken by going to the highest score for each shooter's worst five shots, and it was still almost a tie, but Ahab squeaked out the win by only one point on the tie breaker! That's close,

If winning was based on who has the most fun, and if who ever shoots the most and enters the most has the most fun, then Merle is clearly the winner, but Ahab wasn't far behind!

Scanning down the list of handguns used, you see there was a wide variety, it looks like a little bit of everything got dragged out of the safe for some limbering up! That's what these matches are all about. Bring out all of those guns you haven't shot for a while, head out to the range, and have some fun. There's no money on the line, just the pure enjoyment of sending a little (or a LOT) of lead down range.

Special credit goes to JimmyB for how well he shot, considering he had to shoot with his back to the target and wear a bucket over his head while shooting........

We also want to welcome new e-Postal match shooters Davebo, and Kim DuToit. Glad you guys got the chance to shoot some entries, it sounds like you had a good time.

The number of excuses submitted this match was exceptional, and I'll share some of the best ones in a future post for everyone's enjoyment. Some were brilliant!

Thanks to everyone who entered. The next match will be announced shortly.

Stay tuned!!

CWSA PIN Shoot 04/21/2007

When KeeWee and I headed out the door to drive to the Central Whidbey Sportsman's range for the bowling pin shoot, the weather was kinda gray and not too promising, but as the day wore on, it steadily improved.

I decided to shoot several classes; Centerfire Optic, Revolver, Big Bore Revolver, Rimfire Optic (two guns entered) and Rimfire iron sight. Needless to say, I was kept pretty busy reloading magazines and getting gear ready to go for the next class.

Some shooters came down from Custer, too, so it was a multi-club meet. We all shot four tables of pins against the clock, and our slowest time was thrown out. Our first round opponent was determined by our times. Gerald from Custer set a new CWSA record on one table with a time of 2.47 seconds! WOW, that's fast! His combined time for three tables was under 8 seconds.

Here's a video of Gerald shooting a sub-three second qualifying table:




He's not only hitting them quickly, he's hitting every one in exactly the same place. It's amazing to watch.

Once the qualifying times were added up, it turned out that Gerald with his 38 Super had posted the fastest time, and his time with his .45 was second. Unless someone would to switch with him, he would have to retire one of his guns and not get to shoot it in the match. No one wanted to meet Gerald in the first round, particularly as fast as he shoots, as it would be just about guaranteed that you would be knocked out in the first round.

I had qualified down around 5th or 6th, with a 13.39 second total time, with my 9mm. Taurus Econo Race Gun. I have always enjoyed shooting against Gerald, although the results were usually the same every time. None the less, it's always fun to go up against the "Big Dog", so I volunteered to shoot against Gerald and his 38 Super in the first round. He had driven a long ways to get to our match, and it would be a shame not to get to shoot both of his guns.

Gerald on the left, with Mr. C. on the right, LouG running the timer.

The first table I shot absolutely the fastest centerfire time of my life, 5 pins, 5 shots, and not much over 3 seconds. WHAT FUN! Did I lose the table, well, yeah, but not by very much! Had Gerald knocked just one pin over and required a second shot I would have got him! WHOOOEEEEE!

The second table was also close, as you can see in KeeWee's picture above. It was also very close. Unfortunately I was now knocked out of the Centerfire Optic class, since it's a single elimination format.

Revolver class was a similar outcome. Evil Al pretty much dominates the revolver class the way Gerald does in centerfire. No one wants to shoot against Al in the first round, so sometimes other shooters don't shoot quite as good of qualifying times as maybe they could have done (was that tactful?) so they get to shoot against slower shooters in the early rounds. Even though I shoot my revolver single action, I still ended up with the second fastest qualifying time and got to shoot against Al in the first round. I shot the best I could, but Al was just a bit too fast for me. I didn't get clobbered, but I wasn't close to winning, either!

We only had two big bore revolvers on hand, so LouG and I duked it out three out of five just for the fun of it. Lou with his S&W .44 Magnum, and I with my Ruger Super Red Hawk .480. It turned out to be the only tables I won all day......

Rimfire Optic sight pin top class only had four shooters, five entries since I entered two guns, my long barreled High Standard, and a S&W model 422. By now it had been a long day, and most of the other shooters had gone home. KeeWee beat Lou, Al beat me twice (I couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a 2x4, ugly, very ugly.....), which put KeeWee against Al in the final. Although Al won the final, KeeWee was right there, and wasn't far away from the win. It was close.

It was a long day, and on paper I didn't do very well overall, but for a very brief time I was shooting almost on a level with Gerald, and that was great fun!

Big Shootin' Weekend

Shootin' season is now upon us, and this weekend KeeWee and I are off to the CWSA range on Saturday for a bowling pin shoot. Sunday we're back to CWSA again for a hanging plate match, unless it's pouring down rain, then it will be a falling plate match instead, so we can stay under the shelters on the pin range. Either way, we've got lots of shootin' in store this weekend!!

Full reports when we get back..............

Squirrely Visitor

We looked out the den window this morning and there, trying to figure out how to get to the bird feeder, was this squirrel. We see chipmunks every so often, but squirrels are much less common. I watched him for about ten minutes until he finally gave up and scampered off.

You just never know what you are going to see in the yard!

Iraq Patton Doctrine

This one's for Rivrdog!



Thanks to MaryS for the heads-up!

Smith & Wesson Model 22A

Now that my BAG Day purchase has arrived, and I've had a chance to play with it a bit, I figure it's about time to get a post up on it.

Smith & Wesson Model 22A .22 Caliber Semi-Automatic Pistol.

I ordered the model with the 7" barrel. A full length sight rail is standard, along with target sights. There are not very many cross slots machined in the sight rail, so mounting a red dot sight may require having one additional slot machined in the rail. I machined the slot with a milling machine, then re-blackened the aluminum with Brownell's Aluma-black, which did the job and kept it from looking like a "Bubba Job."

The barrel is removable with the push of a button, almost exactly the same as on the later push button take-down High Standards. It works well.

Barrel removal push button.

The slide and barrel are steel, and the frame appears to be an aluminum casting. The model 22S is very similar to the 22A, but the frame is stainless steel, rather than aluminum. The rubber grip feels a little boxy in your hand, but not bad at all. The adjustable rear target sight is better than average.

Field stripping the 22A is easy, so regular cleaning doesn't require a lot of fooling around to get it back together. To strip it, you remove the magazine, lock the slide back and verify the chamber is empty, push the barrel retention button, lift the front of the barrel a few inches, and lift it off the frame. The slide and spring can then be lifted off, and you are ready for cleaning. Reassembly is also straight-forward. Reinstall the slide and spring. There is a small hook on the bottom rear of the sight rail that engages the top of the frame near the rear of the slide. Hook that into place, then lower the barrel down, push in the barrel retention button, and lower the barrel the rest of the way onto the frame. If it's fully seated, the barrel retention button should be back out to it's normal position. Release the slide and let it drop against the barrel a couple of times to be sure everything is seated, and you're finished!

Magazine release button in the front of the grip.

The magazine release location is somewhat unusual. It's in the front of the grip, the same as on the Models 622, 422, and 22S. Once I got used to the location, I really started to like it, as it's easy to find with the tip of your middle finger, and you can push the button without releasing much of your grip. When you push in a magazine, it pushes against a spring loaded pin that allows the disconnector to engage the sear. When the magazine is out of the gun, this makes it unable to fire. A side benefit of this is that when you push the mag release, the spring loaded pin launches the magazine out of the frame very nicely.

One of the first things I did was take it apart, look inside, and see what I could do to improve it. Mass produced products in the lower price ranges often don't have the fit and finish one would expect from a more expensive product, but that doesn't keep you from doing a little polishing and fitting yourself. Sometimes the results can be amazing from just a little attention to detail, making a pistol have a completely different nature and feel.

A rough (pun intended) rule of thumb is that there isn't much inside a pistol that works better rough rather than smooth, particularly with parts that slide against each other. There are places where sharp edges are important, such as the hammer and sear, so don't go rounding stuff off unless you know what you are doing. In fact, if you aren't pretty sure of what you are doing, talk to a gunsmith before doing anything. You should also keep in mind that any polishing you do may, and probably will, void any warrantee, and the factory will probably refuse to work on it if it needs repair.

While I had the 22A apart I smoothed up a lot of sliding contact areas. I also did a bit of trigger work to get the trigger pull down a bit. The hammer, hammer strut, and hammer strut spring can be a pain to re-install unless you have some sort of a strut spring compressor tool. I would recommend not removing those parts unless absolutely necessary.

After I got it all reassembled, I headed to the range to see how it shoots. The 22A has a reputation for being picky as to ammo, so I brought a good assortment of brands to try. I discovered that 22A's do not like hollow points, or more specifically, any squared off bullet nose, as it will catch in the little square holes in the front of the magazine where the magazine retention button engages the magazine, and the bullet will not come up past that point. It usually seemed to happen most often when you start with a full magazine, and after the first round was fired, the stack would fail to feed from there. If you load only eight or nine rounds, it seemed to feed OK, but would still jam once in a while. I tried it with five different magazines and they all had the same problem.

More rounded nose bullets, such as CCI Blazers, Mini-Mags, and CCI Standard Velocity all worked well, with the Mini-Mags and CCI Standard Velocity ammo working the best of what I tested.

Magazine retention button engagement holes in the magazine.

As you can see in the picture, the more squared off bullets like the two on the left gave most of the feeding problems. The one on the right gave no problem at all. Ideally you want a long taper on the nose of the bullet with a small diameter radius on the tip.

Regular jamming in the magazine with the two on the left.

Once I figured out the ammo, I could get down to some shooting. The stock trigger wasn't all that bad, but it did respond to a little bit of a trigger job. Accuracy was decent, and far better than just about all of the shooters out there. In close to 500 rounds of ammo fired, there was not a single stove-pipe. If it chambered it, it fired it, and it ejected the casing without problem.

The Smith & Wesson Model 22A is a very reasonably priced .22 pistol, and it gives you a lot for your money. A little investment of time and gunsmithing expertise can make it noticeably better, without having to by any aftermarket parts. The red dot scope makes a nice addition, particularly for those of us without eyes like eagles, and the feel and balance with the red dot in place is good.

With the exception of the hollow point magazine feeding problem, I was very satisfied with the 22A, and would recommend it as a good plinker/club level match pistol for anyone. It is one of the least expensive .22 auto pistols on the market, and gives you a lot of value for the money.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced .22 pistol, you should definitely give the 22A a hard look. It might be just what you're looking for......

e-Postal Match "High Fives" Reminder

Midnight Monday night, April 23rd. is the close of the first e-Postal Handgun match of 2007. So far only one shooter has submitted entries, excluding myself. This is the last weekend for you to get your entries shot and entered, so when you head out to the range this weekend (you ARE going to the range this weekend, aren't you?) be sure to take along a stack of High Fives targets and as many handguns as you can pack with you!

To get the rules and download the targets, click this:

e-Postal Handgun Match "High Fives"

Have fun!!

Virginia Tech Massacre

Our prayers and condolences go out to the families in Virginia, right now. It's a terrible tragedy.

As there are lots of folks out there in the blogosphere analyzing yesterday's shooting, I'm not going to go over all the same ground. I do, however, have a couple of observations.

1. If gun control laws actually worked, this would not have happened.

2. We are now hearing the same old arguments for tighter gun control laws. If they would only remove the word "gun" from their arguments and substitute "Student Visa" they'd have a lot stronger argument.

3. A bill authorizing concealed carry in Virginia just died in committee in the Virginia legislature. How ironic.

4. It's easy to second guess the campus cops. Wait until the facts are in first.

KRRC Fun Steel Match - 04/14/2007

5:30am comes awfully early for someone who's a night person to start with, but when the alarm went off I dragged myself out of bed and made an attempt to become one of the living. Not exactly 100% successful, but I did the best I could! Anyhow, if I was going to catch the 7:15 ferry from Whidbey Island over to Port Townsend, and make it to the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club's monthly Fun Steel match, it had to be done.

I loaded up the guns, gear, and coffee, and headed out the door for the ferry dock, a 20 minute drive away. The ferries often have more cars waiting than what the boat will carry, so you have to be there at least 30 minutes early, sometimes even earlier. I managed to get on the 7:15 boat, and 30 minutes later drove off the boat into Port Townsend. From there I drove South, then headed back East across the Hood Canal Floating bridge to get to the Kitsap Peninsula. From there it was perhaps another 30 minutes to the KRRC range, near Bremerton, Washington. I arrived at the range just about 9am, as planned.

JohnD, our Match Director, loading some magazines.

Shortly after I arrived I met JohnD, the match director, whom I had met last year here at the KRRC range. We got signed up, had a shooter's meeting, and split up into two squads. Our squad consisted of JohnD, JohnM, and myself, but since each of us were shooting two classes, in effect we had a squad of six shooters. One squad started on stage one, and we started on stage four. The stages were all unique, and none were hard to shoot, if you shoot slowly, but of course this match is scored on time, so the stages got a bunch harder when you hurry. There were a total of six stages, and you shot each stage five times against the clock ,with your slowest time thrown out. That means I shot each stage five times with my High Standard .22, then five more times with the Taurus PT92 9mm. Econo Race Gun. Total runs came to sixty for me for the day. That's a fair amount of shooting!

Stage four (?), put one shot on each target as fast as you can!

As we walked to the far end of the lower range area, it was raining lightly, but as we started shooting the rain stopped, and the weather started getting better. Even the sun was starting to peek through. By stage five it was getting downright pleasant, and by stage six jackets were taken off.

On this stage you have to shoot each round target twice, and the square one once, in whatever order you prefer.

By now the weather was getting downright balmy, and it was T-Shirt weather. As we walked from stages 4, 5, and 6 to the upper range area for stages 1, 2, and 3, we passed the parking lot, so I dropped off my heavy jacket, since I didn't figure I needed it. BIG MISTAKE!

Hit any five rimfire, or knock over any five for centerfire. This is a regular falling plate rack.

Once we got set up and underway on stage one, the blue sky disappeared, the clouds turned dark, and it began to rain. Everyone, and everything, got drenched. Shooting a red dot sight with water running down the glass is a challenge, to say the least! Everything got wet and slippery. I went to pick up the plastic ammo box with my rimfire ammo and magazines inside, and the oil on it mixed with the water made it slippery, and it slipped out of my hand, dumping my magazines and ammo into the mud and sand. OH JOY! I cleaned up everything as best as possible, and we sloshed our way through the final two stages. Just as we finished the final stage, the rain let up and turned into a light drizzle.

Range box and gun case, covered in mud and water.
(Click for enbigalizing)

I loaded everything back into the van, Grabbed a cup of coffee from the thermos, and turned on the heater to dry out a bit. JohnD, DebbieK, and I headed down to the 19th. Hole pub (must be a golf course nearby?) to add up the scores and get something to eat.

We had a chance to visit, swap stories, and just have a pleasant "wind-down" period. What a great way to wind up a match!

As the saying goes, "Time, tide, and the Washington State Ferries wait for no man" so I climbed into the van and re-traced my patch North up the Kitsap peninsula, West across the Hood Canal bridge, and North to Port Townsend. I arrived at the ferry dock a half an hour before the 5:15 boat, but it was already full, so I had to sit in the van until 6:45 for the next ferry. Bummer!

Eventually I did manage to get back onto Whidbey Island and home.

But wait, I have a case full of water-logged guns to clean. Again, OH JOY! I filled a plastic pan with Hoppe's and submerged and sloshed all the magazines to displace to water. I field stripped the pistols and gave then a good cleaning and oiling. by then my eyes were starting to cross from fatigue, so I took a hot shower and hit the sack.

Went out like a light.......

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

I'm not nearly as rabid about flowers and gardening as KeeWee, but I do appreciate all the colors and landscaping that gets done. Here in Western Washington, and specifically the Skagit river valley North of Seattle, is world famous for tulips. LOTS of tulips, millions and zillions of tulips in colors and shapes you've never seen before.

Every Spring the local growers put on a tulip festival, and KeeWee spent the day checking it out a couple of days ago.

She brought back 87 pictures, and a bunch of tulip catalogs. It's going to take several posts to show the best pictures from her tulip trip, but you can see the first post and some of the pictures here.

April 15th = Buy a Gun (BAG) Day

Smith &Wesson Model 22A with the 7" Barrel.

April 15, notorious for other reasons, also has a good side, as currently being promoted by Cowboy Blob. The idea is that on April 15th. you should go out and buy yourself a gun. Not a bad idea, provided you continue to buy the guns you normally would have purchased anyway. For pete's sake don't hold off your purchase until the 15th., though! BUY ANOTHER GUN just to celebrate BAG day!

If anyone asks, "Why are you buying ANOTHER GUN?", the best reply I've ever heard is "Because I can!". Think about that for a moment. Consider just how many places in the world there are that you CAN'T go out and buy a gun.

My BAG day purchase (it should arrive just about on the 15th.) is a brand new Smith & Wesson Model 22A .22 caliber pistol with a 7" barrel, along with five magazines. I have been working with several new shooters, and they have been looking around for a good mid-priced .22 to use in pin and plate matches. The basic parameters I was looking for were as follows:

7" Barrel
Weaver type sight rail for red dot sight mounting
Iron sights
Ease of disassembly for cleaning
Parts Availability
Price under $400 with four magazines.

There are a lot of good .22 pistols out there with decent reliability and accuracy, but after doing some research, it narrowed down to the Browning Buckmark Hunter and the Smith & Wesson 22A. Both designs draw heavily on the High Standard design, which, of course, traces back to the original Browning .22 auto pistol. Removal of the barrel on the Buckmark requires removing two allen screws holding the sight rail. Field stripping the 22A requires only pushing the barrel retaining button, lifting off the barrel, and removing the slide. With a little polishing and tuning, either the Buckmark or the 22A should fill the bill nicely as an entry level/mid-level rimfire race gun.
After I get a chance to break it in and dial it in a bit, I'll get a post up on how it turns out.......