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My first Long Range .22 match of the year is Wednesday. They had one already, but I couldn’t go. The weather has this one in doubt already, though. Believe it or not, four bricks of my favored ammo came maybe ten days ago. I got an In-Stock notice, ordered, and after two weeks or so, there it was. I couldn’t find any early last year before things went nuts.

Colt once made a finely crafted gun...is that still the case? I had to hand fit the safety on my latest Colt, it wasn't right from the factory. Shoots great now, but I was disappointed. .38 Super Competition model.

do you still have this press lyman spar t never mind i read the comments dates sorry to bother you. my ram is worn and doesn't always line up to the dies.

I wish they would make it with the same beautiful bluing the Python had.

https://www.ammoland.com/2021/03/colt-reintroduces-the-44-magnum-anaconda-revolver/#axzz6q0ZRgDBE

It’s been nearly three years since I’ve given an AUG update. Nothing new to report. The pace of use has slowed down quite a bit. I’ve gotten sloppy with my round count notebook, but in pretty sure it’s at almost 12,000. I used it last weekend in a carbine class, tromping around in the snow. No malfunctions, bobbles, or errors. I had one magazine change that looked like a was missing all my fingers, but that wasn’t the rifle’s fault.

I never thought about that. I did all my trap shooting in the summer months. I bet with the importance of pull length, that is an issue. And if I know trap shooters, some have stocks for summer, stocks for winter, and stocks for spring and fall. And all are adjustable within the confines of their intended season. The class went pretty well. It was a first-time experiment for the instructor, having changed the lesson plan from a two-day class to single day after getting beat up by people saying a two-day class was too hard to commit to. Naturally, he caught grief for not spreading things out over two days. I’ve known the instructor for a while, but have only taken classes with him, not from him. This was a Revere’s Riders course. I don’t know how well Revere’s Riders is known outside of a couple of states. They split off from the Appleseed Project a few years ago , and is sorta kinda the tacticool version. They even hold a class or two each year here at the Camp Atterbury army ranges using the pop-up targets. I’m going to take this opportunity to ask people considering ANY class to read the course description and class requirements/prerequisites. Then read them again. And follow them. This was a basic class, but it wasn’t a beginners class. That’s not the same thing. Nobody expected a bunch of John Wicks, but there were some expectations stated in the course description. One of those expectations was having a zeroed rifle. It didn’t matter what distance, just as long as it was zeroed and you knew it then you’d have something to work with. Therefore, there should not have been people showing up needing to zero their rifles first thing. There should not have been people being so “prepared” they had a bag of empty mags in one hand and boxed ammo in the other. When a two day class gets compressed into one, there is already no spare time. Once you start fooling with zeroing, you can lose two hours before you know it. The instructor held this tight. You got three rounds. Go. Load your mags and keep up. He did something I had never seen before in a class. It could have happened, but I hadn’t seen it before. Once he started the safety brief* he said that was the class start, and anyone showing up late and missing it was out. Sure enough, here comes someone rolling it at 0810, and sure enough, they got sent packing. *At 0800 sharp, the accurate start time being another first. We did a lot of movement work all day, which was good so we could take advantage of the snow to sludge around in. The host club’s range layout was unusual to me, in that you shot one direction for 50 yards and turned 90 degrees to the right to shoot 100. (They can get 200 there, but only after some reconfiguring.) This was taken advantage of by letting us shoot close (25 and under) and 100 yards in the same drill. It’s a shame, but the truth is that doesn’t happen as much as you might think or I’d like in classes. You might shoot close, then farther, but seldom both at once. There are lots of devious tricks that can be used for. Since I’ve already bashed my fellow students, I might as well climb on my high horse and finish them off. Shooting at 100 yards was kryptonite to a lot of people. Maybe I should stop there. I’m trying. I’m really trying not to say anything. Oh man, this is hard. OK, OK, Let me just say this: If given an 8” plate at 100 yards... from prone... with a quality AR... and a low power variable scope (plus at least one ACOG)... that you’ve been shooting all day... and three shots to hit it... and you can’t pull it off... Don’t spend the class talking about what gun or optic you plan to buy next. Your priorities are off. Then when we get a second run and you can’t do it the second time either... It should become more plain. The gear is definitely not what is holding you back. A bright spot was the AK guy banging the steel on the first shot. Twice. I hope if anyone there was the type who say AKs are no good because they only shoot 4MOA, that they realized what they saw.

Same with trap shooting, extra clothes make the whole process more difficult. I've learned the importance of the outer layer of clothing to have a non-grabby texture so it's easier to get the stock in the correct position. Pictures are a must :-)

Carbine class Saturday. Forecast high is 30, low of 16. Plenty of snow on the ground. I’ve learned before that a couple more layers of clothing repositions the vests/chest rigs/belts enough to create some fumbling. It looks like an AUG day for me.

I need the adjustment cap and the turret for a Scopechief VI on a 243 rifle. If anyone knows where I can get them PLEASE e-mail me at Tracker478@aol.com Bushnell DOES NOT have them any more and, they are permanently out of stock. So much for a Lifetime Warrenty. In fact they not only told me (when I sent it in with my $10.00 as required by Bushnell) that there is no replacement AND they said it was Impact damage. That was an out and out lie. My scope has never been anything near an impact. They offered to sell me a $160.00 scope foe $112.00 with no BDC. Not even a close replacement that I would have to pay for. I told them I would eat it. So now to get off my tirade if anyone can steer me to someplace with a replacement part it would very much be appreciated. To reiterated ~ I need the adjustment cap and the turret for a Scopechief VI. I don’t remember it it is the 1,2,or 3 Turret. but it iwas on my 243. I will happily buy all three turret inserts if any one has them. Again you can e- mail me at Tracker478@aol.com Thanks ahead Wolf

I've shot it a couple of times now. More magazines should be here Tuesday; holster on Saturday.

Brilliant. Be exposed to as much as possible, so when the need should arise, then you're ready.

I grumble about the date every year, thinking a month earlier would be appreciably warmer yet still allow it to get dark early enough. Then we get there and start fumbling in the winter clothes we just started wearing again. That's when I remember it's a dual learning experience- the dark and the cold. Would I be out there in that cold for a regular class? Nope. That's the trick John the instructor figured out long ago. The valuable opportunity of a night shoot lures us out there to find and sort out cold hand and winter clothing problems.

I would have been home, "Sorry guys, I can't make it tonight". You are dedicated!

Right, no sun beating down. That hasn't been a problem yet. One year we had sideways blowing snow. That was one condition where lasers were truly awful. Back scatter is probably the right term! Pistol mounted lights worked against the shooter, too!

The whole concept of scenario shooting at night seems like fun and a challenge. To not have the sun beating down on you is also a bonus. Another plus is how many self defense shooting situations happen in well lit conditions vs. low light or dark situation? I have zero practice shooting in low light conditions. I too have old eyes and focus on anything less than 24" away has become impossible. There is no way I could do a night shoot with my iron sights, without guessing at the aim point. You have made me rethink my training again. You have a way of doing that. Thanks. :-)

Saturday night was this year’s annual night shoot class. I’ve been taking this same class since around 2010, and have missed one, maybe two in that time. There is a core group of us that attend each year or close to every year, and we have a discussion before and after each class over what we’ve learned and what we’ve changed because of it. Being the same people taking the same class over the years, it has been interesting to watch the changes as we learn what works and what doesn’t. It’s funny that we mostly come to the same conclusions, though we do so independent of each other. For example, those of us who have attended for a while all have hand held lights. We may or may not have a weapon-mounted light, but we all have and use a handheld. A lot of the time, you have to move the light around to get it to come in from the angle you need. We al use some sort of lanyard or retention ring on the light. We may have night sights, but haven’t found them to be a necessity. The last three years in particular, it’s been harder each year for me to find and focus on the front sight. This is a daytime challenge also, but at night it’s a real problem. This year I had several instances where I could not get the light where I could see the front sight at all. This was new. Even when I could see it, it was taking me forever to get a shot off. I was feeling pretty vulnerable in the scenarios when I was without cover. That was Saturday night. As of Tuesday, I own a Sig P320 with red dot sight. I’ve known a red dot was in my future, and finally gave in. As polymer framed guns go, I like the S&W M&P, but I used a friend’s red dot equipped P320 Saturday and liked it. It did something no other red dot handgun has done for me- It let me see the dot when I extended to shoot. No hunting for the dot, like every other one I’ve tried. His had the Wilson Combat grip frame which made it feel almost 1911-like, and that’s probably why it worked so well for me (I mostly shoot 1911s and HiPowers). We will see how it shoots. Maybe it will stick around. I haven’t bought holsters and a bunch of magazines yet. I picked a good time to need magazines and more ammo.

I need a cap for my bushnell 3/9 banner also. Frustrating trying to find one. If anyone knows where i can order one....you can email me wig_gler@yahoo.com thx

I recently found a new resource online to buy ammo. Here is the link: https://www.bulkcheapammo.com Does anyone have any experience with this directory?

Ijust bought a Concept III .45 ACP. I sure hope it runs good, first Les Baer but I don't know 1911 number. I've owned many and Colt is always top list. Can't wait to see Les Baer pistol. over 2 g for 1911 I'm excite!

Does anyone have another. I also have one broke. 7068308400

Greetings, Any good training/instructors in the chicagoland area? My goal is to become more accurate and faster in IDPA (see attached image). I've been to several group sessions, but I don't seem to get the one on one feedback I think I need. Are there any local IDPA/USPSA (grand)masters that offer training locally to me? Location: south chicagoland

.410- Yes! Same deal. .357 Mag in a small gun is just awful. Even in a K-frame, in the rare times I carry one, it’s usually with .38 +P. On the the other hand, sometimes when I carry a revolver it’s because I want the greater power of magnums. I’ll deal with it in a K frame then, but not smaller. I’ve shot magnums in my Kimber K6s, which is more Detective Special size, and it wasn’t much different t from a K. There are some mild magnums like Remington .357 Golden Saber, that’s more of an in-between 38 and 357, that aren’t so terrible. When ammo supplies loosen up, I’ll try to get more of that and give it another test. But in a five-shot J-frame snubby, I have no need for a Scandium framed model so I can use .357 magnums. The Airweights with .38s are plenty abusive for me. What I’d like to see done for concealed hammer pocket models is the addition of some sort of “crud barrier”. Maybe a sliding gate or a brush-like guard over the trigger travel slot would keep it clear but allow the trigger to move. Not much gets in there anyway, but nothing getting in would be better.

You do bring up some really great points. The pocket crude fouling an auto is my biggest concern and my biggest problem. Like I said, my Ruger LCP will not be reliable after a week or two in the pocket without cleaning. I think I would get a dedicated .38 and not bother with a .357. I've fired snubby .357s and frankly I don't like the muzzle blast, as it teaches flinch. I'm with you on the idiocy of snubbies as a beginner gun, no they are for experts. It's similar to teaching a new trap shooter with a .410, just no. A .410 is an expert's gun. I'll go check out some hammerless pocket revolvers.

I started with revolvers and had a bias that way for a few years, but have been an auto guy for a long time. I know a lot of people say they shoot revolvers better, but I’m not one of them. I have to look for reasons and places to justify choosing a revolver in most cases, so I may not be the best one to sell you on them. I readily admit the nostalgia is one big attraction to me. I’ve been addicted to Adam-12 since old reruns have been showing this year, so maybe that’s it! I do prefer them for places like pocket and ankle carry. I think they resist pocket crud a lot better than autos, and the shape makes the grip easier to get my fingers around in a pocket. I like the S&W Centennial models (442/642/640) with the concealed hammer for this, so it has one less opening to collect crud. I have gotten sloppy and waited too long between “de-lintings” and found more than I’d like in the trigger travel opening, but I feel confident I could press through it on the shot. Manually operated is an advantage here, I think. The 2” model 12 I got last winter is a bit big for pants pocket carry since it’s a K frame, but it worked great in a jacket pocket. I really, really, like having a revolver in a jacket pocket. I can have it in my hand with nobody knowing. If I had to, I can shoot through the pocket, and keep shooting until empty. An auto’s slide would surely foul on the pocket some way or another. I see some other honest advantages to revolvers, mostly involving close quarters shooting. Really close, as in crushed up against each other. An auto slide can be blocked or bound by pinching up against someone, but you can power a revolver through it. And again, a “hammerless” model has less to get interfered with. Snubs are awful hard to shoot well. It drives me up the wall when well-meaning gunshop loafers suggest a snub as a first gun to people (almost always to women). They are NOT beginners’ guns. They are experts’ guns. Even at that, few “experts” shoot them well. But as what I call a “Get Off Me Gun” I think they are the best.