Does Anyone Read This Thing Any More?

Got married, moved to PA, and waiting to build a house, a shooting range, recording studio, photo studio, and maybe a miniature golf course :) Should I even bother blogging, or just post to FaceBook?

Happy BAG Day!

Have a good one?  I didn't buy a gun, per se, but I did get some parts to satisfy my 9-mm AR jones.  It's still a work in progress.  My existing riser was too long to mount the BUIS on the rail.  This riser is too high by a smidgen to co-witness the irons through the optic.  More stuff for my parts box!

Soon

Visited my friend Chris today, who happens to be a fine gunsmith.  I brought my problem 9-mm AR, new BCG, and a stripped lower with parts kit. Apparently the new bolt carrier group I tried this winter to fix my issues was not designed to be used with the 9-mm hammer!  That's why it was locking up... So all I have to do is drop that BCG in my 9 upper, and put the mag block in any AR lower, trade out the buffer, and VOILA!  Hope it works!

Since I asked Chris to substitute my extra 9-mm hammer for the regular AR hammer in the parts kit, I could conceivably have three 9-mm carbines someday.  One will definitely be a Short-Barreled Rifle, but my first priority is to get ONE working reliably.  The culprit seems to have been the ejector on my Colt mag block being bent a little.  A function test tomorrow will tell me if a little tug with pliers did the trick.

Update:   Ordered a butt stock, buffer, another Colt mag block, and another 9-mm upper so I can have a complete, nearly identical back-up gun for the Arizona Sub-Gun Match next weekend.  Yes, I know I could have bought a couple or three Hi-Point carbines for all that would cost, but I know and appreciate the AR's ergonomics, feel, and looks.

Wha Snoo?!

For the first time in a while, I went to a 3-Gun match this weekend, at the Phoenix Rod & Gun Club this time. No video (forgot my phone/camera) and very little to report, no scores yet, Jon shot well... just about every rifle was an AR platform with optics. A SCAR is an AR, right? Oh, yeah, I didn't even shoot....

Whu-whu-whuuuuuuut?

Even in my worst shape, I've always been willing to brave the heat and shoot a match, but this time, my body got the best of me. During my summer vacation, I noticed a cloudiness in the vision in my right eye, and upon my return, the eye doc confirmed I have a cataract in there. I'm totally worthless with a long gun, because I'm NOT shooting from the left side just to play. If there was a pistol-only match, that would be a different story, but Jon needed this match for practice, so that decided it.

An interesting consequence of showing up was meeting Arturo, a shooting buddy of Jon's and our friend Keith. Turns out he's from Tucson too, and after introductions, he said he recognized me as Cowboy Blob and he lamented my lack of blog output of late. Guilty, as charged! I better get my butt in gear.

On the creative front, JoNean's music videos "Wind Sail" and "Blue" just hit 100 and 1,000 views, respectively, on YouTube this weekend. Jo is so stoked that she promised to needle her brother into the studio to final the audio for "Ball," a lively rock tune Jo (and the band Psyde-FX) crafted with the lyrics I provided. The "Ball" music video is mostly complete, but it's sync'ed to a sketchy camera audio track.

The sword-and-sandal epic shot in my back yard "Spartacus, Schmartacus" is halfway done and should be ready for premiere in November.

I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the glare of the Sonoran Desert sun. I'm giving serious thought to moving back to PA, where I'll probably freeze my ass off.

Colors

New Toy

Tried Rio Salado's short-range rifle match this weekend. The pistol club leaves their stages up for the afternoon long-gunners. I think they added some targets by the back of the berms or moved some back, but it's usually a quick match, which is really nice as it starts heating up. They had a large turnout, so it wasn't quite so quick, but the dry breeze made the experience pleasant enough. The equipment divisions were Rimfire, Intermediate Centerfire, and Heavy Centerfire and there was representation from each competing in numbers. Jon took the Rimfire Division with his new toy, a super lightweight suppressed .22LR AR on a Cavalry Arms lower. Since I'm averaging only two matches a year now, I was happy to top the bottom third of the pack with my trusty Bushmaster Shorty.

Baby Steps

The Education of Jo Continues 

After two more range sessions were snowed/frozen out, my time back in my home town ran out.  It was time to teach Jo how to disassemble her pistol and use her new cleaning kit.  Meanwhile, I noticed the used holster in the gun case.

Pennsylvania allows open carry in most places and is very happy to issue concealed carry permits to law-abiding citizens.  Jo has never worn this or any other gun, so I asked her to try it on for size and wear it around the house. Jo found a comfortable carry position and some day may even be comfortable enough to carry it loaded.    

Happy New Year!

 Got warm enough for another range day, so I introduced Jo to some different guns, as well as invited her to try her own for the first time.  The FireStar in 9-mm is a fun little gun, but the recoil spring was to stiff for Jo to manage.

Jo liked the tameness of the .38 Special... especially in a handsome cowboy six-gun.

She brought her own S&W .40 automatic and fired it for the first time! Took a bit to fight the flinch, but eventually started hitting regularly. She fought the recoil spring more than she fought the recoil.

Good thing she brought lots of .40 because the only stuff I brought was premium defense ammo for my carry guns. She enjoyed the SiG P239 quite a bit... it was intrinsically the most accurate firestick she fired today.

Jo really liked the Ruger SP101 she tried this summer, so I sacrificed some carry ammo to warn her what even a light .357 Magnum feels like.

And Now For Something Completely Different

This summer I treated my friend Jo to a couple of range days.  She took a liking to my 9-mm AR, so I told her this winter, she could try my rifle-caliber ARs too.  She renewed her friendship with the 9AR; I asked her to shoot it until it failed, as I knew it bound to do so from my experience with the AZ Sub-Gun Match.  After it finally failed to eject, I dropped in the new bolt carrier group after splashing some lube on it. It froze up on the second shot!  Perhaps I should have been more generous with the Break Free.  Got to fix it before I go back to AZ so she can shoot it again; I forgot a few boxes of ammo and a firearm in the family cabinet, so another range day is definitely in the cards.

Jo adapted to the Bushmaster .223 barely batting an eyelash.   She really dug the reflex sight and the gentle recoil... not much different from the 9AR.

Jo noticed the considerably greater heft of the DPMS LR-308, but was pleased with the relatively gentle recoil.  That is, compared to a bolt action rifle in the same caliber.  One thing you can't get used to is the concussive effect of that SJC Titan compensator; fortunately, she was standing in the best place to avoid having her teeth rattled by the shock wave.  The petite lady promised to start lifting weights so she can spend more trigger time on the rifles.  I hope I brought enough ammo!

The Ruger 22/45 with the bull barrel is incredibly stable and fun to shoot well.  Good thing I brought lots of .22 LR!  

The Walther P-38 took a lot of getting used to.  Heck, I'm still not used to shooting it and Jo consistently struck low, just as I usually do.  Even so, it's fun to shoot a piece of German engineering that was made in the year we were both born.

I saved the S&W 29 Classic for last for obvious reasons.  Fortunately I brought a good supply of .44 Special instead of subjecting Jo to the punishing .44 Magnum round.  She ended up declining to shoot the beefier magnum rounds I brought, but handled the gentler loads without any trouble.

Hey, we've got another range day to look forward to!   

2014 AZ Sub-Gun Match

Six stages of gun fun in the sun was the 2014 AZ State Sub-Gun Match. I was encouraged by how my clean 9-mm AR started off until it threw a piece of brass up into the bolt latch channel at the end of our first stage. It was a jam-o-matic after that, so I bummed one of Jon's guns (also uses Colt format magazines) to finish the match. Jon, he with the Magical Kel-Tec Sub2000, proceeded to kick ass in the Semi-auto Division (placing 4th Overall in the match). It was a good time; my swag bag included a pair of Uzi magazines. Maybe I'll have to bring that sometime.

Let's Have a Summer Match in Arizona!

This is how you do it. Hold it at NIGHT!

Jon, his co-worker, and I checked out the Cactus League's Thursday Night Match to get some Pistol Caliber Carbine practice for next month's Arizona State Sub-Gun Match.

Nine-millimeter carbines are a blast to shoot and are economical too! Lots of clubs let you shoot them on courses of fire designed for pistols (at least in my limited experience).

First off... we're shooting a match in Phoenix when it's still SUMMER? Well, it's at night. With a Mexican hurricane sputtering to the south, it's HUMID, and the recent rains have brought out mosquitoes, caterpillars, tiny frogs... we're convinced we didn't see any snakes because they couldn't slither further than a yard from their lair before gorging on tiny succulent desert life.

This being Phoenix, we got to see some National Champions strut their stuff. Local shooting celebrities. Good shooters I used to hang with when I did Cactus Matches monthly instead of annually. Worth a few mosquito bites!

Holding Back on Me, Bob?

When the choices are painting one's kitchen or shooting some cool guns, what does Jo do when she found out I'd forgotten to bring some guns out the last time?

She really liked the 9-mm AR. 

Gunblogger Duty Done

Meet Jo. Some years ago, she sat on the other side of my high school Journalism class. Three years ago, she received a pistol as a gift, but no instruction or range time. This week I remedied that oversight with some familiarization shooting. Jo tackled everything from a little Bernadelli .22 to a Colt .45 ACP.








A brain fart left my Ruger SP-101 hiding in my lens bag, so Jo got a exclusive diet of automatics.  She did equally well with the GLOCK 19 and 23, but struggled with cocking the stiff recoil spring on the .45. She seemed to enjoy shooting everything I offered and got most hits on the paper plate about 15 feet down range.

Next outing will feature the revolver and a 9-mm carbine.

Gunblogger Points

This is how you get them.

Steampunk Postal Match

Brigid is running Mr. Completely's postal match while he recuperates from illness.  Dig the Steampunk motif!

Pre-Super Bowl Skeet

My best buddies the Copelands (two brothers and Dad) invited me to do some pre-Super Bowl skeet shooting at Ben Avery, and I resolved not to show up with a 12 gauge pump, because I shoot those in 3-Gun all the time, except when I'm feeling handi-capable and bring my Winchester 1300 Lady Defender (I defend Ladies with it... got a problem with that?).  So I dug into the Other Gun Safe (the one with SKSs and other runners up) and brought out my Sile 20-banger for a joy ride.  Determining when we'd last shot skeet together, it seems I was 30 pounds lighter, sporting a GI-haircut, and sucked at the gun game.  Some things never change.  I struggled to manage one hit  at each station over two rounds, but I had fun shooting with old friends and new buddies who were very generous with coaching tips.

My choice of gat drew some attention... "Son, that doesn't quite look right," was a common reaction to the Sile (importers, not manufacturers), and it took me a stage to realize that with the single trigger o/u gun, the BOTTOM barrel shoots first. The Sile got passed around by folks amazed an o/u existed that didn't cost a Grand.  Jon was there with his 3-gun competition rig and brother Wayne with a similar piece; the Elder Copeland sported a .410 gat from a matched set... he cleaned our clocks.

The other two in our six-some were sporting 28-guages... as pro shooters are want to do.  Yeah, they were crazy-good.  I don't mind not keeping score too closely... we were shooting in early February, in Phoenix Arizona, in shirtsleeves in absolutely gorgeous weather.  They'd squeezed us locals into a few of the public positions.  While there, we paused for the National Anthems of the United States and Canada, as the Big Event kicked off.  No Denver Broncos were injured in the making of this event.

Got Your Xmas List Posted to Santa Yet?

Cactus October 2013 Multi-Gun Halloween Match

 Was nice going back to where I used to design stages and discover they've finally adopted a 3-Gun item on the menu instead of only charging a la carte per gun.  Recognized some of our classic Halloween stages... sometimes the oldies are best.

Jon treated Piter to a Full-Auto shot at the match.  After that put a smile on Piter's face, he put a smile on the paper plate and won the Match Art Contest.

AZ State Sub-Gun Match

This weekend I shot the muy fun ASSM hosted by the Rio Salado Sportsmen's Club Full Auto Division. I haven't gotten the Uzi tweeked yet, so I brought my semi-auto 9-AR, and competed in the Semi-Auto Division. Not that I could afford the copious ammo expenditure involved in competing in the FA Divisions (FA guns cannot be Selected to Semi), so I saved some bucks there.

I joined Jon and Big Bob on Squad 1 (somehow designated the Super Squad) and brought my DSLR instead of the usual FlipCam or iPhone to shoot video. I even went ahead separately in my own car since I had to leave straight from the range to get back to Tucson in time for the premiere of "The Reaper Strikes Back" at the Tucson Terrorfest Horror Film Festival that night.

I got some cool moonset pix for my troubles, but since the range is shaded by a great big mountain at sunrise, the sunrise was less spectacular.  I forgot to get pics of the sunlit mountains later, which will be a detriment to one of my photo assignments for class.

The match had a Clint Eastwood Movie theme and was a blast and a half to shoot!  I hope this match doesn't become too popular, since the Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun Match I've been blogging about over the years has been filled merely seconds into the on-line registration deadline today.  Wonder how many slots will be sold on eBay....

A Little Gunny Goodness

Katyusha MoonFox