Tag: recreational shooting

Cleaning/Organizing

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I should do it more often.

I’ve been cleaning up my reloading area, trying to sort through all the stuff I’ve accumulated over the past several years. I have reloading bench where I keep my dies, a lot of components and tools, and then I have a fairly sizeable cabinet on wheels where I keep more components, loaded ammo, etc. The place has gotten to be a real mess, and it finally hit that threshold that makes me want to clean it up and organize it.

I’ve found 50 rounds of .30 Carbine, 250 rounds of .45ACP and 200 rounds of .357 Magnum I didn’t know I had, plus fifteen rounds of 12 gauge 00 buck, and 100 Hornady 75 grain .224″ BHTP Match bullets I had no idea were in that cabinet. (They should have been in the reloading bench.) I have also discovered I have a LOT more .357 and .38 brass than I need, so I’ll be taking the excess with me to the range tomorrow next Sunday (match was rescheduled) to give away to whoever wants it. I even have a box of .44 Magnum brass, about 50 pieces. I haven’t owned a .44 Magnum in several years, and that was a T/C Contender barrel.

It’s like Christmas!

Casa Grande – 12/09

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Well, there was a nice, intimate turnout of gun-nuts for the shoot yesterday. Me, my boomershoot partner Dusty, Mike – one of the people I’ve taken shooting previously, John OC and his gracious and indulgent fiance, Exurban Kevin, and Eseell.

I brought my camera, but for once I spent more time shooting firearms than the breeze or the camera, so here’s what little I did take.

Joe Huffman would be disappointed:

We took the five rightmost shooting benches:

Here’s (left to right) Kevin, Mike, Dusty, and John:

And here’s Kevin posing with his AR:

We did have a visitor. I’ll have you know, ELVIS LIVES!


Elvis and his dad were at the range for only the second time. Elvis has a cut-down Marlin Model 60 (post-Pelleteri model) he’s already pretty good with. I offered to let him shoot my M1 Carbine, but he wasn’t quite ready for that. His dad said “Next year!”

I do plan on doing this again. I hope to see them there!

Oh, and lunch at Ochoa’s was excellent.

AZ Blogmeet & Range Trip – It’s Still On

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AZ Blogmeet & Range Trip – It’s Still On!

Despite my change in employment status, the Saturday, December 12 range trip and blogmeet are still a go, and I hope to see all six or eight of you there. It looks like Saturday is going to be a bit chilly and possibly damp, so dress warmly. This is still Arizona, so bring plenty to drink (non-alcoholic, of course). Since we’re going to shoot until about 1:00PM or so, you might also want to bring a snack of some kind.

For those who have never been there, the Elsy Pearson Public Shooting Range is quite easy to get to:

From either the direction of Phoenix or Tucson, take I-10 towards the I-8 interchange.

Take Exit 199 to I-8 West

The first exit you come to on I-8 is Exit 174 for Trekell Rd. Exit there.

Turn left and go about 2-3 minutes. (Note, the speed limit through the residential area there is 25.) Proceed on through the first minor intersection, and keep your eyes on the left side of the road for a sign for the Casa Grande Trap Club.

Turn left again at W. Arica Rd. The road turns to dirt here, so your vehicle will get dirty. Go for another 2-3 minutes. W. Arica Rd. intersects Isom Rd. at the trap range.

Turn right on S. Isom Rd. Go for a minute or two, and you will pass the Casa Grande police range on your left, and immediately after that will be the Public range.

Here’s a picture of how to get there:


And one showing the three ranges a bit better:


The range opens at 7:00AM. As I said, it is my intention to be there when it opens so I can set up my steel targets.

One further note: While the range has some very nice concrete shooting benches, there are NO CHAIRS. If you want to sit down, BRING A CHAIR or something to sit on.

Edited to add: Here’s my previous list of things-to-bring-&-do:

1) It is an unsupervised range – there are no Range Officers, so we have to do that ourselves. I expect everyone to be familiar with the Four Rules. I also expect everyone to be familiar with firing range etiquette.

2) There is no potable water at the range. Bring fluids. (But no alcohol.)

3) There is, at least, a Porta-Potty on site now. There didn’t used to be. I suggest that someone bring some toilet paper, just in case. And hand-sanitizer, too.

4) Even though it’s late fall, and the firing line is covered, Mr. Sun is nasty. Bring sunscreen.

5) There are no targets nor target stands at this range. You can bring anything you’re willing to clean up as a target (exceptions being glass and explosive targets – that’s posted). As I said, I’ll be bringing my steel targets, and everyone is welcome to shoot them. I’ll also be bringing a target stand for paper targets. If you go out to pick something up, don’t get the “stick in the ground” type target stands. The ground out there is caliche, and about as hard as cement.

6) There are three ranges to shoot from, a 100 yard range with covered shooting benches, a 300 yard range with covered benches, and a 25 yard range with no benches, but the firing line is covered too. I figure we’ll take up one end of the 300 yard range. In addition, the backstop is a range of mountains. About 600 yards downrange on the side of the mountain someone has put some steel targets, so if you bring something with some reach, you have something to shoot at.

7) Sorry, but they don’t allow .50BMG at this range. I suppose it’s just slightly possible to loft a 750 grain .50 caliber projectile over the mountain range backstop and drop it onto Interstate 8, so they’re verboten.

End edit.

At about 1:00 we will pack it in and head to Ochoa’s. It’s just off Trekell Rd. The address is 512 East Cottonwood Lane. Get back to Trekell Rd., turn right (North) and drive until you hit Cottonwood Ln. Turn left and if you get to Casa Grande Ave., you went too far. It’s back a bit off the road on the North (right) side of the street just before Casa Grande Ave.

Hope to see you there!

AZ Blogmeet & Range Trip – Update

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AZ Blogmeet & Range Trip – Update

OK, Saturday December 12 is the agreed-upon date by the majority of respondents. I’ve had one (1) recommendation for the after-range gathering, Ochoa’s in Casa Grande on Cottonwood lane, between Pinal Ave and Trekell Rd. Since the range is just off Trekell, finding it shouldn’t be hard. The description was as follows:

Family owned and family recipies. They have been a Casa Grande institution for decades. The hot sauce is hot, the enchilada sauce is smooth and the Green Chile is the best! They have tables in the back room for large groups.

Next question is: how large? How many people are planning to attend the range trip and noshing? Here’s a new poll:

The poll only allows one vote per computer, so if you’re bringing family/friends, please let me know in the comments.

Again, the range opens at 07:00, and I figure we’ll shoot until about 1:00PM, then go eat, drink, and be merry for a couple of hours at least.

So who’s in?

AZ Blogmeet & Range Trip – Update

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AZ Blogmeet & Range Trip – Update

OK, according to the poll, 11 people can make the Dec. 12 date, one (1) can make Dec. 5, and six can’t make either. (Sorry, y’all!)

We’re going with the 12th. Now I need to verify from the City of Casa Grande that the range is not reserved on the 12th for Cowboy Action shooters or such. It would be a bummer to show up there and not be able to shoot!

Assuming there’s no conflict, here’s how I see it happening: I and at least a couple of other people need to be at the range when it opens at 7:00AM in order to secure good shooting positions. I’ll be bringing my AR500 plate steel targets, and I’ll need a hand setting them up – they weigh about 35lbs each, and they have to be hand-carried downrange, since there is no longer vehicle access. We’ll shoot until about 1:00PM, then pack it in and go to a restaurant still to be determined. I’ll be contacting other, non-gun-oriented Arizona bloggers to invite them to shoot and/or eat, too. At least this gives me about a month to get this organized.

A word or twelve about the Elsy Pearson Public Rifle Range:

1) It is an unsupervised range – there are no Range Officers, so we have to do that ourselves. I expect everyone to be familiar with the Four Rules. I also expect everyone to be familiar with firing range etiquette.

2) There is no potable water at the range. Bring fluids. (But no alcohol.)

3) There is, at least, a Porta-Potty on site now. There didn’t used to be. I suggest that someone bring some toilet paper, just in case. And hand-sanitizer, too.

4) Even though it’s late fall, and the firing line is covered, Mr. Sun is nasty. Bring sunscreen.

5) There are no targets nor target stands at this range. You can bring anything you’re willing to clean up as a target (exceptions being glass and explosive targets – that’s posted). As I said, I’ll be bringing my steel targets, and everyone is welcome to shoot them. I’ll also be bringing a target stand for paper targets. If you go out to pick something up, don’t get the “stick in the ground” type target stands. The ground out there is caliche, and about as hard as cement.

6) There are three ranges to shoot from, a 100 yard range with covered shooting benches, a 300 yard range with covered benches, and a 25 yard range with no benches, but the firing line is covered too. I figure we’ll take up one end of the 300 yard range. In addition, the backstop is a range of mountains. About 600 yards downrange on the side of the mountain someone has put some steel targets, so if you bring something with some reach, you have something to shoot at.

7) Sorry, but they don’t allow .50BMG at this range. I suppose it’s just slightly possible to loft a 750 grain .50 caliber projectile over the mountain range backstop and drop it onto Interstate 8, so they’re verboten.

We still need a place to go after the shoot. I’m open to suggestions. I’d prefer it if it wasn’t posted “No Guns,” obviously. Anyone familiar with Casa Grande?

Who Wants to Attend an Arizona Blogmeet & Range Trip?

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BUMPED AND POLL ADDED.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. For one thing, I desperately need to update my blogroll and get a LOT of AZ bloggers on the sidebar. Second, I’ve attended blogger get-togethers in Louisville, Reno, Phoenix, and Moyockistan, but the last time I met up with local AZ bloggers, we didn’t do any shooting.

So, I’m thinking we invade the Casa Grande public shooting range one Saturday, hurl a ton of lead downrange, then caravan off to dinner somewhere not too far off to eat, drink, and tell lies for a few hours.

Who’s interested? Can we set this up?

UPDATE: How about Saturday, Dec. 5? UPDATE III: I’m informed that there’s a gun show in Phoenix that weekend. How about the 12th?

UPDATE II: If you’re a blogger and you’re up for it, please spread the news. Not everybody who reads you reads me. Again, blog readers are more than welcome! And if you happen to live in Casa Grande or are familiar with it, some suggestions on where to go eat, drink, and be merry afterwards would be appreciated.

Free Blog Poll

From Across the Pond

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From Across the Pond

I received an interesting email this morning from across the pond (full name redacted):

I believe in the right of the individual to keep and bear arms in defence of themselves. This makes me a significant rarity, given that I am as British as Cornish pasties.

I heard the standard arguments of the pro-banning-guns community while growing up, but I had an analytical enough mind to know that I wouldn’t be able to conscionably form an opinion without investigating the statistical nature of taking guns away from a community in comparison to communities where guns are not taken away. This missing piece was provided by a friend I gained via IRC who runs a gun shop in Pennsylvania, who linked me to gunfacts.info, and I saw the proverbial light. Beyond that, firearms have never played a central part of my life – I’ve never lived in the areas of the country where gang warfare and violent crime are greatest, and nobody in my family had much to do with firearms in a sporting context or hunting.

As such, I have a question which is likely not quite what you normally get. You’ve characterised the sweep of gun control through the legislation of the UK as a slippery slope, which I don’t disagree with; what can I do to try and reverse the process?

Thomas

Here’s what I sent him in reply:

Thank you for your missive. I wish I had a simple answer for your question, or even some words of encouragement, but with regard to that slippery slope I’m personally afraid that the UK has proceeded too far down it to ever climb back out. “Reversing the process,” in my opinion, requires “renormalization” – that is, making guns and gun ownership if not common, at least not uncommon again. One of my favorite quotes regarding the “normalization” of gun ownership comes from Teresa Nielson Hayden: “Basically, I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” Unfortunately, the disarmament of your nation has proceeded well past the point where that can occur – thus guns and gun ownership will remain (in the eyes of the majority of your fellow subjects) abnormal, anti-social and frightening. It’s a cultural change that took over eighty years to accomplish, and the inertia of that effort will preclude the necessary reversal of your gun control laws that will allow renormalization. The British psyche no longer recognizes two “gun cultures” – one of sportsmen and protectors and one of criminals – it only recognizes one – the criminal. Note that many in your culture still object to the arming of police forces even in the face of skyrocketing violent crime. As you yourself noted, your belief in the right of armed self-defense makes you a “significant rarity” in your own culture.

The only way to “reverse the process” is to convince the voting public that guns are not the cause of crime, that gun owners are not violent psychopaths or petty criminals just waiting for the opportunity to criminally misuse their guns, and that they themselves are responsible enough to own one and use it in defense of themselves, their families, and their property. That option has been stripped from you in death-by-a-thousand-cuts legislation dating back to 1920. I think the final step over the brink was the 1996/97 handgun ban.

In Scotland in 2007 there were 26,056 firearm certificates on issue to a total population of 5,062,000. In other words, about 0.5% of the population is licensed to own a centerfire rifle or a shotgun that can hold more than two shells. In England and Wales there were 128,528 firearm certificates on issue to a population of about 54 million, or less than 0.25% of the population there. That’s nowhere near enough to make firearms ownership anything approaching “normal,” and the laws make it extremely unlikely that firearm ownership levels in UK will ever again approach even 5%.

It’s cold of me, I know, but the UK for me now serves as an example of what can happen here if we don’t fight tooth and nail to prevent it.

I wish you luck in your endeavors, though. I’d love to be proven wrong.

Actually, I repeat my entreaty: Get out. Get out NOW.