I Make Things - Shooting

Oakley M-Frames

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sun, 03 May 2009 14:12:00 -0400

I just picked up some new Oakley M-Frames for use as shooting glasses.

I guess this means I need to start shooting again.

Ammo prices are skyrocketing though since we're in a bad economy and folks on the conservative right are afraid Obama's gonna take their guns away. Libertarians know that people only take your guns away if you let them.

My 2¢ on Virginia Tech (and other massacres)

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:02:34 -0400

First there is something we all must realize. Even though we feel we live in a safe, secure, and peaceful society, the reality is that this is a facade. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the facade generally stands - bad things don't often happen to nice people. Every once in a while however, violence slips out through the cracks under pressure much like a hernia. When this happens, it's usually innocent people caught in the crossfire - and generally caught unaware.

Most (if not all) schools (and employers, and government buildings, etc) explicitly do not allow weapons on their premises. This makes for a unique situation where anyone with a weapon in these locations become the most powerful person there. Essentially, any armed crazy, evil, malicious, or scared person is a wolf in the chicken coop. So, anytime we have a campus shooting, it almost always ends up a massacre. There is literally no one (save the few police officers in a nearby area), that can balance the power of the one armed, bad-guy.

It is a terrible tragedy when innocent people die through violence. When it happens in America it is all the more poignant however, as we believe we are safe from such barbarism (it actually happens all too often in many other parts of the world I'm afraid). While we certainly get angry at the evil-doer, we never seem to look at what we (every one of us individuals - not mommy and daddy government) could be doing differently.

In the backlash of situations like Virginia Tech and Columbine, the first thing we generally hear is: "we need stricter gun control!" Unfortunately, this is not something that will prevent (or defuse) such atrocities! Gun control laws do not affect criminals with malicious intent. Period. What they do do is render law abiding people defenseless against violence as heinous as a campus shooting.

Because of our our misguided attempts to prevent violence, we have created myriad defenseless victim zones all around our nation. Had any one of the students involved in the Virginia Tech shootings had a firearm themselves, chances are very likely that the death toll would not have reached 32. The plain and simple fact is that power must always be balanced.

When very bad things like Virginia Tech happen, the first thing we must all ask is: "Why didn't anyone else have a weapon to stop this guy?" When we don't have to ask this question, our peaceful facade will be reinforced and the great many innocent Americans can go on feeling safe and secure because the people who know better are around to protect them.

Sig Sauer Mosquito

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:19:43 -0400

When I was at my local shooting range last Sunday, I saw a new .22 pistol from SigArms called the Mosquito.

I love shooting .22s because they are a real challenge to be accurate with and the ammunition is so cheap that it doesn't burn up your wallet going to target practice every week.

I think the range had one up on their rental rack, so next week I might see about trying it out. The trigger looks like it's got a pretty long pull on it - I want to see how it feels before I hand over $460 for it.

Long Range Pistol Shooting

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 03:32:00 -0400

My local indoor shooting range renovated their "long" (25 yard) bay recently. I've been shooting there every week for over 3 years and it was high time the did something to fix up that bay. They decided that now it'll be designated a "long range" only bay. Their intent is to have no targets closer than 15 yards. They've enforced this limit by leaving lights out in the area from the firing line to the the 15 yard line; making it very hard to see your target at that those closer distances.

Every week, I shoot in the "long" bay because it is the nicest one of the three at this establishment. It also offers a greater distance for small caliber rifles when I must be indoors. Typically when shooting pistols however, I kept my target in the 10 to 12 yard range. This distance suited me perfectly since it allowed me a challenge without making good groupings and impossiblity.

Unfortuantely with the new limitation imposed by the management, I've found it much harder to be as accurate as I once was! It is a wonder what an effect a few yards has had on my groupings!

Although annoying, I'm looking on this situation as a positive experience. That is, there can be no growth without challenge, and I certainly have felt myself on a plateau for quite a while now. Next week, I'll start keeping track of my progress to see if I'm getting better under the new conditions.

My Browning Buck Mark Standard

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 17:33:00 -0400

I've been shooting my Browning Buck Mark Standard every week for almost a year. I put 100 .22 caliber rounds (or so) through it each time and I only clean the barrel with a bore snake after the shooting session.

I'm wondering how long this thing can hold up to this kind of abuse. I love this pistol, it's still super accurate and other than the top screws coming loose sometimes, I don't ever have a problem with it. Someday soon, I am going to give it a thorough cleaning and assess the wear that it has incurred.

On the surface, it seems to be doing fine. Accuracy hasn't decreased and I've had no mechanical failures. As long as my ammunition is non-corrosive (most ammo these days is non-corrosive) then I don't believe it will do any long term damage.

This is a tough little pistol!

Sunday Shooting

nospam@example.com (Latcarf) — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 03:24:57 -0400

I finally get to go shooting again on Sunday. I used to go shooting every weekend but lately I haven't had the time. Usually I shoot at Target Masters, a little local range here in Silicon Valley.

Generally I shoot a Browning BuckMark .22 but I want to start shooting my Glock 32 again (that's .357sig). It's just that .357sig ammunition is so expensive compared to .22 rounds. I mostly shoot the .22 to hone my accuracy and to increase my skill with stability and handling.

I have been shooting every Sunday morning for more than two and a half years. I can hold a ten round pattern to the size of a silver dollar at 17 yards. Unfortunately, just one week of not shooting impacts that very negatively - and I have not shot for three weeks!

It will be hard to get back into the swing of things but as they say, it's like riding a bicycle. I really am looking forward to going again.