Back from the range

Well, we had one bad thing happen. The big sack of what I thought was .357 ammo turned out to be .38 Special. I am all out of .357 Magnum except for my stash of Remington Golden Sabers. We still shot the lever-gun a little just for kicks, but shooting it with .38 Special is like watching "Charlie's Angels" with Shelley Hack. It's just not quite satisfying.

We had some problems with the .243. Neither one of us could get it to settle down even though we worked through a whole box (20 rounds) of Winchester Super-X. When we gave up and tried out the 7mm, we noticed something. Both have the exact same model and brand of scope, but the scope on the .243 has begun to get very fuzzy inside, compared to the crystal clarity of the one on the 7mm. We have a scope going bad. So the .243 is retired for this season until my dad gets around to replacing the scope. I don't know if the problem with the scope extends to the crosshairs, but it definitely has a seal gone bad.

I don't know exactly when I graduated from being the guy who does most of the spotting to being the guy who does most of the shooting, but sometime in the last several years it happened. In fact I did all the shooting with the 7mm today, and it was the first time I had ever shot it. I was a little wary of the scope banging me in the face, but it didn't happen. I concluded to my dad that it doesn't kick anywhere near as bad as my M44. The 7mm didn't need any scope adjustments.

I noticed today that my breath control is much better than it has been in the past. I had suspected this would be the case, because of all the exercise I get now. My "wind" has greatly improved from walking briskly for about 6 hours a day. Also related to my work is that the grip strength has improved in my right hand from handling the meter hook and throwing around heavy meter lids.

My dad actually volunteered to shoot the SP-101 today, which surprised me. But of course it was only loaded with .38 Special so it wasn't as much fun either. The CZ-52 was just as much fun as always.

I need to do this more. The private range is off limits now for the duration of deer season. No one actually hunts on that property (although we could if we wanted to), but we abstain from it out of courtesy to hunters on the surrounding properties. I'll have to visit Bullet Hole more often to keep my handgunning up.

Next time we go rifle shooting, I'll have to take along the M44.

Afterwards my dad treated me to lunch at Mollie's in Stockdale. Beef enchiladas, rice and beans, and lots of iced tea. I'm stuffed.