Range Day

Old NFO stopped by today. And after he played with Murphy and got him all wound up, we headed out to the range. Initially we were going to go to one about 50 miles away, but on the way there, we passed another one--probably the only range in the area that I didn't belong to--and I joined it for a year so that we could shoot there because it was much better than where we were headed. This one has got a pistol range with steel targets, a 50 and 100 yard line, and a 400 yard line (with more steel). Even better, they let you practice realistic drills, including rapid fire and drawing from the holster, unlike the range I usually shoot at.

Once I was signed up and we shot qualifying targets, allowing us use of the 100 and 400 yard ranges, we put the "new" M60 through it's paces, and other than a minor sight-alignment issue, it ran flawlessly.
I don't have any video footage of it, but hopefully Old NFO does. I did, however, get a nice picture of our rifles on the bench. Here's my Rock River AR-15 with the Aimpoint in front, and behind it is his very nice FN SCAR in .308. The ACOG optic he's got mounted on it just makes the weapon, and he was ringing the gong at 400 yards with it repeatedly. Now that I'm a member there, I'll be out there with my Savage Tactical regularly. Gotta be prepared, because, as they say, the 21st century is when everything changes, and you've gotta be ready.

We also shot much pistol in .45, .38 and .22. and then, moderately chilled, we adjourned to Marios in Berryville for some quality Italian cooking. (Italians...lousy ship captains but great cooks.)

Then it was back to the Lair to discover that Murphy had figured out that I'd thrown away a couple of his favorite old bones and a ratty tennis ball and vetoed that by dragging the whole garbage bag into the living room, tearing it open on the rug, and digging through all of the coffee grounds and other trash until he was able to locate and remove his possessions.

Damn dog.

But garbage on the floor notwithstanding, it was still a great day out and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Another new toy to play with

So my tax money came back, and while most of it went to bills and savings, I allowed myself the luxury of one new toy.

Feast your eyes on the Super Sniper 10x42 scope, shown here attached to a Savage 110 Tactical, special limited left-handed edition.

I've had the rifle for over a decade, but until now, I've never done anything with it other than mount a cheap Tasco World Class scope on it and banish it to the back corner of the gun safe. I hadn't really seen a need for the rifle all these years but I bought it way back when just because it was a left-handed tactical rifle. I'd frequently said back then that if a company ever decided to make a left-handed tactical rifle in .308, I'd buy it. Well Savage eventually made a run of them back in the early 1990's and I snared this one. Of course back then, I wasn't much of a bolt-rifle shooter and didn't know a thing about optics, so the rifle just languished.





These days, I've got plenty of time to shoot but not a lot of extra cash to drop on new guns. I also need to re-think my own tactical scenarios since I'm arguably not as fast or agile as I once was. That up close and personal CQB stuff is better left to the younger folks, ideally those with two natural feet.

I can still play those games, mind you--former employers spent a lot of time and money training me to do just that and I haven't forgotten or stopped training--but I think that it's time to revamp my tactics around skills and equipment that give me the edge via distance.




Sure, I can hose bad guys off or cover whole areas from a distance with the Browning MG, but it's really not the handiest tool in the safe for most applications due to it's weight and rather voracious appetite and the requirement for an assistant or two to lug it's fodder and keep it in action. While the Browning has it's niche, I really need something a little lighter for routine distance shooting.




So the Savage is now out of mothballs and it's been topped with this professional-grade scope. It's a fixed-power 30mm scope that's currently seeing much use in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as here on the home front with numerous police department SWAT teams. It's got a mil-dot reticle and nice target turrets--a perfect compliment to this great police-grade rifle that Savage crafted.

I took it out to the range today to zero the scope, and once on paper and dialed in for the M852 military match round that I have a quantity of thanks to a generous Uncle Sam, I had no trouble putting three and four round groups on the 100M targets that could be covered with a half dollar. And it doesn't hurt that this rifle shoots the 7.62x51mm cartridge. Thanks to the aforementioned Browning, I've got tons of it that I can use for low-cost practice.

Me likey.

I'm still getting used to this new tool, but I see a lot of potential here, plus I get to learn a new aspect of shooting that goes beyond the basic iron sight skills. With this set-up, I can theoretically hit head-sized targets out to 500m and consistent torso-sized target hits out to 1000m if I do my part. I figure that this'll give me something to do for a while and help keep me out of trouble while I work on mastering some new techniques.


No Lagniappe. You ain't getting it. You'll just have to keep dealing with the neighbor's cats the old-fashioned way...by chasing them like normal dogs do.