Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default Observations from the range tonight

    I went to Holmesburg fish and game tonight. Got there around 7 and left around 9:30.

    Saw a guy wearing a pafoa sweatshirt. I would have said hi but it was busy and i was just finishing up.

    Anyway, on to the observations on no particular order.

    1: Glock style magazines are not Glock magazines. Saw a guy shooting a pc carbine and he was having some hiccups with the magazine. That said, he was killing it at 25 yards with the open sights.

    2: illuminated scopes are awesome! I was testing my hawke 3-9 on a Ruger American Rimfire. There are lights at the range, but dark targets are still dark and having that contrast on the reticle is great. I get the big deal with illuminated reticles.

    3: i don't have anywhere near enough magazines for my rifle. I brought 3 with me and was taking my time shooting. But there is a 5 round limit so i found myself reloading magazines a lot.

    4: i need to practice a lot more. I watch these YouTube videos of guys making these tiny groups with a .22 at 100 yards. My groups looked good at 50 yards. But once i went out past there, they were more of a scattering than a group. I still had a lot of fun. That was the furthest I've taken a 22.

    5: the Ruger American Rimfire has a crazy spring sounding noise in the stock after it fires. Kind of like a pellet gun.

    6: my eyes aren't what they used to be.

    -Zach

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    Ammunition makes a big difference in a .22 rimfire. Try many varieties to see what shoots the best. I can never complain with CCI Standard Velocity but my groups really tighten up using more expensive ammo like Wolf Extra Match, Federal Gold Medal Match or Lapua Center X.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    Quote Originally Posted by ar15jules View Post
    Ammunition makes a big difference in a .22 rimfire. Try many varieties to see what shoots the best. I can never complain with CCI Standard Velocity but my groups really tighten up using more expensive ammo like Wolf Extra Match, Federal Gold Medal Match or Lapua Center X.
    I was just shooting cheap Remington bucket o bullets stuff. I think the "nicest" 22 ammo i have is federal champion blue box lead point. It is nothing special. My groups at 50 yards with the Remington were overall pretty solid. At 75 they opened up a lot. And again, at 100, it was like buckshot patterns.

    I'm not at the point of blaming the ammo yet. My technique was definitely lacking. I just need to shoot more and once I'm confident in my shooting, then I'll play with the ammo. Or rather, the ammo won't help if I'm not holding the rifle steady and controlling my breathing and pulling the trigger straight back.

    I also did some research on the pinging noise from the Ruger American Rimfire. Apparently it is related to the firing pin and firing pin spring resonating after the shot. It can be fixed with a soft shim in the bolt against the spring. I guess i know what I'll be doing tomorrow then.

    -Zach

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    I went shooting again tonight. This time at RAF near my house.

    I was there a few months back to pick up some receivers i had ordered. Masks required. Every other lane open.

    Tonight, sign in the door, no masks allowed. Every lane open. Felt so good to not have to wear a stupid mask!

    I brought my newly acquired cz75d pcr, s&w 686, and an ar9 i built a few months ago.

    The cz predictably functioned flawlessly. The trigger is a little sharp. I'll have to look online for some good methods for rounding the trigger. But i was comfortable with what i was hitting at roughly 10 yards.

    This was my first time doing shooting the ar9. I put around 75 rounds through it plus my friend put some through as well. It too functioned flawlessly. The lrbho worked with the Glock magazines. So much fun to shoot! Glad i bought the heavy buffer. I can't wait to play with it more.

    I also rekindled my love of shooting revolver. I was running some white box 38 special I got in a trade a few years ago. I hate to admit it, but I don't shoot revolver all that often because i hate cleaning them. It isn't hard, but it is time consuming. Tonight, he was totally worth it. I shot a pretty good mix of single and double action. Just a great feeling pre lock with a conversion grip.

    On my way out, I asked about 9mm pricing. I had brought my own. 23.50$ per box. Limit 1. That was their price pre pandemic. It is a shooting range. That's where they make their money. So i thought that was really nice to see.

    What's up with people shooting bird shot at paper targets?

    Again, my lesson is, i need more range time. It has seriously been a while. It feels good to be getting back into it.

    -Zach

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    Birdshot at paper targets may be patterning.

    Glad you enjoyed your range time!

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    Quote Originally Posted by jthrelf View Post
    Birdshot at paper targets may be patterning.

    Glad you enjoyed your range time!
    Yeah. I wish they were patterning. They were just emptying a pump action into a target to the point of it literally falling off of the target frame.

    -Zach

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    I went shooting again tonight. I fully expected the range to be busy since it is such a nice night. Instead, i was greeted with a half full range.

    I sighted in my m&p15t with a Burris 1.5-6x scope. I cannot see much. The scope and glass are fine, but the markings on the scope go out to like 600 yards. Yeah right. Why on earth is the 100 yard dot so large?

    I'm guessing that it is maybe a 4 moa dot at the smallest and possibly larger. This makes it good for quick shots on target, but not good for making nice tight groups.

    Why not just make the 100 yard dot smaller like all of the other ranged dots?

    My best 100 yard group was probably close to 4".

    I used a POF brake. Holy muzzle flash, Batman! I like the brake a lot. But from a tactical perspective, way to give away your position.

    I knew the brake was working when it was redirecting so much hot gas out to the side that the box holding my spent cases was literally getting torn to shreds.

    I tested a Caldwell brass catcher. It worked well about 95% of the time. Every now and again a shell would sneak out. But it still beat sweeping up at the end of my time. Plus now i can give the shells to somebody who can reload them (anybody in lower bucks want free once fired brass?)

    Also, lots of cops on 95 for the holiday weekend. Drive carefully!

    -Zach

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    I went to the indoor range today. I needed to test some magazines i had just received for my carry guns and the spring job for my cz75d pcr.

    I tested magazines for my Beretta 92fs. 2 were factory Beretta 17 round magazines and 1 was a mecgar 18 round magazine.

    All ran well in my Beretta. This will be a win over the 15 round factory magazines I'm currently running for carry.

    I also tested a mecgar 15 round cz75d pcr magazine. This is strange to me because mecgar also makes the official cz magazine for the gun. Yet they don't look the same and the labeling on the magazines is different. No surprise, it ran just fine.

    And speaking of the cz...i recently installed a mcarbo spring kit on it. What a complete pain in the ass the kit was to install. Not wow! What a difference. I also put a new trigger on it to eliminate the trigger bite. The double action trigger is good. The single action is almost too light. But I'll be leaving it with the hammer down when i carry.

    Lastly, i brought my 10/22. This is the first time I've shot it since putting it in a pmaca chassis. It has a holosun green dot on top and i ran it mostly on a cheap caldwell bipod. That thing is fun!! It also has a cheap utg stock on it. Kind of like a poor man's ctr. Very comfortable actually.

    My eyes are really becoming trash, so 25 yards is about the max i can use it with that green dot.

    So onto the observations.

    1. There were a lot of women there. More than i have ever seen before. And 2 were there getting actual training. All different ages.

    2. It was clear that there were a lot of new shooters there today. The bad shooting stances and worse targets were dead giveaways.

    3. Change your damn targets people!! Targets are 1$ at the range. A box of ammo is at least 25$. Why keep shooting a target when you can't tell what you are hitting?

    I see this all of the time. It is senseless. Targets are cheap. Ammo is not.

    4. Lots of ammo is being absolutely wasted. I'm not professing to be the best shot in your world. Far from it. But I've been shooting for years now and i worked through the fundamentals on a 22. Watching guys just pissing away 9mm in their new gun and barely hitting the target at 7 yards is crazy given the current ammo climate.

    I was shooting next to a guy who was shooting at 7 yards. He was there with a friend. His friend was clearly a much better shot than he was. Anyway, he is leaving a shotgun pattern all over how target with 9mm. He backs the target out further to 15 yards!! Why!? Than backs it out to 25!! You can't even hit what you are aiming for at 7 yards! Why back it out beyond your skill level!? Absolutely senseless.

    5. Aim small, miss small. Pasters for your target are great. It gives you a point of aim and the smaller they are, the more you have to focus and hold steady.

    6. Rimfire isn't reliable. I shot a lot of rounds through the 10/22. I had 2 that just wouldn't to bang no matter how many times i retried them. I also had some magazines jam up. The factory 10 round ones no less. But they desperately need to be cleaned out. Also, semi auto rimfire is filthy. How do people not clean their 22s?

    7. Now the thing i wanted to talk about. The elephant in the room. Toward the end of my range time (i was there for over 2 hours), an older couple came in. I'm not sure if they were new to guns, didn't give a damn about safety rules, or what. I really think ranges need to require safety orientations. I've never been so worried about getting shot at the range by negligent discharge.

    The couple brought two guns. A 9mm and a 380. The woman was shooting the 380. Every time it would go off, she would literally hop back like it startled her awake. Her poor stance, you know that back arched in the wrong direction thing, and her poor grip (support hand thumb behind the slide asking to be bitten) caused more stovepipes than I have ever seen. The messed up part was, every time the gun stovepiped, that was when I felt safest because i knew it was disabled. But then she'd wave the gun like a moron and her husband would come over and clear it.

    This went on and on. And it isn't like he was a good shot either. Not that you'd know because when they showed up, i think they just pulled a used target out of the trash and shot at it.

    Every time they swap places, they'd muzzle sweep the entire range with a gun that sometimes was locked open and sometimes wasn't.

    There was like 15 minutes where i just stood back away from them hoping they'd get tired of being awful at life and leave. Nope. No such luck.

    I finished out my loaded magazines because loaded rifle magazines in the car always makes me nervous. Then i left. They were still screwing about when i left.

    How do you even begin to approach somebody on the range who is just not handling themselves safely? They seemed like the kind of people who didn't know better but didn't want to be told any better either.

    I've unfortunately had a verbal altercation with a man who was probably double my age once before. No situational awareness and he wanted to make things physical. I got in my car, blew him a kiss, and left. I'm not going to fist fight an old man because his ego was damaged.

    More and more I'm seeing the necessity for rso's.

    -Zach

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    C'mon man! You HAVE to talk to fellow POOFERS when you spot them in the wild!

    I've seen a sticker on a truck once. I followed him to his house and he came out drawing down on me with 2 pistols.



    (last sentence is made up)
    Galations 6:9...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
    Ashli Babbitt - Patriot

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Observations from the range tonight

    Quote Originally Posted by alpacaheat View Post
    C'mon man! You HAVE to talk to fellow POOFERS when you spot them in the wild!

    I've seen a sticker on a truck once. I followed him to his house and he came out drawing down on me with 2 pistols.



    (last sentence is made up)
    Wait. Which ones are the poofers?

    -Zach

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