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A Day At The Rage- Part 2 & Other Stuff

A Girl and Her Gun: A Day At The Rage- Part 2 & Other Stuff

Monday, February 6, 2012

A Day At The Rage- Part 2 & Other Stuff

I shot my M&P most of the day and she preformed well.  I had a number of light strikes which concerns me, so I need to get that cheeked out.  I am not a fan of the sites either.  The huge white dots are messing me up.  My groupings are ok, but I am shooting lower than where I think I am aiming.

3 yards-(This was pretty good, but it's 3 yards, so)


5 yards. Two separate sessions.

7 yards
We also took her back to the 10, 15, and 25 yard lines.  It got very busy and I was focused on what I was doing, so no pictures, but the gun did fine.  It is not a precision weapon, so no little tiny groups, but I still could kill someone from that distance, I do believe. However, if I really wanted to do some damage, I think I would use this...

The M1 Garand
This is the first time I have ever heard about this weapon, so, of course, it was the first time I shot one.  LOVE IT!!!  I love everything about this gun.  I love the look, I love the history, I love how it felt in my hands and I loved the power against my shoulder. 

As an aside, we shot for probably 2 hours, then the whole reenactment type drill which felt like 10 minutes to me, but was probably 3, then we immediately went on to the long guns.  The second that drill was over, I was good.  I have had some people email me privately with concerns that the drill might have crossed a line.  I don't know, but I do want everyone to know that honestly, I am fine.  I had no repercussions at all.  The drill was done and I could not wait to get my hands on the next gun.  We shot for 2 more hours and I had a blast.  Slept like a baby for the past 2 nights and I feel more confident then ever.  Let me also say, how blessed I am that you care enough to send me a note of concern.  That touched me deeply.

Ok, back to the guns...

Right after I shot the M1, I shot an AR-15 chambered in .22.  I have shot several .22's before, so I  knew there was no kick, but I still prepared for one and it was a shock when it was just a little tiny kitten sneeze(that is how one of the shooters described it) that came out the other end.  Even though there was no real power, I loved shooting that gun.  As everyone in this community knows, gun people are very generous.  Some of the other people there that day brought their guns(they prefer not to be outed on the blog) and were so unbelievably kind to me.  So supportive and strong and amazing.

One person had an AR 15chambered in  .223, I think, I didn't ask.  Anyway, it was set up in what I would describe as a tactical mode.  I felt tougher just holding the thing(I know it is not politically correct to say that.  I know the gun isn't suppose to make you feel anyway, but I am not that evolved:).  The owner took the time to explain all kind of things to me and then let me go.  Crazy cool! 


Last time I was at the range with John, I only got to touch the LaRue(AR-15).  This time I got to shoot it...yep, loved it!

Someone emailed me and asked if I only own one pair of pants because the black ones are all they every see me in...lol  Yes and no.  I do, in fact, own other pants, but none that I want to get messed up. I am not or haven't been a real outdoorsy kind of gal.  I mean, I have enjoyed camping and hiking for years, but I haven't had a real need for outdoor gear and since I would rather spend my money on guns, ammo and training, the wardrobe is whatever I have.  These black pants, I have had for 10 years.  They are old, faded and I don't care what happens to them.  Not the best for holding extra magazines and whatnot, but they work...for now.  Pretty much when I shoot, my hair is up exactly like this, I wear those black pants, my new boots, and a long sleeve shirt, usually with my Gun Goddess shirt over the top. Not a lot of variety, but then no one is looking at me at the range anyway, so I don't worry about it.  

Lastly, I got an email from a reader who is looking for some help from you all.  She has a questions and is really hoping you will give her some feedback. Here is her question:

Here's the thing, I got my CPL over a year ago, and have been taking advantage of my range's Ladies Nights at least once or twice a month to shoot everything they have available to rent in order to settle on my carry weapon. While I like some handguns better than others, the problem is with my eyes.
I am unusual (I think) in that my *right* eye is far-sighted, and is also my dominant eye. I can read road signs and see targets just fine with my dominant eye. The problem comes in because my *left* eye is near-sighted, which means I could focus on the sights, but then the target is a blur, and since it is my non-dominant eye, it completely screws up my stance, etc. I've tried keeping both eyes open when I shoot, but then I wind up actually seeing 2 guns, one in focus and one not. Usually I close my near-sighted, non-dominant eye, and focus on the target. I can see the sights, blurrily, but enough to line them up and usually keep a 4 inch grouping at 15 yards with a 9mm. (Well, depending on the weapon I'm shooting, some of them don't like me!) Do I even *have* a problem? So many instructors, books, etc. stress keeping your focus on the front sight, but I literally cannot do that without learning to shoot all over again using my non-dominant eye. I'll say that while I do wear glasses to drive, it's the ONLY time I wear them (I always just leave them in the car), and I don't want to practice in a way that's not going to duplicate what I'd experience in real life.







20 Comments:

At February 6, 2012 at 6:12 AM , Blogger Nancy R. said...

I feel her pain. I learned to shoot without sights and am having the devil's own time focusing on the front sight and dealing with a blurry target. This post and all the comments might help her.

http://excelsatnothing.blogspot.com/2011/02/front-sight.html

There are days when I still just focus on the target and see how many rounds I can quickly put in center of mass and call it good.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 6:20 AM , Blogger ZerCool said...

What do you mean by light strikes? Fail-to-fire, and when you ejected the cartridge it was dimpled? Scary, and the reason a carry gun should be test-fired a LOT before going in to service.

I just swapped the sights on my M&P9 to TruGlo TFOs. Haven't had them to the range yet, but they are smaller, brighter, and I have high hopes for them.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 6:23 AM , Blogger agirlandhergun said...

Yes, that is exactly what I mean. John said not to carry it until we get that fixed. Not reliable enough, so I am still carrying my Glock for now.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 6:43 AM , Blogger ZerCool said...

I know you mentioned that your 'smith put in an Apex kit... did you get the original parts with the gun? Might be worth a swap back for testing.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 7:07 AM , Blogger Fred said...

I don't think any of the Apex parts replace the striker spring, but it may be worth looking into.

What ammo were you using? I had a hard primer in a box of TulAmmo last week I had to hit twice to fire in my M&P9.

As for the sights, if you just want plain black and aren't worried much about them glowing in the dark or anything, 10-8 Performance has some good ones.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 7:26 AM , Blogger agirlandhergun said...

I do have the original parts.

I shot a box of Federal and had one light strike and a box of Remington and had 2. I forgot I had it happen the first day I shot it at the indoor range. My son reminded me. That was Federal. Saturday I shot Remington.

I have night sites on my Glock and don't like them. Now they are not right for my gun. Too long for the barrel or slide and not good. I have learned to compensate and can shoot fine with them, but I think for now, I would prefer plain ol sites. No dots, no glowing, nothing.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 8:42 AM , Blogger Bubblehead Les. said...

Re your "Eyes" email. First off, I am also "Cross Dominate" I'm Right Handed, my Master Eye is my Left, and it is very weak (20/200). I'd tell her to get a Fresh Eye exam, and be prepared to wear Glasses or Contacts all the Time. Also, she should get 2 Identical pairs, if needed or lots of Contacts. I can't afford Laser Surgery, and my Insurance considers it "Cosmetic." But if she can afford it, a lot of Shooters have had Laser Surgery, and it really seems to improve their shooting. Hope this helps.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 8:51 AM , Blogger Turk Turon said...

As to the Garand, welcome to The Fellowship of the *PING!*

 
At February 6, 2012 at 9:49 AM , Blogger tanksoldier said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 9:52 AM , Blogger tanksoldier said...

re: Eyes
One thing about all the shooting techniques and such is that you have to pick and choose what works for you. Plenty of people have arthritis, missing digits or whatever and they take the "perfect" technique and modify it.
It's not currently in fashion but there is an alternative to the "front sight" technique currently in fashion. It's called "Point Shooting" and while it has downsides it works well enough at the usual ranges expected in a self-defense shooting. "Target accuracy" isn't as good, you won't get many bulls eyes on paper, but "combat accuracy" is acceptable with practice... you generally WILL hit a bad-guy size target at the usual combat distances. Point Shooting is actually the original "modern pistol technique" developed and taught by Fairbairn, Applegate and others. When he was firearms instructor for the Shanghai Municipal Police Fairbairn actually filed the sights off the issue firearms. Even Jeff Cooper advocated it under some circumstances.
Essentially in Point Shooting you focus on your target instead of the gun (which has advantages in a gun fight) generally holding the gun up at eye level but looking past it with both eyes at the target.
Point Shooting MAY help you with your problem.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 10:04 AM , Blogger Jim said...

re: Eyes
I actually have my eyes set up that way on purpose with contacts. Far and mid ranges on my right (dominant) eye and mid to short range on my left eye. That keeps me out of tri-focals a little longer... I'm hoping a fiber front sight will help me see the sight a little better (or at least provide a contrast between the front and rear, because black on black sights just do not work for me), but there is no way I'll be a consistent bullseye shooter anytime soon.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 12:26 PM , Blogger Critter said...

yes, get a copy of Shooting To Live by Fairbairn by looking around the intertubes. buy it. read it. live it.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 1:32 PM , Blogger EMac said...

Thanks for posting my "eye" question, AGirl! And thank you to everyone who responded. Just to be clear, I am *not* cross dominant, my right hand and right (far-sighted) eye are both dominant.

Tanksoldier - I think what I'm doing now is basically point shooting, as I said, I can see the target clearly, and the sights just enough to aim well. What I can *not* do is "focus on the front sight". Sounds like I'm pretty much doing what I need to do for my situation, thanks for your comment!

Nancy R - thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it to read in depth when I have more time.

Critter - thanks for the book suggestion, I'm heading to Amazon right now to see if it's available.

Thanks again, all!

 
At February 6, 2012 at 1:53 PM , Blogger jtiquia said...

Try cleaning out the firing pin chanel. There should be no oil in there.

 
At February 6, 2012 at 7:02 PM , Blogger God, Gals, Guns, Grub said...

So glad you got to shoot the Garand... great piece of history there...

Dann in Ohio

 
At February 6, 2012 at 7:56 PM , Blogger 45er said...

"kitten sneeze" - HA! Yeah, the other AR was probably .223. I'm so glad you got a Garand in your hands. Those are awesome. I have the same thing you do with the pants, certain pairs that I don't care about. Thing is they aren't an obvious color. :)

 
At February 7, 2012 at 8:03 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

When you come up we can work on the eye siting. If your site picture is accurate and you are shooting low you might be anticipating a little. That will drive the muzzle down. We can look at that too...and...still have lots of fun!

 
At February 7, 2012 at 3:34 PM , Blogger JB said...

@EMac - I've got the same issue myself, high contrast sights, point/push shooting, and adjusting my stance are the solution I found. When I'm going for untimed score I shift my stance and shoot left eye, right handed Weaver stance where I can use my near sighted left eye to focus on the sight.

When I'm going for center mass speed drills I use a technique (can not for the life of me find where I read about it though to give you a link, but I think it's either Israeli or SAS shooting method) that's kind of point, but not quite. Basically, as you bring your gun up, you're extending your arms out toward the target, pushing your gun on target. The idea is that your arms become "pointers" too and as you reach shooting position, the front sight should align with the target for snap shooting. If anyone has any info about the "push shooting" technique, it might help.

 
At February 9, 2012 at 4:02 AM , Blogger Mikeo said...

jtiquiaFeb 6, 2012 01:53 PM
Try cleaning out the firing pin chanel. There should be no oil in there.
That is some good advice. That, and some shooting could make the light strikes go away. Keep track, too, which ammo is causing the problem, and see if you have a trend with an ammo that doesn't cause the light strikes. Look, too at the primers. Some primers are pretty hard and the simple is not deep enough. Good luck. The M&P is a good weapon. PS. Your targets look great.

 
At February 9, 2012 at 4:15 AM , Blogger agirlandhergun said...

Thanks!! I really don't think it is oil on the firing pin. I am really careful about that, but I hope it's that simple. This Saturday we are giving it a good cleaning and test different ammo and see what we get. Thanks for the advice!!!!!

 

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