Prior to departing, I conducted a safety briefing with my kids to remind them of the rules. I also went over the operation of each of the guns we would be firing. We then picked up my son's girlfriend Cheryl, who had never handled a firearm before but was eager to learn. On the drive over, we again covered the Rules, grip, stance, and expectations.
Arriving at the range, we discovered a line to the door with 12 or more people ahead of us. Thankfully, after checking we only had to wait another 30 minutes for our lanes to open. We got set up, and then everyone got one more reminder about safety and operation and then we were shooting.
Cheryl really enjoyed the Walther PP .32 ACP, the Savage Mark II .22LR, and the XDm-45. In fact, she kept going back to the XDm time and again for her recoil fix. Big grins all around!
I did have one casualty though. My Astra A-100 failed. The gun locked up out of battery and would not close. I dropped the mag and didn't see anything obvious. When I tried to re-insert the magazine, it would not insert fully. I took the slide off and walked out front where the light was and examined it more closely. Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that the gun was done for the day. The barrel stop had broken in 2 places.
This gun, while not expensive, has a great deal of sentimental value. It is no longer in production and some parts are scarce, especially magazines. I called European American Armory (EAA) this morning after a quick check of their website, and they do have the part in stock. Hopefully, I can have this one back up and running shortly.
On the whole, it was a pretty good day. I got to scrape the rust off of my skills and get some recoil therapy. My oldest son and my daughter got to have some fun. And, a new shooter got to see that guns are fun when used properly. Sounds like a win to me!
Pax,
Newbius
3 comments:
A good day all around... But now you don't have an excuse for the Sig 229...LOL
Well, maybe I still do. Due to the likelihood of scarce parts for the Astra, it will no longer do duty as a carry gun. And, I've been thinking about getting a 9mm for a while anyway.
I've always liked Sigs...
Sure... sure :-) Good to see ya yesterday, and two days shooting in a row is GOOD!
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