Man, I’m beat.
I’m back from gun camp, which was a very enlightening experience. Its always nice to find out exactly what you don’t know. Sobering too. And it was a very good chance to learn/observe what works/doesntwork in terms of gear.
Since Im a gear-queer, lets talk toys:
In the handgun class there were 10 people. Thusly, 10 pistols. Of those 10 pistols 1 was a SIG 9mm and the rest were Glocks. Of the 9 Glocks there was one .45 GAP. So, out of ten guns there were eight 9mm Glocks.
All holsters, except mine, were kydex and I switched to a kydex holster early on. The only gun to experience malfunctions was the Glock .45 GAP which seemed to double-feed alot. This was believed to be a magazine related problem. Personally, I think its new-gun bugs being worked out.
Of the eight 9mm Glocks there were no malfs. I personally put almost 600 rounds through my early-model 17 (Stock gun, no mods) had no problems of any kind. Needless to say, my faith in the ability of a stock Glock to perform with quality commercial ammo is quite strong.
Not as strong on the AR’s though. The carbine class was tiny – three people. Me, the girlfriend and an older fella with a scoped Mini-14. Me and the girlfriend were carrying ARs..mine was a fullsize A2 with open sights. She had a shorty carbine flattop with a red dot. After about 300 rounds on this hot day I started getting jams. Mostly the bolt failing to go forward with sufficient force to completely strip the next round off the magazine. Solution was to , with the bolt closed, squirt a healthy dose of lube onto the bolt through the ejection port and work the bolt a few times. I have utter confidence that the AK’s would have handled this situation with ease…however, I thought we were going to do one handed mag change drills (which we didnt) and that the AK-style magazine release would work against us. The instructor advised lubing using FP-10, saying that other lubes (like Tetra, which Ive come to prefer) offer no benefit once they dry out/cook off. The guy runs an AR course and has experience, it would be foolish not to listen to him and give the stuff a shot.
The AR course was exhausting. Shooting from different angles as well as axes. (Difference, it seemed, was that angle was your up/down/sideways range of motion and axes was where your body was oriented….example, face away from the target and your axis is away from the target.) SOme of the drills were spectacularly difficult and in some ways painful. For example, face away from the target and twist your torso to the left (normally, your weak side) and shoot behind you. Or, my favorite for crunching internal organs, stand facing the target, shoulder the rifle and lean over to the side like your trying to look under a table. Your basically holding the gun upside down…now, start shooting and keep a good sight picture. Ow.
The pistol course featured the entire gamut of what youd expect: strong side one hand, weak side one hand, on hand reload, shooting from around cover left and right handed, shooting while moving, etc, etc. I remember how we had the courses of fire set up and will be replicating them at my local range with the steel plates.
Although the Glock performed spectacularly, I think its accuracy isnt as good as, say, my Browning. I’d very much like to take this course again with my beloved P35 and see how I do. I wouldnt mind trying it with a 1911 but one course of fire required almost 40 rounds if you didnt miss any shots…thats 6 .45 mags right there. No, I’d like to try it with the High Power though.
As an aside, this was my firs experience with a shooting course of any kind. The instructor was Pat Goodale. The courses were Def Handgun III and Tactical Rifle I. Mr. Goodale was very patient, more than willing to answer questions to my satisfaction, and generally had all the qualities you’d want in an instructor.
I personally hate when people refer to guns as “toys” since it makes it sound like it isn’t dangerous if mishandled and also as though it’s “optional” and thus legitimate to legislate against. I also hate when people use “play” for firearms practice and testing, since it connotes the same things.
Waah.
Thanks for posting that. One of these days I need to sign up for a gun camp like that. I think I might be a slacker and wait until fall, though, now that we’re into hot weather and high humidity down here in the south!
As for referring to guns as “toys,” I don’t use that term publically for the reasons gemmintheruff mentioned (and I’d be very surprised if you did), but I don’t have a problem with its use among fellow shooting enthusiasts, and that would seem to be the group we have here.
Then don’t.
Guns and cars are adult toys. 😉
I don’t, but promoting its use only helps solidify the idea that we’re freaks and unstable and dangerous. Why give the opposition ammunition?
Cars may be so, but there are still negative connotations to that. As for guns being “adult toys”, do you not plan to teach your children? Will you be happy if they call them “toys” and expect to use them with the same lack of supervision as their bike, Legos or Tonka toys?
We take cars to the track and flog them mercilessly. While doing so, we wear helmets, fire suits, etc. This is not done in the name of productivity, simply in the name of “fun.” Cars are THE most deadly item among society today. Stats bear this out, it isn’t even worth discussing. Still, you can have “fun” with one.
I go to the range to punch paper for “fun.” I have never once raised a gun in anger. I don’t discount the possibility of such ever happening, but I’d be more than happy if all I ever did with my guns was have “fun.” So for me the primary use of my guns on a day-to-day basis is, indeed, “fun.”
I have no children, FWIW. I have taught others, both adult and child. If you get somebody at the correct age/maturity level, they can certainly understand that anything can have multiple uses, both good and bad. Provided we take the precautions, we can, indeed, have “fun” with guns. I don’t think a child should be introduced to a gun as a toy, but neither should any adult. After they’ve become familiar with how to handle said item safely, we can certainly then introduce them to the more fun aspects of guns.
I don’t think that will matter to them one bit. You can call practice & training whatever you want, and they’ll still think were freaks:( Eh, screw them!
Mini-14
Did the older fella you mentioned have any problems with his Mini-14? I’m still locking at getting one (well, the Mini-30 to be exact), but I’ve heard plenty of pluses & minuses about the Ruger line.
If we fail to see how we assist in the persistence of that perception, we are our own worst enemy. When we approach it with an attitude of maturity and respect rather than childlike enthusiasm, we make our case more soundly and actually win people over.
Of course, there are the fanatics and extremists on BOTH sides, but why hurt our cause unnecessarily?
But this IS a public forum. Anything can be intercepted and used against one. I agree that it’s a personal choice, but I prefer that we not shoot ourselves in the foot, so to speak.
As for the gun courses, SigArms offers them all the time through their SigArms Academy (here in NH and I think elsewhere). In fact, I believe SigArms is hiring for a variety of positions right now. *Grin*
I don’t call them ‘toys”; I call them “problem solving equipment”.
Re: Mini-14
Well, my experience:
The Mini-14 is quite reliable but also seems to give only mediocre accuracy
Ruger no longer supplies OEM 30-rd mags so any you find will be aftermarket and therefore of uncertain quality
The Min-14 is allowed in alot of places where an AR wouldnt be
Sights arent much to write home about
Given the choice, Id take the AR over the Mini unless the Mini was a screaming deal ($300 or less.)
I think you are more of an optimist than I am. I figure no matter what terms you use (my personal, favorite slang term for firearms is “hardware”), if someone’s mindset is against you, they’ll twist whatever words you use to fit that mindset — or just tune you out all together. Some came up with a great term for that: “contempt before the facts”/
Not everyone is unreasonable and unreachable, just usually unaware or ill-educated to the facts. My hubby and I share this viewpoint, and he’s the most cynical person anyone can meet.
Just as we don’t want to be unjustifiably labelled, perhaps their side doesn’t seek that, either. We can’t leet the extremists control this discussion or it will be the domestic political version of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Walls and false impressions solve nothing.
Re: Mini-14
As far as the Mini-30 goes. Why would you get a Mini in 7.62×39? An AK would be cheaper, have far better magazine support and be easier to tweak out. If you want a Mini get it in .223 (although I personally dont care for either caliber Mini). Getting a Mini-30 is setting yourself up for logistical expenses and frustrations that are completely avoidable. My two cents worth.