Carbines Again

24. August 2012 · Comments Off on Carbines Again · Categories: Carbine · Tags: ,

Yet another carbine event. It was not nearly as hot out, so that helped! The course also didn’t require as much time spent in the sun.

First we ran forth and shot at 200 yard targets. Unfortunately, on the first go, the line was stopped a little short of the berm and some of us were aiming low because we were coming at it from an angle. Gravity was working differently from the perspective of our scopes. So we tried that again. And I hit something! Yay! Then we had movers. They were balloons. Didn’t get that one. Then we had two different stages of movers to shoot at from two positions.

We then went over to the shorter ranges and a course was set up that required moving from the 100 yard range to the 50 yard range with a wide range of targets and scenarios to do. First at 100 yards, we had targets out at 50 and 100. Some people went prone (me!) and others used the post markers as supports. Then on to the other side where there was a lot of moving back and forth from one target to another.  We had to shoot at some targets while moving towards them. Eventually we’d clear our rifles and put it down, draw our pistols, and go after some more targets. Including walking backwards!

Hey! I just did that yesterday (well not really, I just shot and then walked backwards. C’mon.). Damn, that’s hard.

Overall, it was a pretty fun event. My PS90 performed great with the exception of a gunky magazine that needs some lube. We also tested out and then zeroed in my new AR-15 which is good to go in my next carbine game. A very satisfying weekend.

Range Day

06. July 2012 · Comments Off on Range Day · Categories: Practice · Tags:

We went out to the long distance range to get initiated into the club. This was the first gun club I ever joined.

Different clubs have different attitudes, and I think that this goes deeper than the type of guns and games. Each one has a different personality. This particular range is about serious business. People show up, they get down to the serious business of the day, then they head out. They are friendly enough, but it was made clear in the initiation meeting that they aren’t here to hold a picnic.

I’m writing this report about 2 weeks later so my memory is a little hazy. This’ll teach me not to dawdle and let memory fade.

First, we spent some time helping around the place while we waited for an event to clear out and free up some space. Then we zeroed in my PS90 at 50 yards.

Then we went out to the longer range to check out how much drop there was at 200 and 300 yards. This is the range where I had a tough time in the carbine competition with my red dot, but today I had my beautiful zeroed in scope with me.

At two hundred yards, I did well enough. It was pretty satisfying. I was surprised at my ability to get those shots on paper even though, as I watch my sight picture fade in and out, it felt and looked like I was going all over the place. From the way it shook around, you’d have thought I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Reducing the zoom a little helped with the mental portion of the activity.

At 200 yards it was going pretty straight with little drop. At 300 it was well… dropping significantly.

My trigger pulls are too fast. I haven’t gotten down to the testudine slowness of a person who knows what they’re doing. The PS90’s trigger is still a little disconcerting because of how it seems to ‘catch’ at two points before it finally clicks. It’s not very smooth! But I seem to be getting used to it a bit—I notice it less now than I used to. I’m going to a rifle training this weekend. I’m prepared to have worn out arm muscles and better discipline.

Carbine Competition

24. May 2012 · Comments Off on Carbine Competition · Categories: Carbine, Competition, Shooting · Tags: ,

I will be entering my first carbine competition on Saturday. This will be the second time I’ll be taking my PS90 out so I’m kind of nervous. At least the red dot is zeroed in and ready to go for the short range portions.

It turns out you need a lot of gear for these competitions. In addition to having 3 magazines and the red dot, we picked up a sling so I can do the portion where you drag a dummy across the ground as part of the scenario (SERIOUSLY??? That is so cool!). Once my lovely Leupold gets zeroed in, I’ll be able to swap it out with the red dot as the distance changes.

Similarly, prepping for pistol competitions, I have a couple (not enough!) magazines for my Walther P22 and ordered in a new holster (I still don’t get who thought up the term “Third Eye” stance….) and get this! a glowing-green fiberoptic front sight! Frickin’ laser beams!

On a side note, the Skyfall trailer has me really excited about practicing doubletaps or, the new convention of 2+1. Drool! I literally asked “Can he do that?!” as I had a suspicion the speed was only possible in movies. Yet another thing I can work on!

I I’m kind of glad he’s still using the PPK but given he’s drinking Heineken, maybe he should just move to a Glock.

Ultimate Defense Rocks

15. April 2012 · Comments Off on Ultimate Defense Rocks · Categories: Guns, Shooting · Tags: , ,

I was moving across the country. Our last day was the day we took our two friends to the range for the first time. We took them to the range that we thought we’d be able to use the FN PS90. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The caliber was right, but it was a “rifle” and not a “pistol”. Welp.

We started our trek, planning to meet some friends in Boise and going to an outdoor range, but got out of town way later than we expected.

Welp.

Ok, let’s try this again! We were meeting a friend near Wichita (Fort Riley) and planned to meet other friends in Indianapolis.  Found a range that should let us use the PS90 in St. Louis so we planned to stay in Kansas City and hit up the range early in the morning.

That random place turned out to be Ultimate Defense Firing Range and Training Center.

Now of course, they get points for letting us use the PS90 indoors when other ranges don’t for arbitrary and non-arbitrary reasons. But these guys are just so helpful that I really enjoyed my stay. Friendly, easygoing yet serious, and well informed, the staff are great. They had a nice selection of rentals with nice rental rates. If I were in the area, I’d definitely be back.

FN PS90

We tried zeroing this in. Sadly, we only had 25 yards to play with, but this might be an indication of what options will be realistically available. Zeroing it in took more bullets than expected. This is not something I understand yet.

We put a red dot on it, which was damn easy to use. Target acquisition was so fast! I do need to dim it next time though, the dot and the ring around it covered up most of the target, so I couldn’t really see the thing that I was actually shooting at. But my response to feedback was reassuring. Pop off three rounds, have a look, adjust relative to the entire paper target, and repeat.

Unfortunately the iron sight option that came with the gun was holes in a tube. I didn’t even realize it was there at first. I took one look down that thing and said “no”.

Overall I love my gun. It’s super easy and very fun. The only part that’s a downside is the long trigger pull. It’s not just long. It’s uneven. There’s two points where it requires more pressure so it kind of feels like pulling three triggers. At the final one, it actually fires. I don’t know if this is going to be a benefit or detriment learning on this gun.

I’m looking forward to using it in obstacle courses.

 

FN Five-Seven

We also rented the five-seven. Also very easy, also low recoil. The only problem we had with it was that the extended magazine (yeah, 30 rounds) was a point of feed failure. The first couple rounds kept jamming. One other minor detail that I noticed was that the factory iron sights suck.

It’s pretty solid, it has nice controls, but it just feels kind of… bland to shoot.

The main reasons I wanted this gun was to match my PS90 (and of course, black on black). After using it, I’m not real sure now. The bullet is an uncomfortable size. It may in some cases fall through the cracks in competitions; distinctly larger than a .22 but technically not as wide as 9mm. Ehhh, I think it’s moving down my list of desired weapons. I’ll want one to match, but I don’t see myself using it a lot.

Back to the shop
Great place. I highly recommend it. They even gave me a free Sig Sauer hat!