Nighthawks

(Pictured: Jim Henderson and myself)

At the 2700 last Sunday, I discovered an irresistable stimulus / response; when the dot slows its wobble inside the 10 ring, my conscious brain yells, “Now!” And as any Bullseye shooter will tell you, that’s almost guaranteed to be a jerked shot, low and left for right-handed shooters like myself, or low and right for lefties.

My work has me on the road a lot and, when possible, I try to get in some range time. Here are the clubs and ranges I’ve visited, both here in Phoenix and while traveling.

I travel for a living. My job often sends me out on a Monday and home again on Friday but sometimes there’s a Sunday “out” or a Saturday “back” day. As such, it’s difficult for me to shoot the Tuesday evening Nighthawks here in Phoenix. Worse, I often miss the once-a-month 2700s on Sundays when an outbound leg starts with a mid-afternoon flight.

Okay, I’m convinced. My Springfield Armory “Mil-Spec” 1911 in Parkerized finish is becoming an impediment to my learning to shoot, but perhaps not in the way many would think.

I shipped my Smith & Wesson Model 41 (22LR) target pistol back to the manufacturer earlier this week. The extractor hook had gone missing for the second time in less than a year and I had decided to exercise S&W’s warranty and let them have a look.

It was “International” at Nighthawks league last night. The turnout was relatively small especially considering that the temperature had backed off from previous weeks.

The heat last night was oppressive at the weekly Nighthawks league at the [Phoenix Rod and Gun Club][1]. As I prepared for each shot, I couldn’t tell if those things crawling down the back of my neck, chest and leg were beads of sweat or the swarming bugs. There was almost no air movement and clouds of smoke hung on the line. The floodlight on target 1 was missing its cover and the bugs that flew into it gave off a unique roasting aroma each time we walked past to score the targets.

There were eight shooters at last night’s Nighthawks league at the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club. There was one Tyro (me), one Expert, five Masters and one High Master. We shot the “International” (as in Olympics) style competition consisting of three Slow Fire and three Dueling Fire targets of ten rounds each. Mario was the winner with 570 (out of 600) points and took home a small cash prize.

The Nighthawks Tuesday evening league started well last night at the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club, but then it got interesting.