Nighthawks

I occasionally take non-shooters to the range for their first experience with firearms. Over time, I’ve tended toward a similar sequence of presenting things but knowing the Bullseye community’s safety record, I decided to ask for their input as well. The following procedure benefits from the excellent suggestions of Fred, JC, Chuck, Sheral, Kent and George in the Bullseye-L email community, and from the shooters I meet on the line from whom I’ve learned many valuable and sometimes life-saving lessons.

I fired 2437-37X in today’s 2700.

That’s 90.26% for 270 of the 360 record shots I need to advance to Outdoor Expert.

(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.