Sunday at the Range, and other things

Waiting for good weather during an Alaskan October is kinda like standing in the shower, hoping to stay dry. Come to think of it, it's exactly like that. It was still raining this morning, and appeared to be snowing above 3,000 feet. But I needed to practice with my pistol, having neglected it for awhile, in favor of sighting in my new rifle.

Off I went to the range this a.m., and it seems all the hunters are out of town. I only saw three people with long guns, but the pistol range was quite busy. It was early enough to get my favorite station, and this time I wanted to work on my grip and sight picture. I suspected that much of my recent problems had more to do with me than with the pistol.

Using the "Common Shooting Errors" chart from DeGrata Tactical, which I first saw on Brigid's blog, I was able to straighten the pistol in my hand, and stop anticipating the recoil.

At first my shots were all over an 8" target, but I reminded myself of what I'd learned, and concentrated on what I was doing. "Focus on the front sight, not the target ... use the tip of my finger, not the first joint ..."

When I was confident I knew where I was shooting, I put orange dots on the target I'd been using, plus two paper plates left behind by the previous shooter.

The results speak for themselves; you can see here where I put the last six rounds. I still need a lot of practice to be consistent, and shoot this way without having to concentrate to the point of nosebleed.

But this range trip was a LOT more fun, now that I can hit what I'm aiming at. Thanks also to all who have either posted comments or sent e-mails with helpful suggestions.

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My favorite store had a 30%-off coupon in this morning's paper, so I went back and cleaned them out of rifle ammo in my caliber (my wife said it was okay!). I'm set now for the winter, and don't have to be stingy at the range for fear I'll run out.

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More than half of the leaves are down now, and so we're ready for the first snow of the season, now.

I hope you've had a great weekend; thanks for stopping by.