Joe Huffman got a nifty toy at the Annual Meeting. Basically a set of shooting glasses that have a camera built in. I might have to get myself a pair of these.
Category: Shooting
A Day at the Range: Media Style
If the MSM reported your day at the range, from the Onion. Funny stuff.
Making that Front Sight Sharp
This kind of technology could be really beneficial to competitive shooters. It helps focus the front sight without blurring the target. Some would probably argue it’s cheating.
New Jersey Traffic Stop
Cemetery got pulled over on the way back from a match. In a normal state, this would go something like “Why yes, Officer, I do have firearms in the vehicle. They are locked security in the back, except for the loaded Glock in the glove box.” A few minutes later, you’d probably be on your way. But Cemetery did the right thing for Jersey, which is to shut up. I find his telling of the story hilarious, however:
But when I met up with my friend, I was still Cowboy’d Up cause she likes the clothes, I realized I stunk of sulfur, from shooting black magic. Makes me wonder if that’s what the Officer was smelling.
I’ll have to remember next I get pulled over after shooting black magic, that if I’m asked what that funky smell is, I’ll just say that I’ve been eating a bunch of chili. I think that will end the nosey business might quick.
Sounds like the right tactic to me.
Lead Issue Being Addressed in PA
There’s a bill being floated in Harrisburg that’s meant to address Philipsburg Gun Club’s ongoing dispute with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. I’ve heard from some activists in the state that have issues with the bill, and I have to join in some concern. If you read the text, it creates a state level task force  to investigate the issue. The politicians who have introduced this bill do not concern me. Senators Wozniak, Pippy, White, Eichelberger and Stout are all A-rated, so I think this represents a genuine effort to try to deal with this dispute.
What concerns me is that the shooter’s voice in this debate will be represented by the American Trapshooters Association and the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs. I have no issues with ATA’s presence on the task force, and think they bring a welcome voice. I do have some concerns with PFSC’s presence on the task force, as opposed to, say, NRA’s. Since Melody Zullinger left, PFSC has fallen on hard times, and they no longer seem to be active within the community. I’m very concerned about putting an issue this important in their hands.
Other than that, I think this bill does a number of good things. It prevents state agencies from closing down shooting at ranges without going through the PA Game Commission first, and even then only under a standard of, “because of scientific proof that the action is necessary to avoid environmental degradation which is beyond remediation.” It also puts the PA Game Commission, and not the DCNR, in charge of promulgating regulations for the management of lead at shooting ranges.
Record Sniper Shot by the Numbers
Recently a British sniper made a record shot with a .50Â .338LM [I should read] Caliber rifle. Joe Huffman gives it to us by the numbers. This is one thing that consistently amazes me about our opponents demonization of this caliber long range calibers. It’s like suggestion that because we make scalpels freely available, that means surely that unscrupulous individuals will be able to do their own quadruple bypass surgery, and wouldn’t that be just awful? They ignore the tremendous amount of skill, and not inconsiderable amount of luck, that goes into employing rifles at these kinds of distances.
Top Shot
New History Channel show that may or may not feature a blogger we all know. Well, OK, it does. But what I really want to know is how well Caleb can shoot a bow. It looks like we’ll find out!
Goldwater Institute Didn’t Research
Great Satan Inc does an excellent take down of Goldwater Institute’s complaint about tax dollars being spent on public ranges. Â They go into great detail as to how the Pittman-Robertson tax works, and how the funds are allocated. It’s pretty clear, as Kevin’s post suggests, that the conservative think thank didn’t think too much about this one.
Arizona has done a great job of managing its Pittman-Robertson funds compared to other states, and they have done it for the benefit of both shooters and hunters, which is to be commended. This is an issue Michael Bane has been talking about lately, and I think Michael’s idea has merit. But there’s a significant problem in other states that haven’t managed their PR funds well, and haven’t managed their fish and wildlife funds well. Pittman-Robertson money isn’t free to the states. It’s a matching program, and there are going to be some states that just don’t have the money to put up to get the matching federal funds. But this certainly isn’t all states, and there coud even be possibilities for restructuring how PR funds are allocated to the states that didn’t exist in 1937 when Congress originally passed it.
Watching Records Fall
Shot an air pistol Silhouette Match this morning. Actually won the thing, surprisingly, with a 62 out of 80 in open sight pistol. I think I finally found sight settings I like for the IZH-46M I got earlier this year. After the match we had Long Runs, for National Records. I shot well but got 10 of no animal, but I was happy to be on a Jury to see two records fall. Both records were in Senior category.
The first to topple was Chickens, open-sights, previously set almost exactly a year ago on 4/19/2009 by Herbert G. Meyers of Pennsylvania, and was at 18 Chickens, and will now be held by Rowland Smith, also of Pennsylvania with 25 Chickens. The other record, for scoped Pigs, held since 1995 by E. Jones of  California standing at 40 pigs, will now be held by Fred Fischer of Pennsylvania with 51 pigs.
At first I thought Fred had beat Rowland’s own record, but Rowland is the current record holder for open-sight pigs, senior category. In fact, I marked his winning that record last year when it happened.
Overall a pretty damned good day considering it was cold, windy, and not quite an ideal day.
New AR-15 Front Sight Posts in the Mail
High-Power/CMP season is starting at the club. First match was April, which I unfortunately missed because work is leaving me with little energy for much else. But since it was such a nice day yesterday, and I had some time, I decided to go the range for some practice. For the first time I got to shoot my M1903A3. which I bought from a guy at the club late last summer and haven’t yet had a chance to shoot. The first thing that struck me is how much nicer the front sight is over the AR-15.
The ’03-A3 has a thin, crisp front sight. The production AR-15 has a front sight as big as a house. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if you’re practicing on an NRA SR-1 target, the front sight is certainly much larger than the target, which makes aiming with any precision an exercise in futility. I decided if I’m going to shoot any high-power this shooting season having this was going to be a must, so I ordered a set from Brownells. I am hoping this will tighten up my groups a bit, since I think the main reason I have a tough time getting everything in the 10 ring with the AR is that I don’t really have a clear picture of where I’m aiming.