Gun-a-Day 22: Kimber Ultra RCP II, .45ACP, slide-top groove-rail sight, Episode VI (Return of the Wannabe-Dead-Eye)

The good news is that the total group is much more tightly bunched this time, and there’s even hit on that snobby little center-red dot (that’ll teach ‘im), and there are at least 11 shots on the target. I guess that means that there’s not any real bad news, but I sure would like to see all of the holes on the target sometime …

That 7 + 1 start was instructive. Having developed the habit of starting empty, I pulled the first slide after counting seven shots. As it dawned on me that a round was chambered, I realized that this could be a good idea in a competition (or, more significantly, threat-to-life) situation. If  I remember to pull the clip after 7, then there is no re-racking needed for the new magazine. The eighth round keeps the semi-auto action going. 

I “loves me” some target practice, and I got to wondering today about the Luvs diaper box I’ve been shooting at all week. I’ve just about used up all of the usefully-sized scrap and storage boxes around the house, so I set out to see how many days I could get from this one. Seemingly, it’s got a long history already? How many years has that thing “been in the family,” I wonder? Both of our daughters are in college, so if we bought in bulk and used the cube for storage (“FINANCES” is what is says on the flap), then it might be 15 or 16 years old … maybe we just got it from a store’s pitch pile for our last big move. That would still be almost eight.

Never let it be said that we don’t like being environmentally-conscious here at the Gun-a-Day Show. In addition to collecting about half a pound of spent lead after firing and photographing was done, this box still has puposes to serve. By the time this now-heavily-perforated container ends up as fire-starter down in the bonfire pit below the pond, it will have been “recycled” for multiple uses at least eight or nine times and will have lasted for a good 15 years or more. Not bad for a stretch of corrugated pulp and binding agents which may have started out in the first place being made from recovered materials.

Shot o’the Day 22: my “don’t try this at home, even though I’m no expert, so why should I have tried it or be presuming to tell anyone else not to” picture. I have not been satisfied with the time-lapse shots I’ve attempted so far, so, in the spirit of “No Try, Only Do-ism,” I chose to put my iPhone 4 just outside the line of fire and up-close-and-personal to the target. With a small section of railroad tie as a guard for the camera set-up, I pretended that everything would be fine and any deflections or shrapnel or wood chunks would not damage it as long as I wrapped a padded belt-bag around the smartphone’s body and left only the lens exposed. This “Bubo” rig by Owle for my iPhone 4 includes a macro lens for full depth of view pictures and video, and I want to learn how to use it to shoot better pictures at least as much as I want to learn how to use the Kimber to shoot better target groups.

As it turns out, everything was fine. There were lots of wood chunks flying though. If I’ve done things right, the video should also be embedded here. If not, then please just take my word that it wasn’t just a “Try.” I “Do’ed” it, but it didn’t turn out well enough to use … (looks like the video [really a time-lapsed string of photos] works).

Wow. So it turns out that my one center-hit was the first shot. That seems like a very good thing, but it also feels to me like that makes the rest of the shots a bit more disappointing … the “dead-eye” thing may be right, but the rest of the body may not be in sync …

Gun-a-Day 21: The Kimber Strikes Low (and Left)

The woodpeckers were an inspiration today.

In the slant winter light and chill, still air, they made lots of noise pounding holes into dead wood … and so did I.

Their natural instincts and countless repeated “shots” make them experts in accuracy and efficiency.

I’m not there yet. It should be pointed out, though, that one of my own natural tendencies (practiced far too often and long) was in evidence. If I were making an album today, this would be be my 2nd, and I would be suffering from what is referred to in the music business as the “Sophomore Slump.” I wanted to have a string of hits as a follow-up to yesterday’s “debut” of the more careful, informed shooting strategy, but I … uh … didn’t.

Woodpeckers probably don’t have these issues, but guys like me do. The fact that I have what I think must be a genetic predisposition to over-analyze things wouldn’t really be a problem in itself, but a corollary effect usually results.

In a nutshell, my life usually goes like this:

1. Over-thinking tends to result in under-achieving.

2. Over-thinking also tends to result in distraction.

3. Over-thinking additionally tends to result in avoidable anxiety.

An American treasure, the Late Great UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden was known to say, “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” That good advice was not, unfortunately , part of my hyper-analytic interior monologue …Oh, if only that “gett ing ahead of myself” issue wasn’t such an easily-identified pattern in all the other areas of my life as well. Not to be host of my own pity-party or anything …

Oh, if only these results had be en the product of a rapid-fire practice session. No, I took time to carefully aim each shot and try to improve my grip-reflex.Oh, if only I had some cheese to go with this whine …

Bottom line: tomorrow’s target can look better if I balance the visualizing thought with the reflexive action. Can’t wait to see how it goes.

In the meantime, shot o’the day is another nutshell concept, only this one isn’t in my head. It’s off in a corner of the property where brambles, scrub, deadfall, and bugs had kept me from setting foot on it until now. It’s a little forest within our forest– mossy-ferny, miniature “trees” with a decorative outcropping of acorn cap and nut as “boulders” … very peaceful. Stress-releasing. I may not get the target hits I want, but I sure have many blessings to enjoy and value and nurture– all from the steady hand of a loving Father God whose aim to “work all things together for good” is always right on target.

Gun-a-Day 20: Kimber Scores, Episode IV (A New Hope)

Gun-a-Day 20: Kimber Scores, Episode IV (A New Hope)

Yes, the recoil force is strong with this one, but I sense no fear, so I will continue to train with it … (my NRA Patron Life Member pin is not really legible here, but I can’t find my patch right now, so it’ll have to do).

Grip, trigger control, and careful sighting were the major points of focus today, and I can see how this practice thing might really work out well, if I don’t get lazy and just start popping caps instead of aiming carefully and developing repeatable patterns of action while on target and on trigger. I identified a number of improvements still to develop, but the overall understanding of how to think it through and what to do was much better and much more clear to me.

And today’s progress gives me the idea that even the few rounds I’ve rationed for daily sessions are enough to help me see improvements in technique as well as theory. I was able to keep a much better hold below the trigger today, and I was much more aware of my tendency to include my index finger in the post-recoil recovery– several times, in fact– it’s a wonder I hadn’t been having more un-aimed follow-up shots … I really want to get to the point that I can have accuracy with double-tap shot pairs, but I’ve got a ways to go before I handle the recoil well enough to not feel like I’m just spraying shots downrange if I send rounds one after another.

Here are pics of the target after each of the three magazines have been emptied. There were at least two recoil hangups today (the slide locked open half-way through the magazine– don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of that when a stovepipe or chamber jam wasn’t involved), and I found a couple of almost completely undamaged slugs out in the open (more on that later), so I wonder if they might have been low-powdered or something. Not a huge concern for now, but I’ll be conscious of that for tomorrow and beyond..

I thought something really good was happening up until the last mag. Not sure how or why two got away low (unless they were weak loads, but at only 25 feet that much extra drop seems unlikely …). But these are 6-inch targets, and the groupings are improved from earlier in the week– if not dramatically, then at least noticeably. I was using Aguila “cartouches” again, and I hesitate to blame the fliers on them or the rest of the hardware.

I’m very eager to see what can be done tomorrow. I’m still (literally) shooting for my goal of an “all on target” day, and there are only a couple more chances before moving on to another collection item in need of careful, studied, repeated practice. That’s what I’ll be “Glocking” about!

Another experiment in progress is the choice to go all week without cleaning the Kimber after each session. I want to see if I can tell any difference at all in function and accuracy after at least 100 rounds without cleaning. My hundred rounds is spread out over several consecutive days while some guys empty a couple of boxes as a habit in a single range session, so this is not a major torture test by any stretch of the imagination, but I tend to clean after almost every time, even just one magazine’s worth, so this is another way to learn more about my gear.

A year or so ago, I ended up with a 9mm round bouncing back into the cuff of my jeans one time (also from 25-30 feet), and I couldn’t figure out that one either. It was completely spent by the time it got to me, but, wow, did it get my instant, full, adrenaline-boosted attention!

Shot o’the Day today is of the slug that came (part of the way) back “home.” Maybe I should say that it’s the shot that shot back or that the backstop was more like a back-bounce with at least one round. The pictures below show the fiesty little FMJ about 8 or 9 feet in front of the target (see it there low in the picture, just right of the bottom-middle, with no obvious deformation at all– how does that even happen?!). In other words, that slug came about 1/3 of the way back to me. Very strange. There’s nothing but wood except for a spinner target to the side, and there was no metal ding to go with any rebound …

I got the same “Spidey-sense” tingle today I felt then– albeit a bit late to be much help– when I saw that slug on the ground between me and the target. The only mark was a black smudge on the nose (like it had been Sharpied). Not sure if that’s from the Shoot-n-C or the railroad tie tar, but how in the world did it get back far?

It’s very good to be reminded that there is no such thing as “total safety” or “perfect safety” when using firearms, even under the most controlled, careful conditions. It’s even better when the reminder comes without any near misses or actual injuries. No matter what, though, the fact is that when heavy chunks of metal go very fast and hit something, there really isn’t any way to immediately predict what might happen or where bits and pieces might end up. There is always some measure of risk, and that’s why every reasonable precaution and even a few seemingly unreasonable ones are highly advisable. One of the most important things in target practice is to finish the session healthy– ready and able to come back again.

I’m always grateful for tangible reminders– like that out of place slug– of God’s watch-care, tender mercy, and amazing grace …

Only a couple more days of .45CAP practice for a while, but there are still bullets in the stockpile and plenty of hope for, potentially, better and better results to come.