A Day at the Range

Last Sunday I worked a table at the gun show being held in conjunction with the TSRA annual meetings. I was working a recruiting table for the North Texas Gun Owners. I had a great time passing out information and talking politics with fellow gunnies. At the gun show I met a couple of gents from across the pond, one from the UK and one from Holland who mentioned that they didn't get to do all this gun stuff at home. So of course I invited them out shooting.

The initial plan was to head out to the outdoor range, but when they called last evening they asked if 11 could shoot with us. I said sure and started making plans for hosting 11 new shooters at the private range. Only problem is that 11 guests far exceeds the rules for guests so I came up with a different plan.

This morning I called the Winchester Gallery Gun Range, explained my situation and reserved 5 adjoining lanes for this afternoon. With this many new shooters the indoor shooting range was a better idea anyway. Specific lanes with target retrievers make keeping an eye on safety issues much easier.

I also called Paul, a reader who has offered his help in the past and let him know what was going on.

I met the guys at a gas station off of I20, it turned out that only 8 showed up and 2 of them were shooters (sigh of relief on my part). We caravaned to the range and got set up. The folks at Winchester Gallery did a great job of getting us set up with adjoining lanes at the beginning of their busiest part of the day.

Paul met us at the range and helped with getting everyone settled in and understanding the basic safety rules. We covered all four but I only stressed two for this shoot. Keep the barrel pointed down range at the backstop and keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Your gun malfunctions, keep it pointed down range at the backstop, keep you finger off of the trigger and I will come help you clear it. The guys did a great job of shooting safe today, I was very pleased.

I did not take many pictures because I was busy keeping an eye on things and helping out where needed. Here are a couple that I did take, maybe the guys will email me a few more that I can add later.

An indoor range, our group alone putting more than a 1000 rounds of .45 and 9mm down range, and you might end up with a bit of smoke.

A less smoky picture of some of the targets.

What all did I bring? The Ruger Standard .22, V's Browning Hi-Power, the Ruger SP-101 .357, my Kimber Pro Carry and the Para USA Gun Blog .45. One of the two guys who was a shooter brought a loaded Springfield .45. I think each gun we had on the line had someone who found it to be his favorite. The Ruger Standard's biggest fan was from Malaysia and had never even been around firearms before. It was a very big deal for him to even pick up a gun, much less shoot it. He did an outstanding job with that Ruger.

For one of the guys, each time he moved up a caliber, that gun became his favorite. By the end of the day he was shooting full house .357 magnum out of the SP-101 and 230 gr. +P's out of the .45's.

I had a blast and I am pretty sure that a good time was had by one and all.

Now it is time to relax with a Fuller's Vintage Ale, a fine end to a great day.