Testing the waters
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:07 pm
Did I mention I'm doing a little shooting? I did, didn't I.
Not that anything has changed here on the outside; neighbors are still neighbors, ordinances are still ordinances, and all that. You guys know the scoop; no need to beat a dead horse.
But there have been some positive INSIDE changes.
First off, the "range". While prior examples offered a variety of distances up to 40 yards, the ultimate backstop was still the neighbor's fence, regardless of the distance between said fence and the target. After much cogitation and deliberation on the matter, I "changed it up", placing a sheet of plywood against the back wall of my garage and placing the target block in front of it. Bottom line; a low hit that would penetrate the plywood goes right into concrete. A wild or high shot goes, well...into the garage siding. With my babies inside (motorcycles/project car) it ain't happened yet. Let's just say I'm "motivated" not to do that...
The downside? Well, this "new" range is 15 yards. D'as it, d'as all. 15 yards. Deal with it. Beats not shooting, or being unsafe. Since I consider my "max ethical range" to be 20 yards anyway, no biggie.
Upsides? Well, my shooting area is now completely obscured by brush and leaves. And by leaving the noisy plastic burlap bag in the garage and using my 'spensive new"block", you'd have to listen hard to know what I was up to. And if I start shooting those "Bunny Busters", well...pretty much covers everything but the legal aspects.
The "New" range facilities...
So, tonight I tested out the new range. I was amazed at the first group of 5 I shot:
...Immediately followed by this group:
...and gradually breaking down to "crapola" afterwards, as my lack of muscle tone from not shooting much this past year+ began to work me over. Plus, it was only 15 yards, so nothing to write home about, folks.
Still, I'll take it...
Not that anything has changed here on the outside; neighbors are still neighbors, ordinances are still ordinances, and all that. You guys know the scoop; no need to beat a dead horse.
But there have been some positive INSIDE changes.
First off, the "range". While prior examples offered a variety of distances up to 40 yards, the ultimate backstop was still the neighbor's fence, regardless of the distance between said fence and the target. After much cogitation and deliberation on the matter, I "changed it up", placing a sheet of plywood against the back wall of my garage and placing the target block in front of it. Bottom line; a low hit that would penetrate the plywood goes right into concrete. A wild or high shot goes, well...into the garage siding. With my babies inside (motorcycles/project car) it ain't happened yet. Let's just say I'm "motivated" not to do that...
The downside? Well, this "new" range is 15 yards. D'as it, d'as all. 15 yards. Deal with it. Beats not shooting, or being unsafe. Since I consider my "max ethical range" to be 20 yards anyway, no biggie.
Upsides? Well, my shooting area is now completely obscured by brush and leaves. And by leaving the noisy plastic burlap bag in the garage and using my 'spensive new"block", you'd have to listen hard to know what I was up to. And if I start shooting those "Bunny Busters", well...pretty much covers everything but the legal aspects.
The "New" range facilities...
So, tonight I tested out the new range. I was amazed at the first group of 5 I shot:
...Immediately followed by this group:
...and gradually breaking down to "crapola" afterwards, as my lack of muscle tone from not shooting much this past year+ began to work me over. Plus, it was only 15 yards, so nothing to write home about, folks.
Still, I'll take it...