A good day at the range.

June 17, 2012By Rob

One of my roles in life is as a “Firearms Evangelist”. My goal is to show people that guns aren’t bad, and can really be a fun activity. It was my privilege to take a brand new shooter (and a helper) this Saturday for an informal “intro to firearms” class of sorts. With a heavy focus on safety and range procedures we covered and demonstrated about 20 handguns of various calibers, and a few rifles.

This is my 30th or so new shooter that I’ve taken out, and its a great feeling to be part of it. 22Lr almost always wins the favorite game, which is a great option.

FedEx arrived before we left, and brought me a long awaited present. http://www.xs-products.com fully-encased-alloy-50-round-drum-magazine-for-the-ar15 Loaded it up, and it ran like a champ, very solid build.

fully-encased-alloy-50-round-drum-magazine-for-the-ar15
Alloy-50-round-drum-magazine-for-the-ar15

A little shooting with the guys

June 12, 2012By Rob

Went out with some folks to practice a little, and it broke out into a little competition shooting steel plates. Things were tight, back and forth between Ben and myself, till I put the smack down with this run. This took the record from low 7s, down to low 4s. “Boom! 4.18”

More 45GAP nightmares

May 17, 2012By Rob

Well, another night of loading messes.

Just got a shipment in from Dillon, lots of spare parts that I’ve needed. Got parts installed on the 1050 and got some loading in!

In a load of brass that came in “Cleaned and sorted” I managed to find it a little less than advertised.

In the 75 rounds I loaded tonight, I ran into 2 more 45GAPs, one of which struck and set off the primer (45GAP uses small pistol primers, and when you try to stuff a Large Pistol primer in a small pistol primer pocket, bad things happen.

Also found, hiding in 45ACP brass (that I missed) 1 380acp, 1 40sw, and one 9mm brass.

45GAP (After primer) 45GAP, 380, 40sw, and 9mm. All in the wrong place at the wrong time!

45 GAP – Its like picking up a chick, and ending up with a transvestite…

May 12, 2012By Rob

Designer Ernest Durham
Designed November 2002
Produced 2003–present
Bullet diameter .451 in (11.5 mm)
Case length .755 in (19.2 mm)
Overall length 1.070 in (27.2 mm)

The .45 G.A.P. (often called the .45 “GAP”) pistol cartridge was designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the .45 ACP but was shorter to fit in a more compact handgun, and with a stronger case head to reduce the possibility of case neck blowouts. G.A.P. is an acronym for “Glock Automatic Pistol”, and the .45 G.A.P. is the first commercially-introduced cartridge identified with Glock.

Got the whole works gummed up and lost my groove today while loading some 45acp on the RLSuper 1050. Not only is it slightly shorter, it also uses small pistol primers…. Not sure how it slipped into my brass bucket.

45ACPvs45GAP
45ACP vs 45GAP

.45 GAP

Becoming a NRA Certified Pistol Instuctor

May 10, 2012By Rob
NRA Instructor_logo
I'm an NRA Instructor now!

In my push to become more “educated” and gain credentials for more of my skills, I took a few days off work to attend some NRA classes.

Since 1871, a major objective of the National Rifle Association has been to provide education and training in the safe and proper use of firearms. Knowing how to shoot is an important requirement for NRA instructors, but you will also need to know how to teach others to shoot. NRA Instructor Training Courses help you develop the additional knowledge, skills and techniques needed to organize and teach courses in the NRA Basic Firearm Training Program.

Training Counselors will evaluate candidates’ performance based on their ability to handle the firearms with confidence, use of appropriate training aids, following the lesson plans and meeting all learning objectives, while utilizing the teaching philosophies expected of NRA Certified Instructors. Candidates can also expect to learn the NRA discipline specific instructional methods and evaluating and improving the performance of beginning shooters. Candidates will be provided with the NRA Trainer’s Guide, appropriate Lesson Plans and Outlines, Basic Course Student handbooks, certificates, basic student examinations, Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program booklet, Basic Firearm Training Programs Brochure, Gun Safety Rules brochure, NRA Trainer’s Examination and NRA discipline specific instructor examination (minimum passing grade is 90%).

My quest for RSO certification…

May 10, 2012By Rob
RSO logo
I'm an NRA RSO!

A couple Sundays ago, I spent the day at http://www.volusiacountygunandhuntclub.com/ to gain my RSO certification. This title allows me to be “the man” at the range, responsible for everything that goes on while I’m in charge. While the thought of being responsible for 40 random people shooting scares me a little, I’m sure I’ll get used to it, and with what I’ve learned in the class I have the tools I need to do it safely. It also allows me to open the range early, or keep it open later in the day. This is helpful for people that work later in the day but still like to shoot.

Clear out some 45acp brass

April 15, 2012By Rob

Ben and I hit the range today to throw some lead down range. This was his first visit to Volusia County Gun and Hunt club, and I introduced him to the fun of steel plates.

At one point we ran my 1911 till it was so hot you couldn’t hold on to it…

He took some video of me proving I need more practice. To be fair, my Glock had just bit me, and I was bleeding while doing this. I should stick with the 1911. My trusty 686 really let me down today, its going to visit Bruce at The AWPeterson Gunshop for its 20 year tuneup, I guess.

300 Blackout reload tests

March 17, 2012By Rob

Rough report

Load Bullet Weight Low High Average
My Reloads 125gr 1978 2129 2062
Remington 115gr 2259 2313 2294
Gunn Ammo 130gr 2067 2093 2080

As we can tell, my loads came in 3rd in speed. Just barely behind Gunn Ammo’s 130 grain. And 232 fps behind the Remington.

It looks like I could turn it up a little if I wanted to, but next to load more and check for 100 yard accuracy. Maybe next week…