It has been
far, far too long since I spent a day at the range. I wentyesterday with partner, just hoping to a: Make sure the sights on the squirrel gun were OK, and b: get a good couple hundred rounds through the AR.
I did ok on all counts, and even managed to get to shoot Partners Springfield 1922 training rifle.
Wow.
I mean. Wow. Well, I guess it make ssense, the rifle is for all purposes full sized but with a tiny bore, so it’s like a heavy barreled target rifle. And Partner’s rifle is so beautiful it’s not funny.
I put a couple hundred through the AR to make sure it was going to be OK, and it is,. It shoots a little high but I didn’t even bring a pair of binoculars. I didn’t want to see how well it would shoot, I wanted to see how well it ran, and it ran perfectly. I also accumulated a BUNCH of brass, guys to the left and right of me were shooting spendy ammo and leaving the brass on the ground.
I learned a lesson others have learned before me; the muzzle of the AR is some distance below the sight; this didn’t cause much concern but it did cause me to shoot a hole in my NEW AR gun case.
So I need to get another, but I suppose I’ll see Mr Lee at the next gunshow which is Sunday.
And then Partner pulled out his M1A. It’s one of those high end match guns, probably made to use a scope, he just doesn’t have one for it- yet. Anyway, with iron sights, at 50 yards, he puts the first round in the X ring.
I was- frankly- not surprised. partner has an innate skill, but he doesn’t shoot enough to develop it. I don’t either, frankly, but I should remedy that.
Meanwhle, the recoil therapy helped my attitude a lot.
The M1A shoots just fine without a scope and in some matched, you can only use iron sites. If I had to use iron, that is the rifle I would want to use.
I wish I had a few extra thousand burning a hole in m pocket. The M1A is pretty far down the list, but it is still ion the list.
Lots of things have been conspiring to keep me home from the range too. I need to do something about that.
Yep, that difference in height is a big deal up close – say, for popping the heads off rattlers within ten or twenty feet.
A buddy of mine has a couple of those M1A1’s. I like to shoot them, but if I have to haul one around all day every day, the AR will get the bid. That or the Stevens 30-06.
The M1A1 has a notch on the left side of the receiver right below a bolt hole. The scope mount goes there. You can have one set up with a scope that leaves the iron sights open for use. Sort of a backup plan if you use battery powered optics.
I think I might get another AR as they are lighter and in the M4 configuration almost anyone in my household can handle them.
Weight can be important when you are carrying everything. Which could be sooner than I like to contemplate.
I have a metric buttload of rifles. The three I like to shoot the most are in order: .45 T-C Hawken, Ruger 10-22, M1 Carbine. I picked up a Lee R.E.A.L. mold last week and cast 150 of ’em for a shoot next week. I cast ’em out of wheelweight alloy so they need to sit and stabilize for a few days. I’m going to do an experiment by lubing them with Lee’s Liquid Alox twice. I hope it works better than the old U.S. Army black powder lube of 50/50 beeswax and beef tallow. The liquid alox is a great deal cleaner and doesn’t stink like the old Army lube does.
I do love to shoot.
Gerry N.
Fired a M1A once, but it was a long time ago; still on my list of ‘Things I’d like to have’.
About a year ago I got a Ultimak mount for my Garand, replaces the rear handguard and has a rail on top. Stuck a scope on it, and damn, that’s nice! Got to try it at 250 the other day, and with PS ball it shot nicely; put some newer, more consistent ammo in, and I think it’ll do real well
I lucked into a MikeOneA in the early 90’s. Right after the AW ban. It LOVES 155 grain Palma Match from Sierra. It is such a sweet machine.
I know a certain combat medic that shot expert. In the sand box, he wasn’t allowed to carry the M14 due to his “red cross”. Said it was sad to miss out on the long range ability of that platform. Mentioned his M4 didn’t do well at 500 plus meters with the large-dot sight supplied buy Uncle Sugar.