Went to the range today.....

[Tom W.]

And just took my SRH and 30/30 a.i. I had a bunch of .44 mag rounds that I don't remember how long ago I loaded them, but they were book loads with cast 245 grain boolits from an RCBS mold. Herco powder.
I asked the RO if I could shoot the six inch steel plates with the .44 and he said sure, as they were rated for large caliber rifles. I told him that I was going to shoot with open sights, offhand. He looked at me and said it was 56 yards from where I was wanting to shoot from, but to have a ball.
The first shot was a bit high, the next two took out two consecutive plates, and I missed the rest. I reloaded and tried again, missing the first four and getting the next two. The RO wanted to reset and paint the steel, so the range went cold and I rested a bit. After everyone finished checking and changing their targets the range went hot . My first shot was a shade high, the second one hit dead center, third knocked a plate silly, fourth shot took out two plates and I missed the last two. By that time I was ready to stop anyway, as I was getting tired.

Prior to that I had been shooting a small target at 50 yards with my 30/30 a.i.
The first ten weren't too spectacular, but the group was awesome. I moved the scope up and right, put a new target up and promptly punched out the little red dot I was using for an aiming point. So I merrily went on my way shooting holes. When I finished I could poke my index finger into the center of the target, with a few fliers that weren't a surprise, just poor shooting on my behalf.
I'm going to have to bring a stool or something as the pistol range isn't really designed to shoot from the bench and I gotta be some sort of contortionist to try. But everyone gets along well and no one complanes with. It won't be too many more trips and I'll be out of standard 30/30 rounds.....

I looked at my hands after shooting those Herco loads from the .44 and my hands were black. I knew there was a reason I had those loads separate. No problem with accuracy from this tired old man, just more dirty than I remembered. But it washed off with Dawn.

And I really enjoyed the time there shooting that big Boomer. I didn't even take either of my 9mm pistols.

[Bazoo]

Sounds like a real pleasant time. Pretty decent pistol shooting. I can hit a 6" plate at 50 with a capable handgun and load. Folks that that caint shoot a handgun hardly believe it. At one time I could hit a coke can at 50 with the single six. Little out of practice now.

[50target]

Tom, enjoyed the fellowship as always. Fired not a round but had a great time. The young military couple were most enjoyable but the British serviceman and his daughter were a delight. She was about 10 and shot her first gun ever. When that first shot went off, she stepped back, did a fist pump and shouted OH YEAH !!! Made my heart smile. The Brit is an exchange here at Benning for two years. He had a blast as well with lots of questions on our gun culture. Hope to see more of them.
Bob

[Tom W.]

I probably will have to go to my son's house and collect my 1100 for the turkey shoot next month. Does the SO provide the ammo for the shoot or do we bring our own?

The young couple's wife put a big smile on my face when she said " my arm is very angry!" after firing her rifle. I never heard it put quite like that before.

And as always, the fellowship was great! We gotta find a way to do it more often, maybe twice a month.....