Gaining Firearm Familiarity

I grew up on a farm and was always around guns.  My brothers and I did a lot of target shooting for fun as well as spending considerable time patrolling fence lines for pest control.  There is a certain comfort level that exists with firearms.

The same is not true for Courtney.  This does not mean she is an anti-gunner, but rather that she does not possess that basic level of knowledge and experience of proper firearms handling and proficiency. She wants to learn, though.

So, where do we start?  I do not recommend trial by fire, putting her out on a firing line and saying “point and squeeze!”  Courtney and I started long ago, slowly, on the living room couch, reviewing an unloaded weapon.  First start with identification of parts and functions.  I went over a rifle, shotgun and handgun, showing how to work each type of action and also correct identification of which cartridges go with which firearm. I store my pump action shotgun with a full magazine but an empty chamber.  Knowing how to quickly hit the slide release will turn that item from an expensive club into a firearm.

Repetition is key to learning.  Once the basics are learned, you can begin handling and operating.  Depending on they type of firearm, dry firing or the use of snap caps can be employed here.  Determining whether a gun is loaded, loading the gun, aiming, firing and reloading can all be practiced first in the living room before heading out to the range.

Once at the range everything should be natural and safe.  Having a basic familiarity first will help alleviate any uncertainty or apprehension.  I would also recommend that your trigger happy shooting buddies stay home for the first range visit with your wife.  You don’t need an audience.

Thanks, Robert.

Firearm Safety

There is nothing new here, but I’m putting in writing the rules that we live by when it comes to the firearms that we keep for sport and family protection. These first four primary rules were first created by the Colonel Jeff Cooper.  More detailed explanation of each one can be found at this helpful link on wikipedia.

1. A gun is always loaded.

2.Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you sights are on the target.

4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Another good rule, that is obvious but worth stating anyways is from a college friend of mine: One in the cabinet and one in the hand.  This has to do with mixing alcoholic beverages and shooting.  Never mix the two.  And never handle your weapons after consuming alcoholic beverages.

I can’t remember where I heard this, but a statement I like to make to friends about muzzle control when target shooting is very effective and always makes people think:  When I am faced with a situation where the muzzle of a weapon is pointed at me, how do I know the intention of the shooter?  Is it a mistake, or does that person aim to harm?  Prudence would suggest that I act in self defense to eliminate the potential threat.

Yes, that above paragraph is provocative.  It is fully intended to be so.

Thanks, Robert.

In Defense of My Defense

Guns.  Yes, it can be a very scary  and divisive subject, with many people having extreme and varied opinions.  What good is all that work invested in your homestead’s garden only to have a bunch of wild animals mow it all down?  Today I write about my arsenal (ha – it’s really not that big) and the logic behind it.  I welcome comments and discussion which may ensue.

The 12 gauge shotgun is about the most versatile and formidable of all firearms.  My favorite name for my Winchester Model 1200 comes from the movie ‘Tombstone’ where Doc Holliday refers to it as his ‘street howitzer.’  It can be adapted to many situations and is very effective for the close range needs as well as acting as a deterrent.  Merely cycling the action is sure to cause a would be burglar to soil his shorts and have second thoughts about what he was doing.  A warning blast fired into the air lets that hawk (that you don’t intend on killing – see previous article where I had to defend our chickens) know that you mean business.

The pump action shotgun is very easy to use and is rugged and durable.  It can really take a beating and is rather universal in design.  Anyone with a general familiarity can pick one up and use it, regardless of the brand or size.

I keep nothing more than the cheapest of Walmart’s target/field shells, which happens to be the Federal brand at the moment.  About 100 rounds are kept in inventory.  I only use the target loads, primarily because they are dirt cheap, but also because of their safety.  If there ever were a time that it was needed for self defense in the home.  The small pieces that comprise a target load are less likely to penetrate walls than large buckshot, maintaining safety and reducing unintended casualties.

I’ve also got a Marlin 25N, which is a .22 long rifle.  It shoots a very small rimfire cartridge and is great for target practicing and for defending the garden.  I’ve protected many a carrot from hungry rabbits and groundhogs.  This scoped, bold action rifle is easy to shoot because it has very little recoil.  When it is time for Courtney to learn how to shoot (one of her 2011 goals) we’ll start with this gun.

Ammo is really affordable for this gun.  I buy it by the brick, which is a box containing 500 rounds and is usually $18-$22 at Walmart.  The spent casings cannot be reloaded, however, so this is a consumption item.  Due to it’s low cost, however, you can do as much target practicing as you want with this gun. At least one box of 500 rounds are sufficient to keep on hand.

The final weapon in our home is a Remington 700 Custom Deluxe BDL chambered in .30-06.  The 700 platform is a highly respected platform, revered for it’s accuracy.  There are many variations of this platform, right down to use in military and police sniper units.  The .30-06 cartridge is a little older, but is still very popular.  This cartridge can be accurate out to 1,000 yards or more.  I’ve never shot anything that far, but I can say that the last time I took it out, I was shooting 1 inch groups at 100 yards.  In shooting terminology, that is 1 minute of angle (MOA) and isn’t half bad.

A .30-06 rifle is a high powered, long range rifle that can be used for protection from larger predators.  While its true that shot placement (perhaps with the .22)  trumps all else, the energy carried downrange by this bullet is immense and carries a lot of stopping power.

Due to the age of the .30-06 round (developed in 1906, but widely used until the 1970′s) cheap ammo is hard to find now.  This round has been surpassed in military use and therefore general popularity by the .308 round (or 7.62×51 NATO) but the debate rages on as to which is still better.   You don’t need a ton of ammo for this one, thanks to it’s surgical accuracy.  I’ve got about 80 live on hand, plus the 120 empties that I’ve saved over the years.  The plan to circumvent the higher cost of ammo is to begin reloading my own.  One of my recent garage sale prize finds was a 1967 RCBS Rockchucker reloading press which I got for only $10.  I went to a local gun show recently to buy the proper dies that fit my shells and the vendor about fell over when he heard what I paid for this top of the line press which would still command a $100 price tag.

I’ll be sure to write again once I’ve started my own personal ammo factory, but I’ve got some studying up to do first.  The mail man dropped off my Lyman Reloading Handbook last week, so I’ve got to figure it all out now.

Be safe and have fun.  Robert