Range Monkeys

I got a chance to get to the range today...no, yesterday. It's getting late.

No, I didn't take my new 1911. I just took a couple of pieces of tactical tupperware with me - my Springfield XD40 and Kahr P9. The only reason I went was to maintain a level of proficiency with these two guns, being as they are my first line weapons. One lives at home, the other in the car. I try to run a hundred rounds thru each every month, just to stay a little bit proficient.

So I'm doing my thing, punching paper, when the range monkeys start jittering and chirping behind me.

I've talked a bit about grip and stance before. I wasn't blowing smoke - I actually use that method for shooting. Thumbs up and forward, grip tight, arms tense, feet parallel.

So these particular range monkeys are taking notice of my shooting style. I know this because I wear Peltor electronic noise suppressors that let me hear very well when things aren't going boom. Specifically, they're critiquing my stance - they think one of my feet should be set back a foot or so. I talked before about my reason for my stance and where I learned it, and I think I made some good points. I like my style - I'm comfortable with it. I don't care if you stand on one foot and place the other behind your neck - if you can put rounds on target when it counts, it works for you.

So the range monkeys jabber away thru the cease fire, I retrieve a set of targets and set up some more and transition to the other gun. I put my target down.

I wish I'd taken my camera to take a picture, but I didn't. I shot about 3" groups of 20 rounds at five 8" ShootNSee targets. Not bad. Not great, but respectable, and definately "minute of goblin" as you might say.

Range Monkey #1, I shall call him Rhesus, kinda hovers near my lane checking out my situation. Before the range is called hot, he introduces himself and kindly asks if he could make a suggestion. He then proceeds to go about ripping on me for about 5 minutes, as the range goes hot, and as the other monkeys look on.

Now, I'm still a young guy. I'd wager I was the only whippersnapper under 35 on the line. I couldn't just be a dick and tell him to piss up a rope. So I politely listened as he expounded on the benefits of one-handed gun slinging and yada yada. He points out that I'm still young, I can change for the better with some practice. Sure thing, pops. I know this.

I look down at the targets and think "That's pretty damn OK, right there." That's fairly rapid fire, in the manner I'm used to shooting.

But I humor him. I tell him I'll give him 20 rounds - that I'll shoot 20 rounds - his way, then 20 more my way, and we'd see which way got it done better. That just tickled him pink...

So I'm using the Kahr, which doesn't recoil much, for this little exercise. It's got a post-and-dot sight, or whatever you call it, whereas I'm much more used to 3-dot's. I go thru 20 rounds, slowly, one-handed. About a 6" loose group. I go thru 20rds more my way, much faster, into about a 3" group. This is at 25 feet. I clear the gun, wait for range-cold and get my targets.

This ought to be fun.

I get back to the line and the range monkeys are gone.

...............

That's why I call them range monkeys - they throw shit all over the place before they scamper away to jerk off somewhere.

Oh, and Scott H: I just saw your comment yesterday. Email me if you want to get together and shoot in the San Diego area sometime soon.