Yesterday, I went to the range with a co-worker of mine(heck, it might even be safe to start calling him a buddy). Since he is a qualified range officer, he is not limited to the normal 100-yard range, and rarely shoots there. Instead, he usually sets himself up on one of the practical sports bays, which allows him to practice what he feels he needs to practice.
Or, he takes pity on some damn fool(me!) and lets them do more than punch holes in paper over a bench.
Mark shoots better than me. It has nothing to do with his fancier toys...Mark rarely goes a week without some shooting practice, and NEVER goes more than two weeks. I on the other hand...well, there were a few years when I was averaging 1000 hours of OT a year for the Shipyard that I was lucky to make it the range one every 5-6 months.
Mark is a competition shooter. He shoots for shooting's sake. I've seen some video of him in three gun matches...he is good. He's not nationally ranked or anything, and I'm not going to say he's as good as the folks I see in competions on Guns and Ammo TV...but he is a lot closer to them, than he is to my level.
I, on the other hand, am either a hunter who enjoys guns, or a nacent survivalist who wants to be at least proficient in firearms. I have never really strived for excellence. I have allowed myself to become satisfied with 'minute of torso' accuracy, and never really worked on improving myself.
Part of this I can blame on my schedule. When I used to only make it to the range twice a year, I would bring 6 or 7 guns, and all I was really doing was pulling the trigger and punching holes in paper...fun, but...I never really got better. I was just staying proficient with my firearms.
To put it in terms my golfing father could understand, Mark is probably at the club pro level, while I am a duffer more interested in the 19th hole than playing the game. It's very similar...I am not a golfer, but occasionally I will go to the driving range with my dad...I am just teeing up a driver and pounding away, while my dad is working on specific techniques...'Today I'm just working on my fade, and my 5 iron.'
Anyway...he is better than I am, and I won't let that worry me. I was not as bad as I feared I would be. I was embarressed a few times at my lack of in-depth firearms knowledge. An example of this: My carbine upper on my AR shoots high. I dialed down the rear sight was far as I could, and just lived with it. Mark says...'you can adjust the front pin up a bit, you know.'
Well, no...I didn't know. I also didn't know there was a special tool for, that Mark happened to have. Within 10 rounds, my peep-sights were dead on at 100-yards...makes for a much more enjoyable shooting experience. But...there's me, with a chagrined look on my face.
He also pointed out to me that I was 'slapping and releasing' the trigger, and told me to start working on a technique where I hold the trigger squeezed back until after the bolt/slide have stopped moving. He said that will help me keep the gun on target better for a follow-up shot. He seems to be right(well, I'm sure he's right)...I did this a few times, and did maintain the sight-picture much better. It's just going to take a while to get used to it...I'm fighting 15 years of bad habit muscle memory.
He also showed me a practice technique he does to work on trigger control: While doing dry fire practice, he will stand an empty shell up on his slide/barrel. If you can keep the gun sturdy enough while squeezing the trigger to keep the shell from falling off, your are doing well.
Finally, he did let me try some of his toys. His AR is a little fancier than mine, but not over the top. He told me bought the current compensated upper he was using for about 1050, which is pricey, but not insane. Now, he did tell me the scope(I think it was some kind of Nightforce product 1X and 4X, with no variable in between) cost more than the upper...but, man, it was nice. Shooting that compensated .223 may have spoiled me...target re-aquisition was a breeze, because you never lost it in the first place.
Then, he let me shoot his big gun...an FNH SCAR in .308 and a can on it.
I don't know what to say....it's a nice gun, with a nice scope on...but I couldn't hit the little resetting steel targets with it to save me life. Not like I did with his .223, or my .223. It wasn't the recoil...that can made it feel like a .223...I think it was his trigger. It was too nice. I'm used to taking up the creap on my triggers before holding my breath and firing...with his gun, there was ZERO creap, and it was messing me up.
Finally, we did a little bit of pistol work, and I think I actually impressed him. Or it could have just been that after I didn't know there was a special tool for adjusting an AR's front sight, he didn't expect much. We didn't work on movement at all, but we did set up four targets so I could work on target aquisition. He said I did a good job of swinging from my waist, and keeping my wrist and arms in-line.
Yay!
I give all credit to my CZ-75...it just points so well. I really think I am adding another AR, and a back up CZt to my shopping list before expanding my collection again.
That was about it. I did do a little practice with my Marlin .357...and I am not sure if Mark was impressed, or distressed that I did better at 100 yard with it, than I did with my AR, but now that my AR is ON at 100-yards, maybe that will change.
Can't wait to go to the range again so I can work on some of the new things he showed me.
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