Range Report: Exterminator edition

Good morning all!  The funniest thing happened at the range yesterday.  I had picked my lane, shucked my coat, grabbed a chair to hold my range bag and purse, and was extracting targets and ammo when I heard someone say, “Lissa?”

I looked up and saw . . . someone totally unfamiliar.

Now, this happens more often than I’d like; I have a DREADFUL memory for names and faces (Reason #5,295,850 I’ll never be a politician).  So I pasted on my usual puzzled Do-I-know-you half-grin, and the woman smilingly explained:

“I read your blog.”

!!!!!!!!!

As I disjointedly explained to the woman, N*, it was the first time I’d met someone who knew my blog persona and not my real persona.  N had recognized the Lissaville Range from my target pix; she invited me to join a few of the shooting groups that meet on a regular basis.  I thanked her for the invite, thanked her for introducing herself, and we went ahead with our shooting.

And all the while I’m having little flashes of, “Of course I’ve no makeup on and it’s raining and I’m wearing clogs.  She’s gonna think I Photoshopped all my blogpix.”

Never underestimate the power of silly vanity :-p

On to the shooting!  Details below the fold:

Sigs and Torture

Or rather, “Torturing Sigs.”

My daddy always said that the main reason he has a Glock is that you can freeze it in a bucket of water, thaw it the next day and it will still shoot.

Well, what if you freeze it in a bucket of water, drop it from five stories, light it on fire, and blow it up with Tannerite?  After having run them over with tractors and whaled on ‘em with baseball bats, naturally.

“Hell and back reliability” indeed!

(h/t Mike)

Range Report: Fisher Cat versus Mosquito

Battle info below the fold!

Range report: Slick shot edition

Mike says . . .

Range Report: Awesome Target Edition

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  On Thanksgiving Day I gave thanks for friends and family, who love me unconditionally.  I was too busy giving thanks by feeding C and baking bread and pie and stuff like that to post, but I’m also thankful for my readers — who encourage me, challenge me, and accompany me on this awesome and silly journey called LissaLife.

And now — the big reveal!  Story and picture below the fold:

I CANNOT WAIT TO GO TO THE RANGE FRIDAY

Why?  BECAUSE I HAVE THE COOLEST TARGETS EVER-EVER-EVER!

SOMEONE MADE THESE TARGETS ESPECIALLY FOR ME, TO MY SPECIFICATIONS.  THEY ARE $%#^ING AWESOME.

THEY’RE SO AWESOME THEY’RE FORCING ME TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS.  THEY’RE THAT AWESOME.

No, I’m NOT going to post a picture yet!  They need a before-and-after shot!  The “after” shot must be riddled with bullets!  It’s just the way it has to be!

Watch this space, my friends.  On Friday, I will reveal all!  And it will be A MINDBLOWING PINNACLE OF AWESOME.

On an unrelated note . . .

“Why yes, we realize that Cork is in a state of emergency.  No, this does not impart any flexibility whatsoever in canceling or altering your flight from London to Cork.”

Aer Lingus can suck Rajah’s furry hindquarters, is what I’m saying.  Git-wankers, they are.

Range report: 229 edition

Good morning all!  Gunnie goodness below the fold:

Meditations on self defense

If a goblin broke into your house, set off the burglar alarm, and was holding you at knife-point, what would you expect the police to do?

You would expect them to drive over, show up, and talk the goblin into surrendering, right?

And if the goblin didn’t give up?  If he steadfastly held a knife to your throat and promised to kill you if the police did not retreat . . . you would expect the police to shoot to kill, would you not?  Certainly, you would expect them to be WILLING to do that, no?

So . . . you expect a total stranger to realize that you are in trouble, drive across town, correctly analyze the situation, and shoot to kill from across the room/house/yard, just because s/he signed on for a job that pays perhaps $50K per year.

But it is UNTHINKABLE that you would do the job yourself.  (Around here, at least, it’s more or less unthinkable.)

You, who are already on the scene, who can very clearly identify which human in the scrum is the victim (that’s you) and which human on the scene is the goblin (that’s the one who wants to rob/beat/kill/rape you) expect a stranger to come from a distance to defend you, because you have no tools to do so yourself.*

Doesn’t this seem a little . . . irresponsible?  Short-sighted?  Foolhardy?

I spoke with a police officer in the Charlotte airport last weekend.  Among other conversational bits, he gruffly declared that the motto on police cars — Protect and serve – would more accurately be stated as We can’t protect you, but we’ll show up after the damage is done and try to avenge you.

Don’t get me wrong — I believe that being a police officer is a tough, grueling, sometimes deadly job.  I highly admire the dedicated professionals who serve their society as such.

I just don’t expect them to be at my house at the very moment I need them most.

Because, you know, telepathy and teleportation aren’t really where it’s at.

And oh, by the way . . . that situation I described above is highly undesirable from the goblin’s point of view.  It’s much nicer for the goblin if you are quickly robbed/beaten/killed/raped and the beast can disappear from the scene BEFORE the police show up . . .

*Of course, a firearm is not the only tool to defend yourself.  There are knives, clubs, baseball bats, teeth and claws available.  It’s just that a firearm is most certainly the most EFFECTIVE tool to defend yourself, especially against an attacker who is much larger than you and/or may have brought his goblin buddies.

H/T to Brigid by way of Jay — that’s what got me thinking.

Would you believe it? I’ve already got a New Shooter request!

And this is in addition to a friend who hasn’t gone shooting for years, and another friend who wants to learn basic firearm handling and safety.  Three guests lined up already — damn shame Lissaville Gun Club only allows one guest per month!

This latest new-shooter-wannabe is my friendly co-volunteer Delta (not her real name), who does meds at the Lissaville Animal Shelter.  We initially broached the topic the Sunday after this summer’s bloggershoot, when she asked me why I was so hopped up and what I’d done the past weekend.  I casually mentioned that I’d gone shooting with some friends, and she was FASCINATED.  Ever since she’s been periodically checking to see how my journey to the LTC was going.

Well, this past Sunday I was able to happily tell her that I had my license.  Her overriding emotion at this point is curiosity.  She asked me why I was interested in shooting — whether it was entertainment or self-defense — and listened closely to my explanation of why it was both.  I did a quick Four Rules rundown on gun safety, and she agreed wholeheartedly that guns could be very dangerous, but it was the intelligence and diligence of the handler (or rather lack thereof), not the weapon itself, that caused danger.  She told me frankly that she’s never held a gun, never seen a gun at close range, and doesn’t know at all how they work, but that all the people she knows who shoot love it.  Finally, when she heard that I was planning on going shopping next weekend, she enthusiastically accepted my invitation to go shooting once I was all set up.

Boo-yah!

So . . . what tips do y’all have for me?  I’ve been reading good stuff here, here, here, and here.  I also tried, and failed, to find Jay G’s ruminations on taking new shooters/female shooters out.  (Jay, why can I never find what I’m looking for on your site???)

My plans so far:

1. Give her an index card with the Four Rules to memorize before we go shooting.  Quiz her in a friendly way to make sure she has them pat before we hit the range.

2. Outdoor range would be better than indoor range.  It’s not as loud and I can have her go plinking with a .22.

3. Cans are good — bean cans, tomato cans, the bigger the better.  Anything that will go “BINK!” and either move or fall over.

4. If weather prohibits the outdoor range, try and pick a slack time of day for the indoor range.  The upside is that we could have the targets as close as we liked, to start off with.

5. If we’re at the indoor range, make sure I have some spatter targets; something that will splat bright orange or green and give her instant gratification when she makes a shot.

6. Concentrate on safety basics; technique can wait until later.  If she gets in the habit of safe handling NOW, chances are she’ll keep those habits.

7. Start on something small.  We’re planning on getting a Sig 239 for my gun and a Sig Mosquito for training purposes; that will give the feeling of handling a real gun but the kick and cheap firing cost of a .22.

8. The outing won’t be about me.  I can go practice anytime I want.  It’s about making sure Delta learns to safely handle guns and has fun while doing it.

What else should I keep in mind?

UPDATE:  Thank you, everyone!  I agree that I’ll need to be rock-solid on my own bangsticks before I let anyone else handle them.  As I wrote in an email earlier, it’s a bit scary and humbling; I feel like anyone being introduced to shooting should be with someone super-knowledgeable, with decades of experience and ten different guns to try.  That being said, since I’m the only gunnie Delta knows, I’ll just have to make sure I do a very safe and good job!

Also, Jay G links.  Thanks!

Proud owner of an LTC

That’s right.

I am now the (careful, responsible) owner of a Class A Large Capacity License to Carry Firearms.

SQUEE!!! 

I’d like to thank the Academy . . .

No, of course not.  But I would like to thank everyone who encouraged me to step onto this path.  That would be the entire membership of my “Bloggers I’ve Met (!)” blogroll, with particular gratitude to TOTWTYTR and Doubletrouble (and his lovely wife).  Thank you to Breda, Tam and Caleb, who welcomed a baby gunchick into the fold.

Jay G gets his own paragraph of thanks — without the bloggershoots he organized, who knows whether I would have entered the gunnie world?

And last but not least — thank you to my husband Mike.  He was the one to actually schedule the safety course, download the forms, and schedule the appointment with the police.  Without him, I’d probably be sitting here wistfully saying, “Gosh, it’d be nice to have a license . . . “

Happy Monday, everyone!

UPDATE:  Jay G links.  Thanks!