Ah, must save my journal from the melancholy of my Ghost Rider post, cause having it sit there at the top of the page makes it seem like I'm mired in that existential reflective mood, which... I'm not!
Went shooting today and shot a .357 S&W 7-shot revolver instead of the .22 I've been using. I shot .38 special rounds though, not the .357 rounds, though the guy at the range says he'll see next time if he has a few .357's around just so I can feel what they're like.
I like the gun, got used to the larger recoil of it quickly enough. But, I wasn't very accurate with it today. Although my first shot of the day was just barely above the center of the x (at 15 feet), I went downhill quickly after that. I'm back to the low and to the right that I was doing before with the .22. Our instructor having me use more my fingertip to squeeze the trigger fixed that with the .22, but I couldn't seem to get out of that with the revolver. I figured out toward the end of my session with it today that I'm letting the muzzle fall down instead of holding steady right upon firing (what they called in class, "follow-through"). So I worked on that. Did a little bit of dry-firing, and after that, got a few more shots back to the 10-ring, although I was still shooting more down and right than anything.
The trigger pull on this gun (fired single-action) is very light compared to the .22. And I feel like I'm keeping my arms... TOO relaxed, if that's possible. Plus I think the down thing is some anticipation of the recoil, which I'm going to have to learn NOT to do. More shooting, more practice, at least I feel like I've identified the problem I was having today, and I know what to work on next time. Of course if I could go right in, put my first shot through the x, and then hold onto that rather than losing it, that'd be better than having to do any technique corrections at all! We'll see how it feels next time, but either way, I will improve next time.
The biggest thing that sucks about shooting the revolver, is how much more expensive the ammo is! Each box of 50 costs more than I paid for a brick of 400 .22LR rounds. Not that I didn't know this, but I still don't have to like it. It means I have to stick to about 100 rounds at a time, rather than 200-300 per session like I had been doing with the .22. Which means, aside from not getting as much practice in, that I just don't get to enjoy doing the shooting for as long, and I really do enjoy the doing of it. But, I really want to get proficient with something larger than the .22, so this is just the way it's going to have to be, within my budget, for right now.
Although, I should give a call or email to the guy from class who offered to lend me various of his guns to practice with. That was very nice of him, and it would let me (eventually) practice with a number of different guns, more than just the ones the range has for rent (which I want to do before considering buying one). Also if I bring "my own" gun to the range rather than renting, three neat things happen. First, I don't have to have a second person with me, so I wouldn't have to ask Mom to come with when she's busy. Second, I don't have to pay the rental fee for the gun, so that would be either $10 cheaper each time, or another box of ammo I could buy instead. Probably the latter...! Third, I don't have to buy the ammo at the range like they require if you rent. So if I shop around and can find the ammo any cheaper, I could take advantage of that. Well, I think his offer of lending his guns was genuine, and not expecting of anything in return, and I will contact him and see if he is still willing to do that, since it would really help me out.
Ok, that's the shooting story of the day. Which is pretty much the only story of the day... day off today, slept in some, pondered the nature of 4-D spaces some (making some progress), went to the grocery store with Mom after finishing at the range... yeah. Non-stressful day.
Tomorrow I already know I have a busy day at work, since a big order is scheduled to come in. So I'll be dealing with that, but that isn't stressful either, just means I'll be working steadily all day whether I have customers or not. Of course I'll be up in the morning and at work all day instead of at the house doing whatever I feel like, but I really can't complain about my job. I'm very lucky in my job that I have, how decent the kind of work and the hours that I work, are.
Meanwhile I think I'm going to head to the gym... I did just a run last night, and went 2 full miles, and the last quarter mile at a faster pace than I had hit since starting the running again. That felt great. Tonight... I think what I want to do is my weights, and a shorter run. Or, if I get through the weights and I really don't feel like running, I can let myself off on that one and do it tomorrow. If I do the whole workout tonight though, I may not work out tomorrow... this does NOT need to be a 7-days-a-week thing, because that's just too obsessive, and I'll burn out on it rather than keep it up long term. I do know how I get with these things!
Well, yep, time to change clothes, gather my things, and get it done, since I also want to keep my sleep up decently, much as I would rather stay up late into the early morning all the time!
Went shooting today and shot a .357 S&W 7-shot revolver instead of the .22 I've been using. I shot .38 special rounds though, not the .357 rounds, though the guy at the range says he'll see next time if he has a few .357's around just so I can feel what they're like.
I like the gun, got used to the larger recoil of it quickly enough. But, I wasn't very accurate with it today. Although my first shot of the day was just barely above the center of the x (at 15 feet), I went downhill quickly after that. I'm back to the low and to the right that I was doing before with the .22. Our instructor having me use more my fingertip to squeeze the trigger fixed that with the .22, but I couldn't seem to get out of that with the revolver. I figured out toward the end of my session with it today that I'm letting the muzzle fall down instead of holding steady right upon firing (what they called in class, "follow-through"). So I worked on that. Did a little bit of dry-firing, and after that, got a few more shots back to the 10-ring, although I was still shooting more down and right than anything.
The trigger pull on this gun (fired single-action) is very light compared to the .22. And I feel like I'm keeping my arms... TOO relaxed, if that's possible. Plus I think the down thing is some anticipation of the recoil, which I'm going to have to learn NOT to do. More shooting, more practice, at least I feel like I've identified the problem I was having today, and I know what to work on next time. Of course if I could go right in, put my first shot through the x, and then hold onto that rather than losing it, that'd be better than having to do any technique corrections at all! We'll see how it feels next time, but either way, I will improve next time.
The biggest thing that sucks about shooting the revolver, is how much more expensive the ammo is! Each box of 50 costs more than I paid for a brick of 400 .22LR rounds. Not that I didn't know this, but I still don't have to like it. It means I have to stick to about 100 rounds at a time, rather than 200-300 per session like I had been doing with the .22. Which means, aside from not getting as much practice in, that I just don't get to enjoy doing the shooting for as long, and I really do enjoy the doing of it. But, I really want to get proficient with something larger than the .22, so this is just the way it's going to have to be, within my budget, for right now.
Although, I should give a call or email to the guy from class who offered to lend me various of his guns to practice with. That was very nice of him, and it would let me (eventually) practice with a number of different guns, more than just the ones the range has for rent (which I want to do before considering buying one). Also if I bring "my own" gun to the range rather than renting, three neat things happen. First, I don't have to have a second person with me, so I wouldn't have to ask Mom to come with when she's busy. Second, I don't have to pay the rental fee for the gun, so that would be either $10 cheaper each time, or another box of ammo I could buy instead. Probably the latter...! Third, I don't have to buy the ammo at the range like they require if you rent. So if I shop around and can find the ammo any cheaper, I could take advantage of that. Well, I think his offer of lending his guns was genuine, and not expecting of anything in return, and I will contact him and see if he is still willing to do that, since it would really help me out.
Ok, that's the shooting story of the day. Which is pretty much the only story of the day... day off today, slept in some, pondered the nature of 4-D spaces some (making some progress), went to the grocery store with Mom after finishing at the range... yeah. Non-stressful day.
Tomorrow I already know I have a busy day at work, since a big order is scheduled to come in. So I'll be dealing with that, but that isn't stressful either, just means I'll be working steadily all day whether I have customers or not. Of course I'll be up in the morning and at work all day instead of at the house doing whatever I feel like, but I really can't complain about my job. I'm very lucky in my job that I have, how decent the kind of work and the hours that I work, are.
Meanwhile I think I'm going to head to the gym... I did just a run last night, and went 2 full miles, and the last quarter mile at a faster pace than I had hit since starting the running again. That felt great. Tonight... I think what I want to do is my weights, and a shorter run. Or, if I get through the weights and I really don't feel like running, I can let myself off on that one and do it tomorrow. If I do the whole workout tonight though, I may not work out tomorrow... this does NOT need to be a 7-days-a-week thing, because that's just too obsessive, and I'll burn out on it rather than keep it up long term. I do know how I get with these things!
Well, yep, time to change clothes, gather my things, and get it done, since I also want to keep my sleep up decently, much as I would rather stay up late into the early morning all the time!