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range report 7/10/11 :D


redkow97

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The NEO guys have probably all been to A&A (right near Nelson Ledges), but yesterday was my first visit. I went in not knowing what to expect, and that place is awesome. Totally beat to shit (seems to be a theme in Garrettsville...), but awesome.

My uncle is a big hunting and fishing enthusiast. Always has been. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I was forwarded an email from one of his neighbors (i've met these people at least 50 times throughout my childhood, but probably haven't seen them in 10-15 years) saying that they had reserved the "sporting" range at A&A.

I'd say it's about 100 yards, but the fact that it was 20+ guys who all knew half the people there, and the range patrol basically left us alone all day made it a fun time.

Counting my cousin (recently "retired" for medical reasons), there were at least 3 police officers with us. I think that probably helped our cause as far as being left alone.

So i rolled in around 11:00, and there was already a healthy array of stuffed animals, bowling pins, an LCD computer monitor, cans, toys, dishes, bin-laden pictures, Justin Beiber posters, etc. scattered about the range. I added 2 rows of CD's screwed to some scrap lumber, and my original helmet from when I started riding in 2005.

I started off just trying to not suck with my 22. Then my friend Ray handed me his 30-06. The largest caliber weapon I had previously fired was a .45 pistol (also Ray's).

I took aim at the helmet, and put a large hole in it. :D

The .22 wasn't doing much to the CD collection, so my cousin handed me a 20 gauge. Having never fired a shotgun before, I was expecting a lot of kick, but compared to the 30-06, it was pretty tame. My uncle insisted that I shoot some clays with his over/under 12 gauge. I hit my first few clays, then went into a slump before getting comfortable with it again.

This went on for a while, and the bottom line is that I definitely want a shotgun as my next firearm purchase.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was shooting Ray's AR-15. I've always thought of showing up to the range with an AR as sort of like showing up to a beginner trackday with an 1198R, and a full pit-crew...

Having shot it though, it is pretty much awesome, and I see why people like them so much. Minimal recoil, surprisingly accurate, and fucking fun as hell to shoot. Ray had a lot of .223 ammo that was starting to get old enough that he wasn't shy about getting rid of it :D

But one of the highlights of my day was shooting my Grandfather's (now my uncle's) Ruger single-six. Fun little gun. Easy to shoot, and really accurate for a handgun. The history made it way cooler for me than the actual shooting, but there's something retro-cool about having to cock a single-action revolver that I kind of like too.

So what did I learn?

- a lot about shooting

- even a cheap MC helmet will stand up to a buckshot. The wearer definitely wouldn't be happy about getting hit, but it doesn't penetrate the shell.

- a 30-06 will do DAMAGE to a 1,400 page Constitutional Law textbook.

- a .22lr will stop on page 852

pics to follow:

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this was a relatively un-molested helmet when we started. It had some scuffs, but it had never been crashed.

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This was about half way through the day. It's in way worse shape now, and I can post more pics later.

CD "tree" after shotgun intervention.

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.22lr round after penetrating 852 pages of Constitutional Law.

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I was surprised by how much the hollow point actually opened up upon impact. the hp on .22's looks like you took a mechanical pencil lead, and poked it into gum. Not large at all.

I think I shot about half of these:

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Don't break into Ray's house... He must have been shooting the 12 gauge at this point.

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(30-06 and AR-15)

the .45 and 9mm. I've shot these before, but didn't have time yesterday

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Looks like a fun day. A&A range is very "rustic". I usually bring a few plastic bags from the grocery store and pick up all the brass I can on the ground. Last time I recycled the brass, I had about half a plastic bag of brass. It is yellow brass, and the scrap value was $1.85 a pound. I think I got about $23, enough to buy a box of 22LR.

When I went shooting for the first time, it was very helpful to have experienced shooters showing you the ropes.

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