A Day at the Range

Recently I got an E-mail from my friend Ernie Beckwith inviting me to spend an afternoon at the Quaker Hill Rod & Gun Club, where he is a member. Located in Oak Dale, Connecticut, the private club has several outdoor ranges and an indoor pistol range. Together they provide opportunities for folks interested in the shooting sports – from breaking clays to target shooting with rifle or handgun.

In the E-mail Ernie went on to report he had acquired a new red-dot optic for his 45 caliber Colt 1991 A1 and was anxious to get the thing dialed in. Beyond that task he also suggested we use an outdoor handgun range for both target shooting and knocking down bowling pins. If you haven’t tried shooting pins, you’re in for a test of both your accuracy and speed. It all sounded good to me; I agreed to join him.

Days later we showed up at the club. Obviously the first job at hand was to get that new sight up and working. While I watched, Beckwith fired several test rounds from a rest. The shots went low and to the right of center. Ernie read the instructions that came with the sight, and then made adjustments to the elevation and windage screws. But the next rounds were no closer to the mark. Now you had two men with graduate degrees scratching their heads. More test rounds were fired and more adjustments made - still no discernible progress. Given that we couldn’t get a bead on what was wrong, we gave up. And it was a good thing we did. On a subsequent trip to the range, Beckwith would discover that the sight was defective.

With that project to the side, I was eager to do some shooting. Reaching into my range box, I retrieved my Smith & Wesson 45 semi-automatic; along with a box of ammunition I had handloaded the night before, just for this occasion. After setting up a target, I put on my hearing protection and moved to the firing line. There I loaded up a magazine, inserted it into the gun, and dropped the slide. I was finally ready to go.

With the iron sights aligned, I slowly squeezed off three rounds, all of which hit the paper near dead center. Granted the target was only 10 yards away, but I was grinning. My initial success, however, proved to be a flash in the pan; try as I may, I couldn’t quite duplicate the accuracy of my first few rounds. Making matters worse Beckwith was in the lane to my right having a super day. With a different red-dot sight mounted on a 9mm Glock 34, he was shooting like the expert he is. And the better he did, the poorer I seemed to do. Locking my gun’s action open, I stepped back from the firing line and took a breather. Target shooting can be a real mental game.

Contrary to what Hollywood action movies would have you believe; accuracy with a handgun is no easy matter. In truth, shooting one well requires a good deal of skill; handguns literally take years to master. Proper sight alignment is a critical part of the equation. Yet equally imperative is trigger control, the right stance, the right grip, and razor-like concentration. There is a bunch to learn, and that’s why expert instruction is so important. And even after you gain a handle on all those things, you still need to practice. Yes, like it or not, your hard earned shooting skills are quite perishable. Use them or lose them.

A revolver or semi-automatic chambered for 22 LR is an excellent choice for honing your handgun skills. These guns have none of the roar and recoil associated with more powerful firearms, such as the 357 or 44 Magnum. Without those distractions, it is far easier to focus on learning the basics. And that is extremely important, especially for the novice shooter. In addition, these smaller bore firearms are fun to shoot and typically very accurate. Topping things off, the ammunition will not put a hole in your wallet. It is reasonably priced, permitting even people on a tight budget to get in plenty of practice.

As the afternoon wore on my shooting ability got back on track, but by the same token, time was running out. Shadows snaked across the field; then it suddenly started to snow. As the flurries fell, we ceased shooting and instead began joking about the unexpected weather. Two new club members stopped by and joined in the conversation. Soon the chilly air was punctuated with laughter. By the time they wandered off, the light was fading fast. Time to call it a day. We took down our targets and cleaned up the range, before lugging our gear back to the truck. Moments later, we were on the road north. I had enjoyed my time at the range. And yes, I did get in some practice.

The End

(Home)