Now, THAT'S a Happy Thanksgiving...

Our niece and her husband came into town for the Thanksgiving weekend and brought some firearms.

• .380 Walther (his James Bond gun)
• Glock 27 (her gun)
• Ruger 10-22
• 12 gauge pump-action shotgun
• .44 lever-action rifle

We also rented a 9mm CZ-75 and a Glock 19 from the range.

My wife had never shot a rifle or shotgun. I had never shot a lever-action rifle or a pump-action shotgun. The .44 with target rounds was easy to handle but when the magnum cartridges were put in there--that was fun! (And left my shoulder a bit sore the next day).

My wife liked the Walther and the CZ. I didn't like the CZ just because of how light the trigger was in single action. I guess I'd gotten used to the safe-action of the Glocks I had been shooting recently because I let off at least two rounds early on the CZ. I would NOT want to use the CZ as a home defense weapon.

On the rifle side my wife liked the Ruger 10-22 (what's not to like?) but one magnum round through the .44 was enough for her. She did well with the shotgun.

After a hiatus...

My wife and I got back to the range for the first time in over a month. We shot two 9mm pistols: a Glock 26 and a Springfield Armory XD(m).  Since I had not really liked shooting the Glock 17 a while back, I wasn't sure how I'd like the subcompact version--but I really liked it. It performed very well for me at 3 and 7 yards. I didn't do so well at 15. I was really surprised that I didn't miss my little finger on the grip--it felt completely comfortable with just my middle and ring fingers holding it.

The XD(m) performed OK. Not appreciably better than the Glock 26.

I'm going to also try a Glock 19 soon. Several of the podcasters I listen to seem to think pretty highly of that model.

Fort Worth Gun Show

My wife and I went to the 'Original Fort Worth Gun Show' over the weekend.

This show was much larger than the previous show we attended in September. And we were finally able to try some different electronic hearing protection and find some over-eyeglasses polycarbonate glasses. (I got some with yellow lenses).

There were also a lot of knife vendors, and non-arms vendors (many, many jerky vendors, several coin vendors, etc.) The NRA booth was not manned (this was about 1:30-2pm on Saturday).

There were more handgun dealers (rifles and shotguns are not really on my radar right now but I would imagine the same for them) but nothing really new. Didn't see the Ruger SR40 anywhere.

Buy some ammo--get an NRA membership free?

Well, not quite. I have to join the NRA first through a Bass Pro shops special offer and get a $25 Bass Pro gift card. So,

1.  Join the NRA for $25 (instead of the normal $35)
2. Get a $25 Bass Pro gift card
3. Buy $25 of ammo at Bass Pro in Grapevine.

I joined today!

More Springfield Armory action

Another Saturday trip to the range. My wife and I shot 100 rounds of .40 in the XD and XD(m). Earlier that day we'd gone to the gun show in Fort Worth and felt we preferred the grip styling on the XD to the XD(m), but actually shooting both I didn't have a strong preference in the ergonomics.

Next time we'll try the XD compact in .40 and some different .45 pistols.

Trip to a Gun Show

My wife and I went to our first gun show in Fort Worth on Saturday. $5 for parking and $8/person for entry.

This was the first time my wife had ever attended a gun show and I haven't been to one in Texas before (and it has been 15+ years since the last one I went to in California).

We were hoping to get a range bag, possibly some ammunition, some hearing protection and to hold a lot of different guns to see how they 'fit' us.

We did well on the holding guns part. And we picked up a small range bag that we really like-it is like a doctor's bag and has an internal frame.

We didn't see ANY hearing protection at any of the tables. We didn't see any dryfire/dummy guns. And the ammo prices weren't really better than what we can get at the range.

There is a bigger show coming to Fort Worth in early October and I think we'll check that one out as well -- just to see if a bigger show has a greater variety of products.

Tried a .40 today

At the range on Saturday my wife and I tried a Smith & Wesson .40 and a Springfield Armory XD .40. She also got to try the Glock 9mm I shot the previous week.

We probably should have started the session with the Glock. Her comment was she thought the .40 had a really strong recoil, but then after shooting the Glock she wasn't sure. It would have been easier for her to compare the recoil by shooting the 9mm first.

Neither of us liked the S&W that much. To me the trigger pull seemed very heavy. We both really liked the XD. I think the range also has a .40 XD(m) and I'd like to compare them.

I still want to shoot the XD or XD(m) in .45.

Sig, Springfield, CZ, Glock?

I've now rented a few 9mm semi-autos at the range in Weatherford, TX. I really liked the SIG. Not so much the CZ (it was a compact and that may have been the major factor). The Glock was nice as well and I was fairly accurate with it at 7yds.

I really want to like the Springfield Arms XD(m) 9mm. It has a grip safety and I found I wasn't gripping high enough at the start of the session. It is also DAO and I didn't realize that. I'm definitely going to shoot it again to see whether I can come close to the accuracy I got from the Sig and the Glock.

One reason I want to shoot it more is so I can compare it to the XD(m) in .40 and .45 that are also available for rent. That will give me (I think) a valid basis for determining the caliber I want for my primary handgun.

Where to shoot?

North Texas in August. I think we've hit the century mark every day for more than two weeks now.
My wife and I have visited a few ranges in the area. One is NOT air-conditioned. Another seems to be fairly cramped. I know there is an outdoor range within a half hour drive, but do I really want to be outside in this heat. (Trust me, lately it hasn't been a dry heat).

Especially for taking a 10 hour CHL class, I hope to be able to do that with some modicum of comfort and I don't want to wait till October/November.

First steps

I live in Texas and want to get a concealed handgun license (CHL). It has been a long time since I did any shooting at all and I have since acquired trifocals. I don't know how they will affect my ability to shoot (they seem to really affect my ability to play ping-pong!).

I do have some experience shooting. Growing up I did target shooting (.22) at summer camp.  At one time I owned a Browning Hi-Power (9mm) that I really enjoyed.

So, I'm trying to figure out whether to take an NRA 'First Steps' or Basic pistol shooting course or just get some one-on-one time with an instructor at a range.

Besides getting a CHL, I don't know if I want to get into any of the action shooting activities. Or learn how to shoot trap or skeet. But I'm planning to record my re-entry into the gun world and see where my journey takes me.