Monday Gunday: Some Bullet Points

See what I did there?

Point One:  It's official, I am indeed going to the Bidet Shoot. I will talk about this more in another post, but I want to assure everyone that, barring tragedy, I'm going to be there (and God have pity on you for that). I've got hotel reservations, I've got my carpool lined up, I've got offers of extra ammo... THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING. 


Point Two:  Someone has finally painted (well, stained actually) a Mosin-Nagant pink, and despite my threats, it wasn't me.

The proper name for this color is "Cherry Blossom," and it can be found at Lowe's. 

This absolutely lovely piece of work (and I mean that sincerely, not sarcastically!) was made by a fellow named Gordon Heying specifically for his wife. He did it to "infect" her with Mosin-itis. Well done sir!


Point Three:  Friday before last, I took a 12 year old boy shooting for the first time. He's a friend of the family, and is of the age where he is taking an interest in things like girls and guns. I can't help him with the first, but I could with the second, and his parents trust me enough to take him without going along themselves.  This is more important than it sounds, because the mom is very gun-phobic, and so I'd have to work around his father's schedule if there was to be parental supervision (as well as the awkwardness of "Well, I can pay his range fee, but not yours.")

Anyway, this was a big deal for me, and I was honored and flattered. On the drive up to the range I made sure that my little buddy knew the Rules of Gun Safety, and I briefed him on how the range worked. I also made sure he knew that the Range Safety Officers were to be OBEYED.  Since he is a Catholic, I used the analogy "Listen to them like you would a priest in a church."

I needn't have bothered. This kid was on the ball.   I expected a certain amount of horsing around or not paying attention, but he was 100% focused and professional. The muzzle never ever went anywhere other than downrage, he listened to all range orders, and was generally fantastic. I would trust this 12 year old with a firearm more readily than I would many adults I know.

We started with my .22 pistol at 7 yards. I showed him how to load it, how to do a Weaver stance, how to hold it, the whole thing. POP POP POP, all shots in the black. Then, once he figured out how to aim it properly, he got down to some serious shooting and made multiple bullseyes.

I decided he needed a bit more of a challenge so he wouldn't get bored, so I repaired the target and moved to the 15 yard line. This was more difficult for him (naturally), but soon enough he was breathing properly and squeezing off shots. The boy is far less jumpy-fidgety than I, and what he lacks in experience he makes up for in concentration and steadiness of hands.

The day was getting late, so we put the pistol away, moved to the 25 yard line, and brought out my .22 bolt-action rifle. Again, I showed him how it worked and set him up.  This is after about 100 rounds, using a bipod and a scope at 3x magnification.

That is one hell of a shot group, folks. That's great for an experienced shooter, and for a first-timer it's astounding. Hell, I didn't shoot that well the first time! If he can just shift that group half an inch left, he will be amazing.

I'm not even jealous that he's going to shoot better than me one day. I'm just going to claim partial credit for being his instructor and take pride from that.