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Bang! Bang! Bang! Smile!!!
Old 09-25-2007, 02:48 PM   #1
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Bang! Bang! Bang! Smile!!!

I'm putting this here because I believe whole-heartedly that stress management and relaxation are keys to good health.

Since I'm not teaching riot control anymore, or supervising the team, I now only get one REALLY good day a year at work. That's the day we go to the range and I get to shoot someone else's ammo up.

But this summer, while trying to help a close friend through some challenging times, I rediscovered the simple joys of shooting .22 caliber firearms. First and foremost, it's really inexpensive. 550 rounds for under $10 on sale. Second, you don't have to walk hundreds of yards (or ride the ATV) to change targets. And finally, even the equipment isn't all that expensive.

I just bought a mount, scope rings, and a scope for my father's .22 LR. Less than $125 tied up in it. I already shoot 1 1/2" groups with that rifle using iron sights. I expect to have 1/2" groups with the scope. And so next month I will do something I haven't done in years, go squirrel hunting. A nice quiet, relaxing day in the woods. Might even see a squirrel or two. (potatoes, carrots, corn, onions, chicken broth, and a couple of bushy-tails,,,,YUM!)

Anybodey else here into the shooting sports as a means of R&R?
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Old 09-25-2007, 02:56 PM   #2
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...And so next month I will do something I haven't done in years, go squirrel hunting. A nice quiet, relaxing day in the woods. Might even see a squirrel or two. (potatoes, carrots, corn, onions, chicken broth, and a couple of bushy-tails,,,,YUM!)
Hey! Be careful out there...

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Old 09-25-2007, 03:00 PM   #3
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I only shoot pistols - it is like golf but louder.
Walther P22
Kimber .45
Glock 9mm
I sometimes shoot the IDPA. If you like shooting check it out.
International Defensive Pistol Association
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Old 09-25-2007, 06:12 PM   #4
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WaHoo that was priceless!!

dex, I used to shoot competitively at the penitentiary. Haven't done so in a few years, since I sold my Python. (Heartbreaking moment, that.)
I might try some more of that this coming year. My primary interest in shooting right now is either .22's or my flintlock. The range I shot at has a skeet club. Might try that in the spring.
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Old 09-26-2007, 10:09 AM   #5
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You know one of the most amazing smells to me to this day, is the smell of burnt brass casings.

I know that may sound kinda strange, but having spend alot of time on ranges in the Marine Corps, that smell brings back so many memories.
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Old 09-26-2007, 10:51 AM   #6
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Never tried it but always been curious. A friend here in Italy has a number of weapons that he fires on a range from time to time. One is a Smith & Wesson .44 like this:


I'm sure he'd take us shooting, but I think I would prefer a target rifle!
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Old 09-26-2007, 10:56 AM   #7
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A rifle is nice but it is difficult to find a long enough range - 100 yrds or so.
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Old 09-26-2007, 10:58 AM   #8
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And so next month I will do something I haven't done in years, go squirrel hunting. A nice quiet, relaxing day in the woods. Might even see a squirrel or two. (potatoes, carrots, corn, onions, chicken broth, and a couple of bushy-tails,,,,YUM!)

Anybodey else here into the shooting sports as a means of R&R?
Give me your address and I will start sending you squirrels. They are a real problem here (along with some other critters). They like to chew holes in the house and if they get inside the trouble really heats up. A .22 is kept close by and gets a lot of action.

Use to like to handgun. My press and molds have been idol for several decades. It's about time to dust them off.
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Old 09-26-2007, 11:03 AM   #9
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..........and if they get inside the trouble really heats up. A .22 is kept close by and gets a lot of action.
My wife gets really pi$$ed when I accidentally take out a lamp.
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Shooting As Stress Relief
Old 09-26-2007, 11:45 AM   #10
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Shooting As Stress Relief

My DW and I try to get out to the handgun range to shoot her S&W .357 Magnum. The gun is for home defense, and we pray to never use it for anything other then paper targets. My DW needs to feel comfortable with it, so we'll be going to shoot again in a few weeks.

I am not a hunter, but I use my Remington 12 Gauge pump to shoot at clays with the REAL Michigan hunters. I also have a buddy with a handgun collection, and have fired his .44 Magnum. It's like holding a cannon in your hand, and too uncomfortable for me.

I just had an iron sight put in my Dad's old 1930's vintage Ranger single shot .22 rifle. I'll be trying to sight it in this fall.

Oh, and peace and love everyone!
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Old 09-26-2007, 02:09 PM   #11
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Oh, and peace and love everyone!
Absolutely - gone in Katrina but not forgotten:

12 guage Mossberg Pump - even marinated those clay pidgeons taste like crap.
.177 Feinwerkebau pellet rifle and scope.
58 cal cap and ball 1863 Zouave (note some Reinactors ban this model)
45 cal 1860 Old Army stainless repo - cap and ball pistol.

Sigh!
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Old 09-26-2007, 02:15 PM   #12
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Anybodey else here into the shooting sports as a means of R&R?
Oooh yeah, but when I retired I had to give back the missile & torpedo keys...
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Old 09-26-2007, 04:54 PM   #13
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My wife gets really pi$$ed when I accidentally take out a lamp.
When I was a kid I shot a mouse that was in my parents house with my .22 using a CB round. (CB and subsonic rounds are great for doing things you should not doing.) The mouse was on the run and I didn't get off a good shot. Barely nicked the mouse under the chin and it died, probably of fright. The bullet was embedded in the baseboard the depth of the bullet. I was going to dig it out with my knife before realizing it would be less noticeable left alone. It was still there 30 years later when they sold the house.

The shelves in their garage had a lot of BBs embedded from when I use to put up small targets and practice snap shooting.
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Old 09-26-2007, 06:12 PM   #14
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When I was a kid I shot a mouse that was in my parents house with my .22 using a CB round. (CB and subsonic rounds are great for doing things you should not doing.) The mouse was on the run and I didn't get off a good shot. Barely nicked the mouse under the chin and it died, probably of fright. The bullet was embedded in the baseboard the depth of the bullet. I was going to dig it out with my knife before realizing it would be less noticeable left alone. It was still there 30 years later when they sold the house.

The shelves in their garage had a lot of BBs embedded from when I use to put up small targets and practice snap shooting.
I was joking about shooting in the house, but I do have a brother that hunted down and executed a couple of gerbils that were on the run - with an air rifle.
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Old 09-26-2007, 07:38 PM   #15
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I support the right to arm bears!
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Old 09-26-2007, 08:54 PM   #16
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I support the right to arm bears!
At 6'2" and over 300 I qualify,,,,and I am fully armed, thank you.
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Old 09-26-2007, 09:53 PM   #17
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I enjoy shooting rifles and pistols. Never have gone to a range, instead Greg has a hunting shack off in the woods. Mostly shoot at homemade targets (not glass!), though once one of us blew a huge hole through a popple tree with his glock. We haven't been out shooting much in the past few years as our current dog is guy shy.
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Old 09-27-2007, 07:54 AM   #18
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I've got a 10 meter airgun range in the basement. I think it keeps the neighbors on their toes, when they look through the windows and see a grown man in pajamas shooting guns inside the house while playing Stray Cats records.

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Old 09-27-2007, 08:14 AM   #19
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We haven't been out shooting much in the past few years as our current dog is guy shy.
Martha, you can fix this. Start by taking the dog out with you while you use an air pistol. Progress to .22's at about 100 yards or so while the other of you is playing with the dog. When the dog doesn't stop playing if the .22 cracks then use a slightly larger caliber every3rd or 4th shot. When he doesn't jump at the larger caliber you can progress to all shots from that gun. Then start sitting down with the dog at 75 yards, then 50 yards, then 25 yards, and finally just behind the shooting line. The dog lays next to you and is getting stroked continuously while shooting takes place. Pay lots of attention to the dog. He learns that you aren't going to let anything happen to him and becomes comfortable with the sound of the rifles. Anytime you increase caliber, or say you go to a shotgun, back off the distance again and work your way in. Shooting weekly this would take less than two months to acclimate your friend to the noise.
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Old 09-27-2007, 08:38 AM   #20
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i love shooting .22's ... i agree. i alsom enjoy shooting a unique 9mm carbine rifle i have.


but lately, i enjoy pellet guns the most! i can shoot them in my backyard, and within 45 yards, im deadly! theyre quiet, reallllllly cheap ammo, and the guns are cheap too. I bought a competition-grade rifle for 250 or so.
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