A REMINDER

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Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

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JimT
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A REMINDER

Post by JimT »

I believe we need to be reminded from time to time that ..... "You don't really know your gun until you've run several thousand rounds through it." Practicing reloading ... practicing shooting from all sort of positions ... sitting, standing, laying down, walking, jogging ... lots of different ways. Shooting from "Field positions" ... unless you are practicing to be a bullseye shooter.

My friend Jack Pender shot bullseye .. punching paper .. for 40 years or more. He was at my house one summer and on the range people would come and say "Jack, try this gun." Jack would walk up to the line, load the gun, take his old shooting stance (one handed) and drill the target. With whatever was handed to him.
Some asked me, "What's his secret?"
His "secret" was that he had done that a million times. Or more.

There is no shortcut to becoming an accurate pistol shot.
Time on the trigger!
Dry-firing.... A Lot!
Shooting on the range .. at different ranges and targets.
It takes time .. training .. .practicing ... over and over and over.
And it is best to have someone with you. Shooting by ourselves we can develop poor habits and not even realize it. Practice with someone you trust and who can be honest with you.

So we are now in a time when ammo is hard to come by. Dry-fire more than ever. Be safe when you do it!

- NO LIVE AMMO IN THE SAME AREA
- DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECK EVERYTHING
- USE SNAP CAPS
- POINT ONLY TOWARD A SAFE DIRECTION SHOULD A LIVE ROUND BE PRESENT
- WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED PUT THE GUN AWAY AND DO NOT HANDLE ANOTHER FIREARM FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR!

SERIOUSLY!

I have lots of stories of an unwanted live round going off when no one was expecting it because they did not follow these simple ideas. We don't need more stories about it!

If you care to read it, here is an old article I wrote about PISTOLWORK ...
https://leverguns.com/articles/taylor/pistolwork.htm
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marlinman93
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by marlinman93 »

The best shots I've known were always guys who spent huge amounts of time shooting. Their motor skills and muscle memory seemed so natural, but it was actually the result of burning a lot of powder. And a couple of them had been shooting such a short time that people assumed they were just "naturally good shots". In reality they did a lot of practicing in a very short time.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
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Grizz
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by Grizz »

I agree with that Jim. I lived in a rain forest at the edge of the pacific ocean and spent over 200 days at sea every year. i bought bricks of .22 on the turn-arounds for the ruger automatic. I shot salmon, halibut, kelp heads, flotsam and cans that went overboard in the wake. i would see how many holes i could put in the can before it sank. the boat was moving up and down, and rolling, the ocean was moving around, and the distance was constantly changing. it was fluid out there. :lol: and effective training and maintenance of the brain cell to trigger connection.

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JimT
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by JimT »

Grizz wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 10:40 am I agree with that Jim. I lived in a rain forest at the edge of the pacific ocean and spent over 200 days at sea every year. i bought bricks of .22 on the turn-arounds for the ruger automatic. I shot salmon, halibut, kelp heads, flotsam and cans that went overboard in the wake. i would see how many holes i could put in the can before it sank. the boat was moving up and down, and rolling, the ocean was moving around, and the distance was constantly changing. it was fluid out there. :lol: and effective training and maintenance of the brain cell to trigger connection.

Shooting in those conditions can really develop some skills! Moving, bouncing around ... but you know it can be done.

Years ago my Dad and I practiced shooting rolling tennis balls and golf balls. One of us would stand on the line with the gun holstered. The other was behind the shooter and would roll the ball past them .. never letting them know which side it was gonna be. When the ball came past the shooter pulled their pistol and went to work. It was on the rough Arizona ground and the ball would be jumping and bouncing and veering off a straight line. It was great practice!
Bill in Oregon
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by Bill in Oregon »

This is where I have fallen down completely. I'll load up two or three guns and a couple of dozen rounds for each to test loads as the main event. What I really should be doing is taking the Ruger Mark IV and a couple of hundred rounds of .22 and making that the main event, with the load experiments the sideshow. Trigger time. Good reminder Jim. Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow.
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Grizz
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by Grizz »

if you can find open desert, walking and shooting rocks at random distances is good practice. i used to walk the beaches with my dear gun ( :wink: ) and shoot clam shells left by otters and others. no two aspects were exactly the same. those beaches were often rocky and without sand, it was kinda desert like. it's a whole different world from a gun range. gun range tells you about the gun. walkabout trains you use the gun as a tool. but you know that!!!

just saying,
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JimT
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by JimT »

The first time I ever shot on a genuine gun range was in 1966 during Basic Training at Fort Bliss. All the target shooting and other shooting was done in the desert from the time I was 10 or 11 years old.
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Ysabel Kid
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Re: A REMINDER

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Words of wisdom Jim. Thanks for sharing! :D
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