A nice day with the family

Decided to check out a range we hadnt shot at before.

Here is RANGER, 11, shooting her cricket



We discovered that shes cross eyed dominant so I had to spend a lot of time with her today teaching her how to shoot south paw. She did pretty well. At 50 yards she isnt gonna be able to place her shot anywhere she wants, but I sure as shit wouldnt count on her missing you. It will take time to get her used to shooting like this. Oh dont blame me for the hat. That's due to the poor choices her mother made.

Here is ALVIN YORK (formerly SAPPER), age 9 1/2 with his Cricket and his first time shooting an AR.



His name has now been changed to Alvin York because for being 9 years old, and using nothing but that cricket and cheap .22 LR, his groups are impressive as all get out. I cant wait till he gets bigger and I can move him to a better rifle. He wants to go hunting so bad, but he couldnt handle anything bigger at this time. Oh well he can blow away squirrels then.

And here we have yours truly



Yep thats me in my glorious fatassness. At this point Ive dropped 20 lbs and continue to drop. Anyways in these pics I was just having fun. This is the first time Ive shot rifle / carbine since I destroyed my shoulder last July (the surgery was the last week of December). I was having fun because I left my leatherman at home and didnt have anything to adjust my irons or optic (no a round wasnt cutting it with the front sight post). Cool thing is that I was about right on zero.

All in all we had a great day. A couple of thoughs that ran through my head after all was said and done and was wondering about your thoughts:

1) Optics. Red dot optics are not a fad. They are here to stay and IMO they should be considered by all (not just the military) to be your standard sights. I think with red dots we can get more people exposed to and interested in shooting a lot easier. With red dots it makes sight picture acquisition a lot easier. Then if they do express the interest, you can train em on irons if they want to get serious

2) Always check your gear before you go. For want of that leatherman I was limited as to what I could do.

3) Ultrasonic cleaners. I highly suggest that if you dont have one you get one (I recommend Harbor Freight). Get a big enough one and it can do your pistol or bolt and bolt carrier groups (but no aluminum parts). It makes weapons cleaning a breeze. The only thing I could think of that would make life easier is a parts washer.

4) Lubrication. I am now a born again believer Weapons Shield. This stuff is fantastic. Works better than Slip2000 EWL (which is still a great lube) and blows Break Free CLP away. It sticks to metal and doesnt run all over to place or evaporate as eaisly. Also ditch the old school of thought that said that you should only lightly oil your AR. ARs love to run wet and will go forever in the crappiest environments so long as you keep it wet.

5) M16 Bolt Carriers Vs. AR and AR Improved bolt carriers; If you buy an AR and it comes with an AR or AR Improved bolt carrier and bolt, ditch it and buy a M16 bolt carrier. Having an M16 carrier does not make a weapon a machine gun and the BATFE has stated so. The M16 carrier in an M4gerie adds just a little bit more weight so that the cycling is slowed down just a hair and reducing the recoil notably. I suggest as an after market Bolt and Bolt carrier group either the offerings from Bravo Company or LMT.

6) Kids.Love.To.Shoot. Give a kid a choice between going to the range, feeling the recoil, smelling the gun powder, and hitting a target or staying at home screwing around on the Wii and they will take the rifle. If you know a kid that isnt into shooting yet, see if you can get their parents to bring them to the range with you. But watch the kids like a hawk and dont push them beyond their physical abilities.

7) High-Visibility-Targets. Be they Shoot-N-See or any of the other types of similar targets, if you can get em use em. They make shooting, especially for the kids, so much more fun, short of reactive targets.

Anyways, any thoughts?

 

Today it was for a bit. At one point there was no breeze and I was inhaling it. My mouth still tastes like gun powder. But I've been dealing with this since I was 18 (now almost 39). But you bring up a good point and something I learned recently. If you are a shooter, especially an indoor shooter, part of your annual physical should be a screening for lead in your blood. Always wash your hands as soon as you are done at the range before you get that snack, light that smoke or pack that dip or chew.

 

I learned about the brake cleaner from you and now swear by it and recommend it to anyone who will listen

As for red dot optics, you see I am running an EoTech. But truth be told, I have heard some things from actually operators over in the sand box that have turned me off to them. One is L3Communications (the manufacturers of the EoTechs) basically screwing over US forces with hidden recalls / trying to get out of repairs. Another is both the location of the controls and the fact that after 8 hrs of run time the unit automatically shut off. Now for about everyone on this board that isnt a problem. But say you are Anc or Tex and you have your sights turn off on their own, regardless of how deep in the shit you are. Finally the Aim points will make the batteries last a lot longer. As I said this is how I feel and my reasoning behind it. For 99% of us it will work well.

So I'm thinking of eventually getting an Aim-Point (probably a micro) and a magnifier. Why that instead of an ACOG? Well for starters the ACOG will cost just as much as my rifle. Secondly the ACOG comes with the magnification built in. If you want to use it in a CQB or short range training environment you have to get a micro red dot to sit on it. Mean while with the Aim-Point micro and a magnifier, you mount the magnifier in a throw level mount so that when you dont need it, you just flip it to the side for short range shooting.

I also know that I will want to get a mount for them (La Rue, GGG?) so I have a lower 1/3rds co-witness with the front sight post. Currently with out the mount I have absolute co-witness and it drives me nuts. My sight picture acquisition is slower than it should be because in my mind I am always trying to line the red dot up with the front sight post.

 

Yep. Spray the parts down and you have done a lot of the cleaning right then. Be advised it aint good for the ground that much. So I stand in the neighbors yard when I spray

 

That's why they have back up iron sights, in the event that some how your red dot fails. One of the ways to avoid having to go to your BUIS is to ensure that you buy only a quality red-dot like an Aimpoint, EoTEch or Trijicon ACOG and you avoid the chinese shit that will break or power down.

 

That is the exact one. You can put solvent in there. I just put dish soap in there to suspend the carbon. After I pull the parts out I blast em with the non chlorinated brake cleaner* to knock the water off, wipe em down, lube, and reassemble.

* = I use the brake cleaner cause its handy and evaporates quickly. If I had an air compressor I would use that.

 

yep

 

That looks pretty damned tough and like you could throw a lot of stuff in there. But look at the price of it too. Compare it to the one you can get at HF and figure out how many firearms you will be cleaning at one time. Then consider the portability of one over the other. In the end you gotta make your own decision.

 

Ok here is my cleaning ritual from start to finish. Break down weapon. Spray foaming bore cleaner in place. Place Bolt and Bolt carrier assembly (completely broken down) in the ultrasonic. Go back to the upper, blow out the chamber and bore with brake parts cleaner. Use the chamber brush for a turn or two on the (what else) chamber. Use a bore snake that has your favorite solvent on it, run it through, take a few q-tips to the chamber. then run a bore snake that has lube on it and volia. You are done. Now all you gotta do is reassemble the bolt and bolt carrier and lube. Probably no more than 15 to 20 minutes are spent cleaning it.

Keep in mind that I am fastidious / obsessive about keeping my rifles clean. Its Pavlovian. I will not put a weapon into the safe unless it could pass inspection by a Drill Sergeant. Its also quite unnecessary when it comes to ARs / M4geries.

Remember what I said earlier, ARs / M16s / M4 love to run wet. Run em wet and you can (this is documented) go 15,000 rounds between cleaning and your weapon will function just fine. Kinda counter intuitive based on all we know about the AK being the most reliable weapon out there and the M16 being a maintenance queen aint it? Well that's because for decades the Army insisted that only a light coat of oil be applied. This came from their experience and bias in the past (which is also why the Army insists on that 25 meter zero for 300 meters shit, but that's another topic).

But the troops found out (me included) that so long as you keep your bolt / bolt carrier assy well lubed it will run. Sure you should pull it once a day and wipe some of the schmegma off of it, but that's about as in depth maintenance wise as you should need to go. Even the Army now trains its soldiers to run their weapons wet and has abandoned that light coat of oil mentality.

 

Get ya one of what? AN AR, an ultrasonic cleaner, or a hawt red-headed bi-sexual nympho with huge bewbies, who also happens to own a liquor store?