About seven
years ago, in the middle of the hysteria about the Democrat’s plan to disregard
the Second Amendment and eliminate the private ownership of hand guns my wife
and I decided we should have one just because.
As a flyer in the Air Force I had to qualify every couple of years or so
on a pistol so I was familiar with them, although never having a strong desire
to own one. Well to make a long story
short we ended up getting a Springfield Armory XD. A 9mm semi-automatic with a 16-shot clip.
We came home
and put it in the safe where it has pretty much rested until today. Oh, every six-months or so I would take it
out, field strip it, and make sure it was lubricated but I never fired it. My wife was concerned the gun wasn’t getting
used and if I needed it, it wouldn’t work or I couldn’t hit the broad side of
the barn.
Well anyway,
today didn’t look like a great day for golf so I decided to head down the road
to a gun range and exercise the weapon.
I shot about 100 rounds, half as practice and then 48 rounds (three
clips) to see how good I could do. On
the test target, I started at 30 feet, then 20 feet and the final clip was at
10 feet. While I don’t think Annie Oakley
need fear me, I think overall it wasn’t a bad test.
2 comments:
i believe your results are about what police officer is expected to do. i'd say yer doing ok.
i'm really good with a rifle on moving, breathing targets when reflex and instinct come into play with a only a second or two to decide.
but i cant hit stationary paper to save my soul. (or stationery paper, either).
i guess i developed the 'hunter' in me and ignored the 'shooter' that got me interested in firearms in the first place.
Gino,
Two things. First all my shots came from s stable position. I wasn't drawing and shooting for speed so I had time to return the sights to my aim point after each shot and didn't have to worry about all the other mechanics.
The second is the military used to teach its soldiers to shoulder the weapon and bring it in line with the targets without too much focus on the sights, adjusting for lead and windage by instinct. The theory being you wouldn't have much time for all that aiming stuff in a firefight. At moderate distances, say 50 to 300 yards, that is probably an excellent technique. Beyond that I think not so much.
Post a Comment