This is first in what I hope will be a series. I don't plan on
documenting every last trip to the range, but bigger outings like this
are worthy of retelling.
Cast of Characters:
Myself
Thomas, my friend and fellow Kansas attorney
Ben, Thomas' friend from way back
Michael, Ben's friend
Weapons:
Glock 19 (9mm)
Ruger single-action revolver (.22LR)
Vintage rifle #1 (.22LR)
Vintage rifle #2 (.22LR)
Benelli hunting shotgun (12ga)
Deer rifle (7mm) (not used)
Thomas
and I met last week and discussed going out shooting - he suggested we
go to Osawatomie, and I agreed. Last summer we took a trip to this
pretty small town in Miami County, Kansas, and had a solid time. Last
summer's trip was just Thomas and me, his two handguns, no ear
protection, shooting off a bridge at trash in the creek.
This trip was more organized and
more well-armed. Thanks to Ben we had a vehicle that could handle
driving through fields, as well as a 12-gauge hunting shotgun and a 7mm
deer rifle. In addition to his handguns (the Glock and the Ruger) Thomas
brought a couple of old .22 rifles of questionable condition. I also
had ear protection this time! The four of us assembled at Thomas' house
at 6:00 and left shortly thereafter in Ben's truck. In about 30 minutes
we reached Thomas' aunt and uncle's house, off of a gravel road
somewhere between Osawatomie and Paola. His uncle led us to the entrance
to a big piece of land behind their house, and separated from all
neighbors by considerable distance and trees.
We
drove further in to an area near a wood pile - this is where we shot
the pistols and 22 rifles. We had a large adhesive Shoot-n-C target as
well as some empty cans. The 2 vintage rifles belonged to Thomas'
grandfather and were recently unearthed and probably hadn't been fired
in decades, yet I felt them beckoning to me. I loaded up the first one,
which was a bolt-action Remington and loaded via a tube magazine (like
the Marlin 60), said "well, worse comes to worst, it's just a 22 so it
won't blow my whole hand off," and fired - and it went off
without a hitch! The other one did as well, but it wasn't as fun to fire
since it was a single shot and required opening the bolt and loading it
into the breech each time. These little rifles, though inaccurate and
likely in need of a good cleaning, were a lot of fun and a very
enjoyable addition to the evening.
As
time went on we decided to take out the shotgun. Ben demonstrated it by
taking a few shots at the reactive target, which was promptly riddled
with many tiny green holes. We drove closer to the entrance to the land
and readied the clays. Thomas, Mike, and I had all never shot clays
before; Mike and I had never even fired a shotgun. Ben threw the clays
with a hand thrower and we all got several attempts. The others took to
it better than I, but by the end even I was hitting 3 out of 5 and I
view it as a success. There is really something special about pulling
the trigger and being greeted with an instantaneous orange explosion in
the air. The four of us went through the whole box of 90 clays with
surprising speed.
By this time it
was pretty dark. Thomas suggested that we go to the bridge anyway, but
it was even darker by the time we got there and Ben ruled it unsafe and
pointless to fire a few out of his deer rifle. A somewhat anticlimactic
end, but the four of us set out for Johnson County very satisfied with
the evening and looking forward to the next one.
No comments:
Post a Comment