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Achieved my NRA Certified Instructors Rating this weekend.
Final shooting qualification is 16 out of 20 in a 6" group at 45 feet. Freestanding Pistol.

What are the limitations to the "pistol"? Does it have to be centerfire? I can put a box of .22s through the hole in the "A" at 45' with my Ruger MkII w/10" bull barrel. I could probably set the target on fire with my Contender loaded in .45Colt black powder. I *HAVE* cleared an outdoor range (of people) with my Contender in .445 SuperMag. I don't shoot that one any more. The recoil is just too punishing...
 
I can put a box of .22s through the hole in the "A" at 45' with my Ruger MkII w/10" bull barrel.
I guess you could use a competition pistol but the point of the exercise was to demonstrate the five rules of aiming that the NRA uses for freestanding shooting so that you can teach new shooters. This was not a competition.

I could probably set the target on fire with my Contender loaded in .45Colt black powder. I *HAVE* cleared an outdoor range (of people) with my Contender in .445 SuperMag.
I think you would have been asked to leave the class.
 
I like the “Nah, I’m good” T-shirt!
I think you would have liked the guy on the far left. He qualified with an old single action frontier style pistol. The front sight was as big as a rocket fin.
I think it was a Long Colt. He was a very nice man to spend time with and he was very knowledgable.
 
I think you would have been asked to leave the class.

I try not to be obnoxious any more. Actually, I don't shoot much now. Went blind in my right eye twice. That kills off any task needing depth perception. I had cataract surgery, and they got the lens wrong. I'm now more nearsighted than before. But I CAN see again!
 
I try not to be obnoxious any more. Actually, I don't shoot much now. Went blind in my right eye twice. That kills off any task needing depth perception. I had cataract surgery, and they got the lens wrong. I'm now more nearsighted than before. But I CAN see again!
Sorry to hear that. Hope you find a way to still enjoy the sport. I don't shoot as well as I used to either. Now I enjoy teaching others.
 
Nice! I'll have to run off some of those targets and give that a go. Maybe a friendly competition we could have here? :)
Try this link. It is the last page. Try shooting your favorite .45 or 9mm at 45'. If you can consistently do this you are a pretty good shooter. If you can do it with a compact .380 Kel-Tek P3AT I will buy you a beer.

https://www.nrainstructors.org/Inst...82D/NRA Basic Pistol Phase II Lesson Plan.pdf
Unless you already do the 5 steps, Read pages 32-35. Your shooting probably will improve.
 
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I think you would have liked the guy on the far left. He qualified with an old single action frontier style pistol. The front sight was as big as a rocket fin.
I think it was a Long Colt. He was a very nice man to spend time with and he was very knowledgable.
Um...I’m not a wheelgun guy. Don’t own one and have never shot one.

Dad was .45 ACP guy and we had a few Colts in the house. Also some wartime Luger “null acht” pistols which I felt always pointed high. The Walther P38’s suited me better.

Back in my younger days I had a PPK that I really liked, bought it in Texas...but I no longer have it: The ex made off with it as far as I know...in the early 1970’s.
 
please keep your politics to yourself, this is a long running and popular thread because we keep politics out of it. We would like to hear more of your shooting and equipment.
Thanks for responding.

Here in Montana rocketeers are both Trump supporters and opponents. But in the interest of the rocketry we have in common, the Big Sky Rocketry Association club has been largely successful in keeping politics out of rocketry, and I applaud them for that. The same thing is true with Tripoli, and I strongly agree. We need to separate politics from rocketry.

The launches are much more enjoyable, friendly, and safe if people aren't glaring at each other from behind the barricades. But we've faced real practical issues of safety over wearing masks, keeping safe distances, and using hand sanitizer. Many of us are in high risk categories or have loved ones who are and we probably wouldn't survive getting infected. To me, this isn't a political issue but a safety one. But its unfortunate that everything is getting politicized, even matters of science and health.

But on the positive side, good safe rocketry is about science, at least we can come together about that.

When I graduated from Montana State in 1974 and first went to work at Hanford as an engineer, I knew another engineer whose last name was Harshberger. Any relationship?
 
Thanks for responding.

Here in Montana rocketeers are both Trump supporters and opponents. But in the interest of the rocketry we have in common, the Big Sky Rocketry Association club has been largely successful in keeping politics out of rocketry, and I applaud them for that. The same thing is true with Tripoli, and I strongly agree. We need to separate politics from rocketry.

The launches are much more enjoyable, friendly, and safe if people aren't glaring at each other from behind the barricades. But we've faced real practical issues of safety over wearing masks, keeping safe distances, and using hand sanitizer. Many of us are in high risk categories or have loved ones who are and we probably wouldn't survive getting infected. To me, this isn't a political issue but a safety one. But its unfortunate that everything is getting politicized, even matters of science and health.

But on the positive side, good safe rocketry is about science, at least we can come together about that.

When I graduated from Montana State in 1974 and first went to work at Hanford as an engineer, I knew another engineer whose last name was Harshberger. Any relationship?
If he was married to a gal named Sherrie, there is a relation there, not sure how far back but its something like 4-5 generations. Hanford is where I work as a Teamster Truck Driver Heavy.
 
If he was married to a gal named Sherrie, there is a relation there, not sure how far back but its something like 4-5 generations. Hanford is where I work as a Teamster Truck Driver Heavy.
I left Hanford in 1978, and married a chemist I met there in the 222S Lab, and we've been together since. It was such a long time ago that I only remember this guy was in the same engineering department that I was in 202S. His first name might have been Bruce, and he was an engineer who was a little strange in the 200W area but beyond that, I'm not even sure about the spelling of his last name.
 
I guess you could use a competition pistol but the point of the exercise was to demonstrate the five rules of aiming that the NRA uses for freestanding shooting so that you can teach new shooters. This was not a competition.


I think you would have been asked to leave the class.
So when you when did you your qualification, that was with a .22, yes? I did find that using a 22 did prove a bit easier than centerfire 9mm. Not a trivial effort either way. Target on the left spot on at 15 yards.
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Very nice,
I have a Sig Compact .45 and that's about as good as I can do.
Most of yours look like they are within a 3" diameter.
 
Um...I’m not a wheelgun guy. Don’t own one and have never shot one.
I'm generally not either, with two exceptions: everybody needs a cowboy gun (mine is a replica Remington 1873 by Uberti), and I keep a S&W revolver loaded with snake shot. I tried 9mm snake shot in my Kimber Micro 9 and the shot capsule shattered when it tried to feed...
 
Um...I’m not a wheelgun guy. Don’t own one and have never shot one.
<<snip>>
I do have two wheelguns.... one is the first centerfire I ever bought back in the late 1970's; a Rossi 5-shot .38spl with 3" barrel. The other is a Rossi 6-shot stainless .22LR that I inherited from my brother when he passed in early 2018.

Other than those two, all I own are semi-autos (in handguns... a mixture of Sig-Sauer and Ruger), and mostly semi-auto rifles with one bolt-action .22, and one lever-action .22.
 
Added Trijicon HD XR sights to the VP9SK recent acquisition. Love these sights for a carry gun, and having a proper installation tool really makes fast work of it.
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Added Trijicon HD XR sights to the VP9SK recent acquisition. Love these sights for a carry gun, and having a proper installation tool really makes fast work of it.
<<snip>>
Have been a HUGE fan of Trijicon night sights for many years now, but recently decided to try a set or two from a new company called "Night Fision". So far they are my new favorite! You get your choice of colors when you buy a set, mix-and-match, and they are built to order when you buy them, so no stale tritium tubes or "out of stock" on the color combo you wanted! Delivery time after order was around two weeks, so it doesn't take them long to assemble your set.

The only downside to the two sets so far is, you WILL have to hone the bottom of the sights a bit until they fit properly without being too tight! It only takes a few minutes with an Arkansas oilstone, but even with a proper sight tool, they are just a bit too tight without it!

For around $90.00/set, I don't mind honing a bit for a perfect fit! Cheers...
 
Anyone buy ammo lately? :rolleyes:
Most of it's sold out everywhere. I work a side gig at a range/gun store. About all we have is some bizarre .32 cal pistol stuff and bird shot....and we're rationing everything that we sell to go our range. Unpack a pallet of stuff about every 5 days to restock, gone in 3.

People are even cleaning out Wal Mart here of 7 1/2 skeet loads to use as barter if/when that becomes necessary.

Funny thing is, other than .22LR or stuff to run through black rifles or a pistol, Wal Mart seems to be otherwise fully stocked (at least around here).
 
I keep a good supply on hand to reload.

Most reloading supplies are gone as well
 
Well, back on September 7th when I bought the .357 1873, I got a box of .357 and a box of .38 target rounds. But I only bought them there because they were 10% off when you picked up your gun. I’m sure I still paid a lot more than if I would have shopped around. But I was there and they’ll last me a long time.
Haven’t even chambered a round yet in any of the three new guns I bought...
I did look for ammo at Farm & Fleet.
Really picked over. I looked at Fleet Farm in Delavan, but don’t remember the situation there. I’m sure it was similar.
 
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