Firearms

Sharing Targets at the Range

When we go to the range to practice, we generally share a target. We use one for the revolvers and generally change it out when we switch to the 9mm pistols. Most of the time when a target gets perforated to the point of not being able to see where the rounds are going, we will paste on one of those fluorescent glows-where-you-hit-it targets. For shotguns, we put up 2 x 3 foot silhouette targets.

Although we generally know who is hitting where on the target, there is some ambiguity. At the end of the video here you will see that even though there are shots all over the target, we are collectively getting pretty good at hitting the center a lot of the time.

Speed Loaders

speed-loaderUnlike pistols, where a magazine is preloaded with a number of rounds, a revolver, such as my little Smith and Wesson 442, you need to insert a round in each chamber of the cylinder before firing. My gun holds five rounds and it takes several seconds to load before snapping the cylinder into the frame and commence firing.

sw4421.jpgWe still load the guns the ‘old’ way at the range, but at home, we preload rounds into speed loaders and keep them handy so we don’t have to have loaded guns – until we need them – and likely won’t have the time to put five individual rounds in the cylinder. That way, with a simple twist of the release knob, the rounds simultaneously fall into the cylinder and with a snap, the revolver is ready to defend the Ponderosa.

Self-Portrait

I took this picture of my hand over the weekend.

Oh, by the way, I was about to clean up the new Glock 26 while sitting on the backyard swing.

glock-26.jpg

Hot Shots

Whew! When we got to the range yesterday, the cooling fan wasn’t keeping up with the elevated temperatures outside. Good thing we dressed in tank tops to help us cope with the heat.

Shooting was a lot of fun in spite of the temperatures in the range. We each brought our little guns – Verna’s S&W 442 and my Glock 26 – the regular hand guns – the S&W 686 revolver and the S&W 908s pistol – and all three shotguns with wooden stocks – my 40-year old Ithaca, and both our Remington 870s. The video is us emptying the 870s 5-round capacity magazines.

The 2 by 3 paper target did not do as well as we did.

Another New Toy

Yesterday, we took possession of the new Glock 26 9mm semi-automatic pistol. It’s a sub-compact, lightweight, pocket-sized gun, that is a pleasure to operate. See the specifications below.

stripped-glock-26.jpgI found a very good YouTube® video demonstrating how to field strip the Glock 26. This gun is much easier to disassemble and reassemble than our S&W 908 9mm pistols. Using the video as a guide, I was able to strip the gun and put it back together in under 30 seconds – without hurrying. In the image at the left you can see the gun’s component parts after field stripping – the barrel, recoil spring assembly, slide assembly, frame and the stock 10-round magazine. Click on the image for a closer look.

Glock 26 Specifications

glock-26.gifWeight: 560 g / 19.75 oz
Length: 160 mm / 6.29 in
Barrel length: 88 mm / 3.46 in
Width: 30 mm / 1.18 in
Height: 106 mm / 4.17 in
Caliber: 9 mm Luger Parabellum
Action: Safe action
Feed system: 10 / 12 / 15 / 17 / 19 / 33 round magazine
Sights: Fixed front and rear

Click on the image for a close-up of this little beauty.