Shooting mat on a budget

I had been looking at the shooting mats offered online, but no way was I going to pay $80 to get one.  Instead I found a camo moving blanket on EBay for $20.  It is 72x80 inches, doubled over it's pretty soft.  Does the trick, and multi-tasks as a moving blanket!

Something to think about

According to the US Census, the US Population for April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538 people (that is men, women, children, elderly, everyone).  The NRA states the number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000 people. 

Therefore:

25.9% of the people in the US are gun owners.

1 in 4 people own a firearm.  These people by and large are responsible gun owners.  They spend money on firearms and related items; thus supporting the people who are in the business of providing those items...this is good for the economy.  They stand up to protect their family and neighbors, and if the need arises, their country.  I will do so myself, should the need arise.


Those who wish to ban guns need to remember these points:

*Making firearms illegal will not disarm criminals.  Marijuana is still available in every city of this country, and it's illegal.
*Murder is illegal, yet people still kill.
*Banning firearms will result in: a loss of US jobs (a blow which should never be willingly brought upon a people), and a loss in the ability for people to defend themselves and their family.
*When 1 in 4 people own a firearm, surely this is something that is important to many people, if your not one of them, fine, but don't tell other people how to live.

Improving Accuracy - The 1/2 second after you pull the trigger analysis

I ride motorcycles, and something I say a lot, is that I'm not capable of using that machine to it's fullest potential.  Every time I ride, is a learning experience, and I do get better year over year.  I see this is the case with my rifles as well.  Before I purchased my first rifle, I figured shooting single hole groups would be a breeze.  Little did I know, that in reality, there are so many factors that go into precision shooting, that I would become obsessed with the one thing I thought would be so easy.  We are misguided by TV and movies into thinking shooting is easy and accurate.

I suspect a lot of people try to downplay their role in shooting accurately, especially when I hear things like "it's cheap ammo, it's the wind, that [insert firearm in question] is for hunting not target shooting, or it's a cheap rifle."  I'd be willing to argue that for the vast majority of us, it is in fact our technique that is the cause of our lack of precision.

On my last outing to the range, I focused on body positioning, and it's effects.  Just a simple change to the location of my elbow on the bench had an effect on my groups.  Something I have neglected to pay attention to (and I suspect most of us do the same), is to examine how our rifle has moved AFTER the shot has been fired.  Is the rifle always moving the same way?  I think this analysis is the key to improving our groupings.

I noticed that placing my elbow further outward on the bench resulted in less sideways motion of the rifle after the shot.  I believe that this change in position allowed the rifle to move more directly rearward, as opposed to being pivoted to the side, as my arm/elbow acted as a lever.

I often hear people blaming stray shots to the right (I am right handed) as being a trigger control issue (ie jerking the trigger), but I know in my case this is not the cause.  I'm extremely careful to use pressure to gently squeeze the trigger back, and during dry firing, my rifle does not move a peep during this process.  Examining the effect of recoil (even the small recoil of the 22LR) I began to see how my arm pivoting at the elbow would absolutely cause the movement in the barrel that cause these 'off to the right' shots.  I feel like I learned something very important this last time out to the range.

I'd like to thank Germán Salazar over at 'The Rifleman's Journal' for his advice recently.  http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/  His advice prompted me to examine my body and it's effect on the rifle, beyond the trigger control and controlled breathing techniques.

Sons of Guns

If you haven't checked out 'Sons of Guns' on the Discovery Channel, I highly recommend it!  It's enjoyable, the people on the show have an interesting set of personalities, and there is plenty of shooting! 

I'm particularly happy with the success this show has been having.  It's nice to see shooting and firearms portrayed in a positive light, and given the popularity of the show, it's encouraging that the general public has taken an interest.  Perhaps this will bring more understanding, and even positive interest from the non-gun community.

9pm July 13th (Wednesday) is the first episode of the new season, check it out!