Gun Show good deals and rip offs, crazy people elsewhere, mostly
I went to a large Gun Show in Dallas this past Saturday (I rarely go to these) it was sort of fun and thankfully I did not have my radio on so I had no idea that just a few hours before a mentally disturbed man had attacked the Dallas Police Department HQ a few miles away. No police or bystanders were injured. The suspect was evidently a very poor shot so he was then taken down by the police. Very sad for his son and loved ones and all the people he traumatized. Failure of the health system and his own common sense I guess, but I am not a mental health professional so I don’t know.
At the show at least one vendor had a few new Gen 4 Glocks for about $60 cheaper than in any area stores and an endless amount of ridiculous/fun stuff to add to them, also many vendors selling AR/AK and vintage firearms, all fun. One vendor tried to use a Japanese sword to cut thru 40+ bamboo mats and failed, only about 22 mats. Ironic that we can buy great machetes and swords but we cannot carry anything with a blade over 5" in public (because of the mentally ill and terrorists I guess). Perhaps under our car seat, it does not require reloading. I will not admit to that. I was mostly interested in a Glock 17 ($509 cash at show, versus best price of $569 credit/debit at local Gun Shops) for target practice because 9mm is relatively inexpensive and Glocks are cost effective choices for life IF you like them for other reasons. I also like Ruger, S&W and some other handguns manuf., but I mostly shoot rifles and shotguns for hunting.
I saw several vendors selling .22lr (a much cheaper ammo) for anywhere from 50% to 300% mark up above what it typically sells for at local retailers. Some boxes looked like they had water/moisture damage and or was very very old probably 20% or higher duds. Sad that people might (did not see anyone actually buying) resort to paying 20+ cents a round for Rem Golden Bullets or CCI M-M and other improperly stored .22lr. I was tempted to sell some of mine for just 20% markup, but not worth my time or a visit to Chiropractor (sore back) after carrying ammo cans with “.22lr 4 sale” signs around the store and ticking off these vendors who were trying to break even on cost of table. Perhaps I will use a canvas backpack and practice long distance hiking with a 30-50lb assault-pack. ;-)
I was in a good mood. I woke up at 5am was on the lake by 7:30 providing water safety for triathlon practice swimmers, then drove on down to the show after dropping off my kayak with friends at a second lake. Left the show at about 5pm after spending less money than I had anticipated. Life is good.
Fun at Gun Range, 10 hours better than Disney World
Shot almost 500 rounds at a local indoor gun range yesterday from about 11 am until past 8 pm with a short break for lunch and much talking to the employees there. More fun than a day at an amusement park and without all the kids running everywhere, but my lungs may have aged a year. lol. Also should have worn gloves, washed hands frequently and before eating.
200 9mm rounds thru old Glock 17 gen 2, and rented: Glock 19 Gen 4, S&W M&P Full Size, and Ruger SR9 which I liked on paper (specs) but it was NOT fun to shot! Then I got tired because I am old, out of shape, left arm has tennis elbow from excessive WW kayaking, and I am half blind. So I switched to .22lr.
200 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags which I brought, gun range only had Agulia Standard Velocity (jams in semi-auto a fair amount more than Hi-velocity) so they were fine with me using my own ammo in their guns: Browning Buck Mark and Ruger 22/45 Mark III with original trigger. Both still jammed some because they were well used and not cleaned well and rim fire so expected. But lots of fun. I really like B-Buck Mark a LOT MORE! Coutour is on my wish list so I can put "red dot" on Picatinny rail due to my old man failing eyesight when shooting more than 5-10 yards. Then I shot a few hundred rounds of misc brands (7) and types of .22lr thru a Marlin model 60 that my Brother-in-law bought at K-Mart about 10 years ago and never fired. Rifle has been sitting in my safe for most of this time looking very sad. I guess he bought it instead of a Ruger 10/22 because he is cheap and did not know any better. Oh well, it shoots just fine, has a few advantages over Ruger 10/22 but is a pain to reload, relatively speaking, could be worse. Not bad for $125 10 years ago. Good for hunting small varmints I guess. Will need to try it out for that some time. Bro-in-law does not want it. My conclusion: Guns are fun. Depending on you needs/preferences some are better than others, so try them out BEFORE you buy!
BTW I was most accurate with Glock 17 (9mm) and in .22lr obviously the rifle then Browning Buck Mark both it and Ruger 22/45 had 5.5" barrels. All iron sights, when I use one set of eye correction wear I see sights clearly, target is a blur, use other sights are blur and target is clear, so this old man needs rail optics to hunt unfortunately and a rifle preferably but handgun at home for personal protection if I cannot get to my shotgun.
Gun Range for members is $7 all day, and $5 per gun rental after first two for $10 each, not as cheap as on Grandma's/relative's ranch with my guns or those of friends but less walking and driving for an old guy.
IMO the only useful firearm is an accurate one that suits its intended purpose so figuring out which one is best for that purpose is important and then training with it is also critical. But this can be fun as well.
Gun Range Check List, what did I forget?
Check list of things to take to Gun Range, public or your own on private property
Guns + mags in cases (water resistant, incase it is raining when you leave)
Ammo in metal ammo can (hot spent shell casings flying everywhere)
Eye and ear protection
Spotting scope or field glasses (running target up and down wires is a waste of time and makes it swing, this is also waste of time and frustrating, some systems swing a lot.)
Targets + butcher paper
Tape (masking) + small scissors
Weights for bottom of targets (wooden or metal clips)
- wooden clothes pens with thin wood strip glued to weigh down so target will not blow excessively from vent fans, stick like used to mix paint or similar, better than metal paper clips, cheaper and less ricochet if hit at 3 yards.
Pens (Sharpie), 2-4 colors write date, gun, ammo, shooter etc. on target then photo with your phone, keep phone in protective case ejected casing can break screen, take photos outside shooting area.
Water and snacks like nuts, power bars
Small folding stool taller than chairs provided
Gloves and/or soap that removes carbon from hands if range does not provide.
If you take a small child or delicate teenage girl (relative) have them wear appropriate apparel, like closed in shoes and long sleeves. Large caliber firearms can send fairly hot casings flying and these can hurt a little on bare skin. I see people there in shorts and flip-flops. All the females in my household are very delicate, perhaps my daughters were swapped at the hospital or something, I am considering having their DNA checked. Only joking. 17 year old shoots well but prefers to dance.
What else did I forget on my list? Most public gun ranges do not allow you to clean your guns there but on private property a cleaning kit and repair tools are a very good idea. At minimum one mult-tool. Flash light or head beam?
