Sunday, December 14, 2014

Gun Fun

Shot an IDPA match at Clear Creek Sportsmans Club yesterday with a side match featuring one's back-up gun. I had to ask, since I don't have one as such, but it seems that an auto pistol with a barrel under 3.8" or a revolver with a barrel under 3.5" qualifies.

As such, my regular CZ 82 qualifies as a BUG, but in the spirit of the event, I borrowed my shooting buddy 's S&W 340, an airweight 5-shot revolver in .357 mag.

I've shot this gun before. He handed it to  me and said "Here, try it." and even knowing better, I did. I fired one shot, and handed it back to him. If you carry one of these, there should never be any question as to whether someone you shoot with it actually needed shooting. They probably also needed skinning alive first.

So I brought some of my own .38 spl +P ammo to lessen the blow. .38 spl, +P, 158 gr bullets are not as rough as .357, 158gr loads, but not by enough in an airweight. Mike had also put a larger grip in the gun which allowed a three-fingered grip instead of the stock two-fingered one. All this helped as I was able to get off all 5 shots before holstering the gun and walking back to the start line shaking my hand to try to reduce the pain which everyone else seemed to find entertaining. You know it's going to be rough when the speed loader with 5 rounds in it weighs more than the gun you intend to shoot the bullets from.

Still I lost only one point out of 5, and that by less than 1/4" on the mid-range target shot while moving, and we won't talk about the slight nick on the no-shoot. With perfect hindsight, I also remember using a similar gun without hurting myself in a previous match although it was loaded with .38 spl with 125gr bullets.

There has to be one fun stage in there so here it is. On start, you step up onto the bouncy planks, and while moving, engage the half-covered bad guys and their dogs in 2 sets of 3. The second BG and his dogs are assumed to be non-visible until you finish the first set. The upraised finger says that the shooter should have resumed moving BEFORE firing those last 2 shots

Temps started off in the upper 30's and warmed up to the mid to upper 40's at the end. Nice day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

try 148 grain target wadcutters.

on the theory that a hit with a weaker round is better than a miss with a powerful one.

Billll said...

Forewarned is forearmed I guess. Next time I'll make up some 125 gr .38's with a cowboy action powder charge. As long as all I'm shooting is cardboard, I have high confidence of getting good penetration although if I hit the no-shoot again, the bullet may not penetrate the BG behind it.

Rebel Mississippi said...

Bill,

Nice blog. I'm trying ot get in touch - couldn't find your email address so wanted to comment to reach you. Could you send me an email when you get a sec?

Tyler
rebelmississippi at gmail