In pursuit of a New Year's resolution ("Gain some minimal proficiency with rifles"), this past weekend I bought a Henry lever-action .22 and took it to the range. One range trip does not a marksman make, but I did come away with some strong first impressions:
- Gosh, this thing's pretty.
- The lever action sure is a lot of fun to shoot.
- I guess people like click-adjustable sights for a reason.
- Dammit, I'm gonna need to add a screwdriver and mallet to my range bag.
- Maybe it would be a good idea to actually read something about riflery, instead of assuming it'll come naturally.
Despite the entirely foreseeable setbacks, it's a bit shocking how much easier the rifle makes it to put rounds on target at short range. At seven yards, it's shooting itself. I'm snapping the gun up at a four-inch target and not even looking at the sights, and I can't miss. This is not my inborn talent shining through; it's presumably just a lesson in how much handguns suck and carbines rule.
So, Internet--what's a good book on rifle marksmanship?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I need to get some better sights for my boltie. Incidentally, where did you take it? I'm trying to broaden my range horizons.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you may be interested to know that there's an indoor range opening in Easton, right off I-78; run by the NJFirearms Guild people.
http://heritagefirearms.us/
It's a .22, so I just went to our regular indoor pistol range in East Stroudsburg, PA. It's a bit of a schlep, but it's the closest place I know that doesn't require an annual subscription fee and membership hoops. If you're ever in the area, it's the Pocono Pistol Club. It's clean and well kept, and the staff is great.
ReplyDeleteEaston is actually a bit _more_ of a schlep for me, but damn, it's a treat to hear about a range opening up in Jersey.
Easton is PA, even though the company is an NJ company.
ReplyDeleteAh, my mistake. The talk of the NJ Firearms Guild made me search for an Easton, NJ, and Google Maps evidently believes that there's a sliver of Easton, PA in Jersey. I didn't zoom out enough to see what was going on.
ReplyDeleteYou must be farther north than I thought.
ReplyDeleteEaston is s schlep for me as well - it's about as far as Lakewood; but the traffic and tools will be better
Yup; I live near Mount Olive township. It's tough to be far from anything in north Jersey, but we manage as well as anybody. ;)
ReplyDeleteNJ has plenty of Bunduk. One of the nice things about the state is that even out in the wilds you're not too far away from the amenities.
ReplyDelete