My usual practice now is to take at least three guns to the range:
1) For general practice and trigger pull improvement--Walther P-22, minimum 100 rounds
2) Utility gun--Springfield XD-40 and/or Ruger SP-101, minimum 50 rounds
3) Something else just for fun.
Starting out with the P-22 as usual, I started out right at the tiny bullseye in the center and didn't do much good, so I switched to the big target and, also as usual, my shooting improved as I went along. Many of the .22 bullet holes in the big target were later chewed out by .40 holes, so you can't see them all. Later I worked on the two small targets on the upper left, and finally went back to the tiny center target one more time. I finally managed to hit it a couple of times.
I switched to the XD and worked on the big target, doing pretty well except for some extreme fliers. This is a problem I have. I'll do quite well for a while and then I lose concentration or something and I'll have some bad fliers. I finished off by working on the small target at center right.
Just for fun, I took along the CZ-52 as pictured. The first two shots were at the big target, but then I realized that I couldn't tell where they were hitting anymore so I moved up to the top center target, and as you can see the remaining six rounds of that magazine went into the black (woo hoo!) Then I went for the target at top right. Some strayed off-black, but that raggedy hole had quite a few bullets going through it. I shot 35 rounds in all, I think. Four 8-round magazines worth plus a few odd extra to finish out the box. As usual, my trigger finger was starting to get numb from the beating, so I switched to right-handed shooting for one magazine. I think the nagging tendonitis that I've had for several years in my right wrist is finally starting to effect my off-hand shooting. I didn't do too well right-handed today.
All targets were shot at the 7-yard line. They recently rebuilt the range and eliminated the 10-yard position. Now they have only 7, 15, and 25 yards. I'm not ready to go up to 15 yards in public yet, although when alone I have even attempted 25-yard shots with pistols, just not with very good results. I think I have improved since the last range session.
The plus side of their rebuild is that they now have a separate range for the Saturday morning CHL class, so the rest of us can start when they open at 10:00 instead of having to wait for the class to finish their qualifications. This morning's class had about a dozen people in it, and at least three women. It is actually quite fun to hear those volleys of gunfire in the distance when the command to fire is given (a dozen semi-autos all going off at once).
I don't just blaze away as fast and furiously as I can. I like to take some time, take breaks, and get a look at the guns and performance of other people. Today a couple of guys came in and each rented 9mm Glocks, which they did quite well with. They were obviously experienced shooters, and I couldn't figure out why they didn't have their own guns. Maybe they just wanted to shoot Glocks today.
To my immediate right was a man shooting a small .38 Special. I'm not an expert at identifying guns at a glance, but my guess is it was a Rossi or Taurus. To his right was another man with a larger-framed .38. The odd thing about these two were that, although both of their guns were double-action, they were both cocking and firing single action. In my opinion, that's cheating. It almost made me want to break out the SP-101 and make a few holes double-action just so they could see that it is, in fact, possible. The man with the larger revolver also had a S&W Sigma in .380 ACP. They were both shooting quite well.
To my left were a couple of friends who were taking turns shooting an H&K 9mm and doing quite well. All the way at the far left, in one of the 25-yard positions, was a man shooting a Ruger P-345. That's one gun I recognize even at a distance.
I had planned on trying to get the rightmost position on the line but those four other people got there first. So when I got around to the CZ, there was some room to my left so I shifted down a little to give them some space. The guy with the H&K gave me an odd look, and I told him, "I just want to give them some room so they don't get pelted by my empties too bad." He thought he understood until I actually started shooting. It immediately became apparent that no one there, including the range marshall, had ever seen a CZ-52 before.
After the first shot, I heard someone exclaim "Whoa!" After the second shot, someone said "Wheee!" or something like that. When I finished the magazine, the range marshall had to come up and look at it. "I was catching your empties from 10 feet away!" he said. I told him I had actually measured it before, and the empties can easily fly 30 feet before they hit the ground. I'm almost positive he pocketed a couple of the empties. As I said, he had never seen anything like it before. Heh heh.
Ammo used today was Remington High Velocity .22LR, Winchester white box 165-grain FMJ .40 S&W, and Sellier & Bellot 7.62x25mm 85-grain FMJ.
Final result: I shot better with the CZ than with either of the other guns. I have said before that, as far as my own guns go, the CZ and the 1911 are the most naturally "pointable" of them all (with the XD following closely behind). I also like the narrower sights on the CZ.
And I was happy not to be the worst shooter at the range.
UPDATE: Updated to fix the graphic link and change the category.
