I feel much better, now.

So, I did get to spend a couple of hours shooting. I'd've spent longer, but there was this nice man with his son that showed up...sans stapler, sans ear protection. And with a BB RIFLE!!

Guys, you were really nice, and I enjoyed meeting you (and enjoyed watching you shoot a .22 pistol for the first time), but NEXT TIME, BRING HEARING PROTECTION!! I didn't feel right keeping shooting what I was shooting (or starting shooting the rifle) when I WAS THE ONLY ONE AT THE 25 YD SHELTER WITH EARPLUGS!!!

Jeesh. Between nice, clueless guys that want a rifle just like what they shoot in Call of Duty (and don't know the first thing about even what caliber it shoots, much less how hard it's going to kick), and the dumbass white trash* shooting nickle-plated Beretta-style .40 caliber handguns without hearing protection for them OR FOR THEIR 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER!! OR WIFE!! I was about ready to call Odysseus and ask him to pick up a couple packages of the cheap, orange foam earplugs sold at pretty much every Wal-Mart, and start handing them out so I could shoot without worrying about damaging someone else's hearing.

Anyway, enough of that. I promised pictures, if I was satisfied that my skills hadn't atrophied too badly. Well, as you can see below, they really haven't. The first magazine was emptied into the (free conservation range free paper target) on the right. If I'd had to empty that into a goblin, they'd be missing from their aorta to the bottom third of a lung.


As for the second magazine (the target on the left)...yeah, I couldn't do that again on a bet.



Both of those were done with my carry piece: a CZ 82 that Odysseus got me for Christmas just after our imp was born.

Seriously, I love this gun. Its ergonomics are such that it feels almost instinctive in the way you acquire (and keep) the target. The controls are well-placed for someone that doesn't have little kid hands (i.e., I can't reach the magazine release or the slide release with my shooting hand, but everyone else can), the trigger is clean and crisp with no travel in the single-action pull. The double action is a little difficult, but that may just be my size working against me.

It's also very simple and easy to care for. Here it is, taken down for cleaning.



The take down lever is the trigger guard: yank down, and the slide comes right off.

The gun came with an ambidextrous field holster, a spare magazine, and a cleaning rod. Neat little package, isn't it?



With the flap buttoned down, this could almost be mistaken for a binoculars case.



As for the others...I didn't really have a chance to shoot rifle (you should see some of the specimens that the free public range** attracts--even on a week day afternoon). And the Walther pistols were...disappointing in comparison to the CZ. The trigger on both suck, and the tolerances in my particular PK380 were looser than a dockside whore: I'm not a great shot, but I'm not bad enough to have the front sight on the x and miss two inches to the right one time, and two to the left the next two times, then right again. And it wasn't consistent in the way I missed, so I strongly suspect that it really was the gun. I suppose it would have done well enough in a tight situation, but I have other guns I would prefer to rely on.

So I sold it. And turned around and ordered a Kimber .22 upper for my Spartan. I do want to shoot it, but, since I don't have the time (or space) to start reloading, I can't afford to shoot it as much as I'd like to get comfortable with the feel of it.

All in all, yesterday was a whole lot of fun. I only wish I'd taken more Makarov...

*Believe me: I know the difference between redneck and white trash. It has nothing to do with income, and everything to do with behavior and planning ability.

**Best use of tax dollars I've ever seen in my life.