Range Time.

I went to the gun range today. You have to go early in the morning or you'll sweat to death out there. They've made some changes that include moving some of the ranges down the hill. That's all well and good but I don't think I like the plinking range--the one I use the most--as much as I used to. For starters, the covered firing area is uphill from the target and if you want to walk out closer to the berm and do some moving while firing, you end up backing uphill. It's just not as conducive to move-draw-move-fire type practice.

I blew through a couple of hundred 9mm rounds, probably seventy-five .380 rounds and...hell, I don't know, maybe two or three hundred .22lr in my target pistol. After shooting at targets for a while, I switched over to aluminum cans. Why? It's more fun to see a can go flying through the air than see a hole appear in a target. And the thing is, I shoot more accurately when i'm shooting at cans. Go figure. But I blew them away. I'll tell you this, if I'm ever attacked by an errant coke can, I'll be prepared.

My little Bersa was kicking my ass. I don't know if it was because I was shooting my self-defense ammo or what but it actually hurt the webbing between my thumb and pointer finger. It shouldn't have hurt that much but it was really pounding me. I've been thinking about getting one of the little Kahr PM9s but hell, I don't want to pay >$600 for a gun. I just don't want to do that, especially since my most expensive gun was $439 AFTER taxes and that was for my Beretta 8000F/Cougar L. That gun is BAD ASS. And besides my Ruge target pistol, the Beretta is the one I shoot the best. If I had an inside-the-waistband holster, I'd probably carry it more. As is it, I usually stick with my Browning BDA or my Bersa, both in .380ACP. Yeah, I know. Some folks consider them marginal for self-defense. You know what? If I punch someone in the neck/upper chest or the groin/pelvic girdle, even if it's with a .380, they'll either go down or at least lose the will to fight. That's what I hope anyway. If I decided against the Kahr, which I really want, I could go with perhaps a Keltec P11 in 9mm. I just don't know about the Kel-Tecs. They're just kind of cheap.

Hmmm, I also think maybe I should get a high velocity rifle that can be shoulder fired and yet is short enough for use in my home. Kel-Tec makes a nice .223. Ruger has their Mini-14 but then, I'd have to buy Ruger. Since I don't want to put $800 into a rifle, I'd probably have to keep looking around for a good, affordable rifle.

Then again, I probably don't need another gun right now. I've got plenty and really, getting out of debt should be my primary goal because there is just no way that I can write more and work less when I owe the amount of money that I do.

Jb