A Dinosaur at the Range Today

[kbm6893]

I let some guy in his early 20's try out my Garand. He loved it. Especially the PING. He asked me if I wanted to try his AR,'and I told him no. I had owned several of them and one is no different than the other.

I'm only 44, so not quite a dinosaur yet. But I've come full circle when it comes to my weapons. Garands have relplaced AR's. Have as many revolvers as I do semi autos and being a new reloader I like not hunting for my brass

Truth be told, I dismiss the notion that those "old guns" aren't as capable of doing what needs to be done as they used to be. The kid with the AR said "Garand is nice, but it can't be topped off until it's empty, and it's too heavy to carry with you if you have to "bug out", and it's more difficult to reload under stress if you're being shot it. And it only has 8 rounds".

I guess I just don't have fantasies of roaming the earth like The Walking Dead, and taking fire while trying to reload.

 

[Johnnu2]

DINO

How can I not chime in? 70+ bad dominant eye, shooting right handed with my left eye only; Ruger old model Blackhawk .45Colt. Standing next to the guys and gals banging hundreds of rounds at the 7 yd target and waiting for them to switch clips. Then I shoot and hit the fifty yard gong (so they hear it) in between each of their reloads. The concept of fun does change when you become the 'old guy'. J

 

[6thtexas]

How can I not chime in? 70+ bad dominant eye, shooting right handed with my left eye only; Ruger old model Blackhawk .45Colt. Standing next to the guys and gals banging hundreds of rounds at the 7 yd target and waiting for them to switch clips. Then I shoot and hit the fifty yard gong (so they hear it) in between each of their reloads. The concept of fun does change when you become the 'old guy'. J

I have noticed as well that hardly anyone shoots a handgun at 25 yards or more. I have been on the range at 25 and had others move in on me and shoot at 3-7 yards which ended my shooting. One "gentleman" garbed in all the latest "tactical" c--- uh stuff could not understand why anyone shot a revolver at 25 yds. I informed him that if I wanted to poke holes in paper at 3 yards I would use a long sharp stick as it is cheaper and quieter. I don't think I made a convert. Yes, I am a dinosaur!

 

[BE Mike]

I have noticed as well that hardly anyone shoots a handgun at 25 yards or more. I have been on the range at 25 and had others move in on me and shoot at 3-7 yards which ended my shooting. One "gentleman" garbed in all the latest "tactical" c--- uh stuff could not understand why anyone shot a revolver at 25 yds. I informed him that if I wanted to poke holes in paper at 3 yards I would use a long sharp stick as it is cheaper and quieter. I don't think I made a convert. Yes, I am a dinosaur!

Even the gun rags are starting to do handgun "testing" at 7 yds. I suppose that if one never intends to put meat on the table or make a longer shot for defense, then it doesn't matter. Me?, I like the challenge. I do shoot my defensive guns at closer ranges too, but I have to shoot those longer ranges once in a while. How in the world can someone expect to develop good trigger control unless he shoots at 25 yds. or greater, once in a while? The tactical group seldom do any live training from the holster or magazine changes. Since I brought up the magazine change topic, if most shootouts occur at 7 yds or less and consist of only 2-3 shots, I'd have to ask the tactical crowd, why practice magazine changes?

 

[CelticSire]

I have a 3 screw Ruger Blackhawk in .30 carbine that always draws attention at the range. It's a little loud. I've also heard the "I've gotta get one of those" comments a few times after letting people shoot it. It's a flat shooting, fun gun to shoot.

 

[kraynky]

I never anticipated the curiosity and befuddlement I experienced at the range today.

The other shooters present had apparently never seen or even HEARD OF the guns I was shooting!

I mean, who doesn't know what an M2 Springfield .22 is?

Or a Winchester 52C?

Even the pretty mundane Winchester 61 pump gun drew confused glances!

And the handguns!

"Well, son, this is a Colt Officer's Model Target, a .22 revolver, and yes, it will hit the bull at 50 yards if I can see that far!"

"That? Just a garden variety Walther Olympia, made in 1936. Shoots pretty well, too!"

"Oh, that's my favorite! It's a Smith & Wesson Combat Masterpiece--one of the first .22s, made in 1950. The grips? Um, they're Ropers, like the ones on the Officer's Model Target I showed you. Yes, they are quite nice. Thanks!"

"This big one here? It's a .44. No, not a Magnum. It's a .44 Special, made back in the fifties. The nineteen fifties! You, know, when Truman was President? Truman! Harry S!

"So, tell me, son--do your guns come in any colors besides black? No? Pity."

Now you got me wanting to see them!

 

[Krogen]

Krogen the dinosaur here. For me, it's revolvers and single-shot rifles. I chuckle at those autoloader folks searching high and low for the brass their pistols fling into orbit. The single-shots get funny looks. Stevens Favorite, Win 1885, Ruger No. 1; I use all of them. Others don't get it. One shot? Eh? Makes me grin. My "stealth" single-shots befuddle them even more. I have a couple that look look like regular bolt-acitons, but they have no provisions for a magazine. >They< don't know what they're missing.

Heh, heh.... Go ahead, call me a dinosaur. It's a C O M P L I M E N T !

 

[kaaskop49]

This is what's going to the range with me Saturday, a 1937 J.P. Sauer & Sohn K98k German Mauser. It always gets the "Black Plastic Boys" attention.

Now that is what is called a rifle! Holy cats (Katz?)!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. I know, "Katz" is not a plural, but it sorta rhymes... Alles gute.

 

[Arik]

Yes, if it's not old it sucks

 

[drummer007]

I'm almost 66 years old. When I shoot Hi Power/CMP matches, I shoot my Bushmaster DCM AR and shoot expert scores. My neighborhood alarms and excursions gun is a KelTec SU16C. But I also love and shoot my Garand, my 1903, my M952 Mauser and my S&W revolvers. My EDC is a 2.5" Model 66.

A couple of years ago I was shooting on our club's 300 yard range and one of my young club member friends was shooting his AR on the next bench. I lit up my Garand: BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. He turned his head toward me and with a mock look of horror on his face said "What in the World is THAT !!!"

I said "That, son, is a RIFLE !!" I then spelled it out: R ... I ... F ... L ... E.

The entire shooting line broke out in laughter.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Do replica oldies count? My favorite shooter is my 1892 lever action .357 with a 24 inch octagon barrel. Its new, but its special to me.

 

[jdjames68]

Just got my hands on a Model 36 no dash pinned barrel, flat latch. After owning tupperware guns from glock, SW or wondernines as they used to be called I forgot how a good revolvered felt.

 

[Tracer_Bullet]

A while back I took my Inland M1 Carbine to the range and a man and his 10 year old son approached me while I was reloading my magazines. Apparently, the son plays a video game that features the M1 Carbine and it was his favorite weapon in the game, so he wanted to see a real one. I did him one better and let him fire a few rounds, after instructing him on how to operate the gun, and made his day. Maybe he's a dinosaur in the making At any rate, it's always nice to talk and shoot with people who appreciate the old dinosaur guns.

 

[Tracer_Bullet]

Do replica oldies count? My favorite shooter is my 1892 lever action .357 with a 24 inch octagon barrel. Its new, but its special to me.

I think it's the appreciation of the older guns and their history, that makes the dinosaur, not necessarily being a certain age or owning the genuine article. A '92 definitely qualifies as a dinosaur gun in my opinion.

 

[Buford57]

The Garand and the Sharps seem to be crowd pleasers. Especially when the white smoke rolls out of the latter.

 

[BlackAgnes]

For those who want to see the guns in question...

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

BlackAgnes,

Are you looking to adopt?

 

[Marshwheeling]

I forgot to mention that I have gotten a few looks with this 1909 vintage Single Shot Second Model. What amazes people is that this was at 25 yards and of course, it is a single shot, which means it has to be loaded and re-aim each time before it is fired. One guy at the range shook his head in disbelief that a single shot can shoot this well, and when I told him it was over 100 years old, he was even more shocked!

You carry that Sharpie tucked into your sock?

 

[gregintenn]

A while back I took my Inland M1 Carbine to the range and a man and his 10 year old son approached me while I was reloading my magazines. Apparently, the son plays a video game that features the M1 Carbine and it was his favorite weapon in the game, so he wanted to see a real one. I did him one better and let him fire a few rounds, after instructing him on how to operate the gun, and made his day. Maybe he's a dinosaur in the making At any rate, it's always nice to talk and shoot with people who appreciate the old dinosaur guns.

I don't think I've ever let anyone fire an M1 carbine that didn't ask where they could find one.

 

[BigBill]

When I bring out my 1907 Swedish mauser, Carl Gustaf m96 6.5mm swede 29" barrel with no scope with s&b 131gr so ammo she prints 1 1/2" groups at 100yds.

I had some SWAT shooters a few benches away. They seen my target and wanted to know what I was shooting with no scope that was that accurate.
There jaw dropped when I told them. They said they had SWAT rifles that weren't that accurate.

This 1907 Swede mauser is my boo. She's in the car first to go to the range. When I pass on she's going with me. Nothing matches the quality of the world famous Swedish chrome moly steels. There electric foundry furnaces were the first ones.

I thought I needed scopes on all my rifles to be accurate. I thought my eyes were bad. I was shooting the wrong rifles.

After shooting 30-06's and 338wm for most of my shooting life the Swede 6.5mm feels like a 22.

Too bad these youngsters don't know or understand old iron. We need to educate them.