I went shooting today with my 83 year old step father. He hadn't shot much in years. His father owned a hardware store, that also sold guns (mostly Brownings), in Greenville, SC for many years.
Today, he brought 2 older .22's. One was a NIB Browning SA-22 take down rifle that was made in Japan. It was one of the guns that was in inventory when the hardware store closed. It was still in the short black box with a band around it. He had been wanting to shoot this one for a while. The other rifle (I should have paid more attention to it) was a Winchester pump .22 with exposed hammer that was also a take down gun. I think it was a Model 62. I may be able to find out tomorrow.
I brought some S&W's. I brought a Model 66-2 with 6 inch barrel, a 642-2, a 9mm Shield, and a M&P 15T. The 66-2 was the first gun I bought when I turned 21 and still one of my favorites to shoot. The 642-2 and Shield are sometimes "carry guns" so I like to shoot them when I get a chance. I have had the M&P 15T for about 8 years, but have only shot it about 300 times without any problems, and haven't shot it in about 5 years. I thought he may enjoy shooting it.
I ran a couple CLP patches through the Browning SA-22, assembled it, and then loaded it with some Remington LR ammo he had brought. I set up a "Shoot-N-C" target at about 25 yards for him to shoot. The gun shot flawlessly, but a bit low. He shot it about 30 times, but said he wasn't real impressed with the rifle. We shot the 66-2 next. I shot 12 shots and he shot 6. It is very accurate.
For the last few years, my step father's hands have pained him and his grip, once vice-like, has greatly diminished. Because of this, he declined to shoot the Shield and the 642-2. I shot 2 mags/cylinders through each at about 10 yards. I shot the Shield well, but shot the 642-2 low. We shot the Winchester pump .22 rifle next. We both really liked it (I think it is his favorite gun and he has shot it a lot).
It was extremely accurate.
Next, came the M&P 15T. It is accessorized with an Eotech 512 with 3X magnifier. I knew he had never seen one of these sights, and thought he might find it interesting. I turned on the Eotech and let him familiarize himself with it while I loaded a new 30 round P-mag. He accurately shot it 5 times and was amazed at the low recoil. He handed it to me to shot. I took aim, pulled the trigger BANG, pulled the trigger CLICK, pulled back the charging handle, pulled the trigger BANG, pulled the trigger CLICK!!
The rifle was ejecting the empty shell each time, but most of the time, it was not picking up the next round from the magazine at all. Twice, it tried to pick up the next round, but it failed to feed and got hung up on the feed ramp with the bolt about half open and twice I had "stove pipes" with the empty round. My step father wanted to try it again and was having the same issues I was. We were shooting Federal American Eagle .223 55 GR. metal case ammo. I don't know why we were having problems. The first 5 shots were fine, but problems thereafter. I topped off the magazine to see if the first shots would be good again. No luck. The magazine is new, and I know Magpul makes a quality product. The only other things that I could think of was 1. When the rifle was new, it came with metal USGI magazines. I used them for the 300 "no problem" shots. 2. The gun was cleaned and lubed after the last shooting, but since I had not shot the gun in over 5 years, maybe the gun was not "wet/lubed" enough today.
All in all, it was a great morning! I got to spend some quality time with my step father, we got to shoot a few different guns, and the temperature was in the low 70's!!!
Now, I guess I need to clean and lube the M&P 15T, grab some different magazines (both USGI and Pmags) from the mag pile, and try a few different types of ammo to try to nail down my problem. Any suggestions from you folks?
Today, he brought 2 older .22's. One was a NIB Browning SA-22 take down rifle that was made in Japan. It was one of the guns that was in inventory when the hardware store closed. It was still in the short black box with a band around it. He had been wanting to shoot this one for a while. The other rifle (I should have paid more attention to it) was a Winchester pump .22 with exposed hammer that was also a take down gun. I think it was a Model 62. I may be able to find out tomorrow.
I brought some S&W's. I brought a Model 66-2 with 6 inch barrel, a 642-2, a 9mm Shield, and a M&P 15T. The 66-2 was the first gun I bought when I turned 21 and still one of my favorites to shoot. The 642-2 and Shield are sometimes "carry guns" so I like to shoot them when I get a chance. I have had the M&P 15T for about 8 years, but have only shot it about 300 times without any problems, and haven't shot it in about 5 years. I thought he may enjoy shooting it.
I ran a couple CLP patches through the Browning SA-22, assembled it, and then loaded it with some Remington LR ammo he had brought. I set up a "Shoot-N-C" target at about 25 yards for him to shoot. The gun shot flawlessly, but a bit low. He shot it about 30 times, but said he wasn't real impressed with the rifle. We shot the 66-2 next. I shot 12 shots and he shot 6. It is very accurate.
For the last few years, my step father's hands have pained him and his grip, once vice-like, has greatly diminished. Because of this, he declined to shoot the Shield and the 642-2. I shot 2 mags/cylinders through each at about 10 yards. I shot the Shield well, but shot the 642-2 low. We shot the Winchester pump .22 rifle next. We both really liked it (I think it is his favorite gun and he has shot it a lot).
It was extremely accurate.Next, came the M&P 15T. It is accessorized with an Eotech 512 with 3X magnifier. I knew he had never seen one of these sights, and thought he might find it interesting. I turned on the Eotech and let him familiarize himself with it while I loaded a new 30 round P-mag. He accurately shot it 5 times and was amazed at the low recoil. He handed it to me to shot. I took aim, pulled the trigger BANG, pulled the trigger CLICK, pulled back the charging handle, pulled the trigger BANG, pulled the trigger CLICK!!
The rifle was ejecting the empty shell each time, but most of the time, it was not picking up the next round from the magazine at all. Twice, it tried to pick up the next round, but it failed to feed and got hung up on the feed ramp with the bolt about half open and twice I had "stove pipes" with the empty round. My step father wanted to try it again and was having the same issues I was. We were shooting Federal American Eagle .223 55 GR. metal case ammo. I don't know why we were having problems. The first 5 shots were fine, but problems thereafter. I topped off the magazine to see if the first shots would be good again. No luck. The magazine is new, and I know Magpul makes a quality product. The only other things that I could think of was 1. When the rifle was new, it came with metal USGI magazines. I used them for the 300 "no problem" shots. 2. The gun was cleaned and lubed after the last shooting, but since I had not shot the gun in over 5 years, maybe the gun was not "wet/lubed" enough today.All in all, it was a great morning! I got to spend some quality time with my step father, we got to shoot a few different guns, and the temperature was in the low 70's!!!
Now, I guess I need to clean and lube the M&P 15T, grab some different magazines (both USGI and Pmags) from the mag pile, and try a few different types of ammo to try to nail down my problem. Any suggestions from you folks?
