Shooting up in Gatesville again.

I went up to Gatesville Sunday afternoon to do some shooting with my buddy Dave Waters.



I took my new M-1 carbine and my Tokarev, SVT-40, and enough ammo to do some decent damage. That's my gear bag there, with some other refreshments on hand. The last time I came up here to shoot my carbine I got about 3 shots out of it before the hospital called me to tell me my daddy had died. I was looking forward to erasing that memory and getting some serious shooting done.

Dave was planning to shoot his new Garand. When he ordered mine through the CMP and it turned out to be such a beautiful specimen, he decided to order himself another one, just in case.

It turns out his new one isn't as pristine as mine, but I think he still got a great rifle. I like all the dents and marks in the wood. They give the weapon a history. Mine looks like it was taken right off the factory line and stored away, never shot or anything. That's cool, and I love the fact that it's so clean, but I also appreciate the history that this wear and tear represents.

Since I was gonna be shooting 7.62X54, Dave decided to pull out his Mosin-Nagant, which he says he got in trade for something else a long while back.

Dave's range is a very nice place to shoot. He regularly hosts gatherings of friends out there, including his reenactor buddies, who blast away at these metal targets with their muskets.

You can see all the dents they've managed to make over the years, as well as a few holes made in them by folks like me with more modern rounds.



One of the coolest things about this place is the collection old mysterious grave sites just up the hill from the range (picture on te right). I went up there with Dave this time and took some pictures of those graves and posted them over at FlickR. Click on over there and check them out. I think you'll agree, they're pretty interesting.



Dave took a turn shooting my Tokarev. It's one of my favorite toys. Kicks like a mule, shooting the big 7.62X54 round that was standard Russian fare till the smaller stuff took over after the "Great Patriotic War".



I tell ya, it was hot and sweaty "work" out there. I made the mistake of taking off the hat for a while to more easily wear the ear protection and paid for it with salty sweat in the eyes. Not good. So I put the hat back on and kept it on the rest of the day, decidin' not to care how goofy, or maybe how much MORE goofy it made me look.



Dave later busted out his Nagant and we both took turns with it. That thing also kicks like a mule.



Then it was time to try out the new Garand. You can see in this little soundless video how much Dave gets shoved around by this rifle.



Then it was my turn. You folks who know what this is all about can add the "ting" sound yourself, after the second shot. Then Dave walks over to me, not realizin' the thing was still on.



Then Dave surprised me and pulled out this Walther P-38 from one of his kit bags. I didn't know he'd brought it. I'd never shot one, so it was a special treat to get to throw some 9mm rounds down the way.



We were aimin' for that small round metal target in the picture above. We both managed to hit it a few times, but he's much more proficient at all this stuff than I am. I must say though, I do make this stuff look good. Eh???

Later on I'll tell you what happened after the shootin', and I'll show you all the good food we ate. Now, don't get all sweaty thinkin' about it. Chill. I'll see ya later.