Shootin' at Dave's, again.

Went up to Gatesville last President's Day to shoot with a few good friends. It was our friendly way to celebrate the day.

Dave's dog Red doesn't like loud noises, so she kept her distance when she saw the guns being stacked on the back of Dave's flat bed truck. You can see her head sticking out of the tall grass there in this shot.



But she's got good reason not to like the sight or sound. When Dave's family found her she had a scar, like a grazing shot down her side. Someone had taken a shot at her. She's a survivor, fer sure.



Dave and I work for the guy on the right there. Jim Nixon is a great guy, an old hand with a six gun, and a decent boss to work for. He was an award winning pistol shooter in his day, almost an Olympian, and he's still not half bad. I've got a huge amount of respect for him, and I'm not saying that because he might see this post. I'd want to hang with him even if he hadn't been my boss since I started working of the college on the base in 1995.



He's been hearing about our shooting events and wanting to come up and shoot with us at Dave's for a long time, and it finally came to pass.

He's a huge fan of old guns, and even new guns with a classic old design. He's a pistol guy. It's funny how that goes. Dave's thing is Civil Car muskets and rifles. My thing is the Kalashnikov, and other military rifles. The Dean there mostly goes for pistols, and really likes older, western movie type stuff. But he's got a HUGE collection of lots of stuff. It's big. Mythic.

There's a joke that goes around the campus on base. The guys say that if the shit really goes down, they're all gonna come to my house. I've got enough stuff to fit out a squad or so. Then, were all gonna go to the Deans place. That'll be the stronghold.

Of course, very few of us expect the shit to go down any time soon, but bein' ready is fun enough. He's always giving me shit about the stuff I like. He thinks AKs are crap. Well, on a certain level, they are. But you like what you like.

Kalashnikovs worked their way into my consciousness early, lookin' at pictures of folks in Asia, Africa and the Middle East carryin' the things around. I've been hooked ever since then.

So it was particularly fun to get him to shoot one of my Kalashnikovs. Turns out, even after two tours in Vietnam, he'd never shot one.

He's always giving me shit about them, wondering why I don't want to get "a real gun"... like a Colt six gun or a Winchester '74. Hey, to each his own. If I have the time, and it all doesn't become illegal soon, I'll end up with all that stuff too.

Here's a shot of some of the gear I brought for the days fun. That's my Hungarian side folder, a Russian bayonet and Bakelite clip. That short clip is a ten rounder for shooting blanks. The blanks were to test the home made rifle grenade you see there on the top right. You see it's in two pieces. A work in progress.

This is a shot of our buddy Joe's stash. That's a Yugo folder on the left. I worked on it for him a while back, putting that new top cover and scope rail on it for him. The cover didn't fit when he took it out of the box. He asked me about a good gunsmith. I told him "Hell, just bring it to the house." So he left it with me one Saturday and I did my magic. It was fun. He added the scope and now he's poppin' head shots on the targets like a pro. Good times!

That "Pistol" you see there sitting on the case there in the center is a Kel Tec PLR-16. It's a pistol that shoots .223 from M-16 clips. It's one of the loudest friggin' guns I've ever seen. He's got a collimator sight on the top of it, and a flashlight (Laser pointer?) there under the nose. Mmmm, home defense! Ya gotta love it.



These are brother Dave's two new Winchester Garands. Ever since he and I were hired to be full-time Profs, he's gone nuts, buyin' stuff from the CMP. He's got about four M-1s now, produced by various folks. He ordered me my Garand last year, and still slobbers on himself when I take it out and let him shoot it.



Of course, he's a good shooter. I'm tryin' to pick up a few things from him when I go up there to shoot, but he's been doin' it seriously for about as long as I've been alive. So I've got some serious catchin' up to do.



We all took turns shooting from his handy, home made bench rest, set up at the 50 yard mark.



This is Joe, gettin' ready to shoot his "pistol". I was eggin' him on, dyin' to let the Dean see this little toy in action. Of course, I had a plan of my own.

Joe stepped up and started blastin' away, one shot at a time (the PLR is semi-auto), tryin' to hit the targets from our position at 50 yards.



As he did, I took up my Kalashnikov and folded back the stock. I focused on the pile of rocks that had been bulldozed up at the edge of the field when the power company came through and cleared the land next to Dave's burm and sank poles for new power lines. You can't see them here. They're far to the right of these targets.

I said somethin' like "Naaa, this is how you do it," and started blastin' away, holding the rifle at my hip and pullin' the trigger again and again, as fast as I could. Pieces of bolder went everywhere, and there were heads shakin' and smiles all around.



A little while later, Dave and the Dean were carefully shootin' one of Dave's new Garands, sighting it in when we heard a shout from the road. Apparently someone had been driving along the road that runs near Dave's shooting range when I was killin' those rocks. They called the Sherri's department. Next thing you know, we're standing there and hear "Sheriff's Department! Can you come to the fence?"

We all laughed our asses off as Dave sheepishly walked over behind the cypress scrub by the fence and talked to the authorities. I was hopin' they'd walk on up to where we were shooting. It would have been fun to see the look on their face when they saw my AK, or Joe's PLR-16. Those pictures would be great.



In the end, we went on to shoot pistols, in this case it;s the dean shooting an old 1911. He was plinkin' the target at 50 yards. Damn good shootin'.



In the end, it was a fun day. The Dean said somethin; about how we should do it all again, and maybe build a fire and grill some steaks. Sounds like a wonderful time.

I got a call from Dave a while back. There's a Gun Show in Belton this weekend. We made basic plans to meet there at about noon on Saturday and check it out. Should be a good time.

Anyway, you guys have a good time this weekend. Denise and I are going to Austin tonight to see Johnny Lang at the Paramount. The plan is to hit Pappasito's first and have some more of that good Mexican food you saw in the last post. I've got someone covering my classes in Florence Friday morning, so my weekend's already begun.

So, we'll talk again next week. Cheers!

Just got a few pictures from one of the shooters at the last gathering in Gatesville.

Kevin said he'd thought that he'd taken more pictures, but was havin' so much fun shooting he forgot to. Hilarious! It was a fun day.

Here's a shot of me, blasting away with the AKMS. When Joe brought out that M-16 "pistol" of his, I just folded the stock under and said something like "Oh yea, well I got yer pistol right here", and blasted away. Fun as hell.



And this is me shooting Kevin's 1911. I love this one.



I photoshopped it to straiten it out. You can see the spent shell casing above my head. Man, that was a fun day. Just wish I could hit somethin' with that friggin' thing. Oh, I'd scare the piss out of 'em if I had to. Practice, practice, practice. Guess I need to get myself one.

Finally, enjoy this musical interlude. Gov't Mule at Mountain Jam in NY last month.

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.

Went up to Gatesville Sunday to pick up my newest toy.

My buddy Dave (not the same Dave from the chili cook-offs) teaches Geology on the base and lives up in Gatesville. He's a Civil War/Mexian War reenactor, and was off on a trip to reenact something Friday and Saturday. He drove home Sunday and was still in his gear and cleaning his musket when I got up there.



I asked him if that was his getup, and he replied "Only when I'm bein' a target." He's kinda unreconstructed, so every once and a while I give him a jolt by referring to the war as the "War of the Rebellion". He'll say "Hey!", and I'll giggle.

Anyway, he's a life member of the Texas State Rifle association, and has access to the CMP. He ordered me a new M-1 Garand a while back, and it came in last week. He called me Wednesday at about noon, in the middle of one of my classes (not knowing I was teaching). He was all excited, tellin' me he was openin' up the box. I called him back later and he was gushing with praises of the rifle, joking, tellin' me he wished he hadn't already told me the serial number.



Here's a proud new pappy. It's a Springfield Garand, made in the mid-1950s, after the Korean War. It's in excellent condition, and shows minimal wear and tear. I payed $618.00, but he swears it's worth at least a grand.



Mine is on the right, and Dave's is on the left. Now I need a sling and bayonet.



He showed me how to take it apart and we were both very happy with the condition of the action. The green tint is great, and the wood is beautiful. There are two stamps on the wood. One showing the Springfield Armory inspection, and then a "P" showing it was refurbished once and stored away (I think). Dave's has two of these "P" stamps. Anyone out there knowing anything about that, feel free to tell me all about it.



Here's the trigger group...



And here's the action. Nice green tint, all over.



Here's that "P" stamp I was talking about.



Here's the hinged butt plate. Now I need to find the stuff that goes in there.



We went out to his back 40 and shot a few rounds. Here's Dave shooting his rifle...



And me shooting mine. You can't see her here, but Red, Dave's dog, was keeping a fair distance away.



This was a at about 50 yards, off hand. I should have taken my bench rest up there but didn't next time. I was satisfied. I've always wanted one of these, so I'm as happy as I could be. Now he's gonna order me a Winchester M-1 carbine, but he's tellin' me not to hope that it will be in this kind of shape. hell, it's all good. Later. Cheers.

Postcript: Ok, I got the word that that "P" stamp is the proof stamp, showing that the rifle was tested and approved. The fact that the stock has only one stamp ether means it was only proofed once and then set aside, or that they changed the stock and then proofed it once. Dave seems to be convinced that it's the original stock, so it looks like it's basically in original condition. He says that the trigger group is not original, but the barrel is. Anyway, I'm happy. That's all that matters.