Firearms Friday: The First Resolution

This will not be one of thee guns taken to the range!

Of the many plans that I made for the past year (and the years prior) one of the things that I never seemed to be able to make time for was heading to the range. The opportunities are few and far between these days. Heck, there are even other build projects and reviews that have been put off for month and those are just the things that I can think of off the top of my head. So, given that the holiday falls on a Friday, I guess one of the first resolutions that I will make is a very simple one… get to the range more often.

Given where we now live, the traveling logistics should be much easier. And now that things are slowly, very slowly, settling down, I might be able to find a little bit of time here and there for some range meditation. Of course, let me be clear that there is little chance that I can find a regular routine for this and I don’t expect to get out a lot but it would be nice get on the firing line more than a couple times over the course of the year.

Not only do I need to regain some proficiency but it will also allow me to assess what I need to work on (both new issues and old glitches). This applies to both my own shooting but also some of the builds and modifications that I have done over the past couple of years. It will hopefully allow me to get some training in while also working in some time for evaluations. If so, expect to be reading some reviews in the weeks and months to come. I am not going to say what I am going to write about but it is safe to say that many of these items have been mentioned before and many of the parts can be found in some of the lists that I have compiled over the years.

There are several AR parts and platforms that need some rounds down range. There are also some interesting (and not so interesting) handguns that need to be tested. And there are a number of people with whom I need to catch up and one of the best places (at least with that motley crew) to meet would be at the range. However, most importantly, I need to have that peace behind the trigger that allows me to forget the world for a few seconds as I focus on putting rounds on target. Maybe, put maybe, I can regain the proficiency that I once possessed.

Firearms Friday: Range Time

I have read and watched countless reviews online on a variety of firearms. Sometimes there have been ones that have piqued my interest while others just seem like the same thing just with a different name. Either way, the internet, especially YouTube, has been a great resource to find new and interesting firearms or simply to find out a little bit more about one that I may already been familiar.

While all reviews generally go over the various features and the aesthetics of the firearm and some even give you an overview of the history of the development or of the company, there are too many that are missing the most important part of the evaluation… performance. Lately I have come across a variety of reviews from multiple sources and in various forms (i.e. print, blogs, and videos) where the reviewer was offering praise to a firearm that they had yet to take to the range. This still seems to be a rare occurrence but what is not are those reviews that offer a final decision based on a nominal amount of rounds down range.

And, honestly, my threshold is very low in comparison to many people at approximately 300 rounds. Usually, by the time you reach this figure all of the “breaking in” factors have been mitigated and the reviewer can have a reasonably good feel for the firearm. This is particularly true with firearms that have unique features, grip angles, operations, enhancements, etc.

This is the primary reason why I have yet to write any reviews myself… I don’t have the time to do performance evaluations. A review without that key component is essentially useless. This also applied to modifications made to a firearm that are supposed to improve performance. Without a good round count there is no way that someone can offer a solid opinion on a firearm/modification and either recommend or not recommend the purchase thereof.

It all comes down to range time. Whether reviewing or practicing, you need to put enough rounds down range so that you are comfortable and familiar with the firearm that you are using. Keep in mind that the 300 round figure above is only for the review side of things… one trip to the range to get a decent impression for review purposes. For those of you who are going to rely on your firearm, 300 is nowhere near the number of rounds you need to become proficient.

Thousands upon thousands of rounds are essential to know your personal firearm and training is another key component to obtaining proficiency. You have to remember that you are not just doing a review or determining a first impression, you might need that firearm to save your life and protect your family. Reviewers have a responsibility to provide fully informed reviews while firearms owners in general have a responsibility to be proficient with their personal firearm.