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.

Firearms Friday: We All Need A Good Work Bench

For the last few years, while my wife were living in an apartment packed from end to end, top to bottom, I had to have my desk serve double duty as my work bench as well. It was always a process and a project just to get things started as everything needed to be cleaned off from the usual work day so that I could pull out the work mat and attach the vice to the side. Once that was all done, it didn’t really leave much time to get things done. Of course, having the office next to the bedroom didn’t allow for any work getting done beyond cleaning at night either.

Now, in our spacious new place, for the first time I am able to set up a dedicated work bench (from Home Depot) in the basement, two floors away from the bedrooms. In a different part of the space I have my desk set up solely dedicated to writing, filing, emailing, and other work on the computer. Finally, each of my passions have areas designated for each. While I will maintain an organized space, there is no more clearing off and hiding away electronics, papers, tools, parts, and cleaning supplies. Everything can be left out, set in their designated spaces.

Just having each of these areas divided in the basement, I feel as though I have more time to do what I enjoy and the small projects that I want to get done are accomplished much faster leaving me with more time to spend with my wife. Everything is easily accessible. Still locked away but a simple matter of security that is still much faster than the previously lengthy process of shifting purposes for a single work space.

This new workbench will also impact my work as it will allow me to bring new content to this blog. Reviews of firearms, equipment, and parts can now be achieved now that I have a work area dedicated to those projects. I can also now take on minor cleaning, repairing, and upgrading projects that will not only provide additional content but will allow me to better educate myself on different processes and systems. So look for some different content every Firearms Friday as I continue to organize and get my work bench outfitted to fit my needs. It should be fun and provide a much needed respite both now and in the future!

Social Hobbies

Growing up I went through a lot of hobbies and, in hind sight, wasted a lot of money. They were the usual stable of collections from baseball cards to comic to coins. As I got older those hobbies shifted slightly with the collection of signed books, movies, music, and various autographs. For the most part, they were all singular in nature allowing me to escape with my collections. While there were the occasional social aspects to each of those hobbies, they were more of a solitary process of sorting, cataloging, and researching.

Books may have been the start to the socialization of my hobbies as many of them I got signed while doing readings and interacting with other authors through phone, email, and in person conversations. Surprisingly, I was seen as an equal with many publications beginning to publish my own work. In fact, I was also becoming an enabler of their book obsessions as well as I would happily sell (or trade) and sign my books. The writing process still held that solitary safety for me but everything beyond that initial creation was completely social.

Event now, the writing process is one that I do at my computer without the distractions of the day (or, more commonly, night). It is a process that I continue to struggle with but one that immediately becomes social as the blogs are posted and the interactions (mostly on LinkedIn) begin. While these pieces differ greatly from my initial introduction into writing and publishing, the process remains the same. Writing has also brought my other hobbies into the public realm of discussion.

I find my family history fascinating and the research process is engrossing to say the least. Recording and sharing some of my findings and recreating many of the stories has become an important part of genealogy for me as it has become a means to share (and sometime correct) the various aspects of our eclectic family. Not only has the dialogue within my family been an amazing way to find additional details, sharing on this blog and through social media has opened up avenues of discussion that I wouldn’t have otherwise enjoyed. Even the messages on Ancestry.com have been great ways to socialize and learn more.

Writing has also made my firearms hobby one that is increasingly social as I am frequently asked by friends and brothers for reviews, recommendations, and general feedback on certain companies, makes, models, calibers, etc. For those of you unfamiliar with shooting sports, this is an endless list of possibilities. While I can’t say that I know a lot, I know a little bit and offer my opinions accordingly. Heck, I may even spend a few more minutes on those reviews/recommendations and post them to the blog. However, beyond the writing, range time, and frequent discussions, this is still a solitary sport that required focus and attention to detail at the firing line.

So, I guess to you could say that my hobbies have evolved from being primarily of a solitary nature to ones that are mostly social. And the same thing can be said about my personality. I was not an outgoing or social child growing up but, over time, I have come to enjoy a good crowd, great conversations with people I just met, and generally being out and about. Plus, the more social I got the more opinionated I have become and that has made this whole writing thing much more satisfying and fun.

Another Milestone

Last month I wrote about reaching a major milestone with this blog in that I finally accomplished the main goal that I set at the beginning of this experiment by posting a blog every day for an entire year. Well, as you have been reading, I have not stopped writing and posting. In fact, I have yet to dip under 400 words per post which, at times, is painfully obvious. I know that many of you are aware to these moments because over the weekend this blog surpassed 20,000 views.

Certainly, a lot of you read multiple blogs so I am uncertain as to how many actual readers are out there but it is a nice little milestone nevertheless. And it is one of those things that I really have no control over as all I can do it write, post, and do a little bit of dissemination through my social media accounts. The rest is up to all of you. So, really, this is your accomplishment.

It also got me thinking about how many times this blog is read and all of the views that I have gotten that are not tracked by the aforementioned stat. I know that I have a few people who receive my posts via email which doesn’t register in the total above. I am curious to know what the total really is but also what posts people enjoy reading versus those that they either delete or don’t bother finishing.

While this blog really is serving more as a journal or public diary if you will, I am not going to ignore those that read the contents on a regular basis. Obviously there is something that is interesting of else I wouldn’t have had so many views to date but what is it that you want to read about? You have taken the time to read about my views, time and again, but what are some of your opinions?

While I am happy with the progress that has been made on this blog, there is still something that is lacking… your voice. There are opinions on a variety of topics in the pages of this blog, some popular while others not so much but it should not be solely my opinion that is expressed. While I am sure that what I say represents some people it, by no means, represents everyone. So I open up the discussion to you. You can comment, email me, or write up a guest blog (even if it is of a completely opposite viewpoint). I want to make sure that there are more voices heard rather than just the sounds coming from my mind and mouth.