攀岩 in 菲律賓

攀岩似乎在2000年左右流行過一陣子, 可惜撐下來的不多..網路上找到的很多都關了

筆電送修中, 資料會再慢慢補齊(要怎樣才能在Blog裡面弄出不會變形的表格啊?)

Climbing Gyms

Outdoor climbing:

Atimonan in Quezon
Apo Island
El Nido in Palawan
Puting Bato or White Rock in Cogeo
Wawa Gorge in Montalban

Party in Las Pinas

盼了一周終於撐到星期六, 匆匆結束在重新開幕的 Pizza Company 的晚餐 (現在叫 Pizza & Pasta Company) (本日菜色 Grand Vesuto, Shrimp Pesto , Fettuccine Primavera), 便跳上 Jeepney 直奔 SM south wall.

今天第一次看到另外的顧客, 身手矯健的 John 穿著一雙 Katana, 預計九月20日要參加在 Mall of Asia 舉辦的 Purisho Internacionale Bouldering Competition, 剛結束今天的練習. 在場 belay 的 Tribu 員工是生面孔, 熱身完他們二話不說就趕著我上 overhung, 結果搭上了外側的手點, 卻找不到正確的腳點, 就在那撐到沒力後掉下來, 對不顧下班時間辛勤解說的 Ninior 和親自下場示範的 John 實在很不好意思. John 的動作非常流暢 合理,精確,又有優美的節奏感, 而且似乎隨時都有充沛的剩餘推力 , 好羨慕.

根據 John 的示範我可以採取的路線有下圖兩種:

趁記憶猶新趕快先記起來, 希望這次回台灣前能搞定這條路線

結束後換鞋子時來自韓國的 Jin 來到現場, 我也跟著沒頭沒腦的寒喧一番, 看來這段時間韓語應該是有進步, 這次撐了20秒左右才被識破~

本想照例去 Starbucks 買個涼ㄟ邊喝邊聽表演, 結果邊走邊聊就跟他們到了一個不知道是在誰家辦的 party, 客廳裡豐盛的把費一字排開, 雖然已經吃過晚餐, 還是跟著拿了一盤到院子裡的樹下坐定. 很該死的在11點的時候吃了 Fettuccine Carbonara 還續盤, 邊抬槓又灌了一堆 San Miguel Light.....一定會肥死...(W)

不知不覺就兩點了, 莫名奇妙的渡過了愉快的一晚
這邊的人似乎隨時都有開玩笑和交朋友的好心情, 相當的神奇^^

今天初次見面的各位, 由左而右:

Jin (最近迷上攀岩的韓國人, 來菲律賓遊學/long stay, 很大隻)
John (要去比賽的那位, 補習班老師, 今天才發現學生教他的韓文日文有很多都是假的, 大受打擊)
喝了太多啤酒的我
Manny (見過兩次, 名子跟菲律賓的英雄拳擊手一樣的Tribu SM South Wall員工, 攀岩/捷安特控)
Ninior (今天幫我確保的熱心 Tribu 員工, 先帶害羞的小 Nicolai 去裡面睡了, 拍不到)

一直到最後我才搞清楚這個 Party 是在慶祝屋主H先生姪女的生日, 13歲的她 5歲就開始爬, 聽說在亞洲已經小有名氣, 也會參加九月在 Mall of Asia 的比賽:
http://www.gigabiteclimbing.com/home.aspx
http://superoxy007.multiply.com/journal/item/34/PURISHO_BOULDERING_COMPETITION

到時在據說是亞洲最大商城的 Mall of Asia 會架起完整的牆壁, 也會有來自台灣的參賽者. 可惜牆壁只會在那兩天, 比完就要拆走.

The Fort

今天的行程是 B 推薦的 The Fort (Fort Bonifacio, Philippine Army Headquarter, 1949~Present), 是個在遷走的大型軍事基地上開發的新市鎮, 上網路找到的都是gourmet, lounge, nightclub, skyscraper night scene之類的東西, 由照片看起來 High Street一帶比之台北東區更是有過之而無不及. 據當地人說是個身處其中不會覺得像在菲律賓的地方, 非常建議我們週六晚上過去看看. 昨天把工作告一段落後便很興奮地準備回旅館換衣服出發, 結果 J想睡覺, 大C要跟老婆視訊看出生不久的小女兒, 小C應該是想去但是大概也不敢一個人跟我去, 於是…

我們在星期天的早上十點到達了這個以豪華夜生活聞名的地方. 什 麼 店 都 沒 開.

可想而知開店的大家周末都玩的很晚, 中午有辦法起床邊抓屁股邊打哈欠拉開鐵門就偷笑了..(凋)

沿著 South Super Highway由 Filinvest I.C.北行約 20分後下 Taguig City 便到達 Fort Benaficio, 穿過邊緣的帶狀軍營後就是市中心, 是個有著現代都市計劃的高樓區, 嶄新的高樓們外型相當新穎洗鍊, 還有許多大型工程在進行中, 道路狀況良好且乾淨整潔, 在整個 Metro Manila中顯得相當出色….不過我們還是沒有地方去, 在市區繞了十幾分鐘互相埋怨一番之後, 只好去逛 mall.

這間mall叫Market! Market! 裡頭的Camp Sandugo有牆壁可以爬, 剛好基於昨天差點跑到胃下垂的教訓, 今天有把岩鞋帶出來, 就順理成章把大家都請去爬了, J 懷疑我有預謀, 委由, 或許有一點吧..:D
由於一行人都是新手, 我們選的是邊邊的直牆, 上有規則排列的腳點,　如果沒有額外的限制, 幾乎跟爬樓梯差不多

Camp Sandugo wall @ 5^th floor Market! Market!, 40ft.

大家都覺得不錯玩, 除了 J 說沒有下次了(明明爬的很高興, 嘴巴說不要身體倒挺老實的) 或許之後去 SM South Mall 就有人可以一起攤計程車錢了 :P

之後跟 Sandugo的人聊聊, 除了這面牆, 他們也常到 60km 外的 Montalban 戶外攀岩..

中午到旁邊Serendra的餐廳街選了一家POLU KAI吃午飯, 是夏威夷菜, 草裙妹很可愛, 食物除了炸雞都相當不錯, 連炒飯都好吃, 沙拉裡頭的烤蝦更是一絕.

一直到站到她身邊之前, 都不知道她這麼小隻..

臨走在手工巧克力店買了一些, Dark Almond的味道沒話講

晚餐後還有時間, 又跑了SM South Wall一趟, 爬完 inclined之後有稍微試一下 overhung, 看來目前還是超出我的能力之外. 照例走到西翼的 Starbucks買杯冰沙聽表演當作假期的結束, 今天上台的四人團體有喜歡飆假音的男主唱(he’s good, though), 和長得很甜的女主唱, ~.....I love you for the last time, before we say goodbye......~ 是溫柔又感傷的曲子, 乘著鋼琴伴奏她的歌聲在拱形屋頂下迴盪, 清澈而深邃.

(本站備有.mov錄影檔, 意者請向站長連絡)

回來的路上順道去 Alabang Town Center的 Olympic World看了一下, 網路上查到 PowerUp Gym在這地方有一面牆壁, 離旅館近且開到10:30, 是平日下班後還想爬時唯一的選擇, 結果…

很遺憾的, 現在變成背包牆了. 據說 PowerUp Gym去年撤走了在這邊的營業.

Frist timer: Anasazi Verde & Jeepney

因為上次的連爬兩天腳癢癢事件, 趁回台灣的空檔趕快弄了雙岩鞋, 今天終於有機會試試我的 Anasazi Verde了!

踩點的感覺紮實多了, 而且不用擔心腳痛的問題, 可以做一些比較有信心的嘗試.

要回旅館的時候實在不願意再被當潘仔敲, 就去mall前面搭 Jeepney, 事前聽菲律賓工程師說這邊每一台都可以到我住的地方附近, 沒想太多就找了一台跳上去, 結果坐過站跑到 SOGO Hotel, 穿越傳統市場還轉了一趟 tricycle才回到飯店.

第一次坐這玩意有點緊張, 除了面對司機和其他乘客的一臉狐疑要一直陪笑, 坐起來的感覺也跟有空調的計程車完全不一樣. 兩排對坐的座位大家擠在一起, 加減速和換檔時毫不掩飾的猛力頓挫, 破破的引擎聲和有點髒的車廂, 其實就是軍卡的感覺, 不同的是要付錢, 司機會沿路攬客, 和乘客裡面有正妹.

便宜到令人無法置信, 只要 8.5 peso, Hotel Taxi要 300 peso單程, 即使是路邊攔跳表的計程車也要105 peso.

回飯店後跟櫃台的人問了一下, 終於搞清楚我到底在哪裡下車了, 詳情請見下圖, 我下車的 SOGO Hotel 大概接近算是總站的地方:

關於 Jeepney:

由美軍留下的吉普車 M38或 M151加長改裝而成的付費交通工具, 類似公車, 有固定路線, 但是上下車地點隨便, 上車後要付錢就說 “把煙” 然後把錢交給臨座乘客, 他會幫你傳給司機, 找錢也是一樣一路傳遞. 要下車就叫 “拔辣!!”或用手彈鐵皮車頂, 叫不夠大聲司機沒聽到就不會停.

路線會寫在車身側面, 我搭的是 Alabang-Zapote線, 營業範圍就是上圖的 Alabang – Zapote Road

車資 8 peso起跳, 合台幣六元左右.

雖然改裝的方式似乎不是很可靠, 這玩意可是有隨著時代在進步的, 原本的 GM/Ford 爛引擎大都換成 Isuzu/Mitsubishi 製較為現代化且維修保養容易的柴油機種, Makati甚至已經有電動 Jeepney在試營運中..

關於 Tricycle:

打檔摩托車+邊車的點對點付費交通工具, 類似計程車, 車資 17 peso起跳, 約合 11台幣.

一時找不到圖片, 樣子基本上是下圖那個 BMW R75 減掉機槍再加上屋頂, 車身則換成台灣之光 KYMCO / SYM

岩鞋入手-Anasazi Verde

上次在SM South Wall 連爬兩天後, 腳怪異的癢了起來, 看來要安心的爬下去還是得弄一雙自己的鞋. 趕在出國前一天到iClimb, 聽從阿國大師的建議買了這雙 Anasazi Verde:

本來以為Anasazi是日文拼音, 上網一查才知道原來是一支消失的印地安部族, 他們喜歡住在半山腰的岩壁中, 所以弄吃弄水倒垃圾什麼的每天都在不停的攀岩… Verde則是綠色的西班牙文(?)

目前跟他還不熟, 穿起來腳尖有點痛, 大概還要多花一些時間相處. 從網路上找的介紹和Review看來應該是好物吧!!

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/five-ten/anasazi-verde/

就等週末測試囉

BlogTest01 - wide span

====================Exotic piece of the day=======================

Just before the coach arrived I heard something curious at the center range where the Pinoys were practicing. I walked over to take a look then I met this old soldier and its proud new owner.

British-originated Sterling Mk.5/L34A1 sub machinegun with picatinny rails. The owner acquired it from some collection dealer in the capital city at PHP 130,000(around NTD 100k). “Modernized” by the Brazilian Army, it can be as fancy as any “tactical” M4 Carbines – the rails permit the mounting of literally anything and everything, be it optic sights, lasers, flashlights, hair dryers or DVD players... By appearance we can tell he’s not that into maintenance, the chamber was a real mess, looked like it hasn't been properly cleaned since 1967. Yet it still worked flawlessly even full auto. Simple and rugged British design.

Amazed to know silenced automatic weapon ownership is open to the public in this country (which is a bit scary), I also had the pleasure to play with it, thanks to the friendly handsome guy who brought it to the range. The integrated suppressor worked great, there was no visible muzzle flash and the report was like a slipper slapping the kitchen wall. The accuracy however, was not as impressive. Guess that’s just not something we can expect from a proximity gun firing open bolt. The telescopic sight shown in the image was frustratingly effective — with its 3x magnifying power you can see POIs going all over the place but the aiming point, really clearly….=.=

Apparently this gun works best by saturating its target with full-auto bursts, a slow 5-shot semi-auto group measured a humble 265mm c-t-c at 30m (standing offhand stock extended). I can do better with coach’s Caspian pistol.

BlogTest00

0330Hours, May18 2007, Boarding the bus

Lounge-ish bus interior

日出前	0510Hours May18, 日出完成+阿珠頭燈

0520 May18, 早點#1@合歡山莊, 公司不知道自己有贊助的阿華田和Pocky巧克力棒

準備上東峰,集合前

其實沒那麼亮 測光會騙人

往花蓮

0635 May18麥當勞健行隊東峰上升中, 他的背包真的很重, 後來跑到我背上了 Heckler&Koch MachinePistolenSieben Acht 哇哈哈真寬啊 還可以繼續嗎? 能有多寬?

AAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBCCCCCCCCCCDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKKMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNN

/ 雪訓中心纜車遺址

0700 May18, 杜鵑滿開 @ 東峰頂-6m

Heading for the storm

週五下午那個通常只會傻笑的韓國PM打了通電話過來
得來不易的台灣週末就瞬間泡湯了一半
雖然我不明白提早一天有多大意義
在麥當勞以客為尊的招牌之下
我的班機義無反顧地被提前到了星期天早上
早上九點登機
朝一大坨urgent issue和菲律賓大風颱的中心飛去

被空姐叫醒吃飯時看了戀空
有新垣結衣和強烈又辛辣的故事
在火車上接電話小聲的說
你要到車站來接我嗎 的時候真的好可愛^^
故事繞了一圈交代多年來發生的種種
從看似用不完的青春
到人生中不忍卒睹的無法修復的缺口
最後回到片頭的火車上
接上歷盡滄桑之後的平靜安適
有吉本巴納納感

飛機也差不多要降落了
機長廣播說因為有颱風的關係
預期會有點跳動
飛機也很配合的三不五時就用力晃幾下
一切看起來都很合理又不恐怖
機長有先說了嘛 反正
你做你晃我看我的電視

就在某個這樣的時刻
飛機忽然以超過1G的加速度急降
原子筆和剛剛掉到地上找不到的牙籤開始往上飛
頭幾秒鐘其實還蠻好玩的
說起來就是有冷氣吹有電視看的無限大怒神
氧氣面罩也沒有像電影裡面掉出來
整個情況還算新奇又愜意
直到某個女人開始歇斯底里的尖叫

她沒有辦法停下來
簡單的耳機擋不住高頻的恐懼
經濟艙乘客無助的壓力和這次可能會挫賽的想法越來越真實
就在搖晃最劇烈的時候她閉嘴了
我也差不多嚇掉了半條命
不知道是她想通了叫也沒用
還是臨座的乘客終於慈悲的敲昏了她
當下只有 呼 這樣應該一切都會沒事吧 的解放

降落之後出了機場
司機表示因為颱風的關係沒有人會去工廠
建議到旅館check in就好
這其實聽起來不錯
只是礙於已經先跟客戶約好
沒法冒險放別人鳥
可能還是得過去看看
希望可以先打電話到工廠確認一下他們有沒有到
說完之後他的英文瞬間變差而且手機裡的通訊錄也找不到了
除了我的號碼其他都不記得
人卯起來擺爛的時候真的很難對付
在沒有槍的情況下說服他載我去工廠還花了不少功夫

我們是走水路過去的
大概有一半的路變成了河
某些路段划槳的舢板可以動的比渦輪增壓柴油引擎的van還要快
總之是平安到了
見到客戶找到bug解了issue捅了OPU Team再剩一些明天做
算是有達成早來的任務

飯店還不錯
從日式早餐, cheese platter和房間的水準來看
大概有park hyatt弱的等級
每天還有4 pcs laundry service
早上送晚上就可以拿
燙的平平的也有確實烘乾
所以我的麥當勞11週年慶polo衫就縮成S號了
明天要穿緊身衣去上班..
另外網路不是免費的
所以這篇是本部落格有史以來最貴的
每個字都要算錢....

1st climbing in Philippines - SM South Mall, Las Pinas

經過幾天的搜尋, 終於在某個菲律賓討論區發現離飯店不遠的地方也有牆壁可以爬了, 在LasPinas的SM South Mall, 離旅館約15分鐘車程. 一進SM South Mall就可以看到2樓右手邊往上延伸的岩牆, 很方便的只把一個字母反過來, 命名為SM South Wall.

這面牆的主人是Tribu, 一家賣體育用品和sandal的公司, 高度36ft, 分成三塊, 一塊vertical, 一塊inclined, 一塊over hang, 是質感擬真的textured玻璃纖維牆, 看起來相當的棒.. 上攀兩趟75peso含確保和租鞋子吊帶粉袋等等, 175peso 可以隨便玩兩小時, 也有攀岩課程, 不過這邊晚上九點就關, 大概也只有假日能來.

鞋子就鳥了點, 我的size只有一雙右腳開口笑的可穿.

SM South Wall

幫我確保的先生叫Patrick, 因為動作太拙一直被他消遣, 先是 “I can see it’s been a long time since your last climb” 然後 “It’s actually more like rehabilitation.”…..回台灣後一定要好好上課. 雖然只爬了兩趟, 也覺得通體舒暢, 還是要運動比較不會悶~

跟Patric提到我來的時候坐計程車被收了300又被狠狠嘲笑了一番, Jeepny可是只要10peso不到啊!!

youtube MV

N給我的連結:
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=I4VA9P6WzgQ

寂寞又疲倦的人, 也可以找到幸福的. I hope they do.

I hope we do.

Jul06- Jethro Shooting range, Festival Mall

I like shooting. The sense of focus and achievement through distance and speed has always been fascinating. However this is nevertheless a dangerous and controversial sport given the weapon nature of firearms. I'm a civilian who want nothing more then just enjoyable shooting experience, here are a few rules I set up for myself to stay out of harms way:

1.Thou shalt not kill. Killing for fun is a sin and food can be bought from the supermarket.
2.Always abide by the law wherever you are. If a license is required, get it. If possessing or handling a firearm is prohibited by the law, don't do it there at all.
3.Follow the firearm safety rules under all circumstances:
a. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction; never point a firearm at anything you don't want to shoot.
b. Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.
c. Keep the action open and the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
d. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded.

I'm just glad I've never been in the situation of really needing a gun.

Spent a whole wonderful day playing with water in Anilao. Hungry and thirsty, we raided Festival mall for a big supper. Guys wanted to get home early for rest after getting fed, U and I decided else. The night is still young, we opted to spend more time fooling around. The original plan was to find a bar loaded with hot chicks, walk into it, get some drink and see what happens, but that was before we walk by the Jethro Shooting Range at third floor of the mall...the price was not so good but I managed to talk U into go shooting with me.

I picked a .38 Super 1911 frame pistol manufactured by Armscor, Philippines. Unlike most .38 Super pistols’ hi-capacity (~18rds double column), it took a single column magazine which holds only 8rds. I think it’s more likely to be a re-barreled 1911 but not built as a .38 Super from the very start. U was a 2nd Lieutenant when he’s doing his time in our army some 10+ years ago, like most officers of the era, his sidearm was an US surplus .45ACP M1911A1. As such he was quite familiar with the appearance of our choice of the night, "the army handgun!", as he quickly recognized.

This is U’s first time shooting a handgun (the army? well as a tank commander he just kept the thing clean and wear it everyday like a watch, but never fired it.) Though scattered a bit, he’s groups was averagely centered, implying correct trigger pull and hold, not bad at all!

U Firing!

The maximum distance of the range was 20m. The trigger was nice, no creep and feels crisp at the final stage, allowing me to print two 5-shot groups sized 34mm and 37mm c-t-c, pretty tight for such distance, though slightly left-shifted. I also tried a few double taps at closer range, a lot of alpha-deltas and some alpha-charlies. Got to work on my trigger pull somehow.

My two 5 shot groups @ 20m^^

Empty Shells (photo taken at the range)

Here's an assort of empty shells collected at the range, gives some idea about the power of each different cartridges—fatter case holds heavier projectile, while more powder can be stuffed into longer cases which in turn yield more power, except for the old low pressure designs like the .38 Special (probably developed around schwartzpulver era back in the 19th century) . Even 9x19 is "hotter" then this revolver cartridge, regardless its long case.

I mentioned this indoor shooting experience to a friend, the guy then gave me this link:http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/msds/lead.html

It’s about lead poisoning at indoor shooting ranges. Primers and shattered bullet creates lead cloud around the muzzle, ejection port and point of impact. Intensive routine activities at an indoor range multiplies the danger of exposing in the un-vented lead-rich atmosphere. This comprehensive report listed 18 common symptoms of lead poisoning for self-diagonize, the first four are:

1. Loss of memory, and difficulty in concentration. This is frequently the first symptom seen. (check, oh crap where did I put my parking ticket? Usually I blame this one to aging.)

2. Fatigue. This can become profound and incapacitating. (check, especially the hour after lunch, I might trade my soul for a nap sometime. Usually I blame this one to aging and long office hours.)

3. Irritability and aggressiveness. (check, usually I blame this one to aging and long office hours and, Tri-Star style procrastination that delays my ticket home.)

4. Loss of sexual interest. Impotence. (@@........What!? it can do this?)

Ok…this is not good. We don’t want that. I’ll just stick with outdoor ranges from now on.

Range Day, part-2: Exotic Piece of the day

I like shooting. The sense of focus and achievement through distance and speed has always been fascinating. I also enjoy hanging out with the guys I shoot with, most of them are easy-going people and they always make me feel welcomed. However this is nevertheless a dangerous and controversial sport given the weapon nature of firearms. I'm a civilian who want nothing more then just enjoyable shooting experience, here are a few rules I set up for myself to stay out of harms way:

1.Thou shalt not kill. Killing for fun is a sin and food can be bought from the supermarket.
2.Always abide by the law wherever you are. If a license is required, get it. If pocessing or handling a firearm is prohibited by the law, don't do it there at all.
3.Follow the firearm safety rules under all circumstances:
a. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction; never point a firearm at anything you don't want to shoot.
b. Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.
c. Keep the action open and the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
d. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded.

I'm just glad I've never been in the situation of really needing a gun.

Spotted this AR pistol at the center range while waiting for available slot. The barrel was very short, like only 5” or so excluding the muzzle break. And yes, it’s also capable of full-auto. I prepared myself to try everything I can to get my hand on it as I approach the group, founded they were happy to share the fun, surprisingly..:D

So they filled the mag with 28 rounds of 5.56x45 ammunition and handed the piece to me. Expected intense recoil pulses, I tried to grip the thing with my whole upper body and leaned forward as best as I can, in hope to counter the impact with my body weight. When everything was locked in position, I hold my breath and pulled the trigger… BURRRR~~~P! , emptied the magazine just like that(snap!) The sound was like a deafening giant wet fart. I’d like to phrase it with something cooler like “rolling thunder”, but that’s just not even close to the real thing. Thunders are slow.

The muzzle blast was awesome, a big plum of fire raging through the whole field of view, about the size of a basketball (or two basketballs). The shattering ray of light actually blinded me for a fraction of second.

It turned out I was not fat enough.(haha) The recoil hit me in the shoulder so hard and fast that I couldn’t recover my stance between each shot, by the end of firing I was pointing the smoking muzzle to the sky and felt afloat on my front foot where the center of mass was supposed to be. Stunned and agape, I wouldn’t know how stupid my look was but it surely gave them a good laugh. The guy tapped me on the shoulder, said: “you handled the gun very well.” then he turned to his fellow friends, said something Tagalog(Filipino language) in a joyful tone, made the group even more happier. They bursted into laugh uncontrollably again. Great. Thank you! Thank you! Glad you are entertained!! I love Philippine! I love you all!

This is a pistol-sized gun firing high power rifle cartridge. It’s too light for absorbing the recoil and the insane cyclic rate imparted by the short barrel makes it even more difficult to control. If you have experience on one of those small-sized automatics like MAC10 or Micro Uzi, you’ll have some idea what I’m talking about. As one of its kind, the muzzle blast and report are often unbearable, because the short barrel leaves very little time for the powder to burn, probably half of the propellant will leave the muzzle hot and uncombusted, creating some tremendous firework just several inches in front of your nose. It’s difficult to hit the mark in full-auto mode, unless you’re targeting something as big as a house, and you’ll probably be deaf after shooting it without an earmuff. In short, this thing is useless as a weapon, but it makes a great toy for showing off at the range (and making fun of some dumb tourist), I mean, what a cinema effect!!

The above pictures show the helical gas tube specifically modified for this little monster, it will buy some time for the powder to combust before the hot gas reaches the bolt with solid residue, which may cause serious fouling/jamming of the mechanism. But it doesn’t help a thing in reducing the rate of fire, cyclic rate on this one reached an astonishing 1800 rpm, it takes just 1 second to empty a 30-round magazine.

Range Day, Part-1: Trigger Happy

I like shooting. The sense of focus and achievement through distance and speed has always been fascinating. I also enjoy hanging out with the guys I shoot with, most of them are easy-going people and they always make me feel welcomed. However this is nevertheless a dangerous and controversial sport given the weapon nature of firearms. I'm a civilian who want nothing more then just enjoyable shooting experience, here are a few rules I set up for myself to stay out of harms way:

1.Thou shalt not kill. Killing for fun is a sin and food can be bought from the supermarket.
2.Always abide by the law wherever you are. If a license is required, get it. If possessing or handling a firearm is prohibited by the law, don't do it there at all.
3.Follow the firearm safety rules under all circumstances:
a. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction; never point a firearm at anything you don't want to shoot.
b. Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.
c. Keep the action open and the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
d. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded.

I'm just glad I've never been in the situation of really needing a gun.

It all started by chance. I was paying for a pair of sandals at the Columbia Outdoors in Festival Mall, the shopkeeper(a cute one^^) had some problem verifying my card so we get several minutes to talk about where I’m from, how do I like it here and her teacher is a real PITA…..then, upon I asked her if she knows any place I can shoot a rifle, an old guy cut in our conversation, introduced himself. Turned out he’s an active member of PPSA(Philippine Practical Shooting Association), owns a gun shop, and his team routinely practice at a nearby range which takes no more then 20min drive from my hotel! Wow!

Of course I wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away, I don't get to pay with guns very often…:D After we returned form Tagaytay , I hopped in the van again, arrived the range around 4pm. People were friendly, I don’t know if it’s a Philippine thing or not, they seem to be always in the mood for joking and making friends. Amazing.

There's two 30m and one 45m slots for pistol marksmanship and IPSC in this outdoor range, plus another big labyrinth for USPSA style practice. I’m more into longer range rifle shooting so I was happy to find they have a nice 24" floating barrel AR and a long distance range, but it’s closed for safety issue -- a road construction work is taking place some 800m behind. ~sigh~.

I borrowed a forty-five(a re-barreled vintage M1911A1) and 100 rounds to the firing line. The .45ACP ammunitions were reloaded full charge with 230 grain lead bullet to reduce the danger of ricochet when shooting at steel poppers. While we were waiting for the range to clear, I mentioned an experience of shooting a 1911 with a 60 year-old barrel in it, the bullets just tumbled all the way down range, gave a terrible group. As a response to my concern, the range officer took the gun and fired several shots at a group of steel poppers 45 meters away -- a remarkable distance for pistols. He didn’t miss a single one, proved what they gave me was no doubt an accurate combination.

M1911 and 100 rounds .45ACP

And then, the tourist got he’s turn. Forty-fives are notorious for their heavy recoil, I took up the weaver stance, griped the gun firmly, lined up my sights with the target 25m away, pulled the trigger. Its military style trigger feels very different from that of an air pistol. The pull was heavy and there’s no distinct 2-stage but just a long creep, the hammer will be released only after the trigger is pulled all the way in with considerable effort. My first few rounds missed the target by far left cauz I was shooting too fast with incorrect trigger pull. After slowing down I managed to put all the leads on target but with a distinct left shift, as can be seen in the 1^st string below:

Paper Target

The range officer observed my hold and stance, told me to raise my left thumb a little bit to counter the leftward swinging imparted by the trigger pull. I got some significant improve, the 2^nd string were all centered in the A-Zone, As for how about the spreaded-out third string, I got tired…=.=

Pistols are difficult to master IMO. When shooting a rifle we have a solid 4-point lock comprised of two-hand hold, shouldering and cheek welding on the butt stock. In the case of pistol one or two hand floating in the air is all we got. I don’t know how to shoot a pistol, even back to the college shooting team days. If I have the time I'd be coming back for more practice and probably join them for IPSC.

After I’m through with the pistol, a guy showed up with a well equipped 11.5” Bushmaster, Aimpoint M2, RIS forearm and a nice adjustable stock.

Bushmaster 11.5”

It is capable of full auto!! Since full auto feature are restricted inside the military and law enforcement circle in most part of the world, it's not very easy to get a chance shooting in this manner. Rifle cartridges used here are all factory FMJ load because lead bullet will fill up the rifling under the high velocity of a rifle.(900~1000m/s compared to ~400m/s from a pistol)

Full Auto capability and Genuine Aimpoint M2

This gun is fun to shoot. First I tried it out at 25m and got a one(big) hole group slightly higher then the aiming mark. Then, as a “tourist package”, they put some ten water bottles 50 meters away. I took up prone position and picked those off one by one in quick succession, it’s unbelievable easy with the Aimpoint M2..:D:D:D A real pity we didn’t get to try it at targets further away like 100m, or even 300m.

Full auto mode is barely controllable even with its light weight, thanks to the effective muzzle break and stock buffer. I tried a few rounds standing off hand, then they told me to try the machinegun position by resting the forearm on a sand bag with my left hand gripping the stock tube. It’s not difficult to place multiple hits on the paper target at 50m by shooting short bursts in this way.

Gotta love these people. Easy going and generous on letting stranger play with their beloved toy :D

First day in Manila - Part 2, 火力編裝表

自從知道要到菲律賓以來, 身邊的長輩親朋好友提供了不少恐怖的傳說, 大部分和治安有關, 因此來之前還蠻害怕的, 不過降落後發現機場秩序和通關效率都還不錯, 也沒有被收奇怪的額外費用, 馬上安心不少, 認定那些謠言是二三十年前的舊印象加上偏見的產物, 當下對這些抱著對別人國家的成見亂放消息的人感到有點不滿 (讓我想到幾年前舊版Lonely Planet Taiwan封面那張至少有20歲的照片..), 結果…

離開出境大廳後撞見一位胸口斜掛著無托短管散彈槍(5-shot pump action Remington 870-ish)的高大凸肚阿伯, 表情非常的凶狠, 如果不是穿著制服看起來實在不像好人, 雖然他只是一派輕鬆的站在那抽菸, 整個組合也夠嚇人的了.

到旅館下車, 一走近門口幫拉門的先生臉上便親切的笑開, 他的腰上卻是一把無法忽視的大型自動手槍, 還帶了四個備用彈匣. 對街銀行門口停著兩台輪型裝甲車, 高底盤箱型車身, 風擋上方有可以放下的裝甲板, 駕駛座, 車廂側面, 車尾加起來共有6個射孔, 水箱罩,油箱,傳動和懸吊系統都有裝甲保護, 無法直接看見(這邊的搶匪到底都拿什麼東西搶銀行啊??).

站旁邊的兩個警衛也帶了散彈槍, 是比機場警衛更高檔的全自動Franchi SPAS12, 槍托上腰帶上胸前的子彈套上加起來約有20發12 Gauge Shell.

Armored Cash Transporter and SPAS-armed guard

之後到處都是槍, 槍, 槍, 去7-11有帶槍的警衛幫開門, 麥當勞有, 星巴克有, pizza店有, mall有, 連客戶的工廠也有, 大都是在老式皮製槍套中帶著品牌不一的四吋管 .38 Special左輪, 備彈6~12發排在皮製寬面腰帶上. 晚上到旅館後面的酒吧街買東西, 沿街看見這樣的槍手們或斜倚在門邊, 或坐在高腳椅上單腳觸地, 整個就是西部片的感覺. 邊走心裡邊緊張兮兮的盤算著如果不幸撞到人或被人撞到, 一定要誠心道歉, 希望對方不要找我決鬥. 不過實際上的狀況是當你走近的時候他們總會笑容可掬的替你拉開店門..

雖然沒遇到什麼狀況, 但他們有這樣的需求這件事, 在到達馬尼拉的頭幾天一直讓我蠻緊張的, 這種型態的警衛對衝動型的犯罪(譬如臨時起意的不良小朋友或是餓了一整天的可憐傢伙拿了刀…)或許能讓箭在弦上的人再想一想, 但在預謀武裝歹徒的威脅前能有多少作用實在難說.