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.