Free For All Friday, 6-13-2014: Clay shooting, magazine springs, point shooting and Archangel stocks
Usually on Free For All Fridays, I start out with a few random thoughts then get to the questions. More often than not, those random thoughts have nothing to do with guns or even the questions themselves. They are just whatever I happen to be thinking about whenever I go to put the Q&A’s together in a presentable format. Today, we have the largest number of questions in one FFAF so far so I’m going to skip the randomness for now and jump right into it!
While I was at the range, I was able to shoot Trap for the first time. To say that I was pitiful is an understatement. However, I am completely hooked now. I know practice makes perfect, but the closest trap range is over an hour away from me. Shooting every weekend is not an option sadly. Is there anything I can do while away from the range? videos or sites to watch and learn from? Other than a nice shotgun ( i have a Nova Pump currently), anything else I need to shoot well or not look like I don’t know what I am doing? Thanks as always! -Skylar R.
The clay disks must die. Welcome to the world of skeet and trap! I learned to shoot from the great and powerful David Dobson, coach of the Jacksonville University Shooting Team and, before we get to your specific question, I’ll share with you the advice he told me: never look at your gun. Keep focused on the clay itself then reach out and touch it with your barrel. If you’re looking at your sights, you’ll miss it almost every time. In fact, he typically removes the front site from all the team’s shotguns.
To answer your question, however, he usually has the team members practice mounts in their downtime. Now, if you’re just starting out and have no plans on competing, doing the Olympic style “start from low, mount to shoulder and fire”. From my own experience, the best thing you can do is just work on keeping the gun shouldered and in the firing position. Those shotguns get heavy REALLY fast and this will build the arm strength needed to keep the shots accurate. For me, my arms get wobbly after about 15-20 minutes of shooting and that’s when I stop hitting things.
Other than that, make sure that when you shoulder the gun that everything comes out level. What I mean is that, when looking at your target, the two images of the barrel are level when you have the proper cheek weld. If not, some stock adjustment might be necessary.
Question for you. I hear it go back and forth a lot. My question is, do Loaded Magazines Wear Out Magazine Springs? I keep several loaded Mags and I don’t want to wear them out. I try to rotate them, but I only have on 7 rd mag for my XDs that is my EDC. I only unload it about every 60- 90 days when I go to the range. -James S.
A while back, TJ started research for an article on just this subject (remember TJ? We miss TJ. He’s still serving our country overseas.). He didn’t want to just guess at it so he went right to the source: Magpul. He sent a message to the makers of quite possibly the best magazines on the market asking almost this exact question. While I don’t have the exact reply that he got from Magpul, I do have his quick summary that he sent me after he heard back from them: “According to them, keeping a magazine loaded doesn’t damage the spring, it’s the compressing and decompressing that wears it out.”
So there you have it: according to Magpul, leaving a magazine loaded won’t hurt it. Your regular usage at the range, however, will wear out the spring.
We miss you, TJ. Stay safe!
I have been shooting long guns for several years and never gave any thought to the fact I’ve always shot with one eye closed and I’m now finding out that’s not the preferred way or even the right way as per experienced shooters! I never gave that thought until recently. I’m now trying desperately to break this bad “habit” and I’m finding it extremely difficult! My eyes don’t seem to want to focus on the front sight, I get “double” vision” of the front sight and can’t consistently get a proper rear/front sight alignment until, wait for it, I close one freakin eye. Then it comes together fine and I can see the sight picture. I know this must be just because I’ve always done it the “wrong” way and I’m used to it and I’m sure with enough training can get it down but any suggestions would be amazing. HELP! -Corey M.
Let me quickly correct something right off the bat: there is no “correct” or “incorrect” way to shoot a gun. There are only “logically preferable” techniques. It all comes down to what works best for the actual shooter. I have a friend that shoots with his middle finger on the trigger because it’s more comfortable for him. That’s perfectly fine because it’s perfectly fine for him. Some elitists, however, would scoff at his lack of operator-ness. I listen to those elitists as much as I listen to Justin Bieber: I don’t listen to Justin Bieber.
Learning to shoot with both eyes open, however, does have its advantages. From a physical standpoint, you’re really not going to be able to focus on the sights with both eyes open the same way you would with one eye closed. It’s just not going to happen. Here’s what I would recommend: use the force. Seriously. I touched on it in 4-11’s FFAF but point shooting is amazingly easy to learn and can give surprisingly good accuracy once you’ve gotten the hang of it. It’s actually the same advice for skeet and trap shooting: look at the target then reach out and touch it with your gun. Keep in mind, you’re probably never going to get those sub-MOA groupings that operators love to hang on their walls and tell stories about but you’ll get consistently “good enough” groupings. I should note, however, that it helps to have a pistol that closely matches your body’s natural point.
Question for Chris: I’ve got a Mosin that is still in Cosmoline, stock configuration. I’ve never really shot rifles, and I’m thinking of making trips to a rifle range about 2 hours from me. Is it worth investing in the Archangel stock and a scout-scope for my Mosin, or should I just find another rifle? I don’t particularly mind the cost of the archangel stock, but if it’s just tacticool mall ninja stuff I’m not interested. I’m looking for improved accuracy, ergonomics, and reliable detachable magazines. What did you think of the Archangel Stock? Would you recommend it? -Christian C.
As a lover of Mosin Nagants, and an owner of one with an Archangel Stock, I have lots of positive things to say about them. They are cheap to purchase, easy to maintain and inexpensive to feed. There is something joyful about the big kick and the monstrous boom that they make. The Archangel Stock only serves to increase the joy of shooting these old faithfuls. It works well and does improve the overall shooting capabilities of the Nagant platform. I’m going to be doing a larger write-up on the stock in the near future, but in the mean-time, I’m going to recommend that you spend the money on another rifle, rather than spend the time and money building up a Nagant as a beginner platform. Another gun, such as the Ruger American or other similar platform, might serve your needs better as they will be new (along with a warranty), better triggers, smoother actions, more scope choices, etc. A Nagant can be a fun rifle, but despite its massive success as a weapon in conflicts all over the world, I think it is best relegated as a range toy and not a serious platform for hunting and/or self defense. Stay tuned for an upcoming in depth review of the Archangel/Nagant combo and thanks for your great question. Cheers!
Thanks for the questions!
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