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Interesting day at the shooting range (or, one mistake leads to extensive cleaning)

1K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  PhotonGuy 
#1 ·
I'm pretty predictable when I visit the gun range.

Often, I have three weapons, a rifle and two pistols. I tend to shoot the rifle first, then after changing targets, I'll fire the pistols in turn. When I shoot the rifle, I have the pistols on the bench, actions open with a yellow plastic marker in each open chamber. Also when I shoot the rifle, I rest the barrel on a sand bag; I've done it this way for decades.

This time, either the sand bag had a weak spot, or my rifle barrel got extra hot and scorched a hole in the bag and sand leaked out in a generous outflow. I did not notice right away, as I was enjoying fine tuning for 100 yards. Oh, and it was quite breezy.

You guessed it, the sand blew all over my pistols (the ones with the actions open.) Dang.

And, my pistols just got the most scrupulous cleaning ever (I'll fire them again next week, and clean them again.)

I really should have known better. From now forward, I'll fire the handguns first and put them away before bringing out my rifle. And, I'll avoid placing the barrel where it can cause a sandstorm.

Other than that, a pretty good day at the range.

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#7 ·
It's a range-supplied bag, looks like cotton w sand as a filler.

I talked w the range officer, and he did suggest resting the gun on the insulated "forearm" rather than the hot barrel, this seems easy and it's what I'll do henceforth.

The cleaning? It's kind of a Zen moment, I should do it more often.



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#8 ·
Uh-oh, I shouldn't have cleaned them.

:tongue:

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#6 ·
DZUS, we all make mistakes....
 
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#12 ·
Yup, that's a viable option as well.

In fact, that could get the rifle barrel cooling while I fire the sidearms.

Tks for the suggestion.
 
#13 ·
As a general rule it is not a good idea to rest the rifle barrel directly on a support. That can cause differences in point of impact (compared to unsupported shooting or resting on the forearm) due to the pressure applied to the barrel, which changes how the barrel vibrates under load of the discharge and bullet passage through the bore. It is always better to lay the forearm on the support, allowing the barrel to react without interference.

Old US Army Marksmanship Training Unit coaching, which has stuck with me for about 50 years now. If you zero your rifle with the barrel resting on a support you will have to duplicate that support exactly (same spot, same pressure) every time in order to achieve predictable results. Of course, we were shooting at ranges up to 1000 yards, which magnifies any small variation in technique, and the effects would be much less at 100 yards.
 
#14 ·
If you think sand is bad. try the dust from the clay desserts . That stuff makes sand look like rocks. When it contacts oil it turns to a paste.
Agree with above barrel should nit be touching anything.
 
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