Kickin It John Wayne Style

April 19th, 2003 I fired a gun for the first time. Adam & Paul captured the evidence on the digital camera. The range we were going to closed before we got there, so we headed down 29 looking for a good spot. We saw a sign advertising 500 acres for sale, and we knew we hit paydirt. We turned off on a little dirt track, crossed the railroad tracks and headed towards uncharted territory. We drove a good long distance from the road, until the track got washed out due to some industrious beavers. We pulled off and set up the targets towards a brush-covered berm.

This is my first shot. The rifle was a .22 AR7, and it was light as a feather. The action was a bit tough though.


Not too bad for my first clip. Every shot at least hit the target!


Mark's turn. First time in ten years he'd fired a weapon.


We heard motors coming closer towards our firing location, so we took a break and waited. Five guys off-roading on ATVs showed up and chatted with us for awhile. They told us the washed out trail wasn't very deep, and lead us further down the trail to a better location, at an ancient abandoned house.


All the ATVers lined up for the camera. They were going over everything, including small trees.


Paul, me, Mark, and Adam mug for the camera.


This is a movie clip Adam took of me firing the Springfield thirty ought six rifle. Hell of a lot different than the .22! Shooting the Springfield Rifle (3.69 meg)

For my last round with the Springfield, everyone convinced me to give it a try standing up. I was reluctant, because it is a damn heavy weapon. I still managed to hit the target though!


Mark fires his first round with the Springfield.


Yeah, it's kinda like that.


This is the target I peppered with the .22. Farthest on the right is the round from Adam's .40 H&K handgun. I missed with my first shot from the H&K, my only miss of the day. Most of my shots were low and left, but halfway through the day Adam discovered that the .22 was sighting low and left, so I was aiming almost perfectly.


This is my five shots with the Springfield. Not too bad, eh? The tear on the left is from the tree splintering and piercing the target. It was practically shot in half by the time we left!