After action report
Well, this month was the 2nd time we drove down to Cleburne to go see the Comanche Valley Vigilantes and the first time we went shooting.
0500-0600 - Woke up, got dressed and got ready, in the car by 0600.
0600 - Went to Wal-Mart and picked up a second pair of shooting glasses and "mold them yourself" ear plug kit for Jay
0615 - On the Road
0715 - In Cleburne, grabbed breakfast at Jack in the Box, discovered they use real eggs in their food! Very tasty.
0745 - Arrived at the range at the Ormsby Ranch. Checked in.
0745-0815 - Looked at the costumes at the costume shop down there, talked to folks, signed in, paid the range fees ($7 for new shooter orientation, $14 for non-member fee).
0815 - Recited the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silent prayer. About 20 cowboys and a couple of cowgirls all took their hats off, covered their hearts, and did something that hasn't been done enough I think in this country. Took us totally by surprise, but I think I was on my feet, hat over my heart by the time the words "of the United States of America" zipped by.
0815-0900 - Hopalong Casey sat down with seven of us (two father-son pairs, Jay and I, and a Dallas County Sheriff that came to watch) and showed us the basics of single action revolvers, the rules of the sport, what to expect, and general range rules. He's an old vet, so he also told us several anecdotes as well. My favorite was when he asked, "So what's the difference between the United States Army and the Boy Scouts of America?" ... "The Boy Scouts have adult leadership."
0900-1300 - Shooting
The Shooting
We went to the Fort Brazos stage, (places where you shoot are called stages) which was a wall with a gate, two windows, and a porch that went up a little higher to make it feel like you're shooting from an old frontier wood fort. The stage consisted of
five shots from pistol 1 at three metal buffalo shaped targets (target 1, target 2, target 3, target 2, target 1)
four shots from the shotgun at four shotgun targets (shotgun target 1, 2, 3, 4)
then move to the second window
two shots from the shotgun at two shotgun targets (shotgun target 5, 6)
five shots at a far distant buffalo from the rifle (rifle target 1 x5)
five shots at two bandit shaped targets from pistol 2 (target 1, 2, 1, 2, 1)
Everybody borrowed Hopalong's guns and leathers, he even let us shoot his ammo. Everything was 38 special. We were welcome to shoot with several different styles of grips. The rifle was a EMF 1866 Yellowboy lever action, also 38 special. The shotgun was a two hammer coach gun style 20 gauge. Very little recoil, very fun. You got to focus on shooting the targets and worry less about the weapon. Two of the new guys ("Double Ought Dax" and "Notso Younger") brought their own guns and shot 45 Colts and 12 gauge. Hopalong's belt fit me perfectly so I got to wear it. Everybody else kinda had to fiddle around with belts and things. The teenager that was with us used Jay's belt (he was a skinny kid).
We weren't really doing it for time, but Jay missed a lot her first time, jitters and unfamiliarity, same as me. Then the second time, she didn't miss a single target. I was so proud. All the guys were also impressed. I think I was faster, but I missed a couple (I went back to shooting right handed ... old habits die hard I guess. So I kept trying to shoot with my bad eye. I gotta remember I'm a lefty now). Missing adds a 2 second penalty per shot. Everybody did horrible their first time. Like I said, nobody was really keeping score. It was a "make sure you understand what you're doing" thing. One pistol I always missed a couple, the other pistol I never missed. The only difference was the grip. I need to try and figure out which was which. I'm pretty sure it was the bird-head handle that I kept missing.
We all took turns at the loading table, unloading table, keeping time, and counting misses.
Hopalong didn't drink enough water and had a little heat incident. We got his grandson to come get him in the van and with a little air conditioning he was feeling better. Jay and I stayed hydrated the entire time ($1 bottled waters down there) so we were fine. My shirt that I got from Wild West Mercantile was fantastic. 100% cotton and a thin, thin weave (almost like handkerchief fabric). I was warm, but I felt every breeze and never got too uncomfortable. It was the Scully Rangewear Railroad Shirt.
1300-1400 - After shooting, there was a little award ceremony and some door prizes were handed out.
1400-1530 - Drive home, stopped by Braums for burgers and milkshakes, then we went home and watched movies. It was a great day.
0500-0600 - Woke up, got dressed and got ready, in the car by 0600.
0600 - Went to Wal-Mart and picked up a second pair of shooting glasses and "mold them yourself" ear plug kit for Jay
0615 - On the Road
0715 - In Cleburne, grabbed breakfast at Jack in the Box, discovered they use real eggs in their food! Very tasty.
0745 - Arrived at the range at the Ormsby Ranch. Checked in.
0745-0815 - Looked at the costumes at the costume shop down there, talked to folks, signed in, paid the range fees ($7 for new shooter orientation, $14 for non-member fee).
0815 - Recited the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silent prayer. About 20 cowboys and a couple of cowgirls all took their hats off, covered their hearts, and did something that hasn't been done enough I think in this country. Took us totally by surprise, but I think I was on my feet, hat over my heart by the time the words "of the United States of America" zipped by.
0815-0900 - Hopalong Casey sat down with seven of us (two father-son pairs, Jay and I, and a Dallas County Sheriff that came to watch) and showed us the basics of single action revolvers, the rules of the sport, what to expect, and general range rules. He's an old vet, so he also told us several anecdotes as well. My favorite was when he asked, "So what's the difference between the United States Army and the Boy Scouts of America?" ... "The Boy Scouts have adult leadership."
0900-1300 - Shooting
The Shooting
We went to the Fort Brazos stage, (places where you shoot are called stages) which was a wall with a gate, two windows, and a porch that went up a little higher to make it feel like you're shooting from an old frontier wood fort. The stage consisted of
five shots from pistol 1 at three metal buffalo shaped targets (target 1, target 2, target 3, target 2, target 1)
four shots from the shotgun at four shotgun targets (shotgun target 1, 2, 3, 4)
then move to the second window
two shots from the shotgun at two shotgun targets (shotgun target 5, 6)
five shots at a far distant buffalo from the rifle (rifle target 1 x5)
five shots at two bandit shaped targets from pistol 2 (target 1, 2, 1, 2, 1)
Everybody borrowed Hopalong's guns and leathers, he even let us shoot his ammo. Everything was 38 special. We were welcome to shoot with several different styles of grips. The rifle was a EMF 1866 Yellowboy lever action, also 38 special. The shotgun was a two hammer coach gun style 20 gauge. Very little recoil, very fun. You got to focus on shooting the targets and worry less about the weapon. Two of the new guys ("Double Ought Dax" and "Notso Younger") brought their own guns and shot 45 Colts and 12 gauge. Hopalong's belt fit me perfectly so I got to wear it. Everybody else kinda had to fiddle around with belts and things. The teenager that was with us used Jay's belt (he was a skinny kid).
We weren't really doing it for time, but Jay missed a lot her first time, jitters and unfamiliarity, same as me. Then the second time, she didn't miss a single target. I was so proud. All the guys were also impressed. I think I was faster, but I missed a couple (I went back to shooting right handed ... old habits die hard I guess. So I kept trying to shoot with my bad eye. I gotta remember I'm a lefty now). Missing adds a 2 second penalty per shot. Everybody did horrible their first time. Like I said, nobody was really keeping score. It was a "make sure you understand what you're doing" thing. One pistol I always missed a couple, the other pistol I never missed. The only difference was the grip. I need to try and figure out which was which. I'm pretty sure it was the bird-head handle that I kept missing.
We all took turns at the loading table, unloading table, keeping time, and counting misses.
Hopalong didn't drink enough water and had a little heat incident. We got his grandson to come get him in the van and with a little air conditioning he was feeling better. Jay and I stayed hydrated the entire time ($1 bottled waters down there) so we were fine. My shirt that I got from Wild West Mercantile was fantastic. 100% cotton and a thin, thin weave (almost like handkerchief fabric). I was warm, but I felt every breeze and never got too uncomfortable. It was the Scully Rangewear Railroad Shirt.
1300-1400 - After shooting, there was a little award ceremony and some door prizes were handed out.
1400-1530 - Drive home, stopped by Braums for burgers and milkshakes, then we went home and watched movies. It was a great day.