Range report.

My Ruger AR 556. 

No normal post today because I had a busy day. I went to an outdoor gun range and tried out my Ruger AR 556 again. In addition to my AR, I also took my CZ PO7 and my Remington 700. I also borrowed my range buddy's S&W M&P 9mm and .22. It was a decent, though not perfect day for it as it was bright and sunny with a decent temperature. However, it was fairly windy and that caused some problems for me. It's the main reason why I didn't take any pictures as my range targets were pretty beat up when I was done with them. 

My handgun shooting, as usual, left something to be desired. The handgun targets at this range are attached to a fence and with the wind being pretty high it made it pretty hard to shoot. It was practically like shooting a moving target so I was all over the place. Since I suck with handguns in the first place, I didn't do my best. The guns handled ok, but I did have a failure to feed with my PO7 again. I didn't have the issue where the gun failed to lock open after being empty, so that is good. I think it might be because I switched to a different ammo, going with Federal 115 grain 9mm. It didn't like the Herter's 115 grain for some reason, but it's been running much better with the Federal American Eagle. 

I then switched to the AR and I did ok with it. At 50 yards my accuracy was OK. Between the two of us we fired 58 rounds and 57 were on target and most of them were at least close to the center. Given the high winds and the fact I was shooting with iron sights I was happy with the results. Unfortunately, when I pulled the target off, it got completely shredded, so you will have to take my word for it. 

I also fired off about 10 rounds from my Remington. Given the fact that I have a decent scope on it (a Weaver K4-W if you are curious) I did fine with it. I rarely shoot the Remington due to the cost of .308, but when I do bring it out I tend to better with it than any of my other guns. It's too bad that Remington has declined in quality in recent years, they used to make very good rifles. 

I was fairly annoyed at the only other people at the range. As many of you probably have experienced, outdoor ranges can attract some idiots. These guys were shooting some cool guns but didn't really follow the range rules and were putting up their flags despite the fact that I was still shooting and the range-master hadn't called a cease fire. Not a huge deal but fairly rude. When they moved to pistols one of the guys was shooting his with his thumb right by the slide. I like to think that he lost some skin doing that but at that point we had left. 

A few other random thoughts. First of all, I was fairly surprised how much of an effect wind has on me. It really pushes things around at makes it a bit more difficult to aim. Second, I'm starting to dislike the default stock on the AR 556. Even fully extended, it's a little short for me and it was way too short for my range buddy. I'm seriously considering replacing the stock or buying an extender recoil pad. 

Finally, I don't know if I prefer indoor ranges or outdoor ones. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Outdoor ones are much cheaper and are usually less crowded, but tend to have more rules like no rapid. There are also the constant cease fires for people changing targets. Indoor ranges are a lot looser on the rules but tend to have more inexperienced people. Plus, I can't shoot my heavier bolt guns at them. Either way, I wish I had my own property to make the whole discussion moot, but that's probably not happening anytime soon.