SHOOTING ON A BUDGET

If you shoot with any sort of regularity, or read posts by people that do, you've probably noticed that the price of ammunition is rising.

I've read several reasons for this.

Some people say that it's due to the war, and the military's increasing needs for ammo is driving up the price. American law enforcement agencies are also placing larger orders for ammo, which of course plays into the laws of supply and demand. Others point out that raw materials such as brass and copper are in higher demand in other countries (such as China), which increases the costs of the metals worldwide. Other factors come into play too - the price of fuel affects everyone, from the producer to the shipper to the retailer.

There are several ways the average gun owner can deal with this problem, but simply complaining about it isn't one of them. So instead of just adding another post to the internet's archives about how much ammo costs annoy me, I thought I'd share a few of the things I do to keep the cost of my range trips down.

In no particular order:

SHOP WISELY
The most expensive place I've purchased ammo was from the range itself. A 50rd box of Blazer Brass 9mm sells for around $14. At Walmart, the same box sells for around $8. A 100rd box of Winchester WhiteBox is around $15. In other words, you can buy twice as much ammo for the same price by simply choosing where to purchase it.

Online vendors typically offer good prices, but be sure to add shipping costs into the overall price. Gunshows can also sometimes be a good source for cheaper ammunition - especially self-defense ammo.

In addition, I purchase more ammo than I need for one range trip. Usually I buy 500-1000rnds at the time. A local store you wont give you a multi-box discount, but you will save time and gas money by combining several store trips into one.

MAKE YOUR OWN TARGETS
Range targets are sold at a premium, usually going for .75 - $1 per target. It may not seem like much, but over a year you might end up spending $40-50 just on sheets of paper. There are a number websites out there with PDF targets you can download and print at home. Even better, print one target at home and make the rest on a copier (inkjet supplies are very expensive - copies can be made at Kinko's cheaply, or depending on your workplace - for free.) Buy just one B27 at the range and use tape to place your homemade target over the COM.

If you do a lot of bullseye shooting, you dont need a B27. Get some large index cards, and use an ink marker to make a small circle in the middle. Some shooters use paper plates as a cheap target. Whichever solution you use, try to limit the number of fullsized expensive targets you purchase.

DON'T WASTE AMMO
Every time you empty a magazine, you've basically thrown $2 down the range. I've seen casual shooters come into the range with a rental gun and 2-3 boxes of ammo... they finish in an amazing amount of time. One moment they're loading the first mag, and 10 minutes later they've emptied all 3 boxes by pulling the trigger as quickly as possible without much regard to accuracy or technique.

Granted, rapid-fire can be a lot of fun. But always keep in mind that rounds are practically dollar bills. Don't waste ammunition anymore than you would randomly light piles of money on fire.

PLAN YOUR RANGE TRIP
Simply stated: if you're going to the range for half an hour, try to guage how much ammo you will shoot... and don't take much more than that. For me, that's about 100-150 rnds of 9mm and 50-100 rnds of .22. If I take 500rds of each, then mentally I'll be trying to use it all before my time is up. Back to the previous point: don't waste ammo. Better to have a few unused minutes on the clock, than waste 30 more rds just trying to kill some time.

Shoot until you've accomplished your goal for the day - don't just shoot until you're out of ammunition.

SHOOT FEWER CALIBERS
If you have a .22, a .357, a .45, a 9mm and a .44 magnum with you every time you hit the range - you're going to spend a lot of money feeding them. I've read posts by people seeking to consolidate their guns into just 2-3 calibers at most, and I believe it's a good idea. The more calibers you own and actively shoot, the more boxes of ammo you're going to have to purchase.

BUY A .22 PISTOL
Anyone that owns a .22 will tell you it's a great investment for shooting cheaply - and they're right. .22 Ammo is very inexpensive, and the skills necessary to be accurate with a .22 will translate into a larger caliber. If you want to shoot a LOT every time you hit the range, use a gun that isn't expensive to shoot.

Some of these might be something you can try, while others may not help at all... competitive shooters have different needs than someone who just owns a gun for self-defense. So consider these suggestions, or freely ignore them.

IN THE DARK

Here's a test for you...

1. How quickly can you field strip your carry weapon, and reassemble it?
2. Can you do it in the dark?

There's not necessarily a correct answer for the first question. It's not a task that one normally has to do in under 20-30 seconds. But if you cannot perform a field strip without referring to your manual, then take some time this weekend and learn to do it.

Once you can do it effortlessly, try putting on a blindfold. Learn to check the chamber without your eyes. You may find, as I did, that replacing the slide is a bit harder when you can't visually line it up... or perhaps you'll need to learn how each end of the recoil spring feels, so that it's not put in backwards.

I don't know that it's a skill that I'll ever need, but it's nice knowing that I have it... and I believe that every gun owner can benefit from learning it as well.

BULLETS ALWAYS FIND A TARGET

I was about 11 years old when I entered the woods with my Dad for my first hunting trip. I was raised in the South, where for many people hunting is as much of a regular activity as going to work or having a large family dinner every Sunday. I don't remember what we were hunting; it might have been squirrels or birds, and I'm sure we would have come home with a deer on the off-chance we'd have been lucky enough to take one, given the amount of racket I made walking about the woods.

As I grew older, Dad's interest in hunting also grew. Many areas of the South are farmland, and it's not uncommon for the farmers to lease their land for hunting to small groups of people. One morning we got up far before dawn, and drove to a small cabin in the middle of nowhere to go deer hunting. It was chilly and dark in the cabin, and 3-4 other men were sitting around a small woodstove when we arrived.

We spent most of the day in the woods, and came back empty handed. I was cold, damp, dirty, and rather tired of the whole experience as we unrolled our sleeping bags. As I began to fall asleep, the men were recounting their various tales of the past couple of days. One man had a brief story I'll never forget.

"We were out last night, didn't see anything though. So finally we decided to come back to camp. But we're walking though the woods, and I heard some noise to the left in the distance... I kneeled down and leveled my rifle, and fired off 3 shots. Never did find anything, so I guess I missed. Was pretty dark out there."

We left the following day, and never hunted with that group again.

I remembered that story as I read about this boy being killed in Oklahoma yesterday. Two police officers were trying to shoot a snake out of a tree, and missed their target. Sadly, one of their bullets found another target: 5 yr-old Austin Haley, who died in his grandfather's arms.

I find this part of the news report to be rather troubling:

(City Manager Bob) Wade refused to identify the officer suspected of firing the shots but said the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

As I've mentioned before, I work in the media... specifically, I create graphics for the newscasts. Each and every day, I receive photographs in my email from various law enforcement offices - photographs of people suspected of a crime. The law enforcement community creates press releases, and sends them to us hoping that we'll put the information and the photographs on television so that the public will be well-informed about possible criminal activity and the people responsible.

Austin's grandfather has this to say:

"I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose,” Tracy said. "It was an accident. But let me tell you — if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that. ... There was no reason for him to kill my grandson.”

Mr. Tracy is quite correct - that's exactly what prosecutors have done, and continue to do, when children die due to negligence. From the moment a child dies, the party suspected of responsibility has their picture transmitted over the airwaves as quickly as possible.

City Manager Bob Wade will not identify the officer suspected of killing Austin Haley?

I would like to remind Mr. Wade of something. I'd like to remind the Officer, the Noble Chief of Police, their Mayor, their City Council members, and their City Prosecutor: All of you are public employees. You are not royalty. You are not above criticism and your positions do not absolve you of responsibility. You have your jobs because the citizens of Noble gave those jobs to you, in the hope that you would perform your duties with honor and in the best interests of the City of Noble.

And in this circumstance, all of you are failing miserably.

So here's Mr. Wade's contact information, should you care to let him know your opinion on his job performance:

Bob Wade, City Manager
City of Noble
P.O. Box 557, 304 S. Main
Noble, OK 73068
(405) 872-9251; Fax: (405) 972-9363
Email: bobwade@sbcglobal.net

Let Mr. Wade know how you feel about this negligent shooting. And while you're at it, you might ask him about his feelings on government hypocrisy.

AUGUST 3

August 3 is a rather unique day, and like all the other days of the year has many events associated with it:

- In 1942, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
- In 1527, the first known letter was sent from North America by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland.
- In 1678, Robert LaSalle built the Le Griffon, the first known ship built in America.
- In 1852, the first Boat Race was held between Yale and Harvard as the first American intercollegiate athletic event.
- In 1900, the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company was founded.
- In 1923, President Warren G. Harding (deceased) was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge as the 30th President of the United States.
- In 1936, Jesse Owens won the 100 meter dash by defeating Ralph Metcalfe at Berlin Olympics.
- In 1946, the National Basketball Association was founded in the United States.
- In 2004, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopened after being closed since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Several notable people were also born on this day:

1770 - King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia
1811 - Elisha Graves Otis, American inventor
1887 - Rupert Brooke, English poet
1900 - John T. Scopes, American defendant
1926 - Tony Bennett, American singer
1940 - Martin Sheen, American actor
1941 - Martha Stewart, American media personality
1963 - Isaiah Washington, American actor
1963 - James Hetfield, American guitar player (Metallica)
1971 - DJ Spinderella, American rapper (Salt-N-Pepa)
1977 - Tom Brady, American football player
1979 - Evangeline Lilly, Canadian model/actress
1984 - Carah Faye Charnow, American singer (Shiny Toy Guns)

But for me, there is one event which eclipses all of them.

At 5:05am on a Thursday morning, the love of my life entered this world.



Happy Birthday, Bethy.

May you wish upon every star you see tonight,
and may all your dreams come true.