Family Range Day

Sending live rounds down range.

I just got back from a morning of live fire shooting with my family.

The summer holds a special benefit for us when it comes to familial scheduling. With our youngest daughter off from school… and our occasional day off from Artemis being set for Mondays, we can go to our local outdoor range and not worry about the crowds or long wait times.

Chaney (The daughter) and I have Elk tags in Colorado so it is incumbent on both of us to do a little rifle work between now and the October hunt. We decided that today would be a perfect day to go to Raahagues… zero our rifles, and what the hell since Sandy would be joining us too…. bring our pistols and do a little live fire work.

(If you are arriving here from our email continue reading here)

The zeroing went relatively fast, and with the addition of Kavon our armorer to our little group we headed over to the pistol range.

Kavon was shooting his little baby Glock…. Chaney had her Sig 239, Sandy her Springfield EMP and I was shooting the Mighty Kimber Desert Warrior 1911.

We just don’t get to shoot that often. Sure… we send thousands of virtual rounds down range every week… but to actually get out and go shooting…Well… That is a luxury that just does not happen very frequently.

Our performance? OUTSTANDING!

We drill all the time on tac loads, movements and proper presentation techniques. All of us were consistent with our quick target acquisition and our weapons manipulation. Before we moved over to the pistol range the range master set up two bowling pins at 110 yards and Kavon and I… just for kicks… decided to try to hit them with his baby Glock.

He fired a dozen or so rounds and came incredibly close, (not bad for a .40 cal round sent down range at that distance.) I took the gun from him and nailed the pin on my second shot. My little gallery cheered at my magnificence… but Kavon analyzed the situation correctly: dumb luck. This was proven by the twenty or so misses that followed on the remaining bowling pin.

The point of this little missive: Shooting does not have to be a solitary exercise.

Sure… I love shooting alone. (Especially when I’m doing rifle work). Shooting with a group… especially your family changes the dynamics and makes the whole process a hell of a lot more fulfilling.

My wife and I were able to share the pride we have in our daughter, and she in turn was able to bask in the glow of admiration she received from her parents.

In short… we had fun.

Isn’t that the point?

A team becomes a team because of the confidence that builds among the individual members, as well as the group as a whole. The shared experiences act as a binding agent that unites the desperate parts into a single cohesive unit. A family is no different.

We shared an experience today, one that Chaney seemed to feel the need to incessantly verbalize the entire ride back home.

This is the way it should be.