Call me Ahab

posted by Caleb on Jul 21

This weekend my wife and I went out to the family farm to celebrate my father-in-law and my birthday (we do joint celebrations, it’s a long drive).  I also brought a pile of guns with me, since having access to 500 acres and a perfect backstop (giant pile of dirt) was too much to pass up.

For targets, I brought a bunch of the Shoot-’n-See targets - the kind where the round hits and the target “explodes with color” or somesuch, making it easy to see where your round hit.  However, my best idea was snagging a bunch of clays to use, because nothing is better for newbies than reactive targets.  Soda cans, steel ringers, or clay birds, my new theory of teaching is based around the fact that if the shooter can see or hear their hit immediately and get that feedback right away, they’re going to enjoy the sport a lot more.

The shooting was a big hit, my father in law, sister in law, her fiance, and my wife all had a pretty good time.  After my sister-in-law and her fiance went back inside, the three of us had a little fun throwing the clays by hand and trying to nail them with the .410 shotgun I had brought along.  While doing this, I discovered that Mrs. Ahab appears to have a natural gift for the shotgun.  Now, again this was with hand thrown clays, but once she got dialed in (it took 2 shots) she broke 10 straight clays without a miss, using 2 1/2 inch .410 rounds with like half an ounce of shot.

The best part of it is that once she starting breaking clays, she loved it.  The good hits where the bird would just blow apart under the shot would elicit a giggle from her, which resulted in me not shooting my shotgun very much.  I’m not complaining, even a little bit, since she now wants to get a good 20 gauge with a nice recoil pad and start shooting trap.  You should have seen the big old grin on my face when she said she’d be interested in continuing with the sport.

So, I’m putting an erstwhile training program in place.  We’ll start with hand thrown clays, then move up to ones thrown with the sling-thing that I have, and after she feels comfortable with those, we’ll move it up to actually shooting trap from the booths.  From there, who knows?  Maybe she’ll starting shooting IPSC matches or something crazy like that.

posted by Caleb on Jul 10

Alright shotgun peoples, I have a question for you. I have heard from two different camps on the issue of the .410 bore shotguns - the division is that some look at the .410 as an expert’s gun, and some look at it as a beginner’s gun.

So what say you? I’m looking for a shotgun that I can use to learn the fundamentals with, where I won’t be bothered by the recoil of shooting 200 rounds a session. The light weight and lack of any kind of recoil pad can make Frankenshotty unpleasant, and I certainly wouldn’t want to run more than 50-75 rounds through it at a time. Since my training strategy revolves around the principle of “shoot more”, I thinking about a .410 to save the shoulder abuse that upwards of 200 rounds will cause.

So what do think - beginner’s gun, or expert gun? Should I just shoot less and go with the 20 all the time?

posted by Caleb on Jul 9

I really, really do. My experience with Frankenshotgun taught me that a lifetime’s worth of pistol shooting has made me a terrible shotgunner.

Being a competitive guy, I’ve been seeking out help from whatever avenues possible, which is why I very much enjoyed this post on “hard focus” from the Gun Shots. I’m going to try that the next time I shoot clays, because anything that helps me break more targets is a good thing.

Next time, I’m going to get target loads with a full ounce of shot, which might help me break a few more targets. I also want to try my .410, because it actually fits me better and has a tighter choke than the Frankenshotgun. I think I’l go a shotgunning again sometime in the next couple of weeks.

posted by Caleb on Jul 3

Last night after work my buddy and I headed down to Marion County F&G to relieve a little stress after what had been (for me at least) a pretty rugged week at work.  I took my Walther P22, my .25 ACP Jetfire, the 1951E Beretta, and of course the Horrible Frankenshotgun.

I hadn’t yet shot the 9mm 1951 Beretta, so taking it out and giving it a few rounds was a pretty fun exercise.  The sights, being pure itty-bitty military with a lot of light around the front sight were pretty good for fast shooting at close range targets, but out to 15-25 yards the groups opened up a little bit.  It did have a problem jamming open on the last round, which probably means that the aftermarket magazine I have for it is junk - which would not surprise me at all.

The Jetfire in .25 ACP was fantastic, not jamming or failing to feed at all, eating 35 grain hollowpoints or 50 grain FMJ like there was no tomorrow.  It’s actually a lot more accurate than I could possibly with the teeny-tiny sights on it, and I was actually able to ring the 50 yard gong with it 3 times out of 9.

The Walther is still the Walther, just going bang all the damn time.  I swear, I must have gotten the golden child of P22s, because mine is still running well north of a 3k round count.

Now, the part that you people are reading this for - the Frankenshotty report.  The short version is that it ran like a dream, chugging through two boxes of shells like a dream.  Ejection was clean and positive with no failures to feed or fire.  Like I said, the gun itself ran just fine.  The operator on the hand…well, let’s just that apparently the gun gods made me a pretty good pistol shot at the expense of my shotgun shooting skills.

I think I hit the little bird maybe 1 out of every 6 shots, but that could be generous.  As a comparison, I hit the 100 yard gong with my P22 (Greg was there, ask him) 6 times out of 10.

The problem with me sucking at trap/clay shooting is that holy crap was it addicting.  The times that I did hit the clay and watched it disintegrate were among some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in the shooting sports. I can completely understand how people get hooked on this, because the second I felt that gun kick into my shoulder and I saw the bird blow apart over the sights I thought to myself “hell yeah, that was fun”.  The recoil with a 20 gauge and the hard plastic “pad” (that term is used loosely) on the stock of Frankenshotty was just enough to let you know that you weren’t shooting a .410, but not so abusive as to take the fun out of the shooting.

Which of course means I’m going to have to practice with Frankenshotgun, as well as maybe (after I buy the Glock 35 and the 1911 and the pistol grip home defense shotgun) buy another shotgun for shooting clays on a regular basis.

To my wife: I am sorry that I’m now addicted to another shooting sport.  Really, really sorry.

posted by Caleb on Jul 2

Today, I go to shoot Project Frankenshotgun for the first time.  I’m actually a leetle scared, not because I don’t think I can shoot it, but more because I’m shooting a gun (other than a Beretta) that I assembled with my bare hands from spare parts of other guns.

While everything appears to be locked up tight and in excellent mechanical condition, there is that little bit of tingle in the back of my mind - the everpresent “what if” factor.  Hopefully I’ll be reporting back to you tomorrow with news of my successful test run and tales of a horrible Clay Target Slaughter the likes of which have never been seen before.

On the bright side, assuming that the gun runs well, I can start shooting Thursday night trap with it.

posted by Caleb on Jul 1

The Scholastic Clay Target Program Indiana Trap State Championship is set for July 7th and 8th, in Fortville Indiana.  The match is going to be held at the Indiana Gun Club (a scant 10 minutes from my house), and will features youths from grades 12 and down.

The teams, broken into 5 different divisions will compete for the state SCTP trap title, and can also each the opportunity to compete for the national title as well.

This event is open to the public, so if you’re interested in watching part of the future of shooting sports, you are welcome to attend.

Some facts on the Scholastic Clay Target Program:

SCTP is a program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, managed in partnership with the national governing bodies for shooting sports: USA Shooting, Amateur Trapshooting Association, National Skeet Shooting Association and National Sporting Clays Association.

SCTP, experiencing remarkable growth over the past eight years, is considered “the Little League of shooting sports.” Some 8,000 to 9,000 students from over 45 states are expected to compete this year.

SCTP teams compete in the sports of trap, skeet and sporting clays as well as the Olympic versions of trap and skeet.

I should also note that the top shooters at the SCTP State Championship will have the chance to attend an Olympic training camp to help them get the skills they need to compete at the collegiate level.

posted by Caleb on May 27

The Horrible Frankenshotgun is now complete; I took parts from a grand total of 5 different shotguns that I scrounged from the internets (and in one case was found by an intrepid reader) to complete my awful monster. I apologize for the expression in the photo, I was not expecting the camera to go off when it did, otherwise you’d be treated to the exact same smile that I have in all the NRA Convention photos.

I need to get out to the farm and see how it handles slugs, buckshot, and birdshot. My original intention behind this gun was to use it for Canada Geese, however after some research it seems that the general consensus is that 20 gauge 2 3/4 are a little light for geese unless you’re taking extremely close range shots. I’ll probably pick up a 12 gauge to begin my war on the Feathered Menace.

I’m sure I can find some use for a light kicking 20 gauge shotgun though, if it’s reliable with slugs and buck it would make an excellent gun to keep by the bed in the event of a home invasion zombie apocalypse.

posted by Caleb on May 9

My BAG Day gun has turned into some kind of devil hybrid project, as it seems that finding certain parts for a Remington 11 in 20 gauge is slightly more difficult than I would have expected. Namely, the part I’m having a hard time getting my hands on is a 20 gauge barrel for the dang thing.

Because it’s become a horrible frankenbeast of a shotgun using parts from all over (including a Browing Auto-5 stock), I’ve taken to calling it the Frankenshotty, which makes me laugh every time I say it. To complete the Frankenshotty, all I need at this juncture is a 20 gauge barrel, which is actually quite difficult to find. The problem is that the e-gunparts guys are sold out, and I can’t use a Browning Auto-5 barrel on it because the ejectors don’t match, and of course this is the time I can’t find anything on Gunbroker.

Now, if one of you fine gentlemen or ladies who reads here happens to have a line on some 20 gauge Remington 11 barrels, drop me a line. Seriously. Because I have an awesome shotgun just waiting to be born. And besides, you know you want to contribute to something with an awesome name like “Frankenshotty”. Plus, if I get a barrel for this thing, it will be the first gun project that I’ve ever actually completed that required more work than dropping in a cylinder conversion.

posted by Caleb on Apr 22

I’ve got the receiver, and I just ordered the forearm off EBay for the Remington Model 11.  Now, I have a question for the shotgun experts out there regarding a stock and barrel for this thing.  I asked our resident general gun knowledge expert and she wasn’t 100% sure, so I’ll ask the lazywebs in hopes of an answer.

I know that the Remington 11 is a licensed copy roughly of the Browning Auto-5 shotgun.  I have had a hard time finding a barrel and buttstock online for the Remington 11, so I’m wondering if a buttstock made for an Auto-5 is going to fit my gun; and the same question for a 20 gauge barrel.  If anyone knows the answer beyond a shadow of a doubt, drop me a comment or email.  My email address is in the “contact” link up above.

posted by Caleb on Apr 15

The Auction has ended, and I am victorious!  Click below for a picture of the “gun” that I picked up.

Anyone know where I can get the furniture and a decent barrel in 20 gauge?