.45 Long Colt = DoublePlus Good

Brought a buddy to the range this weekend (hey buddy!) for some recoil therapy. I won't lay claim to a New Shooter, but he did have fun, and did quite well. I was careful about explaining the basics and pointing out my own bad habits, but mainly we put lead downrange into bullseyes and zombies.

We started with my S&W .22, and what can I say about the sheer randy fun of popping .22LR that hasn't already been said? And the 22A-1 is a wonderful piece - nice and heavy and sweet to shoot. My only issue is with the magazines - after about 50 rounds they start misfeeding the last or second-to-last round. Are new mag springs necessary or can I get away with stretching out the ones in there already?

We moved on to my Ruger GP-100 and had fun with a box or so of .38. The guy I bought this one from had a fantastic trigger job done on this one so it's like squeezing butter with every round. Another nice trainer gun, and fulfills the basic gun slot of a workaday .357. My buddy really liked this one - he has good instincts.

I then dug out my Taurus PT-145 for some much-needed practice, and did much better than last month. Still not great, but I'm getting used to the snap and compensating better (probably overcompensating as a matter of fact), and my groups are much better. My buddy did not like this gun, which is reasonable for a new shooter trying out a teeny half-plastic blaster in .45ACP.

Then we finished up with my fave revolver - the Ruger Vaquero in .45LC. I tell ya, I may never compete in pin leagues or go to Sig school or take the time to develop the ability to eradicate the 10-ring at 50ft with my Steyr M9, but I can sure as shinola put a .45 caliber bullet in center mass at 21 feet without aiming. This time around I'd say I did it about 39 times out of 40. No drawing allowed at Bill's so I just rest my arm hanging over the shelf of my lane, relaxed, then pull up to between my beltline and chest, slip the hammer back and BANG. Hole in target.

The ergonomics on the big SA revolvers just work for me, and I find them exremely pointable and shootable. Very instinctive - I can see why they were so pre-eminent for so long. Too bad it's not practical for me to strap one on for my carry piece here in the Twin Cities.