Red Dot on a Shotgun + New All-Terrain Tires

Me & couple of friends had planned on going plinking today, but had to cancel due to weather.  There was storm coming in from the coast, and where we go shooting is closer to the coast.... but it was a total dud, at least where I was at.  No storm where I live in Greater Portland Metro, and barely rained closer to the coast.

Yesterday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced yet another two week plan to fight Covid 19.  Main point was limited capacity inside stores, restaurant can accommodate deliveries & takeouts only, limits on social gathering, etc., etc.  

While our plinking session was cancelled, I wanted to test out the new all-terrain tires I just bought + I wanted to sight-in the red dot sight I robbed from the Micro Roni Glock stock, so I headed up the mountain by myself again.

It didn't rain much, but got some fog.  Some sign of snow on the ground at the higher elevation.  I didn't realize it got cold enough to snow up here already.  

Tires I bought were the Toyo Open Country All-Terrain.  I've been getting around just fine with the street tires on my 2013 Ford Edge, but couple of people been telling me I should get something tougher for probably couple of years now.  While old tires were still okay, with some meteorologists predicting cold winter for the Pacific Northwest, also having witnessed countless Covid 19 related backorders & backlogs, I decided to just pull the trigger on the tires now(no pun intended).  

Driving under highway speeds, I didn't detect any difference in the ride compared to the set of street tires I had before.  At 60+ mph, I did notice little rougher ride, but not that bad.  Just noticeable.  Pretty sure I got lower miles-per-gallon, but I wasn't watching it the whole time, so I don't have conclusive data on that(nobody cares, sorry).  Anywho, tires are good.  I like these Toyo's.  My first Toyo tires & these "Open Country" all-terrains have 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake logos, which means lot of times, they get a pass when winter tires or traction devices are required.

So this is my Remington 870 Tactical with Burris Fastfire 3 red dot on it(on AR-F3 riser/mount).  This shotgun was my first long gun, not counting POS rimfire rifle called Remington 597 I'd like to forget about.  This Tactical model came with XS sights(rear ghost ring), picatinny rail up top & breacher choke, which really sold it to this tacticool fanboy.  

Rear stock you see on there is Blackhawk Knoxx recoil reducing stock.  It works really well, it makes 12-Gauge feel like a .30 caliber rifle or something, but it had this "cheek slap" problem.  As term suggests, it feels like a slap on your cheek-weld when aiming down stock sights.  As suspected, with the taller red dot, slapping is history.

An old pic of the breacher choke.

Stock picatinny rail makes optics a plug & play.  :D

People before me left some blown up pumpkins close by, so I used them first to get close while sighting-in.  Aiming down the sight for the second shot, I notice the "red dot" in the sight is gone!  :(  It was loose battery cover.  I tightened it down.  I shot it ten more times & it held okay, but man, I was nervous if this little guy was going to hold together with recoil from 12-Gauge shotgun, so it had me worried little bit.  It remains to be seen if the "zero" will hold, or battery cap will stay tight.

I was in for a quickie, and was done within minutes.  Didn't even setup a proper target.  Just laid this flattened cardboard box on the backstop & shot those pumpkin carcasses I found left behind.  Used a birdshot on pumpkins to get close, then once on this cardboard.  Big holes you see are five rounds of slugs.  I used the old UPS label on there to tighten it down.  :p

It started raining after those eleven shots, so I called it a morning(only 7:55am lol).  Stay safe everyone & social distance responsibly, like me!  :D

 

Game-Used Base from the Yankee Stadium

Major League Baseball sells these authenticated game used items from the games, which I think is SO cool for the fans.  I have few game used baseballs, and if they are just couple years old or newer, I can watch the very ball I bought in action, on MLB.TV.  One thing to be able to own a game used memorabilia, but for me, it's a even more special experience to be able to see those items in action.

Anywho, I've also bought couple of autographed items, which I've also written about on the blog before, but this is a new one:  A game used base.  Third base to be exact.  

Very cool tags with team logos on them.

I've seen lot of bases from other teams, but they are typically $250 to almost $1,000.  When I saw Braves-Yankees base for $200, and from the Yankee Stadium, I was very interested.  

Authentication hologram by the MLB(middle), Fanatics(left) and memorabilia company(right).  It's authentic, I get it. 

I ran the authentication number on the hologram on MLB website like I usually do & found out that this was the third base used from the 6th to 9th inning on July 3rd(2018).  I didn't want just any base, even if it was from the Yankee stadium, unless some play happened on the base, so I got on my MLB.TV & checked it out.  

First thing I caught was the two-run homer with couple of Braves fan favorite players Freddie Freeman & Nick Markakis rounding the bases.  I was already sold at this point.

Little later in the game was another two-run home run, but it was couple of the biggest names from the Yankees this time:  Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton.  Sold, sold, sold.  :D

 

Magpul PMAG 15 GL9 Magazine Vs. Factory Glock 19 Magazine

Wanted to work on my new pistol grip today.  Have the rest of the week off(it's Tuesday), so headed up into the woods first thing this morning.  Nobody came up where I was, it was great.  93 mile drive at 23 miles to a gallon.  I overpay at $3 per gallon, so little over $12 round trip.  I did little bit more math, and closest shooting range I'd bother to visit would cost me about $18 for the visit + over $7 in gas.  I've heard all the crossover SUV jokes, but my Edge rules!

Anyhow, I decided to do this today, because it's supposed to be mostly raining all this week, except this morning.  I didn't get rained on, just light mist for a minute, so very happy with the weather as well.

I bought couple of these Magpul Glock magazines for my Glock 19(left).  I was buying a HK USP magazine from Botach(cheapest price anywhere), and when I saw these things for under $11 a piece, I wanted to try it.  

When I first got them, they had that cheap dollar store plastic feel to them?  Me & my coworker were not impressed.  I thought it didn't have those tiny indicator holes in the back either, to show you how many rounds you've loaded.  My other coworker noticed that they put little windows on the sides, so you can tell when you have full 15 rounds in them.  Okay.  I do like the orange followers.

As you can see, floor plate protrude little bit more compared to the stock magazines.  Glock PMAGs worked flawlessly for very little I shot.  What I disliked though was how much more friction were noticeable when loading.  Factory Glock mags loads smooth, and Magpul is the opposite.  I HATE LOADING AMMO, and I don't need that added to the chore.

If you are on budget, or are looking for cheap mags for training, plinking, etc., these are probably good.  I'm happy with the two I bought, but I still prefer factory mags, even at double the price.  Still love their everything for ARs though.

So finally on handgun training.  When I first got this gun, I couldn't hit anything with it.  I was shocked.  I'm just a casual plinker, so I got my other handguns out(Kimber + USP) & started testing them out.  This really got me interested in target shooting.  I adopted much tips, advice from all sorts of messageboards & youtube videos, and it started to improve.  After much experimenting, I think I finally found what works for me.  I believe this is actually the basic grip?  

I'm gripping the gun firmly with the both hands, right hand palm(green) pressing forward, left hand palm pressing back in the opposite direction(blue).  Highest purchase possible with the left hand, with thumb extended up.  Lock both wrists, straighten right arm & work the trigger independently to minimize movement of the pistol.  

I'm still training at 15 yards, because I don't think I'm ready to shoot 25 until I can leave something resembling grouping on the paper at 15.  Paper's roughly 8" square, circle roughly 7" & believe it or not, this is the best I've shot my Glock so far.  :(  I keep telling myself about the trigger control, but I still find myself jerking it.  Gah.

Remember to pick up all the trash & shells after plinking!

Isolating During Covid 19 In Outdoors

 I didn't shoot a lot, but this was my first real "plinking" of 2020.  Coronavirus amirite.  Terrible year, the worst year.  I can't even list all the bad things happened to people around me, myself, and we are still barely in Spring.  :D

Anywho, on the way out to the woods, on the highway are reader boards asking us to "Stay Home, Save Lives".  I'm by myself, I saw one person at 7-Eleven on this entire trip, so I told myself it was okay.  It was isolating, and one driver who did drive up to my site, we were good 25 feet apart, he never got out of the car & drove off to look for another site.  :)

Parked the car off to the side, and set up my usual folding table.

Set up the tripod today to sight in my newest red dot I installed on the Micro Roni stock(for Glock 19 Gen 4).

I actually have the same red dot model sitting on top of the scope on my AR-15(scroll lower little bit).  It's Burris FastFire 3.  Normally, it goes for $200+ by itself, but package I purchased also came with the AR-F3 mount, which I believe goes for $70+.  It was the best damn deal I had come across, a member posted it on a regional gun forum called Northwest Firearms.  While the sale has already ended, it was $145 shipped for the red dot & the handy mount featuring side guards.  Score.

AR-F3 Burris mount raises it to adequate level for I guess AR, but also for my Micro Roni stock.  I can co-witness with the MBUS(Magpul's flip up Backup Sights) through the glass, so I was pleased about that.  :)

I totally forgot to take pics, but I also target practiced with Glock 19, the USP(.45, full size), but had horrible results.  I'm just terrible with handguns, barely could keep them on paper.  :(  Shot handful of rounds out of my AR-15 to make sure the EOTech still held zero, then mag dumped the rest.

I wish I could say "The End" here, but we still have these people leaving trash up in the mountains.  WTF people.  At this rate, we'll be forced to shoot only inside shooting ranges.  I don't know if it falls on Department of Forestry, or logging companies, but they can, and they already are kicking us out of these areas.  Three of my favorite areas were shutdown in maybe just last two years?  This one could be next.  

**** these people.  I'm sorry for ranting. 

Some people have lost jobs, some people are getting overwhelmed at their jobs right now.  I hope we get this Coronavirus pandemic under control soon, and you guys stay safe.  

-The End-