Finally went shooting again

[troy2000]

The kid's car is together and running; I wasn't working overtime; the honey-do list had nothing on it that would burn the house down if ignored; etc. So my nephew Justin and I threw some stuff in the back of his Ford and wandered up into the hills behind the house. It's still fire season, but we had a dirt berm for a backstop.

We left the Mosins home for a change (see--I'm not addicted; I can quit anytime I want to...). Instead, we took his 1903 Colt Pocket Pistol; my Czech CZ-50; an Enfield apiece; my Turkish Mauser; and his Mini-14.

The two little .32's were surprisingly comparable, with the exception that the Colt tended to shoot a little high at 25 yards, while my CZ-50 grouped pretty much where pointed.

The tiny v in the rear sight of the Turkish Mauser was almost impossible to see in the glare of the sunlight; I finally grabbed an old ammo box, cut it up and taped it on for a shroud, and life got easier.

Justin's No. 4 Mk I has the micrometer sights, and mine has the peep sights. I suppose his is better for precision shooting, but the peeps are easier for me to use.

We also took a couple of shotguns and a few clays, but decided we were sufficiently sun-fried before we got to them. Being in that patch of bare dirt was like sitting on a boat in the middle of the lake. The thermometer said 110 degrees when we got back to the house, even though it wasn't quite noon.

[HEMI]

Looks like fun, that mauser looks like it could tell a story or two.
Nice pics, Thanks

[ArkansasHunter]

That's a cracker Jack shoot'in bench you got their troy and I wish I could of been there with yall shoot'in some of my guns.
Nice firearms to feller and the pictures were perfect.

Say ? You like liv'in out there in the sand patch ? When you retire move out here to Arkansas and we'll do some hunt'in.
We gotta a lot of trees too. LOL And Lakes galore !!!

Thanks troy I enjoyed your outing...A.H

P.S. Did you ask your wife if you could use her ironing board ?

[LiveToShoot]

Reads and looks like a very nice day away from the hum-drums of daily life...

...especially a chance to get away from the honey dew list.

Glad to hear you were able to get out again, and that you had an enjoyable time.

Thanks for the good pics...

...which helped bring your shooting activity to life for us readers.

Oh, I neglected to recognize the custom shooting rest...

...practical and functional.

[Cyrano]

Going shooting with a fellow enthusiast is so much more fun than shooting by yourself.

The whole teeny rear sight notch issue is why I've never really hankered for a Mauser. I've handled Turkish Mausers, 98ks, Yugo M98/24s and Argentine Mausers; and I've never found one with a decent sized rear sight notch yet. I'm pretty much decided that the only way I'd get one is if it came already fitted with scope rings; my eyes aren't getting any younger. I do okay with peep sights but unless the leaf sight has a really big notch in it, I just can't aim them right any more.

You want to tell us a little more about the CZ-50? I have a FEG Model AP-MBP and an Ortgies in .32 ACP, but I don't know much about the CZ-50.

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

That's a cracker Jack shoot'in bench you got their troy and I wish I could of been there with yall shoot'in some of my guns.
Nice firearms to feller and the pictures were perfect.
Say ? You like liv'in out there in the sand patch ? When you retire move out here to Arkansas and we'll do some hunt'in.
We gotta a lot of trees too. LOL And Lakes galore !!!
Thanks troy I enjoyed your outing...A.H
P.S. Did you ask your wife if you could use her ironing board ?

Normally it isn't a sand patch, AH; the hills and meadows usually turn emerald green in the winter and spring, then dry out to brown and gold in the summer and fall. But we're in such a drought that last winter the hills never turned green; they just stayed dead. Never seen it happen before, and it was hell on the rabbit population.

The particular saddle between the hills we were shooting in has been killed by dirt bikers; that's why it looks like a lunar landscape.

My wife's ironing board? Are you kidding? She uses one once in a blue moon when she gets gussied up, and it usually takes her half a day to figure out where the iron went to...that board's left over from my bachelor days, many moons ago when the Earth was young, Moby Dick was a minnow, and I was only middle-aged.

[lefty o]

you might be a redneck if.... your shootin bench is an ironing board! LOL

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by Cyrano

Going shooting with a fellow enthusiast is so much more fun than shooting by yourself.

The whole teeny rear sight notch issue is why I've never really hankered for a Mauser. I've handled Turkish Mausers, 98ks, Yugo M98/24s and Argentine Mausers; and I've never found one with a decent sized rear sight notch yet. I'm pretty much decided that the only way I'd get one is if it came already fitted with scope rings; my eyes aren't getting any younger. I do okay with peep sights but unless the leaf sight has a really big notch in it, I just can't aim them right any more.

You want to tell us a little more about the CZ-50? I have a FEG Model AP-MBP and an Ortgies in .32 ACP, but I don't know much about the CZ-50.

CZ-50's/70's are very sweet little guns. Most of them were issued to the Czech State Police and Internal Security Forces, and got carried a whole lot more than they got used. I'm not good enough to prove it, but I've read repeatedly that in the hands of a good shooter they'll consistently hit a 2-inch bulls eye at 25 yards, and I believe it. And I've never had a stovepipe with mine. The only time I ever had a problem I was shooting wadcutters, and it jammed while I was jacking one into the chamber. And I think the problem was me not releasing the slide cleanly.

Here's a pretty good description of them I swiped from another web site: The Vz.50 (commercially sold as Cz-50) is a compact pistol of all-steel construction, firing the relatively weak 7.65mm (.32 ACP) ammunition. It has a simple blowback action with a fixed barrel. The trigger is double-action, with an exposed hammer and a frame-mounted decocking safety lever. The sights are fixed. Magazines are single stack. The magazine release button is located relatively high on the left side of the frame, behind the trigger. Vz.70 (Cz-70) pistols are similar, with minor differences in the finish, shape of the safety lever and grips. Manual safety is a lever at left side of the frame, behind the trigger guard. To set on safe: pull the lever down; if the hammer was cocked, it will be automatically brought down to rest. To disengage safety: push the lever up; a red dot will appear on the frame.

Mine is very comfortable in my hand, and easy to hold onto. But my nephew Justin has short, stubby hands, and every time he shoots the thing it bites him before he empties a magazine; his hand keeps riding up too high.

[Capt'n Mil Coll]

Looks like a fun time. Here I thought you were using your shooting bench to get flatter trajectories.

[Dookiebutt]

Can I borrow your shootin' bench for Perry next summer?

[TXplt]

Looks like fun ! Glad you had the chance

[Seabeescotty]

Looks like a great time! I didn't have a chance to shoot, out in Ca., but got some in yesterday, testing repairs. I like the bench!

[SwedeSteve]

Looks like you had a great time to me !!