[AGE]

This is a combination of a range report and a lot of BS.

Anyway, today I went off to the local county shooting range here in WV, a pretty nice one at a rural country park used by everyone but mostly hunters sighting in for big game in the fall. I took my '36 Luger, a Colt .45 SAA, a Para P-14 and my 9 mm Colt 1911 and about 400 rounds of assorted ammo. (They would call it an arsenal in NY.) In FL I would be almost unarmed without more equipment.

I shot some paper groups with the 9 mm 1911 and was happily spinning a rotating plate target. Put another 75 rounds through it. Then a county sheriff's jeep wagon drove up with 3 officers who began to unload some equipment. Most of my equipment was discretely cased in a tool box and shooting bag so I unloaded the 1911 to give them time to set up. I had no idea of the mentality of the officers so I was happy my 14 shot Para and high cap. magazines were out of sight.

Turns out that the leader of the group was the sheriff of the adjacent county who had two of his boys out to test an old department gun they had never tried out. It was a 1921 full auto Thompson that looked brand new. I decided to watch the fun since I had lots of time. They were quite friendly and talkative as they set up a 4' square piece of plywood at about 35 yards.

As the sheriff loaded up I stood behind a 12" pole about 25 feet behind him. Wowee--he could hold a round or two on the wood and then the gun really recoiled upward. He emptied several magazines (30 round) and each of his deputies tried their luck. They seemed to be pretty careful and OK safetywise (you never know if LE people know what they are doing--some non gun enthusiasts don't).

As I helped them pick up brass the sheriff asked me if I would like to try out the Thompson. I was dumbfounded but jumped at the chance to shoot a tommy gun. Imagine how likely such an offer would be in the big NY or KAL cities. I loaded up my own ammo (the sheriff offered his county ammo, but I told him to let his boys shoot it, I was thrilled to supply my own).

I fired a few rounds semiauto and then switched to full auto. Quite an experience since I was never in the service, but I did shoot a .30 cal machine gun at ROTC summer camp about 40 years ago. The results were actually very disappointing for an old target shooter. I fired about 5 or 6 short bursts. It was impossible to hit much at that distance after the first round in full auto. I suppose practice would help some (one magazine doesn't give a lot of practice). Anyway, my respect for my .223 AR-15 semi auto grew a lot today--much more effective in hitting things.

The sheriff and his boys continued playing John Wayne with the Thompson as I got ready to continue with my own guns. Suddenly a light bulb went on and I got out the SAA .45 Colt which is actually a very attractive 1964 Arizona Commerative. I offered the sheriff a chance to shoot it which he readily accepted. He did pretty well with it and remarked that he wished it was his. He had earlier said that they didn't really like the Thompson and wished they could sell it (property regulations evidently prevented this I guess). I jokingly offered to trade the Colt for the Thompson, but he declined (wonder why--the Colt is nice). Rats, I really can't afford the ammo anyway.

Then I offered the sheriff a chance to shoot my '36 Luger which is really a very nice matching reblued shooter with a great set of grips reworked by Hugh. He was really impressed and put 2 magazines through the gun. I provided the 9 mm ammo and the long Colt .45 ammo.

I think I hit it off pretty well with the sheriff for an out of state visitor with an "arsenal" of stuff in his car. He invited me out next Tuesday to watch most of his guys qualify with their toys as he left. I probably won't go, but maybe if I have time on my hands.

After they left I got out the P-14 and did a little rapid fire practice. Not bad, 5-6" 14 round groups in about 15 seconds. The tommy gun looked and sounded impressive but I don't think I want to buy one (even if I could afford today's prices).

Another day in retirement--actually a pretty great day.