Yes, I have been ignoring short arms.

No, not short arms inspection.

Caliber .45 Automatic Colt Pistol! I hauled out an ammo box of ten 100-rounds plastic boxes and it felt a little light. After full inventory, I discovered a shortage of 200 grain Semi-Wad-Cutters.

Had to switch out the bullet seater to flat nose.

Then, make sure they pass the “plonk” test.

Maybe test it tomorrow?

Back to Winter Shooting

So how did the 156 Bergers shoot? Not bad:

That’s 4 rounds of the 39 g. load. The 40 g. load opened up a bit, but looking at SD and ES, there was at least one bad reload.

To make the point, I shot my last two rounds of it at a 300 yard silhouette:

Just over an inch. I’ll take that all day long. And when I shot the Dueling tree paddles, the impact was impressive. Nothing like upping the M in the F=MA.

But the best surprise of the day was shooting some Hornady 120 ELD M I had put together a while back:

4 rounds, baby!

Those sure look pretty

Wow, that is one long, large bullet for caliber. The last time I loaded these was 5 years ago. I put them aside since they “only” grouped at .75”. And it’s a hunting round!

I wanted to shoot today, but it was first blowing snow day up here. Yes, my age is showing.

Oh. Wait. Did I Assume

that you carry a spare mag? I apologize. Well, no, I don’t.

Look, when I go out my front door, I do not expect to be in a gunfight. At the same time, I realize that there is a non-zero chance of the same. My EDC is a tiny .380 ACP with a 6 round mag, plus one in the chamber.
Now, think to yourself, how fast can you go through 7 rounds at the range? Mere seconds, I’m sure. And, if you were in a gunfight and it had not ended yet, how would you now feel?

Of course, maybe you carry a 9 mm with a 15 round mag. If so, you’re probably ok. Unless there is more than one opposing shooter. You get the point.

So, EDC of carrying an extra mag: loose in pocket? How about a low vis belt holder like this?

Or this?

Or even a discrete Snag Mag like this?

There a lot of options and no excuses. Just do it.

Oh boy, am I embarrassed.

So, I’m headed to the Republic of Tejas to go shoot some sh*t. I pulled out a couple of handguns for cleaning. Which I did. I was surprised that my favorite briefcase gun, a Glock 32 in .357 Sig, showed signs of lube hardening on the rails. Of course, that one gets carried, but only shot at specific times. I happily cleaned it!

After cleaning that, plus my Sometimes Daily Carry, the Ruger Max 9, I remembered that I had not cleaned my EDC, the Ruger LCP, in quite a while. This is where it gets embarrassing.
Understand that when I say “Every Day”, I mean it: driving, walking, riding a lawn tractor in xtreme dust conditions, everything.
I unholstered it and blew out the expected pocket lint. But that was not all. It looked like it had been through the dyer with all the lint. Plus, dust. Really bad.
I had been having dreams that, when I needed it, it fell apart. Perhaps my subconscious was talking to me? Ya think?!

Lesson relearned.
Let’s get to the learning opportunity. Dust and dirt. In your EDC.
How many of you carry a spare mag? Do you carry it loose in your pocket like this?

Or, are you a little bit smarter and do this:

Tomorrow we’ll talk about proper mag carry. Believe me, you do not want belly button lint, etc., to foul your feed.