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Bullseye Training log

SURGERY STILL SUCKS—BUT NOT AS BAD AS TYPE II DIABETES !!!

 

Jeez. I recently became aware of a little fuzziness in the center of vision in my right eye. Having learned a lesson the hard way with my shoulder problems (go to the doctor right away) I checked in with my optometrist. He didn’t like what he saw, ordered up some blood work, and shazam—DIABETES!! Sucks for me, but nothing to worry about, as I’ve already got it…

 

Fast forward a couple of week, my Retinal specialist recommends one of two options: laser surgery, or slowly go blind while hoping not to. Surgery seems the easy answer, but is likely to result in a permanent spot in my right eye. Oh well. One interesting anecdote—the retina dude figures it took 6 or 7 years to do the damage. I’ve had plenty of blood work done in the last 7 years, and recently had surgery, as I’ve mentioned. Not a word about diabetes.

 

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD—MAY 11, 2006

 

It is good to be back on the range. My shoulder has improved to the point where I don’t really notice it when shooting, just a little more wobbly than usual. I’m lifting weights again, so it is just a matter of time until I am back in shape.

 

The long layoff has convinced me to start putting things back together from scratch, and the need to change out the (dead) battery in the .22 would require another sight-in session in any case. I’m going to log battery changes in my shooting diary to get a feel for how long they last under normal usage.

 

I am hoping to solve two problems this go-around: first, to find a reliable brand of ammo the pistol shoots well that is also locally available (Dick’s, Gander Mountain, Wal-Mart) - and second, to once-and-for-all solve the feeding and extraction glitches.

 

In order to begin from a clean baseline I’ve stripped, cleaned and lubed the pistol; I’ve been a little more liberal with the lube than in the past, just to be sure.

 

Range Conditions—High 70’s and Sunny, Winds Light and Variable

 

CCI Pistol Match is up first.

 

This is my baseline ammo based on my previous series of tests. It was reliable

and accurate.

 

I took the time to zero the pistol after changing the battery. I’ve put together a

sight reference card to keep in my pistol box for each pistol and dot sight I use. No more trying to remember which way is up—very important without clicks. Once I settle on an ammunition type, I will be doing some testing to determine the amount of correction and the repeatability of sight adjustments in 45° increments.

 

One full box of ammo later, no failures-to-feed (FTF), failures-to-extract (FTE) or dud rounds. This is encouraging, but I am not counting my chickens just yet. After getting zeroed, I am holding the 9-ring or thereabouts, but I am not putting together groups that match my pre-surgery sessions. All in good time I suppose.

 

I switched to Eley Pistol Match to test the new-found reliability of the

rig. If memory serves, this was the brand of ammunition I was using when

I experienced the worst of the problems last fall.

 

The 3rd magazine into the box, I had a FTF; in the 4th, a FTE. Very familiar, and very irritating. After the 5th and 6th mags had problems as well, the lights went on—I was reloading the same magazine each time there was an issue. All of the problems occurred with the “silver” mag. I loaded the “black” with the same rounds that wouldn’t feed, and they went through without a hiccup. Hmmmm. Back to the laboratory, Igor!

 

As mentioned elsewhere on this site, there is a difference in the gap between the feed lips from one mag to the next. Black mic’ed at .205” with Silver at .220”. Nothing the bench vise couldn’t fix with a little care. I also eyeballed the height and general contour of the lips and made some adjustments. I’m off to test on Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting.

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