(no subject)

Owel, after my usual Saturday lunch at Hankook Taqueria, decided to hit the Sandy Springs Gun Club, since unlike Wild West Traders, you don't have to have a person with you to rent anything. (Interesting, from my neck of the woods, google maps says I should actually just exit 285 at Roswell and head up there that way, as opposed to going all the way to 400)

I was hoping to try out the .45 acp version of the XDM, just to experience the diff between it and the 9mm, but alas they had none. I did want to try out a rifle though, so I rented an AR-15 style (not sure which particular manufacturer's it was) carbine to try it out. The red-headed cutie who works there showed me how it works, and I got to it.

Since this was my first time firing a rifle ever, I decided to just set the distance to something easy, 10 yards, just to get a feel for the weapon. Interesting, the thing shot like a breeze! The recoil was minimal, after all it was just .223/5.56mm rounds being fired, I prolly could've shot the thing all day if I wanted. I think I did okay:

( cut for your benefit )

Speaking of 9mms though, set the target at 10 yards, and with 4 fully loaded clips (76 rounds total), firing it as quickly as I could (but not too quick, as such rapid fire shooting is frowned upon) to see how well I did:



Oh well, only about 18.5% of the rounds were in the red, but almost 60% were where in the 9 ring, and if one were going by the 5-4-3 scoring system, there were only 2 threes, 13 4s, and the rest of the 76 would score 5. Not bad, I think.

That's enough shooting for this month though, because I've been going through 200-250 bullets per range visit, and even buying cheap, that starts to get pricey.

(no subject)

So I've shot a few times at a couple of places around Atlanta, and even though hardly anyone reads this, I figured I'd share my thoughts on these places for peeps in the Cobb/North Fulton area who are thinking of going shooting.

Wild West Traders- The first place I ever shot, way back in 2002 or perhaps 2003. He who can not be named was there with me, so it can't be any later than that. But I want to say its after a certain thing happened (which I remember distinctly as the weekend Pearl Harbor came out, as I ducked people and went to see that to avoid all the drama and fallout), so its post 2001. I could prolly look at the archives in this journal to figure it out, but it doesn't really matter. Anyways, I digress.

Its a relatively simple indoor range, $10/hr. Ladies shoot free on Wednesdays BUT only if someone in your party buys a box of ammo. On Thursdays, Military and Law Enforcement personnel only pay $5 with the proper ID. Its pistols only though (and no magnums, at that), unlike Sandy Springs, which also lets you fire rifles and shotguns.

Sandy Springs Gun Club, on Roswell Road- This is a relatively new place, I believe its only around a year old. Its somewhat state of the art. At WWT, the target holder is controlled by a simple switch that goes forward and back. The walls are painted with lines telling you the distance, and you basically have to eyeball the distance. At the Sandy Springs gun club it has a touch screen which you can program to the exact range you want. I'm sure you can program it to do other things, but I have no idea what else you can do, I never tried it.

Its a little pricier, $19 for men, but only $14 if you're a chick, or $12 if you're police or military. However, that's unlimited range time. So unless you're shooting for more than an hour or two (which is easily possible, at least for me), Wild West Traders is cheaper. And like I said earlier, even though this is an indoor range place, they do have a range where you can shoot rifles and shotguns, so that's something else it has over WWT.

They do have a Ladies' Night also, on Thursdays, but I don't see the same restrictions of having to buy ammo or targets like Wild West Traders has.

Sandy Springs does seem to have a significant advantage in rental policy. At Wild West Traders, you can only rent if you have a buddy with you, plus its $15 per rental. Sandy Springs, you can rent any of their pistols for $10. And that's $10 total. You can try one gun, trade it back and try another, and so forth, at no extra charge. Plus, you can rent AK-47s and AR-15s for $18.

I'm not so sure about the pistol selections though. The only thing I know for sure is WWT has the .45 acp version of the Springfield XDM to rent, while Sandy Springs doesn't. (they did have other XDs and XDMs though) Also, Sandy Springs don't have any HK pistols to shoot, though I have no idea if WWT had any either. Owel, next time I go to either I'll have to eyeball their selection so I know what they have for posterity.

Both offer ear and eye protection, and targets, but I believe the prices are all comparable.

I will say though, that you prolly wanna bring your own ammo, as you can find ammo cheaper at other places. For example a box of 50 115-gr 9mm rounds at SS is $15.95, while at WWT its $16.

Wal-mart sells a box of 100 of 115-gr 9mm bullets for $22.97. (I wanna say a box of 50 is $11.99, but I can't be sure, in any case, a box of 50 is still cheaper). Adventure Outdoors has an even better deal, as a box of 50 9mm 115-gr bullets are $10.99. They also sell 124-gr 9mm for $13.99, if you're so inclined.

Adventure Outdoors is moving to a new location in August, one that also has a pistol and rifle range, I'm definitely curious how it will compare to these other two places.

All in all, I'd recommend both these places. Wild West Traders is cheaper in certain instances, but its not as fancy as Sandy Springs Gun Club. Plus, you're limited in what you can fire there, and unless you have your own gun, you'll need someone with you in order to rent.

Sandy Springs is pricier (especially if you're not a girl), but its got a more sophisticated facility, and you can fire more than pistols. Plus, with the unlimited range time, you could prolly make a day out of it. Particularly since you can change out rental guns for another at no extra charge.