What I think I learned yesterday....
1. Excellent friendly staff at Heartland, and reasonable prices on ammo & fees.
2. Great range, except for the tiny overcrowded area behind the firing line; could use a bit more lighting as well in the target area, but overall much better experience than H&H (I do indoor ranges only very rarely).
3. Girlfriends over 45 with arthritis do NOT like the long & heavy 'pre-sprung DAO' trigger of S&W autos (in this case, the 3953). In fact, they hate it.
4. The STI GP6 (rented) is a very smooth-shooting and accurate pistol, but with that weird high-forward safety placement; overall, thumbs up. Interesting rotary bbl.
5. The sproing sound of an AR is like an old familiar friend.
6. The PMR-30 has ridiculously-light recoil
7. The PMR-30 has an excellent, very light & short trigger
8. The PMR-30 is quite accurate
9. The PMR-30s factory sights are on; they are adjusted for dead-on at around 10 yards straight out of the box.
10. The PMR-30 mag does indeed hold 30
11. The PMR-30 is a massive hootenanny; thumbs way up. Unloading 30 .22 mags while staying on target in rapid-fire is good cheap fun.
(Other people were rapid-firing, and I didn't see rules against it, so I'm assuming that Heartland does not have a no-rapid-fire rule, do they? I should have asked but they were crazy busy).
12. The only drawbacks found thus far to the PMR-30 are (a) the heel safety spring is too light - it can dislodge mag accidentally when hit due to weird grip of girlfriend, and (b) it is suspectible to limp-wrist induced jamming, which the girlfriend could create, but I could not - this is par for a lot of plastic guns however, so no biggie. But the heel safety spring issue is a concern, if one were to use it as a defensive pistol.
13. The Star Firestar is accurate and very soft-shooting, being as heavy as it is - the only one the girlfriend really got along well with, besides the STI. Think I'll keep it.
14. Kahr .380 is flawless with ball ammo. As accurate as you can ask for from that type of gun.
That is all.
1. Excellent friendly staff at Heartland, and reasonable prices on ammo & fees.
2. Great range, except for the tiny overcrowded area behind the firing line; could use a bit more lighting as well in the target area, but overall much better experience than H&H (I do indoor ranges only very rarely).
3. Girlfriends over 45 with arthritis do NOT like the long & heavy 'pre-sprung DAO' trigger of S&W autos (in this case, the 3953). In fact, they hate it.
4. The STI GP6 (rented) is a very smooth-shooting and accurate pistol, but with that weird high-forward safety placement; overall, thumbs up. Interesting rotary bbl.
5. The sproing sound of an AR is like an old familiar friend.
6. The PMR-30 has ridiculously-light recoil
7. The PMR-30 has an excellent, very light & short trigger
8. The PMR-30 is quite accurate
9. The PMR-30s factory sights are on; they are adjusted for dead-on at around 10 yards straight out of the box.
10. The PMR-30 mag does indeed hold 30
11. The PMR-30 is a massive hootenanny; thumbs way up. Unloading 30 .22 mags while staying on target in rapid-fire is good cheap fun.
(Other people were rapid-firing, and I didn't see rules against it, so I'm assuming that Heartland does not have a no-rapid-fire rule, do they? I should have asked but they were crazy busy).12. The only drawbacks found thus far to the PMR-30 are (a) the heel safety spring is too light - it can dislodge mag accidentally when hit due to weird grip of girlfriend, and (b) it is suspectible to limp-wrist induced jamming, which the girlfriend could create, but I could not - this is par for a lot of plastic guns however, so no biggie. But the heel safety spring issue is a concern, if one were to use it as a defensive pistol.
13. The Star Firestar is accurate and very soft-shooting, being as heavy as it is - the only one the girlfriend really got along well with, besides the STI. Think I'll keep it.
14. Kahr .380 is flawless with ball ammo. As accurate as you can ask for from that type of gun.
That is all.
