Loading up guns, gear and ammo should be exciting right? Even with sky-high ammo prices, we still feel the need for ballistic therapy. Range day is a chance to wind down from the day to day stress and focus on our skills and our firearm’s performance. Pulling the trigger and smelling the gun powder is like homemade apple pie. That is, of course, if everything goes as planned.
When problems happen at the range, it is typically because of user error or equipment failure. I don’t mind user error. That gives us a chance to figure out where we are lacking and make corrections. Range time should be educational therefore making corrections for increased performance is a positive achievement. Rain and snow doesn’t bother me a bit. Training in poor weather conditions should be valued. Shooting proficiently with soaking wet hands or numb fingers is good training. Knowing that criminals don’t make appointments reminds us to prepare for all conditions.
Equipment failure is downright frustrating. When our firearms, opics, ammo or gear fails, adjustments need to happen. Most of us are not gunsmiths therefore equipment failure typically has a dollar sign attached to it. Many times it’s as simple as a dead optic battery or a loose screw. Other times, the gun just didn’t function properly. Either way, it can be costly and frustrating.
My range time last weekend was a disaster. I experienced user failure, equipment failure and YouTube failure. YouTube failure includes poor camera angles and battery failures. Yep, I experienced it all. I decided to share my range time disaster on the attached video. So many people commented with their “bad range day” experiences. If you have been shooting for years, you definitely understand what a bad range day feels like.
Check out the video and share with us your thoughts or the last time you had a bad day at the range.
