A good chuckle at the range

[barnfrog]

Went to the range today since it was raining and thus I was fairly sure I would have the place to myself. Set up the 4" gong at 100 yards and warmed up by running a couple magazines through the Ruger American .22 WMR (really like that gun).

Then I put three rounds of my reloads in the magazine of my Winchester XPR .243, and sat down in the chair I use in my blind and set up my shooting sticks. Settled my cheek on the stock, took up the almost non-existent slack (really like that trigger) and.......click. Hmm. Sat for a couple minutes, then raised the bolt handle and put it back down to see if a second strike would do the trick. Negative.

Looked at the 50-round ammo box, which had 34 unfired reloads, 11 pieces of empty brass, and the one FTF from last week that I hadn't pulled apart yet. I pulled the FTF out to look at the primer and confirm it was an FTF and not a round that hadn't chambered due to insufficient shoulder bump. Seeing the primer indent, I put it back in the box and as I did so noticed the loaded magazine, which I had failed to put into the rifle, sitting on the bench silently mocking me. I actually laughed out loud. Silly goose.

 

[Edaw468]

Dry fire is good practice

 

[sparkyv]

I hate mocking magazines.

 

[Yankee1986]

I hate mocking magazines.

Only thing worse is "empty"!

 

[Bill M.]

No wonder you like to shoot by your self.

 

[kcofohio]

Went to the range today since it was raining and thus I was fairly sure I would have the place to myself. Set up the 4" gong at 100 yards and warmed up by running a couple magazines through the Ruger American .22 WMR (really like that gun).

Then I put three rounds of my reloads in the magazine of my Winchester XPR .243, and sat down in the chair I use in my blind and set up my shooting sticks. Settled my cheek on the stock, took up the almost non-existent slack (really like that trigger) and.......click. Hmm. Sat for a couple minutes, then raised the bolt handle and put it back down to see if a second strike would do the trick. Negative.

Looked at the 50-round ammo box, which had 34 unfired reloads, 11 pieces of empty brass, and the one FTF from last week that I hadn't pulled apart yet. I pulled the FTF out to look at the primer and confirm it was an FTF and not a round that hadn't chambered due to insufficient shoulder bump. Seeing the primer indent, I put it back in the box and as I did so noticed the loaded magazine, which I had failed to put into the rifle, sitting on the bench silently mocking me. I actually laughed out loud. Silly goose.

Just don't laugh out loud in the blind.

 

[adcoch1]

That's pretty funny! Reminds me of shooting clays. Perfect swing on a clay, and pull trigger only to realize you didn't take the safety off. And then trying to get it off before the pigeon hits the berm...

 

[SterlingBullet]

Those kind of things only happen to me when I’m loaded.

 

[JmacD]

I’m not sure if forgetting the mag is more frustrating, or realizing that you read your notes wrong and seated an entire lot of 50 to way to long to fit in the mag…
I’ve had a good laugh at myself in both accounts. The other one was an unfamiliar rifle, and I was loading from the top like many bolt guns do… I was wondering WHO ON EARTH thought this small of a space was a good design etc…. Then I realized I could detach said magazine… lol. My that was easier to load…

 

[ballman6711]

Just had a "DOH!" moment myself at the reloading bench this morning. Everything was going well, and I was ready to seat my first bullet. It wouldn't fit in the case. Puzzled me a bit, and then I realized I must have missed that case when expanding.

Set that case aside and grabbed another, thinking I would go back to that one later. Bullet wouldn't fit in this case either. It's not possible that I missed expanding two cases, so it must be a single bad oversized bullet.

Grabbed another bullet, and it wouldn't fit either. Finally dawned on me that I had crimped the cases rather than expanding them. I felt pretty stupid but will admit that I smiled briefly.

chris

 

[FROGO207]

It is not all that uncommon for me to forget something when loading up for a range trip. Wrong ammo, leave magazines home, forget crony/tripod, forget ear protection, etc. If the range was a 5 min drive it would be no problem but it takes me 45 minutes one way so it can be a big letdown when this happens. I remember buying another magazine for my Ruger MK ll when I left all mine home on the day of a competition. I now store an empty mag in each firearm so that I will have at least one to use if I forget the box of them.

 

[epags]

It is not all that uncommon for me to forget something when loading up for a range trip. Wrong ammo, leave magazines home, forget crony/tripod, forget ear protection, etc. If the range was a 5 min drive it would be no problem but it takes me 45 minutes one way so it can be a big letdown when this happens. I remember buying another magazine for my Ruger MK ll when I left all mine home on the day of a competition. I now store an empty mag in each firearm so that I will have at least one to use if I forget the box of them.

Been there, done that!

 

[barnfrog]

It is not all that uncommon for me to forget something when loading up for a range trip. Wrong ammo, leave magazines home, forget crony/tripod, forget ear protection, etc. If the range was a 5 min drive it would be no problem but it takes me 45 minutes one way so it can be a big letdown when this happens. I remember buying another magazine for my Ruger MK ll when I left all mine home on the day of a competition. I now store an empty mag in each firearm so that I will have at least one to use if I forget the box of them.

I definitely don't laugh at those bouts of mental deficiency. The worst was forgetting the keys for the trigger locks on the guns i had taken with me. Now my range bag has a key for every gun I own. It's only a matter of time before I come up with something else to forget and render a trip wasted, though.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Worst one would have to be when I had my 22-250. Went to the range with all the gear; ammo, spotting scope, ear plugs, everything. Set-up, open rifle case and there it was. My .270!!! Under my breath, some very colorful words. Spotter for the other two guys that day.

 

[JmacD]

My personal worst was going to the range and for getting the guns at home. The other one, was leaving behind the bolt for my sporterized Mauser… not very many people have one of those that would fit,
…

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Worst thing I did in this regard was forget the club newsletter with the new gate combination. This was before cell phones so I had to drive to Sanford to call the range master from a pay phone.
So, anybody else here remember calling Information for a number and talking to a living human being?

 

[DustyRusty]

I put a lot of work into a detailed checklist over many years.
I still forget things.

 

[ballman6711]

So, anybody else here remember calling Information for a number and talking to a living human being?

Yep! My grandmother was an operator. As a child I used to dial "0" and ask to talk to grandma, at least that's what I was told.

And I'm just old enough to remember pay phones. Always checked to see if there was any change.

chris

 

[rocirish]

I must be getting old. I still remember the crank phone on the wall, when you always talked to the operator unless you were calling someone on the party line.

 

[.308 Norma]

A Covert Gun for the 21st Century: The Cell Phone Pistol from Ideal Conceal (Full Review + Video) (gunsamerica.com)
Just trying to keep this thread a little about guns and/or shooting.

I must be getting old. I still remember the crank phone on the wall, when you always talked to the operator unless you were calling someone on the party line.

I know I'm getting old. When my wife (of 52 years) Barb and I were dating, I was calling her on a dial phone, and nobody had ever heard of the term, "landline" because all telephone lines were "landlines" back then. Furthermore, just before my wife and I started dating, I was dating a real-life telephone operator named Mary.

 

[SterlingBullet]

It is not all that uncommon for me to forget something when loading up for a range trip. Wrong ammo, leave magazines home, forget crony/tripod, forget ear protection, etc. If the range was a 5 min drive it would be no problem but it takes me 45 minutes one way so it can be a big letdown when this happens. I remember buying another magazine for my Ruger MK ll when I left all mine home on the day of a competition. I now store an empty mag in each firearm so that I will have at least one to use if I forget the box of them.

So if a fella inadvertently leaves his wife behind and drives an hour to a competition without realizing it; thinking she was sleeping in the back seat; and he still needed a gopher to run around on errands at the match; that he could take care of this situation by keeping a “spare spouse” in the truck?
Okay, I’m sold on the idea; but if my wife complains, I’m gonna tell her the forums guys said it was within the competition rules and she could come on THR and give ya’ll what for.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

So if a fella inadvertently leaves his wife behind and drives an hour to a competition without realizing it; thinking she was sleeping in the back seat; and he still needed a gopher to run around on errands at the match; that he could take care of this situation by keeping a “spare spouse” in the truck?
Okay, I’m sold on the idea; but if my wife complains, I’m gonna tell her the forums guys said it was within the competition rules and she could come on THR and give ya’ll what for.

THAT! is most definitely not okay.

 

[Charlie98]

Well, at least you brought your magazine. I went all the way to NV with my M1a, wagged everything out to the desert... only to find I left all my M14 magazines back in Texas. An afternoon visiting the very, very few LGS's in Bullhead City, AZ allowed me to find the needle in the haystack... a 20rd M1a magazine for only $40.

 

[Mountainman2]

I forget to take my scope covers sometimes and can’t understand why I can’t see the cross hairs. My buddies think it is funny. At my age I guess I’m lucky I can still find my way to the range

 

[ballman6711]

So if a fella inadvertently leaves his wife behind and drives an hour to a competition without realizing it; thinking she was sleeping in the back seat;

My grandfather did that one time, but he drove 3-4 hours before realizing she wasn't there. I figure she was pretty mad too.

I usually have a laugh at the range when I go with my reloading buddy. It's always something with us, forgotten mags, scope wasn't tight, no targets, brought the gun but forgot the ammo, the list just goes on, LOL! But it's all good when you get time to go to the range.

chris