Tuesday Shooting

I was at the LEO qualification range early this morning.  I took that J-frame I had trouble with last week and got by myself on an unused range.  I took some time to look at targets, do a little tune-up on my technique, and practice a little bit withe the little pistol.

It's a Model 38 Airweight, an iconic revolver.  Mine is nickeled and I've only had this particular revolver for 18 months, but it's one I looked for, for years.

I could here my brethren on the firing line, going through their annual quals.  In just a few cylinders, I figured that  I had learned what I needed to learn about this little revolver and that I was ready to take it down-range.  I walked over to the qualification line and got a target ready.  Talked to my Captain a few minutes, and before too many minutes, they were calling for the next order.  They had room on that order, so I went out and posted a target and fell into the well-known routine.

Ten cylinders later, I was done.  The Louisiana POST course is 60 rounds, based on the revolvers that we all carried in the '80s and early '90s.  It's ten cyinders.  If you're qualifying with a five-shot, it's still ten cylinders, for 50 rounds.  Max possible score with a five-shot is 100 points, with 80 points or better to qualify.  We shoot it on the standard Louisiana P1 target.  The cousse doesn't give you any freebies on distance.  You still have to start at the 25 yard line and work closer, to the 2 yard line.

When the shooting was over, we began policing brass while the instructors scored the targets.  One young'un asked me what I was shooting.  When I told him he looked askance at the little revolver, then back at me, wide-eyes.  "Really?"

"Yeah, really.".  About that time, the trainer got to my target to score it.  He turned and holler at me.  "You shooting a five-shot?"   "Yep", I replied.  When he had marked the target, he wrote a big 90 on the face of the target.  When I looked at the target, I had to agree, I had dropped a few outside the scoring ring, probably from the 25 yard line.  Still, the rest of them were in the scoring ring.  I'm qualified with the Airweight, and that's done for another year.