Category: Shooting!

Cleaning up the plates for the next outing.

I shoot steel. I pretty much only shoot steel any more. Since I made the investment to buy the steel and the stands, Its pretty much all I want to shoot. The gong of a 308 at 300 yards is so rewarding, not to mention the instant gratification of higher speed pistol shooting with a row of plates.

But, every now and then you gotta spend some time and $ on them. Here, I used 4 cans of spray paint to do both sides. Not bad for a years worth of abuse…

Keep shooting, be safe.

Repainting the Steel
Repainting the Steel

A day at the range is better than…. well most anything…

Got a chance to head out to the range with some friends to try out some new stuff, mainly 6 new steel plates I picked up. Did a bunch of 300 yard stuff with small plates, and it was a BLAST. Some great gopro footage coming soon. Thought I’d be silly and film this one though…. Picking up the brass, before it hits the ground..

Went shooting…

Went shooting. Loaded 5 rounds for a 100 yard shot. Pulled the trigger one time. Dropped the mag and put the gun away. It just wasn’t going to get better than this. 308 FTW

1 shot , done
1 shot , done

Some longer distance stuff today

I had the good fortune not to work today, so I stopped off, loaded up the nearest Russian, and went out for a relaxing day on the range.

Set my rifle steel up at 200 yards (300 yards was underwater and I wasn’t willing to swim out to the berm). When asked if I was preparing for a war, I replied that I was working to ensure I never need to become a vegan.

200 yard rifle steel
200 yard rifle steel

Shut up and take my money!

I had occasion to be in the city of Deland on the fourth of July this year for some things, and decided that while I was here, I should at least take a drive by Tactical Machining’s place of business. Not expecting to find them operating on an American holiday, I rolled up to find the doors wide open with people hard at work. I got out of the car and walked up, expecting to be chased off, but was instead met by a friendly group of guys. They were busily operating CNC machines that were producing – what else – AR15 lowers and uppers. It was like being a kid in a candy store.

Again, expecting to be ushered away, I was pleasantly surprised when an amiable gentleman welcomed me in and offered to give me a tour of facility. I later learned that this was Darren Peters, the owner of Tactical Machining. He gave me a tour of each station, kindly allowing pictures of each step. I met several of the people working there, and it was amazing to witness the skill and workmanship delivered on their products; they are clearly proud of what they make, and for good reason.

My first thought as I viewed their line of billet AR15 components was to shove my hand into my wallet pocket and yell “Shut up and take my money!” Unfortunately, they have not yet released that particular product, though Mr. Peters did inform me that they should be hitting the market sometime in 2013. I would love to have just left with “one of everything”, but I restrained myself. I did purchase a few things, and plan to return again one day soon to make some more additions to my collection as I really need one of their billet 308 uppers to complete a build.

http://www.tacticalmachining.com/
Awesome looking 308 billet stuff

In my days I’ve visited more gunshops, AR15 armorers, AR builders, et cetera, than I can count; nothing against them, but these guys at TM are the REAL DEAL. They don’t just take pre-made lower/uppers and assemble them, they MAKE the parts. And then assemble them. Based on the volume of product they are outputting, I can only assume that many other local companies actually use them as an OEM to build their parts. Tactical Machining also offers quite an impressive line of 80% lowers and jigs, for those “do-it-yourself” guys, and they are rumored to be working on sponsoring a “build party” model for the newbie builders to attend and build with the help of a seasoned builder. Again – “Shut up and take my money!”

http://www.tacticalmachining.com/80-products.html
Build your own, from an 80%

I’m blessed to live in Central Florida’s active AR15-producing world. I can drive an hour in any direction and be at any one of 7-plus AR producers, but Tactical Machining of Deland, Fl is best kept secret in the business. Darren is a great guy to work with, as well as being a (relatively) new Ham Radio guy, and a pilot. Most importantly of all, he has a love for firearms, which should drive his company straight and true.