Tough Economy For Shooters

For the last six to nine months, shooting enthusiasts have found themselves in quite the quandary. It’s nearly impossible to find ammunition, when you do it’s expensive, and when you have it, you don’t want to shoot it out of fear that you won’t be able to replace it. So what happens? Shooters start hoarding their ammo and practice at the range infrequently. Here in Austin—and likely around the country—many firearms retailers are rationing the ammunition they have on stock. One such outfit will only sell personal defense ammo if it’s leaving the store. Target loads may only be shot on their range! Fortunately or unfortunately, this isn’t limited to ammunition sales. We’re also seeing this with handguns, shotguns, and rifles (particularly the AR-pattern battle rifles).

What’s causing this phenomena and how do we get around it?

Whether or not you voted for the current president, it is clear his ideology concerning 2A rights has had a direct effect on the current market. Robert Novak, columnist with the Washington Post, writes in an April 7, 2008 op-ed piece,

Obama, disagreeing with the D.C. government and gun control advocates, declares that the Second Amendment’s “right of the people to keep and bear arms” applies to individuals, not just the “well regulated militia” in the amendment. In the next breath, he asserts that this constitutional guarantee does not preclude local “common sense” restrictions on firearms. Does the draconian prohibition in Washington fit that description? My [Novac] attempts to get an answer have proved unavailing. The front-running Democratic presidential candidate is doing the gun dance….Obama’s dance on gun rights is part of his evolution from the radical young Illinois state legislator he once was.

It’s this kind of dancing combined with his Illinois Senate voting record that has caused many Americans cause for concern. Those who had never considered purchasing a firearm are now standing in line at their local gun shops.

Now that the election is over, we need to do two things: 1) Keep a vigilant watch on 2A issues running through Congress so our guaranteed freedoms aren’t eroded; 2) Find a way to practice using our firearms so that we continue to be responsible citizens with our weapons. I’ve said to many people that the Constitution gives us the right to keep and bear arms, but we have a duty to be proficient with those arms. In times like these, proficiency will sometimes take a back seat to our budget. So how do we remain proficient and/or improve our skills during this availability crunch? One of the best ways to maintain your marksmanship skills is to practice without live ammunition, as odd as that may sound! As an example, if you take a walk down the hallways of hotels outside a USPSA or IDPA Nationals match, you’ll hear the sound of dry firing…over and over and over again. The pros know that improvement requires off the range training.

Try these exercises to keep your cost down and your skills up!

1. Dry fire

This is one of the best drills you can do, and it costs next to nothing. Go to your favorite firearms supplier and buy some Snap Caps. If you have never used a Snap Cap, it is an inert machined aluminum cartridge with a soft cushion as a primer to protect the firing pin. Brownell’s has .45ACP on sale for $16.98 for a pack of five.
Make certain you have unloaded your firearm of all live ammunition. Drop a Snap Cap into the chamber and practice your trigger pull. Concentrate on pressing the trigger straight back and keep the sights aligned on an inanimate object. If you are using a semi-automatic pistol, keep the trigger pulled back, actuate the slide just enough to reset the seer and hammer, then let your finger bring the trigger back to reset, and repeat the trigger pull. If you have a revolver, load the wheel with Snap Caps and fire in the same manner as above. You should be able to feel, and hear, when the trigger resets and is ready to be shot again. PLEASE DON’T FORGET WEAPONS SAFETY!

2. Clothes Pin

I’ve written about this exercise in a prior post, and it is one of the simplest exercises. Grab a clothes pin and hold the legs of the pin between the tip of your thumb and the pad of your trigger finger. Now comes the hard part. Draw your trigger finger back toward your thumb without moving any part of your hand accept the middle knuckle of your trigger finger. The goal is to isolate the movement of the trigger finger so it doesn’t interfere with sight alignment, and ultimately, your shot. Keep a handful around the house and in your office. You’ll find that the spring of the clothes pin will start to weaken. If you can smoothly “pull the trigger” with a new pin, the trigger of your firearm will feel light and more controlable.

3. BB/Pellet Gun

While the previous two recommendations are good exercises, they don’t rate high on the Fun’O'Meter. This is where the BB gun comes in. The modern air rifle can launch a .177 caliber projectile at a blazing 1100+ feet per second. Even the new air pistols can get the projectile moving! This makes it critical to follow weapons safety standards just like you would any other weapon. The nice thing about this training device is you actually get to press the trigger, and it is incredibly easy on the wallet after the initial investment. Many municipalities (check with yours) have no ordinances prohibiting the use of an air rifle in your back yard. This means you not only save on ammunition costs, but you also keep the range fee and mileage expense in your wallet. Simply set up a back stop capable of stopping your projectile, and a target and you’re ready to go. I would suggest purchasing a weapon that requires you to pump it rather than use a CO2 cartridge! This will keep you from blasting through your can of ammo. If it requires effort to get each shot off, you’ll be more careful with your individual shots. Take your time. Focus on the trigger press and your sights.

4. Air Soft

Finally, Air Soft. You could spend a fortune on Air Soft weapons. Many of the leading manufacturers, like Sig Sauer, are licensing their designs to Air Soft suppliers. Air Soft not only allows you to get trigger time, but you can begin to incorporate force-on-force drills to your training routine. Air Soft will send projectiles out the muzzle at 300+ fps, so eye protection is required. When looking at Air Soft as a skill building tool, be sure to do your homework. You get what you pay for, but make certain you don’t get ripped off.

As good as these training tools are, they can’t substitute for actual range time. Your body still needs to deal with recoil, noise, and muzzle flash; and that’s from the guys standing next to you on the firing line! I have the same problem everyone else has with finding ammunition. Sooner or later this craze is going to die down; hopefully it won’t be due to anti-gun legislation. Don’t loose your skills just because you want to keep those boxes of ammo in your closet. Go out and shoot on occasion, but add these other training methods. They are good to keep around even when you can find bullets. They work and will help you make your range time that much more productive… and less expensive.

Austin Tactical Firearms
Shoot.Straight.Accurate.