A Range Trip to Beat the Monday Blues

After a fun weekend away, I faced not only Monday, but a yard in need of mowing. Getting home from work I knocked out the grass, with still enough day left to get out to the range for a bit of practice. I had considered taking along some "terrorist targets" to mark the day, but opted to stick with the standard IDPA targets as I had specific drills planned. Again, I took along my current favorite guns, the two SIG P320 pistols.

The fun started with the Compact pistol from the 15 yard line. Right off the bat, the day was looking better with the first 10 rounds all hitting tight in the -0 zone. Feeling confident, I moved closer to the 7 yard line, and started working on strong hand and weak hand only shots, using the head zone of the target. Still, I was in the zone it seemed. I finished the rest of the box of ammo back at the 15 yard line.

Switching to the Full Size P320 for the rest of my time, I again started at the 15 yard line and then moved in for the SHO and WHO drills. Interestingly, I think I shot the smaller gun a bit more accurately when using just one hand.

Since I hadn't shot from distance very much recently, I ventured back to the 25 yard line. Shooting about 50 rounds from 25 yards, I was feeling good with my shooting. Good hits increase the pleasure of the rang time. Now confident and perhaps a bit cocky, I hiked the target down to the 50 yard berm. Just seeing the target at that distance is a challenge for me. A return hike after 10 rounds fired from 50 yards beat back my confidence a tad. Hitting paper 6 times, but with 5 in the -1 zone, led me to decide to work on that more. Another day.

Returning to a more sensible 15 yards, I worked on drawing from the holster and trying for a shot on target as quickly as the distance would allow. The session was capped off with a magazine's worth of fast pairs from the holster on the 10 yard target.

Overall, it was both a satisfying and fun practice session. The range has overly strict (IMHO) rules on fast shooting, a limitation I am trying to make some use of for mental preparation. I often find myself shooting too fast in the heat of competition, and getting ahead of my sights. Perhaps if I tell myself, "range speed" during the match I'll have better results. At the very least, successful practice sessions make for fun memories when relaxing with a beer later in the evening.

Rising Silo Brewery

I am not sure how we missed this place for so long. We've been visiting Blacksburg, VA regularly for several years, and had somehow never heard of Rising Silo Farm Brewery. The brewery is located just a couple miles from where we frequently stay, and after seeing an article online recently we decided to check it out during our last trip.

The brewery is located on a working farm, Glade Road Farm where visitors can also buy fresh vegetables, meats, and dairy products. A small kitchen is on site offering a limited selection of freshly made foods. An outdoor seating areas offer great views of the mountains and farm.

We made our visit to Rising Silo before dinner on a Friday evening, and there was quite a crowd already enjoying the beer. The brewery was offering 11 different beers and we debated on getting a flight. They also offer 8, 12 and 16 ounce pours. It's great to see options in serving sizes at craft breweries.

We eventually decided to forgo the flight and picked a couple beers. I figured I could always order another round. Colleen picked Blue Hefer-weizen. The beer had an interesting reddish tint to it, and Colleen found it very flavorful. I opted for Goat's Eye Rye Pale Ale. The spiciness of the rye was quite apparent, along with a mild bitterness. I thought this was a most exceptional beer, and enjoyed it very much.

We grabbed a couple pieces of locally made pita and focaccia breads to munch on as we enjoyed the beers. As we did, we struck up a conversation with a local couple who are regulars at the brewery. who told us how it was a popular spot among local residents as well as students. There were indeed a lot of families with young kids running around. 

I started reviewing the beer menu with the intent of trying another beer. Unfortunately, we had very little time for this visit, and the line for beer had gotten quite long. While it seemed to be moving quickly, I opted to forgo trying to squeeze in a second round.

As we left, we noticed that the crowd had grown significantly. The large parking area was quite full. and there was now even a parking attendant helping to direct people to open parking. Obviously, this is a popular spot, and not unknown to the residents of Blacksburg. The couple we spoke to earlier deemed it "the best beer in Blacksburg." We will definitely be back.

September 11: A Day That Must Never Be Forgotten

It's been sixteen years. Memories fade. There's a whole generation that doesn't remember the reality of that day. The events of September 11, 2001 brought horrors to our shores that the world should never be allowed to forget.

St. Michael the Archangel,

defend us in battle.

Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly hosts,

by the power of God,

cast into hell Satan,

and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world

seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Never in its 1400 year history has islam "coexisted" in peace with the rest of the world. It is foolhardy, and deadly, to believe it ever will.

September 9 is "Buy a Priest a Beer Day"

A tradition initiated by the folks over at The Catholic Gentleman, "Buy a Priest a Beer Day" seems a worthy event.

On this festive day, faithful Catholics all over the world take their priests out for a beer and get to know them better. It’s a beautiful Catholic tradition that goes back to the time of St. Hopswald of Aleyard, the first man to take his priest out for a beer.

Okay, St. Hopswald wasn’t real, but your priest is real. Priests are people too, and they enjoy socializing over good food and drink as much as anyone. They also have a thankless and difficult job, a job that we couldn’t get to heaven without. Priests are the lifeblood of the Church, and they deserve some appreciation.

Even if you can't do it today, most of the priests I know would appreciate the gesture any day.

Armed Lifestyle: Packing for a Weekend Trip

When one is dedicated to an armed lifestyle, packing the suitcase for a weekend trip goes beyond just considerations of clothes personal items. It occurred to me recently how many more decisions I go through before leaving on even a short trip, and all the "extras" that might be needed.

Unless I am planning on shooting for recreation during the trip, I prefer to bring along just one gun. Therefore the first consideration is always the permissiveness of the venues I'd be visiting. Unless one will be traveling to familiar places, that could entail much research. That information determines how much gun I'll be carrying. All further decisions that follow are based on the selected weapon. First up of course is the holster decision. Will my usual IWB carry method suffice? Is there a need to also pack a pocket holster? Rarely do I travel with a just a single holster.

After the holsters are selected, the spare magazine needs go under consideration. Is my typical belt carry sufficient? Will I need the pocket magazine carrier for deeper concealment? Not to be forgotten, depending on the weapon selected, how many spare magazines are sufficient?

When I'm at home, going about the normal routines of home and work, my choices are routine and established. However, travel even to a familiar place, can be full of unknowns. Well before I leave I spend time thinking about where I'll be, who I'll see, and what I'll doing. Being prepared for self defense on the road is as important as being prepared for the weather or a nice evening out.

A Brief Range Trip

I was plagued by out of town guests at work last week, which meant later days in the office, and therefore was unable to get to the practice range. Unfortunately, my weekend match plans were also scrapped due to inclement weather. Needless to say I was quite anxious to get in some range time, which I was finally able to do after work on Tuesday.

Based on my observations from the last few matches, my live-fire practice plans for the immediate future are to focus on sight alignment and that elusive smooth trigger press.

For this quick before dinner outing I brought just 100 rounds, and planned to shoot fifty with the SIG P320 Compact and the other half with the Full Size P320. The target distance was 10 yards.

The 50-shot routine was 10 rounds slow fire at the -0 body zone, 10 rounds slow fire to the head, 20 rounds in controlled pairs to the body, drawing from the holster between each pair, and the last 10 rounds at a slightly picked up pace at the -0 body zone.

Despite the low round count and the brevity of the session, it was a beneficial and enjoyable outing. I was pleased with the hits, though I noticed that on the controlled pairs I had a tendency to drop the second shot lower than the first. Next time I do this I'll increase the number of multi-shot strings and work on that further. I was pleased to see no discernible difference in accuracy between the two guns, at the speed I was shooting.

Switching to the P320 Full Size after shooting the Compact showed another reason I've grown fond of the P320 platform — there was no need to change the holster or the magazine pouches between gun. That makes it even easier to pack for the range, which I hope to be doing again, very soon.

First Oktoberfest Beer of the Season

The Labor Day holiday marks the traditional end of Summer. And the cool, wet weather we're having certainly emphasizes that. One thing I do like about this time of year is the appearances of the Oktoberfest beers. Oktoberfest doesn't start until September 17 and Fall doesn't officially start until September 22, but we're kicking both off a little early.

I make an effort to try as many different Oktoberfest beers as I can each year. A dinner out at BJ's Restaurant was the start of the 2017 Oktoberfest season for me.

BJ's Oktoberfest pours a bright, transparent reddish-orange. The advertising glamor shot to the contrary, there was but a thin ring of head at the top of the glass. The beer itself is extremely low in carbonation with a flat mouthfeel. The flavor was a rich maltiness with very little bitterness.

I'd rank BJ's Oktoberfest as average. Not bad, but not exceptional. Surely, it will be just the first of many Märzen style beers I enjoy in the next couple months.

"Match Cancelled"

It was disappointing to see those words jump out at me from my inbox. I was looking forward to the road trip with a friend tomorrow to shoot the September IDPA match at Sanner's Lake in Maryland. But alas, inclement weather has brought those plans to a screeching halt.

With the wet weather we've been having, I have no doubt the conditions at the range are poor, and will only worsen. Looking on the bright side, I was motivated last night to clean my gun in anticipation so it will be still clean the next time I use it. And, given the wet weather, I will get a reprieve from cutting the grass it seems.