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Monday mornings at OpticsPlanet aren’t the worst experiences in the world by far, and a lot of times are reasonably fun (for a job). Last Monday was better than most since it started with an early morning road trip with a few professional gun monkeys to Missouri. We stayed in a casino overnight, and I learned that we could only have one drink every half hour. What the heck is that about?
In the morning we left with a wagon train of vehicles bound to CMMG (Central Missouri Machine Gun) to abuse a bunch of their guns underneath various Nikon M-223 scopes due out soon. We tested the RAT (Rapid Action Turret) on a few, getting the chance to shoot untimed strings at steel targets at distances up to 400 yards. A timed string was next using a 3-12 M-223 with the BDC reticle, and I was volunteered to shoot first, as per some stupid tradition I can’t shake. Hits were easy, but with the scope set at 12x to correctly center the reticle circles at specific distances, the field of view was smaller than I like. If I turned the scope’s magnification down, the BDC circles would not be set at the same distances. Distances of the BDC circles’ zero was predetermined by using the outstanding Nikon website developed specifically developed for these scopes. Go to Spot on Technology on the Nikon hunting website to view this amazing program. Anyway, I shot okay, but a bit slow. When all was said and done I was told I was 6th, which is better than 7th or 50th. I threw a couple of extra rounds at the 400 yard steel because I wanted to make sure I nailed it. I did all three times, but the extra two rounds cost me extra time. Dork. I made a mistake. Not the first time, and won’t be the last. The above picture shows one of the stages. The white objects downrange are steel plates. The 400 yarders are the tiny white dots over the front of the truck’s box on the left. Conditions were muddy.
The new Nikon M-223 riflescopes and M-223 mounts will be the hottest ticket for black guns this year, and people are waiting impatiently for them to arrive in another month or two. The 1-4 M-223 with the Point Blank reticle has a wide field of view and is wicked fast. 200 yard plates like a bad habit.
Every CMMG centerfire gun ran without a hitch, and the 60 or so shooters tried to melt them with no success. The piston guns certainly ran cooler and cleaner. A supressed full auto with a .22 conversion kit was a real kick. We ran a lot of the conversion kits on 4″ plates. Misses were from operator error, not the guns.
The CMMG facility is well run by owners John and Jeff, and we were lucky enough to take a tour and watch some guns being built. These boys and the staff are real shooters, not posers like so many others. They like vehicles and explosions, too. They are the brains behind “Tactical Bacon“. Everyone must order two cans and a shirt. One can to eat (pretty good bacon) and one can for your survival equipment bag. Shelf life is many years.
Tom is one of the guys I went with. Tom doesn’t know cows. He was volunteered by some locals to chase some cattle back through a hole in a fence. The cows were eating first growth alfalfa, and they crapped as they walked. Tom didn’t realize this until he noticed it wasn’t thigh high mud on his khaki Dockers, it was manure. He felt so much like a cowboy he zipped them up in a bag to show his wife when he got home. It takes so little to make some people happy.
I’ve also been thinking of exercising lately. I placed my inflatable exercise ball under my dart board. Maybe if an errant dart gives it a poke I can forget about working out. Cutting my grass once a week seems to be enough. And I can take a pit stop for beer if I need it.
Spring is coming, enjoy.
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