February Fellowship & Firearms Day @ Coleman's Creek

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Sunday, Jan 26:

Coleman's Creek membership visit #23 (8th for this renewal year)...

Zero Bay

- Wanted to see if I could get the DMR 20" 5.56 LMT up and running

- I used 16 shots to go from shooting at dirt to being zeroed

- Every other round would have trouble feeding, for some reason... this is the first barrel that I've ever installed myself, so maybe something's off, and there's not enough gas, but I don't know enough about that stuff yet to figure it out.  Another potential factor is the BCG, which is an enhanced one that I had pieced together... same brand but different specs or use cases, maybe.  I could try a different one next time.

- I got 3212fps, 125.9 fps ES, and 31.6 SD with 55gr IMI over 12 rounds

- I got 2742fps, 105.1 fps ES, and 23.5 SD with 77gr IMI

- Interestingly, my zero didn't really change when I switched grains.  The groups were similar, too, at maybe a little over an MOA.

- My zero stop and turret were messed up, though, so I'd end up having to send in the Nightforce ATACR for servicing.  At least their warranty is good, not that typically need to use it.

2-Gun Bay

- I set up an Aimpoint Acro C2 on a B&T mount on a Benelli M4 and wanted to zero it.  

- I also tried to zero the irons, but I'd need more ammo

- You need to have an aggressive stance with shotguns, as if it's a machine gun!

Upper Back Love & Yoga for the Psoas with Adriene

Monday, Jan 27:

Day 26 - Love | MOVE & Flow - Day 25 - Action Yoga with Adriene

Tuesday, Jan 28:

To troubleshoot the round feeding issues from the DMR LMT, I took an old 16" SPM LMT plus the DMR to the indoor range and swapped the BCGs, to see if both rifles would work.  Both worked!  I had lubed up the EBCG beforehand, so maybe that was a factor.  Or, maybe the magazines that I used were the issue.  I haven't retried those yet.

I shot 3 mags of ball and dummy with pistol afterwards, since I was already there.  Not bad.

Then, I did one-handed shooting for 1 mag, then 3 mags at 7yd for cadence, 1-1000 and 1&2&, yielding a centered, 5" group.  I was happy.

Wednesday, Jan 29:

18A "Dynamic Warmup" in 25:29, 30 min HIIT & Hills Peloton Ride with Camila Ramon covering 9.9 miles, 345 cal, 75rpm, 19.8mph, 50% resistance average

Thursday, Jan 30:

HDT 10.6.3 (legs) in 39:03 - a good one!  30 min Lunar New Year Peloton ride with Emma Lovewell - has a little bit of everything and nothing too crazy, covering 9.2 miles, 287 cal, 81rpm, 18.4mph, 44% resistance and pushing it at the end to beat another rider

Saturday, Feb 1:

12.5 miler with the ruck club starting from Freedom Park, in 3:26:44.  We went North on the greenway until it ended, and then we went South out and back to get the remaining miles.  I used 30# in the v2 rucker and wore Salomon X-missions.  I haven't done a 12 miler in a long time.  

I'm not sure that I've gone to that southern part of the greenway before.  It was good to explore.

FELLOWSHIP & FIREARMS

The first occurrence of a neat concept - meet up at Coleman's on a Sunday morning once a month for a short little message, then shoot some stages together in a low-key environment where you're not rushed or shooting for a score, so you can take the opportunity to relax and get to know people a little bit better.

The message was great, about how a church isn't really about a building... it's about believers gathering together.  I wished it was longer, if anything!

After a quick zero, we went to what I called the "western bay".  I brought my RPR#2 in 6CM, since I have dope for that and know that it works without malfunctions.

For the first mock stage, we shot from modified prone at diamond targets at 443, 684, 700, and 735.  I timed out before getting to the 4th target.  It's wild how what seems like an easy-to-locate target from one angle can look invisible or very different from a different angle.  I didn't make every shot, but made good adjustments when I saw my misses.

For the second mock stage, we shot at a 500yd 10" square from 4 spots on a pogo stick.  I ran this one twice, and both times, I made hits about half of the time.  I wonder what caused the inconsistency.

After the formal event, there might've been a cookout, but I went to a 2-gun bay to continue trying to zero my Benelli M4.  I ended up shooting the magazine cap off.  Fortunately, I found all the pieces that had sprung out and figured out how to put it back together.  Then, I noticed that the Picatinny screws were loose!  The B&T mount for the Aimpoint Acro was QD, so I guess if I did have issues, I'd remove it and go to bare irons.  Trying to zero the irons by itself and not trying to shoot with irons through the Acro was easier.  

It seemed like a lot went wrong with the Benelli M4 today, but the one good that comes out of it is the experience in figuring out how all the pieces go together.  

I fixed some trigger safety stickiness issues that others have experienced with the CZ, too, and I did some speed draw and speed reload drills, sans timer, since I didn't bring that with me.

Lastly, I took out the Honey Badger to try out a new mag for it, and that worked well.

It was a great day, and I hope I can make it out to more of these in the future!