Shooting The Hawk 982 Shotgun = FUN!

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I was concerned with the shooting performance when shooting a silouette target at 25-yards with my IAC Hawk 982 shotgun. The earlier post in the blog had all shots inside a respectable area, but the grouping was rather large. I felt that the shotgun was capable of better performance.

I think I was a little intimidated by the power in my first shooting session with the Remington 12-gauge rifled slugs. I fired five rounds from the standing position into a silhouette target at 25-yards. All five was in the desired locations, but the grouping was rather large.

I finally made it to the range again to see just how good the shotgun was. I wanted to eliminate as many variables as possible. I shot from a seated position while resting the shotgun on a sandbag. This will let me see just what my shotgun was capable of without many of my flaws. Here are the results:


I highlighted the holes in red. As you can see, my grouping has decreased significantly! The ghost ring/front post sight system gives you a very good sight picture and helps you concentrate on the front sight. My group is ~3-1/4", center-to-center. Not bad at 25-yards. I estimate that the ~.72-caliber 1-oz. slug is traveling around 1,500 fps (feet per second) and striking with 2,187 foot pounds of energy. This is just devastating.

I think the 12-gauge shotgun is the most versatile of all tactical weapons within 50-yards. The ammunition options are almost unlimited. You can shoot everything from regular bird shot to rifled slugs. The best two options are 00-buck for close in shots and rifled slugs out to 100-yards.

One advantage in these times when ammunition is difficult to find is 12-gauge stuff is readily available. The price is pretty good, too! I purchased a 15-round box of Remington 12-gauge lead rifled slugs for under $9.00. The way things are now with the shortage of ammunition you "buy it when you see it" because you don't know when things will return to normal. I usually buy a couple boxes of the rifled slugs when I stop by Wally World. Hard to beat the fun it gives you. See you at the range!

Gun Show Coming Soon To Hickory

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Good news! The C & E Gun Shows is making its way back to Hickory, North Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, June 27th & 28th. The show will be held at the Hickory Metro Convention Center. Saturday hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Sunday hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission fee is $8.00 for adults and children 12 and under are free with a paying adult. You can save a little money by printing the "Get A Dollar Off Coupon".

If you don't have your North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit, be prepared and apply for and get one or more purchase permits from your local sheriff. Here is a map to the show:

Shooting Session With The Taurus PT-22

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As mentioned earlier in this blog, I had sent my Taurus PT-22 out for repair. Taurus replaced the slide under the lifetime warranty at no charge. I finally made it to the range to make sure everything function properly. Everything works great!

I shot at several distances from 3-yards to 7-yards. This is what I feel is the effective range for this firearm. The Taurus PT-22 is not a target pistol. It is a compact, concealable, personal protection weapon. It that role it is more than adequate.

Some say that a semi-automatic pistol firing .22-caliber rimfire ammunition is not reliable. This is too much of a blanket statement to be true. I have found that up to 125-150 rounds, the Taurus PT-22 functions perfectly, but after this amount of shots, the gun gets sufficiently "dirty" and will have some failure-to-feed malfunctions. I have had the Taurus PT-22 for over a decade and this has been true from day one! I don't see this as a problem since I clean my guns often and usually after every firing session. I carry this pistol concealed from time-to-time when a larger pistol is not practical. If I ever have to use it for its intended purpose, I don't forsee shooting more than 18-round anyway!

I have a few targets to show you. I started at 3-yards and fired a 5-shot group. I then moved it to 5-yards and 7-yards. I ended with a 9-shot magazine dump quick fire (1/2-second per shot) at 3-yards. Here are the results. Note: For scale, the center "white" circle is 1-inch in diameter. Each ring out for the center is in 1-inch increments. So the center "white" circle is 1-inch, the next ring is 2-inches, etc.

3-Yards, 5-Shots


5-Yards, 5-shots

7-Yards, 5-Shots

9-Shot Magazine Dump
Quick Fire (1/2-second per shot)
3-Yards

I am very happy with the Taurus PT-22. I am not the best marksman. I am getting old, fat, and blind! That being said, the results show that the average shooter can expect 3-inch or less groups up to 7-yards. The quick fire magazine-dump at 3-yards really blew me away. I simply presented the weapon to the target and fired quickly. Yes, the .22-caliber cartridge is an underpowered round. But, most every handgun cartridge is! I think 9-rounds in a group that small will do the job.

As mentioned, I have had it for quite a while and have fired over 2000-rounds through it. It still looks and functions great thanks to proper care and the lifetime warranty. One final note about most .22-caliber handguns. They are usually finicky about the ammo you feed it. You will probably have to try several brands and loads before you find the right match. I found the best results with CCI Mini-Mag High-Velocity copper plated round nose bullets. Many purest will say to use hollow points, but with a .22-caliber long rifle shell, I feel penetration is more important than expansion. That's why I don't use hollow points in this caliber.

New Scope On My Savage Mk. II Bolt Action Rifle

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I have a Savage Mark II .22-LR bolt action rifle. I wanted to add a scope to it, but didn't want to break the bank. Why put a $200 scope on a $150 rifle?

I found a company in Hong Kong that sells directly to consumers. They have a few scopes and some mounts. The scope has the "Bushnell" labeling, but I think it is a knock-off. No matter, because the price is right. I paid $43 for this scope including shipping! I needed a set of rings to mount to the dovetailed receiver. Luckily, the same company had them for $4. Click on the links to see them.

I followed standard mounting procedures for the scope and focused the eyepiece. I took the rifle outside to do an "old-fashioned" bore sighting of the scope. I removed the bolt and viewed down the bore and lined-up on a point about 100-yards away. I then adjusted the scope to point to the same spot. This will get me close.

I took my newly scoped rifle to the indoor range at the Springs Road Gun Club. I mounted one of the "Pokin' Holes" scope targets and ran it back 25-yards to the back wall. I loaded up my favorite .22-LR round, CCI Mini-mag High Velocity copper-coated 40-grain round nose bullets and fired five rounds. I was only about 4-inches off. Not a bad bore sighting! After a few adjustments I got the zero dialed in. Now I will fire a 10-shot group and see how the new scope setup works.



I was very happy with the results. The first shot was the "flier" left of center. I saw it through the scope and said a few, not so nice words. I settled down and fired the remaining nine rounds. Disregarding the first "flier", the grouping measured 5/8-inch, center-to-center. I'm sure a more accurate shooter could have cut that in half!

This new scope really looks great on my Savage rifle. The initial results are better than expected. Remember, I only have about $50 in the scope and rings! I look forward to many plinking and target shooting sessions. Next, I will take the rifle outside and try ranges up to 100-yards. Look for future reports!

College Students Save Their Lives Using A 222-Year Old Document

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Two criminals bent on rape and murder burst into the apartment of a group of students in College Park, Georgia. The students were forced into two rooms. One for the men and the other for the women.

When it was clear that murder and rape would soon follow, one student exercised a right affirmed almost 222-years ago: The right to own a firearm to protect yourself guaranteed by the second amendment of the United States Constitution! To read the actual news article and view a video, visit this link.

It is important that we all are able to protect ourselves. To pretend that removing guns will remove evil people is naive. Thinking the police can protect you is wishful thinking. This is not a bash on the police; they are doing the best job imaginable. They simply can't get there in time to stop the crime. They usually have to "clean-up the mess" and try to catch the criminals.

My politics usually lean towards the liberal side. I do differ with my liberal friends on the second amendment rights. I hope they will read this and take it as an opinion of one of their own. Just because many people exercise the right documented in the Constitution to protect themselves and their country, it does not make them "gun nuts". I invite you to read a paper written by LTC (RET) Dave Grossman titled, "On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs". This illustrates my beliefs on gun ownership in our country.

Nutnfancy YouTube Videos

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I enjoy opinions and advice from other firearm owners. I am by no means an expert. One I found very informative and entertaining is a YouTube broadcaster by the name of Nutnfancy.

Nutnfancy does "table-top" reviews of firearms, knives, and equipment. He has a military background and comes from a family of outdoors people. His insights are very good and applies every day common sense thinking to his videos. I invite you to take a look! I have selected two videos including his review of the Kel-Tec PF-9, 9mm pistol. I have one of these and enjoyed his review of it.






Visit his YouTube channel to see more of his well made videos.