I Found A Public Rifle Range.

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I was returning from Shooters Express and saw a sign. "Gastonia Shotgun, Rifle, and Pistol Range". This range is behind Rankin Lake in Gastonia, North Carolina. I knew there was a skeet and trap range, but not a rifle range.

I followed the signs to the "Gastonia Police Departments' Firearms and Training Facility". The pistol range is not open to the public, but the 100-yard rifle range is! Each Saturday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, you can use the range.

I spoke to the range officer and he said you must use lead core rifle ammunition. No steel core ammo like the "Wolf" ammo. I didn't quite understand that because you were shooting into an earthen berm, but, rules are rules. Here are the directions. I am including GPS coordinates for those with GPS devices:

Take US Highway 321 towards Gastonia. Just north of I-85, turn onto Tulip Drive (N35.290230, W81.188070). Go less than a mile and turn right onto Weetabix Parkway (N35.287971, W81.200974). Turn left up a dirt road (N35.292529, W81.203680). You will arrive at the rifle range (N35.294430, W81.205740).

Here is a quote from the Gastonia Police Department web site:

Gastonia Police Departments' Firearms and Training Facility is open to the public when not utilized for police training. It is normally open to the public on Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. The range allows shooting rifles only, not pistols. The cost is $5 per hour for Gastonia citizens and $8 per hour for others. Customers bring their own guns and ammunition. Targets are provided. For more information call the shooting range at 704.866.6734.

I will go there in a couple weeks about try it out. It's good to find such a facility close to home.

Ammo!

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There is one thing that is as elusive as UFO's, Big Foot, And the Loch Ness Monster. Ammunition! Some calibers are so rare, you just buy it without question when you see it.

Today, I went to Wally World to see if they received a shipment. To my surprise They had a couple boxes of Winchester 9mm 115-grain FMJ 100-round Value Packs. "I'll take both!" They also had the Federal 550-round .22LR bulk packs. "I'll take one of those, too!"

Maybe the ammo shortage is starting to come to an end. Let's hope so. But, for now, I can go out and poke a few holes with my 9mm pistols. It's been a while. Time to give them a workout.

Polymer Or Steel Revisited

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If you read my earlier posting about the choice of magazines, you know I am very apprehensive about polymer magazines. I need to revise my opinion as I have tested, on multiple occasions, the Tapco polymer 30-round AK47 magazine.

I recently purchased an IO Inc. AK47-C rifle. It came with a Thermold 30-round polymer magazine. The magazine looked and felt cheap. After inserting and removing it several times, I noticed that there was a lot of plastic being knocked off. Well, maybe this is like the marks on steel magazines after much use.

The first time I took the AK47-C out for a shooting session, I only had one magazine for the rifle, but, I had a Tapco polymer magazine on order and it would arrive in a few days. I quickly found that my initial impressions of the Thermold magazine were right. The Thermold magazine would not even stay in the rifle. After the second shot, the magazine dropped from the magazine well. Thinking it a fluke, I dusted it off and reinserted it into the rifle. Again, it hit the ground. I was reduced to using my new AK47-C like a single shot rifle. I was happy with the rifle, but not the magazine.

IO Inc. was very good about resolving the problem. They instantly shipped a metal magazine to me. After all...You only know how good customer service is by how they resolve problems. Good job, IO Inc. But, I had another polymer magazine coming. Would it be as bad as the Thermold?

The Tapco magazine arrived. I quickly noticed two things. It looked better built and the plastic was denser and stiffer. Maybe this one would do the job. The Tapco magazine was a perfect fit for the rifle. It fit as good or better than the Romanian steel magazines. Also, the Tapco magazine had an anti-tilt follower just like the surplus metal magazines. The Thermold's follower would tilt if you press it with your finger. This was a cheap design. The Tapco magazine had several horizontal ridges on the body. This serves two functions. It gives strength to the polymer magazine and it gives a good grip surface for those who use the magazine as a pseudo-vertical grip. The truth will be found under fire...So to speak!

I took the Tapco and the metal magazines out to my shooting range. All performed flawlessly. The Tapco held its own against Romanian steel. I was impressed. I used the Tapco magazine on another indoor shooting session at Shooters Express. Again, the Tapco was flawless. I think Tapco got it right!

As with anything, there are good points and bad ones. The Tapco polymer magazine for the AK47 is no different. The Tapco polymer is ~4-oz. lighter than its metal counterparts. It may not sound like much, but if you are carrying 4 magazines, that is a full pound! The Tapco magazines also are date stamped. This may come in handy if there is ban of certain magazines. Usually bans have "grandfather" clauses that let you have them if purchased before the ban. The Tapco magazines also come with a lifetime warranty. Hopefully, it isn't needed, but it is there if you do. This magazine also has the horizontal ridges that help you grip it if you use it as a vertical grip. I have found that those ridges are also a bad thing! If you load your magazines in a pouch, they are harder to remove that the metal magazines with vertical ridges. This slows you down if you need to remove them quickly. This is the only negative thing I can see about the Tapco magazine.

I liked the Tapco magazine so well that I ordered another one. If you want to get one, try AIM. They have the Tapco magazines for $17 including shipping! AIM also has the Romanian surplus metal 30-round magazines. They also had a 75-round drum for the AK47, but, it appears to be sold out now. I have purchased several things from AIM and they seem to be a very good dealer for gun parts.

First Target Shooting With The IO AK47-C

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After just "fun" shooting in the woods with the IO AK47-C, it was time to do some target shooting to see how well I can shoot with the rifle. As indicated before, I am not the best target shooter. Many can do better. My target gives me a real world example of what the rifle can do in MY hands.

I installed the UTG rail system and added a vertical grip. I like the handling of a tactical rifle with a vertical grip. I also wanted to give the Tapco polymer magazine a good workout. I am still not convinced about the use of plastic in a rifle magazine.

I went to an Shooters Express. They have an indoor range that allows rifles. You can't use the surplus or "Wolf" ammo. They use steel jackets. You must use the more expensive ammo that you buy at places like Wally World. Basically, if a magnet sticks to it, you can't use it! I had some Winchester "White Box" ammo that was fine for this indoor range.

I modified my pistol target for an AK47 or SKS rifle. Basically, I got the ballistics data from Remington's "Shoot" program and used it to modify a target to let you sight it in at 25-yards and have the bullet be dead on at 50 and 100-yards. I mounted my target and sent it down range to the 25-yard mark. I then loaded 10-rounds in the magazine. Here are the results:

I am happy with the grouping. The gray dot just below the bull's eye is where the bullets should be striking to be dead on at 50 and 100-yards. On an AK47 and SKS rifle, all adjustments for windage and elevation are done on the front sight. The rear sight is adjustable for distance only. It takes a special tool to adjust the front sight. I didn't have one on this day, but I have one on order. I will return to adjust the sights on another day. Until then, this is sufficient. When I do a final adjustment, I will post the results.