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Old February 13, 2000, 12:28 PM   #1
Correia
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Join Date: December 3, 1998
Location: SLC Utah
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The Utah get together was great. Personally that is the most fun I have had shooting in a while. We had a few members, and a few lurkers show up. Rangemasters is a good indoor range, they also gave us a group discount. First we sat around shooting the bull for a while, there was a TFL trivia quiz, and door prizes. (stuff brought back from the Shot Show) That bushmaster sticker is going to look good on my car.

We had a bunch of handguns, Springfield, a couple of Berettas, HK, Sig, Browning, S&W, and Ruger. There where a couple of AR15s, my old Ishipore, a of course George's FAL. Which by the way is a fun gun to shoot.

I learned a few things there, do not mess with Mrs. Hill. We got to watch her cut the x ring out of a target with a .45. Also Cacea (I hope I spelled that right) does have blue hair. I also really want a FAL now. And I want a 1911. I know that my Ruger is capable of accuracy, I let a guy who is a big IPSC competitor shoot it one time and he shot this tiny little group, but in my hands I might as well be chucking rocks, 6-8 inch groups at 25 yards average. This was the first time that I shot a nice 1911, and it was great, it was like I was pointing my finger and poking holes in the target right where I wanted them.

After everybody else had to leave, my lurker friend and I stayed and shot in the interactive simulator. We did the basic "fun" scenario. It was cheesy, and kind of like playing Area 51 only with a real gun and real bullets. You shoot at a screen with actors on it, the computer controls the reaction of your targets. There are also more serious scenarios for training. It's $15 for thirty minutes, one of us shot while the other reloaded. Whenever you are ruled dead the computer would make a really loud Homer Simpson D'oh noise. We died a lot. I think that if I ever do that again I will use the more realistic scenario.

Now this part is going to upset George because I know what a big HK fan he is. After we where done, and you guys had all left, I was looking at the MP 5k that you could rent. The guy behind the counter said "oh, you like HK, you will really like these." He went to the back and pulled out a full auto HK 33, and a full auto UMP, not the stupid Klintonized version, but the real thing. Unfortunatly they don't rent them out to just anyone, because the .223 and the .45 have too much muzzle rise, they are worried about somebody ventilating the roof.

It was a good day of shooting, I look forward to doing it again. I recommend that other states have their own TFL gatherings. The moderators aren't nearly as scary in real life as they are here.
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Old February 14, 2000, 03:39 AM   #2
George Hill
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AAAArrrrrrggghhh!!!!!!
THEY HAD A UMP!!!!!!??????
Damn it! That little HK MP5K PDW they had has a bad return spring - which is the only reason I didnt rent it for the group!
If I new they had others... those dirty rat bas$$&*#&$*#&!!~~!!@!

Okay - my take on the get together - about the same. I had a real blast there and Mrs Kodiac had great fun too. She got to fire all the different guns she wanted to and really enjoyed it. She shoots better with a 1911 - like most people do.

Correia has a nifty Enfield in .308 that shot very well... I would hook that thing up with some Ashley Express sights and call it done. The little sights it had were a bit slow for me. Same for the sights on my 1911A1 that I brought... I couldnt get a good sight picture because the front sight faded into the color of the target... had to shoot on faith. Cant wait to get the Ashleys on it too! Then I will be better in dim light and be faster as well.
The FAL shot fantastic! No malfunctions - save one attributed to the mag - had a burr that my dremmel will smooth out in the morning... the other mags were fine.
As a battle rifle, I would rate the FAL a solid 8 out of 10. It loses points only for weight - yet its the weight that makes it such a sweet shooter, even in .308. The concussion from firing it indoors was terrific and made me jump when Correia shot it on the lane next to me while I was trouble shooting another pistol. No, not my Springfield! The Springfield functioned 100%
Fired Correia's Bushmaster Dissapator and while it worked good - maybe those Dissapators are not from West Virginia after all - they may yet still be from Arkansas country...
Trying to convince the lurkers to join up was trying to argue the advantages of opposable thumbs to one thumbless. We say that you need the thumbs, they say, they get along fine with out them... Thats alright though. As long as they keep coming back to the get togethers and stay in touch. Oh - the reloading - I will take you up on that!
After the shooting was done and hands shaked - my famous flat tire got reinflated - made it to Provo and I decided I had enough of it... Got 2 new ones put on the rear end. So that headache was resolved rather nicely. I procrastinate going to Auto Shops, and would rather buy a new car. I'ld rather go to a dentist than take a car in to some shop for work... Unless I KNOW the Grease Monkey behind the wrench.

My wife and I had a great time all together and wanted to plan Next months - and involve bringing food and make a day of it instead of just a couple hours. You think Mrs can shoot? Try her cooking... When she wants to she can put a Southern Grandma to shame. So for those that didnt make it this time... Next month the location will be up in Salt Lake so it will be closer - and we will have a picknic thing going on too... So dont skip it! Nothing pisses my wife off like left overs!

One thing noted that that I was young... and one fellow even had a car older than I was.
Yes - I am still on the green side of the hill. I started out my adult life joing the Army at the age of 17, so I guess that kicked me into OLD FART stage a little early.


At least no one pulled my beard to see if it was real... Rich...


------------------
I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
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Old February 14, 2000, 05:38 AM   #3
George Hill
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Also - Next month...
Some one please bring a camera. I forgot mine and am kicking myself for it.

Thats interactive system looked way fun.

I need to throw in a bit for RangeMasters them selves.
The location my be way the heck down south - it is worth the drive. The store part carried a few items that I liked, plenty of magazines by the fireplace - Oh - did we not mention that? The place is decorated to look like an old cabin inside with a nice little bench and a fireplace... wood floors and a south western style rug - made it all feel very home-ish. You could hang out there for hours.
We shot the breeze and then shot targets for a while... after all the time we spent there - we had a SOLID discount - only having to pay for 1/2 hors worth of actual range time. 5 bucks... not bad - one hell of a discount actually. The guys there were also quite nice and didnt mind our group invading them. They got invaded again by a large group of Rescue Team guys who wanted our Rifle lane (They only had one lane for rifles). I didnt mind moving for the rescue guys - this was after I declined another group... so you can see I did have a line drawn there.
Every one had fun, shot different guns and swapped some stories. Thats the whole point.


Oh - and Correia, who expected me to be older... I didnt expect him to be the same size as the Tongan I tussled with in Sugar House! He's HUGE! I'm 6 foot when I dont slouch and he TOWERED ME! My FAL looked like a little Winchester 94 in his big old paws! He should have had the name Kodiac! (No - you can't have it.)



------------------
I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
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Old February 14, 2000, 10:31 AM   #4
Jake 98c/11b
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George, you bas#*@&, why didn't you do this kind of thing before you left Virginia? When you were here you were a lazy slouch, you skip town and all the sudden you get busy. Go figure. Glad to see all had a good time.
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Old February 14, 2000, 02:34 PM   #5
Correia
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Actually I'm only 6'4", just shy of 300 lbs. (Not fat though, I am proud to admit). Now when I say that a grip on a pistol just seems to small to me on these forums, and people think I'm exagerating how big my hands are, they can check here and see that I'm the same size as Mongo the Wonder Tongan.

I look forward to the next get together, though this time I will probably shoot a lot less. Got to save the $. Baby coming in June, lots of bills and such.

Also my lurker friend has a question for your lurker friend, what brand of .22 conversion was that that he had on his Beretta?
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Old February 15, 2000, 02:32 AM   #6
George Hill
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Jake - When I was in Virginia I was into other things that took up a great deal of my spare time. That and when I did get busy with this stuff I went north up into Caroline County. Had some fun shooting down at our old range of course - but those guys always charged me and insisted I fired ammo from the ranges store. And it was all the way on the south side... a lot farther than Caroline was and I could fire up all I wanted for free. Even so, I was one of the best customers that range had... Remember when they lost the paperwork to that AR lower? Hey - I dropped what I was doing and headed straight down there.

------------------
I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
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Old February 15, 2000, 08:19 AM   #7
Caeca Invidia Es
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I had a great time as well. Isn't often I get to go out and shoot such a variety of weapons in one day, now I just need to learn to shoot better...

------------------
"Freedom has always existed in a very percurious balance. And when buildings stop blowing up, people’s priorities tend to change..." Enemy of the State
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Old February 15, 2000, 03:35 PM   #8
Tank Girl
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There is nothing like firing a whole lot of guns to make a person smile. I enjoyed every second of it.
George's FAL was sweeeet! Need to get us one someday.
I was a little dissapointed with the Sig .45 that was rented though. Dont get me wrong it was sweet to shoot but it didnt hold as much ammo as our HK and the last bullet jammed.
Took about 5 minuets to get the bullet out too <grumbles>
Guess I cant complain to much. Both clips on our HK wouldnt put the last bullet up correctly and jammed every time. Better get that fixed before the next time out. )
Now George about that camera.... <scowls>

------------------
Freedom by its self is just a word. To have freedom we must protect our rights to be free.
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Old February 16, 2000, 03:25 AM   #9
George Hill
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Well, if we get a blue lense we can do a photo trick kinda like a motion picture blue screen - Invidia's hair wouldnt even show up!


Or we could edit you out and replace your image with Marie Ozmond...

I kill me... LOL
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Old February 18, 2000, 04:00 AM   #10
George Hill
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OKAY - for those in and near UT - next months get together WILL BE in Salt Lake City.
With the help of Caeca Invidia, I may have found another range. This one in West Valley.

I'll contact them and see if I can set up another good deal. If not - and no other place can be found... We'll go to an outdoor range if the weather is good. If not good, we could go back to RangeMasters and I will get us that killer deal again.
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Old February 23, 2000, 02:48 AM   #11
BigT
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Sounds like you folks had a good time. I may have to get over there and meet you one of these days. I live in CO, but spent about 20 years in UT, 70's-80's. When you get dates and places, be sure to post it. If not this month, one of these times I'll plan a little trip. I'd like to meet some gun people!
Tom
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Old February 23, 2000, 04:17 AM   #12
George Hill
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No Prob BigT... will do.
I will have to try to get over there to a Colorado gathering as well. But I aint even trying to drive those mountains in the winter... Getting into Denver is hell on wheels. I would take hwy 40, and it isnt even fun unless in the summer time and on a good bike... 750cc's or bigger...
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Old February 23, 2000, 12:34 PM   #13
BigT
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George,
You haven't lived lived until you've gone over Rabbit Ears pass in the middle of a snow storm! Berthoud isn't any better, but I'd still take a 2 lane road over the interstate. People just drive too damn fast and too close in bad conditions. I don't know if we make the news over there, but we now have 75-100 car pile ups during snow storms.
Thanks for the hospitality. I've been looking in for awhile now, but haven't contributed much, yet!
Tom
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Old February 24, 2000, 11:44 AM   #14
Dr.Rob
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George,

I'll have you know that my 550cc seca has been over I-70 from Denver to Moab and back laden with saddlebags and more closely resembling a mad max rat bike than a sport tourer. Its STILL possible to smoke a brand spanking new 900 ninja though. Its not the bike, its the rider. So HOW ABOUT (say this summer) a meet in Moab?? There is a great little set of cabins with a heated pool etc the four wheeling is a kick and the folks are friendly.

Dr.Rob
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Old February 24, 2000, 02:39 PM   #15
Joey
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Moab, Moab, MOAB??????????? Did sombody mention MOAB?????????? Spring or Fall is the best time to visit Moab. Was there once in July and it was +105F ground temp and that makes it HOT for us tent campers!!!!!!!

If their is a TFL gathering in MOAB if I can get away from work we'll be there with lots of bells on!!!!!!!!

Any public ranges in Moab????

Or there again how about Grand Junction Co, might be able to con slymule into going then
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Old February 25, 2000, 05:34 AM   #16
George Hill
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Grande Junction?
Hmmmm - We could compromise that and say maybe Vernal, Ut?

Anyways - Moab in the summer? Very Hot and too many guys on Mountain Bikes. Besides that, my Cherokee blew it's carburator... I have bad luck with 4X4's.

This March - Can we say the 18th? Lets plan for the 18th - will be here in Salt Lake, West Valley actually.
I think this will make things easier for everyone... less money on gas!
As for the venue - I have a place in mind...
I am looking at it and talking to them about it today...
As for more door prizes - Let me goto SHOT SHOW again first.

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Old February 25, 2000, 11:06 AM   #17
Dr.Rob
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Yeah but its a dry heat

Dr.Rob
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Old February 25, 2000, 05:57 PM   #18
Joey
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Mar 18th is my last day off and I doubt we'd make it home in time for work the 19th (0530)as its about a 8 hour drive and I need some beauty sleep The only weekend I've got off in March is 25-27th as of now and thats subject to change.


[This message has been edited by Joey (edited February 25, 2000).]
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Old February 28, 2000, 02:08 AM   #19
George Hill
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Okay - the range I had in mind? Never.
Its not a bad gunshop - but thats it.
They had a couple good guys there, but thats it. I wouldnt let my dog piss in that range.
Nuff said.
Searching for other venues...

Correia, when you have your new child... What are you going to name him/her?
Colt? John Moses? Weatherby? Have you found out boy or girl yet?
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