Begins 2001 Outdoor Season!
Somebody get this guy a hat!
Click here for more details!
March 2, 2001 - The Friday Night Group Action Shooting Squad t-shirt is now available to members, visitors, onlookers, and fans. If you would like to own your own Friday Night Group Action Shooting Squad t-shirt, send e-mail to getyours@irighti.org for more information.
The Friday Night Group Reverse Web Cam (Patent Pending)
Mike's New Silencer
Here is a picture of Mike with a suppressor attached to his SIG-Sauer Model 220. The target behind the pistol shows how well he did with his first 58 shots following the installation of the suppressor. Mike's accuracy improved when he moved the target away from the shooting position, stopped looking into the camera, and pointed the gun at the target instead of the ceiling.
The Official Friday Night Group Machine Gun Shoot Shirt
(try saying that three times real fast)
February 22, 2001 - At last night's Grammy awards, "Riders in the Sky" bass player Too Slim, shown wearing a red jacket, clarified a question asked by many members of the Friday Night Group. He said, "Country music is about getting drunk and falling off a barstool and hitting on your neighbor's wife. Western music is about a free life and fresh air and hitting on your neighbor's sheep."
One member of the Friday Night Group's new Action Shooting Squad participated in a sanctioned International Defensive Pistol Association match at the Academy of Self Protection range in Joelton, Tennessee on Saturday February 17, 2001. This was the first out of state match for the FNGASS, and our team member managed to break into the top 90 percent, placing 15th out of 21 shooters. Here are some pictures from the match. The picture on the left shows an experienced IDPA shooter, while the picture on the right shows our guy. Notice the differences in the way the caps are worn. This seems to be a key element in getting a high score. The range officers cut the local guy on the left a lot of slack, while our Action Shooting Squad representative, a decorated Viet Nam veteran with a bad right arm, had to settle for having his score based on subjective criteria like time, accuracy, and compliance with the match rules. For more pictures from this match, click here.
Lest we not forget, one of the main purposes of the Friday Night Group is to maintain proficiency in our shooting skills, so that we can teach, impress, and, when necessary, intimidate. Notice the level of sophistication shown in these pictures. On the left, Machine Gun Mike has painted the front sight of his Mossberg shotgun the same color as the center of the target. By placing the red sight on the red target, and shooting at "contact distance," he never misses. On the right, famous writer and photographer Randy displays a target ripped to shreds by repeated shots from a CZ-75 single action pistol. This extraordinary speed and accuracy was a result of using the "flash sight picture" technique taught in the new NRA Personal Protection Course. Notice that both Randy and Mike are pointing their firearms in safe directions and keeping their fingers off the triggers.
It was a dark and stormy* Saturday morning in Richmond, Virginia. Two of the Friday Night Group, Mack Elliott and Randy Mays, were off doing their civic duty. No, they weren't at Marine Corps Reserve training. They were at the D&P Range teaching ten new NRA instructors. This meant missing an important Friday night milestone the night before, the first and perhaps only time the Friday Night Group set out to get crabs. In honor of someone's birthday, the January 19th dining out was at some kind of seafood restaurant. Mack and Randy missed it, but both are Navy veterans and have had crabs before on numerous occasions both here and in foreign lands.
*The term "it was a dark and stormy" is often confused with the name of a local law firm - Etwazah, Dork and Stumpy. They specialize in immigration and occupational health law.
2001 SHOT Show in New Orleans
This picture came from a great ad hoc Web page called www.shotshowreports.com. I started to crop this picture until I realized the two guys in the back are bowing their heads and saying, "We're not worthy. We're not worthy." I also most changed the background music here to sounds of wailing and sobbing combined with thumps from the unloading of box after box of sackcloth and ashes, but you can't dance to it. These sounds are appropriate since several of us decided to blow off the SHOT Shot this year for political or other reasons that are now, viewed through the official Friday Night Group RetroSpectoScope (patent pending), pretty dumb. Based on this glimpse of the 2001 SHOT Show, three things come to mind: go next year regardless (Las Vegas!), buy a Springfield (any Springfield!), and support the new XFL. If that last resolution doesn't make sense, you need to get out more.
Ginger learns the "manual of arms" for the Thompson .45 ACP sub-machine gun from a local labor activist...
...then blazes away with complete abandon!
Just when we thought a MAC-10 sub-machine gun was pretty cool, Gordon shows up with a mint condition, vintage Thompson .45 ACP "trench broom." The classic Thompson has 30 and 50 round "stick" magazines, and a 50 round drum. The trick to firing any sub-machine gun is to fire short bursts. Several of the stalwart regulars (those who were not distracted by a Very Big Gun Show in Richmond or a Radio Event on the North Carolina coast) got to fire the Thompson on Friday night January 12. Most of those people will never be the same. Ginger, for example, fired the Thompson, left the range, bought a sleeping bag, and was last seen in the doorway of the Marine Recruiter's office in Sterling Park. Her parting words sounded something like "ooh rah!"
One of the Founders of the Friday Night Group
Having More Fun Than Anyone Thought Possible
at the First Annual F.N.G. Holiday Dinner
Talk about fun... The Friday Night Group held its first ever Holiday Dinner at Luciano's very excellent Italian restaurant in Herndon, Virginia. This picture shows two of the oldest members of the Friday Night Group, and two of the newest. Sandy did not realize for several minutes that he was wearing a funny hat. Nan, shown on the right, was trying to get a waiter's attention because the ice had melted in the wine carafe. The couple in the back are looking for the nearest exit.
During the After Dinner Speech
Blue Ridge Arsenal's Gun o' the Week
December 8, 2000
Tamara and Nan
Tamara has applied for membership in the Friday Night Group. Although the votes are still being counted, it looks like she has a clear majority. She has passed her shooting test. Even though membership represents equality in every way, we still have separate shooting proficiency standards for men and women. The men must be able to recite the history of the M-1 Garand rifle and M-1 Carbine, conduct a handloading demonstration using common household items, fire a total of 100 centerfire rounds at 25 yards with no shot outside of a 6 inch group, and recite from memory General Douglas McArthur's "Duty, Honor, Country" speech given at West Point. Male applicants must also have served our country in the military, Navy, or as a Federal Firearms Licensee.
Female applicants are required to fire a minimum of two rounds, one of which must hit any part of a standard IPSC target at 4 yards from the firing line.
Tamara, Iris, Belva, and Nan
"The bartender says, 'Where did you get that?'"
"And the deer says, 'Herndon.'"
* * * * *2000 Birthday Bash* * * * * *
December 2, 2000. Several of us with birthdays in November, December, and January celebrate our collective birthdays on the first Saturday in December at Mark Ewing's "Westlance Arms, Inc." range in West Virginia. As you can see in the picture above, one of the members of the Friday Night Group was at the birthday celebration eating a snack of cake, ice cream, and beef stew. Due to a shortage of bowls, the beef stew, cake, and ice cream had to be eaten all at once. You can tell from Bill's expression how much he enjoyed this unique holiday meal.
Membership in the Friday Night Group has some interesting requirements. One of these is that you have to be named Bill or Mike. This is not a problem for charter members, many of whom have other names, but can be a problem for new members. Women in particular often express alarm and dismay at this requirement. Anyway, here is yet another person named Bill firing a .458 Winchester at a sheet of inch thick Plexiglas.
The Plexiglas had already been hit a few times with .223 caliber bullets, but the .458 Winchester bullet left paperweight size chunks after it impacted. Now, ask yourself, can you imagine anything more fun than this? Yes, but we didn't have time before dark to shoot the Plexiglas with the .50 BMG rifle. Note in the picture above the numerous exploding targets, none of which exploded. The .458 Winchester is a very selective caliber. It can take out an enemy's Plexiglas defenses without harming nearby exploding targets.
Two of the people in this picture are named Ted. Before we switched to Bill and Mike, you had to be named Ted in order to join the Friday Night Group. By the way, the people in this picture are available for bar mitzvahs and military funerals.
Here are, you guessed it, Ted, Mike, and Bill. Ted is shooting a Thompson Contender in .35 Remington. Mike is shooting an Enfield rifle in .303, and Bill has a Russian SKS rifle (7.62 X 39 mm). Those of you who subscribe to "Gun Test" Magazine may have seen the term ".30 Russian" used in the most current issue. The correct nomenclature is 7.62 X 39. Notice the intact exploding targets on the table. No exploding targets were harmed in the filming of this scene.
As always, the annual December collective birthday party was a great success.
Poolesville Town Hall
What better way to spend Veterans' Day 2000 than by attending an M1 Garand Clinic at an Izaak Walton League range near a town named after veteran actress Diana Rigg's most famous television role. For more information on the event, please click on this link.
Hacker Intrusion
"Have you see this site before? It sucks."
"Yeah. This moron doesn't know that it was 'Emma Peel,' not 'Emma Poole.' Idiot."
"Let's split and go back to changing the numbers in the Florida recount."
"Cool."
Hacker Intrusion Ends
"Chip" Fetrow smokes a clay target on an autumn weekend in West Virginia.
The Friday Night Group Security Guard stands watch.
MAC-10 Nite at Blue Ridge Arsenal!
If you weren't
there, you weren't there.
MAC-10 shooters either have enigmatic or unambiguous smiles.
When we say "Friday Night Group," we're not kidding.
Are these people having a good time, or what?
Before and after (another Zoloft moment).
"If these nails can survive a hug like that!"
"That's right. Line it up with the bra strap."
Oops, we did it again. Played with a MAC-10. Got lost in the game. Friday night, October 6, was MAC-10 night. Thanks to Melinda, and extra production from a number of foreign ammunition manufacturers, we got to shoot a legendary firearm, the MAC-10. This is the same sub-machine gun used in the John Wayne movie "McQ," and also seen on "Miami Vice." The MAC-10 has a cyclic rate of fire of "oh, wow," as one of the shooters learned when SHE kept her finger on the trigger just a moment longer than a prudent person might have. One thing we learned about this particular firearm is that it gets quite warm when firing. It also groups to the right a little bit as shown on the Q target picture. The trick to firing the MAC-10, keeping it under control, and keeping the shots on the target is to fire it as you would a shotgun: pull and release the trigger. In the time it takes to do that, quite a few rounds head downrange. And, quite a few heads turn.
Now, what on earth can we do to top this? Show up next Friday night, and the week after that and find out.
Pam, a member of the Friday Night Group, displays the not too subtle differences between the Beretta and SIG Sauer 9 mm service pistols. Note the lack of an ambidextrous de-cocker on the SIG.
Each week the "Friday Night Group" meets around 7 p.m. at Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Virginia. After trying out the latest firearms at the range, we adjourn to an elaborate dinner setting, often at a nearby upscale restaurant...
Friday Night Group Members
Complete NRA Instructor Training!
Mike and Melinda and their new friend Rick.
Picture was taken at a Labor Day NRA Instructor Seminar in West Virginia.
...taught by Mack, Randy, and Nan (NRA Training Counselors).
Teaching is Hard Work.
Rob (black shirt), another Friday Night regular, also completed the Instructor Training.
Notice the bowling pins and Poppers in the background to the left of the group. After the formal range training, the Training Counselors challenged the Instructor Candidates to an informal match. The Instructor Candidates were then beaten like rented mules. One of the TC's even used a revolver just to make it more interesting.
"Why I Became an NRA Instructor" Copyright 2000 by Randall A. Mays All Rights Reserved
Here are some of the targets we use on Friday nights. From left to right: an FBI "Q" target, an old fashioned law enforcement target (minus what an anthropologist might call the "head"), and some smaller, harder to hit targets made from obsolete "Million Mom March" flyers. We Recycle!
Chip, Bill, and Bert
Many years ago, Chip saw the John Wayne movie "Green Berets." His favorite scene in the movie is when the plane flies over and picks someone up who is wearing a harness. Since then, Chip has worn a harness at all times. So far, no one has picked him up. Chip, Bill, and Bert are all looking at a low flying plane near Dulles airport. Chip is hoping he will be snatched into the air. He has a map to identify landmarks. Bill thinks the plane is landing when in fact it is taking off. Bert has never seen a jet before.
Mike and Melinda wait for dinner at Applebee's.
Joann's Velcro t-shirt is a perfect match for Mike's beard.
The Friday Night Group has just ordered appetizers. The unidentified woman at the right is wearing a shirt that says "Mangy Moose Jackson Hole, Wyoming." Next to her is someone wearing a shirt saying "Department of Redundancy Department." You could drive around for hours on a Friday night in Northern Virginia without finding this level of sophistication.
This is not Applebee's. This is a shooting match in West Virginia. We get around.
Nan (a member of the Friday Night Group) and Sue, whose shirt says,
"'Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy' - Benjamin Franklin"
Prior to the Less Than A Million Mom March, we had visitors on several of those Friday nights. The first visitors were from French Television. They have an office in Washington, DC and were out to interview one of our group about the "Million Mom March" set for Mother's Day. The following week we had two people from BBC Radio. They work on a show about legal matters and were doing a story about the lawsuits filed against the gun manufacturers. We had a chance to teach both of them to shoot Ruger revolvers, starting with an SP-101 and moving on to a GP-100. Neither had fired a handgun before. We even had visitors from Norwegian television. A recent guest was someone who had been involved in the "Million Mom March, " but was discouraged from further participation because she wanted to open a dialog with the "Second Amendment Sisters" to find common ground. We opened that dialog anyway by teaching her the basic safety rules for firearms, and then how to shoot a revolver. She is now a regular member of our group.
July 28, 2000 - Lest we forget, this page is about guns, shooting, and whatever else comes to mind. Tonight at Blue Ridge Arsenal, several of us did the right thing by firing a lightweight New England Firearms single-action single shot 10 gauge shotgun. This was the most exciting thing many of us have done in months. Several of the men fired the large shotgun. None of the women went near it after watching grown men cry silent tears of pain after firing a single round. The owner of the shotgun fired it THREE times and is now on a waiting list for a shoulder transplant. The ammunition was 3.5" Magnum #4 shot. The 10 gauge shotgun will now be a regular feature of the Friday Night Group, and may be added to the already complicated and time consuming optional initiation ceremony for membership. It is amazing how many people have submitted to this initiation, missing the word "optional" on the release from liability form. These are the same people who put their Social Security Account numbers on the BATF forms, thus setting themselves up to have their guns and their pensions taken away by some future totalitarian government.
Our Guardians Against Tyranny
Famous Cowboy Action Shooter "Grub Gulch"
Shown with Big Hat and Ruger Revolver,
and used two-trip Virginia Railway Express ticket.
Ruger "Bisley Vaquero" .45 Colt Revolver
The Revolver, more than any other firearm, symbolizes the American West. Other candidates for symbolizing the American West include the Sharps .45-70 rifle, just about any Winchester lever action rifle, and at least a half dozen other revolvers made by companies that are now out of business, or, in the case of Smith and Wesson, just about out of business. More than the revolver, the Big Hat, often called Le Chapeau Grande or "Tom Mix" hat, symbolizes just how stupid someone can look when they try to live in another era.
The Ruger Bisley Vqauero revolver was featured as the "Gun o' the Week" at one of the Friday Night Group's August, 2000 range sessions.
June 16, 2000 we had visitors
from German Television. The revolvers were put away and the SIG Sauer
226 came out. Here are some pictures.
This is the correspondent. The producer is in the back checking out camera angles. Not a bad group for someone who had never fired a pistol before. She was shooting a Sig Sauer 226.
Here's the camera guy, Melinda (future governor of Virginia), the producer, and the correspondent.
Notice the producer's very cool vest. These folks go to places like Bosnia for their stories.
After shooting, the Friday Night Group heads for Applebee's.
These guys are very upset because they are at the wrong end of the table.
This is the right end of the table.
A Zoloft moment.
This is our waiter.
The future governor, the brave producer, and whats-his-name.
What's a Culture War without a Little Culture.
Click here for our Poetry Corner.
Who are these people?
Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
Always keep guns unloaded when not in use.
Forget about hiding in the closet.
We shoot very sophisticated guns like the Glock Model 29 10 mm compact pistol.
For a review of this gun, click here.
Is it possible to hold the readers' attention without pictures? Of course not, unless the subject matter is so interesting to the reader that they will continue to read just to find out what's going on. On the other hand, why risk it? Here are a couple of pictures taking during the SHOT Show week in Las Vegas.
And now for the news...
Smith and Wesson has some new models including variations on their titanium revolvers introduced last year. The Model 342PD ("Personal Defense") has an aluminum alloy frame with a titanium cylinder and a red ramp front sight. This revolver weighs 10.8 oz. The hammer is enclosed. An external hammer model is the 337PD. The Model 337 Kit Gun adds a 3.2" barrel and adjustable sights to the basic titanium revolver. There is option of a fiber optic or regular front sight. There is also the Model 396 Ti Mountain Lite, a variation with a 5 shot .44 cylinder (and larger frame). A lightweight .44 Special Kit Gun with the right ammunition would be useful. S&W had some semi-automatic pistols on display, but at this point (with the exception of the discontinued Model 909 and maybe the Model 410), I have little or no interest in S&W semi-autos. They're heavy and complicated, and it still does not appear that they are aware of the existence of the .357 SIG caliber. My favorite of the new S&Ws is the Model 625 Mountain Gun. This year the Mountain Gun is a .45 ACP. Now, a real good question at this point would be, "why," but if you've ever fired a Model 625 or the much older Model 1917 military revolvers, you'll know how mild the recoil can be with a .45 ACP in a large frame revolver. It appears as though .45 ACP +P shouldn't be a problem, and maybe, just maybe, the new .45 Super could be fired in this revolver. The S&W Performance Center had some interesting revolvers. The Model 646 is a 6 shot revolver in .40 S&W caliber (using moon clips). The 586 L-Comp is a 7 shot .357 Magnum, with a blued finish, adjustable rear sight, tritium front sight and a ported barrel. A Model 27 with an 8 shot cylinder (.357 Magnum) is available with a 4 or 6 inch barrel. There was one surprise from S&W: a replica Model 3 Schofield in .45 S&W caliber. I wonder if that caliber is the same as ".45 Colt" and they just didn't want to advertise the competition.
Steyer introduced a smaller version of the M-Series called the S-Series. Both models are available in .40, 9 mm, and .357 SIG.
Talon Industries, Inc. from Ennis, Montana (great fly fishing country) has two new pistols, the T100 in .380 caliber and the T200 in 9 mm. The Talon pistols look a lot like the Taurus Millennium models (which are available now in 9, .40 and .45, by the way).
Taurus has a new Tracker revolver this year, in 7 shot .357 Magnum or 5 shot .41 Magnum versions. I have mixed opinions on Taurus guns, and do not own any, but the Tracker has a good feel to it and I'll bet the .41 Magnum would be a great field gun.
Most of us cannot afford a custom pistol by Les Baer, but I would like to have the "Thunder Ranch Special" model some day. These guns are hand made. My loaded Springfield seems ok, and I like to shoot it, but when you pick up a Les Baer pistol you realize there can be a big difference between a factory pistol and a custom model. The Thunder Ranch Special is built for reliability and accuracy.
Beretta continues to make changes to their basic battery of pistols for marketing. There are more stainless steel models this year, including the Custom Carry II which is a single stack 8 round 9 mm. The big news is the Model 9000S Type F or Type D. This is Beretta's subcompact pistol with a polymer frame. I was surprised to note that the Type F could be carried cocked and locked, and if you raise the safety lever a little higher, it de-cocks the pistol. That's different, but I think I like it because you go from safe to safer. My H&K goes from safe to off safe to decock as the lever is depressed. That's ok, but the Berretta approach is better. The Type D is Double Action Only. The open top frame on the 9000 should contribute to reliability. The Beretta Cougar is now available in .357 SIG.
If you liked the Dan Wesson revolvers, take heart. They're back. The factory equipment has been moved and the company is adding new models and some unique calibers to their line.
I didn't notice anything new from Kel-Tec. The P-32 shown at last year's SHOT Show is in production now, and I like it a lot. The ten round magazines for the .32 should be available "real soon." There are no plans to produce a .357 SIG version of the larger Kel-Tec model now available in 9 mm and .40 S&W, but I got the idea that they had built a couple of see what they would be like...and they kicked a lot.
North American Arms continues to build their custom shop business by making different versions of the basic Guardian .32. No new models this year, but my wish list includes a "Mini-Master" .22 Magnum revolver.
Ciener makes most of the .22 LR conversions for 1911 and Beretta type pistols, and now they have a Glock .22 conversion. Other vendors have Glock conversions, but Ciener has a good reputation. They make a conversion unit for the Model 17/22 and another one for the 19/23. It appears as though the 17/22 model may fit on the Glock 34/35. Add the 34/35 trigger to a .22 LR conversion unit and you'd have a pretty good .22 pistol.
Alchemy Arms Company makes a new pistol called the Spectre. Imagine a Glock slide with a striker firing mechanism on 1911 style frame. The company had a small booth, a nice brochure, and a decent gun. We'll see what sort of market share they can achieve.
My opinion of Lasergrips may be changing. They have a set for the compact (Officer's Model) 1911 frames, and this just might make a nice addition to the Colt Concealed Carry Officer model.
The Walther P99QA pistol is a winner. "QA" stands for Quick Action. My big gripe about the P99 and the similar SW99 was the length of pull on the trigger. This has been fixed. The trigger pull is shorter, more positive, and reminds me a little bit of the Glock 35 with titanium trigger parts. Nice gun.
As part of their Big Adventure in Las Vegas, Chip and Mack went to the Front Sight range a few miles outside of town.
Here is Chip's report:
Mack Elliott and I went to the FREE Front Sight machine gun course today, and as Mack says, it was beyond belief! Well, that is not exactly what he said...
It was AMAZING. They bought some of the new fully transferable UZI 9 MM submachine guns (about 600 rounds per minute), pre-ban high capacity magazines, and have built three (that we saw) of a complex of outdoor ranges. The range our half of the class was shooting on is 100 meters long, though we were shooting at three, five and ten meters.
The "Guns&Ammo" magazine article and advertisement on Front Site were absolutely true. While they do want to sell training, and WE WILL BE BACK SOON, and have many packages including one that includes a home site, just like first class golf resorts, the entire package was FREE! They even included a Continental Breakfast, lunch and pizza at the end.
We received first class instruction, and shot several hundred rounds of 9 MM ammo, and it only cost us the drive out and back, and of course, we will be back in a month or so to take the four day Defensive Pistol class.
If anyone is interested in the free course, I would say plan it into a trip to LA, or Las Vegas, AND GO! I am not sure I would want to spend $200 on a round trip plane ticket and two nights in a hotel to take the course, BUT if you are already going to be there, TAKE THE CLASS! See the schedule at http://www.frontsight.com.
Chip
Now for Mack's comments:
I was expecting something like a Time Share pitch and was extremely surprised about the quality of a free course. The facilities are excellent now and will improve significantly as they complete their building program. I am really looking forward to taking the four day course. I just wish I could afford to go live there and be able to take advantage of their facilities on a regular basis.
Mack (elliotkm@cais.com)
IDPA Match in Joelton, Tennessee
The 2000 SHOT Show in Las Vegas
Volunteer Pistol Club IDPA Match
The 1999 Al Kimery Memorial Trophy Match in Missoula, MT
Hanging Out in West Virginia - Another Win!
The 1998 Al Kimery Memorial Trophy Match in Missoula, MT
BANG!! Adventures with MagSafe Ammunition
Report from the 1998 SHOT Show
Interested in learning to shoot or improving your shooting? Take a look at the Piedmont NRA Instructors Web Page.
E-Mail - randy@irighti.org