Picture(s) A Day – 22 October 2009 – Open Desert, Sunset, and “Recoil Therapy™”

Work today… what can I say about it?  Well, if you read my previous post, you probably know about how it went and what I had planned for the short duration of leftover daylight remaining after I left.  “Recoil Therapy™” is what I call it.

“Recoil Therapy™” involves more than just the wonderful, first hand (or shoulder) experience of Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion in action.  It includes the relaxing, meditative exercise of proper sight alignment, breath control, and trigger control.  Positive reinforcement is provided to the person undergoing said therapy when the projectile(s) he or she has launched (thus providing that wonderful, first hand experience of Sir Isaac’s third law in action) hit their intended target.  I kid you not, this is one of the best ways I’ve found of relaxing and putting the stress of the day aside even if it’s only for a while.  There’s something about the knowledge that what I’m doing absolutely has to be done correctly that focuses my mind and draws my concentration.  If I screw anything up – gun handling, loading, muzzle discipline, trigger discipline, target recognition and safe backstop considerations – very bad things can happen.  It kind of makes that person who made my day less than optimal for a period of time or the piece of equipment that failed earlier seem rather insignificant by comparison.  Which is good

Of course, I can’t deny that there’s another very satisfying aspect to Recoil Therapy™ that goes along with the above mentioned meditative aspects.  I’d say it’s a slightly different form of Recoil Therapy™, even if it’s very closely related.  “Heavy Recoil Therapy™” involves more than just sights on the target and all.  That part can be practiced with a .22 rifle or pistol.  Heavy Recoil Therapy™ requires a larger caliber firearm, preferably something along the lines of a vintage military rifle from Russia, Bulgaria, or Switzerland.  Shotguns may also be used for Heavy Recoil Therapy™.  My advice for shotguns employed in this role is that they be 12 gauge or larger bore, that buckshot be used (preferably 3″ or 3.5″ shells), and that the shotgun should be as light as possible.  I’m sure Glenn gets what I’m aiming for here   Aside from the meditation of the sights and the increased dose of Sir Isaac’s third law, the increased effect of the projectile(s) on the target can be quite satisfying when practicing Heavy Recoil Therapy™

I’ve told myself before that I was going to go out and engage in some Recoil Therapy™, but usually I wind up either too worn out from stress or too broke to buy the gas (yes, there are times that’s true) and just call it a day.  Other times I’m just too ticked off/stressed out/not thinking straight enough that I call off the outing for safety reasons.  Yes, I do my best to ensure that I am safe at all times when dealing with firearms and I consider one’s mental condition to be just as important to the safety equation as the condition of the firearm, proper ammunition selection, or choosing a safe place to shoot.  If I think there’s any possibility that I might screw something up because my head’s up and locked (I’m sure Glenn to explain that one if anyone doesn’t get it ), I won’t go because I might be a danger to myself or others.

Today was one of those days that was just made for a bit of Recoil Therapy™   The temperature was about 77°, the sky clear, and the air calm.  I wasn’t exactly the most relaxed, easy going person on the face of Planet Earth, but I wasn’t all that far gone either.  I have ownership and therefore easy access to a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, and more than enough ammunition to fill the daylight I’d have remaining by the time I got to where I could shoot 8)  And yes, I did shoot   A lot

Most people probably have no idea just how therapeutic a 12 gauge and a 9mm can be   What can I say?  Some people knit to relieve stress.  Others work out.  I go out in the middle of nowhere and blow the ever loving *&^! out of inanimate objects

So yeah, the Recoil Therapy™ (mostly Heavy Recoil Therapy™ in all truth) went well, but it wasn’t the only therapy I practiced today.  There’s something to be said for the therapeutic qualities of a drive along an open highway across the wide open spaces of the American Desert Southwest, especially with the windows down when the weather’s good.  That same activity is even better right around sunset.  I can’t quite explain why that is, but I think it has something to do with subconsciously connecting the end of the day as we experience it with the ending of daylight.  In any case, the combination of these activities sure helped me to de-stress and get back to being the easy-going Parrothead type guy everyone knows and (at least some) have come to like

22 October 2009 - Heading north as the sun heads west

22 October 2009 - Heading north as the sun heads west - Wide open spaces with Mt. Charleston in the distance

22 October 2009 - Cool weather, 70 miles per hour, and the engine ticking over at just about 3000 RPM

22 October 2009 - Not much time for shooting, but enough - Gotta love the sun over the mountains

After I left work, I stopped by home to grab the necessary equipment for my planned outing.  I could have had them in the car while I was at work (I asked and Human Resources said it’s OK as long as they stay in the car), but I just didn’t think of it before I left this morning.

Then it was onto the 95 northbound with the sun on my left and the open highway ahead of me.  I must confess that I retained a bit more velocity than I usually do when I left the pavement and joined up with the desert trail.  OK, I kept up the speed quite a bit more than normal all the way out to where I finally stopped   Did you know you can fishtail an HHR on dirt ?  I didn’t until today

I’ve gotten familiar enough with the trail from the freeway to the safe shooting area that I know where I have to slow down for dips.  This of course also means I know where I can keep the hammer down and hit speeds of 45 miles per hour on a somewhat loose, slightly bumpy, and very narrow trail without busting up my sole means of motorized transport   Oh yeah, it’s fun alright!

22 October 2009 - What a wonderful, cheap target system!

I’ve had this target for a while, but I’ve only recently started using it.  It’s made by EZ Target and it actually lives up to its advertising.

I purchased it at Sportsman’s Warehouse before the Las Vegas locations went out of business for around $10.00 and it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.  I don’t know if my local indoor range allows shotguns, but I’m just as happy if not more so out in the desert and this allows me to shoot whatever gun I want with whatever ammo I want wherever I want while still recording the hits on paper.

They’ve got quite a few types of targets, but you can easily make your own as well.  The yellow backing is just corrugated plastic like you can find at a sign shop and the stand is just wire, so you could easily make that part yourself, too.

More about that target a bit later

22 October 2009 - Mountains glowing with the last rays of the sun

22 October 2009 - Last light of the day

22 October 2009 - Mountains glowing with the last rays of the sun

22 October 2009 - Purple mountain in the distance

22 October 2009 - Mountains glowing with the last rays of the sun

These pictures might seem a bit repetitive, but I hope you like ‘em anyway.  I just wish there were some way to transport my readers to this place and time to see this sight with their own eyes – pictures just can’t do it justice.

I admit it – I’m a sucker for amber evening light on desert mountains and in the sky over them.  Scenes like these are one of the many things I love about living in the desert.  I might not have the ocean (and yes, I still miss it dearly), but at least I’ve got the desert.

22 October 2009 - Shot pattern with the #4 buck loads I bought for home defense

Remember when I went down to Bass Pro on Saturday and found that #4 buckshot ammo I’d been looking for?  Well, I believe that it’s a darn good idea to test the actual ammo you’re planning on using to possibly save your life (God forbid that ever happens) to make sure it works like you hoped it would.  I guesstimated the distance from me to the target to be about the same as the distance from my bedroom/bathroom door to my front door.  The greatest distance between pellets here is 6 inches according to my handy yardstick which means that as long as I do my part, none of the pellets will miss their target.

Aside from a nice, tight pattern with the full choke, I also found that this ammo provides for a decent recoil reduction when compared with the 3″ 00 buckshot loads I’ve fired before which means quicker followup shots.  The current loadout in my Maverick 88 consists of two 2.75″ #4 buck loads followed by a round of 3″ 00  buck in case someone’s either really stupid or seriously hopped up on drugs.  That should prevent unauthorized entry of my occupied apartment, but the gun will hold six shells (one in the chamber), so I’ve got another three shells in it in the same sequence.

With the shotgun backed up by a 9mm with +P hollow points, an AK-47 with hollow points, and a .22 magnum revolver with hollow points, I think I’m fairly well outfitted for preservation of personal security

22 October 2009 - Panorama as the light of day leaves once again - Normal view and cropped

22 October 2009 - Panorama as the light of day leaves once again - Normal view, no crop

22 October 2009 - Panorama as the light of day leaves once again - Wide view and cropped

22 October 2009 - Panorama as the light of day leaves once again - Wide view, no crop

I know there’s a few people out there who like wide open spaces like I do.  Again, pictures can’t possibly do the sight justice but I hope they’re good enough for now

The program I have for stitching pictures together has several options when it comes to how the finished product looks.  I figured I’d just go ahead and put ‘em all up in this post to show how they all turn out and to see what everyone thinks of ‘em.

As always, make sure to click all the pictures (especially the panoramas!) to see them full size.  Your browser will probably resize them to fit on your screen, but if you click ‘em again after they’ve downloaded, you’ll see the true full size picture

Well, that brings this edition of Parrothead Jeff’s Picture(s) A Day to a close.  Today may have been a bit stressful, but in the end it was a good day.  I went for a nice drive out in the desert, made some noise, enjoyed causing some ballistic disassembly of inanimate objects, and had a few nice chats with friends and family on the phone as well.  I also got to write this post.  Sure, there’s a few things I’d prefer to include in my life, but I’d say I’ve got it pretty good

Have fun, shoot straight, and stay safe everyone

I’ve told myself before that I was going to go out and engage in some Recoil Therapy™, but usually I wind up either too worn out from stress or too broke to buy the gas (yes, there are times that’s true) and just call it a day.  Other times I’m just too ticked off/stressed out/not thinking straight enough that I call off the outing for safety reasons.  Yes, I do my best to ensure that I am safe at all times when dealing with firearms and I consider one’s mental condition to be just as important to the safety equation as the condition of the firearm, proper ammunition selection, or choosing a safe place to shoot.  If I think there’s any possibility that I might screw something up because my head’s up and locked (I’m sure Glenn to explain that one if anyone doesn’t get it ), I won’t go because I might be a danger to myself or others.