April Steel Challenge Match Results: Weaver Un-Muzzled

Bangin' and Clangin' this past weekend in the April Steel Challenge at the Texarkana Gun Club was great! If you were there you know that already, if you weren't, bummer!

I thought I would make a change for this last match and instead of shooting my center fire pistol like I usually do I would borrow a .22 from a friend and save a little ammo monies this month. Well as always, I had a blast but the results were a little disappointing. The pistol in question is a Beretta Neos .22 LR with a 10 round magazine and 6 inch barrel. Great little gun, and overall behaved very nicely for me during the match with just a few mis-feeds here and there. But the key word here is "little." I don't have mountain man hands or anything but they are long-fingered, and trying to get the right grip on that gun is pretty difficult for me. I finally settled into a hold that worked ok but was never truly comfortable with it. My son Tyler shoots the Neos really well though, his hands are a lot smaller than mine, at least for now. Before we get too far off course, congratulations to the top 10 overall pistol shooters in the April Steel Challenge, and here they are;

1. Richard Jones
2. Jeff Thomas
3. Braden Jones
4. Tim O'Neal
5. Odie DeHan
6. Kelly Murray
7. Bill Lumbly
8. Bryan Jones
9. Brad Tucker
10. Carlton Bailey

Mentioning the fit of the pistol in my hand brings to mind a real important point, if you're new to hand gun shooting, finding a gun that fits your hand is so vital. If you have smallish hands then buying a full size double stacked Beretta Model 92 is probably not a good idea for you. Sure it's a lot of firepower to send down range, but if you can't comfortably wrap your hands around it to control recoil and get back on target, then your not doing yourself any favors. (see my hands below right) No matter if it's target shooting, competition or self defense, having a good grip on your weapon can and will make all the difference.

Oh, if anyone is thinking of Father's Day or the BIG birthday in August, my hands fit the Springfield XDm 5.25 perfectly. Then there's the Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm Pro, or the Ruger SR9, the Taurus 1911... but enough about me.

If you're shopping around for the perfect fit it's always a great idea to get with a friend who has several different types of hand guns, go to the range and try them out. Feel the recoil with different calibers and sizes of guns. Find out what guns can easily be customized and which ones can not. Ask a lot of questions and don't worry about feeling like a nube or asking what you might think is a dumb question. We were all nubies at one time.

Hopefully I can get some range time between now and the next USPSA club match the first Saturday in May, I need more practice!

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As always, if your looking for a great place to shoot in the Ark-La-Tex, a local instructor or some new friends to shoot with, you’ll find it all at TexarkanaGunClub.org.

Stay sharp and shoot safe.