Bucket List Check Off's

[Midwesthonky]

Ok, Got to check off a couple of items from the bucket list this weekend.

• Visit Lambeau Field - Wife won tickets to Friday night's preseason Packer's game. I've never been and hoped to some day so it was cool to check this one off the list. Wife was gracious as the Packer's are not her team. Her parents raised her on one of those teams that has never won a championship. Despite such misguided parenting, she has done well for herself.
• Do the wave at Lambeau Field - Check this one off twice! Ok, it's cheezy, but still cool to do.

All in all, it was pretty nice after being stuck working in Toronto from Friday through Thursday. Then having my flight home delayed. I was connecting through O'Hare for the first time in 2 years since O'Hare SUCKS!!! Hell, a butterfly farts in China and O'Hare had delays. Anyway...I was at the gate after clearing US customs and then Canadian Security. Flight delayed...yep gonna miss my connection. Got a connection rebook so I'll sit in O'Hare for 5 hours. Yeah...that gets me all tingly inside. Agent calls me up and offers a direct flight on Air Canada. Only catch is I have to change terminals...SO I exit Security, exit customs, get my bag...go to the other terminal and do it all over again. US Customs agent laughed as the system said I had cleared customs 2 hours earlier. Still, spending 6 hours in the Toronto airport was not my idea of fun. But I got home.

 

[j_garcia]

Not exactly a bucket list, but it was fun getting to shoot this monster today. S&W .500 Magnum

 

[Midwesthonky]

Not exactly a bucket list, but it was fun getting to shoot this monster today. S&W .500 Magnum

I've always wanted to try one of those. Biggest short gun I've fired has been a Ruger .45 Long Colt. Just doesn't sound the same as the cannons like a.357 Magnum on the lane next to me. How was that? Still have your wrists?

 

[j_garcia]

It was pretty darn cool. Biggest hand cannon I've fired for sure. You can see the muzzle of this one is compensated, so aside from the jolt you feel in your hand, it was surprisingly not too bad. I've shot.44 mag before, and he also has a .44 mag and it kicked harder than the .500 (uncompensated) The .500 is so long and heavy though that it takes a little more effort and concentration to hold straight and sight in. He's our neighbor up north and we ended up talking to him as a result of the burglary. So when he called and said he was going to be doing some shooting and offered to let us shoot that thing, I wasn't about to say no. The rounds are massive and he said they don't shoot it too often because they are $4 a round He snuck a buffalo wad cutter in there and didn't tell his son before he fired it. You could feel the concussion from that one from 10ft away and he was shaking off the sting from that one. Pretty fun afternoon.

 

[Midwesthonky]

It was pretty darn cool. Biggest hand cannon I've fired for sure. You can see the muzzle of this one is compensated, so aside from the jolt you feel in your hand, it was surprisingly not too bad. I've shot.44 mag before, and he also has a .44 mag and it kicked harder than the .500 (uncompensated) The .500 is so long and heavy though that it takes a little more effort and concentration to hold straight and sight in. He's our neighbor up north and we ended up talking to him as a result of the burglary. So when he called and said he was going to be doing some shooting and offered to let us shoot that thing, I wasn't about to say no. The rounds are massive and he said they don't shoot it too often because they are $4 a round He snuck a buffalo wad cutter in there and didn't tell his son before he fired it. You could feel the concussion from that one from 10ft away and he was shaking off the sting from that one. Pretty fun afternoon.

hehehe... Yeah, that would be a surprise you really don't want. Years ago while trap shooting, a bud used a box of 12 ga 3 inch shells his brother has reloaded. The first shot got everyone looking at him. After that round, we came back holding his shoulder and complaining his brother had loaded the shells a bit "hot."

The mass of the gun and compensation really makes a difference. I like .45 ACP for target shooting. I use a Colt 1911 Commander and a 1911 Gold Cup. I can do well with those two. My brother went for personal protection and got one of those Springfields that are good for concealed carry. Big difference between them. I think my pattern on 7 rounds tripled or quadrupled with his tiny little Springfield.

I would like to obtain a .50 shirt gun some day. But I got to get it past the woman. Years ago, I read about the .454 Casull and have always been fascinated by the larger calibers. My brother likes the smaller calibers like .223 and I go for the bigger stuff.

I really would like to fire off my Colt Peacemaker at the indoor range, but I'd get kicked out of there.

 

[j_garcia]

IMO, the large calibers are a lot of fun, but aren't exactly practical. Fun isn't always practical and vice versa though I use my 1911 (custom competition trigger, match barrel) for accurate stuff too, but for personal/home defense I use a full size M&P 9MM. Not as accurate as the 1911, but it is easy to handle, highly shootable and my woman is able to shoot it well too, so regardless of who needs to pick it up at a time of need, it works.

Short barrel poly guns in .45 is pretty much asking for that snap in the hand and less accuracy, but at short distances, they'll still do the job too. In a smaller frame, I prefer 9mm or .40 with a personal defense load.

He told me he actually has that .500 listed on his CCW! He said "Yeah, like I would be able to conceal that thing." LOL.