Fourth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot AAR, Part 2

And now, the thoughts from the shoot.

It's really hard to put into words just how awesome a shoot like the Northeast Bloggershoot can be. It's a gathering of friends, of folks brought together by a common bond; whether it be competitive shooting, personal protection, collecting, or just a love of freedom, we're all drawn together by our love of firearms and shooting events. I'm going to attempt to list everyone that came; my apologies if I have forgotten anyone...

Andrew & son & nephew
Brad_in_ma
libertyman
JD & daughter
Mopar & Cher
Eric
Wally
TheAxe
Bubblehead Les (who took the Cup of Turonistan for coming the farthest for the shoot)
TOTWTYTR
Zercool
Meataxe
Weerd
Old Windways
Bandit
OldNFO
LWJ
Butch

and of course, our esteemed host and hostess, doubletrouble and Mrs. doubletrouble. Again, thank you both so very much for your incredible hospitality. You opened your home to this oddball group of weirdos, malcontents, and general gun nuts, and the Northeast Bloggershoot could not be anywhere near as successful without the Sooper Seekrit range.

We had well over two dozen people at the shoot, ranging in age from about 6 or 7 up through {mumble}. Most everyone brought something to play with, ammo to feed same, or foodstuffs to share. Thousands of rounds of ammunition, dozens of guns, machine guns, suppressors, sniper rifles; all that hardware and the only injuries were a couple slices from the shot-up helmet and WEERD trying to leave his palm on Wally's AMT longslide...

Highlights of the day:

• Watching Andrew patiently show his young nephew how to properly fire a gun. He's going to go back to Chicago knowing a hell of a lot more than before he came out to live free or die land.
• Seeing Bandit happily loading 30 round magazines for the 10/22, then firing off each magazine with a determined look - he later came up to me and exclaimed "I've got to get one of these!" (he's waiting for his MA permit).
• The Snubbie from Hell™ was, once again, a big hit, getting passed around again and again. The VZ grips have, if anything, enhanced the shootability of the little monster.
• Les and Mrs. doubletrouble both fired the Ruger LC9. Les didn't care for the trigger; Mrs. D. was already familiar with it, having an LCP, and seemed to like it okay - but she liked the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard better.
• Wally's AK-54 is a hell of a lot of fun.
• Old NFO has excellent taste in weaponry - the SCAR was awesome, as were the Clark and the C&S 1911s he brought.
  
• Libertyman also has a lot of extremely cool toys, but I have a new favorite of his: the stainless Python he was gracious enough to let me shoot. I could barely tell the difference between single and double action!
• Holy CRAP my shoulder hurts from Zercool's 3½" Magnum Remington 870. OUCH!
• Belt-fed full-auto .22LR ARs are a crazy amount of fun. Paul from SL Guns was kind enough to swing by to let us play with it for a bit (thanks Paul!), and as he told NFO, TheAxe, and I at the shop Saturday, he felt compelled to come up with something new and exciting after the past couple of years and the "arms race"...
• The weather was awesome - while weather reports were calling for rain and thunderstorms, we had a bit of overcast skies at the start, followed by sunshine for most of the day. G-d really does love gunnies.
• It's humbling how far folks will travel for good company and shootie fun - Les from OH, OldNFO from VA, TheAxe from MD, Zercool from NY, Mopar and Cher from CT; most everyone traveled a pretty fair distance to come play with us yesterday.
• Shooting stuff is fun. Shooting stuff with really cool hardware is fun. Shooting stuff with really cool hardware among good friends is about as much fun as you can possibly have...
  

Again, I had a fantastic time, and thanks to everyone for making it such a great day!

That is all.