If you choose to venture out tonight, be safe and be alert. I wish you all a healthy, prosperous, and blessed 2017. The future is certainly looking brighter for freedom-loving Americans than in recent years. Let’s keep up the momentum in 2017!
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It had only been a little over 24 hours since my son and I were at the range, but since I’m on a “staycation” I decided to squeeze in another outing yesterday. This time I opted to visit the local indoor range in order to get in some practice doing quick followup shots. Where we shoot outdoors, we are allowed to draw from the holster and even shoot on the move, however the rules call for a couple seconds or more between shots; the actual required delay depending on the whim of the range officer. One can’t draw or move indoors, but you can shoot fast if desired — go figure.

I had a short wait to get checked in at the range, as the proprietor was processing paperwork and explaining the rules to first timers. It seemed there were a lot of Christmas guns in play, as well as apparent first time shooters. That time was spent observing and sizing up the other folks using the range.

I set out my target between 7 and 10 yards, and varied the number of shots in the fast followup from one to four, depending on how I felt. Shooting in the low light of the indoor range added to the challenge, and I frequently brought my target in to check the hits. I was pleased to see decent groups, at least keeping all the hits within the -0 zone of my practice IDPA target. Eventually I grew tired of hunting down the lone range stapler to change my target, and switched to using some stick-on splatter targets.

Shooting at the indoor range is seldom without some paranoia on my part. I keep an eye on the other targets around me to see how accurate the folks in neighboring lanes are being. I step out of my lane regularly just to see who’s around and what they are doing. Watching a woman enter the range and adjust her hearing protection with the same hand holding her rental gun was a gut-wrenching moment. Despite some distractions, it was an enjoyable time. I go through ammo much faster than at the outdoor range with it’s multi-second shot delay rule, but still found the practice beneficial, and fun.

After I finished shooting, I used my phone to go online and check out Facebook statuses of some local breweries with new beers I wanted to try. I figured I go have a beer somewhere. (Vacation, remember?) Sadly they were all closed for at least another hour. I guess that’s the drawback of being off during the week. Not wanting to wait around, I headed home to raid my own beer fridge.

For the third year in row, a group of us gathered at the range the morning after Christmas for a bit of shooting fun. We had a smaller crowd than in years past; just two friends, my son and myself. (The rest of you missed a good time.)

I packed three different pistols that my son and I took turns shooting. He’s been mostly a rifle shooter, but now that he’s approaching the age when he can buy a handgun, it’s a becoming a more pertinent topic. I suspect before long he’ll be outshooting me with the pistol too. As a good dad, I’m working on his appreciation of SIG Sauer craftsmanship. 😀

We enjoyed about an hour of shooting before a large family showed up and wanted to share the range. When it comes to strangers at the range I’m anti-social, so we packed up the gear and let the new folks have the range. We had brought along the rifles too, but the rifle range was full by this time. The boy has a long break before he heads back to school, so I’m looking forward to shooting more in the coming weeks.

The first Christmas gift received today was the joy of sleeping in. We celebrated at the Midnight Mass, so the extra sleep was welcome and appreciated. I am sure the rest of the day will entail good food, good drink, and even an extra nap or two. I hop…

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. …

Yea, pretty much a typical weekend.

Our weekend was focused on getting the Christmas lights hung. But first, I needed to trim some of the shrubbery in front of the house — there always seems to be a “pre-chore” to the chores. That led to blowing leaves out of the beds, which led to blowing leaves out of the rest of the yard.

Finally, it was time actually get to the lights. Hmm, that string doesn’t light. Wait, this one only lights halfway. I have to wonder, how do Christmas light strings go bad between packing them up in January and unpacking them in December? So, it’s off to the hardware store for more lights in order to finish the task. I must say, it looks good once we’re finally done so it was worth all the extra work.

After Mass on Sunday, Colleen asked “Are you going to the range?” I hesitate and she tells me she’s going to do more decorating. “So you should go,” she says. Who am I to argue?

I packed up the little Walther .380 that I’m considering shooting in IDPA BUG matches next year. I’ve not shot it in a few years, so figure it’ll be fun. Anticipating the sting, I jerked the first shot, but the next 11 from 7 yards were right on.

I ended up putting 50 rounds through the little gun, shooting from 7-15 yards. I was pretty pleased, even if I did walk away with a bit of blood on the web of my hand. The tang on the handle digs in a bit. It’s not too bad, but 50 rounds was enough “fun” with that gun. A bit more shooting with the SIG P226 rounded out the quick trip.

Returning home, it was time to sort through more extension cords and finish the window candles. That task completed, we decided to head over to Harry’s Alehouse for a snack, and a beer or two. Having this place so close to home is going to be detrimental to my wallet, and my waistline. We opted for a couple appetizers; Pulled Pork Tostadas and Grilled Texas Wings. Either appetizer would make a full meal, and the tostadas were especially tasty.

Founders Nitro Oatmeal Stout & Stone Enjoy By 12.25.16 Unfiltered IPA (Virginia Prototype)

Standing outside admiring the lights on the house Sunday evening, it truly seemed like winter. It felt cooler than the 37° shown on the wall thermometer, and is but a preview of the weather to come. The trips to the range may be less frequent, but at least it’s always warm at the pub.

In lieu of actual shooting content, I present this for your enjoyment…Hope you hit your target this weekend!
[ This content originated at Musings Over a Pint ]

Today, December 6 is the Feast day of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas, was a wealthy and generous man. His generosity towards others led to him being the inspiration for the tradition of Santa Claus and gift giving. He is also one of several Patron Saints of brewing. It’s not entirely clear why Nicholas was chosen as a Patron Saint of brewing. Tradition states that Nicholas was having a beer at an inn where the inn keeper had murdered three boys and packed their bodies in a barrel of brine. Nicholas was offered some salted meat with his beer. Due to a local shortage of food, Nicholas became suspicious, found the bodies, and brought the boys back to life. He died on December 6, 345 A.D. or 352 A.D.

Inspired by this feast day, is Samichlaus Bier. Samichlaus is an 14% ABV doppelbock that at one time was billed as the world’s strongest beer. The name means “Santa Claus” in the Swiss-German dialect of Zürich. Brewed only on December 6 of each year, the beer is aged for almost a year and released in time for the following year’s feast day. Samichlaus was originally brewed by Brauerei Hürlimann, and later by Feldschlösschen Brewery. It is currently produced by Schloss Eggenberg of Switzerland.

We have a tradition of opening an aged bottle of Samichlaus Bier on the evening of December 6. Tonight I’ll dig through the boxes in the cellar and find something old to enjoy. Even if you can’t get your hands on Samichlaus Bier, raise a pint to St. Nicholas today for his generosity and the traditions of giving he inspired.

Another tradition surrounding this Feast involves children leaving their shoes out the evening before, and St. Nicholas would fill them treats such as candies or fruits so the children know he had visited. It is from this tradition that we get the Christmas stocking.

Big kids sometimes get treats too.