Selfies, Drills and Drones - An Hour At The Range

Well, we officially got back from SHOT Show 2016 in Vegas a week ago. After a week of decompressing, relaxing tired feet and getting over being sick we decided it was time to get back to shooting. With some upcoming competitions around the corner we decided to take advantage of this gorgeous day and head to the range to run some drills and have some fun. And most importantly, enjoy the sun.

We strolled into the range house like we owned the place [feels like we should after all the money we have spent there] and we were quickly brought back to reality when the kind lady behind the counter informed us that there was a wait.....a LONG wait! What else did we have to do on this great day? We made the obvious choice and decided to wait...and wait...and wait! It felt like we were at a fine dining establishment at dinner time, and we were h-u-n-g-r-y! As we sat in the range house counting the number of 5.11 pants that strolled through [Christy's didn't count], we did what we knew how to do best, SELFIES!! The one selfie that makes it on to Instagram or Facebook is the generally the most serious one out of the hundred goofy ones that we took!

By the time our names were called we only had an hour but we were determined to make it count and have a good time! We made our way to our bay and started to get set up. The Range Master decided to do a couple of drive by's just to say hi and make sure we had everything we needed. As always, he quizzed us on range rule #21 [everyone should know this one according to him]. Range Rule #21 clearly states, "It is mandatory that I MUST take my wife out to a nice meal after leaving the range." He further dictates that Sonic Drive In does not count as fine dining! Who knew? Of course, all of this talk about food actually did make us hungry.

We ran through as many drills as we could in the short amount of time that we had and just like any other time that we shoot together, it turned into a friendly husband and wife competition. If you ask Christy who won she would proudly tell you she did! If you ask me who won, I will quickly change the subject to prevent the repercussions I would face once you walked away! [She actually just rolled her eyes as I typed this]. We were both enjoying ourselves, as we always do together at the range, that there was no way that we weren't both winners.

To wrap up the short amount of time before the final "cease fire" was called for the day, I wanted to test my AR after some recent changes to my rifle. I also brought our big drone out to practice aerial range photography. For fun, I loaded up a 30 round mag, lifted the bird [drone] up into the sky and then turned Christy loose on a unsuspecting target while I filmed her from about 20' up. Filming with a drone definitely adds a different perspective that you cannot get using a regular camera.

Even though we didn't have a lot of time and felt rushed we managed to get everything done that we wanted to do. This lends credence to the saying, "A bad day at the range is better than a good day at the office!" We then wrapped up the day by going to eat with our good friends from Diversified Defense that were at the range teaching a class. Looking back, I'm glad we decided to wait instead of leaving and going back home!