Moral-Flexibility.Net

I’ve never really owned a purpose made “range bag”. For the longest time I used my “duty bag” as a range bag, and while adequate it was hardly optimal (partitioned inside for seperating paperwork, not gunstuff). When I returned to driving for a living I commandered the duty bag for its original purpose and ended up using a variety of other bags around the house to lug my range gear to and from.

This was hardly perfect either. I decided I needed a range bag, something that would be tough enough not to self destruct carrying accoutrements and ammo, something that would fit all the odds and sods comfortably and something that I could use expressly for this purpose so it would be ready to go on a moments notice and I wouldn’t have to waste energy racing around trying to gather everything together.

Dimensions: 18″ (46cm) Length x 12″ (30cm) Width x 8″ (20cm) Height

As luck would have it, a week ago, on the way to the range I found that K-W Surplus had Tactical Assault Commando Cases (or, in truth, black canvas tool bags) for $20. Space seemed adequate, construction seemed rugged, it seemed almost perfect, and it was cheap. Excellent!

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The first shotgun I purchased was brand new. I purchased it while trapped in Lever Arms waiting for my friend Patrick to authorize, pay for and complete the transfer of a pistol he was keen on acquiring. Patrick was my ride home you see. Anyway, long story short the Mossbergs were on sale and I grabbed one while standing around admiring the boomsticks.

This was early on in my hoplophile days and I was firmly convinced that the Mossberg deserved every bell, whistle and attachment I could dig up for it. And on they went, one after another, until the value of the accessories actually exceeded the purchase price of the shotgun itself.

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My range trip yesterday was definately far from optimal.

I forgot my spotting scope and brought two rifles I knew had to have their sights slightly adjusted (the AR15 and the VZ58), the range was unusually busy (likely because I showed up at noon instead of my usual 10:00am time) and the best I could do was a stall on the 100 yard line.

Waiting for a target change I took the rifles out of the hard case, set out the magazines and began to load them. Czech surplus ammo for the VZ58, and Winchester for the AR. Problems noticed immediately, some sort of jam in my 30/5 mag for the AR, follower jams after 3 rounds pushed in. Strange. I take a sticker (kept in my toolkit for this sort of thing) and mark the mag for follow-up when I get home.

After the target change I slam a mag into the AR, smack the bolt catch and then peer into the action to see why the round has failed to chamber properly. Remove mag, cycle action, peer into chamber, peer into mag, reinsert mag, hit bolt catch and again peer into chamber. Same problem.

Meh?

There I am peering into the rifle wondering what went wrong when the grizzled old shooter beside me comes over and says “Does that rifle normally take 762?”, getting my back up a little I make ready with a sarcastic reply when I realize, HOLY CRAP, he’s right.

You see, I am a retard. When I was pulling ammo out of storage at home I decided to shoot my one-offs to leave a more consistent assortment of ammo (I have several hundred rounds of 762x39mm Czech surplus, but I also had 40 rounds of Norinco 762x39mm and 1 box of Winchester 762x39mm). I’d become so used to “dull grey/green casing = 762x39mm” and “shiny brass casing = .223″ that I had infact been jamming 762 into my AR mags (which explains the capacity issues somewhat).

I suspect there’s some lesson in complacency here. Maybe a lesson in the importance of caffeine as well.

[Edited to add: I forgot my digital camera for this trip as well so no pics of the targets for my doubters. At 100 yards the rounds were on paper, grouped well but off center for both rifles. I replaced my old "Aeroflot" range bag with an uber-tactical assault range bag and failed to include everything when I left the house. Pics of the new range bag, along with a write-up will be forthcoming when it comes back from my tailor with the patches added.]

My brother is in the final stages of getting his CCW down in Texas.

This is an option I do not have up here in the great white north, and I’m starting to resent it.