The Tells: My New Air Pistol

Day Books: Tuesday, 2005-02-22 00:58 EST - Luzon Avenue, DC

Last Thursday (2005-02-17) was my 55th birthday. For the last few months, I have been obsessing on a Russian air pistol, the IZH-46MBaikal IZH-46M … here are a few links:

IZH-46M cutaway My Friendly Neighborhood Gunshop had one on display, with a price tag of $319.00 ... this was not much of a mark-down from the SRP of $349.00, and nowhere near the US distributor's deal of $249.00 for NRA members ($209.00 in quantities for teams/clubs.)

Long story short, we found a .45 cal M-1911 pistol in my father's effects after he passed away, and the dealer appraised it at $2,100.00 (it was manufactured in 1915 and had only been fired a few times) ... he offered me the IZH-46M and $1,100.00 cash in trade for the M-1911, so I picked it up on my birthday.

I decided to name it Maлeнький Maльчик (Malinki Meilchick), which is Russian for "Little Boy" ... both for the song from Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, and the code name for the Hiroshima bomb.

[intl_air_pistol] 2005-02-18 The next day, I took it to the NRA HQ range in Fairfax, VA and shot a 323/400 on my very first 40 shot session (8 targets, 5 shots per target) … here is the third of my first eight targets that day, with a 44/50 score … I need five more sessions that are 316/400 or better and then I can wear the Expert pin on my NRA International Air Pistol Qualification.

I'll be adding some more (Real Soon Now) about getting back on the range with my .22 caliber rifle for the first time in 30 years, and how I'm going through the same 4-position qualifications I did at 50 feet (A-17 targets) when I was a teenager, except that I'm doing them at 50 yards (A-23/5 targets).

But for now, that's all I've got to say about that. -=DAH=- 2005-02-22

2005-04-29 2005-02-27: Well, I got up early this morning to hit the range, and fired three sets of 40 shots (317/400, 323/400, and 316/400) to complete my quota of six sets of 316/400 or better for the International Air Pistol Expert Qualification ... the next step is to accumulate 10 sets of 522/600 or better to qualify as a Distinguished Expert ... it may take many months (if not a few years) to accumulate that many sets, but that's why its called a hobby, right?

2005-04-14: I wrote a review for ReviewCentre.com (a site in the U.K.) back on 2005-03-02 that was finally approved for viewing on the site ... imagine my surprise when it showed up as an EXPERT REVIEW, one of only two out of the 19 posted! This was my first post at this site, and I assumed that this was recognition of having posted some minimum (but relatively large) number of reviews, but I guess it's recognition of the quality of the review. :-)

2005-05-04: Well, I'm getting better (48/50), but still not quite where I want to be ... this is the best I've done so far, but 502/600 is the best aggregate I've been able to do. <sigh!>

2005-05-28: There's a picture of me with Little Boy on 2005-05-28 Getting Ready for Mac's Funeral, a prelude to RoadTrip'05.


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