Sure Shots Magazine

ARCHIVE - ISSUE FIVE- NOV 2013 FEATURE PICTORIAL - TRAINING - LIFESTYLE - REVIEWS ARCHIVE - ISSUE FIVE - NOV 2013

Niki Jones
Editor-in-chief

Deano Jones
Art Director,
Photography

Carrin Welch
Copy Editor

Nikki Raye
West Coast Correspondent

On the Cover,
Cover girl Lisa, who was one of the very first Sure Shots back in the day, is a a jack-of-all-trades: Hairstylist, makeup artist, and bartender.
Read more about her and see more pics from the cover photo shoot!

Birds of a Feather

The Wild Bunch: Cindy, Barrie, Niki, Renee, Nicole

by Niki Jones

When I received an invitation to a Dove Hunt from the awesome Renee Blaine, Shotgun Instructor Extraordinaire, I knew right off that this wasn't going to be your run-of-the-mill bird hunt. Renee happens to run with a particularly fabulous crowd—very successful (and very style-conscious) women. And, I should mention, they're ALL amazing shooters! I had already met some of them, and I couldn't wait to meet the rest.

I arrived at Renee's friend Cindy's 500-acre Rocky Creek Ranch, in Watson, TX (about an hour north of Austin) at 2:00pm. The ladies were already there—Nicole, Cindy, Janna, and Renee's super-cool sister Barrie, who put a jalepeño margarita in my hand. I loved them all immediately (and not because they brought the tequila!). After introductions were made, we piled in Renee's Polaris Ranger and took off on a tour of the ranch.

Cindy's ranch is beautiful. Hilly and wooded, it has long winding roads, big rolling fields, and ponds. The weather was in the low 70's and sunny that day, which couldn't have been more perfect. More than an hour later, we made our way back to our starting point, where Renee had already set up a trap thrower (the machine that launches clay pigeons into the air), for us to practice our shooting and get warmed up.

Nicole handed me a gorgeous brown leather Galco shell pouch to strap around my waist, and Renee handed me my shotgun for the day—a Merkel 2000E 12 gauge, and filled my pouch with shells. We were ready to rock!

[Read more]

Training for a Match! by Alex Griffith

Alex is quick on the draw

I've been shooting competitively for the past eight years. I started in college, and shot in four collegiate national events, winning one of them. I've also shot in numerous bullseye regionals, competed with the USA Shooting team, including shooting in the 2008 Olympic Trials, and shot in the 2011 and 2012 Bianchi Cup world championship of action pistol. (I missed the 2013 Bianchi Cup because I was in basic training, but I'll be back next year.)

So I'm no stranger to the pressure that comes with competing in a major match. Despite my experience, I still get nervous a few days before the match starts until I fire the last shot. Being nervous is a good thing - a friend once told me "if you aren't nervous, you no longer care." Here are some strategies I use to control the nerves and make the most of my match.

[Read more]

Knowledge - Courage - Integrity

Sometimes our favorite things aren't necessarily our favorite because of the thing itself, but what it stands for, or the memories to which it's connected.

This FBI commemorative Beretta 92FS is the one I'd consider My Favorite Gun. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad was away at the FBI Academy in Quantico. I remember how much I missed him, but also how insanely proud I was of him (I remember being most proud of him for running their crazy obstacle course every day!). This gun makes me remember his graduation, which included an amazing show of helicopters "storming" the ceremony, complete with Agents fast-roping to the ground and snipers shooting from roofs—so exciting! And the fact that he gave this gun to me as soon as I moved to Texas always makes me smile.
-Niki Jones

MKA 1919XN Firebird Precision Conversion
by Carrin Welch

Before the transformation

About 6 months ago I fell in love with “Lana”. She is sleek, powerful, and gorgeous. Every time we go to the range she makes me giggle. But, she belongs to someone else. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't steal her away from my friend. Instead I decided to make my own “Lana”. This is that story.

Let me make something clear from the start. I am not a gunsmith. I'm just a gun enthusiast who likes to take things apart and put them back together. The AR-15 platform is perfect for my level of tinkering, and I have assembled 2 ARs. Modifying the Akdal MKA 1919XN is not the same, but my experience with ARs has taught me about the basics, and they are similar-ish. The MKA is a 12-gauge, gas operated semi-automatic, magazine fed shotgun. It has similar controls to an AR-15, like the safety selector and magazine release. But “Lana” doesn’t look like the typical MKA, she has been heavily modified using parts made by Firebird Precision.

The Mad Scientist at work

Firebird Precision is based in New Mexico, and initially built parts for and modified Saiga shotguns. They found that the Turkish-made Akdal MKA 1919 is an easier platform to work with. Their conversion parts change the Akdal from “hum-drum” to “Seriously Sleek Shooting Machine”. Once I decided on specifics I spoke with Jim & Nanci, the owners of Firebird. They were both very gracious with their time, gave me a lot of info, and helped me place my order.

When my MKA arrived I was surprised. Its polymer lower and A2 style stock combo look and feel cheap. Basically, I bought it for the upper, the barrel, and the gas system. I took the stock MKA to the range to make sure that it worked properly and cycled smoothly. While all the polymer pieces help keep it light weight, that also makes the recoil rough. Initially I let the gun kick me back, causing it not to cycle properly (basically a variation of ‘limp wristing’). Once I adjusted that, it ran smoothly. I really like the size of the 5 round mags (it comes with 2). They are easy to maneuver and seat quickly. Unfortunately, I will have to upgrade to 10 round magazines for shooting 3 gun matches. That will add some bulk and weight.

With all the pieces collected, I met up with my friend DJ. He had already done this conversion, so I knew he’d be a good guide. It was time to get my hands dirty and take the gun apart. Starting with the front sight, I worked my way down the gun removing the handguard and barrel. Removing the barrel is a little tricky; it requires some finesse in order to prevent the bolt from banging forward and nicking the feed ramp.

[Read more]

Girls Day at the Range

A Sure Shots Octoberfest involves SHOOTIN' STEEL!!

In early October, twelve Sure Shots got together at Best of the West for a Girls-Only day at the range. We secured our favorite tactical bay and set up our brand new steel targets from Steeldealer.net: one giant IDPA-style 3/4" thick steel, one mini IDPA steel, a hanging gopher steel, and two "walking" steels. It just so happened that Eric from Green Eyed Tactical and his awesome wife Stephanie were in the bay next door, and they insisted we needed more targets, so they generously gave us a bunch of the most realistic terrorist targets we'd ever seen, as well as six additional target stands for the day!

It was nice and cool out (finally!) and we were pretty psyched as steel began to ring. We joked that residents within 100 miles of Liberty Hill could also hear us ring that steel—that 3/4" giant target was LOUD; it was more like "gonging" steel than ringing it! We set up some games, like Bell Elimination, where two Sure Shots go shot-for-shot on the steel as fast as they can, and the one who misses gets eliminated, and then the next one steps in. 17-year-old Kingsley was the clear winner! Then it was onto running multiple-threat drills, and then of course, shooting the walkers (they were a challenge!).

One of our awesome sponsors, Rocktape, sent one of their "Rock Docs" over—a Doctor of Physical Therapy named Jamie—to show us how to stretch and use kinesiology tape for improved performance. Jamie was a solid shooter—she had brought her .40 and didn't hesitate to jump right in and shoot with us.

Some girls get together and go shopping, some get manicures, but when it comes to a Sure Shots Girls Day Out, we bring it hardcore and ALWAYS bring the fun!