Did a little shooting today

It had been about a month since I pulled a trigger, so I dashed off to a local firearms retailer with an indoor range for awhile today.

Mid-afternoon, the place was packed. It has four rifle lanes. I had to wait an hour for one to open up.

While I was waiting, I browsed inventory and watched people in the store.

Many who came to shoot (both long guns and pistols) were carrying new range bags or had their rifles in new cases. I presume many of these new cases contained recently purchased firearms. I was toting a 25 year old rifle in a 40 year old rifle case.

There were a number of young adults in the store. They came and went in groups of two, three or more. And there were older folks too. Some came in as families: Mom and/or dad escorted by grown kids. It seems shooting is a social thing as much as anything else.

Mosin Nagant 91/30 (file photos)

Arsenal stamp on Mosin Nagant

The store appeared to have laid in plenty of stock for the Christmas season. Plenty of black rifles in the racks (some with pink accents), Ruger 10/22s (a Christmas favorite), and there was even a couple of cases of Russian surplus bolt-action Mosin-Nagant 91/30s near the front of the store. Now retailing at around $129, Mosins are an easy entry point rifle that's rich in history.