The True Fountain of Youth
The Magical Powers Of A New Gun
Here’s Phil and his faithful companion, Mattis.
Setting up some “bad guy” targets is always easier with help.
Answering the phone, I could tell by the excitement in his voice something was up, and I bet I knew what it was. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks and that people get “set in their ways” with age. While this is true for many, it certainly doesn’t apply to my buddy Phil.
You remember Phil. He’s the retired Trooper living clear on top of Copper Mountain. A few years ago, Phil thought he had found his ultimate concealed carry gun in a nifty GLOCK 43X used with Shield Arms magazines, giving him 15 +1 rounds of 9mm at his disposal.
Knowing Phil, he carried two more backup magazines on his person for another 30 rounds. He also had aftermarket sights installed on his new shooter, but at the age of 82, he saw something better or liked something better, for his needs.
Another friend of his had just gotten a SIG SAUER P365 with an open-reflex optical sight. Phil tried the gun out and loved it! The illuminated dot “felt like cheating” for Phil’s 82-year-old eyes. When he told me about the gun already being on order, he sounded like a wound-up kid with Christmas approaching.
Mattis wouldn’t give up her seat, so
Tank had to walk to the range.
The SIG SAUER P365 and P322 are perfect shooting companions.
Color Code
Everyone’s eyes are different, made up of different rods and cones for night vision and color clarity, and a green dot was what contrasted best for Phil’s eyes. I admit, when I shot his gun, the green dot was pleasing to my eyes too.
It’s good getting excited at any age. It keeps us young, and Phil’s enthusiasm for guns, along with his sense of humor and penchant for doing fun things, does this very thing.
Phil zeroing-in on the bad guys.
The Big Kaboom!
As an example of Phil’s sense of fun, here’s a story he told me. Since he used to be a state trooper, a few years ago, a neighbor had given Phil some blasting powder she found in her dad’s home to dispose of. She said her father used it for blasting stumps. Little did she know …
Never one to pass up an opportunity for fun or adventure, Phil disposed of the old blasting powder in true Phil form.
Going over to his trash pile, he lit a section of fuse to test how fast it would burn so he knew what length to cut for his getaway. Phil got things figured out, blowing up bigger and bigger piles of blasting powder. Since he was running out of fuse, he had the bright idea of making a big pile with the rest of the powder.
All was going peachy-keen until he tried lighting the last bit of fuse. As it sparked and sputtered, a gust of wind blew a spark into his pile of blasting powder, setting it off. KABOOOM!!! When Phil came to, he was no worse for the wear — sort of! He had some pretty good powder burns, along with some missing skin. While blowing myself up isn’t necessarily the kind of fun I want to have, I can understand the temptation to blast some powder! What kid doesn’t like explosions? Just because we grow older doesn’t mean we have to grow up.
Close-ups of the dynamic duo.
SIG SAUER Power Twins
Besides ordering his SIG SAUER P365 with Holosun HE507K-GR X2 sight, Phil figured he might as well get the SIG P322 with the same setup. That way, he can shoot his large stockpile of .22 ammo he’s accumulated over the decades. Plus, nothing’s “funner” than shooting .22s … except maybe exploding piles of blasting powder.
At 82, Phil still knows how to handle a handgun.
Eat & Shoot
A date was set for a visit. When Phil and I meet up, we usually have breakfast at a local diner. After a hearty meal, it’s off to his house on Copper Mountain to do some shooting with his new guns. Phil’s homestead is roughly 67 acres, and his house sits atop the mountain. His long driveway has three motion sensors along the route for early warnings from intruders.
Phil built several different ranges with steel targets at ranges from 100 to 800 yards, depending on where you shoot from. He also has a pistol range for closer shooting, along with hanging plastic bowling pins and dueling tree targets. After putting up some paper “bad guy” targets we started shooting. First up was the SIG P322. I’ll admit, shooting this gun with the green dot sight was fun!
Target acquisition is super-fast and less straining on the eyes. Aligning one focal plane dot onto the target is much easier than juggling around three focal planes of front sight, rear sight and target. Fellow retired officers are using them more frequently during LEOSA qualifications.
After shooting a couple of 20-round magazines each without any malfunctions, we switched over to the SIG P365 9mm, with the same Holosun HE507K-GR X2 green dot sight.
The effects of Underwood’s fluted Extreme Defender solid monolithic ammo on the water jugs.
Old Glory waves in the background by the house.
The Underwood ammo makes quite the splash!
Water Park
We shot various brands of ammo, again, all without a malfunction, at paper targets and plastic bowling pins, followed by some water jugs, to see the effects of Underwood Xtreme Defender solid monolithic fluted ammo. The results were spectacular, with the fluted copper bullet ripping through the jugs and causing a huge water splash.
No better way to end a visit than with a mug of hot coffee on a chilly day, guns, shooting and telling stories.
Coffee Break
After 40 minutes of shooting, we were ready to head in the house to warm up and of course tell stories over a mug of hot coffee. It was a great visit. How could it not be with guns, stories, breakfast and hot coffee. So, if you’re feeling kind of old, maybe it’s time to take a drink from the fountain of youth and buy yourself a new gun or even a new, used gun. It’s safer than playing with blasting powder. Ask Phil. He’ll tell you all about it with a glint in his eye and a devilish smile.
