Thanks to the Ammo Fairy, I hit the range last night and fired off over 100 rounds of 10mm, and about 200 .22's.
A few observations -
One, when you start getting "lines" instead of neat little holes, it's time to clean the .22.
Two, my reloads are hotter than factory loads. By a long shot.
Three, high temperature wheel grease works fantastically. And it's kind of hard to smell it over the gun powder.
Four, when you do not worry about retrieving your brass, shooting can be a hell of a lot more fun.
Five, 10mm, even when fired out of a compact Glock, has enough oomph to make everyone kind of lean over to see what you're shooting. Except for the guy shooting the .357 Magnum out of a snub nosed revolver. He wins. Hands down.
Six, the young man who was enjoying his first trip to the range in the stall next to me was having a really, really good time. The other guy who was teaching him should be commended. He had to walk out for a minute and the newbie had a jam. Instantly, his finger went to the side of the firearm, he kept it pointed downrange, and asked for help. I cleared it for him (and showed him what to do). It warms my blackened little heart to see not only someone new shooting, but someone who pays attention to the rules of safety.
Seven, said newbie got a kick out of shooting the 10mm. I thought he'd rip his ears off from smiling so much.
Eight, all 3 kids who were there with their fathers shooting .22 rifle were as well behaved as kids can get. It's almost like their exposure to guns won't necessarily turn them into killers later on in life and instead instills into them responsibility.
Nine, to the young man and his girlfriend who decided to shoot because they thought it'd be funny. If you giggle every time you take a shot and miss the target (at 7 yards, for Pete's sake), shooting may not be something you are mature enough to handle. To the little lady, do not text while on the range, your attention is supposed to be elsewhere.
Ten, I can't tell if it's the 100+ rounds of 10mm I shot or the fact I had to load 10 magazines that tired me out. Which made me realize that 1000 to 1500 rounds at Blackwater is going to hurt. I assume they have some cool doodad / speed loader of some sort. And by assume I mean "hope like hell". Otherwise you'll see a grumpy blogger on Downrange TV complaining about his sore thumbs.
Eleven, you cannot be stressed out after a decent night at the range. I suggest it over psychotherapy any day.