14 Oct

Appleseeding With Polina

Steven K. Ledin,

Folks that follow her shared blog, "Red Lipstick Optional" may know her as a beautiful and trend setting fashionista, and that is true, but they may not know that Polina is just as sharp slinging up a hot rifle as she is slinging up a Louboutin spike. Polina works in our Vendor Services department, and lately, when she's not offering haute couture advice, you can find her on the firing line.

polina

Polina just aced her first attempt at an Appleseed shoot. She used my 10/22 with a Butler Creek heavy fluted barrel, Hogue stock, and Nikon Prostaff 3-9×40 EFR scope in medium Redfield steel rimfire rings on top of a standard Weaver base. I set the gun up from the recommended chart sent to her by the organizers. The gun originally came with a grey laminate stock and typical skinny barrel and its current optic was an old World Class 4-12 target scope. The heavy barrel I installed kept the shakes down, didn't move in the wind as much, and just had a much steadier, confident feel. The Hogue stock is sticky and bulletproof. The Nikon EFR is my favorite airgun scope, and I swear they took my idea when they flew me to New York to pick my brain a bit a few years ago. But I certainly didn't come up with the excellent reticle. At 9x, the hollow part in the aiming circle in the reticle perfectly subtends to frame an official 10 meter airgun target's bullseye. Genius. It has great optics and eye relief, and adjusts perfectly.  

She said the instructors were patient and pleasant, and they taught her proper positioning and use of the sling.

Polina Appleseed

Polina wasn't the only one with shooting on their agenda. My old iPhone took a powder. I shot it 4 times at a distance of one foot with Remington CBee longs from an old EIG 4 barrel pistol I have. I've shot quite a few raccoons with it with these same loads, and the bullets often travel all the way through the coon lengthwise. Remarkably, they didn't come close to penetrating my phone. The front and back screens were smashed, but the inner guts were barely dented. There's plenty of instances where a phone has prevented injury by stopping a slug.

Phone 1Phone 24 bbl

Our training here classes are over for the year. The last few were Mounts and Rings, Night Vision, Lasers and Laser Rangefinders, and Microscopes closed it out. Meopta came in for a couple classes also, since we're now carrying this fine line of optics. Check them out. Great price points in top quality products from an American owned company.

Go Cubs!

About Steven K. Ledin

Steve has never not known guns. Before motorcycles, money, or girls, they have always been part of his life. He was tenured as General Manager of one of the country’s largest gun stores and ranges, a buyer in a big box sporting goods store, and is currently OpticsPlanet’s Director of Product Intelligence. He was a US Navy gunners mate, and is an NRA certified instructor in ten categories, as well as an Illinois CCW instructor. He shoots competitively and has hunted from Alaska to Africa. He thoroughly loves life with his beloved wife, Shirley, and their three wildish dogs Tinker, TranRek (pronounced “Train Wreck”), and Crash Almighty. He is a stubborn stage 4 cancer survivor not yet ready to cash in his chips.

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