Range Report

I had an opportunity to take my new acquisition to the range on Sunday, although I got there late and only had an hour to play.  I had both the kids there too, taking turns with Number One Son's .22LR boltie.
I love taking my kids to the range; they enjoy themselves immensely, and they soften up the grouchy old grumps who run the place.  One of them took me aside at the end of the day to thank me for bringing them - they love to see a new generation learn to shoot, and he said he'd be happy to help with pointers next time around...
On to the report...
Whipping out my evil black rifle did not cause any stirs, which was pleasing... I have seen AR 15s here, and I don't think the range guys much care what you shoot...
I tried loading with a five-round stripper - wouldn't fit.
Tried a ten-rounder - it fit, I got maybe two rounds in, then the rest just fell everywhere.  Looking like a tool, I sheepishly picked them up.  This was nowhere NEAR as easy as loading my SKS; after all, this rifle WAS designed to take magazines.  Sigh.  With this modification, the DOJ get exactly what they wanted - this rifle cannot be reloaded quickly.  Thank you California.
That said, once I loaded my rounds (one by one) and got to shooting, I was very pleased.
The recoil was directed straight back along the plane of the rifle as I had read, which kept the sights pretty much on point after firing.  It was also fairly mild, which is unsurprising really, given that the rifle weighs in at 10lbs.  I was very happy with that.
Accuracy was everything I could hope for.  The model I have is a carbine with a shortened barrel, but I was ringing that 200 yard gong with no problems over iron sights. (The gong is a 12X18 inch rectangle; at 200 yards, it looks thinner than 
the front post of my sight).

Overall, I'm liking this rifle, but loading it leaves a little to be desired,
to say the least...
No range pics I'm afraid, because like a moron I forgot to bring a camera.  Forgot to bring back my targets, too.  Well, there's always next time...