Day 3 was horrible, LOL!
It had been forecast to rain, and most of us were prepared for it.
SADLY, I had nor prepared my stock for it.
During the first warming up shots in the rain the rifle got soaking wet.
Now I have an aluminum bedding block 1/8" thick shaped as a "U Channel" under the action, like a bedding block. And I THOUGHT that would be enough, normally, it is. At least for the rains we usually shoot in.
Not in this case.
The stock warped and I just could not find my zero.
But let's go back to the beginning of the day.
Apologies for the quality of the pictures, but I took my waterproof camera that is not as good, but much more survivable.
And don't pay attention to the date stamp, I re-programmed it after I remembered it but a few pictures got stamped.
It had been forecast to rain, and most of us were prepared for it.
SADLY, I had nor prepared my stock for it.
During the first warming up shots in the rain the rifle got soaking wet.
Now I have an aluminum bedding block 1/8" thick shaped as a "U Channel" under the action, like a bedding block. And I THOUGHT that would be enough, normally, it is. At least for the rains we usually shoot in.
Not in this case.
The stock warped and I just could not find my zero.
But let's go back to the beginning of the day.
Apologies for the quality of the pictures, but I took my waterproof camera that is not as good, but much more survivable.
And don't pay attention to the date stamp, I re-programmed it after I remembered it but a few pictures got stamped.
After 10 shots warming up and cocking always very carefully in a horizontal position, I decided to take some sighting in shots with the hold that had produced good results the day before, and it was good, so after 10 more shots, I cased the rifle and went to the starting point.
We all looked like a bunch of wet puppies, LOL!
But the show had to go on and at the appointed hour, the horn sounded and everyone gathered to enter the shooting area.
This time the Marshalls did make it a point to mention that all the guns had to be laid down under the blue rope that marked the firing line.
Though they forgot to mention that all targets should be brought up before leaving the lane. Again, some UK shooters complained about a fact that is not written in the rules and that is not a universal habit. What is more, in some countries shooters LIKE to bring up their own targets for two reasons:
1.- They get to locate them when it is confusing/there are many visible targets, AND
2.- they like the opportunity to gauge the wind.
But, along the shoot, a Marshall had to come along all the course telling this to all shooters.
Still, not a big deal, except for my partner, that shot at a laying down target and lost a point.
In the woods, the rain was not as horrible, nor the wind.
We all looked like a bunch of wet puppies, LOL!
But the show had to go on and at the appointed hour, the horn sounded and everyone gathered to enter the shooting area.
This time the Marshalls did make it a point to mention that all the guns had to be laid down under the blue rope that marked the firing line.
Though they forgot to mention that all targets should be brought up before leaving the lane. Again, some UK shooters complained about a fact that is not written in the rules and that is not a universal habit. What is more, in some countries shooters LIKE to bring up their own targets for two reasons:
1.- They get to locate them when it is confusing/there are many visible targets, AND
2.- they like the opportunity to gauge the wind.
But, along the shoot, a Marshall had to come along all the course telling this to all shooters.
Still, not a big deal, except for my partner, that shot at a laying down target and lost a point.
In the woods, the rain was not as horrible, nor the wind.
It even got hot and steamy
Little rays of sunshine provided a very peculiar experience, in the dark forest, the target appeared to be closer than it really was.
Here you can see the stark contrast of the tree shadow in the light, and compare that to the subdued shades of grey of everything else.
Intermittent bouts of rain kept us on our toes
Some parts of the footpath were clearly hard to negotiate
Some shooters simply decided to NOT shoot.
Some shooters simply decided to NOT shoot.
In the end, it was a horrible day because as the shoot progressed I could see the POI change from here to there as the stock warped.
But tomorrow will be another day and the caliber of a person is gauged as much by how that person takes the defeats as the successes.
"Could, Would and Should" need to be used sparingly in our thoughts, and always in a planning mode, not in a lamentation mode.
The ONLY shot that matters is the one at hand.
And that is an important life lesson.
Keep well and shoot straight!
"Could, Would and Should" need to be used sparingly in our thoughts, and always in a planning mode, not in a lamentation mode.
The ONLY shot that matters is the one at hand.
And that is an important life lesson.
Keep well and shoot straight!
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