Monday, August 16, 2010

Mud, Guns, and a Sore Shoulder, Part 2

[N.B.:  I added some pictures to the previous post--check 'em out!  And if you haven't read Part 1, do that first.]


After having trudged to the top of a hill for a shooting match, those who had brought their own guns started getting everything out of the cases, cleaning things out, and setting up sandbags on the shooting bench.  Matt's uncle stapled targets to a large plywood board...


...and walked it 100 yards away from the shooting bench.


Whad'ya mean you can't see the target?!  It's the small yellow thing right in the center, of course!  And that's why the first round is rifles with scopes.

We got protective ear muffs on (those guns are loud!) and the shooting started with last year's winner (who is a friend of the family).  He had brought his own rifle and took his sweet time getting everything set up just the way he wanted. 


After taking his six shots, Matt's cousin was up next.  He also had his own gun:


Matt's uncle was third.  He had yet another gun:


Matt was up fourth. 


He decided to use the first gun:


Yours truly was fifth.  I was nervous about this round because last year, the gun I used kicked something awful.  So bad, that by the time you take your fourth or fifth shot, it's hard to pull the trigger because you know it's going to punch you in the shoulder!  Self-inflicted pain isn't really my thing.  Matt said the first gun really didn't kick bad at all and that I wouldn't need a "sissy pad" (extra padding for your shoulder).  So I gave it a shot:


Not too bad!  I didn't need a sissy pad, but my shoulder was still a bit sore afterward.

The last shooter took his turn:


After we had all taken our shots, we trekked up to the target board to count up points and move it closer for the second round.  Matt had only scored 2 points higher than me.  Certainly not insurmountable by any means.  However, I had beat him in the first round last year, so I wasn't too pleased.

The second round is my favorite.  I love the old .22-cal rifle they have everyone use.  It was Matt's grandfathers.   I was determined to outscore Matt and give him a run for his money!

The targets were moved in to about 35-40 yards since the .22-cal has iron sights instead of a scope.


We went through the same order as the first round.



We collected targets after the round was over, and Matt's uncle added up the points again.  I had outscored Matt by 7 points!  Splendid!  I even tied his uncle at 56 points a piece.  That meant that collectively, I had 5 more points than Matt.  All I had to do was hit some good shots in the last round to secure victory!

The last round is pistols.

I hate pistols.

Last year, they were my downfall.  This year, though, I knew which pistol to use and I was ready.  The targets were moved in to about 15 yards and we took our shots.


The targets were taken off the board.  And the points were totaled.  In one round, Matt had outscored me by 11 points.  That meant overall...he was five points ahead of me.  FIVE points.  So close.  He wiped some proverbial sweat from his brow, barely having dodged a humiliating defeat.

The final results were as follows:

1st place:  Matt's uncle, 131 points
2nd place:  Matt, 119 points
3rd place:  Last year's winner, 115 points
4th place:  Me, 114 points
5th place:  Matt's cousin:  103 points
6th place:  Family friend, 70 points

I improved my standing from last year's 5th place, but I'm not satisfied.  Next year, I'll be back and beat my husband.  That's a promise.

2 comments:

  1. I Love This Post
    Pixs R awsome
    But not as AWSOME as U

    ReplyDelete
  2. Next Year I hope 2 join the mix
    I Like this Idea of yours
    Winning Bragging Rights 2 ur hubby
    afterall My hubby was the 131 pointer
    lol I better practis starting now that will give me 11 whole months ...........
    u know im dreaming lol

    ReplyDelete

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