What a great day out !!
First time I'd been to one of these shoots which involve using your 22 RF to shoot about 200 rounds at 20 plus positions of a*few standing, several kneeling/sitting and a lot prone, ranges from 30M to 250M.
It was windy - Did I say WINDY.* I learnt more about shooting in the wind in one day than I have from many thousands of rounds fired in the field and on ranges over 40 years.
The shoot is a privately run event (by Harry Hoover) and you just pay and rock up.* All the targets are reactive steel types and in a bewildering array of configurations - certainly enough to keep the bunch of kids competing from getting bored, much less old farts like me.
We arrived at about 8.00, were shooting by 8.30 and finished about 4.30 with only a quick break for lunch, so it was a fairly big day, not physically but in terms of concentration.
For me, one of the best things was squading with Jake, a pretty inspirational youngish guy. He was a previous winner and uses very modest equipment (a Norinco JW15 with a 3-9 Ranger scope, shooting CCI Std Vel) to very good effect. Dammit he won again this year with the same kit !! Proved once and for all that 99% of shooting is based on expertise and knowledge, rather than equipment. He beat a whole bunch of folks who were using fancy, expensive kit - you can't buy your way into winning this contest!
We also had a fairly new shooter in our squad, and with mainly Jake's coaching, he also shot a very respectable score, proving if you're prepared to listen to advice and "focus" then anybody can do it.
I must admit to being a bit skeptical about these sorts of shoots but I can say now that I'm a convert, I'd heartily encourage anybody who wants to rapidly improve their marksmanship to have a go.
Cheers (and I'll post photos when I get them)
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