Pin Shoot AAR
As the saying goes, “my worst day at the range is better than my best day at work�.
Actually, I put that to the test on Saturday. Pics are at the bottom, my sad, sad story starts here.
I arrived early and got my stuff ready to go and helped set up for the day. I had gotten off work at 0515 and caught the 0700 ferry to the island. The drive, complete with newly burned CD’s, was fantastic. It was when the 0900 start time rolled around that the day went to hell.
I entered with my 1911 and my CZ83 in 380ACP, both in the centerfire iron sight class and during qualifying, I actually shot faster with the CZ, which I found odd. The trouble was that I absolutely could not slow down enough to shoot effectively. The bowling pins seemed to have gone down to half size and my shots just weren’t connecting worth a darn. Instead of going five for five or six for five, I was going nine and ten for five.
Disheartening to say the very least.
I entered on the grid in the seventh slot for the CZ and the ninth slot for my 1911 out of a field of fourteen folks, which I don’t consider too bad, seeing as how I was competing against folks with full on weighted and compensated race guns and competition reloads.
First up with the CZ versus a gentleman with a 1911. He took me in two straight as I was racing with myself instead of him. Oh well, no time to fret since I’m up again, this time with my 1911.
Again, I was racing myself and lost in two straight.
Oh well, I was really only there to see what my reaction to the buzzer was anyway, so I didn’t go away broken hearted. I knew I needed better equipment to compete when I arrived (a concealed carry pistol is not going to win against a six inch longslide gun, especially with my rusty fingers) and I really needed to get to the pistol range and sight in my Ruger 22/45 after putting the new sights on.
With the new sights the gun was hooting six inches high and six inches to the right. Adjustments made and I’m still shooting to the right. More adjustments, still in the same spot to the right. Check the sights to make sure everything is tight, and it is. No matter what I did I couldn’t get bullseyes with the new sights, I was always shooting inch to the right.
Oh well, times up, the rimfire classes are starting and I needed to go qualify. I keep repeating ‘It’s you, dummy. Shoot from right to left and aim just left of center’ over and over as I made my way there.
Then I get up to the line and bang, nothing happens. I can’t hit a pin, no matter where I aim. I’ve got people behind be telling me I’m hitting low so I aim higher and while I’m even with the pin, I’m sill missing it. I check for loose sights againt after my first qual table, but everything is on tight with no movement, so I figure it is just me and I slow down a bit, but that doesn’t work either, I just can’t hit shit.
I somehow managed to get through my four qualifying tables, twenty pins in eighty rounds makes me almost just want to pull up stakes and un-ass the area to save myself further embarrassment. But alas, I stuck with it.
To my extreme further embarrassment. I got knocked out in two with a ratio of fifty rounds for ten pins. I boxed up my Ruger and threw it in my R2 unit (quite literally) and cursed for a good 15 minutes. I don’t mind losing in a fair match, which it was, I just cannot stand that I was dumb enough to try and shoot with untested hardware AND that I tried to do it after being awake for 24 hours straight.
I’ll be working hard trying to find out what my major malfunction was as soon as I can get out to a range. Until then, my shadow shall not darken the range gate on competition day.
Anyway, now for the pics.
Ladies first, here is Pegi with her Ruger.
FYI, Pegi is who took me in two rounds in the rimfire class.
Next up is Mrs. Completely, aka KeeWee
Here is our good man Lou G with his Ruger
And last but certainly not least, Mr Completely himself, taking out his third pin top and setting up the last two.
