This past weekend was our first triangle of 2018. We (Eric, Peg and I) left from Eric's house in
Victor, NY and traveled down to Binghamton, NY to shoot Greg Shirhall's course at Broome County Sportsman's Association (BCSA). Greg always manages to put on a challenging but fair course. It's probably one of the most consistently attended locations that I've seen and this time was no exception with 20 shooters from within 6 hours of his location. The Himes brothers brought their new Daystate Red Wolf's and they are a thrill to shoot. Completely electronic and oh so accurate. They're one of those guns you want to love from afar because if you get too close they'll suck you in. So we spent the early morning driving there (about 2.5 hours) and then shot rifle/pistol until 2pm. We had a quick lunch with some friends and then headed down to Damascus, MD to stay with Hector, Veronica and their kids. 5 hours later we were greeted with a warm welcome from Hector and his family along with a wonderful meal that Veronica had put together. The next morning we got going to DIFTA, which is a beautiful woods course. You walk through the opening and realize that everything is in the woods -- the sight-in range, equipment sheds, and a huge field target course. It's just great to sit under the canopy and shoot -- listening to all of the noises that a forest has to offer. So the big concern for Sunday was the weather. Initially thunderstorms and rain were forecast, but Sunday morning looked to be good until 1 or 2 when heavy rain/thunderstorms would hit the area. Eric, Hector and I were squaded together (the only threesome) and we started shooting. The first lane is always a crap shoot because you may not be settled down yet. I sat down and just felt so calm for some reason. Scope wasn't moving and I was ranging very well by trying Tom Himes suggestion of starting out far and dialing it in. When the image looks like it just comes into focus STOP. So this continued, not missing any shots until we came upon the standing lane. I'm expecting to miss them all like I did the day before, but I was exceptionally calm today (which I'll figure out later). I managed 4/6 and probably could have gotten the other two if I hadn't rushed it -- I was getting excited at hitting the first 4 :) Anything above 50% is good in my book. When the rain started we had 4 lanes to go. The rain was light and the canopy helped a bit. But with 3 lanes to go it opened up and when the thunder started we headed for cover. Radar showed that it should be passing by within an hour). So at this point I have 3 lanes left and Eric and Hector have 2 (we stopped before I shot the 3rd lane) and I realize that I've only missed 2 shots so far. I'm shooting the match of my life and there is NO way I'm leaving this course and not finishing. So we waited for the rain to pass and continued with the remaining lanes about 45 minutes later. I ended up missing 1 more shot in those remaining lanes and finishing with my highest score to date 57/60, which was the match high by 2 points, won the Hunter PCP division and DIFTA, as a "prize" for match high, gave me a free DIFTA match coupon -- very nice. On the drive home I thought back to the morning of shooting. Why was I so calm while I shot? That morning I had an unusual breakfast -- for me -- consisting of Cherio's, skim milk, and a banana. Normally Eric and I would stop for a breakfast sandwich or pancakes and orange juice. I'd also have some caffeine in my system. Damn, I guess this caffeine thing is true. I'd also suspect that not having any sugary foods helped. Damn, Damn. We finished the drive at 10:30 and I ended up getting home by 11 on Sunday. It was a great weekend and it was an added bonus to have Hector and Eric near by as I shot my highest score yet.
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