Well, I did it. Learned a lot. And I will be back.
I showed up at about 0800 this morning. There were already about 8-10 other guys there. Seeing them unload their stuff was a treat in itself. The match was mostly dominated by match guns. Out of 14-16 people, there were only six people shooting service rifles. Got to see a Tubb rifle up close and personal. And yes, it was the proverbial tack driver.
I found the match director, paid my dues, and the first thing he asks is if I needed any gear. I told him I didn't have a scope, he said don't worry about it, there's enough people for two relays, and someone's bound to not be using theirs. He set me up with a match rifle shooter that's about a nice as they come. I was on relay 2, firing point 8. The first relay set up and did their 200 yard slow fire offhand, walked down and scored, then it was my turn. And thus, all hell breaks loose...but in a good way.
I hope I'm not the only one that thinks this, but offhand was a pain in the rear. Did the prep time, fired my sighters...first sighter was a nine. Now if only it was on my target, I'd be getting somewhere...what was that about crossfiring...?
Finished the offhand with a bunch of misses, I think my score was 50-something and 0X. Practice, practice, practice...
Relay 1 came back up for the 200 yard sitting rapids. Afterwards, it was my turn again. Learned a lot more from this. I never realized a tight sling was so steady for shooting. That in itself humbled me...when rigged up, the rifle is super steady, and after the shot, it's like the sling reigns the rifle in so you're ready for the next shot. I also learned that a tight sling gets kinda painful after a while (I didn't have a jacket or sweatshirt with me to wear), and a sling that's too short for your rifle sucks. I'm waiting for that Sinclair Biothane now. I learned too that the transition from standing to sitting is gonna take some work to get right.
Next was the 300 yard rapid prone. The too short sling really showed itself here, I was muscling the rifle back and forth like a tug of war between my bicep and the front sling swivel. I think this was my best showing of the match, but I forgot my score. The match director said he'd shoot me an E-mail later on with results and more info about the next match, I think.
We finished up with the 300 yard reduced slow fire prone. Wow, that's a small target from a looonnnnggggg ways away for me. Again, the too short sling was killing me, but I tried my best. I think I finished the day up with a 180-something and 1X.
Overall? Did I learn from it? Yep. Did I have fun? Damn skippy. Will I be back? You'd better believe it.
