Match season has started for me.

There's a pretty good .22 offhand 100 yard match scheduled for this morning and although I'm coffeed and breakfasted up, I think I'll pass.

My .22 plinker is set up for 50 yards and my .22 match gun is set up for 200 yards and I don't want to have to sight them in under pressure at the beginning of the season.

Besides I do poorly in offhand matches. 

I have to figure out which way I want to go this year. I'm thinking of simply figuring out a holdover for the plinker and using that later in the season so I can keep it set at 50 yards.

The match gun is actually set for 200 yards on the advice of Jim Land. I met him a while ago at Quantico and when I asked him how they managed to operate with the junk they used back in the 60s he laughed. "All the Marines ask me that. That was state of the art equipment back then," he replied.

I laughed and asked what I could do to improve my windage skills. He suggested using a .22 at 200 yards. I sighted my match .22 in for 200 yards and left it there.

Next weekend there is a 40 shot slow fire match, any position and I think I'll take my long rifle to that. I just re-triggered it because of a recall. The manufacturer wanted me to send it in and let them replace the trigger mechanism but I refused the offer. Instead I dropped in a good match grade trigger.

A slow fire match will be better to get me started and ought to give me a chance to get the match season started.

I don't think I am going to get into it as much as I did several years ago when I shot just about every match inside a 5 or 6 state area. I simply can't afford it. 

My biggest expense that year was gasoline. I was either driving to or from a match, shooting it or reloading for the next one. I was a busy boy that year. The season went from March to November.

I think the slow fire match next weekend ought to give me a pretty good chance to wring my long gun out a bit and get rid of a few things.

After the match I'll the NATO load and if that works OK, I'll just chrony it and use that as my match load for this year. It should stay stable out to 1000 yards. 

Anyway, happy Satiddy mawnin'.













To  find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY