Now that it looks like I've made my last match/tournament for the 2009 season this past weekend I've been thinking about the year, plans for next year and just getting used to basically doing whatever until spring comes.
I'm going to share some of my thoughts and reflections for 2009, maybe some ideas for 2010, pretty much whatever comes to mind for the next couple of months. This may be the only post or maybe I'll do others but only time will tell.
Just a brief of who I am, some around the Rimfire BR world know me and many don't. This is my second complete year of shooting primarily ARA with a few visits to IR50/50 matches around the Texas area. I'm just a benchrest hack and I'm sure the top shooters don't get to worried when they see me pulling up as much of a threat of putting one on them. I shoot a old 40X I picked up used when I started out two years ago and for the most part I think it's been a fairly decent rifle. I'm sure some probably wonder what the deal is with the tire weights and tie wraps on the tuner, but they serve there purpose, at least in my mind. Otherwords my rifle isn't going to win no beauty contest.
Anyway, Looking back I'm calling this one, WHAT WAS I THINKING.
The setting is Waco TX. and the weekend of the PSL match. I'm excited for this is really the first big match I've attended that's attracting many big names from across the country. I get there early Friday and setup to do some practicing. I've got a couple of new brinks of ammo I want to test and after about a hour or two it's doing absolutely nothing for me. I get out my current go to ammo, which a some eley mach#4 - 1053. It's been about the best for me and with my limited experience, and pretending I know what I'm doing, I do a little practicing with it and get the results I expect So the big day comes and the match gets started. Shoot target 1, then 2, and not really sure how well I'm doing, not overly familiar with the target and not really trying to score it through my scope. I've got a condition I'm shooting and it's taking most of the 20 minutes to wait and get the complete target shot. So before they start target 3 I see my score for target 1, 2000, target 2 not posted yet. So I get ready to start target 3. Here's the bone head move I make. I pull out the ammo I was testing the day before with absolutely zero results and see what if. I'm only shooting sighters but I play around with this stuff for 8 minutes with the clock running, at approx. 12 minutes to go, note I've not gotten one shot off for score yet, I get back to my go to ammo and now I'm faced with trying to get my condition in a shorten time frame. At about
4-5 minutes to go I've only got half the target shot at best. And I've widen my condition and without no good results.
Target 1 - 2000
Target 2 - 2150
Target 3 - 1750
Target 4 - 1975
Target 5 - 2000
Target 3 is 225 points less than my next lowest target. I'm not saying that it wouldn't have been a 1750 if I had spent all 20 minutes of the alloted time working my condition, with my go to ammo but it only goes to reason that most likely I would have gotten a better score if I had stayed on track.
I finished 18th for the day.
If I had 100 more points for target 3 I would have finished at least 13th
If I would have equaled my second lowest target of the day I would have finished 9th.
So I call this one probably my #1 Bone Head move of the year. Note that after target 3, target 2 is posted and my score is fourth highest for the round.
WHAT WAS I THINKING.
Les Williams
I'm going to share some of my thoughts and reflections for 2009, maybe some ideas for 2010, pretty much whatever comes to mind for the next couple of months. This may be the only post or maybe I'll do others but only time will tell.
Just a brief of who I am, some around the Rimfire BR world know me and many don't. This is my second complete year of shooting primarily ARA with a few visits to IR50/50 matches around the Texas area. I'm just a benchrest hack and I'm sure the top shooters don't get to worried when they see me pulling up as much of a threat of putting one on them. I shoot a old 40X I picked up used when I started out two years ago and for the most part I think it's been a fairly decent rifle. I'm sure some probably wonder what the deal is with the tire weights and tie wraps on the tuner, but they serve there purpose, at least in my mind. Otherwords my rifle isn't going to win no beauty contest.
Anyway, Looking back I'm calling this one, WHAT WAS I THINKING.
The setting is Waco TX. and the weekend of the PSL match. I'm excited for this is really the first big match I've attended that's attracting many big names from across the country. I get there early Friday and setup to do some practicing. I've got a couple of new brinks of ammo I want to test and after about a hour or two it's doing absolutely nothing for me. I get out my current go to ammo, which a some eley mach#4 - 1053. It's been about the best for me and with my limited experience, and pretending I know what I'm doing, I do a little practicing with it and get the results I expect So the big day comes and the match gets started. Shoot target 1, then 2, and not really sure how well I'm doing, not overly familiar with the target and not really trying to score it through my scope. I've got a condition I'm shooting and it's taking most of the 20 minutes to wait and get the complete target shot. So before they start target 3 I see my score for target 1, 2000, target 2 not posted yet. So I get ready to start target 3. Here's the bone head move I make. I pull out the ammo I was testing the day before with absolutely zero results and see what if. I'm only shooting sighters but I play around with this stuff for 8 minutes with the clock running, at approx. 12 minutes to go, note I've not gotten one shot off for score yet, I get back to my go to ammo and now I'm faced with trying to get my condition in a shorten time frame. At about
4-5 minutes to go I've only got half the target shot at best. And I've widen my condition and without no good results.
Target 1 - 2000
Target 2 - 2150
Target 3 - 1750
Target 4 - 1975
Target 5 - 2000
Target 3 is 225 points less than my next lowest target. I'm not saying that it wouldn't have been a 1750 if I had spent all 20 minutes of the alloted time working my condition, with my go to ammo but it only goes to reason that most likely I would have gotten a better score if I had stayed on track.
I finished 18th for the day.
If I had 100 more points for target 3 I would have finished at least 13th
If I would have equaled my second lowest target of the day I would have finished 9th.
So I call this one probably my #1 Bone Head move of the year. Note that after target 3, target 2 is posted and my score is fourth highest for the round.
WHAT WAS I THINKING.
Les Williams