The Day After

Now I remember why I don’t take days off. By definition, a day off for me is doing something I want to do. So, what did I do on my day off? Glad you asked. I went shooting. I love to shoot guns but don’t get to go out very often. On my ‘day off’ I planned and executed my first real outing with a new rifle.

I am not a rifle person. I like to shoot shotguns, pistols and revolvers. Yes, there is a difference between a pistol and a revolver. About the only extended experience I’ve had with rifles was way back in the old days when my ‘Uncle Sam’ insisted that I shoot them.

As usual with my plans, I soon discovered that doing what I want to do leaves me to do all the doing. I had to gather sand bags for resting the rifle so as to sight it in - that’s making sure the bullet goes where it’s supposed to. I had to buy some targets. Then there was finding my heavy duty staple gun and some staples. There were wooden stakes to drive into the ground to mount the target with the staples. Of course, I had to round up some bullets. It’s not as much fun if you don’t have bullets.

This sounds crazy to some, but I drove almost two hours to BIL’s farm - brother-in-law. You have to have a safe place with a big mound of dirt to shoot into.

And, so long as I was going anyway, my son-in-law sent his rifle along for me to sight-in. Why not, I was furnishing the bullets.

Upon arriving at said farm, I had to locate the designated shooting spot, set up the target at a distance per the range finder thingy, drag the old picnic table to the right position. It acts as a shooting platform. Then and only then, after I am tired out and thinking about going home, do I get to shoot.

Finally I got to do what I wanted to do. Shoot bullets. After two hours of staring through a special scope to see if the bullets hit the target and making adjustments to the sights and scope on the rifles I managed to have my day and walked away sun burned, wind blown and wondering if I will ever hear again.

If we are ever attacked by an invading army of paper targets, I’m your man.

The targets will need to be extra still.

PMO
©2011