10 Meter Air Rifle, first time out in 2012

Target #5, two of five 10's.  And almost a pinwheel.

New Hampshire has had an odd winter. No snow.  Can't say I miss the pre sunrise frolic with the snowblower, but lack of snow comes lack of revenue for the State.  Today is the NH Primary, so what better time to blow the dust of the old Silhouette blog and see if anyone is out there.

Pioneer Sportsmen in Dunbarton, NH is trying to revitalize the air program.  We can hang 8 steel backstops from the ceiling in the indoor 50ft range. They also act as target holders at 10 meters from the 50 ft firing line.  It works quite well every Monday night.  I decided to go last night and see just how rusty I am.  My benchmark was from a 2008 shoulder to shoulder team match against Reading Highpower's Team October 8th.  We fought and clawed to get 4 shooters to represent Pioneer.  Glenn G., John M., Mark M. and Jud D.  It was a timed event shooting side by side.  I managed a 539 (93 90 90 85 87 94). Better than my usual.

Last night, Match #1, ouch.  515 (87 83 87 88 90 80).  I lost my zen at the end allowing an AD leaving me with a 5.  That is a good way to throw away points.  I had three ADs for the night.  5, and a 6.  The other was on target when it broke and was an 8.  I managed eleven 10s, five of them on my 5th target!  The key to that moment, catch yourself doing something right and repeat it.  Obviously I failed to follow my own advice.  Those pistol shooters shoot fast.  I need to block that out of my head.

Goal?  To shoot a 540 before the air season is out.  If I shot a 90 once, I can shoot it 6 times in a row if I work at it.  I figure this is good practice for Silhouette although the triggers are vastly different.  I struggled with my trigger last night.  It seemed to behave differently.  Rough in a word.  Sometimes it was clean to the 2nd stage which you could feel.  Other times it was rough to the second stage and as a result I could not feel it.  I made sure I felt for it when I was close to center.  I few times that saved me.  Twice it cost me.

Match #1  515 (87 83 87 88 90 80)
Match #2  510  (85 89 85 86 82 83)
Match #3  532  (94 87 83 91 89 88)  (season high, 94/100 tied best ever 10 shots)
Match #4  530  (87 90 90 93 89 81)
Match #5  524  (86 84 88 91 85 90)  
Match #6  517  (88 85 88 87 90 79)
Match #7  524  (82 91 88 91 84 88)