Rained out

The belt buckle shoot at McHenry was rained out. It cleared up and turned into a nice day so stopped at St. Charles on the way home and shot 4 rounds from 27 yard line. Shot between 19 and 23, 23 being my best score yet from 27 yards.

134th Illinois State Shoot

I was at the state shoot Friday thru Sunday. It was my first big shoot and attending was one of my goals this year. On Friday I shot a 92 in the handicap event, I was pretty wound up and shot a 21 on the first 25. Calmed down and shot a 71/75 on the final three rounds. Blazing hot day.

Saturday was 200 singles, 100 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon. In the first 100, I shot a 97, above my recent average so I was happy with that. In the second 100, I shot a 99 (missed one in the second 25). That is the best I have shot in singles. So a 196, A class was won with a 198 so I am right there.

Sunday was the handicap championship. I went in to it feeling pretty good. I shot three 24s in a row. As the final 25 got underway, I was thinking that a 97 was a winning score and I better not mess this up. Naturally, I dropped target #8 and started to think, "uh oh, miss one more and no yardage punch. The inevitable followed and I missed one more. Now I am angry with myself and miss one more to finish with a 94. A 96 won the yardage group.

So again, right there but I defeated myself. The mental game is still my weak spot. On the positive side, I am holding a singles average at my goal, I met my goal for the Spring Trap League and my handicap average is trending higher.

I thought the shoot was well run. It started on time everyday, the machines worked, the voice releases worked, results were up quickly, the food was good. I got to watch some of the top shots shoot, Mike Jordan, Mike Westjohn, Frank Bentley.

Missed the punch by a target (again)

I shot a 95 (singles) at Janesville Conservation Club in WI today, never really got into a groove. Things got better in the handicap where I shot 24, 24, 23, 24 for a 95. That won my yardage and paid back my entry fees. Also my best handicap round of the year so far. But an overall win or a 96 is necessary for a 1 yard punch. So one target short but I know it will come. Did not miss the last targets.

I met Ray Moser at the club. He's 83 and told me he would give me his 90T (with two diamonds inset on both sideplates, he said) if I ran 100 handicap targets. Came up short but had a chance to talk to him afterwards. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Trapshooting Hall of Fame in 2002. Most older trap shooters are deaf as posts but not Ray, even after 330K registered trap targets. He said he quit stuffing cotton balls in his ears back in the day and has worn ear muffs ever since. I watched him dirt ball 16 yard targets (he shot a 95 and won C class) for awhile and afterwards he talked to me about the mental game of trap shooting. What a great sport where you can find people still smashing away at targets into their 80s.

His wife of 55 years died last year and I found this quote from him in an article about a donation he made to a cancer center in her name, "Never underestimate your own abilities, as you are probably better than you thought you were.”

A nice day today.

No wins but better shooting

Bob Sommer's Memorial Shoot today at St. Charles. I shot a 98 at singles, best ever ATA round. Missed the last target. A 99 would have tied for the win in A class. Can't keep doing that. It got rainy, windy and cloudy for the handicap. I shot a 25 straight (first of the year), then a 20, followed by a 23 and a 24. The 92 was a few targets short of winning my yardage but it was best ATA handicap score of the year and something I could work with. So didn't win anything but am definently shooting better. I shot nothing but handicap targets for a week, and am ramping up my mental preparation, I think that helped. State shoot in 2-weeks.

Fisherman

Mom and Dad Here

Got lots of shooting in, shot some skeet. Dad ran his best trap score ever with the MX3. Mom took pictures and shot at some targets with a friend's Silver Seitz.