I challenged Matt to a shooting contest before he was deployed to Afghanistan. He finished his tour and has been home on leave. I called Mr. Pete to set things up before Matt goes back to NC. I told Pete to tell Matt to be prepared for a Smack Down by Me!! Matt told me "No crying when things don't go my way".
Now, Matt was selected for a special Marine Unit because of his shooting ability (especially with pistols). He proved his ability last time he was at the range by taking Pete to task.
I told Pete I had an idea to load a special clip for Matt with some reloads. I would: 1) vary the power amounts in the reloads. 2) Use hot power in some but not in others. 3) Use a variety of bullet weights using 115 grain, 124 grain and 147 grain bullets. I am pretty sure Matt’s shot pattern would be inconsistent. It was a good idea and we laughed about it. However, it sounded more like a nervous laugh on our part.
We met Pete and Matt a the Manchester Firing Line Range. I brought my 9mm and the .22. Pete brought his 9mm.
Matt didn’t have his military issue pistol so he used what we brought. You would think that would make a difference. When you shot as many rounds as Matt has it only takes a couple shots to figure out and adjust to the guns accuracy.
The new range was excellent. We filled out the paperwork and rented 2 lanes. You can bring everything with you or rent guns, buy ammo, targets, eye and hearing protection, etc.
I only had 50 rounds for the .22 so Kevin shot them. We brought 550 9mm rounds for the 4 of us. We were all shooting pretty well. I decided to shoot the bottom of the bullseye from the target to intimidate Matt before our competition. I told him I was going to shoot the top of the bullseye from the target which I did also. He just laughed and with no hesitation said “Get Ready”. The man was Ice …
Matt and I saved one target for our little competition. 3 shots at a time, the closest shot wins. Matt said “Let’s shoot at the #7 on the target”. Could I see the #7 at that distance?? Sometimes!!!
We started … #7 at 6 o’clock, Brian wins. #7 at 9 o’clock, Matt wins. We let Kevin shoot at the #7 at 3 o’clock. #7 at 12 o’clock … Now the controversy. Matt shot and was close. I shot next and we thought I won. When we pulled the target it looked to be a virtual tie. Matt's shot is just to the left of the 7 and mine is to the right of the 7.
In an effort to prove a closer shot, Matt put his finger through the bullet hole making it bigger and thereby closer to the 7. OH WAIT!! … I DID THAT. I was thinking Matt has youth and good eyesight. Shouldn’t any tie automatically default to the OLD GUY with none of the above?
Matt has better shooting form and technique than I do. He’s had excellent military training and much more pistol shooting experience. No Doubt, he’s a better shot. I am quite confident he would outshoot me the longer this went on. I think he was going easy on me anyway … He gave me some good advise to improve my pistol shooting.
The 4 of us continued shooting. With 12 rounds remaining we each took 3 shots at the bullseye. Due to the mental strain of our competition Matt and I came close but didn’t shoot a bullseye. Both Kevin and Pete shot a bullseye. Guess we were lucky they weren’t in the competition.
Results:
Brian and Pete … “Old but still a threat”
Matt … "In his Prime, Stay Away”
Kevin …“Great Shot and a Rising Young Star”
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