Shooting at the Range

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”