Sight In Day”, A Mini Vacation: Part 1

I’m a firm believer in two pieces of wisdom:

Aim small, miss small.

And

We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.

Both of those are stenciled in my head. Regrettably, I’ve been lazy. All year, when I should have been hitting my range (the backyard) and honing my marksmanship, I’ve been doing other things. As a proper redneck I’ll sometimes saunter out there and make some noise, terrify tin cans, toast a raccoon that’s harassing my hens, etc… But I’ve been weak on serious “practice”.

Big game season is afoot and it’s time to put up or shut up. I take hunting seriously; though not as serious as some. For example, I don’t hunt trophies, I’m happy with a doe or cow (elk) in the freezer. Also, I’ll sometimes sleep in; too many successive pre-dawn mornings make for a very cranky Curmudgeon. (Ask Dr. Mingo, he’s seen me in moods that’ll kill grass and make birds fall from the sky. Sleeping in fixes this.) But when it comes to the actual shot, I’m very uptight.

As punishment for my transgression, I chose to go to a nearby range at the public sight in day.

Folks who yammer about gun control should see sight in day. This is the day (or more often days) when ranges (which have plenty of shooters on their own) open their doors for the general hunting public. “Non-joiners” like me show up en masse with every kind of deer and elk rifle imaginable. Each “guest” drops a few bucks on a “donation” to the range’s maintenance fund (and most, like me, are happy to do it). Then we queue up for our turn at the firing line. The range provides safety officers, targets, and spotters. If you’re lucky, they’ll provide shitty coffee and cheap donuts too!

It’s a friendly gathering of armed happy Americans that benefits everyone. The range gets to show off its facilities and troll for new members. Casual shooters get to use a nice range. The mood is festive; everyone is looking forward to the hunt and nothing is more fun than shooting. Men, women, youths, families, and even loners like me… everyone has a fine time while waiting for their turn at the firing line. Sometimes there’s a warming fire (depending on the weather) and everyone is happily dreaming of the hunt. It’s a community that gathers, performs a simple mechanical task with their favorite machines, and then disperses; smiling all the while. It’s a low key localized mini-Sturgis for hunters.

The firing line goes something like this:

Safety officer: “Line is hot, you’re on target 3.”

Shooter’s rifle: BAM

Spotter: “Three inches high and 2 to the left.”

Then the shooter adjusts his or her scope (or the occasional iron sights) and makes the usual excuses. “Huh, musta’ been the cheap ammo. Let me try again.”

“Go ahead. I’m watching target 3.”

BAM

“An inch and a half low, two to the right.”

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I like sight in day because a real range is an almost unimaginable luxury. Some ranges have a roof so you don’t get rained or snowed on!

I also like the nearby accumulated knowledge of all those friendly folks running the range. This is their favorite hobby! They’ll offer lots of encouragement and if my scope’s out of whack (which it never is), they’ll gather around like it’s the most interesting thing in creation. They’re dying to help out and they’ll invariably have little toolboxes with all the right tiny screwdrivers. They’ll also have benchrest vices for those who like ‘em and a sandbag or two for dinosaurs like me. They’re usually charitable with the struggling guy who’s trying to make due with a junk Tasco he got at a garage sale and a mount he “repaired” with broken bits and JB Weld.

For that poor fellow, they’ll have targets up close to “get on the paper”. They’ll lavish encouragement as he tweaks his scope wildly and they back him away from the close target to realistic distances. Meanwhile, everyone else thinks of the close target as “the target of shame” and is glad they’re not the focus of attention.

I once showed up at an event like this with a shitty scope on a sporterized Mosin-Nagant M44 and box of untested handloads… why do you ask?

While I have no regrets over dalliances with Russian junk I now hunt with a trusted rifle and an exceptional scope. The only reason to test the rifle’s point of aim (which is always spot on) is to prove to myself the scope hasn’t been battered. Also, since I’ve been ignoring my shooting skills lately, a dry run is always good.

More in next post…