Last night, my brother and I shot his 03-A3. We shot at a small pumpkin, and a paper target he drew. My brother shot one at the pumpkin, then I did. I shot at the pumpkin, then the target. In the pic below, there are two shots on the pumpkin, and one shot on the paper.  The shot on the paper is mine.
My dad made some loads for it, that feel like you're shooting a .22 caliber. He used a 180 grain cast lead bullet, and 11 grains of pistol powder. 7,000 grains = one pound. It is a fun way to shoot an old military rifle, without hurting your shoulder. It doesn't hurt your ears if you don't wear hearing protection. I shot a few shots, then got too cold and went inside. =)
It feels a lot different than the gun that I shoot!


~My brother and I~

 

The Machias match

Today's match went good. Haley, Luke, and their parents got to our house at 6:45 a.m. so we could carpool. We arrived at the range at 8:15 a.m. to sign up. We were all on the same target. Luke was 1st relay, I was on the 2nd, and Haley was on the 3rd. They did really good, I don't remember their scores though. I shot a 593/600 with 25 X's. That is a high master score! I hadn't shot a match since the Spirit of America match in September, so I did OK.
It was cold, but there are two wood stoves... and they felt good =). As soon as we were done shooting, we would pick up our gear and go warm up!

Last night, I had a MochaMooLatte from Dairy Queen at 6:30. I decided I'm not going to do that ever again because it took me half of forever to fall asleep, and I kept waking up throughout the night! I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and tried to sleep a little bit longer, but that didn't happen, so I just lied there until 5:30. I am really tired now =P.

Reloading

Haley and Luke just came over and reloaded for the match.Yesterday I primed all of their brass for the match. I helped Haley reload, then we went to youth group. We got 50 out of 70 loads done, then Luke finished the rest of hers and did his. Luke and his dad finished up before Haley and I got home.
I'm hoping all their hard work in getting ready for this match pays off! It will be fun, and a good experience for them. At my first match, I didn't have any experience of what a match like this was like. I was really shy and hid by my dad the whole time I wasn't shooting! I would be really nervous going to a match, I was just really competitive (still am, and always will be!).  Now, I am just excited to shoot! I have a lot of fun, even if it's not my best performance. Shooting is to me, my life! I love to do it, and I'm having tons of fun traveling to matches and shooting good! I'm just hoping that they enjoy shooting as much as I do!

I am going to a match on the 13th. Haley and Luke (the new shooters we are helping) are also going to shoot in it. It will be their first match, and they are going to shoot service rifles. It is at Machias so it's a 500 yard match. Yesterday, we went out to the range and we practiced like we were in a match. My dad "ran" it and told them what to do in prep time. First, Luke shot while I scored for him and Haley was in the pits, pulling and marking his target. Then I shot and Luke scored for me, while Haley was in the pits again. After that, Haley shot while I scored for her, and Luke was in the pits. We taught them how to pull targets in the pits, use your prep time, score for your shooter, and how to adjust their rifle.
They did very well yesterday! Haley kept all of her shots in the black (X, 10, 9, & 8). Luke had only 2 out of the black. I think they are going to do very well at the match.

Why? Just why????

Why did a girl at the .22 shooting class get the same purple shooting mat as me? I was the ONLY one who had one, and in team matches it was the lucky purple mat! It is the coolest mat ever. Last night, after we were done shooting, she told me she got one. I'm not mad, I am just surprised! It's kinda cool, that I got one then she got one, but I was the only (maybe, I don't know!) one in the world who had one! Hee hee.
 She is getting shooting gear because her and her sister are going to start shooting service rifle. They wanted to take shooting to the next level, and I think they will do pretty good. Hopefully soon they will be on the Washington Green Apples team. The Green Apples is the team you are on before the Bad Apples.

~me and my purple shooting mat~