Back in Training Mode

Wow; It's June 1, already. Winter is over six months away which feels right around the corner and an eternity all at the same time. This time of the year training is beginning to find its groove. The balance between family, physical training and time on the range shooting is starting to feel normal. Running has been a blessing since the total time commitment is so much less then having to drive to snow. The backyard range is all setup too making the marksmanship training time wise very easy.

With the intent of becoming a better shot the decision has been made to enter several shooting matches in addition to biathlons this summer. The competitive setting of shooting isolates the discipline so the focus is singular and hopefully more intense.

On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend the family attended a silhouette shooting match at the Pemigiwasette F&G Club located in Holderness, NH (www.pemi.org). In a silo match there are four stations or flights of targets each with a different shape and set at various distances.

The targets are steel silhouettes of chickens set at 40 meters, pig at 50 meters, turkeys at 70 meters and rams set at 100 meters. I forget the scale but a chicken target is about the size of your hand. Essentially the targets have the same sight picture look as the offhand biathlon targets only having a non-circular shape. The biggest hassle for me was having to reset the elevation on the rifle for each distance. I knew the adjustment for 100 yards (91 meters) so a bit of proportion math gave me the approximate adjustments for each distance.

A hit is scored if the silo falls off the rail. Just like biathlon the shot either hits or misses and there is one bullet for each target. Unlike biathlon the targets must be taken in order left to right starting on the lower bank of five before moving to the top rail of five targets. All shooting is offhand.

Normally before a race there is time to zero the rifle and shoot a bit to warm up. Arriving late we missed this period and the first shot I took was at 40 meters with an unproven sight adjustment. It must have worked as I dropped 7 of 10. Biathletes count misses; silo shooters hits. At the 50 meter pigs the first 9 went down before I became excited about a perfect run and oversqueezed the trigger shanking the bullet high and left. I was mad to say the least. The turkeys are the most difficult to hit. The small size and odd shape are tough but I managed 5. For the rams I screwed up and shot the top row first and received no credit for the hits. By rule calling the bottom row allows the score to count and 3 of the 5 dropped giving me a total score for the match of 24/40. It was a real blast and I am looking forward to the next silo match.

The kids shot too sharing a rifle while shooting off a rest with Nate having a go at the bottom 5 and Liv the top. Liv went 7/20 and Nate was perfectly consistent with a big donut. The Pemi club was super helpful and the kids did great for 4 and 7 years old. They are all geeked up for the next match. Lucky for them its a biathlon also hosted by the Pemi guys.

June 7, is the first race I'll run since skiing the Nats in MN. 3 months between races seems like another eternity and I'm curious how I'll do. Training has included a weekly combo series which has helped me get a feel for entering the range with an elevated heart rate and also to set the timing of slowdown while running. Expect a post after race 1 of the 08-09 season.