Autumn Open 2009, Rathdrum

This match, as was hoped, was slightly better than last weekend. With a final score of 577 and a disappointing final of 99.4, it wasn't my best match ever, but it's getting back there. This week will see the arrival of a much anticipated and needed new jacket. One that will actually fit, as opposed to being more similar to a bin liner with some suede attached...

The prep before the match was grand as always, all it set up and good to go with no hastle. Getting down into position took a while, I couldn't get comfortable at all. There are some issues with my left elbow which need to be resolved and also some hand comfort issues. This is something that is difficult to resolve and there seems to be little information available on how to go about it. The general attitude seems to be HTFU and ignore it.

The final was possibly the most painful 10 shots I've ever taken, my hand was in bits, everything was tender, my thumb lost feeling... I struggled through it, pushing for good shots, which somehow came through. Until the last shot, which wound up as an 8.2, my only 8 of the day, it was going well. It looked good as well, which left me more confused. But how and ever.

The next step is training. I haven't worked out the specifics of what I'm doing as regards a PhD next year, but as soon as that comes in, sessions for prone, standing and kneeling will be penciled in, as well as the cycle, run and swim sessions for fitness. They'll probably be in the morning before work, and the shooting in the evenings. I'm thinking 5 a week for shooting, 2 each prone and standing, 1 kneeling. Session one of the grand plan will kick off this Thursday with the new jacket :) More on that later in the week!

Wicklow Championships 2009, DRC

Well, today saw my first prone match in a long time, and boy did it show. It took place in Dublin Rifle Club in Wicklow, on their 50m outdoor range. This range is notorious for its terrible rolling wind and tricky conditions, not to mention somewhat ballistic scoring to compensate...

Having the DURC range in the state that it is at the moment has been a major incentive not to train over the Summer. That and getting fed up of my current jacket after losing quite a large amount of weight over the past 12 months and waiting for a new one has led to poor attendance on my part. Oh, and the lack of ammo. Yeah.

So, the day started at 0830 with Dave picking Conor and I up to grab the kit from the range. Greeted with that lovely damp smell after a Summer of no use is never fun, and having your personal kit smell similar even less. How and ever, off up the mountains we went, arriving at the range for 0945. Deciding that the first detail at 1000 was cutting it a bit fine I opted for the second at 1130. After getting all the kit set up (comments on all of it to follow, hopefully this week) it was on to the range, where all the fun started.

Having not shot in a while I couldn't quite remember how to fit a blind over my left eye, so that caused a lot of irritation til I figured that out. As well as that, I just couldn't get comfortable. My left elbow was way too far in under the rifle and I was leaning to one side on it as well as forward to compensate for the down slope of the range. All this meant that my elbow was in bits for the remainder of the match, and not too much better now.

As for the shooting itself, it wasn't great. It took me the better part of 40 shots to get into the flow of things, which wasn't helped by either the pain in my elbow or the forced breaks on the 6 bull cards. On the last 20 I finally got things right, finishing on a 98, by best string of the day, almost certainly shot the fastest.

Finishing up on 569 overall, which was a bit of a disappointmeny really, with 384 as my best four cards put me in 8th place overall and earned me first in class B. A below par match, with possibly my worst placing in over a year, but hopefully enough to shake out the cobwebs so i can get started on proper training and focus on upcoming matches, such as the 25yd indoor in Rathdrum next weekend.

Roll on Winter :D