My second competitive shoot of 2015 was at one of the courses I’ve come to hate. Before anyone bites my head off, there is nothing wrong with the course. It’s a very tricky, challenging course. I just hate it because a lot of it is out in the open and I find it very hard to judge any distances. I am however getting a bit better at it.
It was another cold morning, and there was still a lot of snow and ice on the ground when we arrived. I fired up the new hand warmers (see my previous post) and set about getting booked in and kitted up.
Once out on the course, I found it difficult to get going despite having spent a little time on the practice bosses. This is the second week running I’ve had this problem and I need to sort it out. I’m not sure if it’s the cold or lack of practice but I definitely need to work on it. The first three targets I scored 10, 10 and 14. That’s 14 points given up in three targets, something that you can’t afford to do given the level of the current AFB shooters. I did eventually manage to get going, and finished the first half of the course with a 16.3 average.
The second half of the course was a bit tougher than the first, with more targets out in the open. I had a shaky patch halfway around the second loop but thanks to some really good shots towards the end of the course I managed to finish the day with a score of 594 and 6 spots. The average was a little lower than I would’ve liked at 16.5, but given the fact that I don’t normally shoot well at Woodend I was happy with it and it was certainly better than my last performance here.
I mentioned the 6 spots earlier, and for good reason. They actually turned out to be important. Paul ended the day on the same score of 594, but more importantly only 3 spots. For the first time in a long time I’d managed to beat Paul, and on a course I don’t really like that much. 2015 is off to a good start.