Time Out For a '*Perfect Day"

Incredible.

Today was so good, I actually marked it as such on my calendar! The only errors I'e made today, was to getting on the blogsite this morning, and then listening to the news on the truck radio on the way out to the "range" this morning.

Both of which I promptly cancelled.

If you're a shooter in Idaho, and wait for just the "right day", you'll be waiting a long time.........but TODAY was "just right" (in the morning anyway).

So often, I've had to "compromise" (I HATE that word), and settle for "fair", try to squeeze the shots in-between the wind gusts, and look up into the heavens and ask God......"Is ONE day in 365 too much to ask?" (and hope I don't get struck by lightning!)

But for a "gun guy", it just doesn't get any better than it was this morning. I was out the door by 8, and had my target stand set up by 8:20.

In the few trips I HAVE been able to make out there this year, I've had to watch my stand "jiggle" back & forth in the wind gusts, try to keep the sights steady, waiting for the wind to let off long enough to squeeze one off. The wind is sometimes so strong out there, it can move YOU around as well, so now you're moving with your target, and not always at the same time!

I knew it would be close to 100 degrees out there today.....but not at 8:30 in the morning, where I doubt it was more than 70. Donna was off today and sleeping-in. I had NOTHING ELSE on "my plate" today. The morning was MINE and so was the WEATHER.....and THOSE two SELDOM ever go hand-in-hand with each other. For the old Bazookaman, this was a rare morning and NOT one to be wasted!

I'd brought out 2 pistols that had been awaiting "just the right day" to be sighted-in, a pair of Ruger revolvers, one a 22 caliber Single-Six, and the other a Redhawk in 44 Magnum. Two guns on very different ends of the caliber scale.

Knowing how quickly the wind DOES pop up out of nowhere, I elected to "dial" the 22 in first, as the larger slugs aren't as affected in the wind. After a few sight adjustments, the little 22 was peppering the "9" & "10" rings consistently, and I'd also learned that in THIS particular gun, the Winchester Dynapoint loads shot considerably tighter groups then the CCI's.

I changed targets and by now, there was a slight breeze, but not enough to affect the flight path of the bigger 44, which was coming next. The temperature was rising also, so that little gentle breeze felt pretty good.

But it wasn't "breezing" enough to shake the target stand. The target picture wasn't moving a bit as I lined up the sights of the Redhawk. I've owned and shot magnum handguns for decades, and while I'm USED to 44 magnum recoil, it's still not a caliber I want to shoot all morning, so the less number of rounds it takes to get it "dialed-in", the sooner I can put it away and come home. It was important that the wind stayed calm long enough to "git 'er done" (as Larry the Cable Guy would say). At the same time, you don't want to "hurry" any shots, in-between sight-adjustments.

You want every shot to be well aimed, breath-controlled and un-flinched, so that each shot is as meaningful as the sight-adjustment that accompanies it.

This particular Redhawk has the shorter 4" barrel for easier "conceallable" carry, which also gives it more muzzle-jump during recoil, but with the wind virtually DEAD, by the 4th sight-adjustment, it was printing where it needed to be printing on the paper, so by the time it was getting "uncomfortable", it was punching big holes "right down the middle."

Took both guns home, cleaned 'em up & put 'em away. (Before I left the pits, I DID look up to the heavens and offer a big "THANKS!" for the "perfect day" I'd finally gotten!)

Later today, at Wally-World, I bumped into MsMarylin & Pat, had a nice chat with them, and came home.

About an hour later, Ted called me, letting me know that I would need a new power window switch on my old T-Bird. NORMALLY, this would be a "witch-hunt", but TODAY I located one within about a half an hour, in Escondido, California. I called, ordered it, and it'll be here in 4 or 5 days!

Things have gone "spookingly" well today. I don't understand it, but I ain't one to argue with MIRACLES! If tomorrow turns back to crap again.....I'll at least have had TODAY...Wednesday, July 6th, 2011.

Says so on my calendar!