High winds on the clays range

[Rapier]

Saturday morning I showed up on the clays range in Santa Rosa County and found the wind blowing out of the North about 40 mph. Talk about fun and frustration. What a shoot, I do not recall a single bird that flew or landed where it was supposed to. The real treats were the higher birds that the wind got, shot them straight up in the air, then over on their back to land behind the trap from whence they came. The low birds did the wobbly dance, climbing and diving only to climb again. Reminded me of shooting pigeons.

As long as you are not in a tournement, high wind birds are a blast.
Ed

[fabsroman]

Ah, they are a blast regardless of whether or not you are in a tournament, but I guess that depends on how serious you are about tournament shooting.

[Dom]

Ya, sounds like fun. One thing to remember, in a Tournament, everybody gets to deal with the same conditions, except for those running more than a day some might get lucky and get better conditions. I actually like it windy, separates the chaf & time to buckle down!! Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[Rapier]

Yep, a multiple day event was exactly what I was refering to. It is tough to have an entire match go down the tubes after you have planned for the match an entire year. I have seen some real good shooters in a one shot match (top classes) get beaten by bad weather. Nothing you can do but suck it up and go on.

I do clays for fun and refuse to compete, except in charity events. I did the serious competition for 23 years and finally had to quit to get away. Work at work and work at play was no fun at all.
Ed

[fabsroman]

I race bicycles and shoot tournaments, and I refuse to make it feel like work. If I am not laughing and having a good time at the events, I'll quit them altogether and just ride in a non-competitive group and shoot with friends in a non-tournament setting. I always like a little bit of competition, but I get plenty of it at work so I don't need any added stress from my hobbies.