Thor’s Hall

So I think most everyone has come to the conclusion that the Swine Flu Pandemic of ‘09 was a bit premature, and based on information that was wrong.

I was with some folks last week that were looking for horror stories of people paniced in airport, and everyone wearing masks etc.  After traveling through four different airports I did not have a single story to relay to them.

Today I actually saw someone wearing a mask in an airport!!  I have a story now.   Passing through O’Hare this morning during the peak travel period 7 – 8 AM there were four people wearing masks.  Uh, only four and they were all international travelers except for one janitor that was sweeping the floor.

Of the few hundred people that I saw in O’Hare four were frightened enough of the piggy flu to hide their faces behind a surgical mask.

Another overhyped crisis that the American people have decided is not really a big deal.

Note to self:  When shooting from prone position, on the very hard earth for several days having elbow pads is a very good idea.

I knew this, I just forgot that part of the packing and boy was I paying for it by day 3.

Another early day and drive up from Orofino to the shooting site.  Hauling stuff up and down the stairs at the hotel got very old.  The day started out cold again, although a bit warmer than previous days.  The skys were threating a bit of precipitation but it seemed to holdoff.

With the full number of participants showing up for the event on Sunday there were a lot more folks around enjoying things, and lot more equipment to appreciate.

I wound up spotting for the first string which was okay.  I would have liked to have had a shot at the first boomer of the day but, it wasn’t that important.  My partner had a light barrel in his rifle that tended to walk as it warmed up so we were shooting his first and then letting it cool.  I got him on target fairly quickly at 380 and we had some boomers there before switching over to my turn.

Concentrated on the 380 line to get things loosend up and wound up going shoot – miss, shoot boom, shoot boom, shoot boom, shoot miss, shoot boom before looking for the hanging targets.  Turns out that they hung a handful of targets from the trees, and painted them to blend into the background.  That presented a bit more of a challenge but I managed to get one of those as well.

We spent a lot of time trying to get the 600 and 650 yd targets.  Bryan was able to connect with a couple.  I managed to snag a couple as well but either missed the explosive inside, or just did not have enough energy left in the round to detonate it.

By the end of the day I was wiped out.  I was having a hard time holding a steady position to trigger the remaining boxes, and still had a fantastic time.

The post is a bit late but better late than never.

Another cold morning to start the day.  The weather overall though was pretty good.  Winds ranging 6 to 10 which impacted the shooting but after having to remount my optics overnight (using locktite this time) I figured I was going to have to start pretty much from scratch on all my zero setting sfrom the day before.

The day ran pretty much the same as the previous day.  Picked up some pointers from MSG Hubbard and from Monte which were good.  Wound up making some modifications to my physical shooting position and the way that I was postured behind the weapon.  Using a bipod means I really did not need that front hand supporting the rifle, so I was able to adjust my entire left arm and use that hand to steady up the back end of the weapon more.

The shooting went well.  I was able to rezero the weapon very quickly, and wound up reaching out successfully on the steel to about 650 yards.   Anything beyond about 550 though got to be very challenging.

We came back into about 380 to shoot boomers and I was very pleased with my performance.  One to two shots on each.  Very comfortable with that range.

That evening was the Boomershoot Dinner met some new folks and faces.  Gene Econ was pressed into service as the guest speaker when the scheduled speaker cancelled.  He did a fine job.  I wound up having dinner with Joe Huffman and his family.  A very enjoyable time, and Barb made me feel right at home.