Well regular posting is likely to return as trap season has returned!

Hmm.. I don't think I posted that a week ago yesterday I got stung by a bunch of bees while cutting the grass. I still have big angry red welts. So 8 days, still itchy. (this comes into today later)

Work is chaotic, we're trying to implent software that I don't really think is ready for prime time.

Now to the important stuff... Trap! Well we're not the geek posse anymore because we got tired of being called Posey. Posse, Posey? one's a group of people, the other a flower. Maybe next season we'll be the buttercups or the bluebells, but for now we're geeks with shotguns. I thought briefly about calling us 9 shooters 6 guns, which is true, but might keep people from buying one. Anybody want to sponsor a trap team? Too late for this season but we're on the lookout for spring.

New team, some new people, we picked up Gary, a co-worker of mine (and by no small coincidence co-worker of Tony, Erik and Deanna). Also new to us...Steve who shot pistol with Erik and I last winter. And Sigrid, who didn't make it out this week but will next week. Odie shot his personal best ever as his handicap round, maybe not the best move on earth, but I'm happy for him anyhow. Deanna shot for crap with my 12ga, the 20ga being still broken. The scorer was crazy.. I shot 20, 21, 23. Gary shot well for a new guy! So all was ok.

Girls on Fire!

This morning we met at the gun club under light drizzle to finish the rained out rounds from Wednesday and shoot the ones we had to skip. Despite being rained out Rebecca came back and got her first crack at shooting trap, she hit 2 and 6. Those are pretty typical scores for a person on their first time shooting trap. She's no Matt, that's for sure, 7 and 14 on his first two rounds. He's a trap shooting machine in the making. I got 18 and 20, both on the practice sheet. Also it was odd during my final round women outnumbered men on the line 3 to 2.

Deanna however was totally on fire today. She hit 20. No kidding. Her average is like 9.6 or something. Sadly this one was also on a practice sheet. I don't know if it's having her husband and kids watch, or getting rained on or what, but I'd sure like to see more shooting like that from her. Woo! I then went and told her husband she needed a shotgun that wasn't my broken one.

Rained out. Last night Trap was rained out. Our first 4 shooters got about two stations in, maybe three. Then there was the raining. With lightening. Also the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi fell in the river. So we lollygagged a bit before starting or we might have gotten some shooting in. We're hoping for makeup shooting on Saturday.

Tonight is movie night with Heidi. Hmm.. my life it is dull

Well the whole Geek Posse showed up last night. Everybody did really well. Deanna was spotted shooting with her eyes open. Pretty much everyone except Chilly made their average. I shot 20 in practice and 19 in the book. This week I was all about consistency in mount. You know what? If you put the gun in the same place every time you almost can't help breaking birds even when you're pointing poorly. Ergonomics really is everything in a shotgun.

I suppose that's why the BT-99Micro with the 13.5" LOP that Charley loaned me forever ago when I was shooting 6s and 8s let me hit 20. Because it really fit me well. Fortunately for me the Mossberg also fits well and only cost me $200. Anyhow... I think the thing I need to do now is make mounting identical, repeatable, and thoughtless. I think that'll get me the next few birds to move up from moderately good punter with an average of 17 or so, to good shooter with an average in the low 20s.

Well it was the first hot week of summer trap. I was sweating, and missing my sunglasses. Also the first week without a jacket and it showed in my mount. I have a series of about 10 little bruises across my shoulder where I couldn't find the pocket without an extra half inch of coat.

First round wasn't so good for me, but the second round worked out well. I got 21 in the book. If I can keep this up I'll be really happy. Everyone else did really well too. Tonight I have three shotguns to clean though as we packed up and didn't clean before they all got loaded in the car to come home with me.

Afterwards Heidi and I watched Operation Petticoat. I forgot how much I like those old silly movies.

It's Wednesday, that means trap shooting. I shot 14 and 20 this week I think. I know the 20 for sure and I thnk I made my average, which means I needed the 14. The guys all did well too. We got stuck in the B-division. We're more of C-division team. Hopefully assignments to the leagues were random and we'll do ok, even if we don't it's not like it matters if we get smoked, as long as we have fun. For those who really care here is the link to the scores weekly. We're in the B division, Geek Posse.

The weather was lovely, a good time was had by all.

Last night was nuts at Metro. It was week 3, aka you must shoot your first three scores week, and the previous two weeks the weather had been crappy. So.. there were about a million people there. Well not really but they had all 14 fields running, all with waits.

I shot 16 and 18, which means I made my average. Chilly's having issues. Odie however is clearly hitting his stride. Yay we are a fine fine team. Odie bought sodas for those of us who wanted to hang out afterwards.

I stopped on the way home and bought fuel, soon I will get over the extra $.30 a gallon that the new cleaner standards are costing me. In the mean time I will be bitter about fuel costs. Then I hit the DQ and drove home to watch Sense and Sensibility with Heidi.

New Trap Season Begins

Last night we shot our first two rounds of trap for the season. I'm officially the captain of our squad apparently. That's what I get for being the one to pay the team fee, we're apparently the Geek Posse. Well last season the team I shot on was called Shooting Blanks, so I guess this is a step up. Back again for shooting hijinks are Deanna and Erik(hereafter called Chilly). We've added Ken who is Chilly's son; Tony who works with Erik, Deanna and me; Eric (aka Odie) who I've known for years and years, we went to GAC together; and Tony's friend "Creepy Gamer Scott" who doesn't seem so creepy actually.

I successfully forgot my plastic ammo can full of all my trap shooting essentials like my belt pouch and safety glasses, and earplugs. Scott loaned me earplugs and I went on with my day, fortunately my coat pocket will hold a box of shells. Since neither Odie or Scott had ever shot trap before we set it up with the four of the gang who have shot trap before going first and Odie, Scott and I going second. I spent the first round explaining the finer points of etiquette and logistics to them.

Everybody did pretty well, especially considering some of them had never shot a single round of trap before starting the league. I hit 15 and 11, which are fine fine rounds to have as contenders for handicapping. Ken shot 22 and beat his dad by 4 pts, which he was insufferably smug about. I don't remember anybody eles's score.