Lately I been working 2 jobs, 60 plus hours a week, planning a wedding, buying a new car, and on top of it all I'm supposed to diet and exercise like a good person! Who am I? Superwoman?
Needless to say, I've been finding every excuse I can to get outdoors and take my mind off the craziness of my current life situations. The solution?.... Tuesday morning sporting clays league, and I use the word "League" loosely.
A group of old farts and me meet up on Tuesday mornings at 9am to shoot the bull and some orange clays,...if we have time in between all the bull! So today, I thought I would let y'all in on the talent that comes out every Tuesday morning to shoot Fishhawk Sporting Clays.
When you embark on a journey to the sporting clays range it is very important that you check and make sure you have everything you will need before you leave the house. On your checklist should be ...
1. Gun! You won't get far with out it. A shotgun to be exact. I use a 20 gauge, but most of the old farts use a 12 gauge.
2. Shells aka "bullets". We usually shoot a 50 bird course, so I always make sure I have at least that many with me, if not more. Lets face it, I'm not that good of a shot, I always bring extra!
3. Shooting glasses. Don't get pelted in the face with a kamikaze shell, or sprayed with clay dust.
4. Ear plugs! So important not to forget these, not only do you not want to destroy your ear drums, you also are not allowed to even shoot the course with out them, same goes for your glasses.
5. Coffee! For obvious reasons, this is the most important!
Once we have arrived at the gun range, we load up a rented golf cart with all our gear! They conveniently come with holders for the shotguns, and a front baskets for our bags of shells.
Its so organized....;)
We start off the morning by each choosing a station (1-16) that we want everyone to shoot. Today I chose station number 2! I really struggled with this station last week, and I wanted to see if today I had any better luck....spoiler alert....not much!
Each station is assigned a number and has instructions on the railing about how each bird at that particular station will fly. For example, in this picture of station number 14, bird A (which flies first), is flying left to right, and is outgoing. Bird B is the second to launch and it flies left to right and is also outgoing. It is also a true pair station which means that both birds are launched at the exact same time, as opposed to a report pair which are launched in succession, one right after the other.
Like I said earlier, you must wear glasses and ear protection at all times when you are on the course. Incase you forget, there is signs to remind you! Underneath the sign is the station key box, which when a rented key is put inside allows you to be able to push a button and throw your clays. PULL!!!
The trajectory of the birds are constantly being changed by the owners of the range. Every week we are greeted with new and more challenging birds! They like to keep us on our toes. ;)
Clays can come from a tower, and fly in towards you, as featured above. They can also come from the ground and go up and away like pictured below.
I look forward all week to meeting the group and getting in some practice! The range is such a beautiful and fun way to get outdoors for some adventure, and with the Tuesday league there is never a shortage of good times and laughter.
Duck, dove and pheasant will all be in season soon, and our weekly range practice will surely turn us into bird hunting machines!
After all the shells have fallen, every clay busted, and the smack talk has calmed down, we head out to our favorite lunch spot!
It's not officially Tuesday until we get our Silver Ring Cuban sandwich fix, that can only be paired with a big ole' glass of sweet tea. Lunch is more than just food to eat, it's a chance to catch up, slow down and enjoy each others company.
Sirach 6:14-16
"A faithful friend is a strong defense:
and he that hath found him, hath found a treasure.
Until next time!
-TGO
