Beautiful day here in Eastern PA. 
Went to the rifle range to do some tune up with my Tikka T3X Lite, 223 Rem with 60 Vmax's to get ready for some not so serious predator hunting. I'm shooting off my home-made cross sticks. This rifle is absolutely ridiculously accurate. I got three shots down range already, all three in a 1 1/2-inch Birchwood Casey orange dot posted on my standard target, a 3 x 5 card. I'm in the zone today but I have 7 more shots to go to complete my customary 10 shot string.
A guy shows up with a fancy custom rifle, an enormous Leupold scope and one of those expensive bipods, I think it was one of those Atlas bipods. Anyway, he lays a shooting mat down and sets up. I'm intrigue because 99.9% of the guys I met at the range are bench guys. I sit back to observe. Time is something I have a lot of.
We exchange introductions and he asks if he can go down range to set up a target which I readily agree. After he returns, he says, "That's some nice shooting." I humbly confess that I'm in the zone today and normally don't shoot that well. He laughs and says, "That's a pretty small target." I explain that I'm a varmint / predator hunter and that 3 x 5 card represents the area I have to hit. He understands. He then proceeds to shoot. The compliment will probably wreck my next 7 shots. 
He shoots a three-shot string. The cartridge he is shooting looks like the cigars I smoke. I can't resist, I look through my spotting scope and all three shots are in a group of about 1" or less at 200 yards. This guy is a shooter. Whatever cartridge he is shooting sounds like a howitzer. Not only is the guy a great shooter, but he is also considerate and suggests we take turns shooting since he recognizes that the roar of his cannon will no doubt cause me to flinch. Of course, I pull the next shot ruining the nice group.
It's a cool day so after about 5 minutes I take another shot and this one is a little better, at the edge of the dot. I take a break eager to watch his next string.
A conversation ensues. He's shooting a 300 PRC. I notice on his truck there is a Navy Seal insignia. Wow! Now I start to understand. We trade "war" stories. He's a Gulf War Vet and was a sniper. I'm just a draftee Vietnam Era Vet. The most action I saw was chasing WACs at Fort Belvoir. He puts the next three shot in about the same place as the first three. Wow - I'm impressed. He's not a competitor, just a long-range hunter - going out West on an Elk hunt. Mr. Elk -give this fellow a wide berth.
What a great day at the range!! Love meeting guys like him!!!
Went to the rifle range to do some tune up with my Tikka T3X Lite, 223 Rem with 60 Vmax's to get ready for some not so serious predator hunting. I'm shooting off my home-made cross sticks. This rifle is absolutely ridiculously accurate. I got three shots down range already, all three in a 1 1/2-inch Birchwood Casey orange dot posted on my standard target, a 3 x 5 card. I'm in the zone today but I have 7 more shots to go to complete my customary 10 shot string.A guy shows up with a fancy custom rifle, an enormous Leupold scope and one of those expensive bipods, I think it was one of those Atlas bipods. Anyway, he lays a shooting mat down and sets up. I'm intrigue because 99.9% of the guys I met at the range are bench guys. I sit back to observe. Time is something I have a lot of.
We exchange introductions and he asks if he can go down range to set up a target which I readily agree. After he returns, he says, "That's some nice shooting." I humbly confess that I'm in the zone today and normally don't shoot that well. He laughs and says, "That's a pretty small target." I explain that I'm a varmint / predator hunter and that 3 x 5 card represents the area I have to hit. He understands. He then proceeds to shoot. The compliment will probably wreck my next 7 shots. 
He shoots a three-shot string. The cartridge he is shooting looks like the cigars I smoke. I can't resist, I look through my spotting scope and all three shots are in a group of about 1" or less at 200 yards. This guy is a shooter. Whatever cartridge he is shooting sounds like a howitzer. Not only is the guy a great shooter, but he is also considerate and suggests we take turns shooting since he recognizes that the roar of his cannon will no doubt cause me to flinch. Of course, I pull the next shot ruining the nice group.
It's a cool day so after about 5 minutes I take another shot and this one is a little better, at the edge of the dot. I take a break eager to watch his next string.A conversation ensues. He's shooting a 300 PRC. I notice on his truck there is a Navy Seal insignia. Wow! Now I start to understand. We trade "war" stories. He's a Gulf War Vet and was a sniper. I'm just a draftee Vietnam Era Vet. The most action I saw was chasing WACs at Fort Belvoir.
He puts the next three shot in about the same place as the first three. Wow - I'm impressed. He's not a competitor, just a long-range hunter - going out West on an Elk hunt. Mr. Elk -give this fellow a wide berth.What a great day at the range!!
Love meeting guys like him!!!
