Leagues beginning

I'm finally getting excited about shooting trap again. My three leagues all start within the next two weeks. Shells loaded. Guns stripped, cleaned and lubed. New one to try. Winter here sucked so my enthusiasm waned.
Old 1975 TB will be first out of the safe. Dying to try my really nice 3200 I picked up over the winter.

Bright, sunny day with strong wind gusts. TB, clean and ready, me, a little rusty. 23/25@16, 22/25 hcp. I'd hoped for better but had fun am ready to go. My son, trying the Superposed I gave him tied me. We will get it back together.

Boy, do I have some "ring rust", to borrow a boxing term, to clean off. Shot in our " big" league last night. Felt good with a 24 from 16, high shooter for our team. From 24, I just plain stunk. 16. Low for the team. Team total, 207/250. Rusty form, concentration problems, and not having shot any "caps" since Oct are my excuses. Then I looked at a few other team scores. From 170s to a 229.

"Big " league, week two. The shortages and increased costs seem to be having an impact. We have, up til this year, always had four divisions of up to ten teams each. We have three now, and not ten pet.
Anyway, my team shot ten birds better than last week and I improved by five. 217/250 team, 23, 22 for me. Five better. Hope springs.
Cold and windy. Wish I could have used 6s.

Home club, week two. Inching back up. 23, 23. Same from 16 and h’cp

Week four, larger league. Make up for week three rain out 25, 24 for me, three 25s @16 by the team, 225. Week four regular, after an hour and a half wait in 92 degrees, I faltered to a 44. Team, 215, so I was only Hal the decline.
Did find primers and bought 10K. Should be good for a couple yeaes.

Tonight, in driving rain, my team turned in a 216. Last week, in perfect conditions, we shot 217. Go figure. I had 25, 24 and attribute it to having fifteen beads on the barrel, two eyes to filter the drops on the glasses, and some blind luck. Son #1 was second for us with the Superposed I gave him with a 44. We are within five birds of first in top division. Like Avis, we try harder. (And wetter)

Last night, 92 degrees, no wind, just about perfect conditions. Squad miss three at 16 or a 122. wound up wit a 232/250. 49, 48, 48, 44, 43. Might move on a spot or two.

One shoot left in each of my two leagues. Home club, my team is in first. Big Peoria club, we are in fifth but only 17 birds out of third. Some strange things I've learned this year.
I may have peaked. My average for fifty bird weekly league shoots peaked about five years ago at 47.5. This year I'm just under 45. Almost 78, cataract needing fixed and assorted other issues contribute. Happy to be able to to shoot. Missed one week of eighteen.
Home club, I have had one bad score. My mind was at home with my wife and her impending surgery. Worst score in forty years.
July, 49, for Club top gun. Today, I reshot my August debacle and took top gun again. (granted, there were a lot of poor scores for a nice shoot day) but 47/50 is not my idea of a high score.
Any way, happy to be able to shoot, happy to have a son who is closing the gap on scores, and happy to have enough components for about three more years.
Combo trap/skeet league starts in three weeks.
Crush 'em.
Stan

League ended on a high note. My team turned in the best sore of our season, 232/250. We finished fourth of nine in the top division. Our handicap all season has been at the 25 yard line. Age range of team from 16 to 77. Guess who, at 77, was high gun last night?

Trap league at Peoria Skeet and Trap over. Tomorrow we start the fun combo league, each week shooting a round of trap and a round of skeet. A few years ago I tried shooting a different gun each week. Average only dropped by one bird. Now that my eyes and reflexes have diminished, I have lost more than that so I will stick to what works. TB for trap, either the 1100 or 686 Essential for skeet. Can hardly wait.

Season for me has screeched to a halt. My wife of fifty and and companion for sixty years had ankle replacement surgery ten days ago. She is not allowed to put any weight on that leg for six weeks. I help her up from the bed, commode, recliner and am happy to do so. Since I like to cook that is no problem. I am privileged to have her and proud to take care of her.
We are one of those couples, rare these days, who took the vows to heart.
So, no reports of my fair to middlin range results for a while.
Stan

Annual club trophy shoot is in the books. My older son's girlfriend offered to stay with childbride so I could shoot(only missed once in 42 years). She's a keeper, hope he figures that out. I started strong, 25, 24. Then caps, 23, and got tired, 21. The oldest competitor did finish third behind two kids, one in his fifties, the other in his forties. So bottom line, a buddy on my league team got first, the kid, second, and yours truly brought up the rear. Oldest shooter, don't feel bad. But I did want first!

As has happened too many times to count, my regular squad of my son, Bill, Mike, Dana and I and another squad took five of the six top two classes trophies. Only observing that there were two 725 Brownings, a BT99 high grade and three 870s. First and third in A class won by 870 and one in B.

Last league shoot tonight. Combo trap/skeet league week 8. Regular club league and trophy shoot is in the books and my team was first and the big shoot one teammate was first with 97 and I was third with a 92. At the big club we finished in fourth, having lost a couple of our steady young shooters to jobs and school sports. A good finish tonight might see us in third. Son number one has been steadily improving his skeet scores and has begun to get his trap average up to 23/25 with the Superposed I gave him.
Now, do I shoot winter skeet league?
Still have meat and money shoots all winter but I enjoy the team aspect.