Seasonal Changes; An Opening and a Finish

Finally. Although I never really took a break from shooting during the winter months, I did miss the excitement and camaraderie of local competitions. After a false start last weekend when the local USPSA match had to be canceled due to weather and range conditions, the match season for me kicked off this weekend. Black Creek Shooters Association holds a monthly static and falling steel match that I was able to attend. This month's match challenged participants with four stages of steel targets, large and (very) small, near and far. As with any good course of fire, the shooter had to think too; shoot a defined set of targets, move to the next box, shoot another set, move... Right off the bat I suffered a brain malfunction and shot the wrong group from the opening shooting box. No matter, it was fun and I kept smiling. It was a fun way to spend the morning outdoors, with a fun group of people. Seventy-seven shooters in all gathered for a morning of responsible, safe sporting. The weather could hardly have been better, which was a welcome break from the recent extended periods of heavy rain we've experienced recently. I'm looking forward many more such events in the coming months.

In a fitting juxtaposition to this spring (almost) start of a favorite activity, I found myself relaxing at the end of the day with my last remaining bottle of one of my favorite winter beers, Heavy Seas Winter Storm. Actually, nicely aged bottle from the 2009 release. Sometimes these things just happen.