Chickens at Miller Kansas and my god the wind!

[Kevin Alexander]

I shot silhouette at Miller Kansas yesterday and today. Yesterday was perfect, about a 10mph wind straight outta the east. The first 3 to 4 sighters and then 4 or 5 for score were pretty good groups then every group would open up. Leading issues was my best guess. I was shooting a long heavy mini groove bullet, one wipe between shots with damp patch of oil and water solution from Steve Rhoads. Ended with a 13 score. Eleven shooters showed up for Saturday.
Sundays match we had 6 shooters. Winds were gusty and swirling around from 22 to 36 mph. I shot same bullet today but started wiping between shots with 2 damp patches instead of one and no leading today, just the wind blowing. I can't stand shooting chickens. I hate them. I despise them. I never ever hit them. Have I told you I hate them, I do! If I do hit one, it's pure luck, especially if the wind is blowing 30 mph...........until today. I learned something yesterday and today on chickens. On Saturday I got my elevations for the chicken settings but never got a checked. On Sunday with the same setting and the same bullet along with figuring out to wipe between shots with 2 damp patches I experimented with where exactly my bullet was hitting when I pulled the trigger and what the sight picture was when the trigger was pulled. Common sense stuff to you AAA shooters, but to a B shooter, I felt like a light bulb just came on, big time. The first chicken I though, huh, luck. Then the next one fell. Same hold. Then, number 3 fell, again same hold. I had a couple misses, just by very little, then number 4 fell, again exact same hold. Yup, I got 4 chickens today in very high swirling winds in central Kansas. Yup, B shooter. I realized that when I pull the trigger one of 2 things is happening and maybe a little of both. The gun rises a bit, with the trigger pull or the recoil, so I would bring my gun continuously slowly up from the bottom of the chicken and when I'd see his leg just coming in my aperture I'd pull the trigger and hit them almost dead center. I really hope I cam do it again. Today I shot a 17. The highest score today was 22 with iron sights. I went home happy. Today, now I'm not sure how I feel about the chickens.

I'm a right handed shooter, but my left eye has a lot better clarity and focus ever since I had a cataract remove last year from my right eye. So today I also experimented with shooting using my left eye with an offset to the left front and rear sights that another shooter had there. He let me try his gun and his sights with my loads. I hit 5 turkeys. I've learned some new things while shooting this weekend. Every time I shoot, I come away with something that helps me get better. Always learning.

[Don McDowell]

Good job on those chickens Kevin.