Oy vey!

Turns out I am too hard on myself. While yesterday was a bit of a tough day, I was still running 156th (not a bad placing in a field of over 1000) and one more point would have seen me up to 63rd. So super competitive at the top.

Unfortunately, today I had a pretty bad day. It started well, with 5 Vs in the 10-shot 300yd match. But then I had two low shots (that position issue). Slightly later, a third one to ruin what was a likely "possible". I had a friend who designs my stock and coaches smallbore advise me on position and he had raised my buttplate before the Imperial started. It was a much more comfortable position, but new, and it led to a variable (fore and aft) head position. This is death in high-level shooting.

It was the cause of my problems. I moved the buttplate back to its original position (in which I had shot so well in the team matches) and went to 1000yds for the Corporation full of enthusiasm. But wait.. something else goes wrong? My front iris chooses that shoot to "die". These irises are adjustable and mine was locked open at 6.0 (HUGE). But the 1000yd target is pretty damn small. To shoot such a small target, one needs a balance of aperture - and the white around the bull - with the size of the bull.

A good rule of thumb is the aperture is twice the width of the bull. I had to shoot with one that is somewhere between three and four times the bull (in my estimation). I thought I was adjusting it down - I went down all the way to 4.0 but saw no visible difference.

Having no choice - and not knowing it was broken - I just soldiered on. I let go a lot of good shots but couldn't figure out the wind intensity. So I hit a lot of fours. In the end, I had a 41.0 (out of 50). Not a good score. Not terrible given the difficulty but it means I continue to drop back in the field and all hope of ending on the 1st page of the Grand Aggregate is gone.

Doing my best to realize that one can enjoy the experience if not the result. I meet such nice people at Bisley and everyone has been very kind. I'm definitely giving thought to making this an annual trip - though on my own and not with the team I think.