Queen's II: 500 yds (2+10)

Going into 500yds my shooting partner was Jim Paton, Canada's current best shooter (and winner of the Queen's Prize 20 years ago).

He holds very well and reads the wind better.

Before we lay down, I chatted with the lovely Emma Canning and got completely distracted in setting my sights. I set my front sight the 600yd distance rather than 500yds, resulting in a miss over the top for my first sighter.

Fine, I would just have to make do with a perfect 2nd sighter. My first sighter was a perfectly level inner, just a bit downwind. I was reading the wind quite well now and my first on score was a dead-center V-bull. Obviously my elevation wasn't quite perfect as I lost shot 2 a wee bit low and had to come up a 1/4 minute. Felt very good about the rest of my shooting, with the exception of shot 9 - which I cannot explain as I didn't call it high.

Wind reading was really quite good as the changes involved both direction and speed. One cannot tell from the true wind values how complex it really was. Let's just say that for the first time ever, I beat Jim Paton while he shot with me under the same conditions on the same target. Given his reputation, it really was an excellent match for me.