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It was a quiet day at the Wa-Ka’Da Range today as the prone competitors checked in, pressed the flesh, and hit the line to practice.  Each competitor received a blue Shooting Sports USA bag, reminiscent of one of those green recycle grocery bags one sees at the super market.  It contained a commemorative T shirt, program, 1010 NRA rule book, and carry bag from the Collegiate Club Championships, and a few other pieces of helpful literature.

Relays were run a 30 minute intervals and there were always a dozen or shooters working out the kinks or travel, or-believe it or not- testing ammunition, or simply getting a feel for the place.

It is a well maintained and modern facility of 100 covered firing points.  The range is as flat a billiard table and surrounded by high trees on the right and left and the target line. Buildings help block the wind from six but a look at the many flags, as well as a peek though a spotting scope, reveal that all is not quiet forward of the firing line.  The mirage can be heavy and the winds unpredictable.

Turning pistol frames at 25 yards are so placed as to block off adjacent targets making it virtually impossible to crossfire at 50 meters.  There is no 100 meter line so we will shoot long range on reduced targets.

Box lunches were for sale at a reasonable price and the pace was slow and measured. A table was set up top display the rather large amount of awards. I was also amused by the fact that we all had to fill out a Tax Form W-9 is which is used by the IRS to request your taxpayer identification number.  It was needed because there is some serious money, at least to a smallbore shooter, in gift cards to the winners.

About the only excitement was when I discovered I forgot to pull out my ignition key and had a flat battery.  With in a minute or two Bob DelCotto dug a pair of jumpers out of his truck, Ron Wigger hooked me up to his Army van, and ten minutes later my car was purring like the proverbial kitten.  I was reminded of the time Erik Hoskins wanted loud music at Perry and ran down his battery in the interest of group entertainment.

I wrote my Shooting Sports USA article on the position matches this afternoon as Steve, you guessed it, took a nap.  It will be a quiet evening and we will be off to the range about 7:15 for the metallic sight day.

There are only about 45 or so shooters entered but with the likes of Ron Wigger, Nancy Tomkins, Rick Curtis, Charlie Kemp, Jeff Doerschler, Dave Cramer, Allen Elliot, Jim Miller, Ginger McLamore, the Barazinis, Bob DelCotto, mother and daughter Makucevich, Abby Fong,  and a host of others it will be a tough match.

Don’t touch that dial as I’ll be back at the same time tomorrow.

Steve Rocketto just "Rests his Eyes" for a minute during the 13 hour trip to Bristol, IN

After 12 hours and 40 minutes of total travel time we arrived at the Jamison Inn in Elkhart, Indiana.  Earlier we had passed the Route 250 cut off for Camp Perry but forged on to our destination.  When we entered Interstate 80 and the GPS read, “Continue on this road for 623 miles” all we could think of was Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno, in which he wrote, “Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate”-“All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here”.  But knowing there was a rifle match at the end of the trek we began to think more positively. Interstate 80 became Frank Baum’s the road of yellow bricks from the Wizard of Oz and we were on our way to an Emerald City.

Jeff Doerschler and Abby Fong of Digby Hand display the grand aggregate team trophy of the inaugural US Metric 3p Championships. Doerschlerr was first in the any sight agg and second in grand agg. Fong was first in the iron agg and is the indivial Metric National Champion