I got hitched to my husband almost a year ago, and from his groomsmen, he got one of the coolest gifts ever. He received an Ithaca .12 gauge shotgun. And Oooowwie is it a beauty! Adorned with scenic views of flying ducks, I knew that as the first gun of our family this one was a keeper. (And my husband too for that matter.)
I am not sure what sparked my interest to shoot with it. I think I was looking for something with a bit more variety then shooting a still target at the end of the range. So, I told a co-worker that I was interested in going out to shoot clay targets at the nearby shooting center. And like any good co-worker with their own shotgun she was game.
Saturday morning rolled around I dragged myself out of bed and to the range. After purchasing our shells, putting on our ears and eyes we headed out to the course. Arriving at station one we pushed the button to watch the clays trajectories. Oh and they were fast and small. This was not going to be easy.
After watching the clays once more, I loaded my gun, placed the butt into the crevice of my shoulder, and slowed my breathing. “PULL!” I yelled. Out went an orange disk. BANG! Miss. “PULL!” Out went the second. BANG. Another miss.
I tried again, and again, and again. And even though I didn’t hit more than 10 of the 60 clays that flew in front of me that day I was without a doubt totally and completely addicted. I wanted to do it all again the next day and every day after that if I could.
Be adventurous with your love of shooting. Try new things, you never know what you might enjoy. If I hadn’t been curious about my husband’s shotgun I would have never found my new hobby.
Now if anyone has any helpful tips on how I can get better at shooting clay targets please pass them along because I would like to be better than him at one more thing.