Kitsap Steel Challenge Report

Yesterday I got the chance to venture over to the Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club in Bremerton, WA. for a full eight stage Steel Challenge match. I had to be out the door at 5am to be able to be there just a little bit late at 8:20am for sign up and the shooter's meeting. It was raining and snowing when I left home, and didn't look to promising for the rest of the day. After two ferry rides and some driving, I arrived at the range. It was close to freezing, a wind was blowing, and it was raining. It didn't look like it was going to be a very pleasant day weather-wise, but since I hadn't shot since late October except for a few rimfire rounds a couple of days ago, I definitely needed the practice to get back to where I was last Fall.

About midway through the match the rain stopped, and a lot of the cloud cover went away. The wind stopped blowing too, and that by itself makes it seem a lot warmer. With a bit of sunshine peeking through it was still cold, but in comparison, almost balmy!

My first few stages weren't too good, as I was clearly rusty! As the day progressed and the weather improved, so did my shooting, and by the end of the match it was going much better. Not great, but better! Usually after a match I hang around to help put away the targets and target stands, but since the weather was starting to close back in and snow was forecast, I decided to head home as quickly as possible. It was a good thing I did, as part way home it started snowing pretty good, and it was sticking. It was snowing enough that I passed a snow plow going the other way, and he was plowing. Fortunately the snow was coming from a relatively small cell, and ten or twelve miles later I was out from under it and it wasn't snowing.

By the time I got home my back was really starting to hurt, as drawing from a holster uses some muscles that apparently don't get used for too much else, and they were really getting sore. Once home I lay down on the heating pad for a while, until it started hurting less. Once the pain had subsided, went out like a light. It had been a very long day, and I was bushed..........