Tired but happy. OT.

With all that is going on right now and with lots of urging by my wife , I have been taking spare time to train one of her 4-H kids to shoot a rifle. He had never shot before but very much wanted to compete at the regional competition in Lake Charles. We only had about three weeks to train but he was a hard worker and a good student. Well today was the day and we drove him the 2 and a half hour drive to the match. I had never been to one of these either so when I saw so many with better equipment I was concerned. When he saw all of the fancy things he got really nervous . I told him just shoot and have fun. Do you best and then nothing else matters. Plus fancy equipment doesn't make a good shot. Long story short he finished first over some thirty shooters. My wife and I had a very good if not long day today and we are both very proud if this young man. Now we have to get him ready for state. Hmmmm, what have I gotten into ? Still it is a very up moment and very much needed.

what was he shooting? do they limit ther kids in caliber? etc...

Way to go, Sniper! Sometimes this is just the thing to do. We help someone else achieve their goals and at the same time we get out of our own pain long enough to have some quality time. I'm sure this boy will remember what you did for him long after the tournaments. So glad to see someone achieve without all the fancy stuff, too! I had to do that when I competed showing horses. I had to have the better horse because I didn't have the most silver on my halters.

Randy. This is 22 cal. I opted for a single shot bolt action by Savage mostly due to the accutriger and good sights. The contest is a 50 yard iron sights , three position event. No scopes. Heck I cant even see the dang target at 50 yards myself but he has younger eyes . The ten ring is about the size of a quarter on this thing.
dt19&99, I have to get him through State first and thats in one month. There was a young lady shooting against him that I think could take the whole pie though. I dont know why she did not win but from watching her form and stance she could ,with a little more help. After the match our boy said he was going over and ask her some shooting questions. I said, yeah, like her phone number ? Didn't know he could turn so red.
Zane, though I took the 4-H training for rifle instructor also , I mostly help my wife coach archery. We set the targets back a little extra and pin balloons to them every now and then and the kids go crazy. I love to do this when there is a light wind because the ballons move a lot. I have been told by parents that their kids just cant wait for shooting sports day because they love archery so much. None wanted to compete though and thats fine with me . Love to see them have fun.
Thanks Equestrian mom and olderthandirt, your right. I didn't have time to feel bad about things while coaching this kid. Except for some bad aches and pain from my old decrepit body, I was too busy to think . I told my wife that I would like to work myself up from coach to technical advisor so I can sit in a chair and point out errors. Sort of like , " When you can snatch the pebble from my hand Grasshopper, it will be time for you to leave."

Now C2, your making me blush. You know how us men hover when we cant fix whats wrong . I'm sure my wife needs time out from me too.
We could not stay late and things were running overtime . We had to get the boy home because he has a job, and very strict parents . I know my wife was happy because she pried the results from the judge before they were made known to anyone else. He made her swear not to tell anyone until we were on the road home and even gave her the medal and ribbon . As we drove away she gave vague answers to his questions about when do we find out and did we think he had scored high enough to go to state. We were on the road home when she told him, in a round about way . He could not believe it. I had hopes for the top ten myself but listening to the two of them celebrate made all the work worth while.

It is so good to read a post like this. Sniper, you achieved so many thing in one go, you made yourself
happy and relaxed, you gave your dear wife something else to think about, and you gave a boy the potential
to do great things. I applaud you. I always knew you were special!!

How wonderful! Sounds like he had a great teacher. Good luck with the state level!

Way to go! And now I'm going to get all mushy on you and suggest that maybe this young man and the comptetions were "sent" into your life at a time you really needed a diversion. Either way I hope he kicks butt at states!

Special as in special (like a special gift), not special as in s p e c i a l????? Lol x

It was a s p e c i a l porta potty!  Congrats on the coaching.  It seems like you would be a good coach.