Tag Archives: shooting

Father’s Day 2015

Yesterday was Alex’s 12th birthday.  On Friday evening, he got to have a few friends spend the night.  For that age group, it basically means lots of time playing video games and watching a movie.  The boys stayed up late and got up early.  On Saturday evening, he requested pizza for his birthday dinner, so we went to California Pizza Kitchen at Foxwoods.  Alex almost fell asleep in the back seat on the way home.

 

This morning, it was pouring rain.  After morning chores were done, I spent some quality time in the garage organizing and cleaning.  Then, later in the afternoon as the showers cleared, Alex and I went to the range to do some shooting.  We had the place to ourselves for the 2 hours we were there and we had a great time.  He really enjoys shooting his rifle.

Once we got home, I groomed Mystique and snapped a few new pictures.  It was hot and humid, and I was tired.  We can ride tomorrow after work.

Overall, it was a good day.

The range is open

Last year, Alex and Vicki expressed some interest in shooting as part of Tetrathlon. Tetrathlon is a Pony Club competition that includes swimming, running, jumping (the only portion that involves a horse), and pellet pistol shooting. I introduced them to shooting, but we didn’t make much progress.
This year, I decided to build a target range in our basement since we had enough room.
I started by using some old dividers to create a lane down one area. Then I used some plywood to create a backer so the pellets and bb’s are not hitting the cement walls. Finally, I added a new light to illuminate the targets.
Alex and I  finished this evening and have it a test run. The plywood is bouncing the bb’s back towards the shooter. However, the pellets have enough force to embed in the wood. I am going to look for some high density foam to stop the bb’s from bouncing.

The table is adjustable in height which works well for the kids right now. We are currently spring at 20 feet, but have enough room to make it an actual 10m range, which is the competitive distance for tetrathlon.
Now, each evening after dinner, we can go downstairs for a few minutes of target practice!
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