Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: Sweet 28?

Friday, July 3, 2020

Sweet 28?

After 15 years away from even attempting them, I've begun shooting sporting clays again. Actually, better I say WE will be shooting sporting clays.

I've got 12 gauge boomies to use, but they would be a bit abusive to Herself. Oh, she shot it... but 100 in a row?

From a friend, I acquired an older CZ Woodcock in 28 gauge. It's a sweet little thing, made in a short run back around 1995. The whole thing is scaled down to 28 gauge size, even though it has 28" barrels. That makes it light, and handy.

Icing on the cake, it's just so pretty! Case hardening on the action, deep blue on the barrels and hardware, and that lovely Turkish walnut to top it off.

Her only quibble... the shotgun had a competition adjustable buttplate added by the previous owner. She prefers a more classic fit, and the crescent pad left a mark on her shoulder after a few hours shooting.

So, I fitted a Decelerator slip-on to the stock as a try. If she approves, I'll pick up a real one and make it permanent.

I'd like to report we had massive success on our first outing, but that would be a big fat lie. Between us we fired 200 rounds. 75 twelve gauge, 75 twenty eight gauge, and the rest in twenty gauge. She hit about 20/100.... not bad for her first time ever shooting a shotgun, let alone first time on clays.

I shot about 35/100. This is me sighing, and promising myself I'll work to get better.

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Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"