I Spied God Plinking Away at the Jonesville Range

I Spied God Plinking Away at the Jonesville Range

Yes, this is what I really look like at the range.

The View from My Table at the Jonesville Range, 100 & 50 Yard Targets

By Cybèle Elaine Werts
CybeleW@aol.com
www.supertechnogirl.com

My hot pink sequined visor glinted in the sun as I puddled my rifle, "Rosie," into the sandbag. A breeze drifted over my shoulders and I leaned into the curl of sulfur smoke winding its way out of Rosie's barrel. I blinked, adjusting my eyes to the early morning fog. Just me and God out there, plinking away.

One hundred rounds and one kielbasa sandwich later, I took a walking meditation out to the berm. My feet shushed in the grass as I eyed my fifty-yard target with a still inexperienced gaze. A bright and flickering reflection turned out to be a gang of butterflies. Attracted to what? Spent rounds? Old paper targets fading in the sun? In the early morning silence I contemplated my work with a barely suppressed grin. Ten orange hockey pucks blasted to smithereens; six targets splattered with bright green hits. Butterflies a'fluttering.

More satisfied with myself than I might admit, I turned to gaze at the 100 yard zone. Did I dare? Not a soul in site; a thankful thing because the presence of onlookers easily throws off my newly acquired aim. All right then, I'd give it a try. Another fifty rounds and it was all I could do to crack one clay pigeon and hit the target the one time. I've heard that my Ruger 10/22 is calibrated for fifty yards, so I'm hoping that's it. The fact that I could barely make out the speck of fluorescent orange might account for it just as well. By this time Rosie's barrel was heating up in the sun and nearly time for an ammunition run. Rosie is one hot babe though, so perhaps she was just warming up.

Maybe it was me who was just warming up, because I got distracted from my errand and ended up accompanying my friend Leon on a sport shooting jaunt to the North Country Sportsman's Club, just a hop, skip and a shot from my house. This range features many people think of as "skeet" although that actually refers to a particular game of the shooting sports. I've always liked the idea of taking a shotgun to flying clay pigeons if only because it looks so darn cool. Just ten trap shots on Leon's shotgun resulted in one big bruise on my shoulder and me shouting "Uncle!" Leon is a big guy, so he just laughed and gave me a rest with only trap button pressing duties. I'm no delicate flower, but I suspect that further bicep development will be necessary if I want to hit anything besides grass.

Despite my whining shoulder shiner, I became mesmerized by the clay pigeons getting whacked in mid-air. Surely death in flight by shotgun fulfills their spiritual purpose more than nestling in dirt waiting for my rifle shot. Later I watched a "doubles" match and couldn't help but admire the two bodies in perfect tandem, eyes in flight and inordinately beautiful. Both men and women sported a sexy machismo that I couldn't help but secretly admire. Confidence is so desirable.

The most remarkable difference I observed was that the doubles trap and five stand shooters were clearly having a ball. It's not that my fellow shooters at Jonesville aren't having fun, but the whole firearm endeavor seems meant not to be taken lightly, certainly not so lightly as to name one's rifle "Rosie." Perhaps it's because shooting sports are fundamentally about having fun, while most other weapons involve a factor of self defense or possibly provision of one's next meal; either way a serious undertaking. Leon adds that the focus on hitting one's target "exactly so" contributes to the general lack of mirth.

Five stand will have to wait however, because Friday is my birthday and Rosie wants to hit the range running for an early morning flight. She and I both love the quiet gentleness of the empty range, dew still glinting on freshly cut grass. Perhaps this time those butterflies will wing across her sights and alight on the barrel, even as I slow my breath to stillness and take another shot.

SOURCES & REFERENCES

Jonesville Range, Jonesville, Vermont
http://www.ccfgclub.org/

North Country Sportsman’s Club, Williston Vermont
http://www.shootncsc.com/public_html/