For a change the weather prognosticators were right and Saturday morning was better day for a torpedo shoot than any kind of a rifle match. Over the course of the morning it went from a drizzle to a downpour and back – several times.
We had changed the event from a Winter Offhand Match to an electronic target learning session. It was a learning session because all of us were going to figure out things about our system.
There was a brief introduction to the system and review of how it works, and then we went over how we intend to set up targets for a match. We covered sensor setup, cables and target insert installation.
Then, we took all the time folks needed to figure out just how to set up their display device (Smart Phones, dumb phones, tablets, Ipads, Fires and whatever) to connect to our server system. It was good to see everyone helping one another. No one person knows just how each and every device works, but one way or another, we figured out how to get everyone hooked up.
I demonstrated how shots show up on the display, and then I divided up the group into “Target 4” and “Target 6” teams and we shot a match on the simulator. We shot slow fire strings, we shot rapid fire strings, we learned how to handle cross fires and what to do about just out and out misses.
There were questions asked – some of which I could answer, some we just haven’t decided the answer as yet – and some I just don’t know – but I’ll find out.
Probably the most amazing thing at the session was what we found when we took a break. Most of us have never been out at the range in a serious rain storm, so today was a first for us. Check out the pictures of the creek. The creek flows from north to south (right to left) across the range. On the north side of the bridge that crosses to the 100-yard targets, water had backed up like the bridge and culvert was a dam. Drift junk has piled up like a beaver dam on the north side of the bridge and just to the south of the bridge water was spilling into the ditch like a waterfall. What a mess!
Unless things just don’t work out, I plan to hold this same training session later this month as an evening session for members who couldn’t make this session. I am going to send out a notice to the High Power group as well as a general notice to the club. Thanks to everyone who came out today – it was a good day!
