Her hair and nails looked beauty shop fresh, her clothes "Business Casual", but her well worn vest had her name stitched on it along with some straight patches.
I had skipped dinner to go to PGC, my trap jones was kicking bad,and my #$%^&* schedule had my time orchestrated until next week. It was hot,humid and a variable breeze up to 20 MPH was adding to the challenge.
She was shooting a round solo as I unpacked my stuff, and smoking them. Finishing up, she racked a gleaming new Beretta 682E Gold Trap w/ 30" bbls and lit up a Capri. 50-ish, she had a cultured voice with a Southern accent.
When I asked her how she liked her 682, she replied that she liked it a lot, tho she hadn't had it long. It replaced her husband's K 32 for doubles, which was getting loose. We shot the bull, hefting and swinging each other's shotguns.
She mentioned that she had started shooting at 16, and met her husband at a shoot.
I told her the Beretta felt light, and she remarked that it kicked her more than her BT 99 or that K gun. I suggested she go to a 1 oz load (Sound familiar?) and gave her an extra one of mine to try. She smoked that target also and after a bit of Q&A about 1 oz loads, we set out to shoot a round.
She ran it.
She ran the next one too.
On the third one,she dropped a pair,in a gusty wind that switched directions frequently.
She sat out my fourth round, and I shot it with a father and son who showed up with a handful of shotguns, including a classic 50s 870 field gun they wanted about $100 too much for.
After a few more minutes of conversation with the lady,I loaded up my stuff.And as I let the pony run for home, I got to thinking....
I like being big and strong, able to rassle a 9 1/2 lb gun around like it was a 20 gauge.
But the lady outshot me.
She grossed maybe half my tonnage. She admittedly didn't like the kick of her lighter shotgun and heavier load.
But she outshot me.
She centered target after target, turning them into a mist of particles a good 5 yards closer to the house than I was.
She didn't know about 1 oz loads being good for trap singles, or the first shot in doubles.
She didn't know much about stock fit, the effect of heavy triggers, or reducing kick by adding some weight to the shotgun.
But she outshot me.
She didn't have fancy tinted shooting glasses. She didn't use a tuned and polished handload she has meticulously developed through patterning.
But she outshot me.
Now,this happens with some regularity. I'm fairto middlin, but don't expect to see my pic in Trap and Field or Shotgun Sports. Remington will never bring out a Dave McC Signature Model 870.
I shoot Sporting better than most trapshooters do, trap better than most hunters do, and birds fairly well. I'm a shotgun generalist,doing a little of a lot of wildly different things. My recent focus on trap is a bit of an anomaly.
So, how did she do it?
I doubt it was the equipment.
My guess, some natural talent and lots of practice, practice, practice....
I had skipped dinner to go to PGC, my trap jones was kicking bad,and my #$%^&* schedule had my time orchestrated until next week. It was hot,humid and a variable breeze up to 20 MPH was adding to the challenge.
She was shooting a round solo as I unpacked my stuff, and smoking them. Finishing up, she racked a gleaming new Beretta 682E Gold Trap w/ 30" bbls and lit up a Capri. 50-ish, she had a cultured voice with a Southern accent.
When I asked her how she liked her 682, she replied that she liked it a lot, tho she hadn't had it long. It replaced her husband's K 32 for doubles, which was getting loose. We shot the bull, hefting and swinging each other's shotguns.
She mentioned that she had started shooting at 16, and met her husband at a shoot.
I told her the Beretta felt light, and she remarked that it kicked her more than her BT 99 or that K gun. I suggested she go to a 1 oz load (Sound familiar?) and gave her an extra one of mine to try. She smoked that target also and after a bit of Q&A about 1 oz loads, we set out to shoot a round.
She ran it.
She ran the next one too.
On the third one,she dropped a pair,in a gusty wind that switched directions frequently.
She sat out my fourth round, and I shot it with a father and son who showed up with a handful of shotguns, including a classic 50s 870 field gun they wanted about $100 too much for.
After a few more minutes of conversation with the lady,I loaded up my stuff.And as I let the pony run for home, I got to thinking....
I like being big and strong, able to rassle a 9 1/2 lb gun around like it was a 20 gauge.
But the lady outshot me.
She grossed maybe half my tonnage. She admittedly didn't like the kick of her lighter shotgun and heavier load.
But she outshot me.
She centered target after target, turning them into a mist of particles a good 5 yards closer to the house than I was.
She didn't know about 1 oz loads being good for trap singles, or the first shot in doubles.
She didn't know much about stock fit, the effect of heavy triggers, or reducing kick by adding some weight to the shotgun.
But she outshot me.
She didn't have fancy tinted shooting glasses. She didn't use a tuned and polished handload she has meticulously developed through patterning.
But she outshot me.
Now,this happens with some regularity. I'm fairto middlin, but don't expect to see my pic in Trap and Field or Shotgun Sports. Remington will never bring out a Dave McC Signature Model 870.
I shoot Sporting better than most trapshooters do, trap better than most hunters do, and birds fairly well. I'm a shotgun generalist,doing a little of a lot of wildly different things. My recent focus on trap is a bit of an anomaly.
So, how did she do it?
I doubt it was the equipment.
My guess, some natural talent and lots of practice, practice, practice....
I was on a NG pistol team at the time, 21 yo and shooting bunches. 
).