Sure Shot or Not?

Sure shot or not?

By Allan Olson

While some people may believe that shooting is a “mans” sport, I am firmly not in that camp, especially since my wife is a better shot with a .22 than I am. Thankfully she has no interest in shooting any caliber higher than that or I could really be in trouble.

More than once, I have taken out the .22 and plugged a few rounds into a target. Surprisingly, since I now have a place where I can shoot, I have only done this twice since we’ve moved.

So a couple weekends ago (when the weather was still nice), after watching the show “Top Shot” (which I’m not), I felt the need to shoot off a few rounds with my 22 rifle.

I got ambitious, found a board, drew a target on it, fastened it to a tree in the backyard, and let off a few rounds. Of course, the kids all had to have their turn at target practice.

First up was Nikolai, he had trouble hitting the target since it was too high for him, so I used a milk jug filled with water on top of a box for his target. The jug already had a couple holes in it from a practice with the slingshot earlier that day.

After he emptied a clip (or three) into the box, jug, tree and dirt, next up was Abigail.

No, she wasn’t Little Miss Sure Shot either, but – with my assistance – she sure enjoyed emptying the rounds into the box and the jug. After each clip was empty, she ran to the target to assess the damage.

Marcus was next, since we appeared to be doing this in age succession. With my assistance, he also enjoyed his turn with the rifle.

Last, but certainly not shy, Alivia got her turn. I sat her on my knee and got the gun ready. She certainly knew how to do the rest as she emptied the first clip as fast as she could. With help from me directing her aim, as best I could with her sitting on my knee, she also managed to hit the target. At least I’m pretty certain she did, but, even with my marking the shots off, the target was starting to look like Swiss cheese.

I loaded up a second clip for her and, once again, we got positioned before I gave the okay to fire away. Yet again, the clip emptied far faster on that old semi-automatic rifle than I thought possible. I barely had time to do much more than blink.

Another trip to the target and she was even more excited seeing all the holes in the box and carton. Possibly thinking that she did most of that damage, she was ready for her third and final round.

The volley of shots sounded like one, as she squeezed them off in a matter of seconds.

So, as of right now, I guess they still aren’t that good, I’m afraid it will only be a matter of time before they think (and possibly might be) better at it than their dad.

While my girls weren’t Annie Oakley and the boys weren’t Daniel Boone, we still had a blast by blasting over 150 rounds in the backyard.

As for this weekend, we did virtually nothing. We kept the house moderately clean, ventured outside little, and the boys took out the rubber bands for target practice at some toys (an idea inspired by dear old dad.)

The rubber band fights are a new thing to my kids and is a game from my youth. Now, instead of me targeting my siblings, my kids are now the targets. So far Nikolai and I are tied – one eye shot each. I got him first and, a few days later, he repaid the favor. It was hard not to be mad, because, even though neither eye shot was intentional, it still hurt like ... well, you fill in the blank.

Now, if I only had a few pine cones in my yard to start another war with my kids.

Thanks for reading and remember to watch out for the buses. As always, feel free to drop us a line and/or a photo and have a great week. For more of my columns visit http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.