Trapshooting 101

Today I went trapshooting with a couple of friends of mine. I shot a 17 and a 15, and had a good time. It's been almost two years since I've done it, and Im proud of my scores. However no one seems to know what it is or how its done. So here you go.

First of all, you need a shotgun. any one will do it really doesnt matter. Second, you need a place to go to do it. Now in my case theres a gun club nearby that does it, however, you are allowed to do it on your own. Now the idea is to hit the birdie (also known as a clay, a pigeon, a clay pigeon, or a bird) my shooting the shotgun at it. This isn't as easy as they make it seem on the videogames, which makes it alot more fun. In most sporting rounds, five people will participate. now at each traps, or bird houses, there are five stations. Each shooter starts at one and takes five shots from each station, or 25 shots. It's very simple from this point on. The thrower, or person responsible for throwing the birds will begin by throwing one for everyone as an example. The first shooter will then say "pull", signalling that the bird should be thrown. If he hits it, he gets a mark. If he misses, the thrower calls out "loss", and no mark is given. This process is repeated with the next shooter, and so on and so forth until each shooter has fired five shots. The thrower will then call out "change", and each shooter moves one station to the right. The process repeats itself again after each shooter has taken his five shots. The score is based out of twenty-five, and the more birds, the better your score (kind of a given if you ask me). There are numerous different types of trap, from different distances or with teammates, and also a similar sport called "skeet", where a smaller pigeon is thrown perpendicular to the shooter, instead of away from him.

Well there you have it. Now you're all trapshooting experts. At least you know how to do it right?

So tommorow...

Tommorow, I will be meeting with a staff sergeant from the Marines. Its true, I'm considering a position in the military, but I havent decided which branch Id like to join for sure. Ive always wanted to be in the military, and Im really excited that the time is finally here when Im eligable to join. I know, it sounds crazy (Katy) but its a really good opportunity, especailly for someone like me. I want to study to be a history teacher, and the military is one way to help gather some dough up for school. The other brightside, is the experience. Im a visual learner, and I also find that it tends to teach better than reading out of a book or hearing a recording. For a teacher, being able to tell students about events from a first-person viewpoint is porbably one of the best ways to teach a lesson, especially in the history field. To be able to tell students "Yes, I know about that, I was based there", or "Ive been there, and witnessed the area". With things like that at my aide, lessons become more meaningful to students, and a more lasting thought in their mind.

Just for Fun

Mr. Bretzmann was right this game is addicting!
http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf
Here's another one just for fun too:
http://www.bored.com/games/puzzle/1/tower_defense/
Enjoy! (P.S. and don't get caught!)

The Epic First Post

Well, here it is. My first post. Shout out to Mr. Bretzmann for the idea. Right now, I'm at home doing a whole lot of nothing. So this is fun! Although one thing did get my attention today. As of this morning, Barack Obama recieved the supprt of another superdelegate, Jim Donnely (D-IN), pushing him out a head of Hillary 280-276.5. Now I'm a republican, so personnally I think the situation is good for John McCain, however there comes a time when Hillary has to figure out that enough is enough. I think todays primary in West Virginia and the swing state of Missouri will be all the news tommorow, and I am very excited to see if shes dropped out of the race. In the mean time, however, go Obama go! I can only hope that he comes out on top, and I won't be entirely unsatisfied if he comes out on top of McCain in november.