Rachel Adams at the National Shooting Competition 2011
Rachel Adams – Washington County
July 18, 2010
Texas
Going to Texas for Nationals was definitely a great experience. I met a lot of nice people and had a lot of fun shooting. It was really cool to be able to go to San Antonio, Texas and going there to shoot made it that much greater.
All my friends and I were really excited and had fun even on the plane ride. We got to San Antonio and you could instantly feel the heat. It was great. The same day we got there we checked into the hotel and went to check out the range we would be shooting at for the week. Good thing it was under an overhang sort of thing because otherwise we would have all been having heat strokes. The way they had it set up was pretty good, we would practice what we were going to shoot that day before the match. We did that with silhouettes and the CMP guns. Our precision rifle practice was the first day we got there and we shot our match the next day. It was the only one different. It was funny our group was the only group that shot just prone. Everyone else went through all positions. The range officers there thought we were crazy for doing that but we showed them during the match we were just fine at what we did. At the end of every day we had our little ceremonies and got our awards along with seeing how everybody did. Let me tell ya…P.A. did great. The days after we shot our CMP guns. Personally that’s my favorite one. I think if you’re a good shooter you don’t need all the fancy equipment and shooting clothes. You should be able to shoot well without the help. That’s just my opinion though. I mean whatever happened to shooting like the old westerners? Clint Eastwood had the perfect shot without shooting pants, a jacket, the boots and whatever else there is to add onto that. We need skill not help. CMP is just the gun to that with. It’s simple and by far the best guns there. I loved my 10-22. The last shooting day was the silhouettes. We all did fairly well and it was fun to watch. There’s nothing better than knowing you hit that turkey and watching it fall. After all the matches and ceremonies we ended up first overall for small bore. We were so excited. We had a feeling we would be in the top five but we started getting nervous after we didn’t place third….then second… then we pulled through for first. This group beat Texas! This is definitely an accomplishment. Our coaches and parents were very proud of us, as were we. We came home with a lot of stuff to show for it and we worked hard to get there. The day after all the shooting was done we decided to take a look around Texas. We looked at some shops and that week we were in Texas I’ve never eaten so many burgers in my life. Anyway we also went to the Alamo. Not gonna lie I was slightly disappointed. I was hoping for everything to be left exactly how it was. I mean I guess that’s a little unrealistic but that’s just how I am. Instead roads covered up most of the area it was in. They displayed dioramas of what it was like and looked very realistic. Which was what I was hoping to see. It honestly was more like a park you could walk through and have lunch and visit the gift shops. It was a good experience nonetheless and in the little river way they massive fish. There was still an old well left by this crazy looking tree that was really neat. We also went to the river walk. It was really pretty but wasn’t as big as I was picturing, although that cool water was looking real nice in the Texas heat. Everything was a little different than I expected but it was still a great trip. I was picturing nothing but dirt everywhere and all the cowboys on horses just like on the movies. Although we did see a sheriff with his Texas star badge. The city there was so different from ours up here it was really cool to see. Just like seeing the tallest man in the world. A replica obviously but still he was huge. The weather was hot as expected and I didn’t have a problem with that in any way. My dad enjoyed it to and everyone was glad to be there to see us shoot and we couldn’t have done that without Jim Husk. He was the reason we were able to prepare for outdoor shoots with a lot of practice in the fields. It’s way better than being stuck inside all the time. I had a great time along with everyone else and they were just happy to see us do well, as were we. States are coming up soon so hopefully everyone will continue to do well and get to go to nationals next year in Nebraska.
Texas was an experience I won’t forget and have still been getting complimented for it. It’s good to know we made a statement and everybody can know how well we can shoot. Of course you can’t get too cocky about stuff but you can still be proud. It was really fun and I’d love to go back sometime.
