A Custom Fit

Having a properly fit gun allows for a fluid gun mount.  This mean the gun, when mounted, should easily come to the same place every time on the shooter’s shoulder and face, where the shotgun barrels are lined up right under the shooter’s dominant eye (my right eye even though I'm a lefty).  Most off the shelf shotguns are built for the "average shooter", a 5'8" to 5'10" average size man.  Well that's not me. ;-) 

After shooting my new over/under for a few weeks, my instructor, Elizabeth Lanier, said that my gun was a tad bit too big for me and needed to be adjusted. E said that I needed to have the length of pull shortened (the distance from the trigger to where your shoulder touches the stock) and the pitch adjusted (the angle of the butt in relation to the top of the barrel).  The drop at the comb and heel, which means that if properly fitted, the gun aligns right below your eye without having to move your head up or down, was fine for me.

After doing several sets of measurements, E packed up my gun and dropped it off with her gunsmith, Danny Patton.  With these measurements, Danny knew just how much of the stock to cut off and at what angle to attach the new butt plate.  Since I'd only had my gun a few weeks, I was sad to see it go, but I knew the wait would be worth it.  A properly fit shotgun can make all the difference when hitting targets as you won't have to lift your head off the stock to see the targets.

After our trek down Route 15, Dave and I finally made it to Danny's place.  I'd never been to a gunsmith before and I was mesmerized by what I saw in his workshop.  So many tools, lots of equipment and guns galore.  A little tour...

The machinery Danny uses

Woodworking tools

Hardware in every shape and size

All the pieces of stock that Danny has removed from guns.  It's all catalogued in case he needs to match wood color or even use a piece of the original wood for a repair.

Buttplates that are attached after the stock has been fit.

Three stocks being refinished.  The top is a Blaser over/under and the bottom is an antique Parker side-by-side.

The stock and forend of a beautiful side-by-side that Danny just refinished

Stocks waiting to be worked on

 Stocks that are drying after having been refinished

Reloading equipment.  Danny also reloads his own ammo and I think he convinced Dave to start doing it, too.

Dave's side-by-side.  Danny added the spacers that we picked up in Middleburg earlier that day.

After leaving Danny's workshop, we were both itching to shoot.  Luckily Danny lives very close to Central Virginia Sporting Clays so we headed over to shoot a round.

My gun fits me so much better now!  Thank you, E and Danny!  I've shot several times since I got the gun back and also was in a tournement a few weeks ago.  My scores haven't skyrocketed, but I did score 10 higher than my previous tournament best. ;-)  Practice makes perfect.

Route 15

A few weeks ago, Dave and I took a scenic drive through the Commonwealth. 

We hit the road early and our first stop was Middleburg, where Dave picked up a part for his antique side-by-side shotgun at David Condon.  Middleburg is a wonderful little town about 50 miles west of Washington, DC.  Middle is filled with one-of-a-kind shops and fabulous restaurants.

The lawn jockeys who stand guard at the Red Fox Inn, the oldest building in town.

A funny GOP (Grand Old Pooch) display at Wylie Wagg.

Equestrian references are everywhere, as Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital".

Lots of Cavalier artwork at an antique shop.  Did you know, historically, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel is the most popular dog ever painted?

Several nearby vineyards have tasting rooms in town.

After leaving Middleburg, we got on Roue 15, headed to Palmyra.  Palmyra lies on the eastern bank of the Rivanna River in Fluvana County in Central Virginia.  I've lived in Virginia for almost 15 years but there are so many places that are undiscovered to me.  Rapidan, Orange and Gordonsville are three little towns to which I've never been and are all situated along Route 15.

Rapidan is a small town in Culpeper County.  Highlights of Rapidan include the Rapidan Mill and Dam, a school house dating back to 1887 and the Rapidan Passenger Depot and a dilapidated caboose.

The next stop was Orange, located in Orange County.  Orange has lots to offer the day tripper, including the historic Orange Train Station, the Mayhurst Inn and the James Madison Museum.

The last stop we made before getting to our destination was Gordonsville.  Also located in Orange County, Gordsonville is home to the Exchange Hotel. The hotel was built in 1860 and was used as a hospital during the Civil War and is the only surviving Civil War receiving hospital in Virginia. The hotel is still standing and now serves as a Civil War museum.

It was fun to see so much history along a short stretch of road.  Thursday I'll share pictures from our destination, which was to pick up my shotgun from gunsmith extraordinaire, Danny Patton.

Seven

When you kiss me, I feel kissed forever.
When you make me laugh, I know the rest of my life will be happy.
When you put your arms around me, I know I'll never be alone.
It's all the big and little things you do that make me feel completely loved by you.
Happy Anniversary, Mr. D!

Clare and Don's

An early spring has brought many perks, my favorite of which has been the early patio opening at our favorite local restaurant, Clare and Don's Beach Shack.  Dave, his brother and I joined the rest of Falls Church on an unusally warm Friday evening last month for some refreshing cocktails, great food and fun music.

There are so many reasons Clare and Don's is a local favorite- the atmosphere, the food, the bands.

I always start with the delicious hush puppies.  The drawn butter makes them just that much more delicious.

Kitschy beach decor is everywhere, including rubber flip flops tacked to the walls.

I get the same thing every time we go, which is quite often.  Steak tacos.  The best around.  They taste especially good with a cherry lime rickey, my cocktail of choice.  Clare and Don's is actually the first place I had brown rice and I became addicted.  It's the only rice I eat now. 

Another creature of habit, Dave almost always gets the shrimp and grits.  It's his Georgia upbringing coming through.

Dave's brother is on the Dukan Diet and in the stage where he only eats protein and veggies.  He had grilled halibut and some green veggies that are allowed per the diet.  Just mean more carbs for me.

It was still hoppin' when we left a few hours later.  We're very lucky to have a fun place like this in our neighborhood, especially one that's dog friendly.  Though we only bring the boys during the day as they get a little overwhelmed with all the people in the evenings.

Cherry Blossoms

Normally at this time, I'd be stalking the National Park Service site to determine the best time to make my annual pilgrimage to the Tidal Basin for my photo excursion. This year, Mother Nature had other ideas. We had an unusually mild winter in Washington, which caused the cherry blossoms, and just about every other spring flower, to bloom at least a week earlier than usual.  In fact, we set a record for the warmest March in history.  I really wanted to break out the floral skirts, capris and Bonanno's but I had some restraint.

Due to work and other obligations, I wasn't able to time my visit to the peak bloom date, but I did get to the Tidal Basin on March 19 and 23, right at the beginning and end of the blooming period.  I also went during the middle of the day instead of at sunrise.  This year's pictures have totally different lighting than what I've taken in the past so it's neat to see the flowers in a new light.

What Goes Up...

...usually comes down.  On St. Patrick's Day, Dave and I joined two of my GRITS friends and their husbands at a pheasant tower shoot at Hunts Game Preserve in Sussex County, Virginia.  We arrived early and enjoyed chatting with our friends and new acquaintances.

Soon it was time to head to the field.

I had my own gun carrier and reloader. :-)

I've been pheasant hunting but never done wingshooting from a tower so I was excited to see how it differed.  A 30 foot tower was situated in the middle of a large circle that had 10 shooting stations. 

The birds were released from the tower in 20 groupings of 10 birds each, for a total of 200 birds. 

There were two shooters at each station and we rotated after shooting at each station twice.  Clint (the owner of Hunts), his sons, and other friends, were positioned between the stations to offer help and let us know when the tower was going to release the birds.

There were several dogs that retreived the birds that were shot too far away for us to get between rotations.

But I did pitch in and picked up one that I downed.

I could get used to someone carring my gear all the time!  Maybe I'm meant to wingshoot in Europe and South America where reloaders are standard. ;-)

It was such a fun morning, neither Dave nor I wanted it to be over! We actually thought of shooting again in the second round but decided to save the money to do it again in the fall.

The GRITS!!

The morning group of shooters

All told, Dave and I shot 16 birds.  I got eight, he got six and at our last station, we took two together.  The birds were divided up between all the shooters at the end of the round.  Since there is just the two of us, we took seven since I knew I'd run out of pheasant recipes.  This is our haul.

As if the day couldn't get any more fun, we won the pheasant mount that was raffled!  Clint's granddaughter chose Dave's golden ticket from the bowl.

We named him Ronny Rooster.  He now hangs on our dining room wall.