I know I’m out of practice with my shotgun, but it usually doesn’t take me too long to get back in the swing of things. With that in mind, I hauled the shotgun out to the back yard and cranked up the trap thrower.
I put a target on the thrower, let it rip, and brought the shotgun up. At that exact moment, a gust of wind kicked up, and that clay target jumped a good 10 feet straight up. I didn’t even try to take a shot. I just stood there in awe of what a Wyoming spring wind can do to a clay pigeon.
The target drifted safely down to the ground, and the wind quit. It was dead calm again. I waited 30 seconds or so, thinking the wind would come back up again like it had a few moments ago, but it didn’t. It was weird. No wind at all.
So I put another clay on the thrower, pulled the string, and brought the gun up again. And once again, the wind kicked up and blew the target off course. This time, I decided to try to take a shot. Of course, I missed.
But after that, the wind didn’t quit. If anything, it kept getting stronger. I figured I might as well try some shots, because the wind isn’t going to take the day off during bird season, so I should be able to shoot as well in the wind as when it’s calm.
But dang, those clays get unpredictable in the wind. Part of that could be that I was throwing them directly into the face of the wind. A few of the targets even came back and went over my head.
Needless to say, I didn’t have a very good score at the end of my impromptu round of trap. I might try again soon, if we get a day that’s supposed to be a little less windy. But I’m not holding my breath.
