The hand of luck giveth, the hand of luck taketh away.

As I was whiling away the hours googling "Trapdoor Springfield" and "BPCR" along with other related nonsense, I came across a product that actually looked useful.  On the Lee Shaver site he has front sight aperture inserts that are shaped like little animals.  Take a look:

The shapes are a bit blobby, but they match the general outlines of the silhouette shapes.  When testing at the range, the image just looked "icky" as each lumpy bumpy portion came in and out of alignment, then all of a sudden, everything came into alignment and it just fit "right".  I am convinced it is a much better system for me, but there is a risk that if things are going poorly, such as low light, mirage, rain, etc. I might not ever form that aligned picture, in which case I'll be lost.  I was ready for match day with my secret weapon!

I show up at the counter, pay my money, and look down at the targets.  A BUFFALO!?  A GROUNDHOG?!  A CROW?!  For a year and a half I've been shooting the same pig, goose, chicken and ram.  Today you decide to change to a buffalo, crow, groundhog, and ram.  Dejected, I put my round aperture back in.  If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all.

But, luck is a fickle mistress.  After a frustrating sight in period where my rifle seems to throw the occasional flier, I lock in and am ready for competition.  First up is freehand (standing) at the crow, which otta be a chicken I tell ya.   Freehand is tough, with 1-2 hits out of 10 not being sneered at, 5 being well respected and 6 being the best score recalled at our club.  My first shot is just inside the back of the crow, a hit.  Immediately I relax.  Even if I miss all the rest, no-one will give me any grief.  Second shot, right inside the back.  That's a two, with eight shots to go.  I'm on air.  Sure enough, I get a flier way to the left.  I choose to ignore it and keep aiming centered.  By the time I'm done I have 4 solid hits in the body and one cheesy toe hit, but they all count.  This is my best offhand by 2 shots and a tie for best offhand target of the day.  OOOh, and I got a pin with a chicken and a 5 on it!  Worth every penny.

The sad thing, of course, is that I didn't change a thing in my equipment, training, or shooting style.  It was all just chance that a good group would eventually happen.  The hand of luck taketh away.  But that's OK if the hand of luck then giveth.