Congratulations! :applause: They're right, when you lose it's good to be 150th. Every year that Paul wins, he donates the barrel he wins to the shooter who comes in 150th.
As for having a good practice group and then having the shots go everywhere after posting a score target, well, join the club! That happens to everyone at one time or the other. At a shoot a week before the York, I had a real tight group and once I stuck my targets up, I was all over the place. This weekend, my practice group was loose as a goose for a while, but I finally got two holes touching. Then I had a few good score shots. As always, I managed to get a couple into the white.
It doesn't take a fancy rifle to win or place. As long as you are consistent with your loading and shooting and can read the wind and light, you can do a bang up job with just about any rifle. It does help to have a heavy barrel for stability and a long barrel will give you a longer sight radius which will help you immensely. I've seen some great scores shot with plain offhand rifles. If you devise a cant block that you can fasten to your barrel, that will help you stabilize your rifle and help you keep your sights at the same angle every shot. A few little tricks like that will help you improve. Once you get more proficient, then you might consider building or buying a rifle designed for this type of shooting. And if you get a chance, shoot with more experienced chunk gunners and see what they do. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And most of all, PRACTICE, PRACTICE PRACTICE! That's something most of us don't do enough, especially me.
I'm glad you had a great time. There are a lot of nice people that shoot chunk and at the York shoot you get a chance to meet most of them. I remember the highlight of my first trip down there was getting to talk to Andy York (Sgt. York's son) and have him tell me about his Dad and Gary Cooper who played him in the movie. I was able to spend a little time with him again this year. He's a fine feller. If you get to go next year, by all means go. I guess I'll try it again if I'm able. It kinda gets in your blood I reckon.
:thumbsup: