The gritty sand and dirt swirled around me and into my mouth as I crunched through the dry Idaho desert. It was a slightly breezy day, and the wind played with my messy ponytail. I felt excitement and anxiousness as I walked toward the old timey gallows. Beyond the gallows was a hotel, a jail, and some other buildings I couldn’t identify. My dad led the way as we moved from the parking area to the shooters. They all looked as if they had jumped straight out of an old western book. Each had a belt with some shotgun shells and two pistols. Even though they all seemed to be around sixty—or older—they had a youthful glow and greeted us warmly. It was then that I knew I had found a passion, something worth hard work and perseverance. I always enjoyed being outside and active, but it took a while for me to convince my dad that I enjoyed shooting more than my brother. When I finally did, though, we had so much fun going to the open dessert to shoot targets or hunt small animals. As my dad looked into other ways to enjoy our guns, he found Cowboy Action Shooting. Through YouTube and some close friends, we learned that …show more content…
We used the advice that we had gained at the range as well as some information from independent research. One technique that really helped was finding the right load. When someone shoots guns, they have the option to re-load a new bullet using the casing from another bullet. This provides flexibility and better accuracy. My dad loaded many different measures of gun powder into casings, and we went to the range to try them out. I soon found that a certain measure of powder at the lower end of the spectrum provided greater accuracy and tighter groupings. This would help me in a round of shooting because I could rely on my ammo. Replacing the springs and filing down the action helped my guns run smoother and safer in