The Bullard's Go Skeet Shooting

A few days ago Tami and I had the opportunity to go away with some family for a mini-vacation. We were at the Lazy G Ranch near Clifton and had a wonderful time just relaxing. While there, we did something that neither of us had ever done before: skeet shooting. We found a place where we could do some target shooting, and I watched as those with us shot skeet with relative ease. I wondered if I’d be able to hit one of those flying discs. 

My turn came and I felt a little nervous as I walked up holding the shotgun. I battle with the fear of looking silly because I can’t do something. That’s called pride, and pride can keep you from enjoying many fun things in life. More importantly, it can prevent great things from happening in your life because you want to avoid any type of failure. I took the shotgun and approached the shooting line. Along with never having shot skeet, I also had never fired a shotgun before, so a lot of thoughts were going through my mind: Is this going to kick? Will it hurt my shoulder? Where do I aim? I asked several questions and quickly processed that information so I knew what to do. With that, I was ready, and shot skeet for the first time in my life. I don’t think I was too bad because I hit 50% of the skeet I shot at. So even though I wasn’t perfect, I enjoyed this first-time experience.

Tami was next. Like me, Tami had never tried to shoot skeet, and she too had never fired a shotgun. Like me, Tami asked several questions, and as she stood there my brother-in-law offered to tell her when to shoot. Without her noticing, he moved to a safe position to her side and held a shotgun. When she said she was ready, the skeet was sent into the air. He said “Fire!” and Tami shot her gun. At the same time he fired his shotgun and hit the skeet with ease. Tami was so excited because she thought she’d hit the skeet, and everybody played along with that thought. It was fun watching her celebrate such a great victory. I wish we’d left well enough alone, but Tami shot again and this time my brother-in-law’s timing was off. He shot his rifle a moment after Tami had fired hers and she heard it. She quickly realized that he shot the skeet and not her and laughed along with the rest of us at the prank.

We had such a great weekend and thank the Gaffney family for letting us enjoy a few days away. I was also reminded that I can’t let the fear of failure keep me from enjoying the fun and challenging things that come in life. If I’m going to experience success in all areas of my life, I need to be willing to step out of my comfort zone.