Flattery will get you included in a blog post

Have I mentioned I love the 17 HMR? I freaking LOVE the 17 HMR. I feel like I can do no wrong with this gun.

Navy Boy made me try a bipod that he bought. That's the reason for the three holes touching the 1 line. It's not because of any problem with the bipod, I think, but just because I wasn't used to the standing position and also I'd already put 25 rounds through the target and was having a hard time finding the bullseye.

Next to my stall was an older gentleman and a boy I assumed to be his grandson (suggested by the fact that the kid kept tugging on his sleeve saying "GrandpaGrandpaGrandpaGrandpaLookGrandpa"). From the intent way they both leaned over their rifle, I assumed they were dealing with a jam. It wasn't until the boy moved and I saw Grandpa pouring black powder down the barrel that I realized what it was.

"Black Powder," Navy Boy informed me, redundantly. The kid was sent to fetch a bullet, which he did, but it required some effort, and a really adorable scrunched up face to get the bullet out of the plastic tray. Grandpa then took the bullet and shoved it in the end of muzzle. Then he took a long rod and rammed it down the muzzle with startling force.

I looked at Navy Boy with a kind of alarmed face. I know that's how muzzleloaders work but...I mean, dude! There's gun powder in there.

Not surprisingly, they only fired the muzzleloader once before Grandpa settled the rugrat in with a bolt-action .22. I took the chance to ask him if his muzzleloader was rifled or not and he said it was, but that the .44 pistol he brought was not. He showed me both the pistol and the (round!) shot for it, which I looked at with interest. Reading David Weber's Safehold series has given me some insight into the evolution of firearms, and I'm actually starting to get curious about the actual history, instead of just his alternate history. The Grandpa also infomed me that the muzzle loading rifle was a 50 caliber. I looked at the little boy with wide eyes. Yeah, he looked pretty sturdy for a 8 - 10 year old, but.... His granddaddy laughed at my expression and told me he only used about 35 grains of powder for the boy, as opposed to the usual 150. One of the few benefits to black powder, I guess.

But the little sucker won my heart for good as we were getting ready to leave. I retrieved my target and waited while Navy Boy finished off a magazine. The little boy ambled up to peer at my target. Wordlessly, his jaw dropped and he put an astonished finger on the orange center. I raised my eyebrow at him and he asked, "You did that?" Lucky for his health he didn't put the emphasis on the first word.

I smiled and nodded.

He picked up my target and waved it at his grandfather, "Look!" He stage-whispered, "Look at her target!" I looked away so he couldn't see my grin, but I heard his grandpa say "And when you've been doing this for a while, you can be that good too!"

The boy placed the target back on the bench and they left with cheery goodbyes. I spent the rest of the time trying to get my swelled ego back down to something that would fit in Navy Boy's car.