Brilliant blue skies and rolling native grasslands as far as the eye could see created a gorgeous backdrop against the quiet farmlands of southern South Dakota. My home away from home was the beautiful rustic lodge of Granite Springs near Alexandra. Here I would join up with several women to participate in a National Rifle Association (NRA) Women On Target (WOT) upland hunt.
We move through it, we shoot through it and we breathe it. It’s air. But it’s something most shooters never think about when they are competing in a sporting clays competition or even in practice. It is something we should consider when shooting above 3,000 feet. At 3,000 feet the air density is less than at sea level. At 5,000 to 6,000 feet it’s about 80% of what it is at sea level. It is that reduction of air density (altitude) that allows a shot string to stay tight longer than it would at sea level.
It was 7 am Monday morning in Spokane when I picked up Mark and Puck to begin the three hour drive to the portion of the Columbia we would hunt for the next two days. After loading Mark’s gear including Puck, my Tahoe was packed to the ceiling with all of the gear required to hunt ducks. Most of the gear was designed to keep our bodies as warm as possible, but as all duck hunters know, the reels of decoy lines, decoys, stools, camo, dog food, water, waders, boots and the list goes on, all just to bag a few ducks is necessary as I was to beginning to understand.
