Friday 15 February 2019

New shooting suit

It may have been some time since I last posted, however I am still doing shooting. Before getting on to 2019, a post about something which happened at the very end of last year. I got a new shooting jacket and trousers from Mouche.

My old shooting jacket and trousers, I got second hand back in about 2011, and whilst it had been altered, it had just got to a point where it was not fitting me well. Unusually for shooting clothes it appears mine had grown, there was just too much material for it to give any good amount of support. With the World Championships coming up in October 2019, it felt like it would be a good time to change it.

Having heard good things from other members at my shooting club about their Mouche jackets and trousers, mid December found me on a flight out to Germany. As I was not going to arrive until about lunch time, the first day consisted mainly of being measured, getting an initial fit on the jacket and selecting the colours. The measuring process was thorough, but being carried out efficiently by Ursula it did not take too long, so giving me and my coach some time to explore the town and get some food. When we returned later in the afternoon, there was an initial version of the base part of the jacket to try for fit. My first impression was how different it felt to my old shooting jacket, which made it difficult for me to know what felt right or wrong. As for selecting the colours, a job I never know how to approach as not being able to see the colours means I will not be able to form my own views without influence from others. There was one thing I knew I wanted, it should be easy for people to spot me and it should be quite distinct. After a bit of discussion we settled on the colours and there was nothing more for me to do that day.

Picture of initial jacket fitting.Picture of initial jacket fitting.Picture of initial jacket fitting.

The next morning when I returned, the trousers were ready for some initial fitting. Again how strange it felt in comparison to my old shooting trousers, but I think I was getting used to the idea it was going to feel a lot tighter. Unfortunately for me there was not going to be quite enough of one of the colours to do my original design, so time to decide upon an alternative colour scheme. Once that was done, again time to let work be done on finishing the jacket and trousers, so I went of with my coach in search of a Christmas market, but we were too early as it was due to start that weekend.

Picture of initial fitting of trousersPicture of initial fitting of trousersPicture of initial fitting of trousers

Later that day when I returned the suit was nearly complete and time for the final fitting. Also time to try it in both the standing and prone positions. I think now I was starting to notice the support I was getting from the new suit and what my old suit was lacking. This was also a changce for my coach to see how it all was looking on me. A few more tweaks and it was all done and ready for me to take home.

Picture of final fittingPicture of final fittingPicture of final fittingPicture of final fittingPicture of final fittingPicture of final fittingPicture of final fitting

Once home, I eagerly awaited my first training session with my new suit. Although feeling different to what I was used to, everything seemed to be good. Unfortunately with Christmas and new year, along with some refurbishment at my shooting club, it meant I then had a break of a few weeks after my first week of using the new suit. When I resumed shooting after the new year, I must have forgotten how the new suit felt as it took me a bit of time to get comfortable with my shooting again. However since then I have got more comfortable with my shooting and am really pleased with my new shooting kit.

Picture of me in new shooting suit with rifle

Experience of creating shooting videos

You may be aware that over the last few weeks I have been creating some videos for IBSA on vision impaired shooting. It has been quite an ex...