Share your most embarrassing moment at a registered match

[Der Gebirgsjager]

O.K.--I guess I'll embarrass myself and also help someone else to avoid the situation. About 1984 I attended a match at the Saugus, CA, range to qualify to buy an M1 from DCM. There was virtually no restrictions on rifle or caliber, except that it had to be something larger than .22 LR. I took a 180-series Mini-14. I got slinged up and eased myself down into the prone position. Everyone could tell that I'd shot before, and the Range Master and a club official came over and stood right behind me to watch me clean the target. I started firing, heard comments of approval, but after about the 10th shot everyone left and were watching someone else. I qualified, but it was a close thing, and later my buddy said, "I don't know what happened. You were doing so good, and then you just walked off the target." Much later, at home cleaning the rifle, I discovered that the spring loaded pin that holds the elevation wheel in place was missing. Reading up on it I learned that it was a common bug of the 180-series, that the pin was too small in diameter to withstand too much recoil, and the bug had been worked out by substituting a pin out of one of the later series that was larger. Once the pin went bye-bye each subsequent shot caused the elevation wheel to advance one notch.
The fellow that won the match was using a Win. Mod. 94!

[runfiverun]

I will drop one.
I was at the grand American and had been working hard on shooting a shotgun and dialing in the poa/poi for a couple of weeks after getting the cheek piece cut on a new [to me] gun.

I got to the line and smoked the first bird then missed the next 4 by a good 4-5 feet.
as I was walking from station 5 to station 1 I tilted the butt stock down and the cheek piece fell off.
to get there on the airplane I had switched gun cases and needed to lower the cheek piece so it would fit in the new locking case properly.
when I got the gun out the night before to wipe everything down, check it for functioning, and such I had just set the cheek piece in place without putting the spacers in and tightening down the screws.
I ripped the flaps off my shell box, rolled them up, eyeballed the gap height, and pushed them under the wood to create a quick repair and finished the house.

every time someone asked about the scratches it brought back the moment.

[Artful]

After driving almost 3 hours to the match got my rifle out only to discover I had forgotten my loaded magazines at home (yes, picked up the wrong ammo can) so no ammo or feeding devices

[shoot-n-lead]

After driving almost 3 hours to the match got my rifle out only to discover I had forgotten my loaded magazines at home (yes, picked up the wrong ammo can) so no ammo or feeding devices

Ouch!

[Geezer in NH]

1990's NH NRMLA Territorial, not sure what year.

Launched my Buff/light bench False muzzle with a fowling charge. Usual procedure for all of us was when range open was to fire a charge of powder only to foul/season the barrel to a 1 shot condition.

EVERYONE had a comment!! Learned it is a common problem unless you do not shoot much.

Was at the next registered shoot when a ball was shot through the roof in Saratoga NY by a 25 year competitor for the fouling shot. He however had left loaded from a shoot the week before.

Moral of the story is the same taught every hunter safety course WATCH THE MUZZLE!!

[goryshaw]

State M1 championship, after being 1 pt out of 2nd place after standing, and still 1 pt out after rapid sitting, I completely screwed up my site settings and shot a good 9-10 ring size group, in the 5 and 6 ring at 1 o'clock in rapid prone. Ended with 51 rather than the 95+ I usually manage with a Garand in practice. Compounded that by trying to adjust sites from there rather than running them to the bottom and counting up. By the time I got through chasing the spotter I ended up with a 148 instead of 190 or so. Ended up 1 spot from the bottom, if I had just left the sites alone and got another 85 pts I would have been in the running for 1st.