As we all know, there are some times when the creatures we share our ranges with get upset and distract us while we shoot. Or, sometimes those pesky insects are just being hungry pests. I've had several instances with black flies, deer flies, horse flies, mosquitoes, birds and even bats causing some concern while I shoot. But, this particular story involves a helpful little bee.
I was shooting a match in Castleton, New York one morning, when a small bee took a liking to my Ultradot. At first, he was just pestering me by flying in around my face. I had swatted at him a couple times, but he was still hanging around.
As I proceeded with my Slow Fire, I was producing shots that were slightly outside of where I would prefer. I can't really say that the distraction of the little flying critter was any bit the cause of my wide pattern, but I was aware of his presense. Little did I know he was actually intending to be helpful.
As I raised my slide-mounted, Ultradot topped, 1911 for one of the Slow Fire shots and settled in, all was looking and feeling great. Everything was proceeding just as I would like for a good shot. The dot had settled into the center of the bull and it felt like the trigger was coming back nicely. But, along came my friend, the bee. He flew into the open space between my eye and the scope such that he was watching the dot for me. I could no longer see the dot, but I could still see the target as it was still visible through the scope, around the bee, as he was floating in place. He was only blocking the dot. I continued the trigger operation and watched as he floated between me and the scope, obviously watching the dot for me.Bang! The shot went off and recovery showed me able to see the dot again. I brought the gun down and checked the scope. A solid X! I looked for my little helper during the rest of the Slow Fire, but he wasn't to be seen anymore. I'm afraid I may have hurt his "feelings." -Edwin C. Hall