As Fred said, a Rifleman persists!
The constant equipment hassles and the physical pain (somehow I managed to do something to my lower back on Saturday so that it was tough to get down prone) I was in were REALLY dragging me down.
Boy, I think we were in exactly the same boat, Ross.
Apologies in advance for the long-winded post, but I feel compelled to share my "A Rifleman Persists" story...
I woke up Saturday morning with the first real back pain I've ever had (found out this morning due to a vertebra having popped out of alignment), and considered bailing on the weekend (very glad I didn't). After setting up at the range, I could barely get prone until the 2nd dose of aspirin kicked in. At no point could I get into a proper seated position, so just dropped my forward elbow onto my knee (just like we were told not to do), and did my best. After my sights fell apart Saturday afternoon, I just could not get back into the rhythm with a different (but perfectly capable) loaner rifle.
Sunday AM, I could barely stand up, and had to force myself to the range out of sheer stubbornness. After two sighter sets on my freshly-repaired LTR (which, amazingly, held its zero after having the Tech Sights re-installed), I felt pretty good for the first of the day's 40-rd sets. Now, to set the stage: the shooter to my left (sorry Soldier... I recall your real name but not your NES ID) had an AR with a .22LR upper which was perfectly tuned to fling brass right at my head. No big deal... my shooting glasses protect my eyes just fine, and I found I could focus past the sensation of being repeatedly smacked in the side of the face. My scores were okay, but not great.
On the second attempt, I did well until I was finishing my seated set, when one of my neighbor's spent cases landed flat on the side of my cheek and stuck there. It felt like a bee had stung me and wouldn't fly off. I was so focused on keeping the front sight on that target, that I was counting off to myself "three more... two more... one more...". I finished the set, then smacked the brass off my face. After dropping into prone, I'd discovered that, in the process of jerking my arm to brush the brass away, I'd popped the rear sling clip off the swivel. Being so slow transitioning between positions, I didn't want to lose any more time by messing around with the sling, so I just brought myself into as steady a prone position as I could, and popped through the final 7 targets.
After all the build-up, I'm sure you've guessed the punchline: that set-from-hell resulted in my best score of the weekend... and the only one which reached Rifleman (if only just). I must thank my neighbor for the brass, as I am
convinced that the distraction, and probably the resulting lack of a not-quite-perfectly-adjusted sling, had the effect of focusing my resolve. As Nickle would say, I'd "quit futzing the shot!". This is not to say that using incorrect positions and skipping the sling are a good thing. But, by not worrying about the positions and gear which I haven't yet mastered, I instead focused on making each shot count.
Thanks again, everyone! Be seeing y'all at the range!