ActiveRain March Challenge: Learning at the Range
Patricia Feager and Lew Corcoran are the hosts for the "March 2025 ActiveRain Challenge: Sharing the Gift of Who You Are." The ActiveRain challenge is to share the profound impact someone had on you in shaping you to who you are today.
When I was young, my father was a police officer and we had guns in our home. My father taught me the importance of gun safety. My first gun was a single shot .22 rifle and I would practice shooting when we visited our farm.
My interests in shooting became much more serious when I was introduced to Mr. J. Pierson Shaw, a neighbor at 27 Aylwin Road in Cradock, our home neighborhood in the suburbs of Portsmouth, Virginia. Mr. Shaw invited me to join the Junior Rifle Club at the nearby Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The members used the navy rifle and pistol range within the shipyard. I got a new target rifle and a shooting jacket and quickly became a member of the rifle team. Mr. Shaw became my mentor and helped me develop my skills.
I traveled with Mr. Shaw and others to participate in many local and regional rifle tournaments and even a tournament in Canada. He also introduced me to the outdoor rife range at Bowers Hill and my tournament experience expanded from the 50 foot indoor range to the 50 and 100 yard outdoor ranges.
My interests continued to expand and I became a Certified Rifle and Pistol Instructor. When I became a student at the University of Virginia, I was well prepared to become a member of the rifle team that was a junior varsity sport at that time. The team members practiced at the navy range that was part of the navy ROTC program at the University and we had an army staff to support us at the range and to provide transportation to other schools for the competitive matches. While having access to ranges for practice, I was also able to improve my skills with pistols.
The support of my father and Mr. Shaw lead to a number of years of enjoyment.
Dahlia, National Capital Dahlia Society Show, Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, Maryland USA IMG 3096
Canon PowerShot G11 Camera
Photograph by Roy Kelley
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
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