On the following video you see the scope’s point-of-view and you hear the directional commands Wendy gives me, while I took the first  shots using a Pulsar Digex C50 scope at the Blackwood Gun Club. The staff at Blackwood are very accommodating and do not blink an eye to me shooting on their range. In June 2024, I purchased a yearly membership at Blackwood to allow for more range practice time and recognize Blackwood’s excellent customer service.

The Blackwood experience is much, much, much better, and essentially a 180-degree difference in attitude, to the staff at the Saddle River Range. Check out the Range Access Denial post to listen to a disturbing staff interaction at Saddle River Range.

First Shots

The purpose for this Blackwood range trip was to verify the Pulsar Digex C50 was securely mounted to my rifle, determine initial Point of Impact (POI) based on the new mount, and to verify that streaming the scope to the Stream Vision 2 application would remain stable and not be interrupted due to the recoil of my 300 Win Mag.

The target below shows the first five shots. Because I had cleaned my rifle before this range trip, the first shot would be known as a fouler shot. The fouler shot is used to clean any oil out of the barrel and is untrustworthy. Ironically, the fouler shot is the one with the POI nearest to the bullseye.

The remaining four shots were grouped in a 1.25 inch diameter circle located about 1-inch-low and 1-inch-left of bullseye.

First five shot conclusion is that the scope is securely mounted based on the tight grouping, the POI is low-and-left based on initial settings, and the streaming operates correctly based on no loss of connection during the five shots.

Deer Stand Deep Thoughts

Predicting the future, this deer season I foresee my mind wandering back to that unfortunate range access denial. Wendy and I created this site with the idea to “raise funds and awareness for guide dog schools and blind athletic programs”, and we prefer to highlight positive experiences. Unfortunately, sometimes we do have a negative encounter. Currently, we are struggling with how best to address Saddle River Range’s discriminatory refusal of access.

Should we simply “move on” or try and “advocate/educate”?

Wendy is in the moving on camp She believes, Saddle River Range’s position is unchangeable and their  staff attitude was so negative it is not worth any more effort.

In the parking lot after being denied access, I told Wendy, “I like to pretend these encounters do not impact me, but I had butterflies in my stomach.” Wendy replied, “You were physically shaking.”

I am trying to get in the “advocate/educate” camp. My goal would be to reduce the barriers for blind people to try new activities. Fortunately, I knew I was capable of shooting using appropriate technology and sighted assistance. Further, the range access denial was due to an uneducated Saddle River Range staff. No blind person should ever have to feel the butterflies or get the shakes due to a company’s staff being uneducated.