Range Day Intruders Doing Fly-Bys

Weeks have passed and my rifle has been begging me to head back to the range. This isn’t any normal range though. It isn’t limited to 100 yards or specific targets. No, this range is out in the desert where we can set up our own targets and take our time sighting in. It is a fantastic place, but on this particular day we would experience something none of us had ever encountered before.

Let’s review the past few months for a minute. I have been building a 300 Win Mag for hunting longer ranges and to learn more about long distance shooting. I am always trying to learn more when it comes to hunting. The rifle has been built for a time and the last time I ventured to the range, I spent a great deal of time sighting it in. It was a tiresome ordeal as it was difficult to see the hit marks and track them. I needed something that would allow me to track the shots, but also not force me to use a spotting scope or walk 100-300 yards each time to see my hit. After careful research, I contacted Bullseye Camera Systems (BCS) owner, Nick S. I asked him multiple questions, watched his videos, asked more questions (he is very patient) and decided I needed to get one to see if it was worth the money. Plus, I am not getting any younger and I wanted to be sure my rifle was zeroed in and that I could reduce my frustration. My Long Range System arrived two days before our trip to the desert and I was ready.

The drive to the range was full of hunting conversation between Brett and I. We were excited to sight in our rifles with our new MINOX long range scopes and that we would be testing the Bullseye Camera System. Unbeknownst to us, there was already an unwelcome party waiting for us.

‘I’ve been here a minute and I already have a bee in my SUV,’ was the first thing Mike said to us when we arrived. As Brett and I began to unload, bees began zeroing in on us. Within minutes we had a dozen doing fly-bys. It was 6:30 AM and we knew this could turn out to be a very long day.

Brett and I headed up the rocky hillside to set up the Bullseye Camera System. The camera itself weighed next to nothing and comes in a convenient plastic ammo-can carrying case. At 200 yards we began to set up when a swarm of bees appeared and were relentless! We left the target, but took the camera with us to set up at 100 yards. I have never seen bees so incredibly aggressive. Back at 100 yards, we quickly set the camera and connected everything. I had the foresight to turn on and connect the wifi back at the benches to save time with the bees. I sure am glad I did.

With the camera set to view the target, we began shooting. I cannot tell you how great it was to see our shot locations appear on the iPad. (I’ll do a complete review of the system later.) We continued to shoot and verify our hits on the target via the BCS. This system is something people have been needing for years. I truly mean that!

We learned rather quickly that shooting shooting uphill to sight in was a problem and that we needed to shoot flat at first. Unfortunately, the bees took over and drove us out. My friend Mike got tagged twice by the bees and I got one in the hand and a miss on the leg. Thew damn bee attacked my leg, but he died tragically before he could deploy any venom. We could see that the swarm was growing by the minute and we decided to pack up and get out. We moved as fast as we could, but the swarm kept growing and the bees became more aggressive. We tossed everything into our trucks and took off.

Brett and I have plans to now hit one of the local shooting ranges to utilize the Bullseye Camera System and sight our rifles in properly. We will then video the process and share the experience.

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