Packing for Friendship: The Trip Starts Before You Leave

There’s a point before every trip when the house looks like you’re moving out instead of going shooting.

That’s about where I am right now.

There are lists. There are piles. There are things I’ve already packed, things I still need to find, and things I’m absolutely certain I’m going to remember right up until the moment I pull out of the driveway.

Rifles and shooting gear are only the beginning.

There are targets, loading supplies, tools, clothes, boots, food, camper supplies, coffee-making necessities — because some things are simply non-negotiable — and all the little odds and ends that somehow become very important once you’re hundreds of miles from home.

I’m getting ready to head back to Friendship, Indiana, for the NMLRA National Matches.

And I’ve realized something.

The trip doesn’t really begin when I turn the truck toward Indiana.

It begins here.

It begins with the lists.

It begins when I start laying equipment out and mentally walking through a day on the range. What am I shooting? What do I need for each rifle? What could break? What will I wish I had if the weather turns? Did I pack enough targets? Where did I put that one tool I know I’m going to need?

There’s something almost comforting about the process.

Maybe because shooters are, by nature, people who prepare.

We check loads. We check sights. We check equipment. Then we check it again.

At least some of us do.

And then we still spend half the drive wondering what we forgot.

But there is more happening here than packing.

Every time I pull out a rifle, organize my shooting box, or add another item to the camper, the anticipation builds a little more.

I can already picture the range.

I can hear the shots rolling up and down the line.

I can picture walking through Commercial Row, visiting the vendors, buying targets, seeing familiar faces and meeting new folks.

I can picture that first morning when everything is finally unpacked, the rifle is on the bench, and there is nothing left to do except shoot.

That moment is still a few days away.

For now, I’m somewhere between my regular life and the shooting life I’m heading toward.

I’m still working.

Still doing chores.

Still making sure everything at home is taken care of.

And somewhere in between all of that, I’m quietly assembling everything I’ll need for five days on the range.

Last year, returning to Friendship meant more to me than I expected it to.

I went there carrying grief, memories, and a need to reconnect with a part of myself I thought I had lost.

This year feels different.

The memories are still there. They always will be.

But now there is something else mixed in with them.

Momentum.

I’m not simply going back.

I’m moving forward.

I have things I want to work on. Things I want to learn. Scores I want to improve. Rifles I want to understand better. People I’m looking forward to seeing.

And, maybe most importantly, I’m excited to stand on the firing line again.

So yes, I’m packing rifles and powder and clothes and camper supplies.

But I think I’m packing something else too.

A little confidence.

A little anticipation.

A whole lot of gratitude.

And another piece of this journey back to the line.

The truck may not be pointed toward Friendship yet.

But the trip has already started.

Bye for now.

Packing up the camper - lots of gear. I like to be ready for anything.