My birthday was about par for the course. Got up around 0900 after sleeping for 4-5 hours. Waited at my in-laws where we'd been staying all week for my kids to get back from a sleepover with their cousins. Waited until 1330 for them to shower. Headed over to my dad's place where we sat around the living room (it's a small home that was cozy for the four of us when I was growing up....tiny for my dad, sister, and the six of us, especially when it's pouring rain all day).

My dad dragged me out along with Jonathan around 1430 ostensibly so I could sure in my 6.5CM Savage 11 with a 24" fluted bull barrel. But first we spent 2 hours buying cowboy boots (ropers, actually) for Jonathan because he showed interest. Then off to the range where we waited an hour or more in his truck in the rain while he went into the clubhouse to figure out why his ID wasn't opening the gate.

I finally did get to shoot my Savage for about 45 minutes in a rain storm to check if it was sighted in. I shot a 1.5" group at 100 and then shoot it at 200. That was a 1" three shot group at 200 yards with Sellier and Bellot 140gr SP ammo 1 inch below the bulls eye.

My son repeated it. I'm pretty sure it's sighted....and AWESOME. It's 2" high at 100 yards. I might raise it two clicks to be zeroed at 200. I LOVE the Athlon Ares 4.5-27 scope. Screw the 4-16s! I think I'm sold on higher power magnification at longer distances!

Then we went back to my dad's place at 1930. Is told my wife we'd be gone an hour. We ate BBQ I didn't have to cook, and had a slice of the world's best cheesecake from "Cheesey Eddie's" that my sister got me, with a mixed berry sauce I DID have to cook. I opened the bag of snacks my kids bought me for the ride home the next day, and the 8 boxes of ammo my dad got me for my birthday (4 boxes of 165gr Hornady 350 Legend, and 4 boxes of 250gr Hornady 450 Bushmaster... He knows me so well...).

Then we all piled into the minivan and went back to my in-laws place where we'd been spending the week, and I stayed up all night thanks to the nerve pain in my feet, went to church, came back to load up the van and drove back to VA....where I was up until midnight...I hate insomnia....I got a full 8 hours... First time in about 2 weeks.

It wasn't the best birthday ever, or the worst.

It lifted my spirits to see this thread though! Thanks!