When I saw the red heifer, I didn't think that she would calf this month & if she did, she was going to hurt in the udder development part.
As far as it taking a long time to find the right"spot", try not to worry about the time. It's much more important to find the spot than how long it takes. Get your gun in the cow as soon as you can after thawing the semen and it will be OK until you deposit the semen. You'll get quicker with more experience. Try to stay relaxed and have no more help around than necessary. Good luck, Brent