Ready, aim, fire: Ah, the joys of shooting

Drizzt · May 31, 2001, 12:53 PM

Ah, Charley Reese, one of the few bright spots in this blight we call journalism....

Ready, aim, fire: Ah, the joys of shooting
Published May 31, 2001

Gun control, to a shooter, means holding the sight picture on the target while gently squeezing the trigger. Most of what is written about firearms these days is the debate between the neo-totalitarians, sometimes known as gun-control nuts, and the Constitutionalists, often members of the National Rifle Association.

But for a change, I thought I would just write about the joys of shooting. Shooting is a traditional American sport and form of recreation. Our ancestors often gathered for shooting matches, and marksmen were well regarded, for accurate shooting is a highly honed skill.

It's too bad so many Americans today are born and reared in big cities where most of them have no opportunity to use firearms recreationally. In many of the cities, people are not even allowed to own handguns, which is Orwellian because by definition laws do not control the behavior of criminals.

At any rate, today's shooters fall into several categories. To begin at the historical beginning, so to speak, "black powder shooting" has become quite popular. Very fine replicas of early flintlock and percussion rifles and pistols are now freely available. These rifles and early pistols are naturally single shot and have to be reloaded with all the components -- powder, wadding and bullet -- after each shot. Black-powder revolvers, of course, can shoot six times before being reloaded. (It is always safer with old-style pistols to load only five chambers.)

Not all but many people into black powder also get into re-enacting, a huge hobby. There are Confederate and Union re-enactors who spend considerable sums on authentic or reproduction equipment and uniforms, not to mention travel time, to re-enact battles. If you saw the movie Gettysburg, except for a few actors and stunt men, most of the soldiers in the film were re-enactors who volunteered their time and equipment, including cannons.

(Yes, city folks, it is still legal to buy a cannon, if you have a place to put it.)

There are also mountain men re-enactors who duplicate the equipment and clothing of early trappers and hunters.

Related to this is America's newest shooting sport, cowboy shooting. Here participants wear cowboy clothing and shoot "scenarios" with replicas of the single-action six shooters, the lever-action rifle and the double-barrel or old-style pump shotgun. Participants win by scoring the most hits in the shortest possible time.

This may have been a spin-off from practical shooting. Here, too, only with modern firearms, participants shoot a scenario. For example, you are carrying two bags of groceries when confronted by two armed thugs. You have to drop the bags, draw your weapon and shoot the thugs. Again the combination of hits and time are counted. Then you move to another station with a different scenario.

As you can see, this is closely related to defensive-shooting courses now available to many citizens.

Finally, there is the traditional sports shooting, for both rifles and pistols. Here you are shooting at the traditional bull's-eye targets and score by your hits.

Hollywood certainly makes shooting look simple. We've all seen heroes snap off a quick shot with a snub-nosed pistol and drop a bad guy 100 yards away. We've all seen heroes elude the bullets from submachine guns only to nail the bad guys with their trusty pistols. That's bad advertising for submachine guns, which cannot touch the hero even though they are firing bullets at 300 to 400 per minute at close range.

Actually, it's not that easy.

Once you get beyond 10 or 12 feet, it takes practice to hit with a pistol. And the shorter the pistol barrel, the harder it is.

The sight picture is composed by the rear sight, usually a notch or v-shape, and the blade sight on the front of the barrel. You have to align the blade within the rear sight, exactly level with its top and with exactly the same amount of space on both sides. If you can maintain this sight picture, then the gun will hit where you aim it, provided you compensate for wind and bullet drop.

Shooting is somewhat like putting in golf. Your stance, your grip, your hand-eye alignment, your breathing and your trigger pull have to be exactly right. That's what makes shooting so interesting and so much fun. Like golfers, most shooters are really competing against themselves. A lapse in concentration can throw your shot off.

You can see why if you visualize a 50-yard pole extending from the gun to the target. A tiny movement at the end of the pole, magnified by 50 yards, will move the point of impact a much larger distance. The longer the distance, the more the point of impact will be affected by movement back at the gun.

If you haven't considered recreational shooting, I urge you to think about it. You'll find serious shooters are fine folks. Your local gunsmith or gun retailer can direct you to a local range and shooting organization. You don't, of course, have to compete or be a member of anything to enjoy shooting.

It's an American tradition.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...e053101.column

cobraman · May 31, 2001, 01:02 PM

I cant believe the Slantinel printed that!
I get the Orlando Sentinel everday but didnt get a chance to read it this morning. I going to cut that out of my paper and put it up in my work cubicle. Take THAT middle upper lower management!

Waitone · May 31, 2001, 05:02 PM

:

Adopt a journalist and take them shooting!

May 31, 2001, 05:02 PM	#3
Waitone Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2000 Posts: 2,913	: Adopt a journalist and take them shooting! __________________ "Given a choice between good intentions and human nature, I'll go with human nature every time."--Me, 2002.

May 31, 2001, 12:53 PM	#1
Drizzt Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2000 Location: Going Out of My Head at a Rapid Pace..... Posts: 2,511	Ah, Charley Reese, one of the few bright spots in this blight we call journalism.... Ready, aim, fire: Ah, the joys of shooting Published May 31, 2001 Gun control, to a shooter, means holding the sight picture on the target while gently squeezing the trigger. Most of what is written about firearms these days is the debate between the neo-totalitarians, sometimes known as gun-control nuts, and the Constitutionalists, often members of the National Rifle Association. But for a change, I thought I would just write about the joys of shooting. Shooting is a traditional American sport and form of recreation. Our ancestors often gathered for shooting matches, and marksmen were well regarded, for accurate shooting is a highly honed skill. It's too bad so many Americans today are born and reared in big cities where most of them have no opportunity to use firearms recreationally. In many of the cities, people are not even allowed to own handguns, which is Orwellian because by definition laws do not control the behavior of criminals. At any rate, today's shooters fall into several categories. To begin at the historical beginning, so to speak, "black powder shooting" has become quite popular. Very fine replicas of early flintlock and percussion rifles and pistols are now freely available. These rifles and early pistols are naturally single shot and have to be reloaded with all the components -- powder, wadding and bullet -- after each shot. Black-powder revolvers, of course, can shoot six times before being reloaded. (It is always safer with old-style pistols to load only five chambers.) Not all but many people into black powder also get into re-enacting, a huge hobby. There are Confederate and Union re-enactors who spend considerable sums on authentic or reproduction equipment and uniforms, not to mention travel time, to re-enact battles. If you saw the movie Gettysburg, except for a few actors and stunt men, most of the soldiers in the film were re-enactors who volunteered their time and equipment, including cannons. (Yes, city folks, it is still legal to buy a cannon, if you have a place to put it.) There are also mountain men re-enactors who duplicate the equipment and clothing of early trappers and hunters. Related to this is America's newest shooting sport, cowboy shooting. Here participants wear cowboy clothing and shoot "scenarios" with replicas of the single-action six shooters, the lever-action rifle and the double-barrel or old-style pump shotgun. Participants win by scoring the most hits in the shortest possible time. This may have been a spin-off from practical shooting. Here, too, only with modern firearms, participants shoot a scenario. For example, you are carrying two bags of groceries when confronted by two armed thugs. You have to drop the bags, draw your weapon and shoot the thugs. Again the combination of hits and time are counted. Then you move to another station with a different scenario. As you can see, this is closely related to defensive-shooting courses now available to many citizens. Finally, there is the traditional sports shooting, for both rifles and pistols. Here you are shooting at the traditional bull's-eye targets and score by your hits. Hollywood certainly makes shooting look simple. We've all seen heroes snap off a quick shot with a snub-nosed pistol and drop a bad guy 100 yards away. We've all seen heroes elude the bullets from submachine guns only to nail the bad guys with their trusty pistols. That's bad advertising for submachine guns, which cannot touch the hero even though they are firing bullets at 300 to 400 per minute at close range. Actually, it's not that easy. Once you get beyond 10 or 12 feet, it takes practice to hit with a pistol. And the shorter the pistol barrel, the harder it is. The sight picture is composed by the rear sight, usually a notch or v-shape, and the blade sight on the front of the barrel. You have to align the blade within the rear sight, exactly level with its top and with exactly the same amount of space on both sides. If you can maintain this sight picture, then the gun will hit where you aim it, provided you compensate for wind and bullet drop. Shooting is somewhat like putting in golf. Your stance, your grip, your hand-eye alignment, your breathing and your trigger pull have to be exactly right. That's what makes shooting so interesting and so much fun. Like golfers, most shooters are really competing against themselves. A lapse in concentration can throw your shot off. You can see why if you visualize a 50-yard pole extending from the gun to the target. A tiny movement at the end of the pole, magnified by 50 yards, will move the point of impact a much larger distance. The longer the distance, the more the point of impact will be affected by movement back at the gun. If you haven't considered recreational shooting, I urge you to think about it. You'll find serious shooters are fine folks. Your local gunsmith or gun retailer can direct you to a local range and shooting organization. You don't, of course, have to compete or be a member of anything to enjoy shooting. It's an American tradition. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...e053101.column

May 31, 2001, 01:02 PM	#2
cobraman Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 1999 Location: orlando fl Posts: 751	I cant believe the Slantinel printed that! I get the Orlando Sentinel everday but didnt get a chance to read it this morning. I going to cut that out of my paper and put it up in my work cubicle. Take THAT middle upper lower management!