Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
Hi,
I shoot with a group that is very formal about the informal dates of our "regular" shoots: "Hey, have we gotten together for a while? No? Ok, let's put something together..." Yesterday was one of those days, no RSVP required.
The binder within the group is everybody's got some kind of old milsurp rifle(s) and we'll have a course of fire using them, followed by something else with run whatcha brung CF rifles, .22 rifles, CF pistols, RF pistols, etc. Targets range from standard bullseyes to zombies and steel dingers, and the whole purpose of these get togethers is to burn some powder and make some noise on a Sunday morning while we wait for the opening of a favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch, where the REAL shooting starts (mostly bull!) These guys have quite a variety of international contacts, and often bring a guest. And, of course, a lot of "try this one" stuff goes on, too.
Yesterday, one of our senior members brought a fellow who doesn't own a gun to join us. Offers to "try this one" included at least one Mauser, '03 Springfield, P-17 Enfield (US version, .30-06), M91-30, a couple of British Enfields in .303, and some other stuff not often seen. Our guest had heard of Mausers, so he asked to try that one first. After the first shot, he had a grin from ear to ear: he'd had about a 30 second coaching session in the sight picture for that rifle at the range we were shooting, and he was "in the black."
As it turned out, that was the very first rifle shot he'd EVER taken! And almost the first shot with a firearm--he'd fired a couple of rounds from a pistol at a range "back home" once and that was it. Home is Sweden, and we're all guessing he'll be going back in a few months when his work project is finished with a whole new idea about America's "gun culture" and it will be more than positive. We discussed a few "here vs there" aspects of shooting, hunting, gun ownership issues, and it was enlightening on both sides.
"Skoal!" to our new friend, "The Viking Sniper" as I nicknamed him!
Rick C
I shoot with a group that is very formal about the informal dates of our "regular" shoots: "Hey, have we gotten together for a while? No? Ok, let's put something together..." Yesterday was one of those days, no RSVP required.
The binder within the group is everybody's got some kind of old milsurp rifle(s) and we'll have a course of fire using them, followed by something else with run whatcha brung CF rifles, .22 rifles, CF pistols, RF pistols, etc. Targets range from standard bullseyes to zombies and steel dingers, and the whole purpose of these get togethers is to burn some powder and make some noise on a Sunday morning while we wait for the opening of a favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch, where the REAL shooting starts (mostly bull!) These guys have quite a variety of international contacts, and often bring a guest. And, of course, a lot of "try this one" stuff goes on, too.
Yesterday, one of our senior members brought a fellow who doesn't own a gun to join us. Offers to "try this one" included at least one Mauser, '03 Springfield, P-17 Enfield (US version, .30-06), M91-30, a couple of British Enfields in .303, and some other stuff not often seen. Our guest had heard of Mausers, so he asked to try that one first. After the first shot, he had a grin from ear to ear: he'd had about a 30 second coaching session in the sight picture for that rifle at the range we were shooting, and he was "in the black."
As it turned out, that was the very first rifle shot he'd EVER taken! And almost the first shot with a firearm--he'd fired a couple of rounds from a pistol at a range "back home" once and that was it. Home is Sweden, and we're all guessing he'll be going back in a few months when his work project is finished with a whole new idea about America's "gun culture" and it will be more than positive. We discussed a few "here vs there" aspects of shooting, hunting, gun ownership issues, and it was enlightening on both sides.
"Skoal!" to our new friend, "The Viking Sniper" as I nicknamed him!
Rick C
