Ivan the Butcher
Member
Even before Y2K entered my life, I was hanging out at gunshops! Eventually one shop semi formalized the "Hanging Out" and stayed open late (until 8PM) on Thursday evening. We even bought a pizza or two and talked with other like minded SHOOTERS. That was about the only rule, you needed to be any sort of real shooter, in other words: NO MALL NINJAS!
After a few months it settled into about 10 guys that were Trap, Sporting Clays, IPSIC, Cowboy Action, Cross Course, Bench Rest, and Varmint shooters. Of these guys, a few had been LEO's and over half were former military.
As we talked, someone would be having an ammunition problem, or a target acquisition problem, a ballistics problem or a reloading problem. Safety issues were always high on the list too!
As we talked, it was amazing that these widely varied disciplines could come up with simple solutions to what we thought were Unique problems.
WE had some problems solved with the rules of other sports. Here are some examples:
We had Sporting Clays people drop ammo then waste time or even worse muzzle sweep fellow shooters while picking it up. Simple solution; From Cowboy Action shooting; Once a round hits the floor, it is out of play and CANNOT be used until the next stage!
We had Steel Plate Long Distance shooters, "SAFE" the firing line so they could change equipment. Simple solution; From Sporting Clays (older rule), once you enter the shooting stand, if you step out you TRUN IS OVER AND THAT SCORE IS FINAL! (don't get into the position until you are ready!)
We also learned what were basics to some shooters but were advanced to others. One Example, The Wind is a constant factor! No wind is a factor! The wind is more like an ocean current than a river! And one that surprised me, The wind at the target is what counts, not the wind at the shooting position. Also: Any solution at 600 yards is the same at 1000 yards, only double!
How to learn to read the wind for High Power at 600 to 800 yards was simple: Practice shooting 22 rimfire at 200 yards on a windy day.
Well you get the idea of what I'm talking about. So what have you learned from other disciplines of shooting?
Ivan
After a few months it settled into about 10 guys that were Trap, Sporting Clays, IPSIC, Cowboy Action, Cross Course, Bench Rest, and Varmint shooters. Of these guys, a few had been LEO's and over half were former military.
As we talked, someone would be having an ammunition problem, or a target acquisition problem, a ballistics problem or a reloading problem. Safety issues were always high on the list too!
As we talked, it was amazing that these widely varied disciplines could come up with simple solutions to what we thought were Unique problems.
WE had some problems solved with the rules of other sports. Here are some examples:
We had Sporting Clays people drop ammo then waste time or even worse muzzle sweep fellow shooters while picking it up. Simple solution; From Cowboy Action shooting; Once a round hits the floor, it is out of play and CANNOT be used until the next stage!
We had Steel Plate Long Distance shooters, "SAFE" the firing line so they could change equipment. Simple solution; From Sporting Clays (older rule), once you enter the shooting stand, if you step out you TRUN IS OVER AND THAT SCORE IS FINAL! (don't get into the position until you are ready!)
We also learned what were basics to some shooters but were advanced to others. One Example, The Wind is a constant factor! No wind is a factor! The wind is more like an ocean current than a river! And one that surprised me, The wind at the target is what counts, not the wind at the shooting position. Also: Any solution at 600 yards is the same at 1000 yards, only double!
How to learn to read the wind for High Power at 600 to 800 yards was simple: Practice shooting 22 rimfire at 200 yards on a windy day.
Well you get the idea of what I'm talking about. So what have you learned from other disciplines of shooting?
Ivan
