this is the case, shooters are arranged at stations on the firing line with the firearms lying on a bench or table pointing toward the target area. When the target area is clear, the range officer may call, “Ready on the left? Ready on the right? Ready on the firing line! (pause) Commence firing!” At that point, the shooters are permitted to start firing the course. At the end of the time allowed, the range officer will announce, “Cease fire!” The course of fire is over at that time regardless of whether or not all competitors have fired the number of shots normally included in that course. As firing progresses, the range officer may issue other commands. Regardless of what these commands are or whether or not they involve you, obey all such commands instantly. In basketball, when a whistle sounds the ball is almost always lobbed toward the basket, but no shot is ever to be fired on a shooting range after a command to cease is given. It is entirely possible that the range officer has seen something that none of the shooters on the line has observed. At many clubs, there may be no range officer present, but the shooters follow the same rules. A “cold line” is observed with all weapons having actions open and magazines empty until all shooters are “ready” and the appropriate commands are given to allow the line to become “hot.”
Benchrest shooting, one of the popular forms of target shooting, involves firing the rifle from a heavy bench with the rifle fully supported. The object of this type of shooting is to fire the shots into the smallest group possible although in some cases, firing is for score. All shooters must keep their firearms unloaded and with the actions open until they are actually on the firing line. In rimfire benchrest competition, bolt actions are to have the bolts removed when they are not actually being set up for firing. When any person is downrange from the benches, the rifles are to be removed from the benches and all shooters are to be away from the benches. Rifles that do not have removable bolts are to have a safety device (a safety flag) protruding from the open breech when they are resting on the benches and a person is downrange.
10. Never use a firearm when mental or motor skills are impaired.
It is a crime to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Some medications can cause the user to become drowsy or sluggish, which are physiological effects that are not unlike those produced by alcohol. Anyone who has received any substance that reduces mental or motor skills should not use a firearm. Crisp mental action and physical motions are required to manipulate a firearm in a safe, efficient manner.
While spending a great deal of time in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, the author and his wife became friends with one of the campground workers and his son, David. One summer, David had a friend, Josh, who came to the mountains to spend a week with him. Each afternoon, for the week of Josh’s visit, it was customary to see the boys with their 22s heading out into the forest for an afternoon of adventure. It usually involved shooting a box of ammo at pine cones and pop cans that they took with them and brought back. If, as was usually the case, the boys came over to talk for a while before heading out, it was interesting to note that their rifles were unloaded, actions open, and muzzles pointing either straight up or down. They had faithfully learned the proper etiquette of handling firearms. The entire scene portrayed the very essence of our heritage and the legacy of the 22 rimfire. Watching David and Josh brought back memories from more than half a century earlier when my brother and I engaged in similar pursuits. There are those who wish to do away with such wonderful activities of others for their own misguided reasons. However, when, not if, this privilege is lost, America will be the poorer for it. Safe firearm handling may forestall our loss of this right assured by The Second Amendment.
Weapons and Image
Image is everything someone has said. If you do not believe it, watch a candidate for office as he meets with a group of business people or for a debate dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and red tie. Watch the same candidate as he meets with occupants of a nursing home or a group of farmers and note the difference in the candidate’s attire. This is not a sexist observation because equivalent dress codes also exist for female candidates. Not long ago, as this is being written, a news report from the TV station in a city nearby gave the story of a homicide. As the announcer was talking, the graphic on the screen showed a handgun, the word “murder” and the outline of a body. You have probably seen such things before. However, in this instance, the victim had been stabbed to death! The desired connotation had nonetheless been conveyed to the viewers as they heard about a murder.
Let us look at one instance of how statistics and image are used in relation to reporting data regarding shooting sports. A recent study reported that an “estimated 21,840 injuries” resulting from nonpowder guns (air rifles, paintball pistols, and BB guns) were treated in the year 2000. That estimate may or may not be accurate, but the implication is that the number is known because it is not given as “over 20,000” which would clearly show that it is an estimate. As bad as the use of the use of the word “estimated” is, there was another factor in the report that was even worse. In the lead paragraph of the report was the phrase “…undermining the notion that such weapons are harmless…” Did you ever hear a baseball announcer say, “Jones dropped his weapon and headed for first base” during a baseball game? Is a baseball bat a weapon? Absolutely, if it is used as a weapon. What about a golf announcer making the statement, “Jones had a good swing with the weapon.” Is a golf club a weapon? Absolutely, if it is used as a weapon. If you think these are absurd examples, what about watching a TV show on cooking only to hear the chef say, “Slice the cold dessert with a warm-bladed weapon.” In this book, the only time the author will use the word “weapon” is in Chapter 11, which deals with some aspects of self-defense. It is true that the same shotgun that is used when hunting quail or 22 rifle used to hunt squirrels can be used as a weapon, but it is the use that determines what is a weapon. The person who “rode shotgun” on a stage coache had a short-barreled shotgun known as a coach gun that was indeed a weapon.
Once, while the author was shooting on a range at a military establishment, a worker there came by and noting my 22 caliber semiautomatic pistol remarked, “What a beautiful weapon.” I was astonished because I regarded it as a device for punching holes in a piece of paper that was 50 feet away. That handgun was never used as a weapon. It is the contention of this author that in sporting circles the word “weapon” should generally be avoided because it conveys a negative connotation to nonshooters (who are all too numerous and a growing segment of the population).
In the 10-year period 1990-2000, the total number of deaths from nonpowder guns was 39 (approximately four per year), far fewer than those resulting from bicycle accidents which have been averaging about one death every six hours or up to almost 1,500 per year! According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 36 children die annually by drowning in 5-gallon buckets! This does not include the hundreds more that drown in bathtubs, showers, toilets, etc. According to the same CPSC, children under the age of 5 die at a rate of approximately 150 per year as a result of playing with cigarette lighters (this does not include approximately 1,100 per year under age 15 who die in residential fires). Falls from open windows annually account for the deaths of approximately 18 persons under the age of 10. Note the lack of media coverage to some of the other types of accidents compared to those in the shooting sports. If the intent is really to reduce accidental injuries and deaths, there are far more fruitful areas in which to work than with the shooting sports. For example, each year, almost a million children are treated for injuries involving bicycles.
During the three score years of involvement in shooting sports by the author, there has been a drastic change in firearms and the presentation of information about them. If you pick up a copy of almost any magazine devoted to guns and shooting, you will see photos of firearms that have laser sights, flashlights attached (hunting at night is illegal under almost all conditions), and a red glow at the muzzle with streaks emanating from it. Often the holder of the firearm is dressed in black and wearing a mask. Such presentation of a firearm may have a place in military and law enforcement settings. However, if a nonshooter passing the magazine rack on his way to find a copy of Financial Insight or Daydreamer’s Quarterly sees several magazines with these sinister looking firearms on the cover, he or she has a mental image generated which is likely transferred to all shooting sports. Never mind that the first Gold Medal given in the 2000 Olympics was won by Nancy Johnson