Sometimes We Say It Best When We Say Nothing At All
By Shepard Humphries
I am not interested in politics and am among a minority of shooting enthusiasts that decline to beg, berate or bribe those in government for“gun rights.”There are many exciting organizations and people that are doing marvelous things in this department, and I have no quarrel with them.
As a pioneer in the entertainment shooting industry, I have been in the fortunate position to help create a new market and wish to share some ideas about how even those that are not “involved” in the political process are benefiting the cause. Interestingly enough, Don Wills, currently a Congressional candidate, offered me the idea of luxury entertainment shooting.
For hundreds of years people have enjoyed shooting guns.Shotgun games have traditionally been most popular in the commercial entertainment shooting industry.
Over the last score of years, a plethora of “machine gun ranges” have popped up around the country. These facilities offer people the opportunity to enjoy shooting fully automatic guns, often at targets containing human faces.Gleeful shouts akin to “Kill him” can be heard from shooters and their companions. For a mere $50 several people have had reinforced the perception that machine guns are used for killing people. This does not happen on my property so it is none of my business.I simply ask you to consider what has “been said.”
Being one of the first viable commercial luxury entertainment shooting firms in the world, we have directed our felt and projected attitude in a different direction. Our generalized demographics are high net worth individuals, families and corporate groups from urban centers. Many of our clients are aligned with a political party that has a reputation for NOT being “gun-friendly.” Most have never fired a gun and have always considered all guns not to be tools, but rather solely instruments of death.
When an international media corporation sends its top advisors and board members to enjoy our shooting activity, it is of great importance that we do not portray shooting enthusiasts as camouflage wearing Bubbas who want to kill cute deer, chipmunks, kindly ATF agents and speed limit signs.We agree with the NRA Training Department’s philosophy of referring to firearms by names other than “weapon”when teaching basic shooting instruction. When voicing encouragement to hit a target, we encourage shooters to get“it” rather than “him.”
A couple years ago I was visited by three Orthodox Jewish school teachers from the Bronx, NY.They openly shared with me that they had previously gone out of their way to sign anti-gun petitions.They were in an area where I was teaching and decided to try it out for themselves.They had an absolute blast of course, and while shooting, one of them asked if I had any assault rifles.I picked up a glove and lightly slapped her arm, then responded, “No, I don’t.All of my rifles, including the AR-15 and the AK-47 are sporting rifles that have never assaulted anyone, and while in my hands they will NEVER initiate violence.I DO however have an assault glove, because it just hit you.”We all had a good laugh, and they left with information to contemplate about firearms ownership and use.Several weeks later I received a card from them, and it included a drawing of a glove with a red circle and hash mark through it with the caption, “Ban Assault Gloves.”They voiced their changed opinions about guns.
My assault glove story is not how I typically interact with clients, but demonstrates that at times I DO engage in friendly conversations about gun ownership issues. More frequently, I say nothing at all. Clients anticipate a speech about guns being good, about having to pry them from my cold dead hands, about how many Messicans are crossing the border and killing little blond-haired children and about me needin’ to shoot them folk if they step foot on my property. Many clients comment as they leave about how they expected to be preached to about gun rights, and how pleasantly surprised they were when it was absent from our conversation.
So, what I am suggesting is that perhaps having a good time shooting targets with fun sporting guns, talking about the beautiful mountains & sky, about our shared appreciation for dogs, about the fun plinking sound a bullet makes when it hits a metal target and about how much fun we are having, perhaps more is being said than what we are saying.
Perhaps there is a time for ranting and raving and proclaiming to
the choir our passion for keeping our guns, and perhaps being less
verbose also help make guns more acceptable in the public eye.I
suggest that we all invite an anti-gun friend to shoot 22’s with us
and never mention anything political, just have fun.If they start
the conversation, we might be wise to skirt it.See what
happens.Trust me.
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Training “High Speed – Low Drag Operators”
by Shepard Humphries
When I taught my first combat pistol class as a civilian, I asked a respected warrior to audit the class and critique my outline, performance and the class in general. Tony Copper, a seasoned High Speed – Low Drag operator (HSLDO) attended and even assisted with instruction in a humble and respectful way. I was lucky. He WAS a HSLDO.
Most shooting instructors have experienced the attitude of, “I have been in combat, shot machine guns, am currently wearing tactical pants, have killed folks and by golly you ain’t gonna tell me anything.” This can be intimidating and a challenge for shooting instructors, and I hope that the following suggestions will help in your coaching.
Suggest “trying” rather than ordering to do a thing. With a humble beginner, we can often say, “pull the stock into your shoulder tightly” and they will gratefully comply. When speaking to a HSLDO, I have learned it is better to suggest, “You might try pulling the stock into your shoulder a little harder to see if you like it any better.”
If training a beginner alongside a HSLDO, I learned a great trick from Brandon Cunningham, a lifelong instructor not only in HSLDO maritime warfare topics, but law enforcement specialties as well. Brandon suggests that phrasing directed toward beginner Bill can include a mention of HSLDO Tom’s knowledge, “Bill, as Tom can tell you, bringing that stock tight into your shoulder will reduce your felt recoil and will make you ready for the next shot faster.” In this example, we appeared to be teaching Bill when in fact we were communicating to Tom.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but I find that I am able to get the next shot off more quickly if I pull the stock into my shoulder tightly.” My offering the HSLDO
Tony’s famous line is, “maybe your way is better, I have a shot timer right here. Let’s try it both ways and see which one works best.” This technique should only be tried if the person testing techniques is a good shooter and will honestly give their best effort with both techniques.
Another communication tip, if pleasant and respectful communication has failed, is to recognize the HSLDO’s “excellence” and admit, perhaps with some sarcasm, that he is “simply too far advanced in his skills for you to help.” If you have clarified with him that your training session is not a “tough guy’ contest, and is simply designed to offer some techniques and he refuses to have an open mind; maybe it is time to triage him as a lost cause. Many shooting instructors are enthralled with patriotism and believe respect is owed anyone that wears a White Kepi, Green Beret or Spetsnaz cap, depending on their government of origin. Respecting a HSLDO for serving his government can only go so far however if that man refuses to respectfully investigate what you have to offer. There are times that training session simply must be cut short.
I have been fortunate to train HSLDOs from many places and have found that those that are “REALLY” HSLDO are very nice, humble, self confident men that love to add new tricks to their bag. These men, like Tony, teach me new tricks as well as investigate my offerings. I hope they know that while I am perhaps wearing the “teacher” hat on that day, I profoundly respect their skills as well!
Are you teaching a family member or friend to shoot for the first time?
Following are some suggestions from that you might incorporate into your introductory lessons:
What better way to make memories than to share our passion with those we care about?
by Shepard Humphries
Wind Shooting at Mid Range
& Long Range
The following is the method I
use during matches and practice shooting at distances from 600yds thru 1000yds.
1.
When shooting “known distance” matches,
position rifle shooters and F class shooters have both the range flags and the
mirage to help them adjust each shot for wind.
Prior to shooting the event I consider the wind speed and decide if I
will use the mirage or the wind flags as my primary guide during that match.
My rule of thumb is when wind is less than 5 mph I will use mirage as my
guide. When wind is faster, blowing
5-15 mph or more, I use the flags.
(Note: I am flexible and if
conditions change during the match I will change from mirage to flags etc.
In most cases I can stay with my initial decision during the 20 shots in
20 minute match.)
A.
Mirage:
(This is the river of air one can easily see by adjusting the focus of
the spotting scope closer (never farther) from the target.
Mirage becomes flatter as this air increases in speed, and the waves
become larger as the air speed slows. It looks like boiling water when air is
coming directory toward you or directly away from you. Changes in this mirage
must be taken into account by a shooter attempting to keep his shots in the X
and 10 rings).
I select either the number boards or the
front target berm as a back ground when looking at mirage. When the number
boards are behind the targets I do not use them as a back ground while reading
mirage. One should use a spotting
scope to read mirage even if shooting a scoped rifle.
The larger objective lens of the spotting scope makes mirage much easier
to see. Also, the spotting scope is
on a solid base which helps one see the mirage better.
When shooting, I place the spotting scope as close to my face as
possible. I like to get it so close
that all that is needed is to look left without moving my head to use the
spotting scope. The key is to shoot
the shot before something changes after leaving the spotting scope for the
rifle. But the shot must still be
the best the shooter can make. To
hurry and shoot a poor shot is not the answer.
Note:
There are times in overcast conditions when mirage is not visible.
Don’t fight it looking for something that is not there.
Just go with the flags.
B. Flags: Range flags are
long 15’ red or red and yellow initially made from cotton, but most now are of
nylon. The new nylon flags are much
lighter and respond more to the wind.
Less wind will create the same effect as faster wind on the old cotton
range flag. Most score books
flag charts are for the old cotton flag.
Be aware!!
On most
rifle ranges there are a lot of flags between the shooter and the target.
There are more flags than one can use and still focus on shooting well.
I pick a flag at 200 or 300 yards in front of my firing point and use it
as my guide. When the wind
picks up and drops off I add windage or remove windage using the sight knob.
How much? The amount of
windage change one makes is a big part of what the game is all about.
Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes not.
As I shoot a certain caliber I get better at adding or taking off windage
for that caliber. This is a good
reason to not change your caliber too much.
A .308 Palma load will move more than a 6XC load in the wind at 600yds or
a 1000yds.
C. Big Condition Changes:
Do not be afraid to stop shooting and just watch when flags are going two
directions or mirage has reversed from what you think is the normal.
Use a stop watch and manage your time during a match.
I have seen good shooters stop for over 5 minutes when they do not like
what they are seeing. In most cases
this patience pays off. There
is no prize for finishing first!
But when things are not changing, shoot fast and do not take time to
write in a score book. Prizes are
not given for having a completed pretty score book.
D.
Score book:
I have not used a score book for years.
I do have my “no wind” zeros in a note book, and a wind chart that helps
me get on target the first shot, but no book.
When shooting at 1000yds it is critical for me to have a good wind chart.
I do not shoot enough 1000yds matches to feel confident without such a
chart. That being said,
I have gotten into trouble not keeping track of my windage adjustments on some
days. If this happens I return the
sights to my “no wind zero” and try to guess how much windage I need for that
next shot. This is not
conducive to shooting high scores.
2.
Practice:
There are proven practice methods that will help one shoot long range
better. I have always been more
interested in how the top shooters practice than watching them shoot the match.
A. When you get that perfect day
at the range, and the wind is on vacation (not too often in Wyoming), I like
to see how well I can hold by trying to shoot x’s and 10’s. On these days I know
when I have shot a poor shot and I cannot blame the wind.
Another good way to practice holding and shooting in Wyoming is to shoot
practice on a reduced target at 100yds.
Wind is not an issue at 100yds, and will not blow you from the 10 ring if
you do your job.
B. Practice on the average windy
Wyoming day will make you better.
Do not shoot for score!
Shoot 10 shots without any shot markers being placed on the target or the target
even pulled while making the wind corrections you think necessary.
Try to make your horizontal group size small.
Disregard score; a small group in the 5 ring in this exercise is much
better than a group spread from 8 ring to 8 ring. Keep track of the group sizes
in these practice sessions. The
smaller your group’s horizontal spread the better you are doing reading wind.
Also, in this exercise you are not tempted to chase that shot spotter.
Chasing the spotter is not reading wind!
This exercise can be done on your own without a pit puller.
You may have a large vertical group spread.
This is not a wind issue. It
may be your hold, or the ammo or the rifle.
Do not blame it on the wind.
These issues are not being addressed here.
C. Coach another shooter:
This may be the best practice method of
all for wind training. Give
him the wind corrections for his gun.
Coaching will help one learn much faster than shooting and reading wind
at the same time. There is also no
lag time created by going back and forth from the rifle to the spotting scope.
One just focuses on his wind reading.
Coaching a good shooter makes this training method even better.
3.
In conclusion:
I am sure that the information presented here will help the long range
shooter, but this is by no means the final word.
There are great shooters that have written entire books on the subject.
If you want to become a better shooter read these books. Take from the
experts what will help you, but do not overload your mind with things you do not
feel comfortable understanding.
Keep the game simple in your head and your scores will benefit.
Shoot with confidence on every shot.
The world will keep turning if that shot is not where you wanted it.
Use the mirage or the flag for setting a base line. Then add or subtract
from that base line by adjusting the windage knob on the scope or iron sight, or
holding the rifle scope to the left or right as conditions warrant.
Do not try to favor using iron sights.
You do not see well enough for such things.
In most cases you will over favor.
I know this first hand!
Good
long range shooting to everyone.
Don’t chase that spotter!!!
By Roy
Bane