Twenty years ago and more, I was a dead shot with most firearms:  shotgun, rifle, revolver, automatic handgun, and, yes, those pump-action air rifles (commonly called “BB guns”). This came from years of steady practice, as well as having eyes and arms that were 20 years younger.  I could ask a companion out in the field to load two clay pigeons onto the thrower, stand with my back to it with my shotgun broken open, yell “pull,” casually load the gun, snap it shut, turn, and pick off both of the skeet before they hit the ground. At that point in my life I probably could have shot the eyelashes off a chipmunk and left the animal alive.

This summer I went shooting again out in a field for the first time in far too long. To say that my skills have dipped is an understatement. I don’t think I could have hit Rush Limbaugh at five paces with a howitzer.  I did get better as the day unfolded, though, shooting the crotch off the assailant marked on a target (I was aiming for the head), and picking off one of the dozen or two skeet my brother-in-law gamely pitched into the air for me. But clearly I need practice, and lasix.

Today that same brother-in-law emailed me the video below, which depicts exciting new technological advances in the sport of shooting. In his email, he said, “You know you want one.” And he’s right. I do. You’ll see why.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 11:38 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.