Shooting season is coming up and this year I'm

going to be a part of it.

I saw the club schedule and there are 2 sererate series of matches, the service rifle matches, fired on the usual National Match course. The other is the old Army qualification course, an early WW2 leftover.

Most guys will use their competitive service rifles for both, as in their minds, everything is practice for the Nationals at Camp Perry.

I, on the other hand, will use my service rifle for the National Match course, needless to say. However, for the WW2 Army qualification course I will be using an old 1903 Springfield.

The old workhorse was brought into existence by none other than Teddy Roosevelt following his experience in the Spanish American war and saw service well into the Vietnam war.

It really is a hoot to shoot. Loud, powerful with a real solid muzzle blast and a recoil that lets you know you are shooting a real Old School rifle.

The guys generally grin when I uncase it and make sure they have a little additional ear protection on when I let fly with the old cannon.

I am not really alone on my attitude toward the WW2 matches. The club used to fire the old Marine Corps 5-V matches a few years ago in cooperation with the local chapter fo the Marine Corps league and I knew a guy that used to shoot it with an old 1873 trapdoor Springfield rifle left over from General Custer's day.

Although most of us load our own ammo for these matches, we do used premade bullets from various bulletmakers. This guy, with his 1873 trapdoor cast his own bullets from old wheel weights. It was astonishing to see how well he made the old rifle shoot at 200 yards.

One of the joys of getting a little older is that you come to grips with things a little easier.

I realize that the liklihood of me getting a Distinguished Shooter badge have dimmed to the point where I am not even going to waste my time trying anymore. This is a good thing because now I am just shooting for fun.

I guess the point of todays blog is simply to say that I feel a whole lot better about some things ever since I gave up hope.

Shooting is one of them.




my other blog is:

http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/