The Wilmington morning star., 1940-04-14
PoWder Smoke
By
EDMUND M'LAURIN

Non-shooters visiting the Sunset
ARK range for the first time and
"alchlng some of the local club
members fire shot after S h o t
through the centers of targets 100
Sdros away are sometimes inclined
10 regard the performance of the
llllenen as something to be expect
ca rather than the actual unusual
oesree of individual skill which
such shooting represents. 81 sup
pose volunteered a recent visitor,
ina good shooting is not difficult
II a fellow will first do consider
able practice shooting on discard
"a TN cans and bottles. Practice
makes perfect, you know
Unfortunately, expert shooting
sht as simple as that. Practice
makes perfect-yes!-but only if the
practice is fundamentally correct
from the very first. Otherwise the
oao habits are perfected along with
the good ones, and in rifle shooting
OF the type to which we all aspire
ulsregarded of fundamental prin-
clples is an almost certain guaran.
tee OF a low score and inconsistent
performance. 1t is much easier to
make an excellent shot out of a
man who has never done anv shoot
ing than to correct the errors of a
man VINO has engaged in consider
able practice without giving serious
thought to the three primary es-
sentlals of good shooting-holding
aiming and trigger squeeze. These
essentials you learn on the target
range and not by firing of hundreds
OF random shots in the general di-
rectlon of tin cans and bottles, the
popular practice among those whose
shooting is without a definite pur.
pose. So-called marksmen who are
wizards on tin cans and bottles will
quickly find that their skill is apt
to be far below the usual standard
When forced to confine ten shots tc
the circumference of a black bulls.
eye. In shooting bottles and tin cans
hits ca nbe registered despite the
fact that rrors may exist in the
observance of fundamental princi.
pies of shooting, simply because the
target, generally, is large and sub.
Ject to damage, but not so when
paper targets I used. Y o are
either in the ten ring, or out!
An hour spent under the guidance
of a com at9nt inctrJlntor iS ,rn,+I
weeks of undirected effort. Fortu,
nately, there are Il number of quail
fled instructors among the member
ship of the Wilmington Rifle and
Pistol club who are always ready tt
help the beginner get started right
in the shooting game.
Junior marksmen of the city hold
ing membership cards in the Boy
Scout organization as of May It'll
will be permitted to represent theil
respective troops in the Area Rifle
Matches scheduled for that d a t e
Though the course of fire has moi
as yet been announced by the Viii.
mington Rifle and Pistol club Off
Gals, who will supervise the event
it is likely that the matches will be
at the usual junior so feet range
with contestants firing strings Of
ten shots from the prone, sitting
and standing positions.
According to a letter just receiv.
ed from a Powder Smoke reader,
whose business requires him to ira
vel extensively, a Marion, n. c..
blacksmith, a descendant of a line
of gunsmiths, still makes old-style
muzzle-Ioading rifles for certain
backwoodsmen of his acquaintance.
who disdain the use of modern rifles
and e~mphatically claim that these
muzzle-loaders. fired by percussion
caps, cannot be surpassed for accu
racy. l pass this information along
to my readers as undoubtedly some
of them will have occasion to visit
the Marion section md may possib-
ly care to stop and watch n OF