Tuesday, July 23, 2013

What Makes a Rifleman?

There's a really interesting thread on The High Road about what makes a ""rifleman." I bring it up here because it's a topic in my mind these days. I've spent most of my competitive career shooting handguns of various favors.

In recent years, thanks largely to cowboy action shooting, I find myself drifting more and more to long guns. Interestingly enough, I was talking to my friend Ken Jorgensen for Ruger at the RR Worlds last weekend, and he mentioned the he's recently become completely enamored with rifles as well. The challenge is fascinating.

So what's the general consensus of what makes a "rifleman?" To be sure, I have an Appleseed "Rifleman" patch I'm very proud of, but I would not presume to call myself a rifleman. Since I started shooting 3-Gun, I've been humbled by how much I have to learn about the rifle. I'm just starting to say, "Oh wow...so that's how that works!"

I grew up in a deer hunting family in Tennessee. In Tennessee scrub, a long shot is 50 yards, so at least in my family there wasn't the obsessive attention to detail that seems like the hallmark of a good rifle shooter (and I pretty quickly went from a Winchester 94 "thurty-thurty" to a Model 29 .44 Magnum). You can get away with a lot if you're working inside 50 yards.

Just some thoughs...

We're in Tulsa filming TBD...I died twice today...once when Mike Janich beat me to death with a hammer in my garage...the second time when he stabbed me to death in somebody's lawn. Note me crying like a little girl after being savagely "stabbed" by Mike with a "drone" knife. It turns out than when you cleverly jam your elbow into even a dull knife 1) you bleed like the proverbial stuck pig, and 2) wowie-zowie it hurts! LOL! Note to simulators...never let a good puddle of blood go to waste.

We've got 3 sims to film tomorrow, but I don't think I have to die. It's time for Seeklander to die!






8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its all fun and games until someone bleeds

True_Texan said...

My theory of work has always been, "If you ain't bleeding by the end of the day, then you didn't really do any work."

Way to take one for the team Michael. Keep up the hard work!

Jack said...

kmitch200 got it spot on! Janich has been running wild for too many episodes! Time for him to be on the recieving end. I know if I run in to him I'm shooting first asking questions later.

Roy Bean said...

How come we can only find TBD seasons 1 and 2 on DVD? I looked all over the Outdoor Channel website, and can barely find any DVD's. They should do what History Channel does, and sell nearly every show or series on DVD. I always miss TBD and Gun Stories on TV because of my work schedule, and I'd love to buy some of these on DVD. What's up with the decision not to sell the DVD's????

Bill Rushmore said...

I think it's time for you to be the bad guy for once on the TBD and give Janich a break. Maybe you can play the role of a "Mr Big" with a big fluffy cat or something...

clark myers said...

I'm not sure what's necessary to make a rifleman but this I'm sure is sufficient:
Cooper's Challenge Finally Met!
By MICHAEL BANE
Mar 15, 2006, 16:52

At last, the Holy Grail of long-range shooting has been grabbed, snatched and stuffed in the pocket of an already well-known master of the tactical rifle.

bgary said...

WRT being a "rifleman", I won't claim to be... but I am thoroughly intrigued by the challenges. There's nothing like the feeling of a 1st-shot hit at 600...or more... to make me smile.

Quincy said...

This is great!