Unhelpful Commentary

There seems to be a law written somewhere that is as virulent as it is well hidden requiring gun owners of all stripes, from hunters to military to law enforcement alike, to make up and share some of the most preposterous things about guns and shooting. Ideas seem to spread at a speed proportional to their ridiculousness. Here are some of my favorites. Hunting Magazine Hatred This is my gripe and after decades of reading everything I could that had anything to do with hunting.

I have since cancelled my subscriptions to every magazine I’ve ever read, except American Gunsmith. I seriously believe I could take a full years worth of issues and compare it to any other year and find the same articles in them. Oh, they are changed around a little but they all follow a standard format. For the sake of keeping this little dissertation down to under 10,000 words, let’s just take deer hunting. The outdoor writer who specializes in these stories spent a year in Deer Hunting Stories 101.

Check them out and see if I am not right. The first thing any of them are going to tell you is that they had scouted the territory or old Uncle Udel had seen a monster buck all summer and he knew just where he was. The next thing is that opening day was raining. It always rains or snows on opening day according to Deer Hunting Stories 101. Now, before daylight this nimrod is in his stand, the wind is right, and he has just enough time for a cup of coffee.

Ever think how far the odor of coffee is capable of being carried? Never mind. Daylight breaks, as it usually does, and our trophy hunter is alert, caressing a firearm that just happens to be made by the publisher’s biggest current advertiser ever so lovingly and listens for the sounds he knows he will hear and looks for the big buck. The first sighting is a couple of does, it being in the rut (it is always in the rut when he hunts) so he knows a buck will be along shortly.

Sure enough, a buck appears as if on cue but it just a little (?) six pointer. Because our hero is a purist, he won’t settle for anything less than ten points, so he continues to wait. Sometime that afternoon a tiny, too-small-for-out-hero four pointer breaks the brush in front of him but again he passes. This goes on until the last day just as light is fading and he has to go home or to another ranch (probably sponsored) for another deer.

So in that last bit of time and light, the majestic big one suddenly gets stupid and walks out—bang, end of story. Get real! First off most deer hunters have waited all year to take a vacation. They go through the same fights with the spouse about spending every vacation in the woods and all that money while they never go out together, regardless of how often they actually do. The average deer hunter is an average guy.

He shoots a trophy buck every chance he gets but his "trophy" is the first legally shootable animal he sees. It seldom is in the rut for most seasons are deliberately set after the rut. If a spike, a four point or better, comes though he is dead meat and that deer is the trophy deer for him for the year. The average deer hunter cannot afford to pass up horns that he can see and is likely more interested in the meat anyway. What he sees is a sure thing for he may never see horns again all season.

Worse, these articles almost never have any useful advice to help hunters learn how to shoot better—and many need the help. "Don’t shoot unless you’re 90% sure" is only good advice if a hunter bothers to find out what 90% is for them. Plenty don’t. Participating in High Power Sporting Rifle (a wonderful shooting event the NRA refuses to promote) or Hunter Shooter would do every hunter a great service. I say stop feeding us this trophy nonsense. Stop feeding these standard, programmed stories.

Tell us the truth and usable advice that will help the way millions of hunters actually hunt. Above all, stop telling us how nice it is for an outdoor writer to get to hunt deer two or three months solid when we are down to one or two weeks. We can’t afford the plush trips so any of these stories are not realistic. I’ve read all of the classics by writers such as Jack O’Connor and Townsend Whelen. While I enjoyed them and envied them, I knew they were not real for me or for most hunters.

I ask the hunting media to get down to earth and write their stories directed to and on the same level as we are—the average hunter. The next time you listen to a customer in your shop tell you about the four point buck he got that year, remember what I have said.

Hord Shootin’ Gun I just can’t help from writing about this statement for it probably is one of the most commonly used descriptions I’ve heard over the years. I’ve heard it used as a description for about every type of gun. I have no idea where this phrase originated and have wondered if the person telling that means from the muzzle end or the butt end. Is "hord shootin’" one ounce or three-inch Magnums, low brass or high brass, factory ammo or handloads filled with a ladle of propellant?

I have come to the conclusion after analyzing hundreds of guns described as "hord shootin’" that it really comes down to the fact that the owner does not do much shooting, gun owners that are best described as casual shooters.

Given that too many hunters fail to participate in any kind of shooting competition or class and likely only expend live ammunition during a pre-season sight-in day while attempting to get a "nearo" on their firearm (and some hunters don’t even bother with that) I guess they have to grasp for the means to describe something that they aren’t terribly familiar with. Such a gun owner does a bare minimum of shooting and has limited experience with firearms in general.

He likely knows little to nothing about ballistics, stock fit, types of actions, barrel lengths, or other details. He doesn’t know the difference from an ounce of shot and an equal weight in a rifled slug when fired from the same gun. One or the other shoots harder. Sorry, I meant "horder." Further, this guy generally can’t estimate 40 yards from 100. He is generally just recoil happy, but he is a customer.

For the gun owner that isn’t keen on learning I’ve found it best to not argue or explain as he won’t appreciate either. Instead, I make a mental note of it and repair his "hord shootin’" gun so it will shoot a little "horder." Hunting articles almost never have useful advice to help hunters learn how to shoot better. "Don’t shoot unless you’re 90% sure" is only good advice if a hunter bothers to find out what 90% is for them. Plenty don’t.

Participating in Sporting Rifle (a wonderful shooting event the NRA refuses to promote) or Hunter Shooter would do every hunter a great service. People can be funny. I once had a customer that was a fanatic turkey shoot shooter. If I could have choked his 12 gauge down to .30 caliber he would have gladly paid me to do it. For those not familiar, a turkey shoot (at least those held in my area) is essentially a game of chance masquerading as a competitive shooting event.

Instead of throwing dice, a line of gamblers use a shotgun from a benchrest to fire one shotshell (usually something like #9 shot provided by the event directors) at a paper target. The targets are then judged (not really scored) to determine which one had a pellet closest to center and therefore the winner of that round’s prize, which is often a frozen turkey, hence the name. It’s essentially Bingo with shotguns.

Well, after many these events and lots of money out of his pocket to tune the choke, he started winning some turkeys. No word on what his resulting cost per pound was. Then, one bright Sunday morning he found out what organized Trap shooting was and he just knew his "hord shootin’" turkey gun would break every target thrown. A champion in the making! He found out very quickly that despite winning some turkeys, turkey shoots prepared him to manage nine or less per round.

He’s now convinced he can buy his way to shooting 50 straight during league shoots. Some fun! One of the first things he learned was that 25 shotshells fired per round did kick and made him sore. He got over that but still can’t get the right drop to his gun or the choke he thinks he needs.

While I’m glad he is taking up a competitive shooting sport (I am convinced every gun owner should) I am holding out for him to read up on Trap shooting skill and hope my advice that taking a class and attempting something resembling organized practice won’t be in vain. Bits & Pieces Anew customer walks into my shop on what I thought was a nice day as I was just starting on my third cup of coffee—I always work best when I am fully caffeinated.

He hands me a nice (?) Japanese Type 38 chambered in 6.5×50mm SR Arisaka. He asks, "Can you rechamber this to 6.5mm Remington Magnum?" He even seemed serious. "I sure can," I answered, equally as serious. "Will it shoot?", he asks, still serious. "You bet. At least once." Believe it. Years ago I worked my fingers off fixing tap break revolvers. I thought I had to—I was a gunsmith, wasn’t I?

Several years later and a touch of fever, impatience, arthritis, and a lot more smarts, I realized what was costing me so much in time and frustration and came up with the answer for all tap breaks: "There is a time to live and a time to die. Your gun is dead. Bury it!" Bad advice and misinformation abounds, especially in the gun world. Do your best with your customers to combat it. AG