When you have a good rifleman you have a man who is confident of his ability to take care of himself; the quality pertains not to the rifle, but to himself; so you have a man who can quickly be turned to doing anything. He is a hunter and fighter; not a specialist who is at a loss when his specialty fails him. “-H.W. McBride “A Rifleman Went to War”
Cooper’s Principles of Practical Riflery:
Make first-round hits, at unknown distances, from improvised positions, with a cartridge appropriate to the purpose, under time pressure. –Colonel Jeff Cooper, Gun Guru
This week marks the end of the second season of TOP SHOT on the History Channel
A dirty shame the show must end. It has been a guilty pleasure for me from day one. CLICK LINK HERE
None of the usual race gun/tweaked target load ammo/five-finger tactical magazine swap IDPA/IPSC crap here.
Production guns, production ammo, off-the-shelf holsters and equipment. Don’t like the factory trigger on a Ruger 10/22? Too bad. Shoot it anyway.
Just respond to a simple question: can you hit six bottles from an upside down position after you’ve been spun around strapped to a giant plywood wheel? Because in the real world you may be just exactly that disoriented when you need to shoot your best. Yeah. How does that super-duper race gun holster work for you in that scenario?
Or can you hit exploding targets as you descend suspended from a crane that drops you from 125 feet above the ground?
(Think that is a frivolous exercise? Ask Army Airborne Paratroopers what they think. You know, those guys who parachute into an inky black void in the middle of the night and land dangling from a tree somewhere in enemy territory?)
Or just stand on wobble platforms as you shoot smaller and smaller targets at greater and greater distances.
After all, the world is a rough place and you cannot always blade at an angle to your target before you shoot.
How competent are you with a slingshot? CLICK LINK HERE Blowgun? Hatchet throwing? All necessary field expedient survival weapons for the well-rounded World Impresario.
I know nothing of the Producers or their background but Jeff Cooper or H.W. McBride must be smiling from above at the unapologetic approach to practical marksmanship.
Every exercise offers insight into what every marksman should know.
I commend the series to one and all.
John Jacob H's RKBA Commentary 