Author Archives: Hap Rocketto

There was a time in the not too distant past when Winchester and Remington fielded exhibition shooters to flog their products at state fairs and like affairs. They followed in the footsteps of famed western exhibition shooters that came of … Continue reading →

As a collegiate rifle coach I have grown fond of electronic targets. I can monitor a shooter without dragging around a spotting scope, a scoring detail and the human errors involved in adding up scores and plugging shots on paper targets are … Continue reading →

My brother Steve was off to an afternoon movie matinee with his cronies and not all that happy that our mother made him drag me along. She and The Old Man would be off on some adult business when he … Continue reading →

Before the Old Man allowed me to even pick up a rifle he required me to memorize the National Rifle Association’s Ten Commandments of Safety. The tenth was “Do not mix gunpowder and alcohol.” Being eight years old it was meaningless to me … Continue reading →

Publisher’s note. This is a New Year’s Eve special posting as this Hap’s Corner was not published in September as originally scheduled. – Joe Graf My local Scout council had arranged for all newly minted Eagle Scouts to spend a … Continue reading →

“Rifle training was serious business, and we worked at it for several months each year.  …The positions were standing, or offhand as we called it, sitting, kneeling, and prone, all using the rifle sling for support.  The sling, a leather … Continue reading →

Rummaging through my file folder entitled “It must be true because you just can’t make this stuff up” I found notes on a tale related by Glenn Dubis at Lones Wigger’s memorial service which was confirmed by two hoary old AMU alumni, Jim Meredith and Rick Hawkins. Confident that … Continue reading →

My wife and I were thinking about a vacation trip when a flyer came in the mail about a tour to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. I was a bit familiar with it as it played a vital strategic role in … Continue reading →

The wife and kids were out for the night, so I had the television set to myself. I don’t watch much TV, usually Red Sox games, so this was a treat. In my recliner, a bowl of popcorn in my … Continue reading →

Teddy, Elihu, and Alfred… Two of the greatest honors for a service arm shooter at the United States National Matches are also related with a most prestigious international honor.   One hallowed tradition began a few weeks after the conclusion of the 1904 National Matches, held at … Continue reading →

I have been going through my annual ammunition testing and noticed that the lubricant on Lapua, which I am experimenting with for the first time, and my tried and true Eley are quite different. Lubricant on a .22 cartridge is … Continue reading →

The Bishop’s Boys Blast Away… I am sure that we have all shared the experience of finishing a conversation and, as we walk away, of thinking of the perfect reply to a question or barb too late. The French call … Continue reading →

ENDURANCE RECORDS-SHOOTING AND BASEBALL… Sitting on my bookshelf is a gift from the late great Art Jackson, two deformed metal discs. One is a 1947, the year I was born, Mexican one peso piece with a hole shot through it on the circumference, the … Continue reading →

In more than fifty years I have at last come to grips that my shooting forte may not be with the firearm but with the typewriter. I’ll leave no legacy of strings of range victories. My contribution to the sport … Continue reading →

A BIG BANG THEORY OF SORTS… Our regular Friday morning breakfast meeting happened to fall on October 9th in the middle of Fire Prevention Week and the anniversary of the Great Chicago and Peshtigo Fires.Considering the occasion, I raised the question of what might happen if a shooter’s home suffers a fire to … Continue reading →

HARDLEY A MAN IS STILL ALIVE…  Miss Mowry was at the board writing, in a graceful Spenserian hand, our English assignment for us to copy. Ham handed as I was my cursive scribble resembled more of a rat’s nest in … Continue reading →

MARINES HAVE LANDED AND THE SITUATION  ISWELL IN HAND… As I sat at my desk the usual New London High School cafeteria midday feed, a hearty 25ȼ grinder, a couple of  3ȼ half pint cartons of milk, a bag of State Line potato … Continue reading →

The Price Of Basic Necessities… I was searching the Internet for some arcane information when I came across an article entitled The Cost Of Basic Necessities The Year You were Born. Never one to pass up an opportunity to fill any … Continue reading →

DOWN RANGE IS NO PLACE TO BE…. The memory of the first highpower round I ever shot at Camp Perry is still sharp. It was August 18, 1975 and the Members’ Cup required 20 shots. Standing on the 200 yard … Continue reading →

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT… It took my brother Steve years to establish a rifle team at the high school where he taught physics. One of the strongest arguments offered by his opponent on the Board of Education was emotional: … Continue reading →

  A Distinguished Scout… I enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard to shoot on the rifle team and actual military duties were the furthest thing from my mind. Assigned to Company C, First Battalion, 169th Infantry based in Middletown, Connecticut, … Continue reading →