Category Archives: Hap’s Corner

by Hap Rocketto To say that my wife Margaret is, what we call in the education dodge, ‘concrete sequential’ is an understatement. She is a creature of strong habit and it works for her. If she didn’t mind being hot … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto  Perhaps one of the most important tool in the shooter’s kit is the diary. A diary’s importance is based on two facts: shooting is a sport that requires consistency and the human memory is not 100% perfect. … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto I never met Ted Williams. I saw him play a few times, but not in person, only through the miracle of black and white television so I did not see the vibrant green of Fenway Park’s grass … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto  The most important skill a rifleman can have is to place shots in a tight group. A precise little flower of five or ten shots is the start of a bouquet that will bring happiness to the … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto There is a lot of range talk about mirage. We are all familiar with the cartoon view of it: Bugs Bunny, wearing a French Foreign Legion Kepi, crawling across the desert towards a glass of water that … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto  The tumultuous event that was the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series victory gave the movie “Fever Pitch” a wider audience. The Farrelly Brothers romantic-comedy, while not on the level of the great “screwball comedies starring the … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto During one memorable epoch in my antediluvian past I sat behind Cathy Robert, “Roc” following immediately after “Rob” in the alphabet, in Russell Harris’ College Preparatory English III class. I occupied the last desk in the long … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto How rare is it that protocol comes near to sparking an international incident at a rifle match banquet? Not too often I suspect, but there I sat, surrounded by all of the pomp and circumstance of a … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto The rich history and engaging characters of the shooting sports is both an ignored and unplumbed sea upon whose surface we cruise as we shape course from one match to another. It has oft been said that … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto  In what is laughingly known as my military career I was promoted but twice in twenty-two odd years. The first was from Naval Aviation Officer Candidate to Ensign, United States Naval Reserve. After leaving the Navy my … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto For a good school teacher learning never ends, be it the subject matter one teaches or how to manage a room full of hormone driven adolescents. To that end a teacher’s life outside of the classroom is … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto There is probably no subject that occupies shooters thoughts and conversations more than wind; it is the most common ground connecting all disciplines. While ammunition is of a particular high interest to the smallbore crowd, the wind … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto There is an old saying among smallbore shooters that there are two things that are not long for this world, dogs who chase cars and smallbore shooters who can’t get hold of a good lot of ammunition. … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto  When I was a young pup, fresh caught by the Connecticut National Guard Rifle Team, the very first match I shot with them was the Logan Trophy Match. This was a contest between the Connecticut and Massachusetts … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto The winter had closed in and I was watching a bit more television than usual. A bowl of popcorn, balanced on my belly, gently rose and fell with my breathing as I peered over it at the … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto It really does seem unfair. In my 25 trips to Camp Perry I have won exactly one match and placed second or third several times. I guess that is pretty heady stuff for a journeyman shooter such … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto Shooting should be fun. The reason most of us shoot is because we want to do something that is both relaxing and rewarding. However, there are times when we go overboard and transform a labor of love … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto When I was a kid the circus always came to town on a Thursday in early September and spread its huge canvas tent and midway in Caulkin’s Park, which was right across the street from my classroom … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto A shooting match is a two way street that is traveled by the sponsor and the competitor. Each has goals and each has responsibilities to insure safe travel. The responsibilities are laid out in the rules books … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto Hockey fever was sweeping New England in the late spring of 2011 as the Boston Bruins battled it out for the National Hockey League Championship and the honor of hoisting the Stanley Cup. It was mentioned that … Continue reading →

by Hap Rocketto There are several never ending debates in the shooting world. The first is the .45 ACP verses Nine Millimeter for self defense argument. This is probably the hoariest of all. In itself it may be responsible for … Continue reading →