by Hap Rocketto
There is a fundamental difference between shooting disciplines. It is not in the equipment or the course of fire but rather the way the shooters look at nature. This major division splits the pistol and rifle people in a way that can only be described by a matter of fact and an anecdote.
Fact: In a National Match Course of fire for service pistol the shooter is given 10 minutes to shoot slow fire, 40 seconds for timed fire, and 20 seconds for rapid fire. The total time involved in shooting is 11 minutes. A service rifle shooter fires 4 stages and is given 3 minutes of preparation time for each stage for a total of 12 minutes. A service rifle shooter gets 1 minute more prep time than a pistol shooter gets to shoot the complete match!
Anecdote: Three shooters are walking up Commercial Row at Camp Perry after a rain shower. They approach a mud puddle and look at it. How does one tell the difference between the pistol shooter, the smallbore rifle shooter, and the high power shooter? The pistol shooter, somewhat piqued, very carefully pads around the puddle so as not to muddy his shoes, the smallbore rifle shooter stalks off to building 1001 to file a protest while the high power shooter happily drops down to wallow in the mud.
The philosophical views of the world are quite apparent. The pistol shooter looks upon nature as something to be endured, the smallbore rifle shooter believes it is something to be conquered, and the high power rifle shooter is one with nature.
I like a story that makes you think and ponder. I changed it in my mind to a duck hunter, an upland bird hunter and a deer hunter arrive at the mud puddle. I figure the duck hunter will set up his decoys and start calling, the upland bird hunter will have his dog retrieve the shot bird through the puddle and the deer hunter will sit on his butt and wonder why this day is any different than any other.
Two things that I ponder about this story; one is when are there pistol, smallbore, and highpower shooters at Perry at the same time, and two, why do I behave like a pistol shooter?
Spike,
Smallbore and high power shooters are often seen together towards the end of smallbore as the highpower guys arrive after Interservice. The pistol shooter is hanging around still hoping to find a deal on Commercial Row.
The answer to the second. Maybe you are a pistol shooter trapped in a rifle shooter’s body?
Hap