Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Fred Flintlock - On Comfortable Range Attire

Some Range Tips To Help Make Your Shooting Day A Nicer One - Maybe or Maybe Not!

If you shoot and do so regularly, you know there are a bunch of little things that can make for a less than great day at the range. I am not talking about your aim being off or some idiots who are disrupting things by acting rudely or unsafely. Sometimes you just have bad days when it comes to your shooting skills or when it comes to the luck of the draw as to who else will be at the range. The other annoying things, potential range day ruining things, that I am thinking about are things that are easily avoidable if you just use a little foresight. Most of these may seem like they should be no-brainers to the experienced shooter who spends a lot of time at the range. Truth be told though, not all shooters who go to the range always take the time out to think about what they are about to do before doing it. Not giving it just a few moments’ thought is where the problems can begin.

Now, since I don’t want to look like a moron, I am not going to admit that I was ever, in my shooting lifetime, guilty of one or two of the following transgressions, let alone several of them all in one day. So, the rest of this article will cover the shooting antics of a shooter named Fred, and the whole name is Fred Flintlock at that! Why Fred and not Bob or Carroll or Ted or Alice? I like the name Fred, anyway the name is reminiscent of Fred Flintstone who often had miserable days because he did not think before doing, or because he thought of a better way, even though the right way was within his grasp all along.

So, our intrepid shooter Fred is about to set out for a day of shooting at his local rifle & pistol range. Fred has been shooting now for about 30 years. He is no novice and thinks he knows what he is doing. Well, he should know by now but as you will see he has some of his own ideas on how to get lead downrange. He is the atypical shooter in the US of A. A male (not that gender has much to do with anything in the shooting world but most shooters are men as am I so I can better relate with Fred than Fredericka), middle aged to a bit older (yes age does have something to do with it because by his age he should no better), fairly set in his ways (LOL), fairly to very familiar with range etiquette and with the firearms he shoots, knowledgeable of firearms safety of sorts (or so he thinks) and thinks himself a stickler for it, and enjoys a good day of shooting over almost any other pastime he can enjoy. He owns several guns, would love to own a bazooka or twin Browning 30 cal. machine guns, has a good supply of ammo, and while not particularly impressed by gadgets - he does have some of them. He is sure to tell you that he has more than the average amount of the necessary know-how for helping you to get as much enjoyment out of the shooting sports as he can.

Now remember one thing: You can choose to take his advice or not. My advice would be this: Do not take Fred too seriously; in fact, you should take what he says with a grain of gunpowder salt as that is about all it is worth. Of course, you may get a laugh or two out of it - I hope so. Then again, if you listen to Fred closely, sort of between the shots, maybe you can figure what it is among what he says that is really worth learning in order to have a fun day shooting.

Without further ado, here is Shootist Extraordinaire - Fred Flintlock...





All the best,
Glenn B