Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
I know, some of you are rolling your eyes and thinking, "There he goes again".
Not quite.
"Wear Marks" are how I describe putting rounds through your shotgun, whether for competition, training or fun. Or all of the above.
"Shoot safely, shoot often" is how Jim Scoutten puts it.
Nothing, not Net advice, video games or reading The Tablets of Stone in The Temple of The Shotgun Gods will make us good shots.
Shooting our shotguns, using good form, technique and fit will.
So when I see pics on the net of new looking, black shotguns loaded down with 4 lbs of accessories,I remain unimpressed.
Show me a pic of you with a grin worthy of a Bull possum standing in a pile of empty hulls with a pumpgun gone shiny on the action bars, then I shall be more inclined to accept your input as of merit.
But not all wear marks are on the gun, some are on us.
I've used shotguns for about 50 years, and it shows.
While arthritis rages rampant through my aged frame, the worst of it is in my right shoulder. More than 50K shells, and I've no idea how many more, have exacerbated the condition.
I've a serious hearing loss in both ears. When I started shooting around 1950, hearing protection was unknown. It's worse on the left side, the side more towards the muzzle when shooting a shotgun.
On the right side of my face at the jaw line, there's a small place that is not as sensitive as the rest of my face. It's where the stock touches, and all those rounds seems to have reduced feeling there.
This is NOT a plea for sympathy. I rather enjoyed reaching this state of decrepitude and look forward to more of the same.
And some wear marks do not show readily.
If I hear geese when I'm outside, I look to see them without turning my body. A lesson from the goose blind so ingrained it's unconscious.
If I'm walking outside and a bird flushes ahead, even a robin, I stop with my left foot forward as if to mount and shoot. My eyes follow the bird as if they are stuck to it. And I know when it's out of range.
And some wear marks show up only in memory, with dogs dead for 30 years and relatives also gone. Memories of a certain Christmas hunt, a dove shoot that was bittersweet, and plenty of hits and misses.
What wear marks do you have?.....
Not quite.
"Wear Marks" are how I describe putting rounds through your shotgun, whether for competition, training or fun. Or all of the above.
"Shoot safely, shoot often" is how Jim Scoutten puts it.
Nothing, not Net advice, video games or reading The Tablets of Stone in The Temple of The Shotgun Gods will make us good shots.
Shooting our shotguns, using good form, technique and fit will.
So when I see pics on the net of new looking, black shotguns loaded down with 4 lbs of accessories,I remain unimpressed.
Show me a pic of you with a grin worthy of a Bull possum standing in a pile of empty hulls with a pumpgun gone shiny on the action bars, then I shall be more inclined to accept your input as of merit.
But not all wear marks are on the gun, some are on us.
I've used shotguns for about 50 years, and it shows.
While arthritis rages rampant through my aged frame, the worst of it is in my right shoulder. More than 50K shells, and I've no idea how many more, have exacerbated the condition.
I've a serious hearing loss in both ears. When I started shooting around 1950, hearing protection was unknown. It's worse on the left side, the side more towards the muzzle when shooting a shotgun.
On the right side of my face at the jaw line, there's a small place that is not as sensitive as the rest of my face. It's where the stock touches, and all those rounds seems to have reduced feeling there.
This is NOT a plea for sympathy. I rather enjoyed reaching this state of decrepitude and look forward to more of the same.
And some wear marks do not show readily.
If I hear geese when I'm outside, I look to see them without turning my body. A lesson from the goose blind so ingrained it's unconscious.
If I'm walking outside and a bird flushes ahead, even a robin, I stop with my left foot forward as if to mount and shoot. My eyes follow the bird as if they are stuck to it. And I know when it's out of range.
And some wear marks show up only in memory, with dogs dead for 30 years and relatives also gone. Memories of a certain Christmas hunt, a dove shoot that was bittersweet, and plenty of hits and misses.
What wear marks do you have?.....
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