This is a good one, too



tac

Almost every village in Switzerland has its own 300m rifle range and 25m pistol range - the rationale behind it is simple, Switzerland really DOES have a citizen armed forces made up of the ordinary Joe. Sunday consists going to church, a light lunch and then the afternoon on the range.

Not a lot of things better than that, eh?

Well, yes, the Eidgenossisches Feldschiessen is a LOT better - 127’840 Teilnehmer am 2017 Eidgenössischen Feldschiessen - and boys and girls from age 14 compete against each other - http://stephenhalbrook.com/articles/swiss_teen_rifle_festival.html

tac

gunny123 wrote: »

What i liked was the target system. No spotting scopes, tv, and video cameras or any of that, you shoot and your score pops up on the display.

We have that already in a lot of Irish ranges though. It's easier and cheaper with 10m airgun but the systems are available for everything involving a bullseye target up to centerfire rifle stuff at pretty long ranges. It just gets more expensive as you go up because it gets harder to make them so they'll last (you're essentially making a sensitive electronics system that will sit out in the rain and the mud while people shoot at it; it's not trivial to do that right )

Also can you imagine the poo-storm if you tried to open a range like that in Ireland, facing the back of someones house ? The phoneline to Joe Fluffy would go into meltdown.

If it was a centerfire rifle range pointed at the back of someone's house (as in, where their house would be the backstop) I think I'd call Joe Fluffy myself, that'd be insane.
But we've already had/still have ranges for smaller calibres that were/are like that. They're just indoors so that nobody gets too nervous. Firearms and the Irish public aren't overly familiar with each other in any good ways given our modern history...

Sparks wrote: »

Lindybeige? Essentially, amateur historian with a particular interest in ancient soldiering and ancient logistics. Has a lot of entertaining youtube bits taking the swords-and-sandals genre of films to pieces pointing out their really god-awful errors.

Sometimes he's funny and sometimes he's a PITA. He's a bit like Marmite, I guess.

tac

gunny123 wrote: »

Like centurions wearing wrist watches in ben-hoor ?

Also in El Cid.

tac

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Not to mind the jet contrail over the circus maximus in the chariot race start up parade.Fierce advanced lot in ancient Rome.:D

And 20 metre tramlines in the wheat fields in Gladiator ;D

Nah,they stole the broadcast power from the Atlantians along with all their other technology.:P:P[ Took Mr Tesla to rediscover that idea in the 20th century.] So if they were that smart,isnt it then possible they invented wrist watches too so the film is actually historicaly accurate??
As Abe Linclon ,the famous vampire hunter and US president said "never belive everything you read on the internet."

Gunny123 - I actually handled one of these beautiful guns at a gun show in Seattle a couple of years ago.

It points like a shotgun and, I'm told, with a suitable calibre it stops stuff like the footprint of G*d.

It was also for sale, and at $35,000 it had gone by the end of the show. The artisan who makes these astonishing rifles is well into his eighties, and with the best will in the world there won't be that many more of them coming.

I'd spend my money like a shot - so to speak.

tac

Saw another thread that had reference to the word 'sniper'.

Is the origin of the word associated with the snipe bird?

I always thought the term "Sharp shooter" also derived from the not so Wild West ,with the professional buffalo hunters.As they mostly used the Sharps rifle for decimating herds.It simply became Western slang to refer to a bufflo hunter as a "sharp shooter"

What a day today, folks!!! Guest day at our club and an unprecedented number of taker-uppers of member's friends, co-workers and relations. Almost a hundred showed up today, including about 45 guests of all ages, from 9 to 80 y/o.

I drug along my .58cal Musketoon carbine, a muzzle-loader from 1861, a .45.70 Govt Winchester High Wall from 1885, and my Ruger Old Army .44cal BP revolver.

All the .45-70 Govt loads were BP, too, so the smoke was thick and smelly, AND dirty, I'm happy to relate. Nobody who shot any of them went away without a great cheesy grin, even the 9 y/o shooting the Musketoon, although I DID reduce the load for him by about half.

Stats for my collection -

22 shots of 535gr Minié ball over 65gr of FFg.

1 shot of ditto over ca.30gr of FFg.

32 rounds of .45-70 Govt with 405g lead bullets

8 x cylinder loads [48] shots of 145gr ball over 30gr of 3Fg in the revolver, mostly by folks who had never handled ANY kind of handgun before, let alone a fire-breathing whomper like the ROA.

...and afterwards, the compulsory bar-b-q, of course.

A great day, for sure.

tac

You are absolutely right, Sir. Sadly, all the people that I've had a part in introducing to shooting over the years have actually asked to have try. I've never actually encountered a truly anti-gun person that I managed to get to come along to a shoot session. Like many shooters, I seem to have acquired only friends who are also shooters, like me.

It's like the old story about the Garda going to a school to talk to the kids about the dangers of talking to strangers. One little lad in the front row put his hand up, and remarked 'I don't know any strangers...'

Same here, all our friends either shoot or don't. If they don't it's not because they are against shooting per se, just that it does not hold any interest for them.

Odd to think that there ARE people with that kind of mindset, but it takes all kinds, right?

tac

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Sounds like a brilliant day, Tac.
I brought the wife clay pigeon shooting today for the first time in her life. She started with the 391 Beretta, but one guy had his 10 year old kids lovely little Franchi 20 bore o/u and offered it to her to try. She got on great with it , still talking about it tonight ........

Unless Mrs Neckarsulm had a job, your generosity is going to cost you dearly.

tac