Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Went to camp with my 13 year olde. He had never shot a shotgun before. We reviewed rituals of father-son….follow the clay pigeon …lead the ….ad nauseum. His eyes glazed and I said “Give it a try.”
3 clays. 3 powdered. “Dad, it’s just like the video game I play, with more noise.”
As Popeye used to say “Well, blow me down!”
Carry on.
I grew up in Central Texas and was raised from a wee one to love guns and dove hunting. Truth to tell…I really do love guns and bird hinting. However, yours truly was a lousy wing shot. Something like 2 birds per box of shells. None of the guys I grew up with could understand, until they went bird hunting with me for the first time, why I always brought along enough ammo to fight a South American revolution….Good thing I never fancied becoming a Navy ace.
Been there and done that. Fine bonding experience. Now let me ask the meaningful question. How much earlier in flight was the bird pulverized. That is what I found most interesting.
I could still out gun ‘im, but his misses and hits were much earlier in the flight path. Ah, youthful reflexes and eye sight..
Son taller than father [and mine is]–minor source of irritation
Son shoots better than father [and mine does]–major source of pride
Women baffled by both reactions–I guess it’s just a Dad thing.
Speaking of youthful reflexes and eyesight, I wish there was an autoloader 12 gauge that fired proximity-fuse shells. With a ginormous ring sight–like the one on a 20mm Oerlikon mount.
A flak screen for kamikaze sporting clays…
Son shoots better than father [and mine does]?
Son shoots better than father [and mine does]–major source of pride
Maybe it’s because son’s level of skill can be attributed to father’s instruction (which, was of course, superb)?
*shrug* Just thinking…
FbL :
Aw shucks, Ma’am [bowing deeply]–would that it were so.
Safety, yes–I emphasize that, as I’m sure Lex does with SNO.
But ability and skill, well–that is his own. I just have the pleasure of watching it unfold.
I’ve only shot anything with shotguns a few times.
But my #1 daughter often beat me (and about half the men, and most of the best competitive women shooters) at muzzleoading rifle meets.
Which made for some truly excellent weekends, to my way of thinking. (And I just found out that she and son-in-law now have set up a range on their property out in Minnesota. Get to try it out next month.)
Hubby and I are about equal in terms of our shooting skills. Our son, for whose benefit we re-acquainted ourselves with the whole discipline, has now lost interest in the long-barrelled version of the sport (typical son behaviour.)
So he has just acquired a pistol licence, (in Australia this is the equivalent of being given the Crown Jewels to guard) and is bloody good. Worse than that, WE don’t have pistol licenses, and therefore can’t even HANDLE his weapons legally.
Doesn’t he love that!