Reason, Human Events, and Compassionate Conservatism

I recently came across a couple of places on the internet that I think will appeal to those of us who would like to see a reduction of violence in our society and a logical, rational approach to achieving this. The first is a blog that is chock-a-block with inspirational accounts of ordinary folks. The other is video and contains some naughtiness and may offend those of tender sensibilities but makes a compelling argument. All seem to verify Heinlein's famous statement that, "An armed society is a polite society." Really, who is against more civility?

May Match

Saturday, the usual suspects gathered for our May match. The weather was warm with a tricky wind. As usual, the ones who pay attention to things like that did better.

Utah Schuetzen Society Match May 16,2009
Schuetze/in	ASB	ASOH	IB	IOH	AGG
Paul Lambert	238	194.1	232.2	205.2	869.5
Gary Nelson	242.3	180	241.3	189	852.6
Gloria Bell	242.3	176	237.1	188	843.4
Gaylord Smith	233.1	155	242	182	812.1
Jaime Olney	238.2	203	216	152	809.2
Ron Bell	235.1	195.1	233	138	801.2
Bill Flint	237.3	155	214	176	782.3
Jon Spencer	235.3	142	221	164	762.3

Our next match will be the ISSA Match at the end of the month. One of the unofficial matches that we will have will be one for original German target rifles. It will be eleven shots and the winners will receive a special medal and a prize.

Match Announcement

One good match deserves another. We will be meeting for our monthly match on May 16, the third Saturday of the month. Besides our usual exciting matches, we will be going over plans for the ISSA Regional match at the end of the month. Please try to attend.

"Better" Saturday Match 4/11/09

Saturday, the weather was delightful except for the dark cloud cover that might have effected iron sight scores. Also, it did rain a bit and it never got much above fifty degrees but other than that we had a fine time. Scores are available here.

ISSA Rocky Mountain Regional

The 2009 ISSA Rocky Mountain Regional will be hosted by the Utah Schuetzen Society on May 29, 30, and 31. It will be held at the Lee Kay Center at 6000 West 2100 South in Salt Lake City. There will be prizes, food, camping at the range, and jaw-dropping displays of marksmanship. For more information and an advanced registration form go here. For more personal guidance call Paul Lambert at 801-943-7565 or 801-971-1034.

Match Announcement

Shooters! We will be a-gathering on Saturday at the Lee Kay Center for our first shoot of the year. We will begin at 9:00 a.m. We will shoot our usual forty round match. We will also be discussing your participation in the upcoming ISSA Regional match. So even if you are not shooting, we need to talk with you.

Shooters Over Fifty

Seems like I don't know any shooters under fifty but I came across this series of articles by a bullseye pistol shooter and an optometrist. There is a lot of interesting information here ranging from nutrition to hardware. He also claims that age is not a liability but an asset. So have some hope, oldtimers.

MNC III After Action Report

Mary's Nipple Cup III is in the history books and consigned to posterity. We had a pleasant morning to begin the competition and although the shooting lasted late into the afternoon, the weather remained pleasant and mild. Some wind in the afternoon was surely a factor during the shoot at the Bird Target as it took our experts marksmen more than one try.


Eight Zimmerbixlers participated: Paul Lambert, Jon Spencer, Gaylord Smith, Gary Nelson, Gloria Bell, Ron Bell, Bill Flint, and Daryl Butler (not shown.)

A Boeller shot commenced the competition which was underway with forty minutes afterward.

The first match, the Luck Match was won by lucky Ron Bell. The prize was a score enhancing target from the Parkenfarker Institute of Scientific Accuracy which, if used, should add points to his scores.

Ron also won the engraved silver cup with his superior off-hand skills (and luck) in the thirty shot main match.

While the scoring was being done, the shooters engaged in some sporting competition, shooting at an aspirin tablet at a dollar per shot. No accounting was done to see who the big winner was, but Gary could pay his bill afterwards.

Bill Flint took home the framed honor target with a shot to the nine ring. Thanks to Gaylord for providing the target and frame as well as copies of it for the rest of us.

The shooting for the title of Zimmerbixler King went until the seventy-second shot when Gaylord Smith knocked out the center. Originally, it was planned to have a little surprise accompany the winning center shot but, alas, the center was knocked out without the planned result. If HRH Smith fulfills his new duties faithfully, none of us will suffer thirst during the upcoming year.

Kein Kampf ohne Mampf. When the shooting quieted down and the honors had been bestowed upon the winners, the feast began. Special thanks to the ladies who brought the food, especially Frau Spencer for doing the shopping and the planning and Gloria who not only competed but also helped with the preparation and also did most of the clean up. I mentioned above that Ron is lucky, didn't I?

Mary's Nipple Cup III

MNC III

Utah Schuetzen Society

Mayfield Zimmerbixlers 2008 Mary’s Nipple Cup III

September 20 Mayfield, Utah

Matches

Glückscheibe: Five shot “Luck Target” First place prize, a competition improvement kit from PISA® guaranteed to improve off-hand scores.

Mary’s Nipple Cup: Thirty shots at 15 meters (49’3”) on standard zimmerstutzen target. First place prize, an elegant engraved silver cup.

Ich bin Bayer: While the targets are being scored, we will have one-shot target matches at $1.00 per target. Ties are to be broken with the purchase of additional targets. Winner takes all. Bring extra dollar bills. No credit.

Ehrenscheibe: One shot at an Honor Target. Highest score wins the souvenir target.

Vogelschiessen: One shot from each participant in turn, in reverse order of MNC placing, until a scoring hit is made. Winner will be declared Zimmerbixler King.

The majestic peak of Mary’s Nipple towers above the home of the simple but friendly residents of Mayfield, Utah who invite you to the third annual competition for the prized Mary’s Nipple Cup and Utah State Zimmerstutzen Championship. Match begins at 10 a.m. Sight-in table available from 8 a.m. All matches are to be fired off-hand. Arms restricted to 4mm Zimmerstutzen and .177 air rifles. No telescopic sights. No sighter targets. Hearing and eye protection required. All safety rules and ASSRA rules apply. Pre-registration encouraged. Five Dollar registration fee. Match will take place at Mayfield Zimmerbixlers’ verdant outdoor range at 70 North 200 East. Scheibentoni Jon Spencer, PO Box 429, Mayfield, Utah 84643. 435-979-9723. jon.cgs@lycos.com

August Shoot Results

As planned, the Utah Schuetzen Society met on Saturday, the sixteenth. We were a little light on participants, Ron, Gloria, but had a good match. The weather was pleasant with the wind tricky enough to present a challenge to our usual meteorological gurus Paul and Gary. However, when all the powder and lead were spent, Paul came in first with a 865-4, Bill Flint next with 819-1, and Gary with an 814-4. It might be noted that the cash awards at our matches has increased twenty fold just this year.
We also had a little business meeting where we discussed next year's ISSA Rocky Mountain Regional which we are planning for the last weekend of May, 2009. Prizes and donations can be sent to Schuetzenmeister Gary Nelson.

July Shoot

Patriotic marksmen from all over the state gathered last Saturday at the Lee Kay Center to contest the Independence Day match for the coveted George Washington medal. Ron took third place with a 831-6, Paul second with a 838-4, and Gary first with and 855-12. On the bench scope match, Gary shot a 249. One of these days, he might be sorry that we are using the ISSA targets. Being a thrifty and environmentally aware group, we are recycling our used targets into Zimmerstutzen targets. Gary, however, wanted to keep this one.

Independence Day Match

We will be celebrating our nation's independence with our own sort of
fireworks on Saturday, July 12 at the Lee Kay Center. We will have
our usual four target match at 200 yards beginning at 9:00 am. At
stake is the coveted George Washington Medal and cash prize generously
donated for the occasion.

Business to be discussed at our meeting will be the date of the August
match. We may want to schedule it for later in the month as some will
be off to Raton for the Schuetzenfest.

I am back from Germany where I was able to visit the shrine to Albert
Sterzing at the birthplace of the German Schuetzen Union. Slideshow
and lecture on request.

Suhl

On the second Saturday of June, while the membership of the Utah Schuetzen Society is enjoying the temperate climes of scenic and historical Promontory, I hope to be in Germany celebrating a Schuetzenfest and the re-opening of the arms museum in Suhl.

This city, later dubbed “The Arsenal of Europe,” has a history of armsmaking and metal work that extends back to the Bronze Age when the receding glaciers of the last ice age left malleable metal ores available to the primitive miners. The forests provided fuel and, later, the streams motive power. By the fourteenth century, the city had hammer forges. The city is also quite near an ancient trade route that extended from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. In those days most all food and fiber were produced and consumed locally. The major trade goods were salt and metal wares which the men of Suhl produced in all varieties. When firearms came into use, they were produced here in such numbers as to attract the attention of the objects of these weapons. The city, mines, forges, and workshops were destroyed during the Thirty Years War.

It is hard to keep good folks down however, and the arms industry (and those industries related to machine and metal work) flourished up to 1945 when considerable downsizing occurred after a sharp drop in demand. Manufacturers such as JP Sauer, Krieghoff, Heym, and Anschütz, although now located elsewhere in Germany, had their homes once in Suhl. It is still the home to Merkel and several smaller gunmakers.

I found this page some time ago. It has some interesting experiments especially in regards to rust. Allowing rust on a firearm is a mortal, not a venal, sin and like other sins, such as wearing a baseball cap backwards, should be avoided. Last week, on a day that it seemed that I had too much time on my hands, I took the barrel off my Stevens .40-65 to see if it would headspace correctly on my schuetzen. You know, there are days when wind is a problem. Well, it didn't but the loose Stevens threads apparently allow moisture in. I like to use WD-40 where I have used soapy water or Windex despite all the rude things said about it and have had good results up to now. I think that I will use Ballistol in the future and see if that isn't better.

May Match

Saturday we held our Mother's Day/Pentecost rifle match. The weather was clear, cool, and with a steady breeze from the north. Attendance was low as some shooters likely and mistakenly confused family obligations with their duty to The Family of Man. We shot our usual forty round match and, as usual Gary was hard to beat. He came in first with an 845, Gloria was next with an 815, and Ron third with an 811. Ron shot an impressive ASB target with a 245-6. Bench scores were pretty good as my 238 in the ASB match was only good enough for last place.

Gary also won the "King Match" but it required the fetching of the calipers to make his win over Gloria official. As our late and lamented comrade Dale used to say, "If it were easy, girls would be doing it."

Our next match will be in June at Promontory in conjunction with the Buffalo Match. Since I have duties that will be taking me away, I'll leave the organizational details to Schuetzenmeister Gary.

Jeff Cooper

Have a few days to sit in front of the Time Hole? Read what one of our country's foremost peace and civil rights activists has to say.

Jefferson Day Match

Saturday was the contest for the coveted Jefferson Medal. As I told anyone who would listen, the funds for this prize came from my own pocket. Not a small sacrifice for those who know me. As you may surmise from the photo, Paul Lambert was the champion and not only took home the medal but out shot everyone on the Honor Target. Our next match will be on the second Saturday of May. I want all you Scouts to be prepared!

Quote of the Day

On hunting hogs with a knife.
"I am not particularly brave around [live] pigs. I know how it feels to have an angry sow come after you and send you clambering up a fence. Still, give me a big sturdy assistant and a small enough pig and the right number of vicious dogs, and I think I could manage to bring home the bacon. In fact, I think that’s how Chelsea Clinton was conceived." www.hogonice.com

An Old Acquaintance

You know how it is when you hear from an old friend that you haven't seen or even thought about for years. This little guy was my constant companion from the first day that I met him. They were included in our C rations and were/are called P38's but I don't know why. Mine went on my dog tag chain and was used for a lot of reasons besides opening cans. Gapping spark plugs comes to mind. The Army said that we should use a dime to gap the plugs in our generators but when we were in RVN, dimes and all other US money were, of course, made of paper. For those of you who never needed one, you might not understand either its utility or the fondness one can have for its companionship. I can only explain by stating that they were handy. For you intellectuals, maybe it was Pavlovian. P38=Food. I quit carrying mine quite a few years ago when the blade would not stay folded in. I ran across a website today that has quite a bit of history and reminisces about them and spent a good part of the afternoon trying to find where I left mine. It would be interesting to ask a group of people who were in the army back then if they still carried them on their key chains.

Rütli Field

Rütli Field is where, according to legend, that the leaders of three Swiss cantons met on August first of 1291 and swore to defend each other. The date, which represents the beginning of Switzerland, is now the Swiss national day much like our Fourth of July and the field, a national shrine. In German, the adjective eidgenoessich (as a sworn comrade) means, literally, "Swiss." In 1940, when war was likely to engulf Switzerland with an invasion from Germany, the Swiss general Guisan, himself reputed to be sympathetic to the Nazis, called the Swiss officer corps to the iconic Rütli Field and there bade them to defend the homeland to the last bullet-and then to use their bayonets.

Of course, Germany did not invade and some of the reasons included the likely resistance of not only the Swiss Army but also the population which could produce a "rifle behind every tree." Switzerland, despite its reputation as peaceful and neutral, has always been heavily armed. I read that in the 1800's, a young man in the region of Basel, could not marry unless he could show that he owned a rifle. In contrast to the rest of modern Europe, where arms are mostly strictly controlled, the able-bodied men of Switzerland keep and use their weapons on a regular basis. Indeed, they were the model for the modern German Schuetzen movement when they banded in 1861.