God, Guns And Gold!

I haven’t honestly watched so much as a second of the Olympics – any Olympics – since watching the biking events in 2012 while I was stuck sick in a hotel room.

The current Tokyo games have been marred by Covid hysteria and parts of the US Team mistaking their celebrity for a social mandate.

But there are still some reasons to cheer. The US shooting team is not only taking home the jewelry…

….but got a surprisingly evenhanded treatment from the left-leaning Guardian:

…marksmanship aficionados were treated to the slightly less refined spectacle of Piers Morgan sniping on Twitter as an American won the first gold medal of the Rio Games and USA Shooting, the governing body, firing back by accusing the gun-control advocate of trolling.

Morgan’s facile argument: it is no wonder that a country of 330 million people with an estimated 400 million guns in circulation and a serious homicide problem is good at shooting. “What we do out here on the skeet fields and on the rifle range has nothing to do with crime and violence,” Matt Suggs, the chief executive of USA Shooting, said.

The US is indeed the all-time medal leader, with roughly as many gold medals as the next three countries (China, Russia and Italy) combined. But Ginny Thrasher’s first-day success in the 10-metre air rifle was the US’s only shooting gold of the 2016 Games, while top-ranked Italy won four. Though the US has a large number of competitive shooters, they are not necessarily taking aim in the international disciplines featured in the Olympics.

Because street criminals are the ones moving up to the Olympic team. And to think we accuse leftists of being bovine intellectual herd animals.

Having just shot skeet for the first time earlier this month, I’m a little in awe of my nephews’ facility at blasting clays – and a lot in awe of the kind of shooting the serious competitors do.

9 thoughts on “God, Guns And Gold!

  1. Ah Piers Morgan. The commenter that’s still looking for a niche. I would like to introduce him to two tailgating buddies of mine, who are former British subjects. One hails from Wales and the other from Leeds. After they married a couple of fine looking Minnesota women, they became citizens. My cousin and I introduced them to shooting clays about 15 years ago and they were hooked. I am always amused when I see the reaction to their British accents from other shooters. What I’m not amused by is them kicking my backside 8 out of ten times. One would think that a guy that’s been shooting trap and skeet since he was 12 would have a better showing. 😃

  2. Hard to believe basketball got admitted as an international sport while pétanque and pelota still languish on the sidelines.

  3. On Wednesday evenings, the Oakdale Gun Club has “Novice Night” open to the public to try trap shooting, to build interest and membership. $5 a round and if you don’t have your own shotgun, someone will lend you theirs.

    I attended a couple of years ago, shot a round with my new side-by-side, did poorly. Stood next to a kid waiting for my next round. He was about 17, tall, skinny. He said something like, “You’re not following through on your swing” but I ignored him. I’ve been shooting 40 years, what does he know? Then I watched the kid smoke 25 in a row and another bystander said, “Yeah, he’s the captain of the Tartan High School trap team. They have a match this weekend, he’s just here for a little extra practice.” Felt about two inches tall.

    The kids are alright. And they’re not on the streets shooting 9’s held sideways. They’re on the range, turning clays into dust. Piers Morgan is an idiot.

  4. My youngest daughter competed in Biathlon while in high school. One of her teammates made it as an alternate to the Olympics in Turino. Try it sometime. Cross country ski carrying a rifle on a hilly course for a couple of clicks, shoot at targets 50 meters away, repeat several times. Missing a target calls for a time penalty of skiing extra distance before the next ski loop.

  5. JD,

    “Not following through on your swing”?

    Are you sure you were at the range and not the golf course? 😎

  6. Two years ago my wife and I were in Ireland, and went out to Newgrange, the neolithic tomb construction that predates Stonehenge. It’s in a rural area, and as we waited in the staging area for the tour to start a distinctive sound and rhythm came from over the hill. Shotguns. Several in the group looked a little distressed at the sounds, but I asked the guide, “You have shooting tournaments here?” We’d arrived in the weekend of an annual event.

  7. A five year old story? Really Mitch? You are just mailing it in now? Put in a little effort, will yea!

  8. Just got my bi weekly propaganda email from Dean Phillips. Interestingly, his last item touted his participation in the annual Congressional Clays Competition with Democrat and GOP colleagues. He claims that he is a sportsman and is conveniently shown in a group picture, holding a shotgun. There is a young women standing next to him, also holding a shotgun.

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