Now there is a caution to all this. Simply getting the gun to go bang quickly does not mean you’ll hit anything; quite likely the opposite will be the case. Years ago, I and three other gun writers were part of an experiment designed to see how quickly we could empty the magazine of a rifle on a life-size deer target and still hit. All four of us were accomplished shots on game and experienced competitors. We were 50 yards away, and we all sucked. It was a wretched exhibition.
The reason was simple. We were so obsessed with the stopwatch and our respective times that we neglected to aim. One does not get the sight somewhere in the general vicinity of the target and yank the trigger and expect anything good to come of it.
The best advice on rapid shooting comes from the Navy SEALS: “Smooth is fast.”
If you watch skillful shots at work, you’ll notice they never seem to rush and there is an absolute minimum of movement. Not much seems to be going on, except the gun goes off and whatever was aimed at gets a charge of shot or a bullet.
One of the great examples of this took place in 1975 at the Houston Gun Club where Ithacagun was demonstrating its new Mag-10 semiauto 10 gauge on the trap field. The thing weighed more than 11 pounds and was giving everyone fits, except for the legendary, nearly mythical, Elmer Keith. Ol’ Elmer was grinding ‘em up, and an awed onlooker said:
“My god, he shoots like a rattlesnake striking.”
That’s what you’re after. Emulate the way of the serpent.
Dave Petzal was once told by his football coach that his time in the 40-yard dash should be measured with a calendar instead of a stopwatch. He has, however, through much hard work, transformed himself into a reasonably fast rifle and shotgun shooter.
