SOAR’S CRACK SHOT SHOOTERS by Isaac J. Inglis

“BANG! Click. Chink. Clink. Click. BANG!” The sounds of the firing and reloading of a .22 rifle. It’s quite a simple set of sounds that were heard frequently by the Nothin’ But G’z while they were in Dubois Shooting Range in Wyoming. While here they all shot about 15 .22 caliber rounds in 3 different .22 caliber rifles, provided by Jeremy Neidens, the SOAR director of the South West group.
The Nothin’ But G’z were hanging out at the EVR, Eagle View Ranch, Base just outside of Dubois, Wyoming where they had set up camp in the snow because they could not get to upper base. It was planned to go snow-shoeing that day, but then Jeremy called and asked if the G’z would like to switch their plans and go shooting that day and snow-shoeing the next. It was majority rule and the G’z packed up their daypacks and headed down the road to meet up with Wes and The BBB, the van that is used out west called The Big Black Beast, because the ice on the roads made it to unsafe to drive with everyone in it.
At the rifle range, the G’z ate lunch and had a meeting with Jeremy about safety. Now most people would think that shooting rifles is a dangerous thing to do but, in fact, it is one of the safest things SOAR does. This is because of all the safety measures that SOAR has during this activity. Some examples are that you will always treat the rifle like it is loaded, anyone can call “STOP!” when they see something unsafe, if your rifle does not fire, keep it pointed down range for a short while and then if it still doesn’t fire, call stop and call over a staff. These are just some of the many safety procedures that are involved while shooting.
Now to get the fun part, talking about the guns and shooting them. There was much joy from the G’z when they did this activity. There were even some amazing shooters in the group, such as Isaac Inglis and Evan Anderson. II, or 2, was the crack shot with the .22 rifle, making all 5 shots in the 8 circle and 4 shots in the 9 circle! The requirement for getting shots with the Mosin-Nagant, a high power Russian rifle from World War II that shoots 7.62X53mm and 7.62X54mm rounds, was to get at least 3 shots in the 7 circle, which would grant you 1 shot with the Mossy. If you managed to get 4 shots in the 7 you got 2 shots with the Mossy, and you got 3 shots if you got all 5 .22 rounds in the 7. There were 5 circles on the grading paper with numbers ranging from 5 to 9. For size comparison on the circles just look at the circles on rifle targets.
The G’z went rifle shooting 2 times, once during the 1st week and once during 2nd week. The first time the G’z went shooting, everyone shot the .22s and Evan, Ben, Isaac I, and Isaac V got to shoot the Mosin-Nagant. There was only one round of shooting the .22s and only 1 round of shooting the Mossy. Each person took their turn, Isaac I going first with 3 shots, then IV with 2 shots, followed up by Evan with 3 shots, and finished by Ben Sacks with 2 shots. In this group the crack shot with the Mossy was Evan, who placed all his shots in a nice little pattern. If you didn’t hold the gun right then the kick from it, which is very strong, would seriously hurt your shoulder. Plus, even if you did hold it right, it would still hurt after a few shots and definitely hurt later on in the day.
The second time the G’z went shooting, they did two rounds of .22 shots. This meant that there was a chance of getting six shots with the Mossy, although no one managed to get all 6. Most everyone shot the .22, except for Whitney Theriot, A.C. Berry, and Ricky Diez. Once again 2, IV, Ben, and Evan were able to shoot the Mossy, but 2 decided to trade his 5 shots with the Mossy for another 5 shots with the .22 rifle, leaving 3 people with Mossy shots. Once again, 2 went 1st with his 5 .22 rounds, proving his title of .22 crack shot, followed by Evan with 4 Mossy shots, defending his title as Mossy crack shot, then it was IV with 5 shots, and it was finished by Ben who had 4 shots.
When shooting, you don’t look for score on the target, but rather patterns of shots. That’s why we had a clear sheet that we used to grade the shots. When it came to grading, Evan and Isaac I were at the top of the class, each using a different rifle. II was the best with the .22, he said it’s because he has the shooting genes that his grandma has. Evan was the best with the Mossy, he said it’s because shooting the Mossy scares him so much that his grip is solid and not wavering.
Shooting the rifles was an activity that everyone of the G’z enjoyed and will remember with crystal clarity. “Just the act of holding the rifle is heart pounding.” Says Isaac I, “It’s exhilarating to lay there on the mat, leg propped up to help you keep stable, as you look down the sight at your target, finger horizontal across the trigger guard, and you breath in and out. Then you take a deep breath, steady your hands, slip your pointer finger onto the trigger, and pull it slowly so you don’t jerk the gun away from your target. The gun roars, kicks back against your shoulder, and the bullet whizzes towards your target. You lie there for a second and let out your breath and take in another. After that you look up from the sight, slide the stock of the gun back under your arm. You lift your trigger arm up to the bolt action, flick it up, and slide it back, releasing the bullet cartridge, sending it spinning through the air. After that you reach down for another round and place it into the chamber, then you slide the action back into place, raise the rifle back up to your eye and get ready for another shot.”