At this past N-SSA Nationals my grown son shot on his region's "All Star Team." They were doing fine in the competition until the Team Commander "botched it" in one event by shooting the targets on the WRONG FRAME!
Not only did he bust several targets on the frame of the team shooting next to our All Star Team [helping out that team tremendously] but when he busted the last one on that other team's frame he called "TIME" which "stopped the clock" on his team!
This was a "double whammy" to our All Star Team because he cut the time of the next door team by destroying several of their targets but our team was penalized because our team had 4 targets left unbroken on our frame.
Any chance our team had of winning the All Star Team Match after his blunder was "Gone With The Wind."
However, there is a rumor going around that the members of our Region are "Quick To Forgive & Forget." That rumor is incorrect because several of us took a "blood oath" to keep reminding him and his team members of his blunder "until Hell freezes over."
Shooting the targets on the wrong frame usually seems to be confined to Rookies and Skirmishers who have drilled a a peep hole in their rear sights. This probably accounts for the blunder of our All Star Team's commander. Choosing whether to use a peep or open sight is one of the "Dilemmas" Skirmishes face:
Peep Hole rear sights are acknowledged to be the most accurate form of iron sights. Matter of fact, back in the 1930's prior to the adoption of the M-1 Garand Rifle the Ordnance Department went to a lot of trouble doing research to optimize the features of the soon to be adopted Garand Rifle. For example:
The height, weight and length of arm measurements for all recruits that joined the army in a 12 month period were averaged to find the statue of the "average soldier." The stock length and drop of the Garand was designed specifically to fit that "average soldier."
Opticians and High Power Shooters that competed in the National Matches at Camp Perry were consulted and here is the "gist" of their comments.
When using open sights the human eye is supposed to do three things, all at the same time, that is impossible to do: namely focus on the notch of the rear sight, focus on the front sight and focus on the target. Unfortunately, the human eye can focus only on one thing at a time-hence the advice to shooters of open sights to focus on the "Front Sight."
With a peep sight, the human eye "automatically" centers itself on the hole in the rear sight leaf so the shooter has only two things to attempt to focus on-the front sight and the target. Hence, peep sights are more "accurate." This is why the Ordnance Department decided to use a peep rear sight on the M-1 Garand.
So the "Dilemma" that Skirmishers face is whether to use the most accurate rear sight (the peep) that makes it easy to mistakenly shoot on another team's target frame OR the "fastest" rear sight which is the open rear sight. Because the view on both sides of the open rear sight is not blocked out, then one is less likely to mistakenly shoot the targets on the wrong frame.
It is what I call "The Skirmishers Dilemma."
Oh yes, did I mention the blunder of our All Star Team Commander???????
Not only did he bust several targets on the frame of the team shooting next to our All Star Team [helping out that team tremendously] but when he busted the last one on that other team's frame he called "TIME" which "stopped the clock" on his team!
This was a "double whammy" to our All Star Team because he cut the time of the next door team by destroying several of their targets but our team was penalized because our team had 4 targets left unbroken on our frame.
Any chance our team had of winning the All Star Team Match after his blunder was "Gone With The Wind."
However, there is a rumor going around that the members of our Region are "Quick To Forgive & Forget." That rumor is incorrect because several of us took a "blood oath" to keep reminding him and his team members of his blunder "until Hell freezes over."
Shooting the targets on the wrong frame usually seems to be confined to Rookies and Skirmishers who have drilled a a peep hole in their rear sights. This probably accounts for the blunder of our All Star Team's commander. Choosing whether to use a peep or open sight is one of the "Dilemmas" Skirmishes face:
Peep Hole rear sights are acknowledged to be the most accurate form of iron sights. Matter of fact, back in the 1930's prior to the adoption of the M-1 Garand Rifle the Ordnance Department went to a lot of trouble doing research to optimize the features of the soon to be adopted Garand Rifle. For example:
The height, weight and length of arm measurements for all recruits that joined the army in a 12 month period were averaged to find the statue of the "average soldier." The stock length and drop of the Garand was designed specifically to fit that "average soldier."
Opticians and High Power Shooters that competed in the National Matches at Camp Perry were consulted and here is the "gist" of their comments.
When using open sights the human eye is supposed to do three things, all at the same time, that is impossible to do: namely focus on the notch of the rear sight, focus on the front sight and focus on the target. Unfortunately, the human eye can focus only on one thing at a time-hence the advice to shooters of open sights to focus on the "Front Sight."
With a peep sight, the human eye "automatically" centers itself on the hole in the rear sight leaf so the shooter has only two things to attempt to focus on-the front sight and the target. Hence, peep sights are more "accurate." This is why the Ordnance Department decided to use a peep rear sight on the M-1 Garand.
So the "Dilemma" that Skirmishers face is whether to use the most accurate rear sight (the peep) that makes it easy to mistakenly shoot on another team's target frame OR the "fastest" rear sight which is the open rear sight. Because the view on both sides of the open rear sight is not blocked out, then one is less likely to mistakenly shoot the targets on the wrong frame.
It is what I call "The Skirmishers Dilemma."
Oh yes, did I mention the blunder of our All Star Team Commander???????
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