Where in the world was Meryl this morning? Up in the Poconos, taking her nephew shooting in 6 degree weather (-2 when factoring in the wind chill).
He had a great time.
So did I. We’ll have an even better time if he gets a chance to visit me in Richmond, where we can shoot indoors. Or at least, if we go outside, in much warmer weather.
22 out of 25 in trap shooting the first time you’ve ever shot a real shotgun is pretty damned good. My nephew is, as my father would say, a chip off the old block. Dad was a marksman in the army in WWII.
Nephew is joining the Marines. He’ll be in boot camp in a couple of months, unless a slot opens up sooner. Things are going to get very different this year.
Congratulations on having so excellent a nephew.
Good luck to Number One Nephew at Parris Island, and whereever else he travels to the four corners of the Globe and Anchor.
Great job! I had a great Jewish couple in my ccw class today. As I was explaining the workings of a revolver the wife started up a conversation about her husband being in the IDF, and having fought in four wars. I thanked him, got to shake his hand, and uttered the only Hebrew I know. “Am Yishrael Chia” (spelling, sorry) Thanks again Meryl! I’ve never seen such a smile before.
It’s good to see people taking the responsibility to protect themselves.
Lastly…
8 SHOTS FOR TEN BUCKS?! What a rip off. Send him to me in Detroit. I’ll let him rip off as many rounds as he wants. Wait two weeks and I’ll have my newest AR, and I’ll let him break her in.
Make sure he runs his ass off every day while he waits. That’s the best thing he can do right now. Run. Do his exercises. And run some more.
Semper Fi!
Yeah, it was a bit expensive, but I didn’t want to bring my guns to NJ and get arrested, and it costs even more in NJ to go shooting. Woulda cost about twice as much at a range I was looking at in central/South Jersey. I can rent two weapons for ten bucks at my range, and pay for ammunition by the box, not by the round. They have AR-15s, too.
He does PT six days a week. He is in shape, my nephew is. And a damned good shot already. Also pretty good company.
Long_Rifle, great story on the “Am Yisrael Chai.” You have some idea of how much the Israeli appreciated hearing it, but I’m sure it was one of the last things he ever expected to hear from a stranger—especially a non-Jewish one. Glad to know that I helped put a smile on his face.
Meryl,
Kudos to your nephew and give him my thanks for his service to our country.
Forgot to mention that although I have never served in the armed forces my brother was in the Marines for 20 years, 10 active and 10 reserve.
There’s only one military force I respect as much as the Marines. And that’s the IDF. Just as there’s no such thing as a former Marine, there’s no such thing as a former IDF soldier. I still respect the rest of our military of course. But the reality is the Marines are the tip of the spear, and so I hold them a bit higher then the rest.
Seeing them do more with less mirrors exactly the crap Marines have to go to get anything:
“Take that hill. Do it with a quarter of the men the army would use. And oh, here’s the equipment we’re willing to give you that the navy and the army mothballed 15 years ago.”
Remind him of rule number one: “DON’T VOLUNTEER FER NUTHING!” And he’ll be fine.
Actually there are some other important rules to remember:
Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lay down and never stay awake when you can sleep.
Never go first, never go last, never volunteer.
What MOS is your nephew going into?
He wants to go into artillery, but of course, that will be up to the Marines. He has a few ideas about what he wants to do. My nephew is a bright, funny, articulate young man. I think he’ll get out of boot camp with a stripe.
My uncle was a marksmanship instructor in the army, and gave another good piece of advice: “Never use a muscle if you can use a bone.”
I don’t understand what that means, Yankev.
A friend of mine went into the Marines at the end of Carter’s time. Having gone through Boot Camp he heads off to Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Pendleton. At home he liked to hike in the Cascade mountains for fun.
So the first day at ITR the staff took the company out on a long hike. My friend was walking along, enjoying the scenery, when after some hours the Platoon Sergeant turned to him and asked “Cox, aren’t you tired yet?” My friend suddenly realized that every other private had fallen out from exhaustion. The whole idea was to march them into the ground in order to toughen them up physically.
He replied “Aw Hell, Platoon Sergeant, back home I do this for fun.”
Six degrees? Good training for the Hindu Kush. I’ve never heard of anyone getting 22 out of 25 on trap first time out. That ranks in the Holly Sh*t!! range. He’s a shoo in for Designated Marksman. Tell him to hold out for a M-14. M-14? Ya, I’m a fossil.