The following was originally posted on the NSSF’s blog and is reprinted here with permission.
We here at NSSF were somewhat bemused over the controversy that sprang from President Obama’s assertion that he shot skeet on a regular basis, and the second wave of commentary that attended the White House release of a photo to prove it. There’s a reason we’re citing the New York Times coverage in the link above — we’ll get to that later . . .
The assertion came as no surprise to us, because NSSF sponsored and oversaw the renovation of the skeet field at Camp David. We provided one of the industry’s top facilities consultants, and donated tens of thousands of dollars of machinery, consulting and oversight to build the regulation field. We provided countless hours of shotgun and safety instruction as well. We were honored to provide this service for the office of the Presidency, and our investment appears to be paying off by recruiting new shooters. Welcome, Mr. President.
In the same vein, we can offer the president some constructive advice on his shooting. Mr. President, try leaning a little further forward into the shot to better manage recoil. Keep your feet about shoulder width apart, and put more weight on your leading foot. You appear to be shooting a gun with “neutral cast,” to wit, a straight stock. Since you’re shooting left-handed, you may want to look into a different stock cast to better accommodate you. And if you’re going to get a custom gun, make sure they measure your length of pull first. Proper gun fit makes an enormous difference in accuracy, and thus in your enjoyment of the sport.
You may also want to try out the semiautomatic shotguns that another one of our member companies donated to Camp David. These too come in left-handed versions, which eject the spent casing to your left, instead of to the right as is customary. No matter which way the case ejects when you shoot the semiautomatic, you’ll notice that the gun still only shoots one round per pull of the trigger, just like the over/under you’re shooting in the picture.
In fact, the semiautomatic shotguns are functionally identical to all the semiautomatic firearms that Senator Dianne Feinstein has proposed to ban in her sweeping new legislation, S. 150. We feel like we have to keep repeating that fact, because many of the media voices that consider themselves learned scholars on gun policy don’t even know the difference between a rifle and a shotgun, for heaven’s sake. Note that The New York Times article has a correction at the bottom of the page, because it originally said that you were shooting a rifle in the picture — a mistake quickly repeated by dozens of other media outlets. Many of these same media outlets have been quick to editorialize about which guns Americans should and should not be allowed to own, when apparently they wouldn’t know a rifle or a shotgun from a barn door. Go figure.
You’re wearing both eye and ear protection, which are required, but a shooting vest and some custom earplugs might make you more comfortable – those earmuffs can get clammy on a hot day. Finally, a note to the photographer: It’s better policy to stand directly behind the shooter on any active range, because it’s safer and besides, you can see (and snap, if you’re quick) whether he hit the target.
Gun owners, by the way, have only a few short weeks before we see whether the Congress puts a target on our Second Amendment rights. We urge you and all our elected lawmakers to know your target, which is the criminal misuse of firearms, not arbitrary limits on which guns and magazines law-abiding citizens can legally purchase. Don’t aim the gun of heavy-handed restrictions and regulations at anything you’re not willing to destroy, including the hundreds of thousands of jobs our industry provides. Did you know that new restrictions on gun and ammunition purchases will also damage wildlife conservation programs? That’s because our nation’s federal conservation grants are funded primarily by the excise taxes on gun and ammo sales.
So the outcome of this pending legislative debate is very important. And believe me, we’re watching that even more closely than the pictures of you shooting a shotgun at Camp David.
If you think about it – it is in his best interest to keep people disarmed, scared, demoralized and perhaps even nihilistic in their homes watching Hollywood stupidity on their Retard Box. Also I am sure the sociopath wants to be on Obama’s good side so he is invited to the White House…It makes the infantile Hollywood twits feel impotent.
… and I root for the wrong Iowa team.
Thanks for keeping all other silly political statements out of it. Finally. And, thanks most for your service to our great nation!
I still go by my reply in an earlier thread about this…
PHOTOSHOPPED!
NSSF should have called out the occupier in the WH!
History is written by the “winners” and the lefties seem to think that re-writing history makes them the winners.
Who controls the present controls the past.
Who controls the past controls the future.
I enjoy the level of snark in this, I enjoy it very much.
Perfection. This is the same exact kind of sarcasm I use at work. I love it.
That press release is full-to-bursting with WIN, especially the paragraph that starts with “functionally identical.” Someone had a lot of fun penning that.
If the grabbers are hoping to drive a wedge between target shooters and 2A adherants they’ve clearly failed with the NSSF.
it’s refreshing to see opinions like this rising to visibility in the community. let’s face it, the republican party is in shambles right now. house repubs are NOT guaranteed to vote “no” to things like a 10 round magazine cap limit. to think otherwise is SUPREMELY naive and in the end WILL sink us.
is it our ideal? hell no! but like it or not we’re backed into a corner and EVERYTHING is at stake. THEY have the upper hand.
we are NOT fighting for the opinions of the extremists. we are fighting for the opinions of those non-gun people in the middle politically. if they see us staunchly and stubbornly “clinging to our guns” without even the slightest inclination to “compromise” we have already lost them. BUT. if we can show them that we ARE willing to “work with the opposition” our chances in the long run are MUCH better. if we were to propose something like this, THEN we have the “moral high ground” to be able to say “hey, we’re willing to meet you in the middle on this.”. the non-gun public WILL see that and it WILL look good for us in their eyes.
i KNOW it’s not in the spirit of the 2A to make a move like this, but to hold unswervingly to that POV is NOT a luxury we have at the moment.
i FULLY support something like this and hope that more people will take a step back (into our current reality) and give it a second thought…
Did anyone else note he uses a shotgun with a ported barrel compensator, but having a threaded barrel for attaching a compensator to other firearms is one of the evil features he wants to ban?
Exactly. Public discourse about gun control is very much like those petitions that go around from time to time about ending women’s suffrage or banning dihydrogen monoxide. The only difference is that gun control activists are being serious.
Thanx.
Thanks for posting, Gwen. Good to see an increasing number of women making themselves known.
This is the gun that “was used in the shooting” that was THEN found locked in the trunk of the car? And now they’re saying it got out and killed after all?
SUCKERS.
America. A Nation of rule under law.
“In the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, a Bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited and for other purposes.”
“The Act may be cited as the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013”.
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons
Objections anyone? And upon what grounds, if any?
“Gun owners, by the way, have only a few short weeks before we see whether the Congress puts a target on our Second Amendment rights.”
Since the Federal government grants only certain, specified and limited rights to the people via the Second Amendment, they must therefore ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.
Simple. Really.
I understand why they shaped it like a gun, because they are using it as a precision tagging device, but for mobs wouldnt it be more effective to just incorporate the DNA into a hose like system and spray down the rioters? Would make it a lot easier to tag several people at once…and it would help disperse the crowd.
Must make for good target practice.
Hal Jordan?! It can’t be!!!
Lmao good to see a fellow armed geek!! Welcome!
Oh no! He has Role Playing game dice on shelf! He must be into the occult and devil worship!
Oh, sorry. I reverted back to 80’s Tipper Gore style religious panic.
Glad to have you on-board Dan! Please keep spreading the pro-second amendment cheer (and indeed, as you say, ALL of the ammendments)!
Methinks when it all goes sideways be it financial collapse, martial law, many other scenarios, Dorner is going to have much company. Collectively we are very weary of the “justice” departments.