The world needs more of this. This lovely young woman is doing something that is vital for the shooting sports: promoting the very real “Joy of Shooting.” Asserting the Second Amendement-ensured right of armed self-defense is important, but it is equally vital to communicate the value of the sporting aspect of the culture.
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To paraphrase the Waylon Jennings (Bob Allen) song, it’s a measure of people who don’t understand the pleasures of life … as a shooter. For many people — perhaps most — their exposure to and understanding of guns is primarily (or entirely) negative, shaped by news of terrible acts committed by shitbirds. They are not as fortunate as most of us here to have a point of reference that echoes Thomas Jefferson’s axiom as written to his nephew Peter Carr:
“…A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks.”
Long-time readers know that the gun is my constant companion in primary forms of exercise — hiking and my kettlebell workouts at Zimmerman Butte. For me, shooting has a very similar effect to music and the martial arts, which disciplines I also avidly pursue. They are centering — a means of shutting out the noise and being fully present in the moment. They are constant works-in-progress, gloriously impossible to master, offering endless tests and challenges for growth.
As Kirsten Joy Weiss asserts:
Shooting is Therapeutic. It’s Energizing. It Empowers the Senses. It Challenges. It Entertains. It Imparts Joy.
There can be no better ambassador for “gun culture” than an effervescent young woman of unquestionable skill, who zeros in on the many and very real positive benefits to be reaped from making your gun your constant companion.
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Ms. Weiss is walking in some dainty-but-imposing bootprints. There was a glorious age in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when shooting was at the forefront of sport in the United States and across Europe. Exhibition shooting was a key feature of live entertainment, particularly in Wild West Shows, which were extraordinarily popular.
No shooter was more renowned than Annie Oakley, named by Sitting Bull himself “Little Sure Shot.”
Little Sure Shot. Art by Morgan Weistling.
Like Weiss, Annie Oakley was an ambassador for a way of life built around the gun.
If we can ever return to a day when schools field shooting teams and the broad popular culture sees the gun as a boon companion for a healthy way of life it will be because young folks like Kirsten Joy Weiss lead the way. A tip o’ the hat to her.
Rick Schwertfeger says
Bravo! Truly, I read this while eating lunch just before grabbing the Baretta 12 gauge and heading out for an afternoon of shooting sporting clays. It’s another gorgeous “winter” day here in Austin, and Dr. George and I will be aiming to blast those orange and black flying targets out of the sky. We’ll be applying some passion, commitment, and concentration to the challenges of hitting targets going a variety of speeds and arcs, going every which way from straight at us to straight away and every angle that course setter Tony can come up with. We’ll be helping each other, enjoying each other’s successes, and laughing about the ones we don’t hit. And, we’ll be having a damn good time!
Keith West says
Great post, Jim. I need to get back to shooting guns in addition to shooting bows.
JimC says
Thanks Keith. How have you been?
Keith West says
Busy. I’m hoping things will settle down in a week or two after classes get going. Although my son is graduating high school in a few months, so things are probably going to be hopping.
JimC says
That’s a major milestone, and the foot never seems to come off the accelerator. I’m still adjusting to the idea that my daughter is a junior in college and headed abroad for a term.
Jim Callow says
Annie Oakley once had an exhibition shoot in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show over in Germany in the late 1800’s. The Kaiser wanted her to shoot a cigar in half that he was holding in his mouth. She made the shot, but can you imagine how many lives she might’ve saved had she killed him instead?
JimC says
Hinge of fate…
John Roberts says
I’ve read it was a cigarette.
wayne says
For an excellent novel about that period, find a copy of Brian Garfield’s Wild Times.
JimC says
One of my all-time favorites.
Breaker Morant says
My daughter’s college room-mate is an aspiring Olympic shooter. She chose the college which is a long way from her home because the shooting coach is a big guy in Olympic shooting circles.
Plus, at home they have Rhodesian Ridgebacks, which is cool enough by itself.
JimC says
Yes indeed.
.lane batot says
Yes INDEED! If they have any pups that need a home,just let me know……
Breaker Morant says
Oh, and counter-intuitively, trap shooting is a fast-growing sport in high school circles. The fun thing is that it draws in many kids who aren’t in other activities.
Just Google “Trap Shooting High school growth” or something like that. Maybe a good topic for you. Or I could put something together for you on it.
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/trapshooting-americas-fastest-growing-high-school-sport/
JimC says
Deal! Send to editor@nuggetnews.com.
Ugly Hombre says
https://www.meoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/i-aint-afraid-to-love-a-man-i-aint-afraid-to-shoot-him-either.jpg
All ladies should learn how to handle a gun, even if just the basics-
More power to Ms Weiss!
Great post!