Lets make Friday 'Joke Day'!

Dang. Last November we took our daughters, one fiancee and our two granddaughters on the train ride out of Waynesville NC. When we were walking back to the parking lot I didnt notice a step down in the rain and stumbled and eventually fell. I laughed but apparently I'm old... :(
 
"Vintage," my friend. The word you want is vintage.

(My wife says I'm like a good wine; I'd age better if I were kept in a rack in a dark basement with my mouth tightly corked.)

Well, certainly you might live longer
 
Been there, done that. Twice, before I learned to not walk so close to the hitch at night.

And just looking at that makes my shins hurt...
Yeah no kidding… I swear those things go out of their way to get you.
 
I had far more injuries from my trailer than from my race car.

Yup. From a loaded enclosed trailer falling on my right lower leg to 55 gallon fuel drums landing on my feet, plus a couple receiver hitches to the shin, it is a wonder I can walk at all.!!
 
We had a guy who kinda converted from a rifle guy, was on the Army rifle team, to a pistol guy, when he shot at a match in Puerto Rico in the summer. The pistol guys were all in shorts and t-shirts, while the rifle guys were wallowing around on the ground in the 100 degree heat in those heavy leather coats.

There may be more to the story, but any sport where you can stand around with one hand in your pocket while wearing sneakers has something going for it.
 
We had a guy who kinda converted from a rifle guy, was on the Army rifle team, to a pistol guy, when he shot at a match in Puerto Rico in the summer. The pistol guys were all in shorts and t-shirts, while the rifle guys were wallowing around on the ground in the 100 degree heat in those heavy leather coats.

There may be more to the story, but any sport where you can stand around with one hand in your pocket while wearing sneakers has something going for it.
That was exactly my journey. I shot on a pretty good varsity rifle team in college. Three-position free rifle. All the hot and heavy gear, pretty much the guy in the 'nosewheel pilots' side of the meme above. I was working towards a slot on the national team, but upon graduation I decided it was time to switch to a shooting discipline that was less gear-intensive, and not so friggin' hot in the summer. So I started over with free pistol and precision air pistol and never looked back.

How much did the rifle guys sweat? I was at a World Cup in Rio many years ago; the national range had a bar on premises, and doping control set up in a side room they had available. I believe they were testing the top three finishers in each event, plus two more at random, though I wasn't a member of either group... Anyway, the pistol shooters would come in, produce a urine sample, and leave. The rifle shooters were generally too dehydrated after the match, so they were given a beer and left to chill in the bar for half an hour before their drug testing. I found that hilarious.
 
That was exactly my journey. I shot on a pretty good varsity rifle team in college. Three-position free rifle. All the hot and heavy gear, pretty much the guy in the 'nosewheel pilots' side of the meme above. I was working towards a slot on the national team, but upon graduation I decided it was time to switch to a shooting discipline that was less gear-intensive, and not so friggin' hot in the summer. So I started over with free pistol and precision air pistol and never looked back.

How much did the rifle guys sweat? I was at a World Cup in Rio many years ago; the national range had a bar on premises, and doping control set up in a side room they had available. I believe they were testing the top three finishers in each event, plus two more at random, though I wasn't a member of either group... Anyway, the pistol shooters would come in, produce a urine sample, and leave. The rifle shooters were generally too dehydrated after the match, so they were given a beer and left to chill in the bar for half an hour before their drug testing. I found that hilarious.
I honestly hate that all of the gear is even allowed. Give them a set of open sights, and a plane rifle (or pistol) without any stabilizers, arm sleeves, or other goofy add-ons. Same with archery. Use a basic compound bow without all of the accuracy aids. Heck, make it a long bow and call it a day.
 
I honestly hate that all of the gear is even allowed. Give them a set of open sights, and a plane rifle (or pistol) without any stabilizers, arm sleeves, or other goofy add-ons. Same with archery. Use a basic compound bow without all of the accuracy aids. Heck, make it a long bow and call it a day.
100 percent agree. It gets to the point where it’s not so much personal skill as what equipment you have. Which IMO seems to defeat the purpose of the Olympics.
 
I honestly hate that all of the gear is even allowed. Give them a set of open sights, and a plane rifle (or pistol) without any stabilizers, arm sleeves, or other goofy add-ons. Same with archery. Use a basic compound bow without all of the accuracy aids. Heck, make it a long bow and call it a day.
Woah woah woah. I don't want them having any rifles specific towards planes
 
100 percent agree. It gets to the point where it’s not so much personal skill as what equipment you have. Which IMO seems to defeat the purpose of the Olympics.
Not quite accurate. If that was the case then all the competitors with the same fancy gear would end up with tied scores at the end of a match....which does not happen. Technology does creep into all aspects of our lives...including sports. Innovation in motorsports has made our street cars much safer and better performing. Same with innovation in firearms competition making hunting rifles better. However, I do get your point and separate divisions using lesser sophisticated equipment is always interesting. I shoot long range high power rifle and we have several divisions based on equipment used. I shoot in the Open division which allows quite a bit of innovation. Some complain that it is an "arms race" (no pun intended). I can guarantee that the top shooters, given a reasonably well tuned rifle, can shoot using the least sophisticated equipment of the field of competitors and still end up at the top of the results sheet. Skill trumps all, within reason.
 
The Olympic pistol paper-punching is boring to watch. I'd love to see an IPSC-style event get added to the Olympics. It would be exciting to watch and it would also require some athleticism from the competitors.
 
I honestly hate that all of the gear is even allowed. Give them a set of open sights...
I hear you, it has become a literal arms race and danged expensive as a result, but only open sights are allowed. No optics, no magnification allowed on the guns in any of the Olympic shooting events.
 
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