[Mauser720]

Guys -

I will tell you a story that I think illustrates several of the points that are being made here.

Years ago I tried out for a Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) small bore rifle team and was selected.

At the time the U.S. Army had a large supply (several million rounds ) of .22 Long Rifle ammunition that had been determined to be unacceptable for some reason. It was all shootable, but for some reason it had not passed the quality control standards and it was going to all be destroyed.

Our team instructors found out about this waste, and pursuaded the Army to simply give it to our team, which they eventually did. Whether they gave us the millions of rounds that were involved, or simply an awful lot of rounds I do not remember. But I do remember that we had one room full of 500 round "bricks" of the ammo.

There were six of us on the varsity team, and as I recall an equal number on the reserve team.

The varsity team shot every day for one hour, five days a week. We took a break in the summer, although even then we still got together just to keep our competive edge.

We were using Winchester Model 52 rifles, with Redfield Olympic sights. (For those who may not be familiar with these, the rear sight was a peep sight, and the front sight was a barrel with various amber plastic inserts. These were not telescopic sights.)

Now at the end of 3 years of this shooting schedule, I think all of us could consistently cut a piece of thread at 50 feet. We had one guy who once shot 40 bulls eyes in a row. My instructor once asked me how many times I had fired, and I told him 7 times. He had to ask because there was only one single bullet hole in the target. All 7 bullets had gone in the same hole.

I am not sharing this story to brag about what a great shot I used to be. (And notice I said "used to be." My eyes were a lot younger then.) In fact, I was actually the worst shot on the team. I was always the "low man on the totem pole" in a manner of speaking.

But the point is that 3 years of practice, for one hour a day, for five days a week had turned all of us into pretty fair marksmen. Once you have a decent firearm, some decent ammo, and some practice, and decent instruction, it is truly amazing what you can accomplish. It is no exaggeration to say that the gun is capable of much greater accuracy than the average person who is using it will ever achieve. And anyone who will take the time to practice can show dramatic improvement.

Mauser720 - Ron