The Way of the Sword

The Way of the Sword:

There are innumerable references in the Asian martial arts to the way of the sword, but few to firearms. One of my favorite firearms quotes comes from Kensei Musashi Miyamoto. "From within castle walls the gun is unexcelled, but once swords cross, it is of no use at all."
Another of my favorite quotes comes from Chairman Mao, who said, "Power flows from the muzzle of a gun." So you might ask, if I like these quotes why did I stop practicing with guns and their associated power. I cannot explain why I fell out of infatuation with firearms, it just happened.

Almost twenty years ago I eschewed the way of the gun for the way of the sword. It is hard for me to believe that it has been that long. Sorting through old files in our garage I came across targets marked: "40-90 @100 yards for group," "45-70 @ 200 yards, duplex load," and "28-30 breech-seated." Reading these semi-cryptic notes brought back fond memories of shooting with the ASSRA (American Single Shot Rifle Assoc.). Most of the targets are dated from 1987 to 1990.
In a more genteel era during the 1880-90s men spent Sunday afternoons at local ranges shooting guns like these. Dressed in three piece suits with tweed vests they enjoyed comparing rifles and shooting off hand at 100 and 200 yards. Schuetzen matches were popular during this renaissance of shooting sports in this great country. The shooters were not considered some lunatic fringe element, who posed a threat to our national security. They were not criminals or drug dealers. They were wealthy gentlemen and professionals, and everyday blue-collar workers. Shooting was a sport that appealed to men and boys of all ages. This was a day and age where boys 12-13 years old went out back with single shot 22 rifles and plinked at tin cans or targets and maybe shot rats in the local dump. This Golden Age of firearms manufacturing lasted from the late 1880s until WW-I. The competition for market presence was as strong as the competition on the shooting range. Firms like Remington, Sharps, Ballard, Maynard, Stevens, and Winchester built specialized off-hand and bench-rest target rifles. The designs were elegant, uniquely distinctive, and highly innovative. Many were destined to become timeless classics. Today some of these rifles have been lovingly reproduced in very small quantities.

Following the Great War, strong anti-German sentiment, and an overwhelming distaste for anything related to shooting or killing, spelled the end of what was known as the Schuetzen era. Those Schuetzen rifles, designed for and used solely in target matches, are for many gun aficionados, incomparable examples of the rifle builder’s art. No matter how precisely they shoot, modern rifles with their shapeless synthetic stocks will never satisfy the basic aesthetic needs and desire for beauty that figured woods and case colored actions fulfill. Because of my daughter’s interest in shooting I have reconnected with shooting.

Thanks Gwynne for giving back to me the pleasure that owning and shooting a finely-made rifle offers. Thank you to those long departed makers of single shot rifles for creating the best rifles possible, regardless of the cost or time it took to build them. I hope you will enjoy the photos of these classic rifles descended from a distant and golden age.