Blinders

What a difference a few decades make. I used to collect and shoot “antique” single-shot rifles back when life was simpler, and to quote an old song, “The livin was easy.” Who would have ever thought that the 1980s would be considered a period of peace and prosperity? Now that I look back on it, it seems that way. Of course as they say hindsight is 20-20. Music in the 80s wasn’t so hot but jobs were plentiful and we were not enmeshed in wars all over the world, what is now collectively referred to as “The Long War.” Schuetzen style rifles were chambered in now obsolete calibers like 28-30, 32-40, or 25-20SS. To shoot them today requires finding someone to make a bullet mold and some pretty creative loading methods, like using breech-seaters and duplex loads. The pace is relaxed and you can take plenty of time firing a ten round group for score. It is a genteel pastime. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in a past blog I am not shooting these rifles much today. Instead I am practicing with my black rifles.
We had a couple down for supper one night and my wife said “Why don’t you show them your new rifle?” It is a Match Grade Colt AR-15 HBAR. I got it out and laid it on the floor. My friend pointed it out to his wife, and in a rather snotty tone said, “That’s one of those assault rifles I told you about.” He continued on to say, “I don’t know why anyone needs one of those.” You know it really took me by surprise. Black rifles are not for everyone but they are as much a part of our martial heritage as a Kentucky rifle or a Springfield Musket. AR rifles have been around since the Vietnam War and have served a distinguished career for a half century. In fact that basic platform and caliber are now used globally by many NATO nations. What bothered me most about the brief exchange was his insulting opinion being expressed in my own home. Would it have been different if the rifle had been one of my hand-built Pennsylvania long rifles or my Sharps long range express? These were the assault weapons of their day, carried by American soldiers and snipers to kill British troops or Indians. My frosty response was, “I might need one someday for self-defense.” His quick reply was, “Self defense against who?” Maybe he doesn’t watch the news much.

Sometimes we walk through life with blinders on. We’re still friends, but this exchange made me look at him a little differently. It made me think of the day I saw an Amish buggy in the ditch alongside the road. Two kids were standing there looking soberly at their dead horse. A car had come upon them and, because of the blinders, they did not see it in time. The end result was the tragic death of a beautiful horse and two devastated kids. It ruined my day too and I was sick to my stomach sharing the angst they must be feeling for the loss of the animal. I feel the same way today watching the news and wondering how many people, like my friend, or those Amish kids, are going through life with blinders on. Will they end up in a ditch too, over run, blindsided by speeding current events?