Monthly Archives: July 2011

Understanding Jewish Opposition to Gun Ownership Part 1

Readers often arrive at this blog using search engine key words, and I have tools that show me those key words. Often, web surfers arrive here relying on terms like “Jews 2nd Amendment” or “Jews Gun Control”. So perhaps I can shed some light on the issue for those that come here looking for answers.

Within the firearms community there is bewilderment as to why so many American Jews oppose 2d Amendment freedoms, and why Jewish politicians are often at the forefront of oppressive gun control legislation. The basic reasoning goes that Jews, as victims of the Holocaust, ought to be at the forefront of civilian rights to protect themselves from crime and oppressive government. The Warsaw ghetto uprisings, a source of pride to many Jews, ought to be instructive as well. Further, the history lesson is not limited to the Holocaust, as virtually every country where Jews have lived has either failed to protect them from violent hatred, or actively participated in their oppression or murder. Why then, do so many American Jews a) choose not to own firearms, and b) encourage legislation to stop others from owning them as well?

(First and foremost, there are many American Jews and politicians who support 2nd Amendment rights…click here to see the list I am compiling).

In my view, there are fairly simple answers to these questions. The first overriding principle is that the majority of American Jews identify themselves as “liberals” or “progressives.” As I am neither of these, I find it extremely difficult to explain this tendency without resorting to, shall we say, politically incorrect language… However, Norman Podhoretz, a contributor to the excellent Commentary magazine, has written a book on the topic and has talked on the subject:

So, simply put, many American Jews oppose 2nd Amendment freedoms for much the same reasons as other liberals and progressives. Such liberal and progressive Jews are primarily driven to oppose gun rights by their secular views, not their Jewish beliefs or identity.

That answer may be unsatisfactory to the extent that it fails to explain why, despite adhering to secular progressive doctrine generally, such American Jews don’t make an exception for 2nd Amendment rights given their personal history. Further, I know many readers are curious as to where the Jewish religion stands on 2nd Amendment issues. In later posts I will address these topics.

Did the Jewish Marksman Find His Smallbore Prone Position?

I’ve been “dabbling” in NRA Smallbore Prone, but despite better sights, a more accurate trigger and more accurate ammo than my Service Rifle, my groups have not been better than I can do with my AR-15 and .22LR upper!

Until this weekend, when I made some head position and sling changes which (finally!) eliminated almost all pulse and allowed for fairly quick releases. My 50 yard targets are above, the inner ring is the X and the outer the 10.

The only problem with the position is that my wrist and forearm fall asleep after about 10 minutes. That is a mixed blessing, because really there should be no muscle tension whatsoever in the left arm. However, there is no neural feedback as to whether the arm is tensed or not. That caused me to throw 2 nines at 100 yards where I work a little slower. So I think I may need a more padded glove, or to simply take a short break after the first 10 shots to let the circulation flow in my hand again:

Not great, but getting better. If I can get in just a little more practice before the next match, I think I can make a run at Expert classification in the next few months. The wind was blowing left to right on the first target, and I failed to notice the flags…need to fix that!

Josh Black: Air Rifle Champion

Josh Black recently represented the tribe at the National Junior Olympic air rifle competition in Ohio, where he “won the championship in the 14-15 age group.” Mazal Tov! You can read all about it in this great article (click). About shooting, Josh had this to say:
“I just love the sport,” said Black, who was introduced to competitive marksmanship as a 12-year-old. “I’ve loved it from the first time I tried it. There’s such a feeling of satisfaction when you hit the target. I enjoy the challenge, too. You’re always trying to do better than you did the last time. You’re always trying to beat a personal record or improve upon your last performance.”

Josh’s father chimed in with his view of shooting sports:

“It’s actually quite a grueling thing,” Scott said. “(Josh) practices five days a week for a couple of hours a day — at least. What he’s doing, basically, is practicing the same thing — over and over and over again. Every other sport emphasizes movement and power, but not shooting. In shooting, the less you move, the better you perform. So you learn to concentrate and really lock in (on the target.) You learn to be calm. You learn to immediately forget a bad shot.”

The article also mentions his sister Hannah who “earned a $2,500 scholarship by winning the American Legion air rifle championship last summer in Colorado Springs, Colo.”

Jewish Marksman Celebrates the 4th with His .45!

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than spending time at the gun range, exercising the constitutional right that guarantees all others?
Earlier this weekend I shot a High Power match, and had a bad day. Nu, at least for me a bad day is a Master score. I am really hoping my lower back gets healthy soon and I can make a serious run at High Master before year’s end. Right now sitting position is a little painful…my back either needs to get better or I need to move to a more upright sitting position. I’m only 36, oy veh!

But on this 4th of July, I could have gotten in some much needed smallbore practice, but I just HAD to shoot my .45ACP revolver! Before I committed to NRA High Power Rifle, I shot Bullseye Pistol. In a nutshell, a portion of the match is shot with a .45 caliber pistol, one handed, 50 yards slow fire and 25 yards timed and rapid. I migrated from a 1911 semi-auto to a revolver, and was working my way up the classifications when my club sort of dropped the match. I was shooting Expert and flirting with Master. But the club recently started up the match again, and I’ve been considering attending a few matches. So last week, I loaded up 50 rounds of a 50 yard load, and 50 rounds of a 25 yard load, popped them into moonclips and figured I’d see how my pistol shooting skills are after a couple years of barely touching a pistol.

My loving wife encouraged me to hit the range this morning before our 4th festivities got underway, as she and the baby were sleeping in anyway. So I shot the .45, a S&W 625 5″ revolver, and was really surprised that I still have it on a 50 yard target one-handed! The 7 and 8 were my first two shots, and after I adjusted windage, I was effortlessly hammering home 10s and 9s. Even with the 7 and 8, I scored a 93, which is an Expert score. My 25 yard shooting was pretty good, 10′s and 9′s shooting timed fire single-action and rapids double action. I let loose only one or two eights out of 50 shots, easily Master caliber scores (95%+). I was also happy at how my revolver performed, it always makes me chuckle how guys pay thousands for an accurized 1911, when my $600 used revolver easily holds <3" at 50 yards. If you want a challenging pistol sport, try Bullseye. One handed, 50 yards, 3.5" 10 ring!

Precision aside, as the president of the club, Chuck Wachsmuth, wisely opines about .45ACP cartridge, “Sometimes it just feels good to shoot the Big Gun!”

Indeed. Happy 4th!