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 The
Aging Gunfighter -
Don't Ever Quit
Ah, to be young again. Let me
see, what could I do? I could probably last all day long at a
shooting match without having my feet hurt. My hips probably
wouldn't ache at the joints. I'm sure that after pulling my
gun-cart from stage ten all the way to stage one, I'd be ready
to shoot and not be huffing and puffing as I tried to get ready
for the stage. Now, what about those targets? Well, they would
certainly look closer and they probably wouldn't move anymore
as the faint image of my front blade sight tried to settle on
the target instead of moving all around it. The longer I take
for each shot, the harder it is to hold the sight picture.
Probably, my back wouldn't ache as much as I lift my gun-cart
in and out of my pickup each day of a three or four-day shoot.
My wrists wouldn't hurt and the pressure of my trigger finger
would always be just the right amount and smoothly pull the
trigger to make the perfect shot every time.
Of course, most of all, my
thumb would not have swelled to the point where I can no longer
shoot Gunfighter style for at least another six months. Oh
really, you ask, why is your thumb so large? Hah, you won't
believe it. Along with the usual tendonitis, sore muscles, stiff
neck, and carpal-tunnel syndrome, you might look forward to
getting bursitis in your thumb if you shoot as much as I have
over the last two years. You might think that you only get
bursitis in your shoulder or elbow. Not so, as you have many
burses in your body. There is one in your hand that runs from
your wrist up through the last joint of your thumb. The great
news is that on my hand this just happens to be the exact point
where the end of the hammer on an 1860 Army or 1872 Open-Top
naturally meets my thumb to pull the hammer back when shooting
Duelist or Gunfighter. The ball of my thumb swelled up to three
times its normal size or more, and boy did it hurt! Even after
laying off of it for the last four months it is still swollen
and sore to the touch. Oh well, back to shooting Traditional, as
well as Duelist with my left hand.
Now, you probably are starting
to get my message for this editorial. No matter what hurts, and
what adjustments you need to make, don't give up.
Western-action shooting, of all types, is just too much fun! The
people I meet and work with are too important to me. Every
weekend (and sometimes Wednesday afternoon when I should be in
the office working on the next issue!) that I can shoot I will.
In fact, I seem to actually enjoy the match more as I'm not as
competitive as I might have been 30 years ago, nor do I
concentrate on getting that perfect score. I take a breath and
smell the flowers, sit back and talk to the competitors, and
take it easier. Oh, occasionally I do run from stage-to-stage
taking some of those pictures that appear in the magazine, but
not often.
Editorial
Continued
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