Game

Shooting Sports, The Gun Thing

Is anyone else sick to death of all the fuss surrounding the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts?

I have an idea.

Let’s re-purpose the Kennedy Center.  Never mind all that artsy-fartsy stuff;  let’s turn it into a massive indoor shooting range, with all the 100-yard rifle- and 25-yard pistol ranges that the place can hold, open from 6am till 9pm, 7 days a week.  And so that it can’t be hijacked by the hoplophobes and politicians, we’ll hand over its management in perpetuity to, say, Gun Owners of America.

Now for all sorts of reasons, we’ll have to rename the place, because let’s be honest, J.F. Kennedy and shooting do have somewhat of an unpleasant association.

And I’m against naming pretty much anything after a politician, because they get enough name recognition already, the lousy poltroons.

So let’s name it after a renowned and respected American ordinary citizen, and to make it even more non-political, let’s stipulate that he’s no longer alive.  Without trying to prejudice the thing, and just to help the thought process, let me give just a few examples:  Elmer Keith, Wyatt Earp, Audie Murphy, Samuel Colt, Oliver Winchester, John Moses Browning… I think you can all see where I’m going with this one.

Pick one, and one name only, and put it in Comments / email.  You don’t need to give any reasons because I’m pretty sure it’s self-explanatory.  I’ll tally up the votes and give the people’s choice later in the week.

Oh, and you only get one vote each.  We are not Democrats.

20 comments

  5. While I love the idea of a large federal range open to the public in DC, put it somewhere else. Arts are screwed up, but important.

    Then name it after Carlos Hathcock.

  8. John Cantius Garand

    “In my opinion, the M-1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised.”

  13. “Samuel Woodfill Marksmanship Center” after Lt. Samuel Woodfill, US Army – Philippine War, WWI, WWII
    ––a master of arms, a warrior ––

    Awards: Medal of Honor, French Légion d’honneur in the degree of Chevalier, French Croix de guerre with bronze palm, Montenegrin Order of Prince Danilo I in the degree of Knight, Italian Croce al Merito di Guerra, and other awards.
    Woodfill’s warrior prowess and marksmanship was so legendary, that almost 11 years after WWI ended, a Polish Army delegation presented him two medals.

    During the Meuse–Argonne offensive, Sam Woodfill and his company were advancing through thick fog near Cunel, and as they advanced, machine gun fire broke out from German positions targeting Woodfill and his men. Not wanting to put his men in unnecessary danger, Woodfill reconnoitered ahead alone and, spotted several machine gun sites. He began with a church tower, where little flashes could be seen in the belfry, around 300 yards away. He aimed behind the flash, where the gunner would sit, and very carefully and slowly put a clip of five rounds into that spot, timing successive shots to meet the four replacement gunners. The gun went silent. The stealth characteristics of rifle marksmanship did not reveal the nature of the threat to the succeeding gunners.
    To the left of the church, bright muzzle flashes were seen from the loft over a stable. Only one shot silenced this machine gun. In stalking the third machine gun he had seen, he suffered mustard gas poisoning in a shell hole, but continued. He took cover behind a pile of gravel in a ditch, sighting on a machine-gun muzzle poking through a clump of foliage about 40 yards away (this distance is in dispute), and laid out his 1911 pistol. Through his stinging eyes, he finally saw a face and fired. He emptied his rifle on four succeeding faces. A sixth crew member tried to escape and was shot with the pistol (the rifle was empty) through the head — a moving target at more than 40 yards distance. Inspecting the site, he shot a seventh crew member with his pistol when attacked. Shortly thereafter, one of his runners pointed out camouflage in a tree and Woodfill dropped a German sniper before he could fire. Advancing through the Bois de la Pultiere, he spotted another machine gun crew, and five more rounds resulted in five more head shots. Three ammunition carriers then wisely surrendered.
    A few minutes later he spotted a fifth machine gun with a crew of five, and killed them all with five more rounds. He then jumped into a trench occupied by two Germans. He shot the first with his 1911, which then jammed. He killed the second German with a pick axe he found lying in the gun position, and then turned back and killed the first German who was shooting his Luger instead of tending his stomach wound. Later, reporting to battalion, Woodfill said, “I got a few.” He had eliminated five machine guns by shooting 21 crew members with 21 rounds from his rifle, three pistol rounds, and a pick-axe, suffering no injury from the enemy in the process.
    In 1921 when Woodfill was on the list of pallbearer candidates for the Unknown Soldier, General Pershing, upon seeing Woodfill’s name on the list, exclaimed,
    “Why, I have already picked that man as the greatest single hero in the American forces.”

  14. I do not have a problem with the J.F. Kennedy Shooting Range. I would not allow any Italian rifles.

    Whatever the name, hire Kyle Rittenhouse to be the “face Guy” of the operation.

  16. Eisenhower Civilian marksmanship range

    On the note of naming sports centers and also keeping in mind the Kennedy’s – how about the Michael Skakel Golf and Country Club.

  17. On this range, where the name Kennedy will not be – could be have a range setup like a kitchen… never mind.

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