I know, I know, it's just a target with a hole in it. The story is the venue.
My dad was world class hand gun competitor and attended the national championships for many years. He was the civilian .22 caliber champion in 1971 and 1972. He was also the New York state pistol champion, indoor and outdoor, probably 8 or 10 years.
I attended Perry with him, as a kid, in the late 60's and early 70's. I volunteered with the NRA and worked for Col. John K. Lee while I was there. Colonel Lee ran the 'CMP', civilian marksmanship program, at that time. He also understood boys, and made sure we had a lot of fun working there. The job came with 5 dollars a day, mess-hall tickets for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a bed, if you needed one.
There was a long row of huts, known as 'Commercial Row'. Various vendors had a hut to show off their stuff. I remember Smith & Wesson, Colt, Hammerli, company's that sold law enforcement equipment, Al Popper gunsmithing and supplies (I chummed up with Elliott and Mitchell Popper), and other vendors. In between a couple of the huts was a 10 meter air pistol range, open all day. Shooters would stop there and pay one dollar to take a single shot at a target. You could enter as often as you wished. Of course my dad would stop and pop a few pellets off. At the end of the day, the man or woman that had the shot closest to center, got half the take for that day. It was like a split club. My dad stopped attending the nationals in 2009, but this booth was still open then. I don't know if it remained at a dollar or the price increased.
The target is the thickest target paper that I've ever seen. My dad ended up with a pile of these and I use them for practice to this day. That week at Perry was a dream-come-true for a young boy. I'll never forget those wonderful days.
My dad was world class hand gun competitor and attended the national championships for many years. He was the civilian .22 caliber champion in 1971 and 1972. He was also the New York state pistol champion, indoor and outdoor, probably 8 or 10 years.
I attended Perry with him, as a kid, in the late 60's and early 70's. I volunteered with the NRA and worked for Col. John K. Lee while I was there. Colonel Lee ran the 'CMP', civilian marksmanship program, at that time. He also understood boys, and made sure we had a lot of fun working there. The job came with 5 dollars a day, mess-hall tickets for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a bed, if you needed one.
There was a long row of huts, known as 'Commercial Row'. Various vendors had a hut to show off their stuff. I remember Smith & Wesson, Colt, Hammerli, company's that sold law enforcement equipment, Al Popper gunsmithing and supplies (I chummed up with Elliott and Mitchell Popper), and other vendors. In between a couple of the huts was a 10 meter air pistol range, open all day. Shooters would stop there and pay one dollar to take a single shot at a target. You could enter as often as you wished. Of course my dad would stop and pop a few pellets off. At the end of the day, the man or woman that had the shot closest to center, got half the take for that day. It was like a split club. My dad stopped attending the nationals in 2009, but this booth was still open then. I don't know if it remained at a dollar or the price increased.
The target is the thickest target paper that I've ever seen. My dad ended up with a pile of these and I use them for practice to this day. That week at Perry was a dream-come-true for a young boy. I'll never forget those wonderful days.
