bman

I just love politicians and their usual "spin". I recently caught news of the POTUS discussing how he enjoys skeet shooting all the time. This photo op and story shows up on the heels of the current gun debate. The White House wants us to believe the Pres. truly enjoys the shotgun sports. However, after hearing his comments and viewing the photo-op picture, my bullshitometer is hovering near the right side of the indicator.

It's very obvious he has no clue what he's talking about simply by the language he uses to discuss it. We can all quickly spot someone trying to sound informed about a subject they have no clue on simply by the language they use to talk about it.

1st hint, the Pres says: "I DO skeet shooting all the time at Camp David".

As a lifelong Trap Shooter I can assure you that in my 35 yrs of shotgunning I've never heard one person at the range refer to it as "I DO skeet shooting...", or "I DO trapshooting...". For some perspective for those of you not involved in shotgunning let me give you an example, and I'll use one for those of us involved in showing dogs. I would equate the President's comments to someone new to our hobby saying "Yea, I do dog showing" or "Yea, I do dog handling". Sorry, but that is the spoken word of the outsider trying to appear to be informed the subject matter at hand. Much like non-motorcycle riders attempting to look "knowledgeable" can easily be spotted while driving down the road also.

Using the picture that the White House has published, shotgunners quickly realize that not only is the shotgun blowing smoke, but so is the story.

2nd hint

Skeet shooting would require the muzzle being at least at a 40 degree angle to the clays. In skeet you stand very close to the line of flight OVERHEAD which would require a skeet (clay) house being immediately visible to his right. Unfortunately for the POTUS in the picture he is holding nearly level - which is even too low for Trap shooting. The White House would have been better advised to simply say that in the picture they released, he was simply patterning his gun before beginning a fun day of Skeet.

3rd hint, again using the picture the White House has published, there is a visible problem with the particulate pattern exhausting. Shotguns are ported near the barrel on BOTH sides to reduce recoil and prevent muzzle climb. Look closely and there is only particulate exiting on the right side of the muzzle ports, not the left. This would cause the muzzle to be pushed to his left, sorry, not believable.

4th hint, again using the picture the White House has published, shotgunners immediately notice the POTUS's stance holding the shotgun with particular emphasis on his hand placement on the forearm of the gun. Yea, its way wrong. Notice his legs are not in a staggered stance and directly underneath his body mass. He's not "leaning" into the gun. Also his cheek rolled up against the stock - should he fire more than 2-3 rounds with his cheek so heavily smashed against the stock he would have a black and blue severely bruised cheekbone, possibly his eye socket.

5th hint, again using the picture the White House has published, there is no skin wrinkling in his fore arm, face or clothing. The backward recoil motion would have already happened by the time the particulate was exiting the muzzle and there would be clear visual evidence of the skin and muscle structures returning to their original position during the recoil sequence at this point in the timeline.

6th hint, he is handling the most basic of shotguns for the sport he supposedly enjoys. No adjustable comb? No spring dampener/recoil at the butt? Anybody that shoots more than 200 rounds a year is going to have these basic necessities. I'm quite sure that if he seriously enjoyed our sport he would have a nice Kreighoff - its not like he couldn't afford it.

I love Washington politics.