Educating fellow Jews about the sporting and defensive use of firearms. Especially Jews in North America, too many of whom are instilled with the belief that guns aren't for nice Jewish boys and girls.
If you know of notable Jewish shooters that should be documented on the blog, even if it is only at the local club level, I am happy to report and profile them. And don't be shy if that person to be documented is you! Please drop me a line at jewishmarksman at gmail dot com. Also follow me on twitter @JMarksmanship.
Using google searches, I sometimes come across Jewish shooters who have left this earth, and their passion for shooting sports was strong enough that their families felt it worthy of mention in their obituary. As I find them, I will schedule them in advance to post on the shooter's yahrzeit. I think these obituaries are interesting, because they show that Jews from all walks of life can have an interest in shooting sports.
Below is the obituary of Ruth Betty Blum, who "was a champion on the college rifle team during her years at Oshkosh State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh)":
Ruth Betty Blum
March 18th, 2005
Former longtime Oshkosh resident Ruth Betty Blum (nee Zimmerman) died in her sleep at her Sarasota, Fla., home March 1. She was 82.
Born at her grandparents’ home in Green Bay to Morris and Sarah (Miller) Zimmerman, Blum lived in Oshkosh from the age of six months through most of her life. While growing up, she worked in her family’s store, Zimmerman Clothing, on Main Street.
According to her family, she was a champion on the college rifle team during her years at Oshkosh State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh). She graduated with a double major in English and biology, then taught English, biology and driver’s education in Seymour, Wis., for two years.
On July 4, 1947, she married Dr. Harold J. Blum, who died in 1998. During their 51 years of marriage they traveled extensively to Europe, Israel, Mexico, the Far East and through the Panama Canal, among other places. In 1980, they began spending winters on Siesta Key in Sarasota, Fla. In 2001, she moved her summer residence to Monona, Wis.
She was a lifelong member of Congregation B’nai Israel and its Sisterhood, as well as Hadassah. She was an avid reader with a special fondness for mysteries, and an ardent Green Bay Packers fan. She also enjoyed boating, baking, Broadway plays, opera, dancing and chocolate, her family said.
She is survived by sons David Blum and Dr. Marc (Kathy) Blum, both of Oshkosh; daughter Carla (Dr. Ismor Fischer) Blum of Madison; sister Fern Lois Shapiro of Encino, Calif.; and seven grandchildren.
Religious director Gary Wolfman officiated at a memorial service on March 6 at Congregation B’nai Israel in Oshkosh.
Memorials to Congregation B’nai Israel, P.O. Box 904, Oshkosh, WI 54902-0904, would be appreciated by the family.
Alexander Danilov is an Israeli pistol shooter, and one of the best in the world. As his surname suggests, he is one of the many immigrants to Israel from Russia, and originally competed on the Russian team. His accolades are well documented Wikipedia (some highlights):
Alexander Danilov (born Nov. 10, 1969) is an Israeli pistol shooter, who was a member of the Israeli shooting team at the 2000 Sydney Games and 2004 Athens Games.
Danilov has been among the world elite in both the free pistol and air pistol shooting events.
Danilov finished in 2nd place in the 50-meter free pistol at the 1995 European Championships.
In 1997, Danilov (competing for Russia) finished 5th in the men's air pistol event at the Munich World Cup.
Danilov then won the gold medal for Israel at the 1999 European Championships in the 10-meter pistol in Germany.
Danilov won the air pistol event at the European Championship in Munich in 2000.
He captured the bronze medal at the 2001 Atlanta World Cup.
He finished fourth in the World Cup circuit 2002 tournament free pistol event in Finland, and second in the air pistol overall in the World Cup competition.
He came in 9th in the 2003 European Championships in the 50 meter pistol.
2004 saw him come in 3rd in the Bangkok World Cup circuit event.
On August 5, 2004, he won the Czech Grand-Prix meet with 668.7 points, a new Israeli record.
In the 2004 Olympics Danilove came in 15th in the 50 meter free pistol.
Danilov's wife, Olga Danilova, is a former short track speed skater who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The picture above from the Sydney 2000 Olympics is the best I could find. If you look careful, you can see he is holding a free pistol.
Interestingly, via Google I found his name mentioned in an article that demonstrates one of the reasons I run this blog. The article was written in 2008 by Jane Herman for the online publication RJ.org, which describes itself as "News and Views of Reform Jews." Ms. Herman writes in her article about how discovering that Jews like Danilov and Guy Starik compete in shooting sports somehow contributed to her challenging her preconceived notions about guns. She begins her article describing how she originally harbored typical anti-gun sentiments shared by too many Americans, and too many American Jews in particular. She writes:
When I'd recovered enough to ask some questions, I learned that this particular gun owner doesn't hunt, but he does own both long guns and handguns that he uses for sport shooting. I subsequently learned that shooting is an Olympic sport requiring tremendous precision, skill and training. With a bit more help from Google, I also learned that Israelis Alexander Danilov and Guy Starek are both distinguished competitive marksman. The former, a pistol shooter, won the gold medal at the European Championships in Germany in 1999 and the latter, a free rifle competitor, placed 7th at the 1995 World Championships and 4th at the 1998 World Championships.
Even with this knowledge, I was extremely disconcerted, not so much because someone I know owns guns, but rather because I--so quickly and so wrongly--had jumped to the conclusion that the weapons are handguns and thus are "bad" in every way. I like to believe that I view the world through lenses that bring various shades of gray into focus, and I was distressed and disappointed in myself that, in this instance, I had seen it only in the starkest shades of black and white.
Now, I get the sense that Ms. Herman, aka "JanetheWriter" probably has not purchased a firearm or joined the competitive shooting sports. But her article points out the powerful example that we Jews in the shooting sports can set--we change the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters who are simply misinformed about the nature of firearms and the shooting sports. Imagine the impact it would have had on Ms. Herman if this blog had been around in 2008 when she wrote her article; she would have discovered that not just Israelis compete at the top levels in the shooting sports, but plenty of American Jews as well.
So far I am satisfied with some new reloading products I've recently acquired from a company called SmartReloader. Generally, when it comes to reloading supplies, I am pretty much a "Lee" man--I think Lee Precision makes great products and offers great service at great (i.e. cheap) prices. I do have a few products from other manufacturers, such as RCBS, but only because Lee didn't offer what I needed at the time. You can spend more on presses that (arguably) offer more features, but for pistol cartridge reloading in particular, Lee is tough to beat in terms of value. I had some concerns about whether my Lee Loadmaster press and Lee .223 dies were up to the task of reloading accurate rifle cartridges for NRA High Power, but that concern is gone given how well my ammo has performed off the Lee press, dies, and powder measure. I even use the Lee Zip Trim and other case prep tools. Can't argue with my recent Master scores, and the great groups I've been shooting in prone.
However, in the past year or so a new supplier has entered the market, SmartReloader. As far as I can tell they are a European company, that seems to have a "house" brand line of products. I noticed a few of their items were available at Natchez Shooters Supplies, one of my favorite online retailers. I first purchased the SmartReloader media separator, which is $10-$20 cheaper than other brands. Since then, I've picked up their funnel, case care kit, and trickler (although mine came in black, not yellow). All the SmartReloader gear is a little cheaper than the competitors. So far, I've only had a chance to use the media separator and case care kit (actually only the small primer pocket reamer and uniformer).
The media separator works fine, a nice replacement for the plastic pasta strainers I was using before. The primer pocket tools seem to work fine. I use them only when a primer gets mangled during insertion, or refuses to seat below flush. I lightly ream and uniform the pocket a bissel, which usually solves the problem for the one out of ten cases that have a primer seating issue during reloading.
All of the tools I have so far from SmartReloader are simple tools where precision is not critical and there aren't any moving parts. I'm not sure I would dive into one of their presses, and especially not their electric powder measure and scale unless I was sure that they offer robust US support. In the case of Lee, any issues I've had have been addressed with prompt emails and great customer service. So far, SmartReloader doesn't have much of a track record (or at least one I can find online), and I am not the kind to take the risks of an early adopter.
I'm certainly not disparaging any other line of reloading equipment. It's a little funny how loyal we shooters can be about our reloading equipment, and how many on-line flame wars break out in the forums about who makes the best reloading presses and dies. All I can say is that for my Bullseye pistol and High Power rifle needs, Lee has done the job at the lowest price. But keep your eye on SmartReloader for some of the accessories that Lee doesn't offer.
3/28/11 Update: I used the trickler and funnel tonight, both work fine.
"In the Parshah of Vayikra, which opens the book of Leviticus, G-d speaks to Moses from the Tent of Meeting and begins His communication of the laws governing the bringing of the korbanot, the animal and meal offerings that are the central feature of the service performed in the Sanctuary."
Of particular note to target shooters is:
No leaven... [shall be present] in any offering of G-d (2:11)
The rabbis explain this passage as follows:
Leaven, which is dough that has fermented and risen, represents self-inflation and pride, and there is nothing more abhorrent to G-d. In the words of the Talmud, "G-d says of the prideful one, 'He and I cannot dwell together in the world.'"
I find that there is a direct correlation between my scores and humility. The more self-worth and self-importance we attach to our results on the target, the less likely we will shoot well and enjoy the sport in the long run.
Match pressure comes from caring about scores at a personal level. To care about a match score at a personal level implies your sense of self and identity is somehow tied into the results on paper. Maybe you think about how others will perceive you based on your score? Maybe how you perceive yourself is based on your score? It is very hard to do, but the key is to remember what is indisputably true: your score on the target has nothing to do with who you are as a person. If a high score is something you need to feel good about yourself, or to justify the time you've spent practicing, then your life priorities are out of balance.
That's easy to say, but tough in practice. But I do believe that at the core of match pressure, especially the kind that makes you shoot worse than you do in practice, is pride of some form or another. Match pressure still sometimes throws me off, especially when I start thinking about moving up in classification as a result of the score I hope to shoot that day. That means I still have some improvement to make as a person before I can improve as a shooter.
I was pleasantly surprised when Hap Rocketto contacted the site, not only because he is Jewish, but also because he gave a long list of additional competitive Jewish shooters I will be telling you about this year. Even better, he had a profile already composed, saving me time (I have so little of it lately!). First, Hap himself is a great rifle shooter:
Hap Rocketto was rated a Distinguished Rifleman in 1981. He is one of few who have been a member of both Service Rifle and Smallbore Rifle All National Guard Rifle Teams, where he served as both a coach and shooter. An NRA Smallbore Distinguished Position Rifleman he has earned Presidents Hundred honors three times, has been a member of numerous open and National Guard national championship teams, the 2002 Three Position Intermediate Senior National Champion, member of the 2007 US Championship Indoor Four Position Championship team as well as a multiple National Record holder. He is a member of the 1600 Club and has served as adjutant of the US Roberts Team as well as captain and coach of the US Drew Cup Team. Rocketto was a member of the 1973 and 1985 US silver medal winning US Maccabiah Rifle Team and a member of the Connecticut Shooters Hall of Fame.
Aside from his shooting accolades, Hap is well known shooting historian, and his articles appear in numerous publications as well as online sources. I particularly enjoy how his writing style brings his subjects to life, and he knows exactly which details to mention such that by then end of one of his pieces you feel as if you have personally met the person he covers.
Today we have another great Jewish shooter from the former Soviet Union, Larissa Gurvich (now Zuranova) I discovered she was Jewish through Google searches for female Jewish shooters, and found a source here and here. I then passed the name along to Ernst over at Backyard-Safari blog, who was able to tell us a little more about her. The following is his post translated with a little help from Google translate:
Larissa Semyonovna Gurwitsch, now Zuranowa, was born on May, 10 1947 in Bessporno. She studied at the Medical Institute in Rostov on Don. In 1963 she began with sporting shotgun under the guidance of her father in Yekaterinburg, now known as Sverdlovsk. She specialized in Skeet and with great success. Gurwitsch was four times world champion (1967, 1970, 1974, 1975), ten-time European champion (first published in 1965) and twelve times the USSR champion. In addition, she set several records. At that time she competed on the Army Sports Club .
Her favorite shotguns were the IZH-12 and IZH-25, which the Izhevsk factory customized for her, because at that time the Soviet-made guns were not popular among competitors. The otherwise delicate-looking woman shot more than 10,000 rounds per year through those guns.
Later she married the equally highly successful shotgunner Zuranow Yuri (1936-2008) and became Larissa Zuranowa. Both worked until the ends of their active careers in the mid-80s as coaches, first in Rostov and later in Yekaterinburg, which is one of the centers of clay target shooting in Russia. She currently lives and works in Novosibirsk .Her protégés include her son Konstantin Zuranow (b. 1972) among others, who participated in the Olympic Games in 2008 in Skeet.
Thanks again to Ernst, as Jewish shooters in the former USSR are very hard to research otherwise. Our newest shotgunning Jewish Marksman, Simms Pearl, has big shoes to fill. The other shotgunning Jewish Marksman we know of is filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
To all the fans of Jewish Marksmanship, turns out this post is a milestone, post #101! Our "like" group on Facebook continues to grow. So what do the next 100 posts have in store?
1. Well, as mazal would have it, last week I received a great email from fellow Jewish marksman Hap Rocketto, who provided me a list of 20 top Jewish marksmen I probably would never have discovered. Profiling those shooters will keep me busy for a while.
2. I think a new logo for the blog is in order...any volunteers?
3. I STILL NEED YOU CLUB SHOOTERS TO VOLUNTEER TO BE PROFILED. How is that for asking nicely? This blog is not just about the top shooters in the game, but about any Jew who tries his or her hand at the shooting sports. Just drop me an email and we'll go from there.
And with that, I introduce a new Jewish Marksman, Simms Pearl of Massachusetts, who sent me this great email earlier today:
Hello,
I am new to clay targets and am starting out in the sport. As a Jew, I was curious about how many Jews are into shooting. I did a search and found your site. It is very interesting.
I am often disturbed by self defeating statements by other Jews about how 'Jews don't do this or that'. I totally reject the concept of the Jew as a mechanically inept, physically weak, over urbanized coward. These statements are neither historically accurate or fair. This image of the ghetto Jew was rejected by the early Zionists who wanted Jews to be strong and brave and return to the land.
In ancient times Jews were actually highly sought after as warriors because of their fighting skills.
Several years ago, there was an Israel celebration on the town green in my community. A Jewish friend of mine who is also an auxiliary police officer, volunteered to help police the event. An ultra-orthodox Rabbi and his wife came by. They saw his name tag and asked if he was Jewish. He told them that he was. They were shocked.
"A Jewish Policeman?" they exclaimed as if he was from Mars.
My friend told them that actually the chief of police as well as the assistant chief were also Jewish.
I guess these people thought they were still in 1850 Poland.
This type of thing really bothers me. We are not guests in this country living at the largess of some religious majority. Jews have always played a very important part in America's history. The have fought bravely in all of its conflicts and made contributions to all walks of life far in excess of their numbers.
Anyway, I am sure I am 'preaching to the choir" here but I did want to thank you for your site.
Gil Hebards Pistol Shooter's Treasury is a great book on pistol shooting (it must be a great book because I loaned out my copy and never got it back...), and is divided into separate chapters by different authors. One of the chapters is by Lev Weinstein, a former USSR shooting coach, and I wondered if he was Jewish based on his name. A while back, my blog was discovered by a blogger in Germany, who has some knowledge of competitive shooters in the former Soviet Union, and has already written about a few of them. The following is an excerpt on Weinstein from his blog, translated by Google, as my German is a bit rusty:
He was born on 03/12/1916 in Yekaterinburg born. Like most of his peers, he was in the war years a member of the Red Army and remained so even after the end of World War II, but then as athletes. Most recently, he wore the rank of Major aD (the accompanying picture shows him in officer's uniform). As his surname suggests, he was a Jew. Still, he seems to have somehow managed in the late Stalin onset persecution of Jews, in which many Jewish lost their positions to Soviet citizens survive time.
Weinstein at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki in the truest sense of the word for "Shooting Star" of the shooting scene with the fifth free pistol at 50 meters and third parties with the gun outside to 300 m. This bronze medal he won as a total outsider, he was above all an ambitious handguns shot. This shows that one in fields can provide excellent results both well. Maybe he was just an exceptional shooter. ;-) He also has several world and European titles won and held five world records, two European records and 32 Soviet records.
Later, Weinstein has a trainer in the Central Army Sports Club (P / CSKA) worked and Moscow, where many trained. Handgun shooters in 1962 he was honorary title of "Honored coach of the Soviet Union" award. the Previously he had been the shooting sports departments (Army) sports club "Dynamo "in Tbilisi (1946-1950), Leningrad (1950-1953) and Moscow (1953-1955) belongs to.
He was still active into old age, his last book came out in 1998. On 12.25.2004 is Lew Weinstein, the 89th Years standing, died. To this day remember his students appreciate him.
In 1956 , he has little textbook for handguns written a shooter, in which he sums up his experiences and tips are many. Because of Weinstein's work has won international recognition also found. Since there are two German states were at that time, this book was published twice in German. First, in East Germany, entitled "Sport shooting with pistols and revolvers" (Berlin 1960) and the other in Germany as "Sporty shooting with handguns" (edited by the German Shooting Federation).
I have not been able to find much else out about Weinstein via Google. Once again danke to Ernst!
It was a good weekend for the Jewish Marksman--I won my local club High Power Rifle match (100 yard reduced course) with a High Master score, 781-22. With that score, I should finally move up to Expert class.
From all reports, the firearms community is going through a reloading "revolution." By that, I mean that more and more folks are reloading their own ammunition. I thought I would present a brief analysis of the economics behind reloading, because the Jewish Marksman celebrates frugality.
Fixed costs: In order to reload ammunition, the shooter needs to invest in equipment to get the job done. A bare bones setup consists of a press, caliber-specific dies, and a powder scale. With a little ebay persistence you can spend anywhere from $100 to $1500, depending on the bells and whistles. A press and dies will last several lifetimes if care for. Possibly a table and other hand tools might need to be purchased, but any sturdy workbench will do.
Variable costs: A round of ammunition has 4 components: bullet, shell casing (a.k.a. "brass"), primer, and powder.
For our purposes I'll take a quick look at .223 rifle reloading for my High Power competitions.
The most expensive component are the match-grade bullets, so first I'll discuss some of the options and issues. The main issue is that the heavier the bullet, the less susceptible it is to being blown by the wind. The wind is a big factor in the 600 yard stage of a High Power match, but not a big factor at the 100 yard reduced courses that make up most of the matches in my area to shoot. Heavier bullets cost more. The second major issue is quality and uniformity. I'm told this makes a difference, but I have not tested it myself. The idea is you buy from a quality bullet maker and you are assured your bullets will be closely uniform in weight, shape, etc. The overwhelming consensus among High Power competitors is that a 77 grain weight bullet is the right bullet for 600 yards. 77 grain bullets cost roughly $100 for 500. That works out to $0.20 a bullet. For 100 yard courses, many use a lighter 52 or 53 grain bullet, which cost about $80 for 500, or $0.16 a bullet. A cheap 55gr bullet can be found for about $0.08 to $0.10 in bulk, so I find this idea attractive but need to do some research if other shooters have had success with cheaper bullets at 100 yards. The only brand of rifle bullets I use currently are Sierra.
Powder is cheap, an 8lb. tub will cost $130 or so, yield about 2400 charges for roughly $0.05 a round.
Primers run $20 per 1000, or about $0.02 a round.
Brass cost is a little tricky to analyze, because brass can be reused many times before it cracks or otherwise becomes unusable. If you pay $200 for 1000 pieces of new brass, it probably costs about $0.01 or less each time you fire a given piece. Also, cheaper once-fired brass can be bought in bulk, or your buddies who do not reload might just give it to you.
Summed up, we come up with a per-round cost of $0.25-$0.30 a round using match grade bullets (click here for a handy on-line calculator). (I did not account for shipping costs, but assume the buyer is buying in bulk, as most do, so the shipping costs become negligible per round). A High Power match is an 88 shot event with sighters, so it costs me roughly $25 in ammo to shoot a match. You can see my interest in determining whether I can get just as good results from a cheaper bullet at 100 yards, because if I get my bullet cost down $0.10, I save $8 a match.
What does factory manufactured .223 ammo cost? A lot depends on quality and application. Match grade ammunition is around $0.80 to $1.00 a round. Cheap bulk steel cased ammunition is about $0.20 a round, but steel cases cannot be reloaded (from what I hear), and bulk ammo is usually only 55gr. bullets which will not perform as well in the wind at a 600 yard match. The cheapest brass-cased bulk ammo, again usually 55gr., goes for around $0.32 a round.
So for a High Power competitor, the savings are $50-$60 a match by reloading ammunition when the heavier bullets are needed. For a 100 yard match, given the options I am still probably saving by reloading. It is hard to say because I don't know whether the cheapest bullets are an option for me or not. For shooters who are only shooting at 25 and 50 yards and where 1 MOA is not necessary, then certainly they will save money with cheap bullets by reloading, even compared to manufactured steel cased ammo, I would think.
For pistol reloading, the same principles apply except the brass can be used many more times, and bullets are cheaper. For example, an un-jacketed 200gr. .45ACP bullet I use in Bullseye competition is only about $0.07. I have not looked at pistol ammo prices in a long time, but I have no doubt one saves a ton of money by reloading pistol ammo as well.
Of course, there are the immeasurables. Time for one, as ammo does not reload itself. It takes most folks about an hour or two to crank out 100 rifle rounds, maybe half that for pistol. When you are buying equipment, some of the premium you pay for is time-saving. On the plus side is the fact that you end up producing ammo that is better than what just about any factory is producing these days, and you can fine tune certain variables to your firearm for maximum accuracy.
18 is considered a lucky number in Judaism. The word for "life" in Hebrew is "chai." The Hebrew letters for "chai" are also numbers which add up to 18.
So given that, how could I resist a chance to shoot a real across-the-course (XTC) NRA High Power match this weekend? You see, the prone portion of the match is at 600 yards, which is 1800 feet!
I shot fairly well, all things considered. Besides being my first real XTC match (I normally shoot 100 yard reduced target matches), it was the first time I used my own hand loaded rifle ammunition, and I had no idea exactly how to zero my sights for the different yardages of the match (600, 300, 200) for that ammo, and you only get 2 sighting shots per stage. Take a look at the picture above, which are the 20 shots I made in the 300 yard prone rapid-fire stage (10 shots in 1 minute with a magazine change). The first 10 shots are marked in red, using the sight "come ups" recommended by a friend. They were centered but just a tad high and left, in what could have been a 97 scoring group if the shots had been centered. I guesstimated the elevation sight adjustment, then made the green group, which is the correct height but still off to the left, probably due to cant in my seated position which I haven't dialed in yet. Overall, I shot an 89%, which was pulled down from 90+ primarily to an abysmal offhand performance due to strong wind gusts. No, the wind wasn't really affecting my 77grain sierra bullets so much as it was blowing my barrel around and making it very hard to confidently get a shot off. I waited for breaks in the wind to hit my 10s and 9s, but impatience and a lack of experience in the wind got the best of me, and I let a few really bad shots off. All the other competitors' scores suffered offhand for the same reason, so I don't feel too bad about it.
I'm confident that next match I will shoot above 90% now that I have a much better idea of where my zeros are for the ammo I load. Every combination of powder, bullet, primer and barrel will have minor differences in velocity, which affects the bullet's travel time over distance, which gives gravity more or less time to pull the bullet down. So the only way to get consistently centered is through trial and error. Without a wicked wind I might even flirt with another master score...I do have an industrial fan in the garage, maybe I'll have it blow on me while I train with the Scatt this month!
In case anyone is wondering, I shoot in the Service Rifle division with an AR-15...everything must be (more or less) just like a standard issue military rifle. We do get to put in match barrels and triggers (4.5 lbs. but 2-stage is allowed), but everything else is standard-issue such as plain old rear aperture and front post battle sights.
Sad news for the (Jewish) firearms community. As covered by Debbie Schlussel on her blog, the founder of the pro-second amendment organization Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership passed away. As my readers have come to learn, this blog focuses primarily on Jews in the shooting sports, and part of the reason for that is organizations like JPFO have/had the political bases covered. Note, I am unfamiliar with JPFO and cannot vouch for it, but if Debbie Schlussel endorses it, then very likely it is legit. Please visit her blog (click here), which will tell you more about Zelman and his organization. The JPFO is a good source of information on the theory behind private firearms ownership. For those of us who enjoy the shooting sports, it is sometimes easy to forget about the folks in second-amendment trenches who fight for the rights that are fundamental to our ability to compete in the first place.
Here's hoping that someone will pick up the torch and continue to be a loud Jewish voice in favor the right to bear arms. For now, this blog will remain as is, but we'll see what develops!
Although I have a few Jewish shooters on my list to write about in 2011, finding material for the blog is never easy. Please send suggestions my way in 2011. Any Jewish shooter who competes is interesting, and feel free to volunteer yourself even if you only compete at a local club!
Other than that, shana tova to everyone, and may all your shots find the X-ring in 2011!
I previously covered Jewish Marksman and lawman Emil Harris, who lived in California in the 1800's. Today we have another great Jewish Marksman from that locale and era, Philo Jacoby. Philo Jacoby was born in Lebork, Poland, Dec. 5, 1837. In 1859 he immigrated to San Francisco, Calif. He was the editor and publisher of the San Francisco publication "The Hebrew." Jacoby was also an expert sharpshooter and strongman and started the California Schützen Club. Jacoby died March 25, 1922.
A schützen club is basically a precision shooting club. Jacoby was active in organizing shooting events in the US and took trips to Europe to compete (and win!). There is an excellent article discussing some of his accomplishments (click here) and one story about a shooting competition in Switzerland stands out:
Jacoby next contested one day at the Cantonal shooting a Zofingen where he won goblets and other prizes, and having bought Staub’s Vetter Ii, a splendid shooting rifle in Zurich for 150 francs, he became quite at home in the Numbers. The week following, the great eight-day Cantonal shooting festival in Solothurn took place. From Zurich , Jacoby took the train to the festival place; his car was an open one and when the train entered the station in Solothurn it ran straight into another train left standing on the same rails. All occupants of the open car jumped; Jacoby was one of the first, the fall did not hurt him much but a 200 pound Swiss mountaineer marksman who jumped upon him with the spikes of his boots tore a deep cut in his right hip. Jacoby was carried to the station house where doctors soon attended him, sewed up his wound and made arrangements to send him to a hospital. The accident happened about 11 A. M. and the Cantonal shooting was to begin at 1 P. M. The Swiss marksman (his name was Streif Luchsinger,) who was the innocent cause of Jacoby’s accident, remained with him and helped to make him as comfortable as possible. He said he would leave for the shooting range at 12:30 as he had entered for the first goblet contest. Of course, the writer felt double sore; on his hip and that he should not be able to be at the opening of the festival. He asked Streif Luchsinger to help him on his legs, and when Jacoby found that he could stand fairly steady, he insisted on accompanying his new comrade to the Schuetzen Platz in spite of the advice of the doctors. Streif Luchsinger called a carriage and soon they were at the range. Jacoby’s baggage and rifle had been left at the station and he was supplied with weapon and ammunition by his friend. The contest began for the first goblet. Streif Luchsinger scored the first 100 numbers, and won the honor. Jacoby although somewhat unsteady on his legs, kept pegging away, and when he finally won his goblet (he was 7th on the list) he could scarcely keep upright. Streif Luchsinger carried him, accompanied by great many marksmen, on his shoulders to the Gaben Temple , where the gritty Californian received his hard earned trophy under resounding cheers. Then the doctors got hold of him and brought him in a carriage to a hospital where for the next three days he laid in high wound-fever.
Economy, increased accuracy, and performance are common motivations for handloading cartridges. Reloading fired cases can save the shooter money, or provides the shooter with more, and higher quality, ammunition for a given budget. Reloading may not be cost effective for occasional shooters, as it takes time to recoup the cost of the required equipment, but those who shoot on a regular basis will see benefit. Besides economy, the ability to customize the performance of the ammunition is a common goal. ...Target shooters seek the best achievable accuracy, as well as the best shot-to-shot consistency. Many handloaders customize their cartridges to their specific firearms, usually in pursuit of accuracy: they can assemble precision ammunition using cartridge cases that have been fire formed in the chamber of a specific firearm.
The Jewish Marksman uses almost exclusively Lee brand reloading equipment because they are a great value! Reloading is not particularly difficult if you have the capacity to follow instructions, take your time, pay attention to detail, and observe common sense safety precautions.
If you shoot a rimfire cartridge, such as .22LR, those cases are not reloadable. However, the brass does have value...nowadays anywhere from $0.50 to $1.50 a pound depending where you go. Take it home, throw it in a bucket, but don't leave it at the range! At some clubs, it is customary to leave the rimfire brass at the the club as a 'donation', but it is perfectly acceptable to take home all of your centerfire brass! Someday you may want to reload it, sell it, or give it to a shooter who reloads. If you leave it at a commercial range, they will simply sell it as scrap metal.
Last weekend I shot a Master level score in High Power Rifle, 95%. It was a on a 100 yard reduced course, but nonetheless a good showing. I've been shooting Expert class scores, but the club sometimes doesn't get the scores into the NRA. But this score made it in, and moved me from Marksman to Sharpshooter. If my math is right I should get my Expert card next month if I shoot an Expert score (or better). Master by the end of 2011 might be a realistic goal! My second goal for 2011 will be to get to some real "across the course" matches which the 100 yard matches simulate. I've been swimming in the shallow end, as the real show is at 200, 300 and 600 yard stages. Considering I know absolutely nothing about reading or accommodating for wind, those should be a lot of fun! To read more about my journey up the NRA classifications, click here.
Our latest featured Jewish Marksman is Dr. Dennis Lindenbaum, who was recently chronicled in a Jewish community paper in Atlanta (click here to read it). Dr. Lindenbaum has become a highly accomplished shooter in a very short period of time, achieving a Master ranking and qualifying for the US Dewar Team. Dr. Lindenbaum is a good example of how precision shooting sports fit well with the personalities of Jewish professionals in the US, and why more Jewish doctors, lawyers and accountants ought to give it a try, from the article:
“He’s a trained professional and understands the scientific method, so he’s very analytical, and that carries over into his shooting,” said Tommy Steadman, a Club officer and good friend of Lindenbaum. “He’s very meticulous in the way he goes through this, and he’s most interested in functionality and performance, so that’s the way he went through selecting his equipment, and [he did it] very, very slowly.”
Precision shooting is all about precision, the scientific method, and self-discipline...natural talent or strength play no role (some say it's a sport that rewards mild o.c.d....). A perfect compliment to the schooling many American Jews have received in their professional careers.
Dr. Lindenbaum is also a great spokesperson for the sport:
“Not a bunch of guys in camo”
Dr. Lindenbaum would like to point out that the idea that shooting is a violent or unsafe practice is simply not true. Indeed, he calls the regulations at matches “borderline excessive” and has never seen or even heard of someone getting injured as a result of participation. Nor is the stereotype of a hunter, country bumpkin or delinquent to be tied to a shooter. The many young people he’s gotten to know courtesy of smallbore have all represented the sport with intelligence and responsibility. “It takes a certain type of discipline to be able to have this kind of focus,” he said. “These are kids who get together on weekends to either train or go to these competitions, and it’s really a wholesome, clean activity. And they’re learning certain mental skills I think will be helpful to them in their academic and work lives later on.”
Mrs. Lindenbaum also gets involved:
Reinforcing the idea that the culture here is just as family-friendly as bowling, baseball or board games is the support Lindenbaum gets from his wife, Barbara. Though she does not shoot, she has taken a keen and sincere interest, helps organize club matches and is just as much a part of the community as the man with the rifle.“It’s really great; you need to have somebody to partner with you,” he said. “I don’t know if I would even enjoy the matches…I can’t do it without her.”
Lastly, for all the Jewish parents out there who are on the fence, consider what you might be denying your child by not introducing them to the shooting sports at a young age:
“Dennis, had he gotten into this younger and pursued it like he has, I have no doubt that he would have an extremely good possibility of being an Olympian,” Steadman said.
The Appleseed Project is a non-profit organization that encourages the development of marksmanship skills. Just as important, the Appleseed Project promotes greater understanding of America's founding and the origins of the freedoms that many take for granted. One of that organization's leaders is a proud Jewish marksman, who has graciously submitted a brilliant essay on the principles of the Appleseed Project and why that organization's message ought to resonate with Jews in particular:
The Appleseed Project and Jewish Marksmanship, by Joshua Streiff.
Hello, my name is Joshua Streiff. I am a member of the Appleseed Project, a marksmanship instructor in my own right, and a fellow Jew. I appreciate this opportunity to explain both the Appleseed Project itself as well as explain why my involvement in it is a natural outgrowth of and match to my Jewish view on life, history and meaning.
The Appleseed Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to teaching every American our shared heritage and history as well as traditional rifle marksmanship skills. Our volunteer instructors travel across the country teaching those who attend about the difficult choices, the heroic actions, and the sacrifices that the Founders made on behalf of modern Americans, all of whom are their “progeny.”
Our heritage program vividly portrays the Battles of Lexington and Concord with the kind of care and immediacy that is absent from most formal schooling. Modern listeners are confronted with the danger, the fear, and the heartbreaking separations that arose out of the choices made on April 19th, 1775. They are also reminded of the marksmanship skills and masterful organization that ultimately helped set the colonists on the path to success. Those who attend gain a better understanding of the fundamental choices faced by our ancestors as they began to set the stage for the nation we now enjoy.
Our program seeks three goals in every attendee: individual skill in rifle safety and marksmanship, individual growth of love for history, and a personal connection with our founding history that brings meaning and civic action to each of our lives.
How do we accomplish this? We teach something that is very familiar to Jews but lost to most Americans: lived history. Jews know history in a deep personal way that is lost to most modern Americans. In Judaism the word Zachor is both the term for history, but is also a command to remember. And that memory is not one of dry facts of names and dates. It is a memory full of the tears and laughter of the Seder table. It is the tie to ancestors filled with warnings about our future. It is about the past reminding us about who we are and what guides us each as individuals into both our personal and collective futures. It is a history lived, experienced, and deeply connected with year after year passed from one generation to the next.
Appleseed Events are two days long and throughout that time we instruct marksmanship and history side by side. Just as in the Seder where we take turns between eating and history, at an Appleseed event we take turns between marksmanship instruction and the history of April 19, 1775. Just as we put ourselves into the land of Mitzrayim in one, Appleseed places it's attendees on Lexington green that cold morning. Just as we meet Moses and Pharaoh in one, attendees meet Paul Revere and General Gage in the other. These experienced histories, these lived moments that transcend time are a new experience for most Americans, but for the Jews among us, it is a familiar and comfortable experience that we know already even if the specific content is new.
Now, who is Appleseed for and why would a Jewish American want to go? I get this question all the time. Appleseed is for everyone. And by that I mean everyone of any race, creed, preference, background and political leanings. Everyone. Now, there are a few exceptions which I go over at the beginning of every event: racists, supremecists and those interested in the overthrow of our government are not welcome. We are not militia, and we have both military and law enforcement in our midst as instructors. We are normal folk and have no interest in those who would tear America apart or hurt it's people for their own vile reasons. And my experience has been that every person I have met at a seed has been as normal as you and I. Catholics, Jews, Protestants, and all sorts of folks are not only attendees but also have signed on as instructors as well. Given the need, I am pretty sure I could gather a minyan of instructors alone!
But again, what draws us? What is brings people and more importantly, what keeps them coming back to donate their spare time as volunteers?
The answer is twofold: marksmanship and civic involvement.
Jews know marksmanship. To some that is an oxymoronic statement, but the reality is that we do. It is less common in this generation, and it is less common in America, but it remains a true statement nonetheless. Jews are a practical bunch and not a warrior society. However, we are also a bunch that remembers our times of fighting and has learned the need for the skills of self preservation.
Look at the stories from ancient times and see the battles of Lachish and Jerusalem in antiquity. In our Machzor, we cover the tales of medieval Jewish fighters at Mayence as well as those in more modern times figthing in the Ghetto streets of Europe. Then move forward to the superb skills of our Israeli cousins and it takes no more to understand that Jews may be reticent to take up arms, but when faced with need will do so. In Israel the need is clear and unceasing. In America the temptation is to say there is no need and thus this generation can skip the knowledge and lose the skills. But as the Seder reminds us in every generation an enemy will arise that must be stopped. Without the skills remembered another generation of Jews will have to build skills when evil has already moved. Frankly, the skills of self preservation are the exact skills that cannot be learned in the moment of crisis. Sadly the Jews of Europe had to learn this, and the Jews of Israel will never forget. American Jews stand in the space in between and have to choose their path through the Galut. It can be with or without a rifle, but it should never be a path of intentional ignorance of it's proper use. At least, never again.
Now, Jews have never been completely without our skills for self care even when we have been without arms. One that we have learned well is that that our enemy comes in many forms and the greatest defense there can be is political involvement. Appleseed sees the same reality. We teach our students that the greatest enemies to our nation and it's people are be apathy, ignorance and laziness. We like to say that the destruction of our nation will come a the hands of the couch. It will all fall because we do nothing to save it.
And this is the message that brings me back to Appleseed as a Jew: be civically involved. We tell our students that the past teaches us three paths. The first is the path of slavery and subjugation. The second path is that of violent rebellion and bloodshed. Neither of these paths are good or desired. But from them comes the opportunity of a third path: freedom through civic involvement. That third path was won for us by our ancestors. In Appleseed terms, it was won by Paul Revere, Isaac Davis, and so many others who bled so that we do not need to. But as Jews we know the eternal tale of slavery, struggle and now lived freedom. Freedom that only exists by our continued efforts, and by our learned skills.
And that in-meshed message, that our future is ours to secure, ours to live out and ours because of those who came before should be obvious to any Jew. The message that skill is learned by hands and needed in every generation if for no other reason than to pass it onto the next who will need it also should be no stranger to any Jew. And Appleseed is more than a simple rifle school: it is a history and heritage program with a superb marksmanship clinic. It is a movement to take the couch sitters and pull them into the active body politic. It is a place where history lives and leads us into a better future for us all. It is a place for you.
I would invite each of your readers to come and join us for two days. Come and learn. Your past and present await, as does your future and some new friends. I look forward to meeting each of you.
Over the summer I reported on the Israeli shooters who competed at the ISSF World Championship in Munich. As it turns out, the USA also sent a Jewish shooter, Sharon Barazani. Sharon took first place in 50m Prone with a 596 - 45x! Mazal tov! Click below to watch the video of Sharon in action.
I am a former national champion archer with two national records while in college - and I can't wait for Maccabiah Games to institute Archery as a Masters sport! I'd love nothing more than to carry the American/US flag in the parade in Israel.
Secondly, I was a [manager] of the Arizona State ROTC Rifle Team [...] and also on the side was a member of a fast-draw pistol/side-arm group.
I emailed Rabbi Lerner a little while back to ask him more about his history with guns and bows. With his permission, I republish his response:
Dear JM
I mentioned my experience with rifle and archery only to make my point about not hunting or the taking of a life. Except for the holding of a national inter-collegiate title back in early 60's at ASU under the coaching of Margaret Klann, may she rest in peace, who went on after my college days to formalize an NCAA standing for archery. She was a wiz of a coach, a guide in personal issues, and I for one never fully realized what we were accomplishing with her - it was just great sport.
Many years later, I returned to archery instituting archery at Camps Ramah in Berkshires,NY and then Palmer,MA. I was thrilled to re-experience teaching an Olympic style albeit mixed with a "martial arts flavor" for East Coast Jewish youth, and that included everyone in camp throughout each day from camp administrators to the pre-camper staff kids, from kitchen staff to campers. We used every bow we had and every target we could afford, from right after breakfast to right before dinner. I taught my wife to shoot and then passed on lessons to her and the kids I had learned almost 40 years earlier from Mrs. Klann in re-fletching and marking arrows, shooting line etiquette and related it to Jewish laws of respect and courtesy with regard to neighbors and others, to enjoying the woods and "roving" and "field shooting."
Since then, I opened a hands-on Jewish educational Foundation in 2000 and have been using archery as a sport relating to Jewish holidays, especially the 33rd day in the interval between Passover and Shavuot/Festival of Weeks. Tradition and legends claim that students used archery as an excuse to be out in the fields shooting, while in reality they were studying Jewish text and laws in defiance of Roman occupation and oppression which forbade Jewish education and/or practice.
Good to hear from you and anyone interested in archery, check me at out www.jewishfreeware.org for free downloads or consultations on sports and Jewish education.
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