Jewish Markswoman Laura Spector Back in Blog

Jewish markswoman Laura Spector is blogging again. As we covered here a few months ago, Laura is a Jewish Olympian who competes in a demanding shooting sport, the Biathlon. Train hard and keep em in the X-ring!

Shana Tova to all Jewish Marksmen

May the new year bring health and happiness to you and your loved ones. (And in the new year, may all your shots find the X-ring!)

Jewish Marksman: From Marksman to Expert

This weekend I had a good Service Rifle match, shooting a 90% average, two levels above my classification. I am currently classed as a Marksman, and hope to be ranked as an expert before the end of the year. The NRA classifications for High Power rifle are:

Classification	percentage	minimum score in a 50 shot match	minimum score in a 80 shot match
High Master	97%	485	776
Master	94%	470	752
Expert	89%	445	712
Sharpshooter	84%	420	672
Marksman	up to 83.99%	419 or lower	671 or lower

Basically, when you compete in NRA sanctioned matches, your scores get sent in to the NRA. After three matches within a class you get moved up (never down) and the NRA sends you a classification card (and some cool stickers). I think it is a really good system, albeit imperfect. Once you get your card, you can take it with you to any NRA match in the country as proof of your classification.

The secret to my jump? No secret, just routine practice and finally getting my act together on the line. I think it has now been my 6th or 7th match, and it has taken me that long to get all the little distractions eliminated. This last match was the first time I felt I could just focus on shooting and not be bothered by things like the spotting scope, how much time I had left, how many rounds I've fired, etc. The only ongoing distraction is my glasses, which are my daily wear glasses and tend to fog under safety goggles and get annoying drops of sweat on them. Once I get that problem solved I can start shooting for Master! Well, first let's get that Expert card by shooting 90%+ consistently!

As for Air Pistol, that has fallen to the side for a while I focus on Rifle. I just don't have the time to keep getting better at both disciplines at once.

If you are a Jewish shooter with an NRA classification, please use the comments to post your classification and the discipline you earned it in!

Mountain Jews: Expert Marksmen

What is a "Mountain" Jew? According to Wikipedia:

Mountain Jews, or Juhuri, are Jews of the eastern Caucasus, mainly of Azerbaijan and Dagestan. They are also known as Caucasus Jews, Caucasian Jews, or less commonly East Caucasian Jews, because the majority of these Jews settled the eastern part of Caucasus, though there were also historical settlements in Northwest Caucasus.

The name "Mountain Jews" or "Caucasian Jews" is something of a misnomer, as it does not include Georgian Jews of the Caucasus Mountains.

In terms of ethnic origin, it is assumed that the Mountain Jews and Tats have inhabited Caucasia for a long time. Their distant forefathers once lived in southwest Persia, the south-western part of present-day Iran. It was there that they adopted the Middle Persian language. The predecessors of the Mountain Jews settled in Caucasian Albania in the 5th–6th century and from that time on their history has been related to the mountains and the people of Dagestan.

After fleeing persecution in Persia, they migrated north to mountain villages on both sides of the high peaks between the Black Sea and the Caspian. They still speak a dialect of Persian and few Juhuri know more than the odd Hebrew phrase.

For centuries Qırmızı Qəsəbə (also known as Krasnaya Sloboda in Russian) in Azerbaijan - perhaps the only completely Jewish settlement outside Israel - kept its traditions intact, surrounded by Muslims. The fall of the Soviet Union, however, in 1991 prompted a mass exodus. In recent years, the population has plummeted as inhabitants emigrate to Israel, America and Europe. It is the last stronghold of the Caucasus Mountain Jews, or Juhuri.

The number of Juhuro in the Caucasus regions outside Azerbaijan is also declining rapidly. In neighbouring Russia, the threat of Islamic fundamentalism^{[verification needed]} and other violence has forced thousands of Mountain Jews to emigrate from Dagestan. In April 2003, vandals desecrated 42 Jewish graves in the region.^[1]

I encourage you to go read the Wikipedia article or this one here. There is also a neat book, with great pictures called Mountain Jews: customs and daily life in the Caucasus By Le'ah Midash-Shema'ilov, Liya Mikdash-Shamailov, Muze'on Yisra'el, much of which can be browsed through google books here.

And the connection to Jewish Marksmanship? According to one article:

"[l]ike the Khazars, the Mountain Jews were 'skilled horsemen and expert marksmen'. They loved horses and nature. Mountain Jews knew the value of self-defense and carried and owned many weapons (especially daggers)."

It seems like in all of the historic pictures of Mountain Jews online, the men are carrying long daggers and belts or outer pockets to accommodate rifle bullets. Mazal Tov!

Lilian Copeland: Olympic Athlete and Jewish Marksman

Lilian Copeland was a top US track and field athlete in the 1920's and 30's. She excelled in the weight throwing events like discus and shot put, but also in javelin. She boycotted the 1936 Olympics because of Hitler and the Nazis. However, we at the Jewish Marksmanship blog are far more interested in her later police career, where she worked for the LA County Sheriff and "qualified as an expert marksman in 1938, scoring 274 points out of a possible 300 in a sheriff’s department competition."

She is the second Jewish law enforcement officer we've covered here, the other being Emil Harris.

Gil Simkovitch Article Provides Marksmanship Insights

About 3 years ago this article appeared in the Jerusalem Post on Israeli rifle competitor Gil Simkovitch. It is interesting in several ways, but most of all how the author's misconceptions about target shooting were corrected. Here is a portion I like:

While some would think of a sport involving rifles and ammunition as aggressive, even violent, for Simkovitch it is an exercise in Zen-like tranquility. He enjoys the peace when he is shooting, calling it "a meditative experience." Since his rifle, a 1913 Anschutz, is ultra-sensitive to the extent that his pulse beating against the barrel shifts the aim, he must be patient and sufficiently aware of his body to time his shots between heartbeats. "It's hard at competitions, when your heart is racing from excitement," he says. "It's a conflict in shooting, because there is pressure to shoot well, which makes it harder. It's easy to shoot a 10 [a perfect score] when you're indifferent, but you can't be indifferent." He therefore engages in a constant dance to achieve equilibrium. "If you try too hard, you will eventually fail," he says. "You have to find a balance. This sport is very much about balance.

Although my #1 training excercise at the moment is simply to find time to practice...#2 is developing the mental skills to shoot as well under match conditions as I do during practice. Gil's observations are 110% b'emet (truth).

Jessica Levine: 2010 Camp Perry Rifle Competitor

Every year target shooting competitors from all across the US flock to Camp Perry located in Ohio for the National Matches. Camp Perry is where we find out who the top guns really are. I know several Jews who go to compete...but until now I haven't seen many Jewish names on the leader boards. This year I saw the name Jessica Levine, and with a little internet sleuthing was able to confirm that one of the elite US collegiate shooters is indeed a member of the tribe!

Jessica's results this year:

• In the NRA 3-Position Championship (201), composed of Metallic Sight Matches (231,232,233), she took 9th place with a 1172-44x. Note this ranking is mixed men and women, military and civilians.
• In standing (232), she shot a 393-14x, which was 2nd place overall, and earned her the titles of High Woman and High Collegiate. By the way, standing is the toughest position and the game that separates the real shooters from the wannabes.
• In the aggregate (Metallic and Any Sight), she placed 13th with a 2309-72x!

Mazal Tov!

ISSF World Cup: Womens 50m Prone

Ella Sterberg took 33rd with a 592- 31x, and Adi Cohen took 68th with a 583- 26x. Polina Medviner took 67th in the Juniors competition with 572- 22x. Mazal Tov!

Sid Caesar: Jewish Marksman

Sid Caesar, the famous actor, writer and comedian is another Jewish Marksman. According to this article quoting a Jewish waiter in the Catskills:

"One of my special guests in the hotel was Sid Caesar. He was a great guy, very nice; I even played pinochle with him. Sid Caesar was quite a marksman. I would go into town, buy cans of shaving cream, and he would shoot them to see how high they would go. He had a .357 magnum and a high-powered rifle. He wouldn't kill a fly, but he loved to shoot. His best friend owned the Joyva halvah¹³ company. They'd fill the halvah tins with seltzer, shoot at them. If you have money, you can do anything."

I stumbled across a quote from Caesar's biography, where he talks about shooting with famous Jewish comedian Buddy Hackett:

ISSF World Championships: Womens 50m 3P

Yael Kan-Dagan took 36th with a 575- 19x, and Junior Polina Medviner took 57th with 560- 12x. Mazal Tov!

ISSF World Championships: Guy Starik takes 4th in 300M Prone

300M is a real sniper's competition, using centerfire rifles. Guy Starik took 4th with a 598- 31x, Mazal Tov!

ISSF World Championship: More Israeli Junior Excellence!

Leor Madlal and Immanuel Ben-Hefer had an outstanding 50m 3P competition, scoring 1161-58x and 1137-48x for 4th and 47th place. Mazal Tov!

ISSF World Championships: Great Junior Results!

Leor Madlal took second place in 50m Men's Prone Rifle with 595- 38x, just short of first place by 2x! Mazal Tov! Leor also took 58th in 10m Air Rifle with a 582- 30x. Immanuel Ben Hefer took 15th place in 50m with 593- 31x, also very impressive! Immanuel also took 77th place in 10m Air Rifle with 575- 22x.

Polina Medviner took 76th in 10m Women's Air Rifle with a 387- 23x.

ISSF World Championships: Mens 50m Rifle

What are the odds that Israelis Guy Starik and Gil Simkovich would shoot the same score? 595- 39x, for 33rd place. Mazal Tov!

ISSF World Championships: Womens 10m Air

Tal Chen, Ella Sternberg and Adi Cohen together put Israel into 17th place out of 30, Mazal Tov!

Their individual scores and places were, respectively 22:396-25x, 70:392-24x, and 94:390-22x.

ISSF World Championships Begin in Munich - Rickhter off to a Good Start!

Israeli Sergy Rickhter took 24th (out of 128) place in Men's 10m Air Rifle with a 593- 51x. Mazal Tov!

I'll be posting results for the Israeli shooters throughout the World Championships, and also for American Dmitriy Schteyman if he did get over to Munich.

Jewish Marksman Reviews an Israeli Pistol: Jericho 941 (a.k.a. Baby Eagle)

In the past two years I've had two opportunities to shoot the Israeli Weapon Industries Jericho 941 (a.k.a. Baby Eagle) chambered in .45 ACP. Actually, on both occasions, both were purchased by Jewish friends (against my advice to get a revolver...) who came to my club range with me to shoot the guns for the first time. I can't say I've put more than twenty or thirty rounds through it, but that's enough for me to form some opinions. On both occasions it was the stainless model. I just shot one today, so I figured I'd share my opinion about this Israeli pistol:

1. Ergonomically, I find it doesn't fit my hand perfectly, but not terribly. I have small hands, so the trigger on its double-action setting is a just a little further away from where I would like it.
2. The double action trigger is pretty heavy, as heavy or heavier than some of my revolvers...but it is smooth.
3. The single action trigger is nice. It has some take up, then a stop, then some creep before a clean break. I think many people will not feel the creep, and will like the single action trigger.
4. The sight picture is decent for a combat pistol.
5. The gun is light, which is an issue shooting full house .45acp and felt recoil, which is stout.
6. It never happened to me, but when my friends shot it they had failures to feed and a stove-pipe...I saw this on both new guns. It could be the gun needs to be broken in, the tolerances do feel very tight. It could be my friends limp-wristed it, not being used to .45 recoil.
7. Those tight tolerances yield a very accurate off-the-shelf gun. I could consistently hit an 8" steel plate at 50 yards with whatever cheap ball ammo the friend bought. At 15 yards I was putting up 2 handed groups within 2-3".
8. I did take one bulls eye style shot, one handed at 15 yards and just had to take the target home (click to enlarge):Would I buy one or recommend one? Probably not. I don't like guns that fail even occasionally, and I don't like the idea that a defense gun needs a "break-in" period. To me the gun is a little light for .45, I'd rather carry a heavier gun and deal with less recoil. If you're going to carry a light .45, you might as well carry a more reliable compact Glock. There are better weekend range guns in .45, like the tried and true ...any 1911.

That being said, I'd be open minded about the Jericho in 9mm, where I think the gun's weight wouldn't be such an issue. When someone refuses to get a revolver and wants a recommendation for a semi-auto, I just tell people to make their lives' simple and get a Glock or a Sig Sauer...you can't go wrong that way.

Revolver Day at the Range

Air pistols and dry firing is peaceful and meditative, but as a shooting buddy likes to say, "It just feels good to shoot a big gun." And today I felt like making some noise. I had a bunch of loose .45 and 38 rounds lying about, just begging to be shot.

First up, .45ACP from a S&W 625 revolver. I have been thinking of doing a monthly Bullseye match at my local club, and using this revolver for the .45 or center fire stages. With the right loads, this gun is a tack-driver. For a few months now I've just been dry firing the gun while watching TV, figuring it was a good way to strengthen the trigger finger as it has a heavier pull than any of my other competition guns. So I brought along my shot timer to see if I could at least get off 5 rounds in 20 seconds for timed fire. I only had 18 loose rounds lying around, but here was the result (ignore the .22 holes, I recycled someone's used target):That target (click on it to enlarge) was 18 shots, one-handed at 25 yards, double action. I shot sets of 5 shots under 20 seconds. I'm pretty happy with the results (the 7 at 7 was a sighter). I'm going to work up a lighter load and see if I can bring my times down under 10 seconds for the rapid fire stage. I've thought about thumbing the hammer, but my hand is a little small for the N-frame 625, and my double action technique keeps getting better, so I'll just stick with that.

Next up was my S&W 649 .357 snub-nose revolver with a 2 inch barrel, but I shot 38 specials out of it: Don't let anyone tell you snub nose revolvers are not accurate...that target (I used a 10m AP target) was shot two handed at 50 feet, double-taps. I've shot the gun out to 25 yards at it groups well, I've also hit steel plates consistently at 50 yards single-action. The rear sights are simply a notch in the frame, so you have to use Kentucky windage to deal with distance, but otherwise the gun will shoot.

Lastly, I wanted to put a few rounds through my wife's gun, a S&W 686 .357, with 38 specials. This is our home defense gun we keep loaded with .357, and the main gun my wife practices with. I had not shot it much actually, but here's how it went at 50 feet with double-taps two handed:Sure enough, turns out that gun is a tack driver too! So I decided to put out a target at 50 yards and shoot it one-handed. After I got it sighted in, the gun was clearly 10-ring accurate...so now I may have a second center fire gun for Bullseye matches.

I'll clean these guns and put them away again, maybe after I accomplish what I want to in High Power rifle I'll take up Bullseye pistol seriously. For now, I'll just keep up with 10m air pistol. I have been practicing, just have not had time to shoot a 60 shot match but hope to soon!

Emil Harris: Marksman and First Jewish Police Chief of Los Angeles

Today I bring you an interesting Jewish marksman. From Wikipedia:

Emil Harris was the only Jewish police chief in Los Angeles, California. He was appointed to serve for one year from 1877 to 1878. He was born in Prussia and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1869. He helped create the city's first volunteer fire department. He began on six-person police department where he quickly became a deputy chief. The Yiddish-speaking cop became chief after his leadership in the Chinatown massacre of 1871. He was also a detective. His conduct during the capture of the horse thief Tiburcio Vasquez in 1874 at the present-day intersection of Santa Monica Blvd. and Kings Road led to his promotion to chief.

He had a really amazing and colorful life as a law man, discussed in an article at the Western States Jewish History web site. The article is really worth reading, especially the parts about the Chinese massacre (As a side note, I have always thought that relations between Jews and Chinese have had an interesting history, both in this country and world wide. I joke with my wife that I want our daughter to someday marry a Chinese Jew...). Harris sure had some adventures...and a sense of Yiddish humor. But he was also a skilled Marksman:

The Turn Verein Germania [(sports club)] had a military section. The rifle division listed its officers in 1876: Emil Harris, captain; Conrad Jacoby, lieutenant; E. Neitzke, sergeant; W. Marxsen, first corporal; and Charles Gollmer, second corporal. When Captain Harris received his sword it was in time for the May Day parade in which he led the Turn Verein’s military company. When the rifle section planned target practice in East Los Angeles at their own shooting range, Harris assured the public, through the daily press, that every precaution was taken to prevent accidents and "that it is utterly impossible for anything of an untoward nature to happen." To accommodate the expected crowd at the rifle practice, "Trains on the East Los Angeles Street Railroad will run every half-hour." The shooting match in the fall of 1876 saw Emil Harris win the top award, the silver medal for rifle marksmanship. "He has to win once again when it will become his permanent property." In the summer of 1876, Harris had been re-elected to another six months term as rifle section captain. In 1902, J. M. Guinn recorded that Harris was one of ten to organize "the Turner Germania, which has grown to be a very important organization, with five hundred members."

The Western States Jewish History page is very interesting...I always enjoy reading about Jewish life in America outside of New York and Florida!

Outstanding Results for Womens 50m 3P Rifle: ISSF World Cup Belgrade

It seems the Israeli women shoot especially well on Shabbos!
Ella Sternberg took 14th with a 577- 25x
Adi Cohen took 27th with 575- 21x
Yael Kan-Dagan 30th with 575- 18x

Mazal Tov, and good luck to all the Israeli shooters in Munich!

P.S. I had a Service Rifle match today and did very, very poorly (well, for me anyway)....blah.