Take note of not only the ages of the shooters, but the quality of the rifles and some of the ‘attachments’ to them. These folks are SERIOUS!
And if you want to know ‘why’? This is another one that can be laid at the feet of the Brits and their British Indian ‘Empire’, HERE.
Which is just the ‘latest’ iteration of battles that have been going on since the 7th century!
These people are serious shooters, and obviously have a long and detailed ‘history’ of that when you look at the rifles. Some appear to be box stock, including the sights; others have custom peeap sights, all of them have the hoods on the front sight, and not a single scope is seen.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I sure wouldn’t want to go up against them in their home territory…
Of course, the lack of technology isn’t helping them, as I’m sure someone will point out, but 1300+ years and they still exists says something about their staying power…
h/t ERJ for the link!
A skill that should be taught young and practiced for a lifetime. I especially like the use of peep sights. Looking through that tiny hole has the same affect on the human eye as does the F stop on a camera. The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of focus field.
Let’s take all the money we claw back from the DEI programs and invest in junior high and high school intramural shooting sports. Rifle, pistol, and shotgun.
The Afghans have been in those mountains since before Alexander wandered by. He easily “conquered” them, in that they accepted his dominion, because they knew he was on his way south to attack their real enemies.
The only people to conquer them for any real length of time were the Persians, and even they eventually gave up. The juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze.
“Perfect practice makes perfect.” Eric Dean who may have got it from Jim Higginbothom.
“When lying, wounded, on Afghanistan’s plains, and the women come up to carve up what remains, roll to your rifle…”
If they are training g this son’s that young, we had BEST be doing the same, damnit, and let the girls have some fun too! I can, with a few days of practice, out shoot the Jarhead I married 33 years ago and he never thought the Chair Force would/could train women to shoot. They didn’t. My uncle did so I could shoot coyotes off his cattle while riding fence.
My returned WWII vet dad went out plinking with his future wife’s family. Mom proceeded to out shoot him, and never let him forget it. Wyoming girl taught by her dad. My grandpa grew up in the fading days of the old west and ran a sheep camp alone at age 12.
NRA Junior Rifleman. Back before the trust fund snots took over,in Steamboat Springs, CO the local NRA group had an indoor 50′ range and a few .22 rifles. Once a week we could shoot. Co-ed. That town produced some serious shooters.
None of the rifles were in anyway special. Peep sights and front posts. We kids had to provide our own ammunition. One or two instructors were on hand. Safety was strictly enforced.
Will anything like that ever return? Doubtful, without a change in our country’s values.
Cause/effect? Only one Vietnam conflict casualty from a town of 2,000 population or the many who went to Vietnam.
Ray- If only…sigh
McC- Good point!
Gerry- I ‘think’ that probably goes back to at least the Roman Legions
Susan- I know women I ‘wish’ I could shoot as well as… sigh
WSF- Yep, same here, although we did lose a few more over there.
Practice makes permanent – so make sure what you practice is perfect (what you want to end up doing when stressed)
IIRC there was a Cronin lady who shot pretty well!
Need ear protection.
I noticed mostly Mauser based rifles with 308 length actions, along with an SMLE. Also spotted a sporterized Enfield 1914 (303) or a 1917 (30.06), they are distinguishable by large protective ears at the rear of the receiver and a distinctive, dog leg bolt handle. It’s the only one with decorations.
I know a local gun engraver. Wonder what his reaction would be I handed him my M1917 and said “Full oak leaf coverage, please.”
I defer to Sir Winston in this matter:
To the ferocity of the Zulu are added the craft of the Redskin and the marksmanship of the Boer. The world is presented with that grim spectacle, “the strength of civilisation without its mercy.” At a thousand yards the traveler falls wounded by the well-aimed bullet of a breech-loading rifle. His assailant, approaching, hacks him to death with the ferocity of a South-Sea Islander. The weapons of the nineteenth century are in the hands of the savages of the Stone Age. – Winston Churchill, Malakand Field Force.
Tom- Excellent point!
Fish- Yep!
Tree- Concur
Stretch- People have done it…
Stretch- Agreed!
I work part time as a range officer at a local municipal range. It is my experience that female shooters consistently outshoot their male companions.
As far as female competitors are concerned, check out a very pleasant and attractive female named Sarah Beard.
She outshoots an awful lot of high end riflemen. (Google her and find out.)
The council of the tribe invariably consisted of men each of whom by some dead of daring, or some act of savage, treacherous murder, had brought himself to the front of his own proper section of the tribe in which the whole Council belonged. – pp36, Eighteen Years In The Khyber by Robert Warburton.