Piper 'dun gud' with his pellet stacking yarn but I have a real challenge for him.
When I was in my early 20s I spent most afternoons after I got off of work 'hanging out' at my Uncle's gunsmith shop until time to go pick up my wife when she got off. A friend where I worked was another regular 'hanger outer'. :wink: About once a week my Uncle would reach into a corner and retrieve his old Benjamin and pick up a tim of pellets, a roll of masking tape and a few pitching size washers as we trailed him out to the back yard for the weekly challenge.
The object was to shoot thru the hole in the center when they were pitched in the air. The masking tape was to be able to prove it.
Give it a try----it ain't too easy! Place a strip of masking tape over the hole and pitch it as straight up as you can and give it a shot. (pun intended!)
Uncle Bill was good for about 2 outta 3. I finally got up to @ 1 outta 3 or a little better. Poor Gene never 'got it'. Bet I couldn't hit the hole in 20 shots these days.
FWIW----Uncle Bill's 3 sons (considerably older than I ) were all superb wingshots. He taught them wingshooting in that same backyard using a .22 rimfire to shoot Chimney Swifts as they were feeding just before dark. The trick for hitting both the washer and the Chimney Swifts (utterly illegal in the current era!) was to shoot just as they are about to pause momentarily. The washer pauses at the top of the toss and is easily predictable after you've done it a while. But take an opportunity to observe the feeding habits of the Chimney Swift. Yes they have something that could be charitably called a pause in their flight pattern when feeding but only the Swift knows exactly when it will be. They were pretty safe from me. :wink:
When I was in my early 20s I spent most afternoons after I got off of work 'hanging out' at my Uncle's gunsmith shop until time to go pick up my wife when she got off. A friend where I worked was another regular 'hanger outer'. :wink: About once a week my Uncle would reach into a corner and retrieve his old Benjamin and pick up a tim of pellets, a roll of masking tape and a few pitching size washers as we trailed him out to the back yard for the weekly challenge.
The object was to shoot thru the hole in the center when they were pitched in the air. The masking tape was to be able to prove it.
Give it a try----it ain't too easy! Place a strip of masking tape over the hole and pitch it as straight up as you can and give it a shot. (pun intended!)Uncle Bill was good for about 2 outta 3. I finally got up to @ 1 outta 3 or a little better. Poor Gene never 'got it'.
Bet I couldn't hit the hole in 20 shots these days. FWIW----Uncle Bill's 3 sons (considerably older than I ) were all superb wingshots. He taught them wingshooting in that same backyard using a .22 rimfire to shoot Chimney Swifts as they were feeding just before dark. The trick for hitting both the washer and the Chimney Swifts (utterly illegal in the current era!) was to shoot just as they are about to pause momentarily. The washer pauses at the top of the toss and is easily predictable after you've done it a while. But take an opportunity to observe the feeding habits of the Chimney Swift. Yes they have something that could be charitably called a pause in their flight pattern when feeding but only the Swift knows exactly when it will be. They were pretty safe from me. :wink: