From the time I was knee high to my grandfather I can remember him saying, “You gotta hold a fine bead.” Of course he was talking about shooting and shooting was something that was a matter of pride to him and just about every other West Virginian I met. Well, at least back in the day. One thing I’ve learned since those days tromping along at my grandfather’s heels is that his advice of “holding a fine bead” applies to just about everything else in life too.
But, this is not about the other things in life, it is about shooting. I remember when Dad used to tell me about going to Basic Training. He said when the drill instructor found out he was from West Virginia he remarked, “Well, at least we won’t have to teach you to shoot.” Apparently, not much changed between the time Dad was at Fort Knox and when I went there some 30 years later. The drill sergeants said the same thing to me.
The West Virginia University Rifle team is made up of 11 shooters. Granted, only two are from West Virginia, but that pride in trigger pulling is something the school has adopted. And, it something that the other team members from Missouri, Maryland, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and even as far away as Poland, Germany, Estonia and Slovenia have embraced as well. You might also find it interesting that the coach of the WVU Rifle Team is from Scotland. The irony is that much of Vest Virginia was originally settled by Scots/Irish immigrants who found a home in the hills and learned to use a rifle to feed their families and fight off the Shawnee.
Today the WVU Rifle Team is competing in the NCAA National Rifle Shooting Championship. This sporting event will not get any national press and folks all over the country will not be celebrating and partying like they do when the NCAA basketball and football championship games are played. To some extent I can understand this, watching a rifle shooting match is not as exciting as football or basketball. But, unlike those sports, which are just games invented to celebrate athletic greatness, a rifle match celebrates something else. It celebrates American freedom and the long standing tradition of firearms ownership in this country. (No other piece of sporting equipment is mentioned in the Constitution.)
In a time when guns seem to be politically incorrect, I’m proud to live in a State where the mascot for our University carries a rifle and where the school strongly supports the rifle team. The West Virginia University Rifle Team – currently ranked number 1 – has won an unprecedented 15 NCAA National Championships; five more than the next closest team which is the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
Let’s hope those WVU shooters take my grandpa’s advice and hold a fine bead!
