The following information comes from The Elusive Ten by William Reichenbach. The Elusive Ten is also available to purchase in print.
Just how serious are you about revolver-shooting?
I assume either that you know very little about it and desire to learn, or that you have done some shooting and are eager to improve your scores. But a simple casual desire is not enough. The target revolver demands much more of those who really want to master it.
Do you play golf? What is your handicap? Why is it not lower? Can you improve your game? How? Then, why don’t you?
Do you fish? Are you a good fisherman, invariably proud of your catch? Have you the patience, the knowledge, and the skill which that sport requires? Do you really know much about it? Have you ever missed an opportunity to learn more?
Do you play bridge? Ashamed of your game? Do you spend most of the time apologizing? Or have you always endeavored to improve your play by seeking out better players than yourself so that you could learn from them?
Consider any sport or pastime with which you are familiar. Ask yourself questions of a similar nature. Be frank with your answers. Place the blame for mediocrity where it belongs. Don’t fool yourself.
To succeed in revolver shooting (and by that I mean to score consistently well above the average) will require something of you. Unlimited patience, constructive self-analysis, and non-flagging enthusiasm are some of the absolute essentials. You must learn to wage a winning battle against the perils of discouragement. You must deny yourself the luxury of emotional outbursts of temper. Indeed, the matter of consistent high scoring is dependent on far more than just the eye, the hand, and the trigger finger. You must go behind the obvious exterior, to the nervous system, the centre of your physical control. Before you start, you must gauge the extent of the importance of control. Approach the sport with the determination that your foundation shall rest on solid, substantial, bed-rock control rather than on the treacherous sands of shifting and excitable emotion. In short: Keep cool. Be willing to try again. And always, always keep your chin up!
One more point. You must have a real, intense desire to improve constantly. You must find yourself looking forward with enthusiastic anticipation to the next time your club shoots. You must have that indefinable urge to do better. And when you don’t do better, as will sometimes be the case (for, after all, this is not an easy sport), do not permit that overwhelming urge to lessen. A casual interest cannot carry you to the heights.
Can I help you? Yes, if you will but put yourself in my hands. By that I mean: be absolutely willing to accept certain conditions, prerequisite to our mutual success—I with you and you with the target revolver. Second: digest each lesson thoroughly before taking up the next in sequence. Third: understand that this manual is not composed of a collection of helpful hints; on the contrary, it is a definite system of instruction, intended to develop you ultimately into a competent revolver shot.
And may I ask you the same question a second time? Just how serious are you about revolver-shooting? At least you should know by now what the answer should be.
Click here to purchase The Elusive Ten in paperback
