Points of Impact: October 16, 2021

ICYMI: Pro Shooter Jerry Miculek on Long-Range Shooting; Hypothermia Hype; "Blood Falls" and more ....

by posted on October 16, 2021
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Target With Rifle Holes

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to render a potential landmark ruling on its first Second Amendment case that deals specifically with firearms in more than a decade, NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) Executive Director Jason Ouimet spoke with Grant Stinchfield on Newsmax about the incredible importance of this case. Check it out here.

Gun reviews have appeared in magazines and websites for decades, and have been relied upon by millions—mostly men—who are weighing a decision on whether to purchase a particular gun. But what do women want to learn when they’re reading a gun review? Simply put, women respect the opinion of a community of other women gun buyers. Read more about how women consume information about guns in “Gun Reviews and What Women Really Want.”

Hypothermia is when a body’s core temperature drops low enough to jeopardize normal bodily functions. We’re not talking about huge 10- or 20-degree drops, either. As little as three degrees can initiate a series of responses designed to keep you alive, and signal there is a problem. NRA Women Executive Editor Wendy LaFever tells her personal story of unsuspectingly falling into the throes of hypothermia in “Short Shots: Fighting the Cold War,” while our friends at NRA Family tell you all you need to know about this potentially deadly condition.

For a person who has never shot competitively, it can be helpful to relate some basic concepts of how you use your body in other sports. Specifically, sports that require balance and management of weight cross over to shooting pretty well. Shooting champion and NRA Women contributor Becky Yackley purports that skiing and shooting are similar in ways you might not even consider. She shares a few common concepts that might help the average skier become a better than average shooter in “If You Can Ski, You Can Shoot!”

You can say what you want to about your favorite defensive school or those advanced techniques, but the greatest defensive skill that a person can develop is simply awareness. Sheriff Jim Wilson freely admits that developing effective awareness is anything but simple, but being able to spot trouble before it is close enough to get in your face will certainly save you from a lot of trouble and possibly even some pain and grief. Read his advice in “What is the Greatest Defensive Skill” from this month’s Shooting Illustrated.

Did you know that long-range shooting isn't just for long guns? Although we tend to think of long-range shooting as the province of precision rifles, handguns can be extremely accurate out to distances that would surprise you. Who better to explain how that works than world-record-breaking pro shooter Jerry Miculek? Watch the latest video from Smith & Wesson's GUNSMARTS series in which Miculek describes and demonstrates the basics of long-range shooting for both handguns and rifles.

And finally, in our latest installment of "October Spooky Series," we turn our attention to Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valley, part of the one percent of Antarctica that is not covered by ice. However, a subglacial lake occasionally spews red liquid out of the fissures in the Taylor glacier. This waterfall of blood-colored liquid has puzzled scientists for years. Learn more about this buzzing phenomenon in "Blood Falls."

 

 

 

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