............you ever knew. I'm referring to the shooter, not an individual instance of making a superb shot, but just what seems like a God-given ability.
Back in the 70s I was shooting doves a lot, and occasionally with my BIL, whose Dad owned a farm near ours. In those days there was a lot of dryland corn grown. Dove shoots could be spectacular at times. The limit was 12, but I confess that almost nobody abided by it. Not a brag, just being honest. Most accepted that it was worth paying the small fine if you were caught over the limit.
I knew this one fellow, probably 6-8 years older than me, who was an arrogant boor, loud and profane, self-aggrandizing, and just generally someone decent people avoided. He took up with my BIL's older brother. He hunted and fished a great deal, wherever and wherever he was allowed, and some places he wasn't allowed, like when he would slip into the warm water ponds across the river from us and shoot ducks on the Savannah River Site. The ponds were cooling off reservoirs for the coolant water from the nuclear reactors, and flowed on into the Savannah River after cooling. You could get a small boat up into the ponds from the river, shoot ducks and get out before site security heard you and arrived. He would kill big ducks by the scores in those warm ponds, during cold weather.
Anyway, back to his wingshooting ability. We were on a cornfield dove shoot one afternoon at my BIL's, and he was there. He had shown up without a gun or shells, for some crazy reason or another. Someone loaned him an "automatic" and shells. Never shot the gun before, but he proceeded to wear the doves out with it. He looked like he killed every bird that came within range of him, and lots that didn't. He didn't have a belt bag, and would walk out to pick up a dove, bend over and get him in his left hand, and someone would holler "Behind you, Bobby!". He would spin around, spot the bird streaking over, raise the gun to his shoulder with one hand and tumble the bird out of the sky, left hand never touching the gun and still holding the previous bird. This wasn't just once, he did it off and on all afternoon. He was a killing machine.
He's still living, but has had some serious health issues and probably can't shoot now like he could then. As I said, he was a "pill" to be around, but giving the devil his due, he was the most phenomenal wing shot I've ever been in the field with. Shame it was "wasted" on such a poor personality.
SRH
