We watched “Dirty Harry” last weekend. Our daughter gave her dad the “Dirty Harry” series DVD set for Father’s Day. I was enjoying the setting – the early 1970s in San Francisco. Watching the cars, noticing the polyester plaid suits, long sideburns. We used to hang out in San Fran when we were newlyweds and lived in Sacramento in the late ‘70s. There were lots of VW bugs at that time on the streets, just like in the movie.
It didn’t take long, though, for my little trip down memory lane to get sidetracked. In the first scene after the bank robbery, when Harry utters that famous line, “Do you feel lucky, Punk?” and then, he puts his finger all the way through the trigger guard and dry fires at the guy that just robbed a bank – that’s when the NRA instructor in me yelled, “Hey … why are you pulling the trigger like that, Harry?”
A follow up column could be titled, “Harry, get a grip!” What IS that grip he’s modeling?
But hey, take a look at those Hollywood actors, and ask yourself this question: If they are really into portraying real life cops, shooters, etc., then why in the wide world of shooting do they hardly ever have a proper trigger squeeze?
Case in point: the Jodie Foster movie, “The Brave One.” Once I got over that we had the same type of Birkenstocks (Gizhas in black), I noticed that Jodie knocked off bad guys by not only sticking her whole finger through the trigger guard, yanking the trigger with the first joint of her index finger, but also by shutting her eyes and sometimes turning her head away from the sight picture!
Here I am shooting a Desert Eagle. Photo by Holly Heyser, who said the recoil was fantastic, almost above my head!
So, I’m letting Hollywood know that I’m available to teach the six fundamentals of proper shooting, the NRA way. In fact, when I was taking my instruction, another NRA instructor and I (Dian Cooper) coined the phrase to remember the six fundamentals: Pistols Go Bang, So Think Fast:
P: Pistols – Position
G: Go – Grip
B: Bang – Breath control
S: So – Sight alignment
T: Think – Trigger squeeze
F: Fast! – Follow through
I know Hollywood prefers the top guns in the shooting world, like my buddy Todd Jarrett, who has worked with Pacino, DeNiro and also knows Sharon Stone! I wouldn’t charge as much as Todd does. Bring him in for the rootin’ shootin’ reloadin’ hot stuff, and like I say, I’m willing to stand there and work with Clint or Jodie on their trigger squeezes.
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Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com. View all posts by Barbara Baird
lol.. was watching a PBS show a bit ago with our kids.. and it stated that the average age of hunters is 40.. and was talking about taking kids hunting and teaching them.. the show then switched to a scene with a little boy shooting at ducks with his dad.. and he jumped up and Blam…. missed ! and they were all giggling about it as i said.. “Hey.. Put that gun on SAFE!” our youngest son.. looked at me and said.. “mom, they can’t hear you, and besides, it was recorded a long time ago.”
I am glad to know I am not the only one who talks to the tv..
I love this!