First Memory of Shooting

Jim's first memory of shooting was with a BB gun on his grandfather's farm. He was ten years old. Tin cans were no problem, so he went after harder targets-like flying birds and chipmunks. After he figured out how much to lead them, they were easy to hit too.

When he was twelve Jim's grandfather let him try a .22-caliber single shot rifle. After a few practice shots to zero in the weapon, Jim was on target and tin cans were flying in any direction he wanted.

There was a hunting equipment exhibition at a nearby armory. In one corner was a shooting gallery for clay pigeons. For $1.50 you got 5 .22 bullets with grape shot. If you hit 4 out of 5 targets, you got to shoot 5 more times for free. Jim paid $1.50 and kept hitting 5 out of 5 targets for the next 20 minutes. The owner of the gallery watched in fascination. His grandfather stood behind Jim watching him shoot; finally, he said "OK, hotshot time to go home." The nickname stuck.

Only the arc of the squirrel's back was outlined against the sky, because it was dusk. Jim had to imagine where the tree limb ended and the squirrel's body began. "THWUMPP"-the squirrel froze on the tree limb 25 feet up. Jim knew by the sound that the bullet hit its mark. After a long time, he heard frantic scratching noises, then saw the squirrel dangling on the limb by its front legs like a trapeze artist about to swing. After a few seconds, the squirrel released its grip and landed on its stomach motionless. Jim flipped it over with the barrel of his rifle; he squinted in the remaining daylight and could see the bullet hole and a spot of blood over the heart. Jim smiled because he knew it was a great shot. He picked up the lifeless squirrel by its hips. As he walked down the dirt road towards his grandparent's house, he had a squirrel in each hand.

In high school, Jim was on a state championship rifle team. He had a beautifully balanced .22 that cost $400, which was more expensive than any rifle he had previously fired. The team's name was "pin wheelers"-which stand for a perfect shot that cuts out the center of a bullseye. His coach had a friend who was a champion shooter. One day after practice he took the team to his friend's house. The coach said to his friend "show them your medals." His friend opened a footlocker filled with every shooting medal imaginable, including some from Camp Perry-where the military has an annual shooting event for the best of the best. Jim thought it was Christmas to see the gleaming, colorful ribbons. It made a lasting impression.

Jim also loved the movie "Sergeant York." He marveled at York's skill in shooting. He admired York's confidence in a turkey shoot when he traded the turkey he won for 5 bullets, which he used to win a cow.

His coach took Jim and one of his teammates to a range where you shot prone position at 600 yards with an open site M-1. The target was a barely visible 5 foot silhouette. His pre-shot routine was meticulous. He would slowly exhale, while very gently squeezing the trigger, so that when the shot went off it was a surprise. In his first attempt shooting this weapon at this distance, he hit 9 out of 10.

After qualifying expert with the M-16 at pop-up targets from 50 to 300 yards, Jim's drill sergeant asked each trainee as he left the firing range: "whad ya shoot, son?" "forty out of forty, drill sergeant," Jim replied.

At 50 yards with an M-16, his 5 shot pattern covered a dime. He also fired the M-14, which he liked better for distance shooting.

Jim's uncle was a marine who fought at Guadalcanal. He took three machine gun bullets in his back, but miraculously survived and was not paralyzed. Two bullets were removed. The third was too close to the spinal cord, so it was his souvenir. His advice to Jim was "keep your head down."

"Life is tough. It's tougher when you're stupid."

-John Wayne, Sands of Iwo Jima

Because he was a pure shooter, he became a sniper with the rank of captain.

There is a saying in the military "watch out for the little guys," because they're the ones who were bullied and became black belts as a consequence. You could add to that by saying watch out for Jim, because he was a man on a mission.

Jim was on the roof of a building down the street. It was early evening when he aimed his XM3 (.308 Winchester) sniper weapon system with a Universal Night Sight hambered with 175-grain Black Hills ammunition. It has a sub-minute of angle accuracy-meaning it can produce a one inch 3 shot group at 1,000 yards.

From 900 yards, Jim looked through his scope and aimed the crosshairs at the head of the insurgent who was burying a roadside bomb. The round struck half an inch below his right eye, showering blood and seared brain matter into the air.

Jim had 10 confirmed kills in Iraq and is now in Afghanistan.

I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees.

I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees.

Asked the lord above for mercy, "save me if you please."

Song by Robert Johnson