The Jerry Miculek Story

[OneBadV8]

Always liked watching this guy shoot and talk about shooting. He just published this video on his channel last week.

[video=youtube_share;BWWhYeq3M6c]https://youtu.be/BWWhYeq3M6c[/video]

 

[jnicol6600]

Oh yea I watched this as soon as it was posted. Jerry is a great story teller

 

[traderjoe]

On Comcast Sportsman Channel he has had a series going every Wednesday

 

[gregkl]

It was a great story.

It is a reminder to me that it's okay to be in awe of shooters like him and frankly, many of the shooters that post videos of themselves shooting a COF in USPSA, IDPA, etc..

Because Jerry and those of you that have become even somewhat proficient have put the time in. He wakes up thinking about shooting and goes to bed thinking about shooting. Those of you that are pretty good may not invest that much of your life into your sport, but you invest enough to get where you are.

I need to understand that I am where I am because of what I have done. I really liked the part where he said when it comes time to go you have to clear out the distractions and do what you can in that moment. I need to heed that, try and relax and realize where I am at in the shooting world. I may only be 4 years younger than Jerry, but I'm 50 years behind him in shooting and he is still growing that gap.

I did get to sit at a table with him at lunch one year at the NRA show in Indy. We just exchanged pleasantries as it was one of those large cafeteria tables that are open seating. He and a bunch of S&W reps sat down at the table I was sitting at. I thought it was cool.

 

[Twangbanger]

He reminds me of my late uncle: "If you missed the morning - you missed the day." I miss that guy.

I found 3 things really interesting in this:

1) Shooting is an accumulation of visual experiences...shooting until you have an epiphany, then stringing together those epiphanies.

2) Erasing the memory of past championships, so it doesn't become an "anchor" in his words. Winning a championship can be the worst thing that happens to you, if it changes the way you think.

3) He affirms that there are really two different types of trigger control. Not one. Which is not understood by many. The "moving gun" vs. "stopped gun" observation is an interesting one, too. There are 3 modes of marksmanship with a gun. Mowing down stationary plates, and squeezing out an X at distance, and smoking a flying clay out of the air, are three really different skill sets. What makes you good at one, does not make you good at the others. It's interesting to see these shooters who are working at the interface of those three disciplines, integrating them together.

Most sports usually mature to a point where a lot of the winning is being done by kids who have been supported by their parents in the sport since they were little, and grow up into champions...the "Tiger Woods" effect. At this point, the "Tigers" have not completely taken over shooting, yet. I always think it's interesting to see people like Jerry Miculek, who came up the "old school" way. He was interested in hunting and the outdoors as a kid, so he had a favorable introduction. But nobody was carting him to matches as a kid, before he was old enough to drive. He followed a more "normal" progression: he developed an interest as a kid, supported himself and got a job, and once he got into competition, competed on weekends. The first couple million rounds he fired in his life were not paid-for by someone else. Most shooting champions are still like that. But the trophy lists at competitions shifts a little each year, toward the other type. And Jerry has raised one of the "Tigers," himself. It is normal and not something that can be helped. But after you've almost been run over multiple times at shoots by teenagers roaring around the grounds in golf carts, lugging $Xk guns around, it's still interesting to see trophies being won by people who were _not_ driven to matches by their parents as a kid, and are still at the top of their game into their 60s.

Great video.