I have never used alibis since my ineptitude is it's own alibi. I have seen shooters who have made poor shots and who had legitimate alibis; sometimes without even knowing it.
I witnessed one such occurence whic I have recounted before but will repeat just in case somebody missed it.
It was probably in about 1979 or'80 and I was shooting at a match at Clearwater BC. I was set up next to Harland Govett. I always liked shooting next to Harlan since I found his patter entertaining. In addition, Harland had a tendency to mess up on occasion, adding t the entertainment.
On this particular day, I had fired my five shots fairly quickly; producing one of my trademark groups which make the moving backer superfluous. Having nothing else to do, I watched as Harland fired his second shot right through the first hole. He looked pleased as he chambered shot number three and sent it downrange. Again, it went right through the original hole. However, at virtually the same time as the shot hit the target, a ladybug landed nearly an inch out at roughly 2 o'clock. Both Harland and I were fooled and believed that to be his third shot. Disgusted, Harland did a creditable job of putting the last two shots between the two holes then got up from the bench. I was still looking at the target when the bug flew away! I still remember Harland's comment when he saw the target, " Hell, that's not as bad as I thought!"
Another classic was fired by John Elliot at the same range. This day was wet. The rain varied between a standard deluge and a " Get to the Ark, and hurry" downpour. I, for one have always wondered what effect raindrops had on a bullet; primarily to ascertain their alibi value. While I still have not been able to quantify the effect of raindrops, I can tell you that rain can, under the right circumstances, have an effect. In this instance, John had a reasonable group going with his 6mm International when, just as he was bearing down for his fifth shot, a stream of water came off the roof and right in front of John's muzzle (or, I should say, his rifle's muzzle. John's was well back.) At the shot there was a cloud of spray and that shot hit a good inch and a half out.
I don't remember who it was who fired a 222 mag through his 6x47. Under normal circumstances, the shot would have missed everything and he might have thought he put one through another hole. Unfortunately for him, his 22 bullet went through the target, sideways, about 2 inches to the right.
Another shooter, I think it was Andy Gilfillan, had chosen faulty brass as his alibi for the day. On this day, Andy was shooting more than his share of flyers and with each flyer, he tossed the offending piece of brass over his shoulder. It wasn't long before he was running low on brass and had to reclaim some.
So, there are legitimate alibis and time tested alibis ( the "double" is an old favourite). Alibis are necessary and so much better than having to say, "I am just stupid!" Regards, Bill
