Gary believes he was the first person in the USA to keep a shooting diary.
The first diary he kept is in a small six ring binder; it is mostly a log of scores and rarely includes commentary. He titles it "Training Day Book" because that's what Bogdanov called his (see "An Article from the Archives"). Gary's first entry is May 25, 1957. On that day, Gary received a Remington Model 40-X. His dad gave him his first target rifle as a high school graduation gift. Gary still has the Remington today, but it is well worn and "severely modified."
Mexico City 1968 Gold Medal diary entry:
The story of the Russian "harassment campaign" will be in an upcoming blog.
The last entry in this style of diary is 19 September 1969 from Barcelona, Spain, where Gary fired an 1182 in an international competition with shooters from Spain, Mexico, and Portugal. After this spectacular score, he retired from international competition. The 1182 remained the highest score in the world until 1986. The targets from this match are on display in our home.
In March 1963, Gary wrote an extensive treatise for the American Rifleman entitled "The Training of the Target Shot" which includes a reference to keeping a shooter's diary:
Keep a Shooter's Diary
An invaluable aid in making my marksmanship evaluations has been keeping a shooter's diary. By keeping this notebook I am able to record my daily results, my experiments and their results, and the sensations and feelings I have experienced in making my scores. In this way I have been able to keep a running record of all my marksmanship experiences. Now, whenever problems arise which I have faced before, I am able to refer to their solution. Keeping a shooting diary is a distinct help.
I keep careful records of the effects of atmospheric conditions and other influences which may direct the formation of my shooting tactics. The shooter must be able to recognize the type of wind condition which requires sight changing and the type which requires the selection of one wind velocity to do his firing in. The shooter must know what changing cloud and light conditions will do to the bullet's point of impact. He must know what effect increasing temperatures will have on mirage and his own endurance; this may indicate a particular sequence for the positions. He must know if wind will come into the booth and disturb the stranding position's stability during a certain time of day. He must know how nervousness and endurance will affect the order in which to fire the 3 positions. He but know whether on a certain range or in certain conditions it is advantageous to fire slowly or quickly. He but know if and when he must take breaks in each position. All enter into the development of the shooter's tactics and are things which must be learned during training. Since I shun the use of a scorebook during actual firing, my observation of these factors becomes doubly important. Once more the value of careful thought is clearly shown.
The first diary he kept is in a small six ring binder; it is mostly a log of scores and rarely includes commentary. He titles it "Training Day Book" because that's what Bogdanov called his (see "An Article from the Archives"). Gary's first entry is May 25, 1957. On that day, Gary received a Remington Model 40-X. His dad gave him his first target rifle as a high school graduation gift. Gary still has the Remington today, but it is well worn and "severely modified."
There are five more successive diaries in the same style binder, but a bit larger. Gary calls the first one "Shooting Book-Daily Practice and Match Results." These diaries are fully extended to include commentary on lessons learned in training and match conditions including wind, light, temperature, and mirage. He mentions nervousness and endurance and tactics during all matches, including Pan American Games, Olympics and World Championships.
Tokyo Olympics 1964 Gold Medal diary entry:
The story of the Russian "harassment campaign" will be in an upcoming blog.
The last entry in this style of diary is 19 September 1969 from Barcelona, Spain, where Gary fired an 1182 in an international competition with shooters from Spain, Mexico, and Portugal. After this spectacular score, he retired from international competition. The 1182 remained the highest score in the world until 1986. The targets from this match are on display in our home.
Keep a Shooter's Diary
An invaluable aid in making my marksmanship evaluations has been keeping a shooter's diary. By keeping this notebook I am able to record my daily results, my experiments and their results, and the sensations and feelings I have experienced in making my scores. In this way I have been able to keep a running record of all my marksmanship experiences. Now, whenever problems arise which I have faced before, I am able to refer to their solution. Keeping a shooting diary is a distinct help.
I keep careful records of the effects of atmospheric conditions and other influences which may direct the formation of my shooting tactics. The shooter must be able to recognize the type of wind condition which requires sight changing and the type which requires the selection of one wind velocity to do his firing in. The shooter must know what changing cloud and light conditions will do to the bullet's point of impact. He must know what effect increasing temperatures will have on mirage and his own endurance; this may indicate a particular sequence for the positions. He must know if wind will come into the booth and disturb the stranding position's stability during a certain time of day. He must know how nervousness and endurance will affect the order in which to fire the 3 positions. He but know whether on a certain range or in certain conditions it is advantageous to fire slowly or quickly. He but know if and when he must take breaks in each position. All enter into the development of the shooter's tactics and are things which must be learned during training. Since I shun the use of a scorebook during actual firing, my observation of these factors becomes doubly important. Once more the value of careful thought is clearly shown.
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