The following was originally posted on the NSSF’s blog and is reprinted here with permission.

We here at NSSF were somewhat bemused over the controversy that sprang from President Obama’s assertion that he shot skeet on a regular basis, and the second wave of commentary that attended the White House release of a photo to prove it.  There’s a reason we’re citing the New York Times coverage in the link above — we’ll get to that later . . .

The assertion came as no surprise to us, because NSSF sponsored and oversaw the renovation of the skeet field at Camp David.  We provided one of the industry’s top facilities consultants, and donated tens of thousands of dollars of machinery, consulting and oversight to build the regulation field.  We provided countless hours of shotgun and safety instruction as well.  We were honored to provide this service for the office of the Presidency, and our investment appears to be paying off by recruiting new shooters. Welcome, Mr. President.

In the same vein, we can offer the president some constructive advice on his shooting.  Mr. President, try leaning a little further forward into the shot to better manage recoil.  Keep your feet about shoulder width apart, and put more weight on your leading foot.  You appear to be shooting a gun with “neutral cast,” to wit, a straight stock.  Since you’re shooting left-handed, you may want to look into a different stock cast to better accommodate you.  And if you’re going to get a custom gun, make sure they measure your length of pull first.  Proper gun fit makes an enormous difference in accuracy, and thus in your enjoyment of the sport.

You may also want to try out the semiautomatic shotguns that another one of our member companies donated to Camp David.  These too come in left-handed versions, which eject the spent casing to your left, instead of to the right as is customary.  No matter which way the case ejects when you shoot the semiautomatic,  you’ll notice that the gun still only shoots one round per pull of the trigger, just like the over/under you’re shooting in the picture.

In fact, the semiautomatic shotguns are functionally identical to all the semiautomatic firearms that Senator Dianne Feinstein has proposed to ban in her sweeping new legislation, S. 150.  We feel like we have to keep repeating that fact, because many of the media voices that consider themselves learned scholars on gun policy don’t even know the difference between a rifle and a shotgun, for heaven’s sake. Note that The New York Times article has a correction at the bottom of the page, because it originally said that you were shooting a rifle in the picture — a mistake quickly repeated by dozens of other media outlets.  Many of these same media outlets have been quick to editorialize about which guns Americans should and should not be allowed to own, when apparently they wouldn’t know a rifle or a shotgun from a barn door.  Go figure.

You’re wearing both eye and ear protection, which are required, but a shooting vest and some custom earplugs might make you more comfortable – those earmuffs can get clammy on a hot day.  Finally, a note to the photographer:  It’s better policy to stand directly behind the shooter on any active range, because it’s safer and besides, you can see (and snap, if you’re quick) whether he hit the target.

Gun owners, by the way, have only a few short weeks before we see whether the Congress puts a target on our Second Amendment rights.  We urge you and all our elected lawmakers to know your target, which is the criminal misuse of firearms, not arbitrary limits on which guns and magazines law-abiding citizens can legally purchase.  Don’t aim the gun of heavy-handed restrictions and regulations at anything you’re not willing to destroy, including the hundreds of thousands of jobs our industry provides.  Did you know that new restrictions on gun and ammunition purchases will also damage wildlife conservation programs? That’s because our nation’s federal conservation grants are funded primarily by the excise taxes on gun and ammo sales.

So the outcome of this pending legislative debate is very important.  And believe me, we’re watching that even more closely than the pictures of you shooting a shotgun at Camp David.

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37 COMMENTS

    • Everyone that is gun friendly should love the NSSF. A great organization that is on our side. They have many videos for those just starting out covering a wide variety of topics. The videos are free and I think they are on youtube as well.

  2. That is not going to matter to a man with delusions of grandure. He is the savior so the pres will need to be stopped, I do not believe he will back off willingly. We can essentially give them nothing with some tolken compromises & leave it at that, Randy

  3. I still go by my reply in an earlier thread about this…

    PHOTOSHOPPED!

    NSSF should have called out the occupier in the WH!

  7. That press release is full-to-bursting with WIN, especially the paragraph that starts with “functionally identical.” Someone had a lot of fun penning that.

  8. If the grabbers are hoping to drive a wedge between target shooters and 2A adherants they’ve clearly failed with the NSSF.

  9. Why would they bother to photoshop the picture of Obama shooting when it would be so easy to take an actual picture of him shooting an actual shotgun?

  10. Did anyone else note he uses a shotgun with a ported barrel compensator, but having a threaded barrel for attaching a compensator to other firearms is one of the evil features he wants to ban?

    • Shotgun barrels are internally threaded for choke tubes. What you saw was an extended choke tube, which project an inch or so beyond the end of the barrel.

      • No I mean look at the gas escaping, most is from the end of the barrel, but some is ported out the top about six inches back from the muzzle.

        Not a threaded barrel compensator, but unless I am mistaken a compensator none the less?

        • No, it’s just a ported shotgun with a choke. Pretty standard for medium and high-grade shotguns.

          I’m assuming the President wouldn’t be shooting low-end hardware. He might not know the difference, but whoever got it for him would.

  11. Many of these same media outlets have been quick to editorialize about which guns Americans should and should not be allowed to own, when apparently they wouldn’t know a rifle or a shotgun from a barn door. Go figure.

    Exactly. Public discourse about gun control is very much like those petitions that go around from time to time about ending women’s suffrage or banning dihydrogen monoxide. The only difference is that gun control activists are being serious.

  12. We urge you and all our elected lawmakers to know your target, which is the criminal misuse of firearms

    Sorry, NSSF – that’s not their target, it’s our target. Their target is civilian disarmament.

  13. The NSSF represents the manufacturers, not the consumers (us). If the NSSF is breaking POTUS’ balls, it’s because that’s what the manufacturers want it to do. The same manufacturers who previously sold us out, like Smith & Wesson and Ruger, seem to have grown up, grown a pair, and mirabile dictu are standing solidly with us. Behold the power of cash!

    • I’m not questioning their motives. Just like the Democrats who fight for their Second Amendment rights, they are allies for now.

      • I’m not questioning their motives either. In fact, I know exactly what their motives are. And I approve of the fact that Smith, Ruger and others have finally figured out on which side their bread is buttered. Remington and the rest of the Freedom Group’s hostage companies never got the message, and look where they are now.

        Since NSSF is cracking wise with POTUS, it seems to me that the consumer-oriented manufacturers are finally driving the bus, and in the right direction. It’s about time.

  14. America. A Nation of rule under law.

    “In the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, a Bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited and for other purposes.”
    “The Act may be cited as the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013”.
    http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons
    Objections anyone? And upon what grounds, if any?

    “Gun owners, by the way, have only a few short weeks before we see whether the Congress puts a target on our Second Amendment rights.”
    Since the Federal government grants only certain, specified and limited rights to the people via the Second Amendment, they must therefore ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.
    Simple. Really.

  17. I’m an engineer. I love technical drawings! But I think the legend that says “Base Cord” Should read “Base Chord”; As in:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_(geometry)

    I know it’s nitpicky, but little errors like that just jump right out at me and beat me about the brain.

    I love the, “We built that”, dig. Brilliant!

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