Snapshots: Not What Wilbur and Orville Had In Mind … And Bacon

by
posted on June 3, 2014
keefe2015_fs.jpg

We have a winner … or two for "Not Legal for Sale in California." From AmericanRifleman.org we have, "Did he fire 42 shots or only 41? Well to tell you the truth Punk, I kind of lost track myself …" submitted by Michael Bodner, and from Facebook we have Joshua James: "I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking 'did he fire 48 shots or only 47?' Now to tell you the truth I forgot myself in all this excitement. But being this is an Enouy, the most absurd handgun in the world, you've gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?'"

Hmm. Seeing as we have only one coaster, we award this week's prize to Joshua for best use of an adjective (although we actually may have photos of more absurd guns) in a caption contest but will find an alternate runner-up prize for Michael.

When you have magazines dating back to 1885, you end up flipping through pages and chuckling at times over what you find. Although American Rifleman is the world's oldest and largest firearms authority, it doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. And we’re willing to share that fun with our readers. Thus continues the American Rifleman’s weekly photo caption contest.

On Nov. 12, 1912, George W. “Birdman” Beatty and Charles Lee Calder took to the air over Staten Island, N.Y., “Having tested the full joys of ‘the shoot’ on the Old Mother Earth, the twentieth century marksman has finally taken his modern firearm into the heavens, on the wings of the torpedo boat of the clouds, there to battle in more glorious conquests.” What was the “glorious conquest?” Zooming around the skies of New York shooting balloons. Calder’s opponent whiffed on all five of his balloons, “Though his aviator worked skillfully in jockeying.” Calder, the clear winner of this Wright Flyer-based version of pre-sporting clays, nailed three, and said “[T]here is no diversion to compare with ‘gunning in the clouds’ for pure enjoyment, and predicts for it a permanent place among American sports.” Yeah, not so much.

The original caption was “A Shotgun Shooting Contest in the Air,” but we think you can do better.

snapshots week 4

Keep it clean. Bloomberg probably pays an intern minimum wage to read this blog. Entries will be subjectively judged by staff editors between takes of the TV show, testing guns and making authors seem literate. The winner we deem worthy will be printed here. All judgments final. No returns. Winner will receive a random item from a box under Mark Keefe's desk the manufacturer did not want back, yet was marginally valuable enough to not throw away. This week’s special guest judge is American Hunter's own Shawn Skipper, who contributed the most satisfying prize to date. As if just being bacon were not enough-Mmm, bacon-we have an actual can of CMMG’s Tactical Bacon. That’s right, 9-ozs. of bacon, perhaps combat-ready bacon, delivered to your door if you have the best caption for Birdman Beatty and his A-5 toting friend. The instruction on the can are very clear “Open can” followed by step two, which is “receive bacon.” Actually we have no idea what is actually in this can. It is probably bacon, but it could be cling peaches from the Eisenhower Administration. We don’t really know.

CMMG Tactical Bacon

Official Snapshots Rules:

• Caption submissions must be made in the comments section of this blog, or on the corresponding Facebook post.

• One winner will be chosen, selected by Mark Keefe or a randomly selected guest judge.

• Keep it clean, folks.

Latest

Don Bower at shooting bench outdoors with T/C Contender pistol and 7 mm Super Bower ammunition
Don Bower at shooting bench outdoors with T/C Contender pistol and 7 mm Super Bower ammunition

Bower Wildcats & The Quest For Ultimate Pistol Accuracy

Colorado experimenter Don Bower has developed a series of wildcat cartridges and modifications to the Contender pistol that extend its range to 500 meters, with accuracy many refuse to believe ...

Preview: Barnett Demun AccuStrike Pro

The new Demun line of miniature, “pistol-style” crossbows from Barnett are surprisingly potent given their extreme compactness, and the AccuStrike Pro is both the family’s most powerful and most feature-packed member.

New For 2025: Rossi Brawler In 5.56 NATO & .300 Blackout

Building on the .45 Colt/.410 bore Brawler introduced in 2024, Rossi USA is expanding its line of break-action handguns to include chamberings in 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout.

Preview: Winchester Supreme W20-60X 80 mm Spotting Scope

Sure, the skilled use of your firearm is vital to the success of any big-game hunting adventure, but you’ll first need to find your quarry, and Winchester’s new Supreme line of optics includes a pair of reasonably priced spotting scopes that can help put you on the trail of your target animal.

Gun Of The Week: Heritage Mfg. Roscoe

Welcome to another American Rifleman Gun Of The Week video, and this time, we’re checking out a revolver fit for all the private eye wannabes and film noir fans out there. This is the Roscoe from Heritage Manufacturing.

The Armed Citizen® May 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.