Feel Free To Build Me One . . .

Here is a clipping from one of Colonel Cooper's Commentaries. I wish I knew where I could find an Apitir locally. If I ever get a few square miles of land, I'll have to build one, and y'all can come shoot it up.

The faithful continue to ask us about the design and construction of the Apitir, which was originated here at Gunsite but turned down by the interim management. This is a good device and should be more generally appreciated. It consists of a double running steel target, which is actuated by the shooter and releases two 10-inch steel disks running in opposite directions from the centerline, powered by gravity. The shooter releases the two disks simultaneously with his shooting hand and tries to knock each off its runner before the end of the passage, which is a matter of 10 meters each way. He starts the exercise at the 5 meter line, and each time he cleans the exercise he replaces the steels at the centerline and starts over again at a greater distance. This is a nifty exercise but, of course, it involves only one shooter at a time and is limited in operations involving a great many shooters. It is easy to build, however, and should be set up on a semi-permanent basis at any major shooting facility.