The events of the past week have brought home the fact that even the smallest units of measurement make a gigantic difference when magnified by life. Had Donald Trump not turned his head ever so slightly at the precise instant he did during his Pennsylvania speech last Saturday, the nation would likely find itself in a considerably different situation.

But he did.

A tragedy still happened. One innocent bystander was killed; two others seriously injured. But a nationwide catastrophe was likely avoided.

Now, politicians conducting a presidential campaign only the most optimistic would dare describe as “rancorous” before Saturday are running from their words and telling their followers it’s time to dial down the discourse.

I’ve been told that tonight’s RNC speech by former President Trump will be a call to unity, not an assault on his opponents. To me, that’s testimony that a close call with eternity can modify earthly perspective. And further evidence that his constant demonization by political opponents might not be woven out of whole cloth. He’s certainly not your average politician, but that’s never been why he’s resonated with voters.

The average voter has already seen more than enough discord and dysfunction. We’d all like to see some results and feel some relief.

And, yes, rational people do realize that whatever an election’s result, no single candidate’s election will “end democracy”.

Unfortunately, the rational don’t create problems.

It’s the irrational. The disenfranchised. The desperate. And, unfortunately, the angry looking for an excuse to drop a thin veneer of civility and do something that moves them from anger to insanity.

For them, the constant crying of “wolf” is excuse do things they might only otherwise dream about doing.

When the shooting happened, I was in Barneveld, Wisconsin, at the headquarters of Vortex Optics. The occasion was a long-distance shooting event organized by the MidwayUSA Foundation and their sponsors.

Vortex Optics’ facilities in Barneveld, Wisconsin, combines high-tech manufacturing with a pastoral setting. Both of which are essential to learning about long range shooting. OWDN photo

As we scoured our phones, feeds and the web for details on the attempt on Trump, it wasn’t lost on us as shooters that it wouldn’t take long for some to start blaming “us” - as in gun owners in general, for the actions of someone likely influenced by their hysterical rhetoric. As another attendee observed, just hours before, voters were encouraged to get past the debate and “put the bullseye” on Trump. In hindsight, it was either another cosmically poor choice of words or a mobilization call to the crazies.

But there we were.

When my phone pinged with the message “He’s OK” it was a terrific relief. Not just for the political process; for the potential fallout from the assassination of an already polarizing figure.

Being old enough to remember the turbulence of the 1960s, it’s not something I’d like to see happen again. Today, the outcomes would likely be entirely different..

That near miss brought home how minuscule measurements and movements influence life and shooting results - even at the relatively close distance between the former president and the shooter.

Touring the Vortex facilities we saw time and again just now small the measurements of precision manufacturing-and shooting- really are.

When shooting long distances, it seems the new standard for minimal performance is 1,000 yards. Despite what you might see on TV or in movies, it’s a very long distance.

We don’t realize the equipment that enables extreme shots rely on precision that’s the polar opposite. Unlike federal deficits and long distances, they’re too small to comprehend.

To understand the levels of exactness required to manufacture precision optics, it’s helpful to see how small the measurements we toss around really are. The point’s made on a visual aid at Vortex that requires a magnifying device to see a box inside a circle drawn in microns. At a millionth of a meter, it’s not something you can see -but can cause you to miss at long distances.

Take the micron, a unit of measurement the equivalent of a millionth of a meter. That’s 1/70th the width of a human hair, 1/500th of the size of a grain of salt, or 1/1000th the width of a paper clip. That’s the standard to which optics components are designed. Manufacturing to that level of exactness is essential to build optics that enable average shooters to minimize their inabilities and hit long-range targets.

What does all this exactitude add up to? Box-stock rifles and over-the-counter scopes capable of making 1,000-yard plus shots with relative ease.

Box stock rifles and scopes ready for their 1,000 yard tests. The results were uniform…each one made the 1,000 yard shot. Some took more attempts than others, but the tools weren’t the issue.

The knowledge to correctly dial in scope adjustments for the distance and ballistic characteristics of the chosen round is where the art and science converge. Fortunately, Vortex Edge instructors (more on them later) were on hand to do the “hard part.” They calculated holds, we dialed them into our riflescopes and the precision instruments from Ruger, Vortex and Silencer Central (Banish 30 suppressors) did their work.

Everyone made at least one hit at 1,000 yards and picked up their challenge coin.

More on the science and technology picked up at the event later. Today, just random thoughts as to how we were able to make multiple hits at long distances and still be thankful for a near-misses fired considerably closer.

Life, like shooting, is sometimes best measured and most appreciated in small increments.

We’ll keep you posted.

— Jim Shepherd