We can add shooting to the list of things people do in their Vibram Five Fingers! Robbie sent us his story about a recent trip to the shooting range with Texas Governor, Rick Perry. Read about it after the jump.
Last Friday I had the opportunity to go shoot sporting clays with Texas Governor Rick Perry at a private hunting ranch in Liberty Hill, TX.
I knew the area would be hilly and rocky, with a lot of hiking between shooting stations. Additionally, having a solid and balanced stand is essential to shooting sporting clays.
Which means that I knew my new KSO Trek Sports would be the ideal footwear for a little competitive shooting in the Texas Hill Country.
If you’ve never shot sporting clays before, it’s a lot like playing golf, with shotguns. Each shooting station presents a pair of clay pigeons thrown from various heights, directions, and trajectories, and you have two shells in your shotgun to shoot down each target. You typically shoot each pair of clays 3-4 times, and score the number of “killed” targets.
I had a lot of interesting comments and subsequent conversations with people about my shoes — to include Gov. Rick Perry. When Gov. Perry first noticed my shoes, he was sitting on a bench waiting his turn to shoot, and looked down and said, “Whoa — what the heck is on your feet? Oh, I’ve heard about those…are they comfortable?”
Gov. Perry asked me to sit down and tell him more about my toe shoes. He even asked me to take one off so he could examine it more closely. For those that don’t know, Gov. Perry is an avid and very good runner, often competing (at a fairly competitive level) in local 5 and 10k races. He said, “I could never run in those because I need more cushioning.” To which I responded, “No you don’t.”
Anyhow, I gave him my 2-minute testimonial on how VFFs have changed my life and enabled me to start living free from the knee pain that has plagued and hindered me for the last 10 years. He said the wanted to get a pair to give ’em a try in his running.
As for the shooting, the Trek Sports were perfect for hiking the rocky terrain, and the balance while setting up and shooting was remarkable. So add, shooting clay pigeons with the Governor of Texas as something else you can do in your VFFs.
Great story Robbie! It’s good to hear that Governor Perry was interested in your Five Fingers. I wonder how they would go over on the campaign trail? I am pretty sure they would fit in just fine in Austin.
Read more about Robbie’s outing at his Urban Grounds blog.
5 replies on “Shooting Clay Pigeons in Five Fingers with the Texas Governor”
I shoot trap all the time in my Sprints here in S FL at Markham Park. Got lots of weird looks. Most of the people there are wearing hunting or hiking boots (I guess it goes with the redneck territory of gun shooting). Most ranges frown in flip-flops due to a hot brass falling on a bare foot. Shotgun shells are plastic, so you don’t really have that problem. Besides, most shotguns either throw the spent shell 5-6 feet away (semi-autos) or you pull it out of the gun yourself (single shots).
The downside to wearing shorts and Sprints is that Markham is right next to the Everglades. Mosquitoes really like to hunt down that bare skin.
Can’t wait for the weather to get cooler. Sweating all over a $2,000 shotgun makes me nervous about rusting. Might have to get out the old beater $200 gun until then. Mosquitoes are more or less gone in the winter, too.
Thinking about it, you probably get a heck of a lot more stability in toe shoes than shooting in regular shoes.
Might give it a try next time I’m clay pigeon shooting.
I don’t know about it being “redneck territory,” but most of the modern defensive shooting theory incorporates a stable base as being the foundation for all else, just like in other martial arts. FiveFingers are perfect for the foot component of that foundation, just as Robbie explained. I wouldn’t be surprised if certain shall-not-be-named military units have already caught on to VFF.
I do archery all the time in my VFFs. They give you great stability. I get a few strange looks, but I know for a fact that some of my fellow shooters are envious of my shoes!
hello I enjoy using my fivefingers but sometimes i get a lot of strange looks also, but still I am comfortable and very happy wearing them.