Sportsmen clubs have been holding shooting contests to prepare the hunters for the hunting season. These shooting contests are referred to as turkey shoots because prizes for the top shooters could be a turkey, however, other prizes are also given.

These shoots are not new.

Many years ago, I read in an Early American Life Magazine that back in colonial times people gathered for social events, which often included contests such as horse racing and shooting events. These shooting events, which always drew large crowds, were put on by frontier store owners.

An entrance fee was paid to the shop owners, and the shooters usually purchased their round balls and powder from the shop owners. Prizes were given by the shop owners to the top shooters. First prize was usually an ox or a side of beef, which was roasted at the event.

The second-place winner would receive the hide of the animal, while the third-place winner would be allowed to dig the lead out of the backstop. This lead would be melted down to remake round balls. Since at that time, paper was still expensive so the targets were wooden shingles, with an X placed in the middle of the shingle. Since the shooters’ target was the mark, they became known as marksmen, a term that is used today to describe someone that is proficient with a firearm.

After reading the article, I began to think about other words and sayings that are associated with firearms. Eventually, paper targets became more widely used, with the center of the target always being a circle, and to some, this center resembled a bull’s eye; therefore, any shot hitting the center of the target is said to be a bull’s eye.

Our word rifle comes from the French word rifler, which means to scratch or scrape. The inside of a rifle barrel contains lands and groves to make the bullet spin, allowing it to go farther and more accurately. A bullet can be identified as fired from a particular gun because of the scratches and scrapes these lands and grooves mark on the bullet.

In olden times, a man depended on his rifle for food and to stay alive. If a man did not take care of his musket and gunpowder, he would not only go hungry but also place himself in grave danger.

Hence, a parting warning among the mountain men was “keep your powder dry.” The following expression is attributed to Oliver Cromwell when his troops were preparing to cross a river and go into battle, “Trust in God, and keep your powder dry.”

When a person is either in deep trouble or has bought all the contents of a store or warehouse, it is said that “He bought it lock, stock and barrel.” These were the three main parts a person needed to build a musket.

On a flintlock rifle, the hammer strikes a flint to create a spark that ignites a small amount of priming powder in what is called the pan. This ignition then sets off the main charge of gunpowder that was placed in the barrel, causing a small explosion that fires the bullet through the barrel.

If the powder in the pan didn’t ignite properly, a flash is created, however the powder in the barrel doesn’t ignite and the rifle doesn’t fire, causing a flash in the pan.

If someone doesn’t live up to expectations, it is said that he or she was just a flash in the pan.

We all know that a dollar bill is called a buck, but do you know why? At the time the country was being settled, animal hides were used for money. The hide of male deer (a buck) was usually larger and worth more than that of a female (a doe). The trading post might charge two buck hides for a certain object. When paper money came into use, the slang word buck was applied to our dollar bill.

The frame that holds wood being cut is shaped as an X and is called a sawbuck. Since the Roman numeral for ten is an X, and, with the dollar known as a buck, the ten dollar bill became known as a sawbuck.

During a game of poker, an object, usually a knife, with a buckhorn handle, was placed on the table to remind the players of who would be the dealer. The players passing the knife around the table were passing the buck.

Passing the buck meant to avoid any responsibility, with the blame passed on to another person.

At shooting events, the person scoring the target will often point to a bullet hole that was close to the bull’s eye (but not inside) and say, “That’s close but no cigar.” I looked up this saying and found that it originated in carnival games, where cigars were given away as prizes for winning a game.

If a person did not win, the Carnie would say, “Close, but no cigar.” The phrase “Close, Colonel, but no cigar!” was first recorded in print in Sayre and Twist’s publishing of the script of the 1935 film version of Annie Oakley.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.