A8
OUTDOORS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Beam takes fourth in Junior
Roughstock Association World Finals
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
The carbine
Prairie City freshman
shines in Texas
he idea of a shorter, handier rifle
is not a new one. Even in the very
early days of muzzleloading fire-
arms, the horse-mounted cavalry dis-
covered early on just how difficult it was
to manage the typically
longer arms of the day
from horseback. Not
only were they slower
to shoulder and shoot,
but reloading from the
muzzle end made it that
much more problematic.
Dale Valade
When breechloaders
became available, first
utilizing paper cartridges and later metallic
case cartridges, cavalry units swooned.
The military weren’t the only ones
to take advantage of the shorter, lighter
guns. Cowboys, lawmen, the good, bad
and indifferent were also quick to real-
ize the value of a firearm that was eas-
ier to carry and wield. The military and
sporting carbines, which emerged from
the likes of Spencer, Sharps, Springfield
and Winchester, became instant favor-
ites due to their portability and increased
firepower. Civilians kept their repeaters
in a saddle scabbard, which made for a
quicker draw at a moment’s notice. Cav-
alry men carried their Springfields on the
end of a sling attached to the saddle ring.
The sling was worn across the chest like
a bandolier and the gun would hang at
waist level, where it could be brought to
bear without having to untangle oneself
from the sling. And if the trooper’s horse
was taken down in a skirmish, he could
jump free of the wreck taking his rifle
with him while leaving both hands free
to break the fall.
Fast forward to modern day, that
idea still isn’t without merit. Although
horses are no longer the primary method
of transportation, the close quarters of
a vehicle can present compelling argu-
ments in favor of a shorter barrel.
Although I tend to prefer a long-bar-
reled rifle as a rule, there are times they
just aren’t practical. Allow me to share
a personal example. I have two center-
fire .22-caliber rifles of similar design
and purpose. One sports a 26-inch long
barrel and the other a 22-inch carbine
type barrel. If a target of opportunity, say
a coyote, was to dart across the road in
front of my pickup, I would have but a
T
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
A Prairie City School student
recently placed fourth in senior
saddle bronc riding at the Junior
Roughstock Association World
Finals.
Frankie Beam, a freshman
at Prairie City School, traveled
to Texas at the start of Decem-
ber and used each eight-second
opportunity for bronc riding to
display his training and passion
for the sport.
Beam said he has been bronc
riding since July but has been
involved with rodeo for a large
part of his life. He started riding
junior bulls in the sixth grade and
rode saddle steers for two years
in junior high.
“I like to travel and meet new
people, and I think that’s one of
my favorite parts,” Beam said.
“It also gives me an adrenaline
rush, and I like that too.”
Beam puts in an abundant
amount of time preparing himself
mentally and physically because
the sport requires so much from
the rider.
Beam practices at Blue Music
Ranch in Idaho where they put
him on bucking horses and have
coaches that help him out. He
said riding is about 90% men-
tal strength and 10% physical
talent.
“Once you go into that buck-
ing chute, everything kind of just
fades away and your body takes
over and you can’t really think,”
Beam said. “Your body does
what you trained it to do.”
Beam said competing in Texas
was a great experience, but the
stakes were higher than usual
since it was the world finals.
“Going in to it, you have to
put a lot of pressure on yourself
and stay on because it’s the world
finals and you want to win,”
Beam said. “I tried to go into it
thinking it’s just another bronc
Contributed photo
Frankie Beam has been involved with rodeo for a large part of his life and
enjoys the traveling.
Contributed photo
Along with bronc riding, Frankie
Beam also rides junior bulls and
enjoys the adrenaline that comes
from competing in the sport.
and focus on the basics.”
Beam passed the first and sec-
ond runs to qualify to the short
round, which consisted of the top
10 riders for senior saddle bronc
riding. He said in the short round
he finished the ride but ended
up blowing a stirrup and got
disqualified.
Beam placed fourth and was
appreciative for the experience
and opportunity to compete in
Texas and for the support from
Prairie City School.
“We had to have masks in
Texas, but we were fortunate to
have the event,” Beam said. “I
just want to thank the commu-
nity for this opportunity and for
the support of my teachers and
principal.”
His mother, Shonna Beam,
said she is very proud of him
and the fact that he has taken this
sport seriously at a young age.
“He really works hard at it and
loves this more than anything,
and that’s why we stand behind
him so much because I think that
this will be something he does for
as long as he can,” Shonna Beam
said. “It was quite a journey, and
it was good to see him compete
(in Texas), and he’ll get better.
He’s the kind of kid that’ll prac-
tice and stay at it.”
Contributed photo
A short-barreled rifle is the ticket for
time-sensitive hunting opportunities.
few seconds to stop the vehicle, take aim
and fire before that coyote was to disap-
pear entirely from view. I’ll give you one
guess as to which of these rifles is the
absolute winner of that race each time.
When hunting in the thicker-wooded
parts of the west, one will often be pre-
sented with partially obscured, time-sen-
sitive targets on foot as well. A carbine
will come to the shoulder much quicker
than a long-barreled rifle in this sce-
nario as well. Oh, you’ll lose some small
amount of muzzle velocity. A hundred
feet per second one way or the other
won’t be the difference between success
and failure. But the milliseconds you
save “on the draw” and in target acquisi-
tion give you the ability to take your time
in a hurry when time is of the essence.
Finally, when hunting in the steep
country the sheep and goats call home,
each ounce of weight that can be reduced
for the backpacking hunter is a welcome
boon. Long-action cartridges struggle
with increased muzzle blast and recoil
in lightweight, short-barreled rifles.
Short-action cartridges are designed
with lightweight rifles and short barrels
in mind. Any of the .308 family of car-
tridges, or the various WSM or SAUM
hot rods can be made to perform very
well in such platforms. Whatever your
needs as a hunter or shooter, a case can
easily be made for procurement of a
short-barreled carbine.
Are you a fan of carbines? Write to us
at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com!
Dale Valade is a local country gent
with a love for the outdoors, handload-
ing, hunting and shooting.
Grace Chapel (EMC )
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Contact Paster Ed Studtmann at
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