Sarah Palin locked, loaded and (eventually) on target

Sarah Palin blasted away at a caribou on Sunday night’s episode of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” One wag suspected that, when she missed her first shots at the beast, America's most famous huntin' gal would blame President Obama, or perhaps Katie Couric.

Not so fast, smart alecks! It turns out Palin had an excuse for missing her first shots, and the Big Picture's resident hunting authority confirms it was a perfectly good one.

Palin’s show on cable channel TLC centers around her adventures with her family last summer in Alaska. She has fished for halibut and salmon and, in the most recent show, flown to the far north of her state to stalk caribou with her father, Charles “Chuck” Heath and friend Steve Becker.

On the second day of their hunt, Dad scopes out a caribou walking along a ridgeline. Sarah takes aim and fires. And fires again. And fires again. The animal startles but seems no more alarmed than it would shrugging off a horse fly.

Palin  then switches from her weapon — apparently the one her father described earlier in the show as a “varmint gun” — to Becker’s rifle. She steadies the barrell across the back of a backpack and “blam!” the caribou falls in a heap.

“There ya go, baby. There ya go!” Sarah’s daddy says triumphantly. Becker offers a high-five. The group then skins the caribou and slices off slabs of meat to bring home to Wasilla.

On the way back to camp, Palin tells her father: “I’m going to bet you $5 your scope is off." He promises to fire the gun at a target to prove it’s true. But when Papa Bear takes aim at a plate, he doesn't make contact.

The most experienced hunter the Big Picture knows informs us that the former Alaska  governor’s explanation makes sense. “It’s easy to knock a scope out of alignment,” says Steve Foster, a former Alaskan who flew bush planes and bagged plenty of game while living in the 49th state, “especially when you’re traveling as far as they traveled and flying in bush planes.”

As with previous episodes of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” reactions to the episode may tell more about the audience than they do about Palin. The ostensibly apolitical program has the former Alaska governor expounding rigorously on favorite themes — stressing family values, self-sufficiency, freedom and gun rights.

Her message will go over well with many viewers and make other wince. “Maybe they didn't drug the caribou enough?” speculated one commenter after Palin missed the mark.

Palin assured viewers Sunday night that in the far wilds of her home state, the hunting is more than a fair fight. “We don’t have the advantage,” she said. “The animals have the advantage”

-- James Rainey

Photo: Sarah Palin stands by the family boat in Dillingham, Alaska, on July 2, 2010, in a scene from "Sarah Palin's Alaska." Credit: Gilles Mingasson / TLC/Associated Press

 

Comments

[ericmiami]

The animals have the advantage? Okay, Princess Quitty Pants, go hunting after another armed human the way our soldiers do during wartime.
A Vietnam Combat Vet.

[Alexandra]

I've shot competitively all my life, and I disagree. If a scope is off, it's usually off 4 to 6 inches. The caribou was standing broadside...even if the scope had been off 8 inches, she would have wounded it. The scope might have been off a little, but Sarah Palin's claim to be a regular and expert hunter is way off as well. Five shots? Come on!

[S.G.]

Grizzly Mama Bear?! More like an Opportunistic Celebrity Seeking Twit. Reality TV is where she belongs with the likes of "Jersey Shore".

[RB]

I recently watched Bowling for Columbine and Michael Moore says it all....do we really need another bad shot at the White House thank you Dick Cheney!

[Johnjon]

I find this story nauseating, as I do the former governor.

[Jack43]

Will people respond to this article (and the episode of Palin's show that it critiques) with a discussion of the show's merits (or lack thereof)? Hunting? Cruelty to animals? Or, their hatred of Sarah Palin and her politics? Inquiring minds want to know.

[voteearlyandoften]

animals have the advantage?
when they carry hunting rifles with scopes maybe.....

[Steven Nicovich]

If you watched the earlier in the hunt, Sarah's Dad fell and dropped her gun. This more than likely is what knocked the scope out of alignment.

[maccamera]

As a hunter and gun rights advocate, it was embarrasing to watch Sarah Palin shoot. For someone that touts themselves as a firearm enthusiast or Alaskan hunter, it just showed how inept this woman is. First, she shouldered the rifle as though she had never held a gun before. Then, she had her DAD operate the bolt to chamber another round everytime she missed!! Not only is this pathetic rifle skills, but more importantly, it is dangerous firearm handling. To watch these people pass a loaded rifle back and forth while one operates the bolt and the other simply pulls the trigger gives all firearms owners a bad reputation with the non-firearms owners of the world. Not to mention that her dad fell down a hill with a loaded rifle and it sounded like the rifle discharged!! I can't say for sure if it did, but, it sounded like a round went off. Why in the world would ANYONE be hiking to a hunting spot with a round in the chamber!!?? Basic firearm safety 101. So much for the mighty Alaskans. Just shows that they don't know what they're talking about at all.

[Eliot]

And fires again... And fires again. I counted six shots total.