Obama Claims Shooting as a Hobby, and the White House Offers Proof [View all]

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/us/politics/obamas-skeet-shooting-comments-draw-fire.html

Obama Claims Shooting as a Hobby, and the White House Offers Proof
By PETER BAKER and MARK LANDLER


In a photo released by the White House on Saturday, President Obama is shown skeet shooting at Camp David in August 2012.

WASHINGTON — When President Obama mentioned last week that he had picked up a new hobby — skeet shooting at Camp David — it was a surprising disclosure by a president whose main identification with guns these days is his effort to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.

To some, Mr. Obama’s newfound enthusiasm for shooting clay pigeons — he said in an interview that he did it “all the time” at his retreat in the Maryland mountains — also seemed a bit suspicious.

So on Saturday, the White House tried to silence the skeptics by releasing a photo of Mr. Obama shooting on the range at Camp David in August. In the photo, the president, wearing goggles and ear-muffs, is squinting down the barrel of a rifle, moments after pulling the trigger. Gun smoke shoots out of the front of the rifle.

The White House said the photo was taken on Aug. 4, which was Mr. Obama’s 51st birthday. But it offered no further details on whether his target practice was a regular hobby or a one-time event.