Monthly Meet – August 2025 – The Buffalo and the Fox
by John White
August 23, 2025
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For most of the area, Friday night and Saturday morning brought a bit of moisture in the air. We had 19 shooters total—9 bench and 10 offhand—and several mentioned driving through some pretty heavy rain on their way to the shoot. In addition, three spouses and four administrators joined us but did not shoot. Overall, not bad at all considering the potential for bad weather.
The really good news was that we only had a very light mist between relay breaks while changing targets. A little breeze came through, dropping the temperature by about 10 degrees, which made for very pleasant shooting conditions. Several of our regulars were tied up with family commitments or unsure about the weather. As a reminder, we shoot rain or shine unless the match is officially called by Thursday before the event.
As we set up, several visitors from neighboring ranges stopped by and had the chance to see some outstanding rifles—the likes of which they had never encountered. Side-hammers, under-hammers, flintlocks, percussion—you name it. One shooter brought his brand-new colonial rifle, just completed. Another brought a rifle he hadn’t fired in 35 years and, understandably, couldn’t recall the preferred load. Yet another showed off his reworked “new-to-him” chunk gun. This is exactly what makes TRBPS special—the ability to test new equipment, share knowledge, admire each other’s rifles, and exchange ideas. It creates a spirit of fellowship without worrying too much about final scores.
So, on to the shoot. We began our safety brief at 8:45 a.m., followed by target setup and a hot range shortly after. For the first time, bench and offhand shooters had different targets: bench shooters fired at the 5-bull buffalo, while offhand shooters took on a running fox at 50 yards. Not much grumbling about those!
The 25-yard NMLRA novelty target, however, told a different story. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a consistently low set of scores. Our scorekeeper’s job was easy, though he still carefully studied each target to award maximum points. On average, shooters scored just 18 out of 100 points—a total so low it hardly required a calculator!
After our usual share of dry balls, flashes in the pan, hang-fires, and misfires, scores were tallied across the two categories: bench and offhand.
The Results are as follows:
Off hand:
1st Billy T.
2nd William V
3rd Bob W
4th Brian P.
5th Tracy D.
Bench:
1st Jon B.
2nd James W.
3rd Charlie R.
4th Tim D.
5th Steve B.
Meat prizes went to the top five shooters, including pork ribs, turkey breasts, pork tenderloins, pork chops, and chicken. In all, 10 prizes were awarded among our 19 shooters. Congratulations to all participants, and thank you for supporting TRBPS—whether you shot or not.
Our next shoot is scheduled for September 27, 2025. September will be a busy month, with Labor Day, September 11 remembrances, the NMLRA Fall Shoot, and the Georgia State Muzzleloader Championship, which will be held September 26–28 at the Brushy Creek Club in Adel, Georgia.
Thank you again for making the Talking Rock BP Shooters Charter Club “the beast of the east.” Be safe and healthy until we meet again on September 27!
Enjoy the remaining pics below and the video at the end:
Enjoy the video of the August 2025 Monthly Meet below:
Heck of a group of guys to shoot with and be around for sure. Good shooters but great friends as well.