Brushy Creek Muzzleloaders – worth another look

March 24, 2022
by John White – Scout

So went down to Lenox Georgia to visit the Brushy Creek Muzzleloaders NMLRA Charter Club. Bunch of very nice folks who love to shoot black powder and visit. I was a bit rude by leaving without saying goodbye and they are such nice folks I am sorry for my rudeness. Folks they roll out the red carpet for you and have a very nice setup.

Brushy Creek is one of two charter clubs in Georgia with their own stand alone facility. Brushy Creek has 28 acres and get to have all the headaches that go with it. Waivers, insurance, liability, rules, maintenance, mowing, you name it. This week they are hosting their annual spring shoot from wednesday to sunday. They got camper space as you can see with electrical hookup, primitive camping and plenty of parking for the day trippers. Full covered shooting line, no benches-bring your own if you need one, lots of loading space. Wednesday and Thursday are the smallest attendance days. Friday through Sunday are the big attendance days as the folks that still work can finally come out to play and shoot along with folks selling their wares. This is their normal shoot weekend, 4th weekend of the month but expanded the opportunities. They have been holding this shoot for a lot of years.

They are down Valdosta/Tifton way and about two miles total off the highway. They are so close to I-75, when you look up from your loading table, loading your rifle you can see I-75 across the field and the cars and trucks driving north. Simple and easy to get to for sure. One stoplight and you can turn right at the light so you do barely have to stop when you are in Lenox.

Wednesday night it rained pretty good they told me so when I got out of my car as both Otis Spivey and Sam Bledsoe told me I was wearing the wrong shoes, tennis shoes, for Mushy Creek shooters. They nicknamed the range Mushy Creek after a rain. Yea, my shoes and feet were soaked and squeaky when i walked. Otis Spivey is Brushy Creeks past president for shall we say several years, not enough fingers and toes I think to count that high. Sam Bledsoe is Brushy Creek’s current President. We talked alot about the state of muzzleloading and our club’s respective history. Sam gave me a quick tour and got me to sign a waiver form and gave a safety procedure briefing. That is how management is, all about the procedures and policies.

So the range officer sets the timer, 20 minutes to shoot your 5 shots per relay. All five have to be fired to be counted, not just loaded. Now they do have a unique special range rule that I have never seen or heard of. When a train goes by which happens to be behind the berms, behind the trees, blowing its horn, the range is called cold and the timer stops. A train folks! Brushy Creek uses three berms each about two to three feet tall at 25, 50 and 100 yards. They have a steel cable strung across the berm where you place your target with cardboard backer.

So while I was there shooters began to show up from around the state. Our fellow Georgia charter club shooters made the trip for the fellowship, facilities and competition. Blue Ridge Mtn Men, Dan Pressley and Herb Nickerson were there. Larry Hand and Jim Browning from the Griffin Long Rilfles along with yours truely from the Talking Rock crowd. I am sure many more will be showing up from the Georgia clubs as well as Carolina Po Boys and others from neighboring states. This fall Brushy Creek will be hosting the Georgia State Championship so be looking for further info as we get closer. But to my disappointment it appears they will not doing the woodswalk this spring due to high water in the creek. What the heck for me, my shoes and feet were soaked, what is a little more moisture on the pants. Did not get to walk the course. Probably 15 shooters by noon on a light day, heres to a great shoot and getting back to a more normal life Brushy Creek! Good luck.

As you can see from the attached pictures, Brushy Creek is renowned for its culinary features throughout the muzzleloading community. I mean really, two smoker grills to handle hundreds of pounds of meat, propane grills, griddles, three refrigerators to store supplies, stove, picnic tables, charcoal grills and who knows what else is in the backroom. However the person who may make all this work I saw huddled behind the scenes and did not get to meet, got hauled off in a golf cart from hurting her ankle. So I could not sample or partake in the legend herself Miss Hazel’s cooking. So Miss Vicki stepped in. Folks she can cook up a great breakfast. However, as a result of this catastrophe I did not shoot. I mean who does not need a filling good meal to get shooting or take a nice nap after the drive. I got one from Miss Vicki and was so content. Miss Vicki I am positive you handled things admirably in Miss Hazel’s short absence. Hope all turned out for the best.

So to the Brushy Creek members, you have a great facility. Good luck with your shoot and see you again soon. Thank you Otis for the history lessons on BP in Georgia and showing me the old rifles and shotguns, Sam for the hospitality and Miss Vicki for the wonderful breakfast. I give you a 5 star review in all categories. Take care all, be safe.

John