Steel and Paper

by John White
February 2022

What a nice day for our first shoot of 2022! Of course we had the normal complaints of how chilly it was, how overcast, how it was gonna rain, how the breeze made it seem so much colder, I cannot feel my hands and it goes on from there. Probably make a list of 42 complaints and then we move onto why I missed my target list. Geez. Yes it was chilly at about 9 this morning when we started signing in but by noon when we left it was almost down right warm! Never rained, sun never got in our eyes, enough breeze so the smoke did not cloud the next shooter. It were a down right nice day to be out shootin’, jawing, missing, talking, frettin’ and just a good day to be out. Good enough we got out of there without a trace by noon.

The new cover worked great, the new loading table, the two big picnic tables, shooting benches all worked out well. We have a lot more room to work in covered and it seemed very comfortable to work in and around the firing line. We got some experimenting to do with where we want them and how we use em but we got some real possibilities I tell ya with this set up for our shooting comforts with room to grow and expand the facilities with amenities like a campfire ring, grills and a flag pole.

We did our two relay match, 10 shots each, 25 and 50 yard targets. We had 20 folks show up, largest crowd yet, 6 shooters supported, 9 shooters not supported and 5 shooters who did not shoot because of health issues, physical, timing, came after we started and just because. But the non shooters kicked in with range duties as RO’s, score keepers, talkers, entertainers, picture takers, legend builders and anything else that was needed for this beautiful day. We figured we had 7 regular shooters who could not make it so would have been a huge crowd.

We had 5 new shooters that did very well today and seemed to enjoy themselves so much they might even come back next month. So we shot five shots at two different size metal swinger plates at 50 yards for 10 points each hit so 100 points possible and the standard 6 bull, five scoring bulls plus the practice bull, two shots each on the scoring rings for another possible 100 points. 200 points possible total. With the new folks, old folks, experienced folks, this shoot was smooth running. Finished easy, no pressure on slow shooters. It all just came together.

We received a custom made donated Rattle Box, what is a Rattle Box, picture attached. Billy Townsend made and demonstrated it for us. It is an old school stopwatch timer. We had one dry ball and was the last shot of the day. Oh so close to a perfect day. I am excluding the stuck ramrod while cleaning event because that was the first time for that one.

We revealed our new banner/flag with our club logo for all to see and got the attached picture of our group of shooters today. Couple missing but you catch the happiness from the smiles.

So the results of our shoot and gathering today:

Unsupported winners
1st Place: Brian P.
2nd Place: Bob W.

Supported winners
1st Place: Charlie R.
2nd Place: Smoke H.

We also talked about the state of muzzleloading in Georgia and the charter club status. We handed out the brochures for the Brushy Creek Rondy this next month, March 23 to 27 and explained what it is all about along with the pre-announcement of Brushy Creek hosting the state championship in September.

It was a great day with new faces, happy faces, excited faces. Thank you to all the shooters, range officers, scorers and observers. The program would not be where it is without you. Be safe and healthy as we can gather next month for more fun. If you have any additional comments, please holler as I am sure we all love to hear ’em. Our next match will be on March 26th, start time will be 9:00am. Keep your eyes out for more information later this month.

Take care all, stay healthy and safe. Look forward to seeing everyone again!