I can't believe the week went so fast!
I have been out at the range since last Tuesday, and I don't know where the time went....
Folks started arriving Wednesday, and it was perfect camp weather; We didn't do any shooting Wednesday, but we relaxed and lounged and enjoyed the outdoors, and then we all went to a nice restaurant called Forrey Grill for a nice dinner, followed by a bonfire at camp;
Thursday was another perfect day, with some long range time in the afternoon and then it was off to the Log Cabin BBQ for a nice dinner, with a good campfire later....
Friday morning we started early, with the long range rifle competition; it was tough, with RWS31 and Rocketvapor coming in as the finalists, but in the end Rocketvapor took the win with 46 out of a possible 50 points at 450 yards! After that it was time for Combat Marksman; contestants had to shoot from the roof of a truck, a culvert pipe, a swinging platform and even from inside of the trunk of a car, all on a timer! RWS31 and 7.62Rebel were the finalists, with 7.62Rebel finally edging out RWS31 by about 5 seconds! After the comps it was a nice lunch and then a full afternoon of range time, followed by that famous Shoot chili, and back to the campfire....
Saturday dawned cloudy, but we had a great breakfast of all kinds of pancakes (blueberry, strawberry, chocolate chip,you name it) and bacon and hot coffee and then we hit the range for the morning , breaking for a lunch of cheese steaks and bratwurst before going back for the afternoon competitions; First up was SKS, and just as the contestants were beginning to shoot, a light rain began to fall; they finished the first round, and our finalists were RWS31 and rsr79aol, who happen to be brothers, which always makes things interesting, especially when the guys are shooting at pumpkins filled with Tannerite.....rsr79aol hit his pumpkin first with a BIG boom, for the win!....And then the sky opened up and it REALLY started raining; we had to cancel Vintage Rifle, but when the rain slowed down a bit we ran the pistol comp, a fun run 'n gun in a light rain and mud; all the contestants did pretty well, but clock doesn't lie, and JWPerry took the victory, narrowly besting 7.62rebel by 3/4 of a second! At that point the rain came back with a vengeance, so we put up more canopy shelters and tried to stay under them and dry, with limited success; this is a tough bunch, though (Survivors, don't ya know) and a little bit or rain can't keep us down! Turns out, rain and wind predicted had turned into a full fledged Tropical Storm named Phillipe, and we were catching the edge of it! We tied everything down and decided to make the Oktoberfest into a hurricane party; we feasted on German sauerbraten, spatzel, fondue, Cajun red beans and rice, and even some Argentine -style Churassco steak brought by our friends Ivan, Kevin, and Joe; We ate and everyone got a big beer stein, and we sampled Polish Vodka, Caramel Whiskey, Jello-shots, and some pretty good craft beer from the growlers that I'mtryin' brought ; We even got a good fire going , even in the wind and rain; in the end, we had a great time, rain or no rain, and everyone was happy to be there, for the friendship, and the experience.....
Today, Sunday, dawned cool and clear (although we did have a cloud or two later) and we had a huge breakfast of biscuits and gravy and eggs and bacon and all sorts of other stuff before cleaning it all up and packing it away until the next time....
It was one of the better events we have had, not in spite of the one bad weather day ( then other days were absolutely perfect) but maybe because of it; we shot a bunch, we ate like kings, we rode out a tropical storm, and we laughed a lot, all the time......it was a real adventure, in the best possible way, and I was honored to be your host; Thanks to everyone for coming, and for helping, and for making the event so great; these events are the two favorite weeks of the year for me, and it's because of the people here making it so good.
I will see you all in March!
P.S.; I have no pics this time out; but RV and others have some photos and video, and I am sure they will post up when they can.....
