What a grand ol' day!!
We had both in-state and out-of-state friends who came and spent the day (and a couple overnight) and we ate and shot and we ate and we shot and we played music and we watched fireworks and we laughed and we talked and we teased and we laughed and we finally had to hug people good-bye (or shake hands, depending) and send some people on their homeward trip with waves and a chorus of good-byes and good-nights. My knees were aching like a toothache by the end of the day, but it was worth it--well worth it!
That's the encapsulated version.
I'm going to see which pictures I to put up and which stories to tell with the pictures....this may be kind of haphazard and random, so hang on! :)
*drumroll*
So, someon walks up with this very long reproduction 18th century longarm. (Repetition of the word "long" is purposeful...see below for a visual explanation.)
We had both in-state and out-of-state friends who came and spent the day (and a couple overnight) and we ate and shot and we ate and we shot and we played music and we watched fireworks and we laughed and we talked and we teased and we laughed and we finally had to hug people good-bye (or shake hands, depending) and send some people on their homeward trip with waves and a chorus of good-byes and good-nights. My knees were aching like a toothache by the end of the day, but it was worth it--well worth it!
That's the encapsulated version.
I'm going to see which pictures I to put up and which stories to tell with the pictures....this may be kind of haphazard and random, so hang on! :)
*drumroll*
So, someon walks up with this very long reproduction 18th century longarm. (Repetition of the word "long" is purposeful...see below for a visual explanation.)
In my gunpowder and gun-oil grubbied hands, I hold a Brown Bess...
Impressive length on this lady...
Are you kidding me, y'all? I can't shoulder this thing properly!
Trying again... (what a face!)
Pretending. The butt is sitting ON my shoulder not against it.
"I don't think I would be able to shoot it properly..."
Naturally, I just *had* to play with the ramrod! I only have photos of me with it--unfortunately, I don't have any of Andrew with it--it's more his size!
We did some skeet shooting (Uncle Al should have been there--but then the rest of us would not have had a chance!) and I think I actually busted four of the clay pigeons! Not bad for a newbie...(I guess I have killed a few birds on the wing, but I'm still a newbie!) Some of the young men did much better than I and one of the young ladies and I switched out shotguns. The toe on her's needs to be whittled down like Daddy did for mine. After three shots I called it quits as with the larger calibers and then that mean point my shoulder was sore. (Still is, though no visible bruising.)
We did some skeet shooting (Uncle Al should have been there--but then the rest of us would not have had a chance!) and I think I actually busted four of the clay pigeons! Not bad for a newbie...(I guess I have killed a few birds on the wing, but I'm still a newbie!) Some of the young men did much better than I and one of the young ladies and I switched out shotguns. The toe on her's needs to be whittled down like Daddy did for mine. After three shots I called it quits as with the larger calibers and then that mean point my shoulder was sore. (Still is, though no visible bruising.)
There is something about this angle that cracks me up!
Daddy got to teach another lovely lady how to shoot... :)
Katherine and I both enjoyed ourselves immensely, despite Katherine not feeling too well as the day progressed. She is dealing with a lot of low blood pressure recently and it really just drains her...
Looks like sisterly advice...but I think she was just watching me load. :)
Perhaps I was watching someone else's target while loading?
Doing one of my favorite things--laughing!
I think I probably made a similar face each time someone knocked over a buffalo...
(This outfit looked better from the back than it did the front...fit problems induced by weight loss and a fairly high level of activity.)
Dunno as if this isn't the time she plinked down all eight buffalos in a couple of minutes...
A'right...so I like sitting on the ground!
Some of the above photos were taken during the "Buffalo Shoot". Unlike previous times, we shot at different distances. We started at 25 yards, moved back to 50, and finished up at 75 yards. I'm tickled to announce that I came in second, only one point behind the winner--as well as our eldest competitor! :D Katherine came in 4th, but by the end, she really wasn't feeling well.
And here we go-- it's Andrew! I really wish I had a shot with him holding the Brown Bess....
Amongst the other delights of the day was assisting another left-eyed shooter to switch from right to left handed shooting. I couldn't help but notice as I stood there with a handful of shells watching, that this particular young'un was craning his head "too far" over the stock, so I bent over a bit and noticed his right eye was screwed shut. So what do I do? I ask a seemingly dumb question, "What eye do you shoot with?" The response was what I already had figured out, "The left." (Turns out, his problem is same as mine...neither one of us can just close the left eye! And we're both left eye dominant. I suspect, in my case, that I'm left eye dominant because I can only close my right eye separately.) Next things next, I took the rifle from him and repositioned him correctly for left handed shooting--and away he went. I also coached a bit on breathing--see Daddy? All your training is paying off! :)
Anyway, all that to say, that I took as much delight in helping out and encouraging the up and coming marksmen in our delightful gathering as I did in busting primers myself. I can't help it that I'm a bit of a mother henish type...it makes me a happy person. :D I mean, I was rooting just as hard for the other competitors in the Buffalo Shoot as I was for myself...except for when I was actually on the firing line with a rifle in my hands. Even then, I was just trying to do my best. If I had won, I would have been delighted, but I guess I'm really just as pleased that someone else won! :D It was just a friendly game of skill after all....
I am SO glad that everyone who came did come and I'll say it again to whomever of y'all might be reading this--THANK-YOU for coming!! It was an absolute blast (no pun intended!) and I think we had a great group!! Y'all are all welcome to come again--just give us a head's up! ;) (Also many thanks to the photographers! I LOVE pictures...)
Anyway, all that to say, that I took as much delight in helping out and encouraging the up and coming marksmen in our delightful gathering as I did in busting primers myself. I can't help it that I'm a bit of a mother henish type...it makes me a happy person. :D I mean, I was rooting just as hard for the other competitors in the Buffalo Shoot as I was for myself...except for when I was actually on the firing line with a rifle in my hands. Even then, I was just trying to do my best. If I had won, I would have been delighted, but I guess I'm really just as pleased that someone else won! :D It was just a friendly game of skill after all....
I am SO glad that everyone who came did come and I'll say it again to whomever of y'all might be reading this--THANK-YOU for coming!! It was an absolute blast (no pun intended!) and I think we had a great group!! Y'all are all welcome to come again--just give us a head's up! ;) (Also many thanks to the photographers! I LOVE pictures...)
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