I would agree that the friends I and my wife have made in this sport , are all life long friend .
When the chips are down or they think your having an issue , out of the blue comes a call or someone at the door just to check up and bring a smile to an other wise gloomy situation .
Case in point . We just had our BP clubs Christmas party the other night . I had 35 people in my home . Some of the folks came from 150 miles away just for the night .
Well at 1 am , most us still up were chatting and one of the folks phones rang .
Never a good thing at that time of night and this was no different .
A 200 mile drive was needed ASAP but no one asleep or up was safe to drive ..
The phone list of folks who shoot with us was pulled . Closest person picked and the call was made .
A sleepy voice on the other end said hello
,,,, yep im on my way , be there in 15 minutes and they were ..
I also have never seen a group of people more willing to help someone new out . I personally have seen people offer to let a new person who seems interested barrow very expensive guns .
It usually starts with . You want to try this ? Well so happens I have a spare gun . Bag and horn . I cant take you out but
Ha Pete!!! you take this person out to the range ?? Ok so here is the gun and bag . Pete will show you how to use them . .
Enough said really , there just is for the most part ,no better honest people that can be found
As to the shoots . They can be competitions but most as beaver man stated , don’t care when it comes to prizes and such ..
In fact you more likely to have all kinds of yelling an kidding going on . Right along with a slap on the back .
If someone is the type that likes quite while they shoot . Well probably better not to go to some of the shoots because your likely to see folks yelling and kidding each other from one end of a trail to the other . Also know that ram rods ,,, well they work for other things as well as for what they were intended to do . Coughing . Yep .
Grass and dirt tossed in your ear just about the time your about to squeeze off , yep .
Cow patties coming out of no where , yep .
that’s just from other shooter . I have yet to mention anything about those who set up the course . They to like to get into it and its not uncommon to here : WHO THE HE77 SET THIS COURSE UP !! , that branch is in my way , the things right in the sun . how in the heck are you supposed to hit that thing ,
We are shooting what ?? From where
?
Its all in good fun and should be taken that way .
Now this isn’t to say there isn’t times things get serious . Long gong events start out all in fun . But when it gets down to 200 + yards off hand and there is only 5 or 6 guns left things get serious in a hurry and it quite when your up on the line .
However that doesn’t mean that after you shoot someone’s not going to call you a Dic& head for hitting the target LOL . While the prize may be anywhere from 50-100 buck for 1st place , 99% of the time those who win just donate the money back to the club for give us all such a fine weekend or day .
As to your first experiences .
Its hard to explain, but to be honest , I doubt there is a person here who doesn’t know exactly what your talking about .
I think it stems though from the very thing folks here have said .
There is for lack of a better word , a kinship, a kind of tie , that we all feel . Its a kind of commonality that runs very deep and is common .
While it sometimes also is seen in other shooting disciplines., I myself have never seen it as deep or wide spread as in traditional muzzleloading where its pretty much the norm .
Its hard to exsplain , but I think your beginning to see it and feel it .
What your experiencing now with the addiction , well I hate to tell you , its about to get much worse . At least if the shoots in George are anything like the ones back here .
Now if someone back here called me and ask me to a shoot , then when I said I couldn’t come , stated that they would come and get my rifle or basicly a ; OK well if you cant come , can your rifle .
that’s a traditional muzzleloading way of saying . ; ohm come on, come out and play .
Here I get phone call and someone on the other end says HA Two Feathers , you comin to our shoot .
If I waffle and say ohm I don’t know , I got a lot around here to do .
I usually get a reply of . that’s ok , you cant shoot anyway .
Then its on boy .. Sometimes I go and they are right . Thus I get the see , I told you so .
But sometimes im on my game and thus I get ,,, MAN!!! You su$% were not going to invite you again . Followed by , ha stop by my camp later and have a cup .