Where are the shooters?

[The Miner '49er]

After a year or two of following this forum I recently made the wise decision to join the TMA for two years. I'm really glad I did, because that inexpensive membership opened up several members only forum sections that are very interesting and helpful. That contribution also allowed me to participate in the various fun and challenging postal shoots. While poking around the forum I saw that there are 4270 regular users, forum members, and contributing members. While I don't know the numbers for each group, I would think there must be at least a couple hundred contributing (paying) members like myself. Now to the point of this post. Why are there so few people shooting the postal matches, and the annual challenge match? Only one other member, Nessmuk, and I qualified for this year's Challenge. Why only two, it was fun and it didn't take superhuman skill to do it. I'll bet most of the 4270 own at least one traditional ML or he or she wouldn't be interested in the forum, so where were the shooters? Same goes for the monthly postal matches. Usually only four to six guys shoot. Hey people, get out there and pull those triggers. I guarantee you will have fun!

[Doc Nock]

I'll throw in my $.02...I'm simply not good enough! And...and I don't know how to get targets, even if I were going to the range...

I bow to you more mobile members...

[The Miner '49er]

Hey Doc Nock, don't feel that way. I sure am not some super marksman. Truth be told, I surprised myself with my three targets. I think every once in a while the Goex gods, Charcoal, Sulphur, and Saltpeter smile down on all of us. Please, give the October postal match(es) a try. The courses of fire that you can choose from, plus the targets to use, which you download and print are right here on the forum via a link to the targets. Have some fun, give it a whirl! 

[Ohio Joe]

One has to keep in mind that this was the year of the "Covid 19" and not only did our Postal Matches take a hit, but so did local club gatherings as well...

The reason our Postal Matches took a hit was simply because Shooting Ranges shut themselves down to the public, and not everyone has access to Public Lands to shoot on, or a friend or relative in the country where they may have been able to shoot...

Now there is also something all our members should be aware of, and if not,,, this is my last year of running the TMA Postal Matches - so it'll be up to the next Postal Match Director to set the direction and tone of the Postal Matches...

The "Challenge Match" - well it really didn't go over very well with our members, (but it also really never had the chance to take off), and yes - Covid 19 may have had something to do with this (and probably did). This is not to say the next Postal Match Director can't re' start it, or something similar to it,,, but that will be up to the PMD and the members response to it.

It's important IMHO, that whoever takes the Postal Match Director's position - they need to make it their own in as much as they view what, past, present, and future matches will entail and the number of matches to hold... They should keep in mind to keep them fun - but challenging - but not impossible...

The Mike Fink Match has been a mainstay of the TMA since its beginning, and has always been a July event open to members and non-members... However, I don't recall one "non-member" ever taking part in the Mike Fink... If they did, it escapes me???

Anyway, we need to get past this "Covid 19" - but this doesn't prevent the next PMD from making these Matches their own, and how they perceive them as what they will be, and best suit the TMA's membership.

 

 

[The Miner '49er]

Believe it or not, but I didn't give a thought to the covid impact on shooting. I'm fortunate to be a life member of a gun club that has pistol, rifle, trap and archery ranges plus two fishing lakes on about 70 acres, plus another 70 acres devoted to conservation and available for members for hunting. All that is just a 13 mile drive from my condo. I'm retired, and a shooting buddy, who is also retired, meet at least twice a month to shoot. It's about perfect and I didn't stop to think about it and appreciate it. Anyway, thanks to Ohio Joe for the great job of match directing, sorry to see you go. Hey guys, why not do your best to send him off with some October postal targets? Once again I'll say it, it us fun!

[Ohio Joe]

Thank you for the kind words Flintstone, I appreciate it. 

The Covid-19 did not effect where I live, in as much as shutting everything off from the public. Of course all schools to my knowledge were shut down with the students doing a, "learning at home / online experience..." And of course there was the big "toilet Paper" scare like everywhere else... Who would have ever thought "sh_t" would make the headlines!!! 

I too am retired (in my 2nd year)... I was hoping for a more productive second year of retirement, but a person has to roll with the punches so to speak. In a way I did have a productive year (the kind you don't want) as we had a major golf ball size hail storm in June, so I've been doing some repairs and remodeling while waiting for the Roofer to get to me probably next week (maybe this week)? I think the whole town is getting re' roofed...

Our Range never did close, but it's not your typical Range... The heavy usage of our local Range comes prior to the hunting seasons we have, and in the spring and summer you'd be hard pressed to find someone using it. However, come Fall - traffic picks up... It's well supported by all in the community whether or not they use it or not...

In any event, this Covid-19 won't last forever.

 

[Doc Nock]

I'll chime in again OJ and say "Thank you!" for you service as Director...

You missed the part where now with a cane, I do Not hobble about well enough to drag my folding target to our POS club Range and set up...

I once complained at a meeting that they didn't have a berm at 25 for sighting in scopes shooting pistols, etc and was told to just bring a target, set it up at 25 and let the 50 backstop berm, suffice... now there is new verbiage on their website and I don't know if it's open or not and am not driving 25 miles RT to find out it's closed or attend meetings in an open pavilion between a stagnant pond and head high "native grass field" and come home with tons of bug bites or chiggers...

anyway the jist of it all is I'm not shooting these days as all this wet down here since last winter is hellacious!

Joe, when I lived in Mt, we got hit with a righteous hail storm and I helped re-roof a lot of cedar shake & shingle roofs afterward... Folks with no garages got their windshields beaten out by hail, totaled out their cars and some had them repaired but it never lasted...the body putty popped out on bumpy back roads...

[Ohio Joe]

Thanks Doc 

Our Range is wide open pretty much with just yard markers and a 5 x 8 place to hang targets at 100 yards from the benches, and then a couple gongs at 200 and 300 yards... We have a 50 yard Pistol Range that nobody uses, and a Trap Range that doesn't get much use (but it use to back in the day as they say)...

I just make my own target stands out of 2 x 2's and put cardboard on them to staple my target(s) to it, then set them in line with the yard marker I'll be shooting at.

However, today I was testing a .433 ball with a .020 lubed patch backed by 1fg Meteor Black Powder (from the 1970's) in one of my percussion lock rifles, and shot offhand from 100 yards, 70 yards, and 40 yards... I think the one shot from 100 yards went under my target stand (which is 24 inches off the ground),,, but the two shots I took from 70 yards carried the  8 and 9 Ring 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 inches low - left and right of center about 1-1/2 inch either side... My shot from 40 yards was 2-1/8 inches low and 1 inch right... This was using an NRA TQ-4 100 yard Target - so I wasn't to upset about the results.

If you're wondering why not use a .440 or .445 ball, well this is just some playing around with what kind of accuracy is obtainable from a patch ball combination that doesn't require a short starter... Heck, yesterday I shot a offhand group from 25 yards that measured 1-1/4 inches for 5 shots (centerish) X X 10 9 9 (48-2x) - not bad for a .020 patch and .433 ball backed by 50 grains of 1fg... (this kind of stuff I really enjoy doing) 

Your 25 mile round trip to your Range is a'lot further then mine... I'm about 1-1/2 miles (if that) from my local Range, and I'll admit, that's pretty handy.  You take care. 

 

[Hanshi]

Well, for sure covid-19 has been a pest.  I'm nowhere near as "good" (AHEM!) a shot as I once was, but it hasn't stopped me from trying when I get the chance.  Current problem is that back in early September I had serious retinal surgery on my dominant eye with stitches and Lord knows what else.  While it is gradually healing from the brutal procedure it will be months before I'll notice any useful (I hope) vision improvement.  And I've found that shooting by sense of smell is less than satisfactory. 

[Ohio Joe]

Thanks Doc 

Our Range is wide open pretty much with just yard markers and a 5 x 8 place to hang targets at 100 yards from the benches, and then a couple gongs at 200 and 300 yards... We have a 50 yard Pistol Range that nobody uses, and a Trap Range that doesn't get much use (but it use to back in the day as they say)...

I just make my own target stands out of 2 x 2's and put cardboard on them to staple my target(s) to it, then set them in line with the yard marker I'll be shooting at.

However, today I was testing a .433 ball with a .020 lubed patch backed by 1fg Meteor Black Powder (from the 1970's) in one of my percussion lock rifles, and shot offhand from 100 yards, 70 yards, and 40 yards... I think the one shot from 100 yards went under my target stand (which is 24 inches off the ground),,, but the two shots I took from 70 yards carried the  8 and 9 Ring 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 inches low - left and right of center about 1-1/2 inch either side... My shot from 40 yards was 2-1/8 inches low and 1 inch right... This was using an NRA TQ-4 100 yard Target - so I wasn't to upset about the results.

If you're wondering why not use a .440 or .445 ball, well this is just some playing around with what kind of accuracy is obtainable from a patch ball combination that doesn't require a short starter... Heck, yesterday I shot a offhand group from 25 yards that measured 1-1/4 inches for 5 shots (centerish) X X 10 9 9 (48-2x) - not bad for a .020 patch and .433 ball backed by 50 grains of 1fg... (this kind of stuff I really enjoy doing) 

Your 25 mile round trip to your Range is a'lot further then mine... I'm about 1-1/2 miles (if that) from my local Range, and I'll admit, that's pretty handy.  You take care. 

I think the one shot from 100 yards went under my target stand (which is 24 inches off the ground)

I found that 100 yard shot... It caught the outside edge of my target stand under the bolt where the two legs on the right side of the stand props (1 out & 1 back) and holds the stand up... So it would have clearly missed a Redcoat but might have caught one in the rear Ranks... That made the first shot 13 inches right and 4 inches low of center... But, a TQ-4 Target is still only a TQ-4 Target...

[Winter Hawk]

And I've found that shooting by sense of smell is less than satisfactory.

'Bout the same as shooting by braille..... 

~Kees~

[One Shot]

And I've found that shooting by sense of smell is less than satisfactory.

'Bout the same as shooting by braille..... 

~Kees~

Cept your fingers start lookin like burnt fish sticks after a while...

[Ohio Joe]

Well, for sure covid-19 has been a pest.  I'm nowhere near as "good" (AHEM!) a shot as I once was, but it hasn't stopped me from trying when I get the chance.  Current problem is that back in early September I had serious retinal surgery on my dominant eye with stitches and Lord knows what else.  While it is gradually healing from the brutal procedure it will be months before I'll notice any useful (I hope) vision improvement.  And I've found that shooting by sense of smell is less than satisfactory. 

Hanshi, I've always understood that with eye surgery you're not suppose to, well,,, really do any "jarring" around - so you take it easy and get that vision back to where you're comfortable with it.