2022 Spring Rendezvous

The 2022 Spring Rendezvous proved an old adage: You can't trust the weather forecasts. Many predicted that the event would be rained out. Instead, there was a brief but steady rain filled the small creek on Thursday, giving the shooters a moist but firm ground underfoot. The clouds eventually melted away by Friday afternoon. The weather was brisk, but tolerable with a sweater or woolen shirt. 

Saturday morning was a bit wet, but by 10:00 am the skies cleared up, and the sound of solid hits rang throughout the valley. Sad to say, there were not as many shooters as we were prepared to accommodate. Still, the sounds of hearty laughter could be heard throughout the day, 

There were several new shooters, and consequently, we saw some new rifles. I had to include this under hammer rifle, beautifully browned with a brass receiver. Under hammers are unique among percussion firearms because the nipple is positioned so it can provide a straight line directly into the powder charge for fast, reliable ignition. Notice too that the mainspring is actually the trigger guard, which must be free to flex during the hammer's fall. The finger rest is actually independent from the guard.

Here a shooter shows off a long rifle he completed from a kit. The love of a fine flintlock rifle is contagious, as demonstrated by the number of "flinters" carried by seasoned shooters. The challenge of this centuries old form of ignition is infectious, and many a shooter has started out shooting percussion locks (see top of post), only to convert to the older flintlock ignition as they look for new challenges.

Speaking of flint: the Fire Starting phase of the Trail Walk can earn a competitor an extra point if she or he can "make flame" using the simple fire starting "steel" and a properly shaped piece of flint. 

The Fire Start: Newcomers to the sport may never have seen fire made by flint and steel, and this seasoned shooter has an audience as he prepares the makings of a fire, In addition to the standard flint and steel, he'll need to provide his own "char cloth", which can be made my heating a piece of linen in a vented metal container that prevents the cloth from bursting into flame when heated in the coals of a camp fire. The vent prevents the expanding gas trapped in can from forcing it open. Char cloth has the ability to hold a spark, a red-hot sliver scraped from the steel with the flint, and keep it from extinguishing itself. I pinch of this char cloth is placed in a  "bird's nest", a little bowl made from the natural filaments teased out from section of sisal cord or rope.

The shooter proceeds to quickly scrape the steel with the sharp edge of the flint. Once a few "sparks" have landed on the char cloth, the frontiersman would gently blow on the char cloth until it bursts into flame, consuming the char cloth and the bird's next. To earn the Fire Start point, flame must appear in less than twenty seconds after the first strike of the flint on the steel.

It's interesting to note that an explorer on the frontier might have had two fire starting kits. In an emergency, a frontiersman might use his flintlock rifle to create those glowing embers by substituting a piece of char cloth in the lock pan of an UNLOADED GUN.  And while it might not be obvious, the powder and priming horns are not allowed near the fire starting bench for fear of a wayward spark turning the powder horn into a small bomb.

The Dress Point: Shooters can earn an additional point by adopting the dress of an 18th century frontier explorer. Many shooters will accumulate their dress and equipage over years of shooting, and when you see groups of shooters properly dressed, you can almost imagine that for a moment you've slipped back 200 years into a time when the frontier was new and unspoiled.

All Over But The Shouting: At day's end, shooters turn in their score cards. Awards will be given to the three shooting disciplines: Rifle, Pistol, and Trade Gun. In addition, there is an award for the best Tomahawk and Knife thrower of the Rendezvous. Additional awards are given to Juniors and Peewees when young competitors show up.

We could have accommodated many more shooters. Those who came were treated to some wonderful shooting days in spite of the rain. The Trek Committee has already started to plan for the Fall Rendezvous and Trek, so if you enjoyed this weekend, join us in October, and bring a friend!

Thanks To Our Sponsors: This year were enjoyed sponsorship from the following:

Big  5 Sporting Goods

Crazy Crow Trading Post

 Log Cabin Shop

The Gun Works Muzzleloading Emporium

Check out these sponsors for all of your shooting needs!