The 2022 Fall Rendezvous and Trek drew a small but dedicated troupe of shooters and campers. While the Trek is the "pièce de résistance" of the the Rendezvous Season (my opinion), traditional Rendezvous faire was also served to the delight of our guests. The little valley rang with the sound of round balls striking steel gongs at often seemingly impossible distances. Hits were cause for celebration, while misses invited the inevitable ribbing from new and old friends.
The Fire Start: Participants have the chance to earn a point by starting a fire in 20 seconds or less using traditional flint and steel. Competitors start by creating a "bird's nest", a bowl made from a natural fibers such as jute cordage or hemp rope. Individual strands are teased from the cordage and manipulated into a bowl-shape similar to orecchietta, the Italian ear-shaped pasta, only much larger. When satisfied with the size and shape of this "bird's nest", a square of char cloth is placed in the bottom. Next, the flint is used to quickly graze the surface of the steel, creating a shower of sparks directed toward the char cloth. Once the Trekker sees that some sparks have landed on the cloth, the sides of the nest are folded over to completely enclose the char cloth and those precious, glowing sparks.
The competitor gently blows on the nest, which creates a steady stream of oxygen that will ignite the flammable nest, creating visible flame and thus stopping the clock. The burning nest is now dropped into a nearby bucket of water. Experienced Trekkers can create flame in five seconds or less.
A Historical Note: Frontier explorers sometimes placed a piece of char cloth in the pan of their empty flintlocks and used the lock to create the necessary spark. This should be taken an an interesting factoid, because this technique should not considered safe. The truism that "empty guns accidentally kill as many people as loaded ones" is as applicable today as it was 200 years ago.
The Balloon Shoot: This year the Balloon Shoot was fired right after the morning Shooter's Meeting. This match required a two man team, one to shoot a rifle and the other to shoot a shotgun. Since most shooters don't own a muzzle loading shotgun, one was provided for use during the match. Here a double-barreled percussion shotgun is being loaded with the proper combination of powder, wads, and shot.
Shooters stand with their backs to a table where the loaded but unprimed guns are placed. On command, the rifle shooter turns, primes the rifle, and shoots at a special plate to release the two helium-filled balloons At the sound of the "clank" the second shooters turns, primes the shotgun, and with two available shots, attempts to hit the two high-flying balloons. For a lark, one team opted to shoot the plate with the pistol seen on the table.
Here you can clearly see the two balloons, with the red release plate between and below them. As it turned out, the shooter actually hit the plate, but the the pistol ball did not have the energy to release the balloons.
The Fort Shoot. The club completed its own "Fort" in time for use during the Rendezvous. Built to last, it has portals for two shooters to use simultaneously, although it is possible for a team of four to fire through the portals in rotation. The winning team must hit the most number of targets in the allocated time, or 'clear the field" before time is called.Coming up, The Trek.
