December 2010 MISSION STATEMENT The object of this organization shall be the encouragement of organized rifle, shotgun and pistol shooting among resi- dents of our community, with a view toward better knowledge on the part of citizens of our community of the safe han- dling and the proper care of firearms, and the development of those characteristics of honesty, good fellowship, self dis- cipline and self reliance that are the essentials of good sportsmanship and the foundation of true patriotism. Turkeys in the Fog!!! It may have been only cloudy to start out but with the Free Trappers 'making smoke' on line it quickly became a bit difficult to see down the range. In consideration of limited visibility and small tar- gets a new feature was added. Courtesy of Hunter's Tree Farm, a line of small gourds was estab- lished as rifle targets granting a 'mulligan" on the more distant rifle targets for a nominal fee. This fea- ture added humor and excitement and may be reintroduced for rifle or other special events. The Rain- Dee-Voo rifle for raffle was introduced and tickets are now on sale. This raffle includes a shooting bag donated by Mike Nesbitt and a Powder horn from Steve Skillman along with the Traditions St Louis Hawken Rifle. The number thirteen was not unlucky apparently as that number of shooters on site had a pretty good day. "Lucky Shooter" awards went to Steve Andrews for the turkey head target and to Adam Sampson for the Poker cards with a queen high straight flush. Individual matches, rewarded by appro- priate turkey related items were won by: 1. Trade Gun: 1st Adam Sampson, 2nd Tim Sampson, 3rd Bob DeLisle 2. Pistol: 1st Mike Nesbitt, 2nd Bob DeLisle, 3rd Doug Simpson 3. Rifle: 1st Mike Nesbitt, 2nd Steve Andrews, 3rd Bob DeLisle Aggregate competitors got to select from a table piled with turkeys, hams, turkey roasts and summer sausage, furnished by the Free Trappers. Order of score was: 1st Mike Nesbitt, 2nd Bob DeLisle, 3rd Don Kerr, 4th Steve Andrews, 5th Doug Simpson, 5th Frank Poncerof, 7th Dave Perry, 8th Dewayne Pritchett, 9th Tim Sampson, 10th Ralph Birmingham, 11th Dale Gietz, 12th Adam Sampson,13th John Barberi. A brief Free Trappers meeting by booshway Brown reviewed the need for additional hands for the event particularly the blacksmith setup. During our meeting a discussion was held asking the opinions of our shooters on WDFW hunting rules for Muzzle Loaders. We found a consensus that equipment rules should remain unchanged: Iron sights only, calibers allowed unchanged, and ignition open to the weather with musket or percussion caps only. Thanks for set up and scoring assistance to "Reliable Tony" and also appreciation for scoring and range management to JK Johnson and to our one-winged booshway BO Brown recuperating from ro- tator cuff surgery. Reminder of the next Evergreen event Sunday November 14th, probably rifles for a novelty shoot conducted by Pete Strobl. The next Free Trappers shoot will be Saturday December 4th and will be the Christmas Brown Bag prize blanket with the Free Trappers club providing prizes. Bob Gietz 360-273-7862 Editor: Robert Moody 491-4092, [email protected]. Items for the Plinker must be submitted by the 15th of the month. Call or email for details. PAGE 2 THE PLINKER DECEMBER 2010 December 2010 Old Soldier Match by Harvey Gertson for Match Director It was decided at the October match that the December 26 Old Soldier Match would have the M1 Garand as the theme rifle to shoot. Shooters may bring other rifles to beat the M1 Garand’s but they would not be eligible to win any awards. So dig out your M1 Ga- rand and come on out December 26 and shoot in the Old Soldier Match. The match is 200 yard, 30 shots for score, from the prone position. Bring a couple of en-bloc clips for your Garand. The October 24, 2010 Old Soldier Match Results: The match had 7 faithful shooters who came out in the rain to test their skills at 200 yards prone and try to stay dry. The temperature was in the 50’s with pouring rain during the first 15 shot relay with some wind. One shooter complained that the rain knocked his bullets down to lower scoring rings. Harvey wore a British military jacket and beret to complement his P14 .303 British rifle. Tony was presented with a Swiss beret to go together with his Swiss K31 rifle. Now Tony has to wear it correctly so he doesn’t look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. The military type “dog tag” award went to the top three places. First place went to Tony Minerd with his Swiss K31. This is the fourth “Old Soldiers Match” in a row that Tony has won. Those of you who haven’t been out for awhile, come on out and knock Tony off the podium at the next match. Second went to Gary Thorson who was only 4 points behind Tony but he had the most x’s with 10. Third went to Gary Baldwin who was not far behind 2 nd place but Ken Horton was on Gary Baldwin’s heals trailing by only 2 points. Fifth and Sixth were only 4 points apart After the Old Solder Match there were 5 shooters for the Carbine match. The course of fire was an “Official 100 Yard Military Type Target” at 50 yards and 100 yards. The target has a 5.5 inch bull and a 1.75 inch V ring (like an X ring). 25 rounds were shot from prone at the 100 yard and 25 rounds sitting at the 50 yards with 2 ½ minutes for each. The most hits in the black bullseye would win. Walt Schumacher came out on top with 26 bullseye hits and 11 v’s. Fran Huntington was a close second with 24 bullseye and 2 v’s. Carbine Match Date: October 24, 1010 50 yd 100 yd Total Total Place Name Rifle and Caliber Score v 's Score v's Score v's 1 Walt Schumacher S&W AR 15-22 (.22 LR) 22 10 4 1 26 11 2 Fran Huntington AR 15 - .223 11 0 13 2 24 2 3 Gary Baldwin SKS 7.62x39 15 1 5 0 20 1 4 Gary Thorson AR 15 - .223 7 n/a 10 n/a 17 n/a 5 Harvey Gertson AR 15 - .45 acp 8 0 6 0 14 0 Old Soldier Match Date: October 24, 1010 1st 1st 2nd 2nd String Str String Str Total Total Place Name Rifle and Caliber Score x 's Score x's Score x's 1 Tony Minerd Swiss K31 - 7.5x55mm 149 3 145 5 294 8 2 Gary Thorson Remington 03A3 - .30-06 148 6 142 4 290 10 3 Gary Baldwin British No 1 Mk III - .303 British (7.7x56R 141 3 145 2 286 5 4 Ken Horton Swiss K31 - 7.5x55mm 142 2 142 4 284 6 5 Walt Schumacher Swedish Model 38 - 6.5x55mm 138 2 130 2 268 4 6 Fran Huntington Swiss K31 - 7.5x55mm 138 2 126 0 264 2 7 Harvey Gertson P-14 by ERA - .303 British (7.7x56R) 123 2 106 1 229 3 If you have any question about the Old Soldier or Carbine match call or email me at 360-352-7669; [email protected] PAGE 3 THE PLINKER DECEMBER 2010 Beginner/Intermediate Pistol Match September 2010 The Beginner/Intermediate match drew 20 shooters for the September. It was a bit misty Saturday and only two participants chose to shoot a second gun. The match was 70 shots with 6 stages. Ron miscounted his targets on the walk and shoot, thus the reduction from our normal 72 shot match. Stages 1 through 5 had varying shots per stage, the same as several of our previous matches. Beginners shot from the 15 yard line while intermediate and advanced shot from the 25 yard line. Intermediate and advanced shooters were required to shoot with the weak or strong hand on four stages and with both hands on the fifth stage. Advanced shooters were limited to 40 seconds to complete each stage. Needless to say, scores were much lower for intermediate and advanced shooters. The first five stages used standard targets consisting of paper plates, texas star, plate racks, and bowling pins. As with our previous matches, the biggest problem was remembering the number of shots allowed on each stage. Ron plans to continue changing the number of shots required on each stage so that shooters cannot get complacent. Stage 6 consisted of 24 targets. Shooters moved through six different shooting positions and shot at paper targets and steel plates placed at varying distances. Ron included his 45 Colt carbine for the third shooting station. Shooters were only allowed 24 rounds to hit all 24. Each shooter’s time was also recorded so that we can record their “hit factor.” Gerold Trusty was the best of the beginner class with a 60. In the intermediate class, Barb Rheault scored the highest with a 48. Ron Lohman was best of the advanced shooters with a 63. All pistol shooters are invited to the Beginner/Intermediate match and you can really hone your accu- racy skills with this match. If you know any beginners who want to learn safety rules and basic shooting skills, send them to our match. Mark your schedule for December 11th for the next Beginner Match and we will see you at the Action Pistol Range.