Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Buffalo League Rimfire Shoot

One of my shooting partners, and fellow rifle loony sent this my way, I wont't embelish, his text says it all.............GTC

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It was a foggy Florida morning, the last day of the year, 2005, clear, no winds and comfortable as soon as the fog burned off. There were ten, the youngest in his late 60s, the oldest 85. They shot steel buffalos from any position, iron sights, mostly from the bench, at 20, 30 and 40 yards. Many had not fired a firearm since they got out of the Army in the 40s. They had a wonderful time! The Florida Seminole RV Club, most are a bunch of otherwise very typical, senior RVers, who migrate from the great Northeast US with the seasons and winter in Florida. It was great to behold them freed (at least for a few hours) from their typical world by a few buffs and some old .22s and a morning at the range. Once briefed on safety and the rules, I let them have lots of familiarization fire at each station (I only ran three firing points due to the number of targets).



I think I had more fun than they did. Some were quickly returning to being the good shots they once were back when they �were in the Army,� or �when they were a kid.� All of them at some point or other told me several times how much they enjoyed and appreciated it. You could see & feel the sportsmanship and competitive spirit crackling on the firing line among and within them. Many hadn�t been a part of or felt such intense things �personally� in decades. The winner wasn�t known until the very last shot was fired, a real cliff hanger ending; first there was a three way tie, the first overtime, eliminated one shooter, there was another tie, the second overtime ended in a tie again. The last overtime, the first shooter�s score card was XXOOO, the second shooter�s scorecard was XOOOO!



The guy behind the winner in the picture is the one who came in second and my father in law�.(according to reliable sources, he was literally glowing when he returned to the RV park with the others, so pleased was he to have come in second). Not to mention the winner�s thrill. (he hadn�t shot anything in over 14 years�.and I overheard him and another shooter there making plans to meet at the range down in FT Myers soon�)



Here are a few pictures. Thanks for the poop on the Buffalos Greg, the event was more than �in the black,� it was an �X� ring.



There is a whole prequel on how I ended up in this position; putting on this event for this crowd, but the above is enough to make my point, and makes me feel richly blessed for being a part of such a good thing.



From Arcadia:

Zeb

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Here's a view downrange, couldn't get it to open, the first time

GTC

I didn't know they had buffalo down in Arcadia yet...few over in Melbourne grazing on the side of I-95, but wonders never cease! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good on Zeb, nice thing he did there! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Looks like great fun, but what's with having the buffalo in nice neat rows like NRA silhouettes? You should try to set up a miniature "herd" shoot, like we do for BPCRs at Ackley, Iowa. Four herds of 25 buffalo each, shot with about a 10 minute time limit. The buff vary in size, but are about the size of a big bore ram target, and weigh up to about 60 pounds, so even the big bores don't always take them down cleanly. The different sizes create a bit of an illusion, making range estimating a real challenge. It would be really cool to have a .22 version. I do have four practice .22-size swinger buffalo, two each size. I have a couple of pics of the Ackley herd, but I haven't figured out how to post pics yet.

Paul

Paul, if the weather co-operates ( and I hope it DON'T, we could really use some cold rain, and snow on the mountains), will be putting on a "Buffalo League" shoot tomorrow, at Sierra Vista Range..............

Will put up a few pics, subsequent.

Best regards, GTC <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />