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Another large group this summer

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dave951

62 Cal.
Joined
Feb 27, 2019
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We had another large group this last range session. It was large enough that we had to split into morning and afternoon sessions. Ricky had some surprise range upgrades almost finished when we got there to get underway. The kids and adult leaders were from Miami, FL, some from NC, and some from West Virginia so our program contacts kids from all over the southeastern US. Unlike last week, this was a fairly rowdy bunch and a lot of fun to work with.

So some pix from the session-


We had a new benchrest for those Scouts needing it. The adult leader holding my 6ft level in the background is a credentialed structural engineer doing what they do best, watch. :D He's leaning on our new loading table. These guys fabbed these up over the last couple days and we installed them yesterday before we started up. Hats off to you guys for helping out!
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The new loading table is really welcome. The box with the tubes is a tray I made up. In the Church of the Holy Black, this is the Communion Tray from which all lay shooters must partake. Joking aside, by having premeasured powder charges in the tubes, we eliminate the potential issue of having powder measured by each individual shooter and open powder being handled by many shooters. It also speeds up the loading table time for the kids. For our PRB shooting with the camp guns, we use T7.
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And our own PathfinderNC sitting down on the job calibrating his optical sighting system for his Fusil de Chasse demonstration.
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And on to the demonstration. I'm always impressed with how fast the lock is on this smoothbore and PathfinderNC doesn't miss either.
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But when we have to move to percussion, PathfinderNC does a great job with the kids.
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Ricky DiMarco is the program head. Here he's working with an adult Scout leader and his son. We often see this combination in camp.
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And here I'm working with a couple young men. They listened and were soon hitting smaller and smaller targets.
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Jim is a great teacher and he's working with another adult leader and his son.
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Another part of the program, known as "You shoot'em, You clean'em". The new loading table is great for this activity as well. Instead of the multipurpose dilapidated picnic table, this is a much more user friendly place to do the clean up. We use Windex and get the job done quickly. I'll oil the muskets again a day or so later and Ricky will do the same with the camp guns.
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That looks like a grand time. If you have any flat rocks, put one under each leg of the benches, then level them off. The Rock will get wooden legs out if the dirt. That should help them last longer. They look real nice and rustic, shame to let them rot away after a season or two.
 
Wow. I mean, just WOW. How I wish we could do that here in UK. My pal John, a recently-retired firefighter, is a regional scout big-wig and a very keen shooter - I know he'd love to take part in ANYTHING like this, and so would I, even though I'm no part of the Scouting organisation.

Great envy is mine, Sir.
 
Without educating our youth - who are the future of all shooting sports, where will it all go?
My deepest appreciation to you all -
SmokyJoe 45 years with Scouting
 
That looks like a grand time. If you have any flat rocks, put one under each leg of the benches, then level them off. The Rock will get wooden legs out if the dirt. That should help them last longer. They look real nice and rustic, shame to let them rot away after a season or two.
We simply buried the legs on this one since it's planned lifespan is two years. Even so, our soil doesn't destroy hardwood posts very quickly and it'll probably last up to 4 years. We are planning a rustic shelter over the entire firing line and a bench twice to three times larger.
 
I really like seeing dedicated adults bring the youngsters into the black powder fold. Thank you both.
 
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