friendship in june

[duke21]

have been wanting to go to friendship for the last couple years now. seems like everytime i have planned to go, something crazy has come up, and i didnt get to go. We have been talking of going for several weeks now, and i found out a few days ago, she is getting moved to the weekend shift which kinda messes things up for summer activities.

i have had a few people tell me there isnt much going on during the week between the two weekends. and that the first weekend is the bigie. we wouldnt mind checking out some of the flea market type stuff, and diffenately want to visit wiht some of the vendors( always something i could use) but also interested in checking out the "quail walk"( hope i got that right) and other activities on the primitive side. wouldnt mind checking out some of the trap or skeet shooting as well.

my question is , is it really worth going to for the functions i mentioned above, if i could only go say the monday after the first weekend. i will be driving 3 or so hours and at todays gas prices really dont have money to blow on petrol.

so what do you think?

also, what does one have to do,in order to possibly participate in any of the activities.

any feedback is welcomed!!!

duke21

 

[Birdman]

Duke don't know if Friendship is worth it cause I never been there but iffn yer looking for a place to check out ya might think of Dixon's gunmakers fair the end of July. Just google up Dixon's Gun Shop in Kemptom Pa. , the fair is off the charts with muzzleloading stuff galore, everything from custom guns to most anything ya can think of related to muzzleloading. There are (Ithink) five large tents(20ft by about 60ft)as well as whats in the shop itself. The only cost is for parking n thats just a couple bucks. It runs Fri, Sat, Sun and the seminars are not to be missed. There is no shooting or anything of that nature going on but the venders are simply awsome.

 

[Slash]

Friendship is definitely not what it used to be. Several vendors have given up their booths there. Some only stay thru the first weekend and maybe until Monday.
I don't know a lot about the shooting there, except you have to be a NMLRA member and pay your shooting fees. There is always a good group of shooters on the modern side. There is also a gate fee to enter.
Slash
P.S. Dixon's is a wonderful event to attend.

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

I have been going to the Friendship Spring shoot for over thirty years. I go there to hang out with dear old friends, get supplies and shoot my firelocks. We have lost some venders over the years but to my view things have gotten better.
The shooting on the primitive range has improved over the last 5 years. I like shooting across the road also, I like the rifle & smoothbore silhoutte
matches and the woodswalk is great. I have on occasion walked way over and down the creek to shoot the Quail Walk. If you like shooting shot out of your smoothbore you will love this.
I have noticed that when ever Friendship comes up
on this board some of the most negitave comments
come from people who admit they have never been there! Go Figure :v

 

[duke21]

i understand those types of comments,, they are no different than the folks who badmouth going to the INDY 500 race, yet have never been in person. how can you knock it till you try it. I have been asking about treking, rendezvous etc, , clubs etc in west central indiana,for what seems like forever. Nobody seems to know manure, or doesnt want to share the infor. It is really puzzling. I have heard quite a bit positive about Friendship, the only real negatives have been the parking, and that if you want to see someting , you must go the first weekend. Well, it appears the weekend wont work for me, as she has to work, and i probably wont go by myself. So it i went it would have to be a weekday.

I must really be missing something cause its seems the muzzleloader folks dont join the NMLRA, and partake in their events, is a parallel to the folks who hunt, target shoot, collect guns etc, yet dont want to join the NRA. It just hasnt cliked with me yet.

Maybe i will be blacklisted for my opinion, but i think we should support the groups who have help support us in the past. We may not agree on everything, but who the heck does.

I am still interested in going to my first friendship, i just wanted to know what to expect, and prepare myself to not be disappointed by having to go during the week. I will miss at least a days pay, plus spend funds that are tight on fuel and eats etc, but i really want to learn more. This website and the internet is great, but sometimes they just cant compare to being there. Kinda like watching racing on TV, its still fun, but just not the same.

thanks,

duke21

P.s. if i am now blacklisted i guess i will soon find out!!!!

 

[cmuchalek]

I've been going to friendship since 1990. Every Spring and Fall. I travel from Waterloo Ontario and will continue to do so as long as I am 6 feet above ground. Sure there are some people who say its not the old Friendship of days gone by,but what in our short lifetimes stays the same. There are lots of vendors and gunbuilders. Take your pick of any plunder you need or desire. Most of the vendors will talk to you if you make an effort to converse. Every time I go I leave with a new friendship, some new experiences and of course plenty of plunder. This spring I am picking up 2 Custom guns from Mike Miller. He is one of many excellent builders who attends. He is also now a friend who I don't see enough. I won't do business with the internet suppliers unless I've met them prior. It's a ball talking
to the vendors who have all the info you need or require for a future project. I could spend a whole day taking to Tip Curtiss, Mike Miller, Jim Chambers, James Klein. The list goes on and on. I arrive early afternoon on the First Friday. Its not really open but vendors are selling. I help some vendors set up, than have afew laughs and begin to socialize. The band at the flea market is a hoot Friday and Saturday evening. Like they say at Disney World "Now is the time, now is the best time of your life", so jump right in and go. If you don't enjoy yourself than you have only one person to blame.
Even when friendship was flooded out and we arrived to discover it was cancelled, we had a good time. Any road trip is what you make it.

 

[faw3]

" I have noticed that when ever Friendship comes up
on this board some of the most negitave comments
come from people who admit they have never been there!" Well you didn't read last years then, I jump them them 2 times a year but not this year, just ck out the guy that went to shoot and paid for his wife and kid to get in to see and it's all he's ever going to Ind best shooting club, and they have lost more this year on the sales row, I got real ticked when I paid 6 for a 75 anv pinthat was made in China (give me a break) I've run into very few 1 out of 10 maybe that say its even 1/2 as good as the good old days, and they are people that go to shoot and meet old timers. They had a real bad wash out and need money bad...but they are in the red first time in years.....ya go figure :v bushy really put it best, if ya been and know people over the years you'll keep going and some big dealers in Ind say last year was it for them. I went once, it was ok, but I liked sitting around under the trees eating and shooting the bull down here in Texas at one off our 1000 yd matchs that turns out to be a 2 day ml shoot em up Funny how some one has to say someone will say something bad about Frindship so they do huh?( maybe it's how the the NMLRA got off track..maybe. duke21 you should go at least once, I don't know what I thought I'd see, but it was ok just not worth going back to, and now that I'm stuck on my back 24/7 till I die I don't got to worry about it, but everyone should ck it out once....but I will add a guy flying all over the world, 4 wheeling it, spending 15,000 to bag something at 60 yards with a in- dirty word isnt any Longhunter, thats for the guys that get out and track the game, turn it into a hunt when you dont sit on your butt and wait. :thumbsup: Fred :hatsoff:

 

[Slash]

My intention was not meant to be negative. I was only trying to give some info.
We had a booth there for several years, but like many we gave it up because of cost. Our decision was a business one. The people coming thru there has dropped and so have the number of dealers. I would love to see it back to it's former glory.
Slash

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

The price increase several years ago was due to one paid officer of the NMLRA. He jacked up the prices on the venders and the folks who use the range when the national shoots are not going on.
That year we lost over a third of the venders an NSSA event and the black powder cartridge shooters. This guy has been long gone but somewhere on the primitive side is a silhoutte
of the letters JU. The last evidence of this clown. The BP cartridge shooters are back I am not sure about the Civil War boys. Some of the venders leave by mid week to go to other events. This may be worse this year as the 250th of Fort Ticonderoga and Niagra is close behind the spring shoot. If you can only make it one weekend go the first weekend if you want to see every thing. The shooting is not effected by this.
I went to Friendship the first time in 1978. I went up there with my local muzzle loading club, we wanted to see Friendship one time. I have only missed Friendship once, that for my marriage. The way the marriage ended up...I should have gone to the "Ship" :surrender:

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

Duke, you will never be blacklisted for listing your opinion on this board. Hell if that happened
there would only be 5 members on this board! :bow:

 

[jethro224]

I've gone the last 2 years. Both trips were during the week. I thought it was worth going.
Sure, some booths are closed and the crowd is light but light crowds make for easier parking and the vendors who are there will have more time to talk to you. :thumbsup:

Go. Have fun. Stock up on powder and supplies. Drool over some fine guns. Meet some fine folks. Walk around and check out the museum and flea markets. Sure beats sittin' home doin' nothin'. :thumbsup:

That said, I'm gonna try and make it to the first weekend this year if my boss will let me have Sat off.

 

[duke21]

many, many thanks for the replys guys, it diffenately sounds as if it is probably not as good as in "the good old days" but then again, things change, people change, so do groups,and events. Closest i have been is seeing the event on "shooting Usa" one evening. the group i am now starting to shoot with seems rather informal, and they seem to get along well, and even though a small group, the interest is there. But i want to go to some kind of gathering where i meet lots of like minded folks, maybe get to do some shooting, check out goods from the vendors ( not really interested in MADE IN CHINA, hats!) and have some fun. just like on here, i have heard some say , you gotta go , there is nothing else like it, then others say dont waste your time. I am trying to justify the fuel and stay expence to have some fun. Money is tight, but for the first time in years, i think i can make the time to go. IF it is really just a great big flea market with worn out yard sale clothes, and made in china nick-nacks, then i will pass and mow the grass here.

I dont really have many muzzleloading friends, and really am tired of doing some of this stuff alone. Although sometimes, its nice to do this alone, does that make any sense?

I feel like i am talking in circles, so i better shut up. wish i could just load up my 32 and go small game hunting, but nothing doing this time of year in Indiana.

thanks for your thoughts guys,

duke21

 

[jethro224]

...i want to go to some kind of gathering where i meet lots of like minded folks, maybe get to do some shooting, check out goods from the vendors ( not really interested in MADE IN CHINA, hats!) and have some fun.

... IF it is really just a great big flea market with worn out yard sale clothes, and made in china nick-nacks, then i will pass and mow the grass here.

You should go. You'll find all that stuff at Friendship.

There's actually 2 great big flea markets full of worn out junk and made-in-China manure. But in-between 'em is the NMLRA stuff. There's the modern range(s) on one side of the road along with the vendors where you can buy all the stuff you want. Gunbuilders Hall has some really fine rifles to gawk at. Then there's the primitive range and camp behind the campground on the other side of the road. Lotsa good stuff over there too. The museum has some cool stuff. Quail walk, archery, eats, plenty of friendly folks to meet...

Just go. :thumbsup:

 

[duke21]

jethro,

sounds like you enjoy going, you must as you are west of me probably 2 or 3 hours and i know i am 2 or 3 hours from friendship. darn it, wish i could go on the weekend, but that just doesnt look possible. from what i have gathered, i think i really need to go, or i will always be wondering what if? still interested in other events or groups in the central indiana, illinois area!!

thanks again everyone,

duke21

 

[akapennypincher]

Duke, you will never be blacklisted for listing your opinion on this board. Hell if that happened
there would only be 5 members on this board! :bow:

This is very funny, and true. :thumbsup:

Personally if I had to choose between Friendship, and Dixon's (being about 800-1000 farther from Friendship for me) I would choose Dixon's as all I ever heard about it is you got to go there once.

TIMHO.. :wink:

 

[jethro224]

I do enjoy it duke. As much for the road trip as the destination. :grin: Hop on the bike and ride. Camp a night or 2 and ride back. Can't beat it.

The NMLRA Midwest Primitive Rendezvous is going to be at Rockome Gardens, Arcola, IL July 12 to 19th. I'm thinkin' I'll try and get down there as a spectator one or 2 days. :hmm: Looks like it might be interesting. Might be in your driving distance too. rockome.com has info on their website.

 

[Emmett James]

Contrary to the rumor mill, the June shoot and festivities at Friendship are still on. The flood and wind damage has been repaired and the ranges are ready to go. See ya'll there.

R. Walker
NMLRA Treasurer :thumbsup:

 

[Emmett James]

By all means, come on down! :hatsoff: If you are a NMLRA member, admission is free for you. If you park in the NMLRA parking lots, you get a free gate ticket for the Missus, too. There are over 100 registered dealers scheduled to attend and most will remain through at least Thursday depending on their next event. Yes, we had some major damage due to the monster flood in March and the tornado last week, but it has been repaired. No, we are not operating in the red and haven't been for several years. Look me up...

PS: The Quail Walk is a blast. :thumbsup:

R. Walker
NMLRA Treasurer

 

[deerhuntsheatmeup]

Guys,

I admit to having only been to F'ship once. However, it was a great trip and I am 10 hours from Madison, IN and another 30-40 minutes from Friendship. It was worth every minute of the trip just to have a full day with the vendors and a little time watching a rifle being built. Matter of fact I came home and started hunting a swivel vise after seeing that one at Friendship.

It was good to visit with Ron Ehlert, when he was still with us. Also, Wallace Gusler had a piece he was working on that was beyond outstanding. I have never seen this kind of detailed gun building anywhere except Friendship.

Best, David B

 

[jethro224]

Welcome aboard. :hatsoff: