Jim's New Years Shoot

[Herb]

He held his traditional shoot on New Year's day, but it was so cold no one wanted to shoot. Bob comes from Golden, CO for this each year, so I said I'd shoot with him. Kyme came along, plus two observers. We shot steel targets out in the junipers along the trail and across a canyon, "at least 100 yards". Bob and I hit both targets, Kyme was shooting a 66 caliber English officer's personal rifle (smoothbore 16 gauge) and missed one. Bob and I both shot .54 Hawkens I made, his was left handed and I cut the stock from a walnut blank by hand about 20 years ago. He took first and I second.

 

[Artie Peltier]

He held his traditional shoot on New Year's day, but it was so cold no one wanted to shoot. Bob comes from Golden, CO for this each year, so I said I'd shoot with him. Kyme came along, plus two observers. We shot steel targets out in the junipers along the trail and across a canyon, "at least 100 yards". Bob and I hit both targets, Kyme was shooting a 66 caliber English officer's personal rifle (smoothbore 16 gauge) and missed one. Bob and I both shot .54 Hawkens I made, his was left handed and I cut the stock from a walnut blank by hand about 20 years ago. He took first and I second.



View attachment 2868

Great selection of quality rifles! Again the scenery is spec! Well done

 

[Herb]

I didn't know how to put the captions with each photo. I built all these rifles except Kyme's. The first five Hawkens are two Kit Carson .54 caliber, my copy of the Jim Bridger in .54, which I hunted deer and elk with and have shot 1500 to 2000 times, a .58 flint halfstock which I killed a mule deer with and shot a few hundred times, and a .50 fullstock with a swamped barrel that I killed an antelope with. Shot it maybe 300 times then gave it to my nephew for a family heirloom.

The five Hawkens picture has a .40 St. Louis Hawken I built at bottom. The three rifles photo has the rifle I shot at Jim's at top. It is a Kit Carson Hawken but with a 15/16" .54 caliber Hopkins and Hobbs barrel, weighs about 7 pounds. I no longer have the muscles to hold up my heavy Bridger.