Tightwad Match 5-1

Gray skies met gray gunsmoke at today's Tightwad match when black powder aficionados met, as they do the first Saturday of each month, to compare their skills at the only sport recognized by this country's Founding Fathers: shooting.

A dozen men met at the firing line, shooting at targets from 25 yards to 100 yards using firearms nearly as old as gun history.

Serpentine hammered caplocks are what Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson, and hundreds of other trappers and traders carried West of St Louis, through the Golden Arch. Not faster to load than the flintlocks that preceded them, the short stocked Pennsylvania rifle's biggest advantage over the flintlock was its firing system, using a pre-loaded cap rather than powder and flint.

A shooter's eye view of the scene after firing his rifle. Blackpowder was a mixture of charcoal, sulphur and salt peter and create lots of belching smoke to tickle the nostrils of anyone near. Modern "black powders" like Pyrodex, the original "non-black-black powder", maintain the smokey quality while reducing barrel salts and other deposits famous for fouling gun barrels of old.

Davy Crockett was famous for his coonskin cap- which some historians argue as being folk-lore- and muzzle loading die-hards enjoy the accoutrement's that bring to mind the colorful clothing of past generations. (Kids today are not quite so colorful, though think they're being "new and original!)

Muzzle loading is the original method of shooting black powder. Modern "black powder rifles" tend toward breech loading and using shotgun primers to ignite the charge.

But to really enjoy your shooting heritage, do it the old fashioned, original way: one move at a time.

(Snap a 'cap' before loading to insure the flash hole and barrel are clear.)

Drop in a measure of powder, cover the muzzle with a patch, place a ball on the cloth, snip the cloth flush with the barrel and ram that baby down... get the patch and ball tight against the powder charge.

The patch and ball are started down the barrel with- what else but-- "starter" rod. Once begun, the job is finished with a full-length ramrod.

Flintlocks are the weapons used by the First Americans. The dragon headed serpentine hammer holding the chip of flint, a dash of powder dropped into the pan, and ignited by a spark off the frizzen, these guns lead to many expressions we use today.

"Flash in the pan," may mean less today than it did in 1760 when one wanted more than a flash in the pan, but the powder charge to ignite as well. But the meaning is the same: "flash in the pan" being a useless, albeit a bright, spark.

Ornate and beautiful in their design, flintlocks and cap-n-ball bring us to the roots of our shooting sports today.

Whether we admire Johnny Tremain or Daniel Boone or Kit Carson, black powder firearms can make one marvel at the shooting skills of our ancestors. Anyone who's attempted a 100 yard, or more, shot at a six inch bullseye with a black powder rifle will really appreciate our modern smokeless cartridges and firearms.

If you've not yet tried a "smokepole", head on down to the range the first Saturday of the month- I'm sure there's someone there who'd let you give it a try. You don't know what you're missing- and that's a lot! Contact Reed and ask him about it, he may be just the one to show you the ropes.

(Scores for the shoot will be posted soon as they arrive in house.)
Saturday, May 8th, is the first of the season's Cowboy Shoots- S.A.S.S. recognized- and another opportunity to try out some weapons as old, or older, than most of our grandfathers. Be sure to stop by and watch the action. Better still, get involved! You never know what you're missing until you try it a time or two.

Till next time- keep your powder dry and your wad knife sharp. And don't forget: it ain't unloaded till you check, and keep the muzzle downrange.

Jim III

Steel Action Begins...

Steel Action shooting got underway Saturday, April 24, with nearly 20 shooters participating. Larry was first to shoot and opened the ball with a not-so-rusty score that challenged the rest of the shooters.
Nick was RSO and, as usual, shot his wheel gun- amid a normal amount of razzing for his choice of weapon to shoot half a dozen targets (which we know were arranged by him to increase his odds- OK, just kidding!).

Eleven year old Josh is an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with for any shooter. Turning in times and accuracy that are impressive for someone who shot his first time last fall at the final shoot-out, Josh is the high-light of the match, receiving accolades for his skill.

The "old timers" aren't anything to chuckle at, as scores and times displayed. (Not that we're calling anyone "old" here. Well, maybe.)

There were a few new/first time shooters who'd spent the winter thinking about and practicing for the shoot.

Mike, former LEO, kept up with the pack on his first shoot, handling the mag changes and targets with equal aplomb.

Claude also opted for his wheel gun to open the season, giving Nick a good run for his money.

" It ain't just for show" is what Cliff's Colt says. And proved it on this sunny spring morning.

Be sure to check the calendar for up-coming events- Wednesday evenings and some Saturday mornings will be alive with the sound of lead on steel as the numbers of entrants to these shoots continues to grow.

(As usual, click on the picture to enlarge to full size. Also, if you want to save the picture to your computer for printing, follow these instructions...

Enlarge the picture to full size; right click on the large picture to get a drop-down menu, click "save to file" to get another drop-down menu to choose where you want to file the picture (usually Documents or a Photo Album), and click "save".)

Thank you, Virginia Rifle-Pistol Club for hosting the events. We really enjoy them and hope to see the club grow. Thanks, everyone, for attending and making the day fun for everyone.

We'll be trying to post everyone's score for the shoots on up-coming pages with the "article", so a reminder to RSO's to email me their totals and I'll put them in. Thanks. (Email addy is on the upper left of the page.)

Shooter scores for the day are:

Bob N: 47.89

Larry D: 60.58

Claude E: 78.6

Jim P: 80.02

Craig N: 84.14

Jim F: 85.42

Bruce R: 85.99

Bill P: 89.81

Mike M: 98.37

Victor O: 109.02

Lorn R: 110.02

Steve T: 113.04

Josh P: 133.33

Julie B: 142.00

Reed S: 153.8

Brian R: 162.9

Keep the chamber empty till ready to shoot.

Shy

NRA Alerts

Chuck Norris, legendary action star and the Honorary Chairman of our "Trigger the Vote" voter registration campaign, is coming to the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte next month. He will be a featured speaker at the Friday Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum. Chuck and his wife Gena will be Guests of Honor at the NRA-ILA Friday Dinner Auction, and they will also host a book-signing in the Exhibit Hall on Saturday. Click here to see a brief interview with Chuck about his new book, and plan to see him in Charlotte! NRA-ILA will be conducting an on-site voter registration drive at the Annual Meetings as well.


Second Amendment March On Washington Scheduled For April: There will be a Second Amendment March in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Attendees will gather on the northeast corner of the Washington Monument grounds at 10:00 a.m., and the entire event will take place there (due to logistics, the event will be more of a "rally" than an actual march). For more information about the march in Washington, D.C., or to find out about marches in your state, please visit http://www.secondamendmentmarch.com/

Thank You and Recognition

I want to take this opportunity to welcome Katie to the Virginia Rifle-Pistol Club. She joined February 13, 2010 and is the first Official Follower of the blog. Thank you, Katie. I hope we can see you at the Club Range doing all manner of events.
Don't forget the lock combination was changed this year.
Again, thank you and welcome.
Jim

Obama Anti-gun Directives

CCRKBA Is Fighting Obama The Greatest Threat To Gun Ownership.

Law-abiding gun owners cannot believe Obama and must take action to stop his agenda or risk becoming criminals if they own sport-utility rifles, semiautomatic shotguns, handguns and any other firearm that Obama and his anti-gun attorney general don't like. Just look at some of what is already happening.

• Obama directed Attorney General Holder to aggressively detail the Obama anti-gun agenda in Holder's public statements before the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Obama Supports a UN Treaty to invalidate the Second Amendment and put the UN in charge of US gun control
• Obama wants Holder to enact a national, permanent gun registration system.
• Obama wants Holder to enact a new federal authority to prohibit any person on the federal watch list (reported to be 400,000 names) from buying guns and supports confiscating guns from those on the list who possess them.
• Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are renewing the push for the Senate to ratify CIFTA, an international treaty that would create a national registry of American gun owners and make that registry available to other signatory countries. As an added bonus, American citizens in the database accused of wrongdoing in other countries would be eligible for extradition.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows waning support for stricter gun laws.

Among Americans polled, 75% said the Constitution guaranteed the right to own a gun. The percentage of "yes" answers was higher among Republicans (92%) and lower among Democrats (64%). Among others, 71% answered yes. And, 57% of those polled cited fear of increased government restrictions as the reason for a spike in gun sales.

Americans like you who understand what our Founding Fathers envisioned for our nation...and who are willing to fight to defend our Constitution and for what it stands.

So please, help the Citizens Committee and me defeat those who wish to gut and trash the United States Constitution.
Take the CCRKBA survey and make a donation: https://secure.conservativedonations.com/ccrkba_survey2/?a=3629

Shy III

Heller -Vs-D.C. dismissed

Today, District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, dismissed Heller v. District of Columbia, NRA's case challenging D.C.'s prohibitive firearm registration requirements, and its bans on "assault weapons" and "large capacity ammunition feeding devices." Mr. Heller was, of course, lead plaintiff in District of Columbia v. Heller, decided by the Supreme Court in 2008.

Judge Urbina rejected Heller's assertion that D.C.'s registration and gun and magazine bans should be subject to a "strict scrutiny" standard of review, under which they could survive only if they are justified by a compelling government interest, are narrowly tailored to achieve that interest, and are the least restrictive means of achieving that interest.

In support of that rejection, Urbina opined that in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) the Supreme Court "did not explicitly hold that the Second Amendment right is a fundamental right," and he adopted the argument of dissenting Justices in that case, that the Court's upholding of a law prohibiting possession of firearms by felons implied that the Court did not consider that laws infringing the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms should be subject to a strict scrutiny standard of review.

Brady campaign/NRA newsletter

Brady Campaign Continues Slide Into Irrelevancy
Click here to vote in this week's poll.
The notion that lemmings deliberately hasten their demise by rushing into the sea may be a myth, but the anti-Second Amendment group and its spokesmen really are scurrying through a series of blunders that may hasten their steady march to irrelevancy.
In 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the group's two theories about the Second Amendment were rejected by the Supreme Court, one of them by five justices and the other by all nine. In 2009, they tried, with no success, to frighten America about tourists carrying guns for protection in national parks.
This year, they've insulted their most powerful ally, President Obama, for not setting aside the economy, the war, and his social agenda to push for gun control legislation Congress does not support. They've given the states their worst "Brady grades" ever, even though violent crime continues to decrease. And, they've badgered the Starbucks coffee company for allowing customers to legally carry firearms in its stores.
Plan To Attend Free Grassroots Workshop At NRA's Upcoming Annual Meetings In Charlotte, NC! With the 2010 elections rapidly approaching there will be no better time than during NRA's Annual Meeting to ensure we are prepared to register pro-gun voters, mobilize them for action, and turn them out to vote on ELECTION DAY!
Indiana Governor Signs Legislation Protecting Workers' Right to Self-Defense: This week, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) signed NRA-backed legislation allowing employees to store legally-owned firearms in locked, private motor vehicles while parked in employer parking lots.
Your Help Is Needed In Support of BATFE Reform Bills S. 941 And H.R. 2296: As we've been reporting for months, Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have introduced S. 941, the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act" in the U.S. Senate. Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio) have introduced a companion bill -- H.R. 2296 -- in the U.S. House. The bills would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. These bipartisan bills are a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations.
Get Your Copy of Stephen Halbrook's Freedmen, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Right to Bear Arms, 1866-1876: Does the Second Amendment apply to the states? The Supreme Court will soon decide that critical question. As that historic day approaches, there's no better time for all Americans to learn more about this issue.
Join The NRA Online Advisory Panel: Last November, the NRA introduced a new service and community for our members, the NRA Online Advisory Panel. Inside this community, NRA members can vote and comment on Second Amendment issues, see how they compare to Congress, and track key legislation. The panel now has more than 10,000 members. The opinions and feedback of the Online Advisory Panel are helping to guide the strategy and agenda of the NRA heading into a critical political cycle. If you're not already a member of this growing community, you don't know what you're missing. We hope you will take a moment to join today by clicking HERE.
Another Way To Get Involved: Online Social Networking: Internet social networking has exploded in recent years. Websites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter attract millions of users. These on-line communities foster a connection between their users, and allow distribution of user-generated content (like pictures, profiles, music, video, and text).
Second Amendment March On Washington Scheduled For April: There will be a Second Amendment March in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Attendees will gather on the northeast corner of the Washington Monument grounds at 10:00 a.m., and the entire event will take place there (due to logistics, the event will be more of a "rally" than an actual march).