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THE ULTIMATE IN
FEMININE
PROTECTION
At any VCDL booth event, I always OC a big-bore revolver (I just like 'em) as part of my political statement. This time, it was the Super Redhawk 454, and I'd also brought some of my .45 Colt "Magnum" loads in case they let me shoot. Well, due to the way the events were scheduled, the only handgun event I could've shot at was the .22LR Ruger Mark III Event, and they had pistols for people to shoot (they even provided the ammo free!). Since booth duty came first, I didn't take part in that event, but a retired schoolteacher I met there sure did. She had a blast! I noticed that there were quite a few relaxed-but-very-alert RO's. Safety is a good thing, so I liked seeing that.
The event was well attended. There were also a lot of children, who were allowed to shoot with a signed parental waiver. They were having a ball. There were also several demos of gear, one of them an example of the original ArmaLite semi-auto AR-15 design concept from back when (no forward-assist). There were also two examples of bazookas, one WWII, one a Vietnam-area rocket launcher. Very educational.
And now, the range.
There are two outdoor ranges, the upper and the lower. The upper is for shotguns, and the lower is for BP muzzleloaders, handguns, and rifles. Full-auto is permitted if they're notified in advance that you're coming with it, so they can set up a lane specifically for that. Even though this was the first time I'd ever been to a 100yd range, I could tell it was well maintained.
There's also an indoor range, but that was closed, so I didn't get to see that. But on a beautiful day like yesterday, why shoot indoors anyway??
Remember I mentioned the Super Redhawk and the hope to shoot it there, if they permitted me to do so? Well, turns out there was an event at the end of the day called the "Kill the Stake" event. Basically, there's a 6 ft stake in each lane, and a line painted about 2 ft up on it. You "kill" the stake by shooting it below that line to cut the stake off. It's only about 2 in. wide, and you're shooting at about 7 yd, so accuracy matters more than speed. I was teamed up with a guy w/ a Mini-14, and upon the command of "FIRE!", off we went. Understand that I'd never done this before.
A funny thing happens when you're in a competition. Normally my .45 Colt "Magnum" loads, which Zephyp has fired and knows ain't wimpy, do sting a little bit, even out of a heavy gun like the SRH. However, this time, of course I felt there was a little kick, but I didn't notice any pain--not even a little sting--at all! I was simply focused on nailin' that stake and cuttin' it down. Maybe this is the mild version of what I've heard happens when you're shooting an assailant--you don't even notice recoil or sting or anything else, just nail your target.
The RO supervising this event looked at me afterward, remembering this was my first time at doing this, and asked, "Did'ja have fun?" My answer: "OHHH YEAAAHHH!!!" He laughed in that "Welcome to the addiction, kiddo" kind of laugh.
I will DEFINITELY be doing that again! OHHH YEAAAHHH!!!BTW, our team came in 4th out of about 10 teams. Not bad, considering.
The final event was the cannon shot. Yes, CANNON SHOT. With a real, live Civil War-era cannon, firing real, actual HBWC "cannon balls" of 2 in. diameter. I know this for certain because we collected them after the firing, and them things're heavy! They were still warm, too.
They sighted in this beast, which had pretty deep rifling, loaded up the BP, mashed home the cannonball, put in the fuse, and fired.
BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good thing I was wearing double ear protection. You can feel the shockwave, even standing a good distance from it. That old black powder artillery ain't kiddin' around.
They fired it four times at a distance of just over 100 yds, into a 2' x 2' target. I didn't know those old cannons could be that precise. They cut three 2-inch holes not far from the bullseye in this Sheetrock-backed paper target. The fourth (actually first) cannonball? A miss--that was the sight-in shot. Afterwards, we went to go dig out the massive HBWC's for re-melting. As I said earlier, they were still warm.
All in all, a totally, bodaciously, radically awesome day at a range that I hadn't known even existed. If I lived closer, I'd probably investigate taking a membership there, which they told me is something like $100/year. What nice people! And what a nice range.
