NEWS and SHOOT RESULTS from the 2021 March Monster Shoot. Sorry this is a bit late, must be spring fever. Not nearly as many competitors as last year again, but at least the same as last month. We had the usual five, but low and behold, our director of tardiness, Dwight Hlustick actually showed up! So, of the six competitors, only two were from Maryland and four from VA. The day started out in true spring fashion with the temperature hitting quite cool on arrival. However, there was (thank God) no wind. By the end of shooting at 1330, the temperature had risen to a balmy 57 degrees. Shooters were shucking layers again. Most of the grass on the range was still damp, but not ice covered. Schutzenmeister JP Sherkus did not fail to introduce two NEW tar-gets at 25 yards with one relatively new Gargoyle that hadn’t been shot in quite a while. In honor of the Monster shoot, the first target was a new three dinosaurs. JP Sherkus managed to hit all three of them with a score of 28. John Marhefka smoked it with a score of 23 for second Place.
Third place went to Frank Nicoli with 12. Art Twitchell and Dwight Hlustick each shot a ten with Rich Burkhart coming in last with a seven despite finally putting his new front sight on. The next three shot target was the Gargoyle. John Marhefka whacked it with a 27 1X followed by Rich Burkhart with a 27 for second. Frank and JP tied at 20 but JP scored third by closest to the X with Frank in fourth. Art scored a 19 with Dwight ending with a 16.
The final 25 yard target was the NEW Martian for 5 shots. A 47 got First Place for John Marhefka. JP Sherkus was right behind with 45 for second. Rich Burkhart hit a 41 1X for third. Frank Nicoli had a 34 for fourth and Dwight was right on his tail with a plain 22. Art came came in sixth with a respectable 21. Maybe this target was too easy at 25 yards. Don’t be surprised to see that Martian thing at 50 yards in the future.
At 50 yards we were shooting new “monsters”, probably because of the month. Not wanting to face an Irish curse, Schutzenmeister JP came in with an “Evil, undead Leprechaun” for five shots. JP must have really hated this thing and scored a 47 1x for first. Dwight Hlustick also did well with a 31 1X followed by Rich Burkhart with a 31. Right on their tails was John Marhefka with a 29 and Frank Nicoli shot a 19. Art Twitchell shot a 7 probably because the target was NOT in-visible.
The new Space Alien head was the final target at 50 yards for three shots. Shooting was pretty close on this one, must have been watching Star Trek reruns for aiming advice. JP Sherkus shot a 28 for first place. Next was John Marhefka with a 27, one point behind. Rich Burkhart shot a respectable 25 for third with Frank Nicoli coming in next with a 23. Dwight managed a 12 with Art turning in a ZERO for last place – remember this in a minute.
We had three shooters in the Pistol Match. At 25 yards JP Sherkus shot a 42 1X and John Mar-hefka got a 40 1X. New pistol shooter Rich Burkhart shot a respectable 37 which bettered his Feb score by one point. At 50 yards John Marhefka shot a 46 1 X . Way to go John! JP Sherkus shot another got 40 and Rich missed the 50 yard target still getting used to his pistol. John Marhefka came in first with an 86 1X with JP coming in second with an 82. Rich Burkhart came in third.
The overall high score of the March Monster Match was JP Sherkus with 168 1X. Second Place was John Marhefka with 153 1X. In Third Place was Rich Burkhart with 131 1X. Frank Nicoli had a 108 1X and Dwight Hlustick shot a 91 1X for fourth. Art Twitchell brought in the last place with 57.
Remember when I said wait a minute when Art turned in a ZERO score? Well, Schutzenmeister had a wild shot and declared that the shooter with the lowest aggregate score would choose the targets for the April Fools Match. Well, even though we all may yet regret this decision, Art looked through the book of 123 targets on file and chose the five rifle and two pistol targets for the match. Guess what? One of the targets is the In-visible Squirrel. Go figure.
It’s time to renew your BRML Membership for 2021. Dues are only $20. You get the newsletter and the free turkey shoot (guaranteed to win a turkey). During the year we occasionally have a Member’s Only Target with a special prize. Rejoin and support your club! You can send me a check (payable to Bull Run Muzzle Loaders – please, no cash) to the address above and I’ll mail your membership card to you. Or better yet, you can catch me at a shoot.
The next match will be Sunday, April 18 beginning at 9:00 AM and ending at 2:00 PM. It will be an Aggregate Score Competition with some prizes for individual targets as well. Bot-tom line, everyone who competes in the April Fools Match will win a prize!. You get 3 of each target. There will be a pistol competition for those who wish to participate. Art chose those targets as well. You get two targets with five shots at each. Score your own, hand in your best. After you shoot your best score of the three and score your own, turn it in so we can keep the score sheet current. You must have one half ball in the scoring ring to count. All shots are from the freestanding, off-hand position. Relays are approximately 20 minutes each. Any safe muzzle loader (flint, cap, firelock, side slapper, under hammer, in-line) may be used. Iron sights (open, peep, aperture) only, no scopes or optics permitted. Spotting scopes may be used. Subject to change without notice—generally there are 5 targets, some requiring 5 shots, some only 3. Expect the unexpected and have a bundle of fun. Usual distances are 25 and 50 yards.
Keep yer powder dry.
Rich
