NEWS and SHOOT RESULTS from the 2021 Frostbite shoot. Not nearly as many competitors as last year, but two more than last month. But Art was kept busy with the SIX shooters who did show up. We had five of the usual crew and new member Drew Trent drove up from Sunderland MD to compete. Way to go Drew!!! So, of the six competitors, three were from Maryland. Are we taking over? The day started out in true Frostbite fashion with the temperature hitting 23° on arrival. However, there was (thank God) no wind. By the end of shooting at 1330, the temperature had risen to a balmy 37°. Shooters were shucking layers. Most of the grass on the range was still ice covered, which was quickly melting. It was still extremely icy on any shaded areas, so we stuck to the paths to/from targets.
Schutzenmeister JP Sherkus did not fail to introduce two NEW Targets at 25 yards with one venerable Crow that hadn’t been shot in quite a while for the third. In honor of the Frostbite shoot, the first target was a new Snowman. JP Sherkus blew its head off with a 30 1X. John Marhefka smoked it with a score of 28 for second Place. Third place went to Frank Nicoli with 27 1X. Rich Burkhart came in fourth with a 19 1X, Art Twitchell had a 15 with his underhammer and Drew Trent scored a 10. The next three-shot target was the ol’ crow. Rich Burkhart whacked it with a 27, followed by John Marhefka with a 26 for second. Art and JP tied at 22 but JP scored third by closest to the X with Art in fourth. Frank Nicoli scored a 10 with Drew Trent ending with a 5. The final 25 yard target was the NEW Raccoon for 5 shots. A 45 got First Place for JP Sher-kus. John Marhefka was right behind with 43 1X for second. Art Twitchell hit a 36 for third. Rich Burkhart was closing in with 32 1X for fourth and Frank Nicoli was right on his tail with a plain 32. Drew came in sixth with a respectable At 50 yards we were shooting groundhogs, probably because of winter fur. John Marhefka got First Place with 29 and Art Twitchell shot a 28 despite the target not being invisible. JP Sherkus came in third with a 26. Rich Burkhart came in Fourth with a 23 and Frank Nicoli scored a 22. Drew Trent shot a 17 for sixth. Not the best scores for five shots, but the critter must have been jumping around. The
Groundhog head was the final target at 50 yards. John Marhefka took First Place with a 25. Next was Drew Trent with a 17. One point behind at 16 was Art and Rich, but Art had a shot closest to the X. JP Sherkus must have had a gun failure with a 10, and Frank Nicoli came in last with an 8. We had three shooters in the Pistol Match. At 25 yards JP Sherkus shot a 45 1X and John Marhefka got a 40. First time pistol shooter Rich Burkhart shot a respectable 36 with a revolver that he had not shot in 30 years (he claimed). At 50 yards JP Sherkus shot another got 45 for a total of 90 1X and First place. John Marhefka and Rich Burkhart were having some problems with 50 yards and did not turn in targets.
The winner of the Aggregate Match was El Presidente John Marhefka with 151 1X. Second Place was JP Sherkus with 133 1X (darn groundhog head). In Third Place was Rich Burkhart with 117 2X. Art Twitchell had a 117 NO X for fourth. Frank Niccoli with 102 1X followed by Drew Trent with a 67.
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. So far, we have 22 paid up members. That is way down from previous years. C’mon ladies and gents. Re-join 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, March 21 beginning at 9:00 AM and ending at 2:00 PM. It will be an Individual Target Score Competition. You get 3 of each target. There will be a pistol competition for those who wish to participate. 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. Re-lays are approximately 20 minutes each. Any safe muzzle loader (flint, cap, firelock, side slapper, under hammer, inline) 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 dis-tances are 25 and 50 yards.
Keep yer powder dry.
Rich