Pennsylvania Game News- June 2009 - 61

designated loading areas, keeping your muzzle down range, and asking for help after two misfires, shooters will engage in novelty targets at ranges from 15 feet to distances beyond a football field. Claybirds, steel silhouettes, eggs, crossed strings, gongs and an endless variety of noisy and breakable targets. Even the paper targets include animals ranging from groundhogs and crows to deer, bears and elk. Shooting positions vary from off-hand to prone, over-the-log to crossed sticks, and other challenging situations you could find during a hunt. Prizes range from “take something off the blanket” to money and medals. And, yes, there are still meat shoots, where ham, bacon or a turkey is the top prize. Brandywine Muzzle Loading Long Rifles Club in Chester County (www.brandywinelongrifles.com) has sponsored monthly shoots since 1971. This close knit fraternity welcomes anyone; just bring an honest and inquisitive nature. While some local clubs require membership to satisfy their insurance requirements, some do not. One “walk on” club that welcomes all is First Frontier Militia (610-377-2812) near Bowmanstown in Carbon County. This “rain or shine” club has covered ranges, and the friendly demeanor has been attracting new shooters for decades. Their meat shoots are legendary for great prizes. Forest Grove Sportsmen (412-7412073) in Coraopolis, Allegheny County, promotes hunting skills through monthly “woods walk” competitions. Targets challenge hunters with uneven ground, foliage and the kind of environment that most deer hunters face in the fall. Blackpowder shoots are generally a weekend event, but there are occasions where prolonged rendezvous-style events are held. Blue Ridge Rifles, Inc., Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County, is hosting a 10day rendezvous that focuses on muzzleloading lifestyles, with events for men, women and children. Along with the traditional paper and novelty targets, this JUNE 2009 year’s event hosts board shoots, claybirds, a candle shoot, archery woods walk, pistol and even a “he versus she” shoot. For more information, visit http:// mysite.verizon.net/blueridgerifles. Muzzleloading hunters, shooters and rifle builders from around the country will be gathering together for the 27th Annual Gunmakers’ Fair at Dixon Muzzleloading Shop on July 24-26. This “Exposition of the Work and Craft of Muzzleloading Gun Makers and Associated Trades” has become a national icon. Seminars and craftsmen by the score abound at this Berks County destination north of Kutztown. Attendees read like a “who’s who in muzzleloading,” and many of the attendees were responsible for the creation of muzzleloading seasons around the country. Regardless of the difficulty of questions regarding all things muzzleloading, the experts on site can answer them with authority. With free admission and a cornucopia of handmade supplies to choose from, this event should be a “must see” on every hunter’s calendar. Information about the fair is available at www.dixonmuzzleloading.com. One of the most unusual events held by the PFBPS, Inc. is the primitive muzzleloading village that it erects each year at the Lehigh Valley Hunting and Fishing Expo in Kempton, Berks County. Sportsmen, particularly young folks, are given an opportunity to shoot their first muzzleloader. Scores of volunteers live in teepees, lean-tos and wall tents, dress in primitive garb, and live the Early American lifestyle for visitors to learn from. But the big draw is the white smoke generated from the flintlocks and percussion rifles in the hands of volunteers and new shooters. It’s a great learning experience for all. This year’s expo is scheduled for August 28-30 (www.lvhfe.com). The “rendezvous” is a popular term that has been revived by muzzleloaders to its original meaning: “A place appointed for assembling or meeting.” During the fur trade era (1640-1840) of this country, trap61 guncol.pmd 61 04/27/2009, 10:18 AM

http://mysite.verizon.net/blueridgerifles http://mysite.verizon.net/blueridgerifles http://www.brandywinelongrifles.com http://www.dixonmuzzleloading.com http://www.lvhfe.com

Pennsylvania Game News- June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News- June 2009