EOT 2

 Day 2 of the Main Match.  I shot a clean day on the 2 PM wave, it was just over 90º. I think the ice cream before shooting was a help!

This evening was the Mexican dinner (green chili beef burritos) Side Event Awards and the World Championship of Cowboy Bingo.  We didn’t win anything but had a fine time.

After the VT-NH group closed down the main tent we went over to Milo’s but found that they had already gone to bed so we hung out with the neighbors for a while.

It was Red Shirt Friday, can you tell?

Lady Jane

Sassy Boots

I know I saw Jupiter again. The sky is not all that dark here. Between the waxing Moon and the city just south of us the dim planets are hard to find. 

EOT Main Match 1

 Four stages at 8 AM, Safety Meeting at 7:30.  At least I don’t.  Have to get up at 6 AM after today.  Late wave tomorrow and mid day on Saturday.  It is going to be HOT, maybe up to 90º.

Goos stages, fun, great posse.  I shot a very normal set, 2 misses and typical 30 second times.  

Done well before noon, hung out a bit, toured the vendors again.  Back at camp I had a bit of lunch and dozed off a few times while reading emails.  Did a Wally Mart run for a few things and then cleaned the guns for tomorrow.  We had a Territorial Governor meeting that went on for 45 minutes despite there not being anything on the agenda.

The evening show was a swap fest in the main tent.  Lots of potential interesting stuff but I only bought an ammo can and a hat hanger.  Later Skye and I went back to Milo and Moe’s camp to hang out for a while.  We heard a few coyotes on the way back to our camp at 10.

The early morning looks the same 

Billy Boots

Sunset

EOT side match day

 This was Side match day at EOT.  I started off at 6 AM with a 4 stage warm up event.  Just 4 stages using the main match target arrangements but not quite the same engagement patterns.I did fine.  This afternoon was the Plainsman event, one of my favorite things!  I won my category in this a few years ago, but not this year.  Results wont be known for a few days but I figure I’m around 3rd.And that is just seeing my one posse.  Not knowing what happened on the second posse make this a difficult guess.

This evening there was the opening ceremony a flag presentation of each country participating.  11 counties in all.  Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovakia, UK and US.

They presented Regulator badges to 30 people from 5 countries.  Notables that cowboys who read this might know are Milo Sierra and Ruby Ruthless. 

After all of this was a karaoke session.  There are a few good singers in this group.  And a few others who dare to sing!

Finally Skye and I went over to Milo’s trailer for our own social gathering with a group of cowboys.

Wild Bunch 2

 Second and final day of Wild Bunch.  5 more stages.  I shot this day clean and in good consistent times.  I’m not as fast as I used to be, and that was never all that fast anyway.  But it was a good day and plenty of fun. I did OK!

Yup , Third place!

Elder Statesman Classic Modern category

Now that’s a mouthful!

After the stages a couple of us took another shooter through the stages he missed yesterday when his father fell on stage 1and went to the hospital.  They went home after that and this guy came back today.  He only expected to shoot today’s stages, but the match director arranged for hi to shoot yesterdays’ stages.  So I went along to spot for him.  

Later Carlene and I went back for ice cream!  Nice warm sunny day.  Then a tour of the vendors.  I bought a used vest in a mellow paisley red color.  That came from the Phil Spangenberger Collection.  He was a well known western history author, TV presenter, and all around western history authority.  So it’s cool to have a vest that was his.

Afterwards I went to the store for some of my own groceries, breakfast stuff etc. and once I did that plus arrange everything I need for the 8 AM Warm Up 4 stage event I tried to see the Wild Bunch Top 16 Shootoff.  As I approached I met everyone coming back from it.  Too late.  I tried to do it all.  I missed.

The evening was the Wild Bunch awards and social.  The Mian Tent haas a bar in it.  A real bar.  And tonight a good spread of munchies.  Yesterday I mentioned the costume contest.  I tied for second place!

Back to the camper to walk Skye a couple times and write this in between relaxing and more prep for tomorrow.

Sunrise this morning

Early morning shooting

Miss Chevious

Me

Shirttaul Bess

Gillyboy

Half a Hand Henri

The category winners

Sunset

 

Phoenix 6, EOT Wild Bunch 1

 This was the first of a two day Wild Bunch match.

So for the new readers, this is End of Trail, the SASS World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting and Wild Bunch Action Shooting.  6 days of continuous shooting competition in various formats.  Wild Bunch is based on the movie “The Wild Bunch set in 1913 Mexico, using a Model 1911 pistol a Model 97 pump shotgun and a lever action rifle.  There are small variations for categories but they are not worth explaining.  Many but not all of us dress in period military clothing because the movie started that way.  I am one who does because I have always enjoyed the costume aspect of the game.

We began with a safety meeting at 7:30 this morning.  The rest of the winter I am just getting up at that time!  We shot 5 stages and will do so again tomorrow.  It was a good day for me, just 1 miss and a Procedural.  A mistake in the shooting order.  Good fun stages, good sequences and closer targets then we get at some matches.  One stage had 35 knockdown targets, that was a hoot!

It got up to 81º so I was delighted that the ice cream guy was there!  After that I went to the costume contest.  I have won 2nd with my uniform for three years.  We’ll see how it goes this year.  Carlene had come over by then so after that we toured a couple favorite vendors & chatted with friends. Then just a relaxing late afternoon at the camper 

Sunrise

Shirttail Bess

Dueling Des

Fort Sinclair