Author Topic: The things we remember the most  (Read 14604 times)

Offline Tony Gauthier

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The things we remember the most
« on: March 31, 2010, 08:39:13 PM »
I think this should get interesting. I will start it.
What I remember the most about matches are the crazy things that happen. They are usually also very funny sooner or later. Some examples;
The Provincials at Rosebud the year it snowed all weekend. I had an old camper so invited Bill Leeper to stay at the range. Turns out that the camper roof was a little weak and Bill woke up to wet clothes. It only leaked in one spot, unfortunately that was right over his clothes.
The year we had Rudy Macs running the line! Now for anyone who has not met Rudy you  need to!!! Rudy is an old cowboy who has seen a lot of things and loves to tell about them. He was so busy at the match telling a story he didn't realize that the line was ready to go. But everyone was enjoying the story so much it just didn't matter. Anyway he noticed finally that all the shooters were back so came over and asked me if he should start the relay going. Paul was on the next bench to me and looks down range to see a nasty blow coming straight at the line. I told Rudy now is as good a time as any. Paul looked at me like I was nuts. That is the fastest ready on the right I ever heard Rudy call and and the match proceeded in the middle of a blow you can only experience at Rosebud. I let 5 go as fast as I could pull the trigger and shot a real nice group. I knew the way Paul had looked at me that he had his scope on my target and was watching closely. About the time I jacked the last case out he let his fly, and got his fifth shot off about the time it quit! You guessed it it was a big 4 and one! Both of us laughed for the rest of the day.
Of course the Calvin and the wasp episode will be a hard one to beat, but I am sure one will come along.
I may be nuts as Paul thinks, but I think I enjoy the entertainment factor of the sport more than anything else!

Offline Dwayne Cyr

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2010, 06:48:26 AM »
My cleaning table was set up next to Calvin's at the famous wasp episode. Calvin's table was directly under a wasp nest slightly bigger than a grapefruit. After he got stung we figured out what was going on. Gordy Wald was standing 15 feet from the nest and was zapped 3 times in a row. He stood their doing a little dance yelling OW! OW! OW! I never got stung all day because I ran away very fast every time a wasp came around. After the nest was knocked down, crushed, stepped on etc the wasps kept coming back and flying in and out of holes in the window frame. Fearless Calvin was busy plugging the holes with ear plugs.

Calvin has developed an unfair advantage of split vision. He can clean his rifle with his right eye while scanning for wasps with his left. Now he can look through his scope with his right eye while watching the flags and scanning for wasps with his left.

This year I plan to throw a can of wasp spray and some antihistamines in my range kit. Calvin needs a bee keepers suit and a smoker.

Offline phil

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2010, 06:43:41 PM »
being somewhat fearless ( stupid ) I continued to clean my rifle, getting stung along the way. Calvin attacked with brake cleaner, the wasps got wilder. pluging the holes in the window frame, the main wasp nest, was real interesting. What an introduction to Benchrest.

Offline cyanchycki

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2010, 08:00:50 PM »
Everyone forgets that old Peter Penner was the instigator.  He knocked the nest down and then ran like a scared little dog.......

I knew what he was trying to do.

Throw the KENORA shooters off there game but instead............... they went for my Polish blood instead.  Guess they were wanting some Home brew from my blood.....
My house is protected by the good Lord and a GUN............
When I Die I don't wanna go Sober..................................

Offline phil

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2010, 11:33:40 AM »
 Calvin,
         Just wait until Gord & I get you into some good Scotch.

Offline Tony Gauthier

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2010, 11:39:24 AM »
Sometimes at Rosebud we end up with some nasty weather and have to light the wood burning stove in the club room. A couple of years ago at a June match just such a problem arose, so being an early riser I got the wood stove going and proceeded to get some loading stuff ready to go. I was just getting ready to change to a different powder in my Harrells when Paul came in. He distracted me just long enough to cause me to spill a bit of powder all over the floor. I got out the broom and proceeded to clean it up. I soon had it swept into a small pile (Paul says it was about a pound but it was probably closer to a couple of ounces). Now its swept up but there is no dust pan. So Paul being the creative soul he is got a piece of backer cardboard and held it while I wept it onto the cardboard. I told him to just toss it out in the new fallen snow, but he decided he would just throw it in the wood stove instead. I told him not to do it but as usual he didn't listen.
Now he did have the presence of mind to stoop down a little distance from the open door of the stove. He made a final remark about testing the burning rate of N133 as he flung it at the opening. Well it turns out that 133 burning rate is faster than the average bench rest shooter.
When the smoke cleared there was Paul ,now sitting on the floor - minus eyebrows and with some funny looking curly hairs that were once a mustache. He let out a big cough with a little puff of gun powder smoke before making some sort of unrepeatable comment about powder burning rate!
« Last Edit: April 04, 2010, 11:41:40 AM by Tony Gauthier »

Offline Dennis Sorensen

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2010, 09:18:08 PM »
I remember one range work party we had at the Namaka range in the early 70's...

I forget who all were there but I can still see Terry McCracken's face... he was laughing so hard...

There were several of us working just ahead of the firing line and one of the guys needed to take a pee... so with his back to us facing the benches he took his time and when he was finished wondered what we we laughing at...

He did not realize that in one of the vehicles parked at the benches was a members wife, in the front seat reading... he was right in front of her... she just smiled...
After 53 years I am fully retired, unlicensed and have sold all my gunsmithing tools and lathe...
Thanks to all my customers...

Offline Tony Gauthier

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2010, 11:43:15 AM »
I remember one range work party we had at the Namaka range in the early 70's...

I forget who all were there but I can still see Terry McCracken's face... he was laughing so hard...

There were several of us working just ahead of the firing line and one of the guys needed to take a pee... so with his back to us facing the benches he took his time and when he was finished wondered what we we laughing at...

He did not realize that in one of the vehicles parked at the benches was a members wife, in the front seat reading... he was right in front of her... she just smiled...
************************************************************************************************************

I would suspect that there are a lot more stories from Namaka, with characters like Ed Mech and Otto around. Maybe they can't be told on the internet! I do recall Eddy and Otto getting into a few arguments, but only after the match was started. Seems they preferred to argue when everyone was trying to shoot a small group! There have been some pretty neat old photos of shooters competing at Namaka. Some pretty long haired shady looking characters. Funny how non threatening they look today with little or no hair!

Offline DanO

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2010, 08:25:34 PM »
I will always remember Namaka as it was the first match I every attended, and the only one I made it to there, before it shut down.
Winter score shoot, heater running, someone even had some sort of twitching things lined up outside going to the targets.
I started thinking I should have brought my hockey gear, well at least the elbow pads as getting around in the building took
some fancy manuvering.

The 1st match starts without any issues, at the end of it I clear the bench and stand there watching all these folks rushing around to
reload and clean their guns! What's that all about, didn't anyone plan for this shoot and load enough ammo?
And clean your rifle!!!!!! Hell, I will have to tell these fellows about Danzac, don't need to clean for at least 50 rounds.
I mean that little .223 cal. doesn't burn enough powder to worry about anyways, and that little case everyone else were using looked
like it only had about as much powder in it.

As with most of us, that first match is a real eye opener and one event not easily forgotten.
Fortunately or unfortunately it did not scare me off.

DanO

Offline John VM

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2010, 09:16:11 PM »
 I read and heard about Benchrest for a year or 2 before I found a match and was invited at the same time. As I had never seen one and didn't have a bench gun I decided to just go and watch. Joe Kroetsch invited me and he introduced me a few of the shooters at Elmira and one of the competitors who will remain unnamed stood out from all the rest before the shooting even started. Any how I ended up shooting a guys rifle that afternoon because he couldn't finish because of an injury from earlier bothering him. Well the learning curve was steep, shooting a bench rifle with a 2 oz trigger, using a sand bag and an adjustible rest, wind flags all over the place and they didn't do anything like what Glen Newick said in his book, 36 power scope and getting it on the right target, and trying to keep the injured shooter in the game. On top of that I was supposed to be going out with the wife and kids that afternoon so there was a little pressure. Well I didn't come in last and actually finished in the top 2/3, I was hooked. I couldn't afford a Bench gun so I shot for a year in Factory class until I could find an affordable used one.
 Fast forward to the first shoot at Oshawa with my bench rest rifle and I find a condition at 200 yards on my first target that has me shooting the x out of the score target pretty regularily except the wind has not come back around and I am running out of time. I have 3 x's and a clean 10 and one shot to go and I pull the trigger on a hail Mary and before I can see what happened this unnamed shooter who I have heard is a top shooter in North America, starts laughing on bench 12 and I am on 2. Well, before I can stop myself I says "Shut up Bill" and look through the scope and sure enough I had a 9. Well the unnamed party just roared after that and I kind of had a feeling we were going to get along after that.

Offline Dennis Sorensen

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2010, 07:55:57 AM »
I remember Al Mirdoch setting a hunter class group record with a factory 700BDL heavy barrel in 308. The action had been glass bedded and the trigger lightened. A record that still stands today as far as I know. (25-09-77 .125")
« Last Edit: April 12, 2010, 08:04:45 AM by Dennis Sorensen »
After 53 years I am fully retired, unlicensed and have sold all my gunsmithing tools and lathe...
Thanks to all my customers...

Offline Joe Mendham

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2010, 07:23:25 PM »
 One time at Clearwater a bunch of guys were hanging around on the Friday night before the weekend shoot . Bill Leeper said it's getting late and better take the kids home, as he opened the car door, his dog who had been running through the creek near by made a bee line for the car ,jumped in made several laps around the inside of the car and then shook himself off.  As Bill looked at the soaking wet interior all he could say was at least I don't have to call the damn dog.

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2010, 06:22:37 AM »
One of "MANY" over the years.
Kelbly's is notorious for storms and they have a big loading barn and just outside the barn Lester Bruno had his sales tent. Well the wind, which was gusty and strong caught Lester's tent and started to take it away. well there is a small door going out to Lester's tent from the barn and P.J. Hart grab a tent line and tried to come back into the barn. Oh by the way it was also pouring rain. He had the line and he was leaning at about a 45% angle trying to get the tent line inside the barn, Well every few seconds a gust would come through and drag P.J. back out through the door into the rain. He would fight back and get back inside the door and then out he would go again. Well there was about 15 of us there laughing so hard nobody could help him. He is screaming for help, out the door, back in, out the door, back in. I had tears in my eyes from laughing and I was not the only one.

Offline Tony Gauthier

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2010, 05:16:23 PM »
Funny I just mentioned Ed Mech and got a phone call last night telling me he is in the hopital. Apparently had a stroke and is in intensive care.

Offline Tony Gauthier

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2010, 05:18:09 PM »
I have an idea we could start a thread all by itself with Bill Leeper stories.

Offline Dennis Sorensen

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #15 on: April 13, 2010, 05:19:25 PM »
Funny I just mentioned Ed Mech and got a phone call last night telling me he is in the hopital. Apparently had a stroke and is in intensive care.

I am sorry to hear that... I didn't see him at the Easter gun show and wondered how he was doing...
After 53 years I am fully retired, unlicensed and have sold all my gunsmithing tools and lathe...
Thanks to all my customers...

Offline Tony Gauthier

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2010, 05:40:03 PM »
Bill went swimming with the alligators in Florida. You will have to ask him about it! Eddy is parralized on the left side and apparently having trouble swallowing, last I heard.

Offline Dennis Sorensen

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #17 on: June 09, 2010, 09:52:59 AM »
I hear Eddy is now at home...?
After 53 years I am fully retired, unlicensed and have sold all my gunsmithing tools and lathe...
Thanks to all my customers...

Offline Tony Gauthier

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Re: The things we remember the most
« Reply #18 on: June 17, 2010, 09:51:41 PM »
Yes he is in fact he wanted a ride to the score match last weekend, but didn't have anything ready to shoot. Sounds like he is doing well.

 

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