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NWT News

Carleton Skirmish
Many thanks go out to Skirmish Director Chuck Kintz and his staff from the 7th Tennessee and the Huron Rangers. It was a well planned operation and a flawless skirmish from start to finish. Several shooters took advantage of the Friday individuals and although Friday was hot and humid, it was nothing compared to what we experienced from Mother Nature on Saturday. It was great to have the 110th Ohio and Union Guards from the Midwest Region along with the 6th Wisconsin from the Western Region attending. Saturday had to be one of the most challenging days of shooting I have ever experienced. Between the high humidity, little to no wind, rain and temperature, the targets were very hard to see through the smoke and haze after the first volley and throughout each event. On the pigeon board, the command to “shoot what you can see” was given by some teams. Shooters had to synchronize their shots to allow time for their neighbors smoke to partially clear. If you were shooting with a peep or an optical piece (or both), you had an added obstacle to overcome. Carbine Class 1 and 2 were won by the 111th Ohio and 14th Tennessee respectively. Although they did not medal, the 14th Tennessee took top honors for the region in Smoothbore battling with the 110th Ohio who entered three teams. Sunday, the weather changed for the better with a slight breeze, no rain and slightly lower temperatures. On Sunday, the 111th Ohio, 5th Battery and Battery C won their respective classifications. Next on the agenda will be the region’s finale at Carleton on Sep 11-12 hosted by Battery C.

Laingsburg Skirmish
Congratulations go out to Skirmish Director John Fullerton and his crew from the 19th Michigan and 1st Michigan E&M. They planned and executed an outstanding shoot at Laingsburg this past weekend. From the tower operation to those working behind the scene with stats and targeting, this was a well-run operation. Saturday night we had our fill of some very fine food at the NWT Picnic followed by a first-ever square dance. Rumor has it that if you dance with John (two left feet) Fullerton, it would be best if you wore steel-toe shoes. Many thanks to the Laingsburg Muzzle Loading club for allowing us use of their range and for providing the food service with a wide variety of menu items. There are not any skirmishes I know of where you can buy a large ice cream sundae for $2.

On the shooting side of things, John and his crew kept things interesting with some new targeting challenges. They were different, challenging and always fun to shoot. You can tell that smoothbore competition is becoming very popular as there were 9 teams that competed on Saturday. This was the first time that I can ever recall where smoothies had the opportunity to shoot a stake event; and those round made some big holes in that board. In the carbine and musket match, teams shot a new triangle block event. Its size was somewhere between a moskeet and regular wood block and was a fun and challenging event. Our hosts may have started a new trend as I think we may see more of this target in future skirmishes. The last event of the day was the “Steak”-N-Eggs which consisted of clay birds hanging from the bottom of the stake. The “eggs” had to be broken prior to the board being cut which added a different strategy element to this event. Except for a brief shower on Saturday, Mother Nature cooperated and we all had a good time at Laingsburg. Well done 19th Michigan and 1st Michigan E&M!

Defiance Skirmish
With all the skirmishes in the Defiance area over the past 40+ years, we have seen our share of foul weather. This year, Mother Nature cooperated and it was a gorgeous weekend. A bit warm during the day while in the sun, but the humidity was low and the wind non-existent. At night, it was cool enough for a blanket or two.

There was a good turnout of teams from outside the region to include the reigning national musket champs, 110th Ohio. As expected, they won both the carbine and musket team competition. The 1st Michigan stayed close in the carbine match until the dreaded moskeet event. New this year during individuals was the Shoot-n-Aces challenge. This consisted of an Ace playing card specially made for shooting. The challenge is to get your single shot in the middle of the target box in the center of the card. Many a shooter tried but none could come closer than Tim Cooper of the 24th Michigan. 1st Michigan’s Bruce Miller came in a close second. Shoot-n-Aces will make a return appearance for Defiance 2011. Next up on the NWT agenda is the Laingsburg, MI skirmish Jul 31 - Aug 1 2010.

Good Start
The 2010 regional skirmish season got off to a very good start thanks to the efforts of Skirmish Director Dave Mandy and his crew from the 15th Virginia and the 24th Michigan. Under some very warm conditions, they kicked-off the NWT season in fine fashion.

It was great to see the natural grass growing on the Blue Water range. Hats-off to the range as it was in the best shape since we started shooting there several years ago.

As far as results, Rob Trost of the 111th set a new personal best with his smoothbore as he shot a magnificent 50-1X at 25 yards and received some well deserved recognition at Sunday's opening ceremonies. In the team categories, congratulations go out to the 19th Michigan for winning the Revolver match. In carbine, 14th Tennessee took 1st in Class 2, 111th Ohio in Class 1 and 111th in Class B. In musket, 14th Tenn was victorious in Class 3; 21st Michigan in Class 2; 111th in Class 1 and 1st Michigan in Class B. Next up on the schedule is Defiance which will be held July 10-11.

Profiles in Marksmanship
I am starting a new feature called Profiles in Marksmanship. Once a month, I will ask a different member of the NWT about shooting a particular firearm to give you a liitle insight into their success. This month, I am featuring Eric Savickas of the 4th Michigan and his Henry Rifle.

1. What type Henry do you shoot? A: I shoot a brass frme Henry in 44/40. Rear sight is dovetailed and mounted behind the ejection port. Peep sight on the slider.

2. What type case do you use? A: Starline brass

3. What bullet and load? Hard or soft lead? A: I use a Lyman 427098 205gr. bullet sized through a 429 sizer. Lead is soft.

4. Powder choice?? 2F, 3F? A:Goex 3fffg.

5. What Lube? I use "SPG", a commercial lubricant, in my lubrisizer. Actually, any blackpowder bullet I shoot goes through the lubrisizer and gets SPG. I use a homemade concoction when dipping musket ammo.It is more consistant using SPG for a breechloader, I even use it on my 40-65 Rolling block long range gun. My musket lube has some spg in it, but muskets are more sensitive to temperature. As the year goes along I add hard stuff to keep it from melting in the summer, then as the weather gets colder, I put in soft, low temp. stuff.

6. Walk me through your loading process. How do you lube and size? A: All brass is full length resized, washed, dried and then tumbled. When running through the expander die, a large pistol primer is installed. When priming, ALL primers are visually inspected to ensure they are seated firmly and below flush. I then charge the shells, by volume, using a powder flask, with 23 gr. of 3fffg. Goex. I load 50 at a time using a loading block. When they all have powder, I settle the powder charges by lightly banging the shell block on the bench a few times. I then fill the rest of the empty space of the shell with white cornmeal short half the space the bullet will take up, using an RCBS powder measure. The cornmeal is then settled the same way as the powder charge. The bullet is then seated with the seater-die and just barely crimped (the powder charge is compressed with the cornmeal so there isn't much chance of the bullet being pushed into the case and jamming the gun while shooting). The cast bullets are sized and lubed in a Lyman lubrisizer with straight SPG. I never weigh bulletc, if they look good, they are sent downrange!

7. Painted sights? Color? A: I use only black sights on all my guns.

8. What is your hold on the target? Center? Six O'clock? A: I sight my Henry in for a 12 o'clock hold, almost cover the target. As long as I can still hold it up on my shoulder.

9. Do you ratchet from the shoulder during team events? A: I rake the lever without pulling it down.

10. Any other unique items you do during loading or shooting? A: I don't know if it is unique, but I curse the gun for not having a wheel carriage!!!

121st Nationals, May 2010
Another Spring Nationals (121st) has come and gone and it never ceases to amaze me at the number of competing members and teams. Competing at the regional level is a lot of fun but nothing compares with the national level. I always enjoy looking at the number of shooters to your left and right while walking downrange to hang targets and try to visualize what Pickett’s Charge must have looked like back in 1863. Whether as an individual or as a team, it is a significant achievement when you are competing against the best-of-the-best at the national level and earn a medal. I must tell the story of Carl Balla of the Huron Rangers. When the scores were posted, he was looking in the middle of the results and could not locate his name. Then he started moving his way up the page and was quite surprised to learn he had earned a 1st Place medal in Striker Class. Congratulations Carl and to all of the well deserved medal winners. Speaking of which, the following teams brought home some well deserved hardware:

1st Mich E&M: 1st Place Class A-3, Breechloader

4th Michigan: 2nd Place Class A-2, Breechloader

7th Tenn: 10th Place Class A-3, Musket

24th Mich: 7th Place Class A-3, Carbine

111th Ohio: 6th Place Class A-1, Revolver; 4th Place Class A-1, Breechloader; 1st Place Class A-2 Smoothbore; 4th Place Class A-1, Carbine; 4th Place Class A-1, Musket