On October 31st, Burbank Muzzleloaders held another walkthrough match, the fifth of the year. Fourteen riflemen were in attendance, which made for some major steel slapping that Halloween. The weather was ideal- slightly overcast, allowing for a much more pleasant experience with less glare from the sun. This facilitated the attainment of some fantastic scores. Both John Clevenger and Lee Bowman tied with 21 hits while Sam Baseman and Jannu Lorentson tied with twenty. Great shooters there were that day, for others’ scores were right behind with Burbank Muzzleloaders’ newest member, Steve Whitt, scoring 19, while scores of 18 and 17 were recorded by others as well. Most importantly, this trail-walk match was included in the tally of walkthroughs for 2021. It was in this match that Sam Baseman overtook Eric Blakely by one shot, putting the former in the lead. Let us see if Sam can hold on to his narrow margin through the final walkthrough of 2021, which will be held on the last Sunday of December.
On November 14th, the club held its annual Turkey Shoot, hosted by Jannu. It was another great day with fabulous attendance. Above all, it was great to have long-time member Skip Stokes in attendance, whose signature saying, “There’s shooting, and then there’s hitting,” rang true for some of us during the match. This muzzleloading match started off with five round-ball shots off-hand at 100 yards. Surprisingly, the target frames did not suffer too much. The match continued with ten shots at 50 yards, and another ten at 25. Finally, as a bonus round, the match culminated with one shot at a paper copy of a roulette wheel. Shooters griped and cheered as they did poorly or rather well in the different rounds. However, a victor did emerge, and it is no surprise that he was John with a score of 134. Lee came in second right behind with 131, and Steve, third with 117. The club needs to look out for Steve, who appears to most likely become a formidable foe in the near future! Jannu, thanks for a great match, and your prizes, many of which were edible, were quite singular as always.
Let us not forget that on Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, the 28th, Burbank Muzzleloaders will be hosting an informal muzzleloading shotgun match, to be hosted by Eric Blakely. Bring out that smooth bore with plenty of shots and see if you can get it together for the match, which will consist of 10 shots per shooter. Remember that this is for muzzleloading shotguns only, no cartridges, SAM!
The holidays are finally upon us, and that means the club’s most popular match, the Christmas Shoot, to be held on December 12th, is fast approaching. Keep that round-ball rifle sighted in for it. Recall that this match usually consists of ten rounds and allows for prizes following each round. It is a great match and one that usually enjoys guests from other shooting clubs as well.
Lastly, along with the end of the year comes that time for us to renew our annual membership. Please make sure to get your checks for $200.00 to Tom Trevor at 11152 Swinton Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344, or you may drop yours off at the range on one of our regular shooting days by the end of the year.
Well, that’s all for now folks, so don’t forget about Burbank Muzzleloaders, the place to shoot!