by James C. Fulmer | Past President, NMLRA
Left to right Don Blazier, NMLRA Field Rep, and Tim Kutz, treasurer of Altoona Rifle and Pistol Club at club Meat shoot.
Sometimes the growth and the preservation of an Association are one in the same. As the shooters in the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) age, there has been a lot of interest in keeping the aging membership shooting. Many matches have been added for peep sights and optic sights to assist aging eyes to try and keep the older shooters shooting. The classification system was started to help the older shooters and new shooters to be competitive.
So when Robin Warner petitioned the NMLRA Rifle Committee to start a “table shoot” on the chunk-gun line nobody was really that surprised. Since 2012, Paul Griffith (who recently passed away) and Robin have been talking about aging chunk-gun shooters. Chunk-gun shooting involves lying on the ground and resting the barrel of the rifle over a log or as it became more refined a “chunk.” The chunk is a piece of wood the competitor brought to a chunk-gun match so he would know he had a rest the right height for his personal rifle instead of counting on a log supplied at the match.
As shooters have aged, some have developed physical challenges which may limit their ability to participate in the blackpowder sport. Getting up and down from a prone position gets harder every year until the point comes when it can no longer be accomplished without help from fellow shooters. So the goal of introducing the “table shoot” is to keep older shooters shooting longer, younger shooters more involved, and to present the physically challenged more shooting opportunities. Since its inception and the first test shoot in 2012, this discipline of shooting has expanded to several local clubs in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and now Pennsylvania.
Table Shoot Style Benches and also very popular standing rest using same style rests on high table. Benches like these will be a great asset to your club. It is an ideal addition for everyone of every age. A wheelchair will fit behind the bench and junior shooters will find there is a space in the rest a perfect height for them. The bench and rest are truly universal.
This year on March 28, the Altoona Rifle and Pistol Club near Altoona, PA, used these tables as part of their first annual meat shoot. They also used the table shoot style rests for a standing rest. This shoot was the first time the club held its own blackpowder shoot and it was a success. For the last two years the Altoona Rifle and Pistol Club has been the site of the NMLRA Fort Roberdeau Rifle Frolic. Seeing how much fun was had shooting these two events, the club chose to form a blackpowder committee and started holding their own shoots using many of the ideas from the NMLRA shoots. Borrowing the way prizes are given out at the NMLRA meat shoot held in November at the National Range was also a big hit. The meat shoot ran smoothly.
After registration ended at 10 p.m., a club member who was already at the meat market was called with the number of shooters and how much money he could spend buying meat. Every shooter came away with something – pork loins, chickens and sausage were the order of the day. There were also five gift certificates donated by Field and Stream that were put into the mix and that gave the top five shooters another pick. Everyone is a winner and the better you shoot, the better your choices. Big thanks go to all of the experienced shooters who took the time to help new shooters. The match was about half and half with experienced and new shooters. Everybody had a great time and came away with something. One participant summed it up best saying, “I wished I had done this sooner. I didn’t know what to expect. Now I do, and I have stories to tell. I will be bringing more shooters with me next time.” When you run a match make sure you make it fun and there will be stories to tell.
This year at the NMLRA Spring National Shoot, June 13-21, the first sanctioned table shoot will take place. There will be four muzzleloading table matches. All matches will be fired at the Walter Cline Range in Friendship, IN, between the Allen Coon Chunk-Gun Range and the Youth Range. All matches will be fired at 30 yards.
The first match is the Open Table Shoot which will be fired with a rifle weighing less than 13 pounds. The rifle may not be equipped with a false muzzle or rubber recoil pad. Adjustable sights will be allowed, but can’t be adjusted after the competition begins. Guns must be either flint or percussion ignition and of either traditional hunting or traditional target type. No inline or sealed ignition will be allowed. This will be a three-shot match with one shot being fired at three different targets. Shortest string measure wins.
In the Hunters Table Shoot match the rifle must weigh 10 pounds or less. The ramrod does not have to be in at the time of the firing; .50 cal. or less, no inline actions or sealed ignition, no false muzzles or rubber recoil pads or Teflon patching will be allowed. There will be an Open Weekly cash re-entry and a Hunter Weekly cash re-entry during these matches.
These new matches ought to attract many new and old shooters into the sport. Since it is shot at 30 yards, there will be instant feedback for the shooter shooting smaller groups than he would shooting a standard chunk gun match at 60 yards. I also think many primitive shooters and offhand shooters will make their way to the table shoot to see how well their rifles are shooting from a steady rest. The benches are provided and the shooter doesn’t have to build and drag one with them to the match. The Table Bench and the Table Rest are what makes the event. To learn more about Table Shooting and get plans for the Table Bench and Table Rest, go to: prwarner.wix.com/mlts-masters.
