The Shootout, 2008

Posted by Larry Smith, 10/12/08

A few weeks ago I  said something in the Blog about recording music from LP to CD, and John Echoff volunteered to donate some old LP's for conversion.  We started e-mailing, and I mentioned some things I liked to do, and one was shooting in rifle matches.  Well, that got us talking about getting together, and Charles Crider jumped in, also interested.  So, when Charleen offered to invite them up to our place and provide lunch, I could not pass it up.

 

 

 

About 200 feet behind the house, there is a narrow path through the trees, ending at the back side of the pond, with wire to hang targets.  That was all it took to lock in John and Charles for a visit, and we picked Oct. 11 as the best day.  We all have toys we like to play with, and our common toys are firearms.  So, we exchanged info on things we liked to shoot, and started getting excited about what each of us was going to bring.  You know, show me yours and I'll show you mine.  And bring the girls along.

 

I told Sheila Howard what we were doing, and she said it sounded like fun.  And John told Glenda Minniece about it, and she was also interested.  It was sounding like an old-timer's ROTC meeting.  Unfortunately, Glenda and Sheila could not attend because of prior commitments, and we really missed them. 

 

 

 

This was the most serious shooting we have done here, and we needed some "shooting furniture".  So after looking at designs on the internet, I got some lumber and built two shooting tables and benches, and a few days ago realized that we needed a place to display our rifles.  So I also built a rifle rack out of wood scraps I had saved, with space for 14 rifles, and Charleen made four sandbags for me out of an old mail bag.

 

We set it for 10:00 am. John had the longest drive, from Santa Fe to Navasota. Charles was coming from the Spring area.  Saturday morning John and Linn missed the Hwy 105 exit and ended up around Roans Prairie before calling me.  And Charles got caught in the Ren-Fest traffic. So we got a late start.  Luckily I found a path through the trees for John to get his car through because he had a lot to unload.  I am glad I had the rack because John brought 10 rifles and a bag full of pistols.  I had to lean some of mine against the side. 

 

Charleen did a nice job on lunch.  We had crock pot pork BBQ, potato salad, calico beans, and Bahama cole slaw, and Dolly brought a great chocolate caramel cake for desert (yummy).  Whose cake recipe was that?  Chuck and Priscilla (Charlene’s parents) came out for lunch, and we had a nice time getting acquainted and re-acquainted.  Then we started making lots of noise.

 

 

 

I had told John that I liked lever action rifles, and he brought several of them.  I especially liked the uncommon .45-70 and the .25-20 calibers.  Those, and Charles' .30 Herrett caliber single shot pistol, were my favorites at the 80 yard range.  Charles got to shoot John's M1 rifle, then we walked up to about ten yards from the targets and shot a bunch of the pistols. 

 

 

 

My favorite of them was John's single action Colt .45 western revolver.  It was the first time for Linn to shoot a German Luger (1917).  Turns out John also has one of them, but much too collectible to shoot.  We oooo'd and aaah'd and ogled everything, actually spending more time visiting, looking, and handling than we did shooting. But my shoulder is still sore.   

 

It was a very nice day with a cool breeze under the trees.  Steve and Beverly (Charlene’s brother and sister-in-law) came over to meet everyone, and the girls took a walk out to the greenhouse and garden area.  Not sure if Linn went with them because she spent some time shooting with the guys.  Sorry we didn't get a camera out until we were sitting around at the very end.  John needs to send you some pics, and we definitely need to do this again.

 

[John added his bit to the story of the afternoon: " We had a blast, literally!!!  And Charles presented Larry and me with one of his hand made pens, very nice."]

 

John also sent me this photo of what HE called "The Three Milby Monkeys - Hear No Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil."  His story was that it was taken with Linn's cell phone, hence the blurred quality. Now, if you believe THAT, I have a photo of the Loch Ness Monster that I'd like to show you. I think it's more likely that the three of them, well, you know, sort of. . . well, 

broke the camera.

 

Click here to read Larry's bio page. Then use the back arrow to return here.

 

Click here to read John's bio page. Then use the back arrow to return here.

 

And click here to read Charles' bio page (you'll see his pens there, too). Then use the back arrow to return here.

 

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Comments

[Charles Crider]

We had a wonderful time. The place is really nice. The cake that Dolly made was from a receipt that Billie Trombatore Young sent us for a German Chocolate Crunch Cake. It was yummy. We had a great visit, good food, and fun shooting.

[Glenda Burns Minniece]

I wish John and I could have joined you. Let us know if there's a next time. About that German Chocolate Crunch Cake recipe: will y'all share the recipe???

[Larry Smith]

I wonder why the pond's water level keeps going down.

[John Echoff]

Karla, you did a beautiful job posting the "Shootout". I only wish Sheila and Glenda could have made it, I think their hubby's would have really enjoyed it! I am sure that after Larry's shoulder quits hurting, we may try for another session. Oh, he didn't tell you that 12 rounds from a 3&1/2inch .44 mag was enough to satisfy his curiosity about recoil...

[GCC Cake Recipe]

Here is the recipe for the German Chocolate Crunch Cake that Charles and Dolly Crider got from Billie Jean Trombatore Young:

German Chocolate Crunch Cake
1 box German chocolate cake mix, baked
1 can Eagle brand Sweetened condensed milk
1 jar Caramel ice cream topping
1 small carton Cool Whip
1 package Toffee bits

Bake German chocolate cake mix as directed on the package. Cool slightly. With a wooden spoon, poke a generous amount of holes in the top of cake. Pour the condensed milk over entire cake. Pour the jar of caramel topping over the top of the cake. Put the cool whip over this and spread. Generously sprinkle the toffee bits over the top of cool whip. Leave your German chocolate crunch cake in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight. This is a splendid cake for any get together.

(Thanks to Ann Herman, who got the recipe from Charles and sent it to me for the blog. YUM!!! Karla)

[Karla Lofgren Davis]

OK, Larry, I'll admit my naivete. I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, but I have to ask - because no one else has - Why did you ask the question (above), "I wonder why the pond's water level keeps going down?"

Is this an inside joke about something that happened at the shootout? Or is this a hidden reference to global warming? or some other nefarious plot? Or...could it be that although the weather has been hot and rain scarce, you really can't figure out why the water level of the pond is lower than usual? Karla

[Mike Roberts]

Hi Karla, I thought perhaps the target was set up in front of the pond and was most often missed. Therefore the pond took the brunt of the punishment and sprang leaks all the way to China.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

[Larry Smith]

Karla...

It was my attempt at humor about the water level going down in the pond because we were shooting into the berm behind it.

Actually the pond has failed to hold much water ever since it was built six years ago. Water level goes up after a rain, but after a few weeks goes back down to maybe three feet and stays there. The overflow point was 11 feet when it was built.

Various opinions have been:
A- There is a leak through the clay near the bottom.
B- There is not enough runoff area in front of the pond to counteract evaporation.

We think it goes down faster than merely evaporation. But who knows? We recently added a piping system to funnel rain water from the backside of the house and from the new garage building. We think it may be helping, but we need more rain.

[Karla here: Well Larry, your attempt at humor certainly has me chuckling. Mike was pretty close to the truth, huh? Missing the target, creating a seive...funny!

But interesting that there really is a mystery as to why the pond isn't holding water as one would expect. I see living in the country has some very technical aspects. Thanks for 'splaining. KD]