Tax Blast 2000

A handful of us arrived Friday afternoon and into the evening to get things set up. Saturday morning several more people came to finalize everything.

The range needed new cross members and new lumber throughout. After that was completed, cardboard backings were attached for the 1040 targets to be posted on. Once that was set, we were ready for the first round of the day.

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was sunny and warm with a light breeze all day. Everyone was in good spirits and ready for a day of competition.

Shooters started to arrive right on time at 10:00a.m. and had a great time "filling out" their 1040's! People continued to show up, and do some more practice shooting on the 1040 forms we provided. In all, there were 65 people who came to enjoy the event; several husband and wife couples and a few families with kids, too.

The Looter Shooter competition began at 1:00p.m. This was a pistol competition at 25 feet where you had to try to hit a moving target, score points, and not hit the furry animal "no-shoot" area all in a set time. If you hit the little animal, you lost precious points.

There were three stations of shooters competing in each round. Our Range Officer, Mike Hoban (also a member of Brass Roots) did an excellent job keeping everything moving with precision and safety. There were 29 competitors for this event, some entering more than once (some because they hit the furry little animal).

The grand prize of an Enfield .308 Jungle #7 rifle went to Jerry Runkle who scored 274 points. Honorable mentions go to Brian Shimkus who scored 194, and Carston Seales who scored 191.

At 3:00p.m, the Pin Shoot competition began. This was a pistol competition at 25 feet; 5 bowling pins are set on a table and you have to knock the pins completely off the table. Scoring for this event is the person with the fastest time to knock all the pins off the table wins.

There were 25 competitors for this event, again some entering more than once. This was probably the most entertaining event because the bowling pins did not always cooperate; they would spin in place, or fall forward causing all kinds of frustration for the competitors!

It was a close competition, with only 0.07 seconds determining the winner. The grand prize of an Ishapoor Enfield .308 rifle went to a Calhoun County member who cleared the table in 8.97 seconds. Honorable mentions go to Jim Roddy who did it in 9.04 seconds, and Brian Shimkus who cleared the table in 10.29 seconds.

Throughout the day, there were hot dogs and hamburgers available with baked beans, chips, and cold pop. Everyone stopped by at one time or another for some good eats.

Lots of militia paraphernalia was also being hocked; Michigan Militia t-shirts, newsletters, booklets, and miscellaneous items.

At the end of the day, several people camped overnight. There was a big gun show in Midland the next day as well as the elections for Michigan Militia Corps Wolverines State Commander. (Congratulations Ron!)

If you didn't make it out this time, we hope to see you for the Independence Shoot on July 1^st and 2^nd in Shiawassee County. Until then…

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Tax Blast:

• Mike Hoban for being the best Range-master any event could ask for. Randy, Roddy, and Jerry for being Range officers.
• Frank Stasa, for being kind (and tolerant) enough to let us have such an event.
• Range Engineer Denis Curran, along with Tom Peterson and Jerry Runkle for nailing the backstop together, and keeping things running.
• Gate Guards: Mike Wilks, Brandon Gamble, Tom Peterson.
• Thanks also to Lenox Bowman for helping to get the word out.
• Nick Stoner for flipping the burgers and watching the radios.
• Kristin Stoner for running a tight ship up front.
• Big thanks for sure to Craig Harris for volunteering to drive his truck for shuttle duty, which he did all day without complaint.
• Also we would like to thank Ron Gaydosh for stopping by, along with a slew of 8th Division people. They have good folks out there, for sure.

We also have to mention Calhoun County which must be proud of the pin shoot winner, Dave Tuttle. They camped out over-night, and they came to shoot so they could win a rifle for the next new guy who joins their brigade who can't afford one. I could not imagine a better group of people to win a rifle.

Also, a big thanks in general to everyone who showed up. You made this a great event, despite such short notice....

-Lee