fecal inferno

Operation: Fecal Inferno 03-04 April 2004
Okay, the range was in need of some serious, serious maintenance, as
the last vestiges of last year’s backstop had been shot up, and blown
over by some recent winds. They were not merely damaged, they were gone,
finished, kaput. The whole thing needed to be rebuilt. Completely.
The road back in, upon which we fervently intend to install massive
amounts of gravel as soon as the load restrictions are lifted, was
actually smooth and dry. This was due to the diligent efforts of the
permanent party crew on hand. It looks good, and nobody had problems
driving back in. With some gravel, it will be perfect.

The scrap that used to be the backstop was removed and set to burning
immediately. The hole in the outhouse was also set on fire for sanitary
reasons. This fire proved to be inadequate. We need lime.

The range was policed up, with burnable scrap pitched into a fire,
and trash that could not be burnt was set aside.
While the backstop was being torn down, some of the crew set about
adding another level of tires to the top of the berm. These tires have
not been filled in yet, but may provide some added protection against
ricochets. While doing this, a spring garter snake was spotted, sunning
himself on a tire. If only some militia people would learn to not harass
these snakes, they might have a more enjoyable time of it…
For the support posts for the backstop, trees were cut down and post
holes established. Prior to the posts being installed, the main man, the
chief farm dude, that tough as nails WW2 Veteran came out with his
handy-dandy backhoe and front loader. On his way out, he graded the road
yet again. He also used this heavy machinery to push the dirt back up on
the berm.

As the posts were being measured and installed, the backhoe went back
toward the rear area and cleared some stumps and dug out a deep trash
pit. Gotta hand it to the man with the machine.

It wouldn’t be a good day without some yummy semi-burgers off of the
grill. Chuck Wagon hooked us up.
The backstop was raised and new magnetic target holders were tested.
Sixty new bowling pins were assigned the fate of being victims of the
April 17th Bowling Pin shoot, and three new bowling pin tables set up.
Two tables will be set up, with a third in reserve. These pins will die a
good death at the hands of all you fine competitors. Come and kill them.

The new backstops were tested briefly, of course, and they seemed to
hold up. We should have more wood and cross beams on standby on April
17th.
Meanwhile, back at the outhouse, the cleansing fire continued to
fail. "Stirring the pot" revealed the undiminished contents, which
brought much methane and consternation. Listen, this stuff was bad. I
even had to flee the area and call a medic (Chuck Wagon came to the
rescue with some Pepto Bismol tablets, which prevented me from heaving).
We then added more gas, and more smaller twigs, to cause a raging fecal
inferno.
A new fire pit was cleared out, as the backhoe pulled out the scrap
from the old one.
We also improved the drainage to reduce the future threat of insect
borne diseases, such as the dreaded "West Nine Mile Virus". Most health
departments encourage us to reduce any standing water.

This was the first day of range improvements. Several folks stayed
overnight and a dedicated Macomb Commander showed up Sunday as well. The
pit was dug out even further, and somebody will bring some lime and kitty
litter. Hey, somebody needs to do this stuff.
Big thanks to everyone who showed up and helped, even though they
knew this was going to be a smelly, hard working day. This is a testament
to the dedication and willingness of these guys to make the range better
for the militia, and for everyone’s enjoyment at the April 17th shooting
event. Nobody forced any of these people to give up part of their
weekend, and they did. Thanks guys.

We hope to see you out there on April 17th, and on other training
days. Keep your powder, and your hardtack, dry.
-Weapon M

Update: More work was completed on the 4th, with the remains of a tire (don't ask) removed from the outhouse pit. Good sturdy folks, including a Macomb County MMCW Commander, worked on Sunday the 4th to help tighten up the facility.

Update 2: I will let The Gerbil give this update in his own words. While we were enjoying Easter Sunday:

Gerbil: I went to Stasa's about 5 PM Easter Sunday and was there until about 7:30 PM.

I put a 8' x 6' brown plastic tarp over the top of the outhouse and also draped two German army military surplus rubberized rain coats from the stick running across the top to add some small measure of additional shielding from any rain.

I climbed up on the wooden 4x4s on the side by the open field and pulled myself up by grabbing the top of the fence and the tree, and then tied up the tarp and the raincoats by standing on the top of the wooden 4x4s. I tied the tarp to the horizontal branch running between the two trees using green "parachute" cord and ties.

I also took out a bag of lime (Nutralime 40 pound bag for $3.99 from the Meijers outdoor garden area) and poured as much as I could into the white plastic kitty litter pail, and put the cover on it. I left the plastic bag with the remainder in it next to the kitty litter pail. I put some of the lime in the toilet pit.

I left a green plastic fishing tackle box with three rolls of toliet paper (in ziplock bags) next to the white pail.

Talking with the other person who was out there while I was there, the following suggestions concerning the trash situation came to light:

(Presently, there are styrofoam plates, plastic water jugs and plastic trash bags floating on top of the water of the trash pit by the creek. Frank was a bit concerned about trash building up, especially over time.)

All trash (except glass) should be burned in the fire pit. Trash that doesn't burn should be put in a plastic garbage bag (such as a black plastic 30 gal trash bag.) Cans and anything else that doesn't burn up should be crushed. The garbage bags will be carried by tractor to the roadside for trash pick up.

I won't see you at the Tax Blast, but plan to be out there the weekend of Sat 1 May and Sun 2 May to stay overnight and to possibly improve the outhouse (if I can get a couple of brown or green 8x10 or larger tarps) and pick up and burn trash.

-Gerbil