BLACK POWDER MATCHES
Mike Baldwin, Match Director
There are two black powder matches each year. The first is the Chuck Pottsmith Memorial Tightwad Match. This match consists of several different stages using traditional blackpowder firearms. The shooter may participate in any or all of the stages for which he or she has appropriate firearm.
The open pistol stage consists of ten rounds fired from either a muzzle loading pistol or a cap and ball revolver. The pistol is shot one handed, strong side, at a target set at 25 yards.
The open rifle stage consists of ten rounds fired from a traditional muzzle loading rifle. The rifle must be either a side lock percussion or a flintlock. The stage is shot off-hand at a 50 yard target.
The Tightwad Match Trophy goes to the shooter with the highest combined score of the open pistol and open rifle stages.
Additional stages include the Coffee Can Lid Stage, in which the lid from a coffee can is suspended from a string at 50 yards. The shooter tries to hit the moving, spinning lid as many times as he or she can, in the allotted time.
The Bottle Target Stage is designed specifically for smooth bore and flintlock rifles. This stage employs a bottle target set at 50 yards and some special scoring rules.
The Black Powder Cartridge Breech Loading Rifle Stage requires that the shooter use a cartridge and rifle that was originally designed to be loaded with black powder. Although not required for this match, examples would be a Sharps rifle chambered in 45-70, or a Remington rolling block chambered in 38-40. This stage is shot off-hand at a buffalo target set at 100 yards.
There may be several other side matches as well, such as a nature walk, bottle knock off, or other “fun” matches.
The second match of the year is the Alvin York Turkey Shoot. This match consists of at least two main stages and some possible side matches similar to those at the Tightwad Match. Traditional muzzle loading rifles are used for this match.
The first stage is shot at a turkey target. The shooter with the smallest group central to the turkey’s eye claims the win.
The second stage is shot at a “ V” target set at 50 yards. The shooter’s goal is to place the shot in the base of the V without touching the “V” itself. The shooter may re-enter the stage if he or she is not content with the first shot.
These matches are designed to be fun. Most of the time some type of food is provided in appreciation of attendance at the match. Small prizes are also given to the winners of each stage.