Woods Walk Season is Almost Upon Us

[Dave Markowitz]

Yesterday I met up with a few other guys at Boulder Valley Sportsman's Assoc. in Green Lane, PA to help clean and setup the woods walk course. Some cleanup had already done been about 2 weeks ago, trimming back the brush from the shooting lanes. Yesterday we went in with loppers, a chainsaw, and weed whackers to finish the job, and then set out targets. After we took a lunch break three of us shot a round on the course to make sure we didn't have any targets blocked from the firing points or had setup anything that was too difficult. Our first monthly shoot is next Sunday, October 8th and the season runs until April.

I also shoot the woods walks at Boyertown Rod and Gun Assoc. Their monthly shoots start in November and run until March.

If you've never shot a woods walk I encourage you to do so if you have the chance. They are a lot of fun, and good practice for hunting since you'll be shooting at variously sized reactive targets set out at random, unknown distances. For example at BVSA, the targets range in size from small discs to a large plate and ranges from about 15 yards to 85 yards. All loading is done from your shooting pouch, and all shots are taken offhand. The matches at both clubs where I shoot are 20 targets each with scored as a hit or a miss.

You get to see a nice variety of smokepoles at these events, ranging from production rifles like old CVAs, Traditions, and T/C's to custom rifles and even a few smoothbore fowlers.

A couple YouTube channels that have good woods walk videos are the Folk Firearms Collective out in Montana, and B Kauffman, here in Pennsylvania. Watching the videos on FFC is what got me into this aspect of the hobby.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Yeah, yay, yes and HUZZAH! Love me those woodswalks!

 

[hawg]

We don't have anything like that.

 

[.38 Special]

That does sound like a great day. I'm putting the finishing touches on a Kibler SMR, just received my Walker back from @45 Dragoon, and have a big Swiss order coming in as well, so am raring to go. I'm in the same boat as @hawg, though, so will have to stick to "nature-made" woodswalks. Darn.

(And I do love to lean a favorite flintlock in the corner, pour a good serving of whiskey, and settle down to watch some Folk Firearms Collective videos!)

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Next weekend our club, the First Santa Fe Trail Plainsmen, will be having it's 50th anniversary rondy and there will be a nice woods walk shoot as well as the range shoot and hawk and knife fun. They even plan an archery event. (I like that cause ya don't have to clean your bow after shooting it )

 

[Ugly Sauce]

We don't have anything like that.

Same here. If they do, it's like pulling teeth to find out about them. Wish they did.

 

[Fyrstyk]

Our woods walk season starts this Sunday (8th) at the Niantic Sportsmen's Club in Niantic, CT. We generally have 20-25 shots on the walk with targets ranging from 25-125 yards. We like to use bio-degradable targets that break when hit, but we do mix in some steel gongs too! This shoot features charcoal briquets at 25 yards hanging from a string, potatoes on a string at about 30 yards, Clay birds at 40 yards, playing cards at 30 yards, bowling pins at 50 yards, a running boar target and a running squirrel target, and 12" diameter pumpkins at 100+ yards along with some gongs mixed in. Great fun, and a good primer for hunting season. We generally have at least one shoot a month thru April.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

That does sound like a great day. I'm putting the finishing touches on a Kibler SMR, just received my Walker back from @45 Dragoon, and have a big Swiss order coming in as well, so am raring to go. I'm in the same boat as @hawg, though, so will have to stick to "nature-made" woodswalks. Darn.

(And I do love to lean a favorite flintlock in the corner, pour a good serving of whiskey, and settle down to watch some Folk Firearms Collective videos!)

What?? Finishing touches? You ain't done yet?? DANG!!! Just kidding, there's always another coat of oil, or something. I have a friend who is a very expert artist and acid etcher, I'm very much thinking of asking her to do roses on my Jeager. The Jeager is named Rosie after all. Side plate, lock plate, trigger guard and top of butt-plate.

I can identify with your comments, a little whiskey, a lawn chair outside, and Rosie or Bessie laid across my legs...I often settle down to that. And of course, you forgot to mention, a good CIGAR!

 

[.38 Special]

What?? Finishing touches? You ain't done yet?? DANG!!! Just kidding, there's always another coat of oil, or something. I have a friend who is a very expert artist and acid etcher, I'm very much thinking of asking her to do roses on my Jeager. The Jeager is named Rosie after all. Side plate, lock plate, trigger guard and top of butt-plate.

I can identify with your comments, a little whiskey, a lawn chair outside, and Rosie or Bessie laid across my legs...I often settle down to that. And of course, you forgot to mention, a good CIGAR!

In my defense, the folks at Kibler forgot to drill the ramrod channel, and then took most of a month to get it done and shipped back to me. On my end it's only taken four or five evenings to get it together (by God these things are well made!) and all I have left now is finishing the pins and assembling it. (I'll put up a thread when it is done.)

Also, my wife won't let me smoke inside, and the mosquitos won't let me smoke outside (at least for another few weeks) so my humidor has stayed pretty full lately.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

In my defense, the folks at Kibler forgot to drill the ramrod channel, and then took most of a month to get it done and shipped back to me. On my end it's only taken four or five evenings to get it together (by God these things are well made!) and all I have left now is finishing the pins and assembling it. (I'll put up a thread when it is done.)

Also, my wife won't let smoke inside, and the mosquitos won't let me smoke outside (at least for another few weeks) so my humidor has stayed pretty full lately.

Dang it! I guess my screened in patio off the back sliding doors wasn't such a bad idea after all. My "smoking room". Well, most of the year, although I have smoked out there in the middle of winter, all bundled up. Sometimes I can get away with smoking a pipe in my man-room. For some reason she does not mind the smell of a pipe, but a cigar, no way. They do smell different. Ha ha one time I had the boys over for a game of Risk, when she was out of town. Involved whiskey and cigars. Caught hell for that, even though I thought I had the house pretty well aired out. Dang. Then I heard about how the house stunk for the next month. It's not easy being us.

So they "forgot" to drill the channel? I can kind of see how that might get past inspection. But dang it, losing a month sucks. If I was without Rosie or Bessie for a month...I'd be a wreck! Got a name for your rifle yet, or still waiting for it to come naturally? Some Southern name for a Southern Mountain Rifle...Joline? Elly Mae? Daisy? Something like that? Whatever don't rush it.

 

[.38 Special]

Dang it! I guess my screened in patio off the back sliding doors wasn't such a bad idea after all. My "smoking room". Well, most of the year, although I have smoked out there in the middle of winter, all bundled up. Sometimes I can get away with smoking a pipe in my man-room. For some reason she does not mind the smell of a pipe, but a cigar, no way. They do smell different. Ha ha one time I had the boys over for a game of Risk, when she was out of town. Involved whiskey and cigars. Caught hell for that, even though I thought I had the house pretty well aired out. Dang. Then I heard about how the house stunk for the next month. It's not easy being us.

So they "forgot" to drill the channel? I can kind of see how that might get past inspection. But dang it, losing a month sucks. If I was without Rosie or Bessie for a month...I'd be a wreck! Got a name for your rifle yet, or still waiting for it to come naturally? Some Southern name for a Southern Mountain Rifle...Joline? Elly Mae? Daisy? Something like that? Whatever don't rush it.

I would absolutely love a screened-in patio and will have to give it some serious thought. For some reason my wife doesn't even like the smell of the "friendliest" pipe tobacco, like Captain Black. C'est la vie.

I laugh at myself, thinking back on breezing through initial assembly of the SMR. After putting together the Colonial I was pretty smug, and the SMR flew together. It was almost completely done when I noticed the ramrod issue. Man plans and God laughs...

But you made me put down my whiskey and go fight the mosquitos in my shop. Still need to stain the ramrod, but otherwise it's ready to go. Preview pic just for you. (Multiple coats of hand rubbed linseed oil and beeswax finish, and I cursed your screen name the whole time. )



<edit> My 13 year old son has always enjoyed my Pedersoli squirrel rifle, and I often had him in mind while I was building this one. I called him down a few minutes ago and told him the rifle was pretty much his. If he decides to name it I will let you know!

 

[.38 Special]

And my sincere apologies to @Dave Markowitz. We should probably let him have his thread back.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I would absolutely love a screened-in patio and will have to give it some serious thought. For some reason my wife doesn't even like the smell of the "friendliest" pipe tobacco, like Captain Black. C'est la vie.

I laugh at myself, thinking back on breezing through initial assembly of the SMR. After putting together the Colonial I was pretty smug, and the SMR flew together. It was almost completely done when I noticed the ramrod issue. Man plans and God laughs...

But you made me put down my whiskey and go fight the mosquitos in my shop. Still need to stain the ramrod, but otherwise it's ready to go. Preview pic just for you. (Multiple coats of hand rubbed linseed oil and beeswax finish, and I cursed your screen name the whole time. )

View attachment 1174722

<edit> My 13 year old son has always enjoyed my Pedersoli squirrel rifle, and I often had him in mind while I was building this one. I called him down a few minutes ago and told him the rifle was pretty much his. If he decides to name it I will let you know!

Wow absolutely beautiful. Get some candy-stripes on that ramming-rod! Or not. Hey...multiple coats are good, and they never end! Or seems like it, the stock on my Jeager is finally "done", years later. !! But I still rub it down with bear-oil or wonder lube before taking it out. Bee's wax and linseed, have not tried that one.

Hopefully Dave will forgive us. Once I post a thread, and it's "done", I don't mind at all if it goes in some other direction. But that's me. I know some people get peeved when they go "off topic".

Here's an original "Southern Mountain Rifle", not pretty but it's been in the family since 1846. Very accurate too. .38" caliber. (or a .375" ball is the perfect fit) And original powder horn and horn-tip powder measure. Oak stock and ram-rod.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

And my sincere apologies to @Dave Markowitz. We should probably let him have his thread back.

Nah man, all good. I always enjoy seeing pictures of guns and yours is super nice.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Hopefully Dave will forgive us. Once I post a thread, and it's "done", I don't mind at all if it goes in some other direction. But that's me. I know some people get peeved when they go "off topic".

I'm guilty of thread veer myself. Nice old rifle!

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I took my hunter safety test at Boyertown gun club. My brother belongs to their club and Pikevile. I think he belongs to the Perry twp gun club too.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Welp, we had a small turnout today but it was a fun shoot. I'm looking forward to next month when we have another one at BVSA and the first Boyertown shoot of the season.