The Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match | Bradley Restoration

More of the same

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:58:21 -0700

Here is a nice shot looking west. I only see 3 scorer canopies, so this must be the red group on target 2, the big stop sign at 600 yards. The yellow group would be shooting an identical target, right behind the camera. Surprisingly, this is one of the easier targets, despite its distance. It is pretty large, and regularly shaped, so is rather forgiving of small errors. (Targets 3 and 5 are small square and a vertical rectangle, and wind can be an absolute bear.)

There are over a hundred shooters in each letter group, A to F, each letter divided into two color groups, red and yellow. Red shoots at the left target at each distance and yellow shoots at the right target. Each color group gets their own scorer, and they stick with the group for the whole match. The firing line at each target is marked with red or yellow tape, and can accommodate 10 shooters.

To keep things straight, in this picture the right hand half of red (shooters x6-x0) has just finished shooting and has cleared the line, while the left hand group (numbers x1-x5) are just about to go. The yellow folks are behind me, shooting at their own pace on their own target 2.

By the way, the young fellow in the foreground won the Junior class that year.

Wanna trade?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:54:44 -0700

This fellow wandered in from somewhere. His outfit might be a couple of years early, but no one is going to tell him that.

Time-Wasters

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:51:01 -0700

There are a fair number of vendors that show up for the Shoot. And there is plenty of time between targets, so there is plenty of time to wander around.

Here is a table at C. Sharps Arms, where you can drop a couple thousand dollar bills on a beautiful new Sharps rifle while the kids are down the way getting a shaved ice. Or maybe not. A fellow can dream, can't he?

More color

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:48:47 -0700

Local Color

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:48:39 -0700

Lots of folks show up in period clothing. Don't let it scare you.

Picture is to scale...

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:27:39 -0700

Those two spots, equidistance from the center of the picture, about halfway to the horizon are the steel buffaloes, life-sized. 800 yards away. Thats not quite half a mile, for those keeping score. They are easy to see in this picture, since they were just painted.

After an hour or two, the targets get to be a uniform gray-color and it is hard to see hits, even with a powerful spotting scope. So, periodically the rangemaster will stop the line to "paint the targets", which is exactly what it sounds like. Anyone shooting gets to finish their string of shots, then everyone moves back across the dirt path, well behind the firing line. No guns are left on the line during painting. When the line is safe and secured, a team of painters zooms out on four-wheelers armed with cases of quick-dry spray paint to touch up the targets. The lead splatters all get covered up and a white dot is added in the middle, to help the many aging eyes in the audience to get their bearings. When the painting team gets back safe and sound, the line starts up again where it left off.

And now we wait...

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:10:59 -0700

Here is my shootin' buddy, Mark, waiting for our turn to shoot.

This was my 4th year at the Quigley, so I think we have the gear mostly sussed out.

Rifles, ammo, spotting scope, massive quantities of cool beverages, folding chairs for the waiting-around, cross-sticks, and various small doo-dahs. Most everyone has a cart of some sort to schlepp all the gear around.

Each shooter is assigned to a letter group, A through F, who they will shoot with through the whole match. As one group finishes shooting at each target, the whole gang moves en masse to the next target down the line, to the right. Unless you are in the lucky letter group that starts at target 1 Saturday morning, everyone gets to do the mass migration from target 6 at the far end all the way back to target 1 at the beginning, and the line is not quite half a mile long. Plus the haul to and from wherever you were able to park, over as many days as one shoots. Hence, the popularity of shooting carts.

Saturday afternoon was blazingly sunny, at 89 degrees and 89% humidity, with the sun-ball just cooking your brain. Sunday morning was cool and cloudy in the low 60's. There was hail and thunderstorms overnight...

FOOM! . . . . . . . . . (clang!)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:55:23 -0700

Here is where it starts. Shooting at the steel buffalo at 800 yards, target 1. Again, shooters on the left are firing, while those to the right the canopy are setting up. There are two sets of targets at each distance, so two groups are able to shoot at the same time. This is the "red" target. "Yellow" is shooting down at the next canopy at a completely different buffalo.

The targets are fitted with two-way radios with voice activation on the target end. When at hit is made, the clang triggers the radio and the scorer hears the still-ringing target. Usually. In the rare occurrence of a hit not triggering the radio, there are enough people watching to call a hit. Its all about having fun, not rules and procedure.

When one squad is finished shooting, the scorer calls out the number of hits for each shooter, then calls in the next squad. Then she simply rotates her chair and runs the group that is ready to shoot, while the first bunch clears the line and is replaced by the next group. Clockwork.

At 800 yards, the bullet is in the air for about two whole seconds, which seems like an enormous time. You have time to take the shot, follow through, wait for the to smoke clear, and then listen for the "clang". In the case of practice days, the radios are not hooked up yet, so you get another whole second for the sound to reach you. If the wind is blowing, as it often does, the folks down the line get to hear your hits better than you do!

Life on the line

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:49:02 -0700

Here is a shot of the firing line at target 4, the diamond, at 380 yards. You can see the 5 shooters in the rear are just ready to shoot their 8 shots. The four directly in front are in the second squad with me, getting ready.

They have an excellent system for giving everyone plenty of time to set up, so when it is time to shoot, it moves along like clockwork. Mostly.

First Target

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:15:08 -0700

Haul that thing out to 350 yards and you have the start of a great tradition.