At my place of employ, when a particularly good practical joke between the drivers or an evil “solution to a customer issue” happens, I have begun awarding the “Dirty Sanchez Prize” to the purveyor.
This, however, will be the first one I’ve awarded here at RNS.
Ry Jones, not to be confused with either Bob Jones or Cleopatra Jones, has been pitching evil ideas to Joe Huffman for future Boomershoots. And because they are evil, I am awarding him the Dirty Sanchez Prize today.
I say that they are evil because they will be sapping my wallet. They are in fact so evil, that I am beginning to question my sanity in thinking of attempting at least one of them.
I’ll let Joe explain two of the ideas:
1: We dispose of the farce known as “cleanup” where people shoot the “leftover” targets from 25 yards away. In actuality I hold back 150 to 200 targets just so people get a chance to do that. Instead we do that in a more formal manner on a different day and give people more targets especially for that.
2: We do a 1000 yard event for the few, the arrogant, those that say the existing Boomershoot is too easy. Utilizing the existing targets, four and seven inches square boxes, we separate the “men from the boys” by separating the targets from the shooters by 1000 yards. We do this on a different day and perhaps a different location. It could be called 1000 yard Monday or some such thing.
While both ideas are, in and of themselves, great, that I will need to register for them seperately, as well as pay a separate fee, is evil.
Not that I think that charging extra for them is wrong. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a dozen times: I’d pay two or three times the current rate just to attend Boomershoot as the event currently stands. I spoke to other folks on the 29th who did’t feel that way, and I wondered what they must do in their everyday lives that makes shooting Boomers at 600 & 700 yards so mundane to them.
I don’t know if Joe makes a single penny on Boomershoot, but he should make some decent wampum for his time and effort (at least enough to take Barb out to a few fancy outings between events). He deserves more than to just break even each year.
I would absolutely pay to attend idea #1. I don’t know how much the cost is to manufacture each Boomer, but I’d easily pay $5 per. If they were $10 each, I’d have to hold myself to 10 Boomers or so.
I would also absolutely pay to attend idea #2. How much, I don’t know just yet.
As some of you know, I built Barak specifically for Boomershoot 2005. I realized only too late that it was Joe’s Evil Plan to have me, and others, do so (and for that he also gets a belated Dirty Sanchez Award). If I were to attend the 1000yd event, I would have to build another rifle as I don’t believe that my 168gr load has enough ooomph to set off the Boomers at that distance. I might be able to get away with it with a hyped up 155gr load, but I’m not sure I could justify the money on a seperate entry fee just to test out that theory.
Now, I do have a rifle chambered in .338 Lapua partially built by the same guy who built Barak, and I know that it would have the ooomph. But with the inflow of cash what it is, I’ve had to put the brakes on that project for now (because I’m a mutant, the stock alone will be over $700, before having it fit and bedded to the barrelled action; and then we still have optics to think about).
And since we’re on the subject of dirty things from south of the border, I’d just like to mention that, just like a Tijuana Donkey Show, I’d pay $10 bucks just to stand around and watch the 1000yd shooters.
What say ye? (about Ry’s ideas, not the donkey show)
“What say ye? (about Ry’s ideas, not the donkey show)”
Censorship is evil, so I AM going to discuss both. For those who beef about the price of this event, how about a lottery among the non-beefing entrants to send one lucky fella to TJ to see the aforementioned donkey show?
Of course Joe could charge more. I hope he does. When he does, there will robably be a few dropouts amongst the donkey-show types, and maybe by then I will have a long-range rifle suitable to shooting this course of fire.
Off Topic: Fred Thompson wins strawpoll at WA GOP dinner. http://soundpolitics.com/archives/008584.html
I’d opt out of the cleanup – it’s fun enough, but it’s not why I come to the event.
My shooting buddies and I have long hoped for longer range targets. If Joe held the 1000 yard event at a different venue, he could perhaps do it on Saturday before the main event. Then you could do Gene’s clinic on Friday, the 1000 yard on Saturday, shoot a few boomers on Sunday morning, and head back home around noon. After whacking a few targets at 1000 yards, I suspect that shooting them at 700 and 500 wouldn’t be that big of a rush. I don’t think I’d want to extend the whole thing by yet another day.
After 6 years of attendence, I was figuring to sit out the next couple of events. If Joe adds in the 1000 yard event, I might be convinced to go next year. My .308s won’t cut it though. The 7mm STW will work, but I’d probably accelerate my .300 Edge project.
I’ll have to agree with Ry that cleanup is a bit of a farce, but a fun farce…charging a bit extra to participate in that would IMHO not be totally out of line ($25 a head?). It would certainly get rid of a few of the “cowboys” if there was somewhat of a barrier to participation, while still letting those who want in to have at it.
Overall, the original Boomershoot price is about right, methinks; a separate 1000yd shoot would just about price me out of it (new rifle, scope, handloading ammo just to come in and play adds up to WAY too much). I found shooting a rack-grade hunting rifle and cheap-ass ammo was plenty of challenge, and although I plan to acquire a precision rifle to just work out to the 700yd level if I attend the next one, stepping up to 1000yd would require too much commitment, time, and MONEY (all of which are in short supply).
My 2 cents, I’m glad that ideas for improving Boomershoot are being circulated — it’s the path to True Shooting Nirvana!
Rivrdog, don’t think you HAVE to run out for a precision long-range rifle in order to have fun. In 2005, Kim duToit’s son was setting off boomers at the 385-yard line (and beyond, IIRC) with an iron-sighted milsurp.
Now, that’s not to say that I could do that, but it’s definitely been done.
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I ran the numbers in Modern Ballistics for a 155 grain Sierra Match King bullet. Using typical Boomershoot conditions you would need a muzzle velocity of 3500 fps to have the bullet reach the target at 1700 fps. If you were to attempt to get that velocity from a .308 with that bullet you should be locked up as certifiably insane.
Depending on the bullet 1700 fps may be overkill. But you just won’t know until you try it.
My .300 Win Mag with 210 grain Berger VLD bullets should just meet the 1700 fps target velocity at 1000 yards under typical Boomershoot conditions. I should try it before I start charging people to do “my testing”.
Oh… on the money issue. It depends on how you do the accounting. If you look at it from the cash flow basis I don’t make any money and I have never made any money. But if you look at it from the standpoint of assets then I’m making a little bit because of the value of the equipment, shed, potential future earnings, etc.
Hmm. When Phil and I drove up to the site this year and saw the Sierra banner we figured you’d finally rounded up a commercial sponsor! I should think that one or two firearms-related companies out there would be willing to pay you some money for ad/logo space on the main sign-in tent, at least.
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