Primitive Biathlon

[dittybopper]

Anyone else do primitive biathlons?  I'm planning on hitting the Shandaken PB in the Catskills this coming Sunday, the Smugglers Notch, VT one at the end of this month, and the Southern Vermont one in Manchester in February.

[Anduril]

sounds like fun.
post some pics.
..
 

[quickdtoo]

I did a few trapper runs when I was younger which is pretty much a mountain man equivilent, lots of fun, even more fun to watch others compete in a timed event, specially when one is your huntin partner, shinin times they were! 

Tim

[Rock Home Isle]

Anyone else do primitive biathlons?  I'm planning on hitting the Shandaken PB in the Catskills this coming Sunday, the Smugglers Notch, VT one at the end of this month, and the Southern Vermont one in Manchester in February.

Steamboat Springs Colorado holds a Primitive Biathlon that is held on an annual basis. I've never been to it, but from the folks that have participated, I'm told that it is a blast.

[dittybopper]

sounds like fun.
post some pics.
..

This is me, my father's friend, and my father last year at the Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon. 





Just me shooting at a target (video still) at the 2011 SVTPB:





This year I will have more mohawk, more feathers, and less gut (lost 50+ lbs since then).

[dittybopper]

Anyone else do primitive biathlons?  I'm planning on hitting the Shandaken PB in the Catskills this coming Sunday, the Smugglers Notch, VT one at the end of this month, and the Southern Vermont one in Manchester in February.

Steamboat Springs Colorado holds a Primitive Biathlon that is held on an annual basis. I've never been to it, but from the folks that have participated, I'm told that it is a blast.

I haven't been to that one obviously, but they are a blast, and many offer an 'off the clock' event where you are only scored on targets hit, not on your time, so just about anyone can participate.

[Co. Batguano]

We have one coming up Feb 18 near Rochester MN.  It's a snowshoe event (if we ever get snow that is), and aimed at Venturing Scouts (and adult leaders) as primary participants. 
Rules; single-loaded patched round ball only, no speed loaders, no pre-measured powder charges, single-barreled guns only, no optical sights.  BP substitutes ok.  Percussion guns ok, but no in-lines.  Varying positions at each station.  Loading must be performed at the stations.  Varying distances.  12 shots on a 1.8 mile course.  Each hit is worth 5 minutes off your par time, which starts at 60 minutes.  So a completely "shot-clean" round is your actual time to complete the course.  If you missed everything, then add an hour to that.

[dittybopper]

Wow, those are actually tough rules.


My "home" event, the Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon in Manchester VT is a 1.6 mile course with 4 shooting stations.  There are 9 targets at the 4 stations (2,2,2,3- Those last ones are tiny and very far away), and you get 5 minutes off your time for each hit.  If you can run the course in 45 minutes, and shoot clean, your time is 00:00.  They have classes for inline participants, and a separate 'woodswalk' where you aren't time, you get scored on your targets hit only.   All shooting is unsupported offhand.




I always take pre-measured powder charges in paper, though, because it's damn convenient, and it's historical.  I wonder if they don't allow it to prevent litter?

[Rock Home Isle]

Congratulations dittybopper...50 lbs is quite an accomplishment.
 
My hat's off to you. Very cool 

[dittybopper]

Congratulations dittybopper...50 lbs is quite an accomplishment.
 
My hat's off to you. Very cool 

Thanks, but it actually wasn't all that hard:  My wife was on a "lean and green" diet prior to having a gastric bypass, and I just did the same thing for support.   You just have to make the diet part of your life. 


It's made enough of a change that I actually started training this year, taking a brisk 2 mile walk every day at lunch.  Also, I've practiced a little bit more, using the air rifle in the back yard and with scaled down targets at reduced range.  I'm actually going to *COMPETE* this year instead of just walking it.  Hopefully by the time of the Southern Vermont event in mid February I'll have a decent shot in my age group (40+).

[dittybopper]

Found another picture, this one from the 2010 biathlon.  I shot clean that year:  Didn't dirty a single target.

[Anduril]

ditty,
 
yer 40 and still wear yer hair like that in public?!
dern kids
 
 
..
 

[dittybopper]

ditty,
 
yer 40 and still wear yer hair like that in public?!
dern kids
 
 
..

I only get to do it during the primitive biathlons.  It started as a joke years ago (when the steel plate is dead, Magua will eat it's heart), and now it's a tradition.  I've been growing my (normally short) hair since September in anticipation.

[Anduril]

ditty,
 
yer 40 and still wear yer hair like that in public?!
dern kids
 
 
..

I only get to do it during the primitive biathlons.  It started as a joke years ago (when the steel plate is dead, Magua will eat it's heart), and now it's a tradition.  I've been growing my (normally short) hair since September in anticipation.

 
no Mohawk for me,
 
 
 
 
I can't get mine to grow in the middle 
..
 

[dittybopper]

ditty,
 
yer 40 and still wear yer hair like that in public?!
dern kids
 
 
..

I only get to do it during the primitive biathlons.  It started as a joke years ago (when the steel plate is dead, Magua will eat it's heart), and now it's a tradition.  I've been growing my (normally short) hair since September in anticipation.

 
no Mohawk for me,
 
 
 
 
I can't get mine to grow in the middle 
..

Well, you could always go for a reverse Mohawk...

[Winter Hawk]

I can't get mine to grow in the middle 
..

Hey, I resemble that statement!

Pretty little flintlock, Ditty.  Would you share some information on it like who made it, what caliber etc?

-WH-

[dittybopper]

I can't get mine to grow in the middle 
..

Hey, I resemble that statement!

Pretty little flintlock, Ditty.  Would you share some information on it like who made it, what caliber etc?

-WH-

I'll do better than tell you, I'll show him to you:



This is my father and I at the Shandaken Primitive Biathlon today.  He made both my rifle, and the poor boy he's carrying.


My rifle has a 36" Green Mountain .54" caliber barrel, and a large Siler lock.  It was built specifically to my frame using a try-gun (a plywood silhouette of a gun with a joint at the wrist of the stock so you can try different drops).  The stock is a medium grade of curly maple.


Dad's rifle is a .50" caliber poorboy.  I believe it has an L&R lock.  Barrel is something like 40 inches or so.  If you read Muzzleloader, he wrote the recent article about frizzen bounce and how to counter-act it.


Shandaken PB is a *TOUGH* course.  It's about a mile long, and half of it is very, very uphill.  So much so that the first climb is called "Fat Man's Misery".  It is aptly named, and seems to go on forever.  Great fun though.

[dittybopper]

OK, just did the Smuggler's Notch Primitive Biathlon up in Jeffersonville, VT.  Great course, beautiful weather, lots of fun.


I shot clean this time:  Didn't dirty a single target 


Part of the problem was that it was warm enough, and I was a tad overdressed, that I was sweating.  My glasses fogged up and I hadn't thought to put on anti-fog.  Lesson learned for next time).  I know that when I'm shooting immediately after physical exertion that I only hit about half the number of targets that I can when well rested, and I think that taken together those two factors resulted in me missing.


On the plus side, though, I was loading like a man on fire.  I had a guy pass me on the trail and get to the shooting station about a minute or so before me.  I got there, loaded and fired my two shots, and left before him.  I was surprised when he caught up with me again, as I hadn't been paying attention to who was at that shooting station.


So, goal for the upcoming Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon:  Actually hit a target.   To that end, I'm going to practice offhand marksmanship on scaled down targets with the air rifle in the backyard, and continue the 'power walking'. 

Unrelated to my obviously stellar shooting, another lesson learned was to make sure that the bindings on my snowshoes are good and tight before the race starts.  I hadn't done that, and I had to re-adjust them several times.