Hello to the campfire.
Well, I been putting it off for a long time but I walked out to the garage, for something else, and decided that today was the day that I was going to clean the loading bench.
The bench is cleaned, the powder, primers, brass, and lead is all organized, and I am sitting here with my latest favorite, Bushmills and Canada Dry, working my way through the memories and emotions that have all rushed up to flood my heart and brain.
This month marks 10 years since me and my boy, Irish Jake, shot our very first match. I remember very clearly that first match. The fun that we had, but more importantly the fun that he had. I knew that I would love it, but being a teenager, and not necessarily a western fan, I didn't really know how he would take to it. He had a ball and we had found a hobby that we could learn and grow into together. The next match, in April, my friend Bill Luzader would join us. Bill was also instantly hooked and after that me, Irish Jake, and Top Dollar Bill became our own version of the three amigos. We shot together almost all the time.
It is commonly said that people come to CAS for the shooting, but they stay for the people. That is a very true statement. I was fortunate enough to bring some good ones with me and also meet some great folks along the way. It is a dangerous thing to start naming names, for fear of leaving someone out, but I will mention a few that made a huge impression right away. Prior to shooting our first match, Justin and I went to the last Smoky Mountain Shootout at Walden Creek. We went to see for ourselves in person what we had only read about in magazines and on the Internet. Lightning McCoy was one of the first Cowboys that we met when we got there. Once he found out that we were brand new, and interested in getting started, he became our honorary tour guide. He showed us some of the different stages and explained the flow of things so that we would understand what was going on. Very friendly and giving of his time. Cowboy ammo is not exactly a commodity in Cookeville, TN. When we shot our first match; Keystone was king enough to sell us some reloads for next to nothing. As I progressed and became interested in black powder, Judge'em All Duncan and Joe West were both very helpful in teaching me tips and shortcuts. The first time I shot black powder was the 2006 Christmas shoot at Ocoee. The Judge was kind enough to load BP shotgun shells for me. I still have brass that was given to me. .45 ACP from the Juge, and .45 Colt from Jim Mayo.
I didn't expect an emotional roller coaster ride when I decided to clean the bench today. I never reloaded ammo prior to getting involved in CAS. I loved to shoot, but there was never enough volume to justify getting setup. CAS changed all of that in a hurry. Before long I was setup for four different calibers and I was loading for Jake, Bill, and myself. Cleaning out the bins around the bench, I kept finding little tid-bits that would bring back memories. I found Jake's first loading block, and a coffe can with some of Bill's old lead in it.
Of course time marches on. Irish Jake graduated high school and started college. His shooting became less and less frequent and the three amigos became the two amigos. But that was OK. Bill and I still shot as often as we could and made the best of it. Today, Justing is now married, and between him and his twin sister, I have two grandsons. Some of you may even remember his sister. She was my honorary photographer at the Noah's revenge match in Memphis, and she shot a couple of times after that at SMSS. (The match wasn't really called Noah's Revenge, but if you were there you know the one that I am referring too)
Bill was one of my commercial customers. We were associates a long time before we were friends. Our wives actually developed a friendship first, and he and I kind of tagged along. Then I introduced him to CAS. The friendship really blossomed at that point. Everyone needs at least one friend like Bill to be in their life. We never kept score over who bought which round or picked up the lunch tab. We had a few disagreements, but we never had a cross word between us. Bill was a man among men and truly someone to ride the river with.
As the years progressed, health issues and prior bad life choices caught up with both of us. Our friendship was solid but our shooting became less and less frequent. The SMSS reunion match, in April of 2014 was the last match that we shot together. Neither of us knew it at the time, but that would be the last match that Bill would ever shoot. Sadly, he passed away, due to complications from a massive stroke, the following September. Cleaning the bench today, I realized that I had not loaded a round in over two years. I found brass bags today, one for my .45's and one for Bill's .357's, that still had the dirty brass in them from that match.
I am going to do my best to make the March shoot. I am sure it will be a bittersweet visit. I look forward to reconnecting with some good folks from the past, and maybe even meeting some new ones. You will have to overlook my rust, and be sure and tell me of any rules or procedure changes that I need to know about.
Your pard,
Boondock
