Milsurp shoots in Manitoba

I have been planning a match for Manitoba for 2 years' time, to commemorate the St. Julien sector of the Second Battle of Ypres. If need be, I will put this shoot on at my own expense; it is that important to me.

It would entail a clear range, 15 targets, 15 rounds, score to place, time to break places, using your own First World War rifle. This would be followed by a second shoot, identical, except that you are a bit closer and are shooting a PICKUP rifle which you have never shot before. The reason for this is that both men I knew who fought there when the Gas came through, changed rifles during the fight because their Rosses got TOO HOT TO TOUCH TO RELOAD. Pickup rifles will be drawn at random from a rack of 20 or more different period rifles which I will supply. Loaners would be available, also, for the poor disadvantaged souls who only have ARs and M-1s and strange things of their ilk.

The time-frame I am aiming for to have everything ready is late April or early May of 2015. The ideal date would be April 23, 2015, the 100th anniversary of the actual battle.

If guys would be interested, I will try to find a range willing to host it.

Let me know on this thread or by PM.

As to a shoot THIS SPRING, keep on posting here if you are interested. We need good ideas and some range volunteers. Putting on ANY shoot is a lot of work and it's a lot harder when your ticker doesn't tick properly: Buffdog and myself both are in that boat, being that neither of us are pups any longer.
 
I checked the Fort LaBosse schedule. They have the 2 man team shoot scheduled for May 6. Nothing stopping any of us from taking our old war horses there and having at it. It's a Sunday and they would like pre-registration so they have an idea how many are coming. I'll be going unless there is an actual earthquake happening!
 
I'd defiantly be up for a shoot this spring, just a few questions though, will ww2 era rifles allowed to? You said ww1 rifles
Do volunteers get to participate? If so I could help if needed.
Could we have a round were we shoot like 10 round at long range targets like500-1000m just for fun?
Maybe a sporter/scoped non sporterized gun round? That way more could participate and at the end of the day they still are military rifles even if they don't look like it. :)
 
I was going to ask pretty much the same questions as caleb. He got to them first. Im a newbie so I don't know all the ins and outs of an event like this..
 
Seeing as this whole affair is in the "discussion" stage, any and all suggestions and/or questions are fair game. I definitely would be in favor of "sporterized" surplus rifles being included. Most of us have one or more kicking around.

I would like to see more room for the average dude with the average old surplus rifles than "the hyper, gotta win no matter what it takes" mindset. I don't fancy myself as an up and coming world champion action shooter, but also realize that some of us are more inspired than others.

Keep the ideas and questions coming. I am sure that we can distill something reasonable out of it all. I know that the two times I shot at the 2 man team events at Hipwell's, I had an absolute ball. Just being able to shoot an old surplus rifle for ten minutes non-stop was worth the trip, never mind being there to watch the other teams blaze away.

I do think it needs to be kept reasonably simple or we scare away too many possible first-time participants. Shooting balloons can be fun, to say the least. Our old gun club staged a couple of balloon shoots that were open to anybody. It was a great success. Simple, cheap, and loads of fun. No "class" distinctions. We did learn that the .22's needed to be in their own event, as it was not fair to have a 12 yr. old kid shooting his old Cooey beside somebody with a .300 Magnum!
 
Since I started this thread obviously I'm in for a shoot. I don't care if it's 20 of us in a gravel pit hanging out and having a good time or at a range with proper match rules and whatnot. I just think it would be great to meet the other gun nutz from Manitoba and also getting to see all of the other guns.

Smellie, the battle of Ypres match would be a great idea I would love to be there to mark the 100th anniversary of such and important part of Canadian history!
 
Check out the "EOSC Milshoot" in the "Events" section. This runs four times a year and is closing in on 10 years running.

It's successful, not hypothetically so. Very simple, very friendly, very inexpensive, very inclusive.

More complex rarely means better.
 
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SMELLIE and I were envisioning sort of a "Fun Shoot and Get Together" rather than a full blown Competition type shoot. The reason we suggested Virden is that is about equal distance from Winnipeg and from Regina. The Virden range is 300 yards, but perhaps we can persuade John to provide an interesting target that works at longer ranges. Since this thing seems to be going "viral" perhaps we can talk to John next week sometime and arrange for a range date. We could possibly even suggest two or three dates and choose the one best suited to everyone.

KJOHN has suggested balloons, an excellent idea. SMELLIE has an idea for the Ladies, where a woman might challenge her Husband or anyone else, using a gun of HER choice. Warning, GOOFY PRIZES MAY BE AWARDED, and your picture WILL appear in GunNutz. I was thinking of providing a couple of Hot Dogs, some cookies and a couple of cans of soft drinks for each person and we were talking of having some tables set up where people could get together and talk when not shooting. This might require you bring your own chairs as these are in short supply on the range.

Most of the shooting will be at 100 to 200 yards, prone, sitting or standing, but there is a bit of a "trench" that might be incorporated. We might even have a "Ross Rifle" event.

Since John and his Wolverine people are experienced in running shoots here, we will have to get together with him and see what ideas he might have. All Range Safety Rules will apply, and anyone not willing to obey them will be asked to leave.
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I'd be happy with what Buffdog has purposed. I think we should keep it a fun day, as there's enough competitive shoots around.
I'm just most interested in talking guns with you guys in person, as typing makes my hands sore sometimes! Anyhow whatever Buffdog and Smellie come up with is fine by me.
I will definitely bring my whole arsenal including my Sks as I'd love to see if I could hit anything at longer ranges! I need to start reloading 303 in preparation for such an event.
 
We ALL need to start loading BIIIIG batches of .303!

I'm going to do up a couple hundred of the Harris load. It's cheap to shoot, easy to make and I have half a dozen rifles I would like to try with it.

Gotta get a bunch of glass-bedding done, too.

Oh my: so much to do and only ONE Winter to get it all done!
 
I love it! I'd be happy to contribute where I humbly could. Where I'm from, disker blade cooking is a popular get together item. I'd be happy to donate some tasty lunch for the group. If it's a massive group I might have to ask for a buck or two. Love the more relaxed shoot for sure. sporter rifles would be awesome. Group of two shoots would be cool too! Thanks everyone for your input. It looks like smellie and buffdog are organizing this thing? Maybe that's where we start. Who's driving this train? :)
 
The less "competitive" the better for me, too. Getting together, shooting, telling absolutely truthful tales, eating, and generally looking at others' rifles and goodies is one of the best ways I've spent time. Matters not to me where we have it. I am mobile. I will be sure to bring a good mix of guns and ammo. It would be a good chance for any new people to try out some of our old stuff, too. In most cases, a new person is severely addicted after the first good taste!
 
lazysod said:
I love it! I'd be happy to contribute where I humbly could. Where I'm from, disker blade cooking is a popular get together item. I'd be happy to donate some tasty lunch for the group. If it's a massive group I might have to ask for a buck or two. Love the more relaxed shoot for sure. sporter rifles would be awesome. Group of two shoots would be cool too! Thanks everyone for your input. It looks like smellie and buffdog are organizing this thing? Maybe that's where we start. Who's driving this train? :)
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Well, it looks like some fool opened his mouth and volunteered to be the Cook, so we will have to progress a bit further on this ;)

I guess since SMELLIE and I live in the Virden area, we can handle the organization. I will see about possible open range dates in June, July and August and get back to everyone. Give us a week or so to see what we can do and what is available. I would like to talk to the Boys at Wolverine and get some advice from them on things like number of people, targets, and such. Although I have ran Shoots before, I want to get their ideas on the local range and it's conditions. Any reasonable ideas would be considered, but please do not make any posts or PMs until we finalize this a bit. Until we get something concrete together, anything at this stage is just an idea and some speculation.

Most of all, we want to keep it SAFE and FUN, and more like a "Meet and Greet" day where those not shooting can relax and talk with other shooters.

Possible dates are June 2, June 15 or 16, June 23, July 6 or 7, July 14, July 27 or 28, August 17 or 18, or August 25, so this gives a bit of lee way. I have not checked the Range Schedule, so it is possible some of these dates may not be available.
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HAHAHA, we'll have to see how it all works out I guess. Thanks for organizing this! Super looking forward to this.

RL

P.S. if you do it on July 6, it will be my birthday. :)

buffdog said:
Well, it looks like some fool opened his mouth and volunteered to be the Cook, so we will have to progress a bit further on this ;)

I guess since SMELLIE and I live in the Virden area, we can handle the organization. I will see about possible open range dates in June, July and August and get back to everyone. Give us a week or so to see what we can do and what is available. I would like to talk to the Boys at Wolverine and get some advice from them on things like number of people, targets, and such. Although I have ran Shoots before, I want to get their ideas on the local range and it's conditions. Any reasonable ideas would be considered, but please do not make any posts or PMs until we finalize this a bit. Until we get something concrete together, anything at this stage is just an idea and some speculation.

Most of all, we want to keep it SAFE and FUN, and more like a "Meet and Greet" day where those not shooting can relax and talk with other shooters.

Possible dates are June 2, June 15 or 16, June 23, July 6 or 7, July 14, July 27 or 28, August 17 or 18, or August 25, so this gives a bit of lee way. I have not checked the Range Schedule, so it is possible some of these dates may not be available.
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