Western Nationals

The Western Nationals weren't rained out as was predicted.
In fact, except for a damp Wed., the remainder of the week and weekend were great.

As I didn't compete, I can't say how stiff the competition was, but there were quite a lot of shooters, hawk throwers, etc there.
Traders Row had fewer vendors than previous years, but there were more than 25 present.

Below are a few photos I took there.

This Tipi was on Traders Row. It's owned by Bill Newton, a retired gentleman who has been in muzzleloading for years. He has a number of books published and is currently into French Fur Trade era re-enacting. He says the little 12 foot Tipi is just right for traveling for him and his wife.

Cannons and Morters were represented, but they weren't used for competition. All of the cannon/morters present were brass, and except for the Field Howitzer are originals.


This Field Howitzer was written up several months ago in MuzzleBlasts. The owner (standing), says there were some inaccuracies in that story and there will be a new article about it to clarify it's history. This gun was cast from molds made from the original cannon at Sutters Fort and later discovered in Utah.
This gun was fired about 10 minutes before I got the photo. Sorry I missed the event. :cry:


The Morter dates to the Revolutionary War era. Beautiful brass casting!

The Powder guy was there, but I only got the price for the Swiss and Schuetzen powder. I believe the Goex was less expensive, but the Schuetzen was selling at $10 a pound. The Swiss was $16 a pound.
Because I've had such great performance out of the Swiss, I bought more than several pounds. I'll still have to ration it though because Black Powder is almost unavalable during the rest of the year here in Phoenix.
Sorry you folks missed the event (and the 65 degree temperatures). ::

Nice photos, Zonie! That tipi does look like a good size to travel with! I wish the little lady would let me have a cannon...

Stocked up on powder you say? Good deal! I've never tried anything but Goex and Elephant (the latter no longer available as we all know), but from what I read, some of you guys really like those two brands you had a choice of. Glad you had a good time, and good weather! :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, it's been 3.5 years since I last went to a rondy; your pictures have stirred my blood.
Thanks for sharing.
Jim.
:redthumb:

I only had time to go and buy powder and a pistol rod. Didn't get a chance to participate or watch this year. Maybe next year.

Zonie
Were these pic taken while they were setting up or tear down or durning the event. wondering about cars and campers? :hmm:

Zonie, I think there would have been a larger turn out for the suttlers, more people watching and participating if the Republic had mentioned the upcoming event ahead of time. I noticed that the paper had an article covering the SASS shoot the weekend before, but not a word about the Nationals. :curse:

Tlukes: These pictures were taken before anyone was taking down their tents.
For those who haven't been to Arizona, let alone to Ben Averys Shooting range, it is located about 25 miles north of Phoenix.
This is desert country with some Cacti, Mesquite, and some desert bushes (and this year, some grass that is actually green and tons of weeds and wildflowers due to our recieving 300% more rain than usual).
Anyway, the shooting range is up against the side of a small mountain but the land is rather flat.
The Traders Row is built on this flat land and the vendors park their RVs, Trucks, Trailers, Cars, etc right behind their tents. The tents are set up facing each other with about a 50 foot wide "road" down the center for the people to walk down. (Cars are not allowed on it).

A number of fine vendors show up each year, and Log Cabin Shop from Lodi, Ohio is just one of them.
They were well stocked with a lot of fine stuff, and I'll just add that anyone who can make it to one of these large events owes it to themselves to make the trip.
If they miss it for any reason except illness or death, they are cheating themselves out of a chanch to personally examine
each flint, and each ramrod and each..... and to select only the best.
Log Cabin Shop had some totally flawless Hickory Ramrods and Flints. I can't say I got most of them, but I can say I got enough of them to keep me happy. ::

As for the local newspaper, their coverage doesn't suprise me. It should be a lesson to all of us that We, the people who love this hobby owe it to the others in our areas to contact the local papers when we know an event is coming so they will have NO excuse for the poor coverage.
As for failing to notify them, I'm as guilty as the next. :cry:

Zonie, I think there would have been a larger turn out for the suttlers, more people watching and participating if the Republic had mentioned the upcoming event ahead of time. I noticed that the paper had an article covering the SASS shoot the weekend before, but not a word about the Nationals. :curse:

Click to expand...

Newspapers & Media covers what they are asked to cover if Time Permits, and it is a Slow News Day. Television Journalism is the same. If you want you event Publicized in the Calendar for the Week, again it is done on a Space Basis.

SASS (The Single Action Shooting Society) Cowboy shooting GROUP is a Money Making, or Proprietarily Business with 75,0000 Members, and have a Good P.R. Department that put out one Heck of as Press Release with Photos, and the thing the gets Editors to Cover there Event Annually. I know this as I was on their Mailing List when I was doing FREELANCE NEWS WORK.

Several Years ago Winter Range (The Cowboy Shoot) Got a Two page Spread in the AZ Republic, Couple of Smaller Valley Papers also cover it, Radio News too, and it was cover by three of the Local Network Affiliates on T.V. News.

The NMLRA Staff in Indiana does not apparently put the Effort into Putting Out A Press Kit, or having a PHX Based Public Relation Firm do it for them. Thus the NMLRA