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Woods walks
- Thread starter Capnball
- Start date
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The Ancient Ones Of Maine have a monthly Geezer shoot(WW) plus smooth bore rifle and knife and hawk walks at or 2 vous. Great fun use spit for patch lube.Caplock, snap a cap before you load, flintloc,k prick your charge before every shot. Most important Black stuff goes in FIRST!! Have fun!
Nit Wit
Nit Wit
Bob McBride
54 Cal.
Think of it like you're going to the fair and you have two 40' long strips of tickets. You'll play every ring toss, ball and pins, and squirt gun game you see. Have a ball and look at each stage like it's it's own competition, whether it's shooting golf balls, chicken skewers or steel at 60 yards. Be ready for some friendly ribbing. Put in a fresh flint and have another ready. Don't get rattled if you have a malfunction. Make sure you know whatever safety protocols they have in place and keep them in mind. Some places are muzzle straight up/down when walking, etc. and be aware of where the stages are in front of your stage in case someone is downrange fixing a target or whatnot....Be safe! Have a ball! That's it!
There are woods walks and then there are Woods Walks. Much depends on the rules and course.
The common woods walk is a straight forward walk along a wooded path to shoot at various targets. You will be required to load from the pouch and use the ramrod on the gun. Points may be deducted if you use modern materials such as an aluminum ram rod. Most targets will be metal silhouettes but some may be other novelty targets.
Then there are the scenario based Woods Walks. these consist of a team of participants that have to negotiate a scenario such as a hunting party to get food for the fort, deliver a message from one post to another, a scout to determine if hostiles are in the area, a party to track down a band of natives or whatever scenario the hosts have set up. You have to be prepared with the material to support your team on a typical 3 day scout. You will need a blanket, cooking utensils, food, materials to start a fire and to maintain your firearm. There may be questions about the area or a quiz to identify trees, or animal tracks. There will be logic type questions. On the scout for hostiles, you may be required to know the difference in targets that are friendly or those that are hostile. Woe to the team that shoots up the friendly natives.
At the Fort de Chartres Woods Walk in November, each participant puts up a $20 prize for the blanket. The top 6 teams also get a meat prize. Teams 2 through 6 participate in a lottery to determine the host for the next Woods Walk. The last place team each member gets a can of Spam as even the worst hunters should come home with meat.
What have you been told @Capnball about the woods walk?
The common woods walk is a straight forward walk along a wooded path to shoot at various targets. You will be required to load from the pouch and use the ramrod on the gun. Points may be deducted if you use modern materials such as an aluminum ram rod. Most targets will be metal silhouettes but some may be other novelty targets.
Then there are the scenario based Woods Walks. these consist of a team of participants that have to negotiate a scenario such as a hunting party to get food for the fort, deliver a message from one post to another, a scout to determine if hostiles are in the area, a party to track down a band of natives or whatever scenario the hosts have set up. You have to be prepared with the material to support your team on a typical 3 day scout. You will need a blanket, cooking utensils, food, materials to start a fire and to maintain your firearm. There may be questions about the area or a quiz to identify trees, or animal tracks. There will be logic type questions. On the scout for hostiles, you may be required to know the difference in targets that are friendly or those that are hostile. Woe to the team that shoots up the friendly natives.
At the Fort de Chartres Woods Walk in November, each participant puts up a $20 prize for the blanket. The top 6 teams also get a meat prize. Teams 2 through 6 participate in a lottery to determine the host for the next Woods Walk. The last place team each member gets a can of Spam as even the worst hunters should come home with meat.
What have you been told @Capnball about the woods walk?
Our club has woods walks once a month during the winter months. As said above, be prepared to load from your pouch and have all the items you will need for shooting and swabbing. Our targets range from simple gongs to biodegradable targets like potatoes, carrots, clay birds, wooden blocks, charcoal briquets and crackers all at various ranges. We even have a running boar target, a running squirrel, a pendulum and a pop up target. Great fun. Usually about 12-16 shots on a 1.5 mile course thru the woods. Enrty fee is usually a blanket prize worth at least $10 and related to muzzleloading.
By the way, woods walks are one of those events that confirm Murphy's Law, for if anything can go wrong, it will.
This is true if it is a walk in the woods with targets of opportunity or if you are part of a team to negotiate a scenario.
This is true if it is a walk in the woods with targets of opportunity or if you are part of a team to negotiate a scenario.
Some of Sam Fadala's books/articles are helpful as are the flintlock and percussion sections of this site.
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Years ago I did one in Idaho. It was timed. Some "officials" had run the course, determined an average time; for every ten seconds you went over that time you lost a point, For every ten seconds you finished under the average you were rewarded a point. It did not just require shooting but tomahawk throws and pop-up targets that were not to be shot [like a pretty Indian maiden]. I did not win … or place or … well, you know. Polecat
I've seen a bunch of variations so far. Any if it and all of it looks like fun. Now I gotta get me a throwing tomahawk.
Silky921
45 Cal.
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I love shooting the woods walk. Always my favorite event at rendezvous. Usually shoot with a group of guys, which makes for a good time. Too much talking leads to dry balling, learned that one a few times.
Good advice has been given. Be prepared to shoot from the bag. Anywhere from 10-25 shots. Wear hearing protection. Be safe and have fun.
Good advice has been given. Be prepared to shoot from the bag. Anywhere from 10-25 shots. Wear hearing protection. Be safe and have fun.
I'm completely new to this. The closest ive been to anything like this was biathlon type event by the German Army
in 1976 in Berchest Garden. You (cross country) ski through a course live firing at stationary and moving targets then moving on to the next target. It was part of an Alpine training exorsize. The type of woods walk you mention may be more then my old ass is up for but I think I could still meander through the woods shooting targets. I don't think a full set of buck skins is in the budget this year but I might get myself a decent possibles bag. Would I lose points for using pre measured powder tubes?
Depends on the group hosting the woods walk if they would deduct points for using premeasured tubes. Probably if the tubes were plastic.
Now @rich pierce's speed loaders would work.
Of course @YJake's paper wrapped cartridges are good too.
What do the people say who have invited you to the woods walk?
Now @rich pierce's speed loaders would work.
Of course @YJake's paper wrapped cartridges are good too.
What do the people say who have invited you to the woods walk?
It wasn't anything more then a "we host a woods walk, would you like to attend?"
But I'll be sure to ask for some clarification. I'd hate to show up and be able to compete because I have the wrong hat on. LOL
BTW, I like those paper cartridge set ups. Tell me more!
Neil
pa woods roamer
40 Cal.
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A Woods Walk consist of whatever lurks in the evil mind of the Person who sets it up !! Been to one that had a full size Deer target that you have one shot, using a supplied Longbow and Arrow, at it. Fire starting., one had it that you had to carry your burning Bird Nest to a piece of stretched out Yarn and burn it in two ! Throw in a Tomahawk and maybe a Knife toss just to make things interesting !! Enjoyed them more than paper punching !
I have at one time or another in my life done all of those things and have no doubt I can dust those skills off but probably not all at once, lol. I'll lean into the shooting from the bag with some level of traditional methods. I'm not even allowed to shoot from a standing position at my local range so that will have to be one hurdle. Then shooting from the bag exclusively will be the second thing. Whittling my shooting gear down to the basics will be yet another learning experience. I hate not having that one thing I need to keep me at the range. I consequently bring alot of stuff (tools, etc) but I can go mean also. Just takes practice.
Wow! Lots of advice...
Mine would be shoot often , locate a club to shoot with and have fun!
They’re some threads posted in the Public Events section of the Forum of some of the woods walk events I’ve attended.
Yes, the rules and set up of the matches vary as much as do the targets. Some being steel knock downs or gongs , others being novelty item targets such as cards , crackers and the dreaded turkey quill..
Good Luck & Have Fun!
Mine would be shoot often , locate a club to shoot with and have fun!
They’re some threads posted in the Public Events section of the Forum of some of the woods walk events I’ve attended.
Yes, the rules and set up of the matches vary as much as do the targets. Some being steel knock downs or gongs , others being novelty item targets such as cards , crackers and the dreaded turkey quill..
Good Luck & Have Fun!
Thanks SMO, I got a couple great tips already. You're right, I really have to find a place where I can develop skills for this kind of sport. State run ranges are pretty strict. I got a range whistle once for popping a percussion cap from a standing position. (I was trying to clear the end of the bench aiming at the ground)
Start a conversation with @YJake. He furnished the picture.
There is also this video:
Paper Cartridges | The Muzzleloading Forum
Thanks, I'll do that. That's the first time I've seen greased round ball paper cartridges. Solves alot of problems.
