Boomershoot 2013 will soon be open for entry. The schedule for entry is as follows. All times are Pacific Daylight time.

Staff: 6/22/2012 6:00:00 PM.
2012 participants: 6/24/2012 12:00:00 PM.
Everyone: 7/7/2012 12:00:00 PM.

The link for entry is http://entry.boomershoot.org/

If something drastically wrong shows up in the software these times could change but I probably can manually recover without starting over or disrupting the schedule above.

There are some changes I would like to bring to your attention.

1) Clinic and Field Fire Registration is done on the web site as opposed to directly with Gene Econ as has been the case in the past.

2) There is a new Boomershoot event on Friday evening: Private fireballs. For $500 you may shoot a fireball of your own at (up to) “entertainingly close” range. We will supply the rifle, ammo, and a shooting table. This is an experience suitable for even novice shooters. There will be a 7″ square target at relatively close range with a red-dot optic on a .223 caliber rifle. This will be a low recoil, easy sighting, highly exothermic experience.

If you have any questions or experience bugs using the updated entry software please let me know (joeh@boomershoot.org).

Video from Ry:

We are working on making the fireball for Boomershoot 2013 even better.

30 Cal Gal sent me an email this morning with a picture of the Western Shooting Journal cover for June (supposedly on newsstands now):

The article was written by Shelley (thank you Shelley!).

I showed it to Ry and his response was, “I’m glad I got it in one shot!”

Yeah. Had it taken four or five shots (it’s happened to me) the teaser line would have been a little embarrassing. Of course at near contact distance with the flame front misses are less likely and having your hair burned could be embarrassing too. Life is full of tradeoffs.

One of the new things we are planning to offer for Boomershoot 2013 is an opportunity to shoot your own fireball from as “entertainingly close” as I feel comfortable with. Hint, this year Ry was pushing the envelope for my comfort zone.

There will be a very limited number of them, perhaps three to five, they will take place Friday evening, perhaps near dusk, and the price will be $500 each. And to a certain extent you will control the audience. There will always be range safety officers present but if you only want to allow your immediate family or have it be “all yours” you can do that. We will keep all other spectators at least a couple hundred yards away.

The question are: 1) Are there people interested in such an experience? 2) Is there some modification to the scenario such that it would be more attractive to you?

We have a couple people that have been bringing a bowling ball mortar to Boomershoot the last couple years. Here is a picture of one of them in action (thanks to Dion for the picture):

The fireball is the result of adding gasoline.

Very cool.

Ry says he smelled burning hair after taking this shot:

As I have commented elsewhere I’m glad I had Ry move the opening fireball back about 20 feet further from where he wanted it. There is a fine line between thrilling and calling for an ambulance. Ry was right on the ragged edge of that line.

This is boring. I just keep hitting the same spot.

Matthew Jensen
April 27, 2012
[He was shooting my “Spud Gun” at a 700 yard steel target. He was hitting the same spot on the target…

I love my Spud Gun. He did have an excellent coach in one of Gene Econ’s staff, but still the gun, ammo and shooter had to be doing their job too.—Joe]