I finished the Boomershoot 2006 history (at 24+ MBytes it’s not for dial-up) video and started burning CD’s last night. Other than the video there’s not much new from last years CDROM.

I had new signs made for Boomershoot this year. The old ones were hand printed and since it was my printing it was horrid. The new ones are functional and professional.

With the creation of reserved shooting positions we now have the need for markings of each of the individual positions. Ry came up with the idea of how to do it. The sign company wanted $1400 for them. That being OUT OF THE QUESTION I had them sell me the plastic cut to size which cost $50. I then convinced Xenia to apply the $40 worth of vinyl numbers for just $20. $110 versus $1400. The results are good enough for who they are for:

Boomershoot 2007 stuff. There are even mugs, posters, bibs, thongs, and boxer shorts. All with this awesome image (edited by Xenia Joy):

Where the Clearwater River wanders through the hillsides, you’ll find Joe Huffman planting his father’s fields with a thousand pounds of explosives.

Kim Griffis
KING 5 Evening Magazine (complete with video)
[What timing! I made room for 12 more teams last night then tonight they showed the video again. I then got a phone call and four emails. It was originally made at Boomershoot 2005. They keep replaying it and have a different voice over than the original. I pretty sure Kim Griffis wrote the original script and I know she narrated it. Now they have someone else narrating with at least one very minor tweak to the script.–Joe]

I have rearranged some of the .50 caliber shooters and have created 15 new .30 cal (or smaller caliber if you want) positions at the west end of the .50 caliber ghetto. From these positions you will be able to shoot at some of the 380 yard targets as well as all of the 575 and beyond targets.

If you want one of the positions send me an email with your phone number, your name, and the names of up to two other people. These additional people must be designated as either spotters (no charge) or shooters.  I will respond within a day or two with your shooting position number (8A->11C are currently available) and how to pay for the position.

These are available on a first come first serve basis.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to give me a call or send an email.

Voice: 208-301-4254
Email: joeh@boomershoot.org

Yesterday I went to a local store to pick up the 800 surveyors stakes used to mount the targets and some powdered lime used for neutralizing acid in the soil. The acid in the soil causes the lead bullet to leach into the ground and water. I wandered around looking for the lime and finally asked. The guy found two broken bags spilling their contents in a back corner. He checked inventory in the computer and found a quantity of zero. I asked about the next shipment and was told I would have to talk to someone “up front”. As we walked into the main store he said I might be able to get the two broken bags cheap if I asked the guy up front. He introduced me and I explained the situation with the two broken bags. Instead of the usual $8 something a bag he offered me them for $2.00. I agreed if they could put them in a garbage bag or something so the contents wouldn’t spill. He agreed and asked if I needed anything else.

I told him I needed 800 surveyors stakes. He asked, “What are you going to do with that many stakes? You’re not surveying for a house.” I paused as I internally debated telling him it was for explosives or for a big vampire hunt. He said, “Maybe we don’t want to know…” I agreed, “Maybe not.” As he wrote up the ticket I pointed to the BOOMERSHOOT label on my jacket and told him, “I put on a shooting event called Boomershoot every year. We make explosives, put them in cardboard boxes, and put on the stakes. Then people from all over the country show up to shoot at them.” He stopped typing. “Really! I was a 8541 in the Marines. Where is this at?” I told him near Cavendish and he knew where it was at and said he would have to check it out. He started type again told me, “I’m going to give you those broken bags for free because I like you already.” He talked about the scopes he used in the military and asked what sort of guns people bring to Boomershoot. I told him lots of things up to and including .50 BMG. We talked about match ammo and the size and range of the targets. As he finished typing he told me, “I’m giving you a discount on the stakes too… unless you have a problem with that.” I told him the event was full but it’s fun to watch and we get spectators that drive from Seattle each year. He said he would definitely check it out and asked if there was a website. I gave him Boomershoot.org and a buddy and he were checking it out as I left to load up the stakes and lime.

I looked at the receipt later and realized I got the stakes for half the normal price.

Today I received an email from a Boomershoot entrant requesting a couple of friends be put on the waiting list for Boomershoot 2007.

We get quite a few squirrel hunters at Boomershoot. The skills and equipment required for both sports are essentially identical. However, it appears these two squirrel hunters are a little unequipped for conventional squirrel hunting. Pistols are marginal at best (Rolf used hot .357 magnum loads from “entertainingly close” distances to get marginal results). And the rifle the other guy is shown carrying doesn’t have a scope. The closest targets are 375 yards away and without a scope it’s really tough to see the targets. Therefore I’m putting these guys AT the 375 yard line. It’ll be a once in a lifetime event for them. And no waiting list either.

After much discussion and thinking about it I have decided we can’t allow tracers. At previous events, even though the ground was very wet, there have been several occurrences where tracers started fires in the grass. If those tracers had landed in the woods just a couple hundred yards to the east and started a fire it would be the end of Boomershoot. Sorry about that.

Saturday I got wireless internet service (Wifi) implemented at the Boomershoot site. The signal isn’t all that strong but it is useable except for positions about 65 through 70. The parking area except for part of the .50 caliber area is fine too. I might be able to improve things some but I won’t know for a month or so. Because it is via satellite the ping times are rather long. The typical ping time from there to Boomershoot.org was about 1400 milliseconds. The specs on the service are:

Up to 512Kbps downstream
128Kbps upstream

Fair Access Policy threshold limits (monthly):
7,500MB Download
2,300MB Upload

What this means is that with a few dozen people using it things are going to be rather slow. Checking email and light blogging is going to be fine but uploading or downloading videos is out. We also need to be a little bit careful that we don’t exceed the monthly limits. The access point is unencrypted and has the SSID of “Boomershoot”.

I’ve been investigating the possibility of doing a night time Boomershoot on Friday night (something like 21:00 to midnight) the 27th. The answer is still up in the air. The blocking issue is the late night noise. I’ve been talking to some of the neighbors and I’m hoping to come up with a conclusion in a couple weeks.

I just receive an email from my hillbilly friend in Missouri. In addition to the exploding clays, the anvil launch, and the microwave demolition he plans to have machine guns for rent. Details will be available at a later time.

The next event will be May 19 and 20th. If you attend let me know what you thought.

They just keep coming in. I got one last week and another came in yesterday. The one yesterday had an interesting comment.

Please elaborate extensively on any Boomershoot topic. What would you like changed? What was best about Boomershoot 2006? What was the worst about Boomershoot 2006?

A: women in bikinis is a must have.

You realize that women that attend Boomershoot also shoot guns, right? They shoot seven inch square targets at 700 yards. I don’t tell them how they must dress and I suggest no one else does either. The extent of my sympathy for someone so stupid as to push the issue will be to nominate them for a Darwin Award if something were to “go horribly wrong”.

First the bad news. I received an email today from the guy that keeps trying to put his anvil into orbit at Boomershoot. He signed up early and was planning to attend and just discovered he won’t be able to make it.

The good news is that he is sending someone else in his place who is bringing the anvils.

One more bit of news is that I’ve ordered the portable toilets. I ordered three of them this time since the attendance is going to be the largest ever. And in keeping with the theme of the .50 caliber area being called “The Ghetto” I told Terry to put one of the toilets in the ghetto area. That’s right, we will have segregated toilets this year–separate and unequal.

[People in The Ghetto will have a better people to toilet ratio than those in the main area and there will be no enforcement of the segregation.]

Update: I’ve been sent a picture from Boomershoot 2007 that shows we had three toilets last year.

There are three signs that you are getting old. The first one is you start losing your memory. I don’t remember the other two.

Thanks Bruce, Da Squirrel Hunter. In addition to the late night pictures of outhouses you point out that I’m losing my memory.