Well I Finally Did It......
 

I have been shooting black powder muzzle loaders since 2007 and competing in our South Bay Rod & Gun Club monthly matches since then too. I started with a TC Hawken 50 caliber kit and have moved into making (assembling more like it) my own for a few years now. I had a great mentor in Mr Doug Knoell who passed away a year and a half ago and I learned an awful lot! We have a two part match starting with a 6 inch x 6 inch square target with a 1 inch bull and you shoot 5 shots on paper for best score and high score gets a large gold medalian. So far in every year I have been competing I have won a "medaliam". Second part or the match are 0.5 inch thick steel animal silhouette targets shot at 50 yards and knock them over. The rifles have to be originals or a modern copy of a reproduction such as a Hawken or musket. A couple times I won the medalian and a 2nd or 3rd place but this past Sunday I won BOTH the medalian AND the steel silhouette part of the match. Joanne, who puts on the match told me that Doug (mentor) and one other are the only others to get both gold medals so I feel pretty darn great!

Yesterday though my joints ached so bad it felt like I had done one of the several 2 and 3 day bicycle races I did back when I riding a bunch and competing 16 to 22 times a year either on the velodrome or a road circuit! Man oh man I guess I am getting old but I can relax now for the rest of the year! Since there are those who demand pictures, here is me and "Rosie" the rifle I made from scratch two years ago named after my late wife.
John
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1654659346.jpg

A big well done John and I like the Ned Kelly beard! ;)

Tip of my hat!

Congrats, and very cool!

I shoot at Escondido Fish and Game, just a bit north of you. Always enjoy watching the black powder guys practice.

I got seriously hooked on rimfire benchrest, then silhouette for a bit.

Good fun!

Congrats John!!! That's a spectacular accomplishment. Maybe you can do the same next year.

Nicely done. Great picture too,

For those that see this post, our muzzle loading match is the 1st Sunday of each month and all are welcome to come and shoot, you don't have to be club member. The cost is $5 if you compete. If you are new to this type of competition, you can come and watch and try a "loaner" for a shot or two and usually this gets everyone hooked on these type of rifles. They are way more of a challange for any type of match, except maybe the 22 caliber Scchuetzen matches where you are most definitely at the mercy of the ammunition you can find!

For those that are in Riverside county or LA or such we used to have Carl Thompson, a very famous Porsche mechanic who worked for Vasic P on his race cars used to come down from the beach area where he lived for the matches, sort of made a day trip out of it....but he died of cancer a while back as did his brother a couple years earlier! He won a few also.
John

congrats.
cool pic. the gun suits you!