2012 Department of the Missouri Muster

[Pitspitr]

I will be hosting the 2012 Department of Missouri Muster July 13, 14th & 15th, in my pasture. This will be open to anyone in the GAF. If not currently a member I can help you register. (Membership in the GAF is free and easy) You need not be headquartered in the Department of the Missouri. By using Google Earth and going to  41°40'16.24"N Latitude and  99°19'42.54"W Longitude you can see the Dept. Muster site. Registration forms are available on the dispatches page of the Grand Army's Web site. Particpation will be limited to 35 shooters. Everybody wishing to take part in a door prize drawing  should bring something for the pot and we will run the door prize drawing sort of like an old fashioned blanket shoot. Those wishing to attend but not compete may do so without registration fee, but be sure to pay the meal fee.

This muster will be a primative camping event. The planned activities include: a 3 stage GAF steel target main match, a 300 yd paper target long range match and a GAF Expansion Era Match. While 3 stages for the main match doesn't sound like much these two stages will be of the skirmish format and will feature about 30 knock down targets per stage. Round counts will be dependent on the number of times the shooter needs to shoot at each target to get it to fall. 90 to 100 rounds at least would be a good plan.

I will have a tent city and have tentage for about 20 individuals if you don't have your own. We should be easily able to get photos without anything modern in them. We should have plenty of time to sit around the campfire and visit.

The muster itself will be low budget. The meals will be cooked by Delmonico and participants will pay him not me. I don't intend to issue medals to the winners, but entry fees will only be around $40.

Unless something falls through between now and then, there will be artillery there. I have a guy lined up to come who has a parrott, a howitzer and several mortars. By the time of the muster there should be running water on site with an actual shower being a real possibility.

The format for the long range match will be a little different that the way it was held the last couple of years. Shooters will be able to sight in their rifles on Friday evening using the bench in Fort Scotsman. When the actual long range match is held on Saturday it will be shot from the shooters choice of positions from the ground. The idea behind this is that it will be more of a real world type of match.

Another change for 2012 is that the long Range match will be included in the competition for the Department Champion. I've wanted to include a third criterion for the Department Champion for some time. I had considered including the camp award but felt that this would place participants who had to travel at too big a disadvantage. The Long Range Match has been quite popular at the last two Department Musters. With the change in format I felt that it really made sense to include it with the main match and the Uniform competitions for the Department Champion. This should make the competition a little more well rounded.

[Pitspitr]

I forgot to mention that the long range match at the 2012 DoM HQ Muster will be shot using full size humanoid silhouettes that each shooter will be able to keep as a reminder of how they shot. Had we done this this year I'd have burned it  and that is the participants option

[pony express]

I forgot to mention that the long range match at the 2012 DoM HQ Muster will be shot using full size humanoid silhouettes that each shooter will be able to keep as a reminder of how they shot. Had we done this this year I'd have burned it  and that is the participants option

Will they have scoring rings, or simple hit or miss?

[Pitspitr]

Will they have scoring rings, or simple hit or miss?

I haven't seen them, Ned Neidrlander will have to answer that for certain, but I think they do.

Yeah there will be a water line. Not sure what the pressure will be like but I'm sure it will be enough to cool us off

[Niederlander]

They do indeed have scoring rings.  They are the old standard police B-27 target, and are full size silhouettes.  They should be a lot of fun!

[Delmonico]

I am going to start a separate thread concerning food before the muster, but I thought of this tonight and would like to mention it, I don't know if I ever have or not.  But if you've went out and killed some sort of critter and your SO refuses to cook it or even let it in the kitchen, let me know and I'd be glad to add it to the menu.  Just let me know what species it is, common name should be enough although taxonomic names are always great.     It makes us look educated. 

Just let me know what you are bringing and if you have something you want made out of it, that also. 

[G.W. Strong]

I am planning on attending. I see long range and short range targets. Should I plan on bringing a rifle and a carbine or are they in use in the same stage?

[Niederlander]

All rifle targets are meant to be engaged with whatever long gun you're using.  The rifle targets are usually anywhere from about thirty to one hundred twenty yards away.  They're all half scale, with the standing targets being thirty-four inches tall, if that helps.  I've got pictures of them with my Krag for scale on the Department of the Missouri Facebook page.

[G.W. Strong]

125 yards is fine with anything I own.

I thought I had heard something about 400 yards. At that range I need my 50/70 Trapdoor but at 125 yards my 45/70 carbine will be just fine.

[Delmonico]

There is seperate long range at 400 yards, but there full power mil-spec can be used because the targets are paper.

[G.W. Strong]

So should I be using powered-down loads for the rest of the match? I'm shooting a 405 grain RNHB bullet over 53 grains of black in my carbine and it likes the load. Does that sound like it is too stout for this match?

[Niederlander]

Do you have any idea of what the velocity is?  My guess is somewhere around 1200fps.  I believe maximum we allow is supposed to be 1400 or 1500fps.  I guarantee that load will not hurt our targets at the ranges we shoot at.

[Drydock]

Skirmish match steel target Max load for rifles under .50 caliber is 405 grains lead at 1400 FPS. Greater than 50 caliber is allowed a 480 grain bullet at the same velocity.

Your load is within spec, and can be used for both the Skirmish steel match, and the long range match should you so wish.  Recoil recovery is not an issue with a GAF match.  

Long range match ammunition is limited only by range considerations.  Loads must be either Black Powder or smokeless, no duplex loads allowed.  Best loads are those that shoot to the indicated ranges of your milspec sights.

[Pitspitr]

Congratulations to River City John for being the first one in with his registration.

Numbers haven't been a problem in the past but judging from the comments here in the Barracks you might want to follow John's lead and get your registration in early as I wouldn't bee surprised to see us fill up. I'll be getting the registration forms to Col. Bull Schmidt in the next few days to post on the GAF web site.

[G.W. Strong]

Congratulations to River City John for being the first one in with his registration.

Numbers haven't been a problem in the past but judging from the comments here in the Barracks you might want to follow John's lead and get your registration in early as I wouldn't bee surprised to see us fill up. I'll be getting the registration forms to Col. Bull Schmidt in the next few days to post on the GAF web site.

I am coming. How do I register? I assume I will need to wait for the forms.

[Pitspitr]

From the "Anyone intersted in a M1868 .50-70 Springfield" thread:

I really don't need an extra.  So feeling out who might want one.  Very good shooter.  Would like the $800ppd to you that I basically have in it.  If any GAF member is interested, let me know and I will try and take some pictures if the weather will ever allow it.

Chris Fischer
F-Troop

If you still have it in July bring it with you to the DoM Muster and we'll try to find a home for it then.  As a matter of fact I'd suggest that anyone having anything to sell or trade bring it with you to the muster and put out a trade blanket.

[Pitspitr]

I've pruned this thread down to the most pertanent information.

Until last year we had never done door prizes at the Dept. Muster. River City John gratiously donated a reproduction ammunition crate. Last fall's Grand Muster got me thinking: What if everybody wishing to take part in a door prize drawing brought something for the pot and we ran the door prize drawing sort of like an old fashioned blanket shoot?

Waddy'all think?

[Pitspitr]

Has the weekend for the MDM been set at July 20-22?  Want to mark it off on my calendar .....

NO, It's the 13-15th

[Pitspitr]

See the GAF web site http://www.grandarmyofthefrontier.org/ Dispatches page for the Registration form and a suggested equipment checklist.

[Pitspitr]

I had someone ask what the schedule looked like for the muster this summer.

What I expect this year is to start shooting about 8:00 each morning. We'll Start with the Expansion Era Match on Friday morning. Friday afternoon and evening everyone will have the chance to sight in at 300 Yds. With the number of people who have expressed interest in coming this year I expect to have 2 or 3 squads. We'll probably treat the long Range match as one of the stages. In other words one squad will shoot the long range while the other squad is shooting one of the main stages. If everything goes as smoothly as in the past 2 years we should be done or nearly done by Saturday evening. I expect to be done with everything by noon Sunday, giving folks who have to travel some distance, some travel time so that if you really have to, you could probably be home in time to go to work on Monday morning.

I'm planning a couple of new additions this year. 1st is that Friday or Saturday evening while we're sitting around visiting I'm planning a short history session. Second, in the past I've never had door prizes, but his year I'm asking that anyone wishing to be included in the door prize drawing bring a prize for the pot and we'll run the door prize drawing sort of like an old fashioned blanket shoot.

I try to keep this match pretty flexible as far as the schedule is concerned so that no one has to feel rushed and so that we have plenty of time for visiting. I think this is pretty important because if it turns out that it's one of those unbearably hot days we can postpone some of the shooting until after it cools off a little. At some point we may have enough people registered that the schedule will need to be more rigid, but I don't believe we're there yet.