Jerry

Gathering on the Mattaponi Announcement

Howdy Cowboys and Cowgirls,

Registration is now open for the 2025 Gathering on the Mattaponi, our annual 2-day match in March, falling this year on March 15-16. We still offer 12 stages and we plan to have a Wild Bunch side match on the 15th.

A registration form is attached and may also be found here on our website. This version can be filled out electronically and may be sent by e-mail to me or to Potter County Kid at 97graves@gmail.com. Don’t forget to mail your check or give it to Gary in person. If you were one of the lucky winners of a free entry, you may return your coupon or use the form attached.

In support of our friends in the western part of the state, I’ve also attached the registration form for the Blueridge Roundup in PDF format.

-Swifty McDraw

Calendars

Happy New Year Cowboys and Cowgirls,
 
Before you hang that new calendar on your wall or refrigerator, you may want to mark some important dates on your shooting schedule for 2025.
 
The RO2 class by Redrider Slim is scheduled for February 8th at the Rivanna Ranger Co range near Charlottesville.  Contact Captain R. Hugh Kidnme (CaptRHK@gmail.com) for registration.
 
The WPGC will have its annual Gathering on the Mattaponi match on March 15-16.  Let’s hope Spring comes a week or two early this year.
 
If you haven’t heard, the Blue Ridge Roundup will return this year and will be held on April 11-12-13.  Look for the Blue Ridge Regulators on Facebook for details or contact ‘The Old Salt’ at theoldsalt8375@yahoo.com.
 
Dates for other special matches are: May 17-18 for Thunder in the BrushJune 28 for the SASS VA State Blackpowder Shootout (Smoke on the Mattaponi), August 29-30-31 for the SASS VA State ChampionshipOctober 19 for the Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure, and October 24-25-26 for the Sussex County Range War.
 
We hope to see lots of you at our monthly matches as well.  Our full schedule for 2025 and years to come is posted on our website www.westpointgunclub.com.  Click ‘Range Calendar’ on the menu bar for an interactive monthly calendar.  Also, annual Mattaponi Sundowners PDF calendars can be found under Shooting Programs >= SASS Cowboy Action >= Schedules, Stages, and Scores.
 
-Swifty McDraw

Sunday Match Results

Sunday 12/15/24

Happy Holidays,

We had a ‘baker’s dozen’ shoot our annual Christmas match today. The targets were decorated in seasonal colors and many of the shooters were adorned with furry hats. The air was filled with Christmas spirit instead of rain.

Congratulations to Cody Maverick for the win and to the 8 clean shooters: Cody, Ripsaw, Bingo, B.S., Ledford, Flatboat, Connie, and Butch.

After the match, 21 shooters and family members gathered to enjoy dinner and the gift exchange at Nick’s.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Scores:
1) yesterday – NAVY whipped ARMY 31-13 in their 125th meeting on the gridiron;
2) today – match scores attached.

Mattaponi Sundowners 3rd Sun. (12_15_24)_ Clean shooters

Mattaponi Sundowners 3rd Sun. (12_15_24)_ Overall Winners List by Time

Mattaponi Sundowners 3rd Sun. (12_15_24)_ Overall Winners Details by Time

-Swifty McDraw

Sunday Match Results

If there were any complaints today, they weren’t about the weather. It warmed up fast and cooled down fast (below 60 is cool on my scale), but it was a great day.
The flying feathered fowl may have been the only ones complaining. More than half of the flock that took flight flew their final few flaps. The others evaded the pellets but had a crash landing.

Congratulations to our winner Cody Maverick and to our only clean shooter Frontier Mick (clean with a bonus).

Our next match (tentatively) will be a Wild Bunch match on Saturday December 7th. It’s on the agenda for our forthcoming club meeting and won’t be official until we vote to put that date on our schedule. Our last match of the year will be on Sunday December 15th, which will be followed by a Christmas gift exchange at Nick’s.

Scores attached.

-Swifty McDraw

Mattaponi Sundowners 3rd Sun. (11_17_24)_ Overall Winners Details by Time

Mattaponi Sundowners 3rd Sun. (11_17_24)_ Overall Winners List by Time

Saturday Match Results

Howdy,

The weather was windy but seasonal, the crowd was small (Potter forgot to hang the “… match today” sign outside the gate), but we all had a good time.  It got less windy and more sunny toward the end, which might be why Ripsaw had his only miss on the last rifle round of stage 6.  Or could it be that he had his mind on that 72-stage clean streak??
 
Dagnabbit and Congratulations to Ripsaw, the match winner.
 
Since Monday is Veterans Day, we invented a new category for today’s match.  Congratulations to Pete Fury, the most recent retiree among us and winner of the “Vet” category.
 
We shoot again next Sunday (the 17th), which will be our Thanksgiving match.  Expect to see some odd-looking clays flying up from the popper.  Hope many of you can join us.
 
Footnote: before our Shoot for a Cure contributions were turned over to the ACS representative, we increased the total to $17,600 — $100 more than last year!  Thanks once again to everyone!
 
Scores attached.
-Swifty McDraw
 
 

Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure Results

Howdy,

This is Part 1 of the match results. Part 2 will follow in a day or two with a fundraising report. We were into $ five figures from ticket sales at the Green Top Expo plus pre-match donations at the range. Add the after-match donations and Auction receipts and I think we did pretty good.

Congratulations to our match winner and Top Cowboy Tye Riverman and to J. C. Phoenix, the top Cowgirl. Congrats also to our 16 Clean Shooters; our apologies for running out of ‘Clean Shoot Awards’. In case you’re curious, 17 shooters got the bonus on Stage 2.

Two attachments: 1) Clean Shooters and 2) Score Summary
I’ll send a detailed version of the scores with Part 2.

-Swifty McDraw


Howdy Again Cowboys and Cowgirls,

Part 1 (continued): Detailed Scores and Scores by Category are attached. Thanks for coming, especially to the six Cowboys who shot with us for the first time and to many others who traveled a considerable distance. Thanks to all for a safe match. We hope you enjoyed it.

Part 2: So far, we have over $15,500.00 in hand. We expect at least 3 checks which will add to that, so it will be a few days before we have a final total. Not bad for a relatively small crowd of mostly old people who dress funny and yell “Yee-Haw” while shooting old-fashioned guns at pink targets for a couple of hours. Seriously, to those who were present and to those who weren’t, we thank each and every one of you for your support and your generosity.

Our www.WestPointGunClub.com web site has a drop-down menu called “Funds Raised” which will have the final total when we know what it is. Look under Shooting Programs => Cowboy Action => Annual Matches => Shoot for a Cure

Footnote: If you like photos, Marshal P. C. Wabash and Buzzard Bayne have some on Facebook. For video, look for Bingo Montana on YouTube, but give him a few days to edit his raw files.

-Swifty McDraw


Pat Graves Memorial Shoot For A Cure 24 (10_20_24)_ Clean shooters

Pat Graves Memorial Shoot For A Cure 24 (10_20_24)_ Category Winners by Time

Pat Graves Memorial Shoot For A Cure 24 (10_20_24)_ Overall Winners List by Time

Pat Graves Memorial Shoot For A Cure 24 (10_20_24)_ Overall Winners Details by Time

Funds Raised


Howdy Again,

The final results are in. The Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure raised $17,395.48 for the American Cancer Society this year, bringing the total raised since 2012 to a whopping $110,393.48! Amounts for each year are tabulated in the attachment.

Funds Raised

Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure

Howdy Folks,

The Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure is October 20 – this coming Sunday.

The gates will open earlier than normal, probably by 9 a.m. Posse up at noon for welcoming remarks. We start shooting at 12:30. The round count is 60-60-26. Stages by Potter County Kid are attached.

Thanks to the 48 shooters (attached) who signed up early. You can add your name to the list with a reply to this e-mail. All match fees go to the American Cancer Society. The WPGC contributes another $5 for each pre-registered shooter.

On arrival, please come to our ‘storage building’ to check in, confirm your category, and receive your posse assignment. Allow time to socialize, buy raffle tickets and to see all of the merchandise that will be up for auction, for the raffles, and for sale ‘flea-market’ style. Charitable contributions are tax deductible; receipts will be available on request.

-Swifty McDraw

Attachments:  Stages   Who’s Coming

Saturday Match Results

Howdy,

Thanks to those who arrived early and helped put the finishing touches on the set up, and to all who pitched in to tear it down when the match was over.

Congratulations to Major B.S. Walker. He was today’s winner and was the only shooter who managed to earn every available bonus (7 of them worth 29 points). He also had the lowest raw time (by 0.57 sec) and (dagnabbit) only 1 miss.

Congratulations also to Potter County Kid and Mac Moshannon for the clean shoot. Each of them hit 5 out of 7 bonus targets.  If we had a ‘mulligan” award, it would go to that guy who shot clean until the last gun on the last stage.

It was an interesting match. There were many comments about the ample opportunity to exhibit marksmanship with a shotgun. Those served to detract from complaints (very few) about the smaller-than-average size of the rifle targets. Not many complaints about the “Bonus Day” theme; maybe because 8 out of 12 shooters scored 5 or more bonus targets.

Our next match is the Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure on October 20th. The WPGC website has all the details. And don’t forget the Green Top Expo next weekend. Let Potter know if you can spare an hour or two to man our booth.

Today’s scores attached.

-Swifty McDraw

Shoot for a Cure Update

The Pat Graves Memorial Shoot for a Cure is 30 days from today!

Merchandise to be sold or raffled is trickling in, along with a few cash/check donations. We thank you. Call or text Potter County Kid at 804.241.5418 if you can help raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Donations in previous years are tabulated here.

One significant item of interest is a $500.00 gift card contributed by Green Top Sporting Goods. Raffle tickets for the gift card will be on sale from now until the drawing on Oct 20th. You do not have to be present at the match to win this one. Many tickets are expected to sell at our booth at the Green Top Expo on Oct 5th and 6th. Contact Potter if you can put on your finest Cowboy/Cowgirl duds and help man the booth; the purpose is to promote Cowboy Action Shooting (at any club) as well as to sell raffle tickets.

So far, we have 47 shooters pre-registered (45 + 2 ‘maybe’). The ‘who’s coming’ list is posted on our website here. To add your name, reply to this email.

Thanks in advance for your support,
-Swifty McDraw

Green Top Expo

Green Top Sporting Goods has scheduled the Green Top Expo for Saturday October 5 from 8:00 to 6:00 and Sunday October 6 from 8:00 to 5:00.

Potter County Kid is asking for volunteers to help sell raffle tickets for a $500.00 Green Top Gift Card to benefit the American Cancer Society. Also to promote SASS Cowboy Action Shooting Competition. This is not a Mattaponi Sundowners promotion. It is a collective promotional of all our area clubs. The goal is to sell raffle tickets to raise money for the American Cancer Society and with any luck, bring new shooters into our sport.

If you can spare an hour or two or more on either day I can use your help. And of course there will be time to walk around and shop the many vendors attending.

If you are able to help, please let me know by calling/texting me at 804 241 5418 or by email at 97graves@gmail.com and let me know which day and time you are available.

-for Potter County Kid