Howdy Cowboys and Cowgirls,
The days are flying by and the 16th annual Smoke on the Mattaponi match will be here before you know it. This is the SASS Virginia State Blackpowder Shootout hosted by the Mattaponi Sundowners and the West Point Gun Club. As a reminder, this is a SASS-sanctioned match and your membership must be current as of June 24th.
This is a single-day match with 6 fun-filled stages followed by lunch and awards. The first shot goes down range at 10 a.m. All categories are available. Firearms must be those appropriate for your category, but all ammo must be blackpowder or a suitable substitute. Shotgun pellets must be # 7 1/2 or smaller.
After the main match, there will be a one-stage Plainsman side match. For those who didn’t know, this is fired with a single-shot rifle, side-by-side or lever-action shotgun, and percussion revolvers shot duelist style. Specifics can be found in the attached extract from the SASS Shooters Handbook.
See westpointgunclub.com for additional information. A registration form is available there or you can use the one attached for your convenience. The registration deadline is June 9th, which is only four weeks from this coming Friday.
Accommodations are available along the I-295 corridor east of Richmond (about an hour away via I-64). There are also a couple of hotels on US-17 in Gloucester (about 30 minutes away), but be aware that one of them (H… I… Express) doesn’t like people with guns.
Gates will be open for campers after 2:00 p.m. on Friday. It’s dry camping only, so generators will be running all night. I’ll be there. Send me an e-mail if you plan on camping.
-Swifty McDraw