Gateway Dynamite Shoot
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:45 am
My wife and I left at 4am yesterday to make the 290 mile trip to the World Famous Gateway Dynamite Shoot. This is a spring and fall event that has been going on un interrupted for almost 50 years. We hit a snow squall at the Eisenhower tunnel on I70 on the way. We arrived there at 9:00 in time for breakfast at the community center. The event starts at 10 and ends at 4.
As always, I brought one of my hunter M700’s in what else, 7-08. This one has a classic wood stock, 24” Douglas premium SS match barrel and wears a Leupold 6.5-20x with the fine duplex reticule. This rifle bug holes Hornady 120 V-Max bullets with 37.0 grs Varget.
Right after the National Anthem on cue the wind picked up. This made hitting the small targets tough. Even the bench rest shooters were having a bad time scoring hits. Not very many kabooms were heard in the first hour. I only shoot at the off hand rifle targets as you can cycle through the three waiting lines faster. You gets two shots then back in line. At two dollars a trigger pull you really have to bear down on that little beverage can size target to hit. I did score ten hits in the first two hours that paid ten bucks per hit. Not bad for the conditions and way more than anyone else. I fired 65 shots the whole day.
This year at mine and several other peoples request the organizers put two targets at 350yds. away for the offhand shooters only. A beer can size target at HP pigs plus distance. As a bonus all money (tickets) put in the can for those two targets would be split with the shooter and fire dept. Oh yeah, this is a fire dept. fund raising event. I ignored those targets for awhile letting the pots get bigger hoping no one else would hit one. Finally I just had to risk two bucks and try a shot at 350. My friend Butch advised me of the wind looking through my Kowa spotting scope. I put in pig elevation plus two extra clicks for good measure, then dialed in two minutes of right wind.
The wind let up for a second on the line and off the little 120 vmax went. I had only missed it an inch left. Shot two went slightly over the target. Back to the end of the line. After a few minutes in line back up for another couple of tries at it. Shot one …KABOOM, a hit! I became the first person ever to hit a 350 yard off hand target at this event. Sweet. I got my name announced over the PA, the nice premium embroidered event hat, ten bucks, plus half of what was in the can. Turns out only 12 tickets were in it. Oh well, I got another twelve bucks in my pocket, too.
I volunteered two hours of my time as a safety officer on the bench rest line. All that time I kept an eye on that last other 350 yd. off hand target. Lots of dust erupting all around it making me want another crack at it. It was 3:30 before I got off the BR line. I went to the ticket counter and gave her a ten dollar bill for 5 tickets. I grabbed 5 more rounds and got in line for the long shot. No one hit it before I stepped up to the line. The wind had mostly died down by this time making holding easier. Shot one was just to the right. Shot two was a little high. No one was behind me in line at this point. The line officer told me to keep shooting if I wanted. I did. My third shot was a hit…KABOOM.
I got an applause from the remaining crowd, another PA announcement, their best event tee shirt, ten bucks for hitting one. And the best part, the can had $106. worth of tickets in it. My half was $53.00 cash. NICE. I sure am glad Bonner was at PeEll this time, he would have busted those long shots for sure.
I will be at the fall dynamite shoot, count on it.
Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
http://s766.photobucket.com/albums/xx30 ... 8/gateway/
http://gufd.org/dynamite2.html
As always, I brought one of my hunter M700’s in what else, 7-08. This one has a classic wood stock, 24” Douglas premium SS match barrel and wears a Leupold 6.5-20x with the fine duplex reticule. This rifle bug holes Hornady 120 V-Max bullets with 37.0 grs Varget.
Right after the National Anthem on cue the wind picked up. This made hitting the small targets tough. Even the bench rest shooters were having a bad time scoring hits. Not very many kabooms were heard in the first hour. I only shoot at the off hand rifle targets as you can cycle through the three waiting lines faster. You gets two shots then back in line. At two dollars a trigger pull you really have to bear down on that little beverage can size target to hit. I did score ten hits in the first two hours that paid ten bucks per hit. Not bad for the conditions and way more than anyone else. I fired 65 shots the whole day.
This year at mine and several other peoples request the organizers put two targets at 350yds. away for the offhand shooters only. A beer can size target at HP pigs plus distance. As a bonus all money (tickets) put in the can for those two targets would be split with the shooter and fire dept. Oh yeah, this is a fire dept. fund raising event. I ignored those targets for awhile letting the pots get bigger hoping no one else would hit one. Finally I just had to risk two bucks and try a shot at 350. My friend Butch advised me of the wind looking through my Kowa spotting scope. I put in pig elevation plus two extra clicks for good measure, then dialed in two minutes of right wind.
The wind let up for a second on the line and off the little 120 vmax went. I had only missed it an inch left. Shot two went slightly over the target. Back to the end of the line. After a few minutes in line back up for another couple of tries at it. Shot one …KABOOM, a hit! I became the first person ever to hit a 350 yard off hand target at this event. Sweet. I got my name announced over the PA, the nice premium embroidered event hat, ten bucks, plus half of what was in the can. Turns out only 12 tickets were in it. Oh well, I got another twelve bucks in my pocket, too.
I volunteered two hours of my time as a safety officer on the bench rest line. All that time I kept an eye on that last other 350 yd. off hand target. Lots of dust erupting all around it making me want another crack at it. It was 3:30 before I got off the BR line. I went to the ticket counter and gave her a ten dollar bill for 5 tickets. I grabbed 5 more rounds and got in line for the long shot. No one hit it before I stepped up to the line. The wind had mostly died down by this time making holding easier. Shot one was just to the right. Shot two was a little high. No one was behind me in line at this point. The line officer told me to keep shooting if I wanted. I did. My third shot was a hit…KABOOM.
I got an applause from the remaining crowd, another PA announcement, their best event tee shirt, ten bucks for hitting one. And the best part, the can had $106. worth of tickets in it. My half was $53.00 cash. NICE. I sure am glad Bonner was at PeEll this time, he would have busted those long shots for sure.
I will be at the fall dynamite shoot, count on it.
Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
http://s766.photobucket.com/albums/xx30 ... 8/gateway/
http://gufd.org/dynamite2.html
Better to leave them wanting more I guess. 
