Chunkguns

Interesting..

I would need a gun bearer if I tried to hunt with one of those big bad boys..

The name from what I'm told comes from the fact that the gun has to be shot in the prone position over a block and/or chunk of wood, and that is how we shoot those matches. My little .40 cal weights in at 25 pounds and is a flintlock. But there are plenty of guys that show up with their standard muzzleloading rifles so it is an open field. The fella I bought my gun from has pushed the limits and built a .62 cal that weights in over 60 pounds.

Those things look like the punt guns that irish duck hunters use . Does the extra weight give an advantage other than recoil reduction ?

Prolly one of the best known matches for these is the Alvin York over the log match that was being held last I knew in Pall Mall, Tenn on what was still York family property. If you've ever seen the movie "Sgt York" w/ Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan, they had a scene where Alvin and his brother George shot for the beef critter. In the old days, they burned an oak plank in a fire to blacken it, then stuck it in the ground at 60 yds w/ an "X" scratched on the face. The shooters buddy would straddle the target w/ a piece of white cardboard w/ a point on the X. After the shooter took his first shot, the holder would adjust the point accordingly. They still use the term string measurement, as they drove wood plugs in the bullet holes and wrapped a string around them, hence the term "shortest string" [winner] When I attended in I think 1996, they used small 4" targets w/ thin white X thru center. You shot prone, open sights at 60 yds. but could put up your own target w/ official one under. All prizes were still meat, from boxes of steaks down to a lb of hamburger. There were other prizes donated and awarded for best period costume ect. and a prize for the best X of each of the 10 targets you shot one time each. This match is where all the big dogs run. And to end this saga, there were 186 shooters the year I went and I finished 8th over-all, and had the best "X" of match 4. A feat that I'm real proud of. I got my box of rib-eyes and a beautiful hand made damascus sheath knife. Sorry for the long post, but thought ya'll might find interest in the story.

Thanks Woody! I met Alvins brother while I was there, he was a park ranger or some such, but he showed us some of Alvins stuff and told some rather interesting tales, one of which I'm gonna tell ya'll about. As well as Alvin was known for being an excellent rifle shot, that ability paled to his being able to shoot a Govt. Mod 1911 .45 apc. As ya'll may know, those rascals are not easy to get much pin point accuracy out of, but apparently Alvin was a natural w/ one. I used to go to alot of m/l matches before shoulder surgery, and that was the absolute best. All the bbl makers, b/p gun makers, the Bevel Bros. were all there. The year before a friend of mine was there, Paul Swanson from Rockford, Il. He and his wife Sandy help put it on every year. He came in 20th out of 90 odd entys and I shot against him alot, we were about even. They call being in the top 20 "making the rack", which is a hay rack they pull out at the end w/ all the frozen meat. I never dreamed I would do as good as I did, [beat paul too lol]. If any of ya'll ever get the chance go there, if it's still on. They were having a problem, as it was getting soooo big, and for some strange reason, they couldn't extend it into Sunday.

Really great stuff-it`s awesome to hear about all this-and by the way, congratulations on the shooting man-you must be a natural.