A 4.30am start gets us on the road by 5 to head west.

The sun is rising behind us now as we are half way into our journey.

This weekend being a preliminary warm up prior to the Heartland, having not shot for months.

Yes it’s true dear readers (hmm perhaps a bit too much time watching Bridgerton in the Craft room 🤭) too much work and not enough play for Kat.

Jack is still not able to shoot due to broken ribs but we will go and enjoy Quigley’s Redemption, hosted by the Dalby Pistol Club and South West Quarry Gang.

It is a black powder match but they have a ladies only ‘smokeless‘ in conjunction with it.

Looking forward to catch ups and some shooting!!

It’s a cool 4 degrees C 😳 sooo not used to this anymore.

Til later

Kat x

It’s the final day, Sunday and like all good cowboys and cowgirls we head to the range for this morning’s shootout!

Where the best of the best go head to head in a final showdown and bit more fun on the range.

You know you can be lucky sometimes….on last stage of warm up match the bottom tab in my rifle broke, caught the piece in my hand when I cleared it at the unloading table. ‘Well that can’t be good’ I exclaimed but Jack got it fixed ready for the main match.

Fast forward to the shootout – Wild Rose and I take off from the middle,

pistols are shot first,

go to rifle….click, nothing happens..re cock the hammer, click…rack it, it must be a dead round,

click on the next one…..rack everything out and move to shotgun. A win for Wild Rose. Firing pin is broken.

Moral of the story? Better today then copping 10 misses for a broken rifle during the main match!!!

Huge congratulations to shootout winners Violet Rose for the ladies and Bat Masterson for the men.

Jack was pleasantly surprised to finish 1st in Elder Statesman category.

Congrats to Sister Sarah Carnegie 1st in Lady Gunfighter!

And the 2023 Australian Single Action National Champions – The Terror and Violet Rose – congratulations.

To the Frontier Shooting Club, as everyone has been saying all week and beyond, this truly was a fantastic match that in our minds rivaled shoots we’ve been to in the US. Other clubs here now have a lot to take away from this and make their shoots also something to be talked about.

Well played guys, well played.

Kat xo

The final day of main match, time to claw back a bit of yesterdays disasters. it is a much much cooler day, with winds and light drizzle.

Stage 11 – Zee’s Mine

The Pikes Peak Gold Rush – Pikes Peak 1859, there’s gold in them there hills. Buffalo Bill was there with 100,000 other miners who got busy with their claims, for with toil and hardship came great reward. But for some, less fortunate or downright lazy, it was easier to take from others what they had earned….at the end of a gun. Take aim and defend your claim.

Stage 12 – The Cantina

Doc Carver is helping you put the final touches to a new shooting exhibition. This one should draw a crowd and really showcase your skills of speed and accuracy. It’s pretty much done except you just can’t decide how it should begin. Which targets are you going to begin with?

Stage 1 – Sheriffs Office

Clay Bustin’ Sharpshooter – it’s try out day and you reckon you’ve got what it takes to be Buffalo Bill’s next sharpshooter. Imagine your name up there with the likes of Frank Butler and even Annie Oakley. This your chance to shine, step on up and show us how it’s done.

Last stage of the day and the match!

Stage 2 – Town Hall

Perils of the Pony Express – Buffalo Bill recalls his time as a pony express rider as being tough, but the relay station boys had it hard as well. When Indians attacked, they were pretty much alone, outnumbered and surrounded. “We all knew what was expected of us, whatever the weather….and whatever the Indians could throw at us, the mail must go through.”

Well not the best finish for either of us but we will see how it comes out in the wash.

It’s moments like these that you appreciate the match, the people, the fun! Trooper ‘horsing’ around at the end. 🤭

Night time comes and we are ready for the banquet.

And a bit of clowning around with Charlie Wagon, Pearl Starr, Clancy and Marksman.

Top 16 was announced at dinner.

Kat xo

Red Shirt Friday, 2nd Day of main match and we are in for another hot day. A few have come down with heat stroke so it’s make sure you’re hydrated throughout.

Starting with a LOCAS photo and Jack and Charlie Wagon horsing around.

Stage 7 – Station

Quiet Achiever – Congratulations, you are part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. This is your acting debit and you’ve been directed to be the strong silent type. In this scene you need to look stern, yet dashing as you blaze away across the station. It’s time to show your qualities.

Stage 8 – Train

The Great Train Robbery – The great train robbery has always been a fan favourite and you have the honor of starting the whole thing off. This is your big break, your first speaking part…..surely no one will notice your slight speech impediment.

Stage 9 – Mercantile

Attack on The Settlers Cabin – The settlers cabin was a regular of the show. This stirring tale revisits the terrors our frontier settlers could face on the lonely open plains. You’re with the cowboys under the leadership of Buffalo Bill as you come to the rescue and repulse the attack of the hostile Indian horde.

Stage 10 – Barbershop

The Grand Buffalo Hunt – The Grand Buffalo Hunt was a real crowd pleaser. Charging buffalo were pursued by hard riding cowboys, discharging black powder rounds. The patrons cheered as the arena was quickly enveloped in gun smoke. Buffalo are a bit scarce here in Virginia, so for your viewing pleasure we have done the best we can.

And that dear readers rounded out the second day of shooting. A number of my shots never made the mark! Front sight…front sight…..front sight.

More side events with the Annie Oakley Mirror shoot, Cowboy and Indian Auditions, last chance at the .22 sideshow and more.

Gourmet hamburgers and side match awards were done this evening. Jack took out the bow and arrow, I won the Annie Oakley shoot for the ladies, Speed Rifle and placed in a couple others! What a blast!!

Kat xo

Thursday and first day of main match.

A 32 degree day means seek shade, plenty of water and at the end of it sore feet and drained.

What a great start with opening ceremony and National Anthem.

We are in Posse’s 3 and 4, starting on stage 3 at The Blacksmith

The New Bulldogger – there’s a vacancy in the show for something called a bulldogger. Seems the last cowboy got impaled…whatever that means. You’re feeling confident because you’re under instruction from the legendary Billy Pickett, the inventor of bulldogging himself. You’ve got this…..surely it can’t be that hard.

A rifle hitch and a miss on this stage for me. Jack had a miss also.

Stage 4 at Open Range (left half of range)

The Battle of Summitt Springs – There has been a gruesome discovery. Tall Bull and his Cheyenne ‘dog soldiers’ have been attacking homesteads, killing, burning and absconding with some of the women folk. In this re-telling you join Buffalo Bill and the 5th Cavalry as you exact a terrible revenge on Talk Bull’s camp and attempt to free hostages.

Another miss for each of us.

Stage 5 at Open Range (right half of range)

Custer’s Last Stand – you’re in a desperate struggle at the Battle of Little Big Horn. General George Armstrong Custer, wishing to attack with haste, has led elements of the 7th Cavalry into battle without waiting for their supplies and their all-important Gatling guns. As the doomed men of the 7th were overrun by the red savages of the Sioux, one can only wonder how things could have been.

Kat – clean, Jack 1 miss.

Stage 6 at the Bank

First Bank Robbery – Ladies and gentleman, here now, we re-enact the first armed bank robbery in US history. It’s February 13, 1866 in Liberty, Missouri. The brave and daring James-Younger Gang, led by the charismatic champion of the underdog, Jesse James, starts an enthralling adventure that would endure for the next 10 years.

A nice clean one again for me on this stage and Jack has a clean one also to round out the day.

Lunchtime and then just like clockwork, it is announced that the side matches will be starting at 1.15pm and once the Frontier shooters have shot their side matches the .22 carnival shoot will be open.

Speed Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Pure Speed, Texas Star Pistol Challenge, Carnival Shoot, Shotgun Challenge and Hicock & Tutt Challenge.

Tonight was Taco Dinner on range with Long Range, Mexican Stand Off and Side Matches from today awards.

Tomorrow on for another day of fun!

Kat xo

A cooler start again to the day, overcast and a chill in the air. Some cowboys and cowgirls gathered to test their eyesight and steadiness in the Long Range rifle.

Pistol calibre started at 50m distance, then 100m and 200m for rifle calibre.

No pic’s for here, what are you gonna see?! 🤣 we had enough troubles seeing the targets without a picture of black dots.

Mexican Standoff Wednesday and it’s hot! Weather has done an Adelaide flip and it’s 30C. Sunscreen and seek shade wherever you can!

Stages were good, distances fine just got to remember how these things work.

Managed to pull off a reasonable day.

All in all a great day for a Mexican Standoff, followed by lunch and a 4 stage warm up. Good to get the guns running again.

The evening was followed up with dinner at the V Hotel with about 100 others, what a turn out!

Kat xo

Out to the range for check in and catch ups.

The range is well set up, super organised, good distances, and a whole lot more!

The Frontier Shooting Club have really put things together well for an excellent week of shooting and fun.

A few range pics!

Shooter packs

The gold coins are a head start for all to gaining an entry in a prize draw. Earn 5 gold coins and swap it for a $5 note, write your name on the back and your in the draw. The more clean stages, the more chances – every clean stage earns you a gold coin. Great concept.

Tomorrow is the start with long range rifle, cowboy clays and the .22 side show alley.

Looking forward to slinging some lead down range!

Kat xo

We made a visit or two with Slap Happy and Lusty Pearl whilst in town. Albeit not participating in cowboy shooting now, they were instrumental to cowboy shooting in this region and both their sons very accomplished in more than this discipline also.

We headed out this morning to seek some parts to fix the car but will need to look at it later as it’s more than just a couple new plugs.

Out to Silverton for a quick look again we drove to the Mad Max 2 Museum.

As we’ve visited the galleries before and it’s too early for the pub we hit up the Bakery for a coffee and apple turnover.

22km’s back to Broken Hill and around another 10km’s out to the Living Desert Sculptures.

An interesting visit to interpretive works by many sculptors from around the world.

We could have walked another 2.2km trail but the flies were keeping us from venturing far!

Back into town again we made our way to the Line of Lode Miners Memorial in grand prominence overlooking the city of Broken Hill.

The cafe/visitors centre is no longer operational but the memorial is unique and recognizes some 800 miners from 1800’s through to 2019 that have lost their lives working the mines in Broken Hill.

It’s a poignant space looking out from the mullock (pile of mining waste material), formed of steel timber and glass.

For some reason there is an oversized park bench up there also……yep, you know I had to! 😂

Thanks Broken Hill for a little more history and culture! Tomorrow we move onto South Australia.

Stay safe in your travels!

Kat xo

On the road again, like a band of gypsies we go down that highway, …on the road again…..

Jack and I set out at a reasonable time this morning – mainly to let the wildlife do their thing and hopefully not encounter them on the road.

It’s a long drive of nothing from Broken Hill through to Virginia now. The train track follows along beside as we headed on through these little places…

…and it had a pub.

Oodla Wirra and a quick stop at the quarantine station to make sure no fruit vegetables or livestock been taken into South Australia.

Terowie ….Why Yargowie who ya gonna sell the beer to?

Gallett then Burra, the map diverted around town but we went back in for a pit stop.

What a quaint, looked after, little town.

The fields then turned greener as we head down into even more sheep/merino farming country entering into Gawker region and northern Adelaide hills.

We are finally in Virginia, South Australia – ready to drop gun carts, check in, unload and get set for the week ahead!!

Kat xo

Awoke to clear skies and not a breath of wind. Compared to the previous evenings fire storm like winds, 32C/89.6F temperatures and enough to blow a dog off his chain!!

Ready for the next leg to Broken Hill, we pass through Warren – ‘wool and cotton capital’ has a massive track side f Ed and fiber production delivering straight to trains ready for shipping.

Only just caught a glimpse on the fly of their painted tank (don’t think it was a silo) with wheat down the side of it.

Next was Nyngan where we are now classed as ‘Outback’ well outback NSW. Dirt is changing colour to rich reds, it’s dry and the roads are flat.

Onward through Cobar (old copper mining town) to Wilcannia the road is long and inhabited with emu and goats…and plenty of them!

A few more hours of long roads of nothing to finally arrive in Broken Hill, Australias oldest mining town established in 1883. Silver and lead has been mined from one of the largest and richest orebodies in the world.

There’s a whole lot more history to this town than just the mining industry although it is the major factor.

More tomorrow! Safe travels for those heading south tomorrow!

Kat xo