Phoenix

[Kenny Wasserburger]

So here is a breakdown of my extra cost for fuel to Phoenix and back.

For those of you that claim fuel costs kept you home, from 8 days of shooting, do the f..ing math your excuse isn’t valid.

So I used 85.5 gallons of fuel each way going to Phoenix. At 4.99 avg cost coming home per gallon. Going down it was about 4.45 avg total 426.64 or $ 807.11 for the trip.
Last year fuel was avg 3.45 cost per gallon. For 294.97 each way or 589.94 total.
807.11- 589.94 is 217.16 extra for the fuel this year.
Conversely I stayed at Ben Avery for 21 days for $423 total water, sewer and electricity. Way cheaper than a hotel. It breaks down to just over $20 a day.
Folks if an extra $217.16 for fuel keeps you home and not attending 8 days of shooting in balmy Phoenix.
I submit to you this.. sell the camper, sell your guns, sell your truck.
Stay home buy a set of lawn darts. It has a projectile and you can keep score.
Do the math and quit fuck whining.
The time spent with friends enjoying the warmth, and the competition, the comaradie of fellow shooters that is priceless. Besides the beautiful trip and all the places to see and visit.

Kenny Wasserburger

[Don McDowell]

Amen

[Don McDowell]

The dates for next year appear to be fixed shooting starts March 28 and completes on April 6

[SFogler]

This would be a good time to listen to Kenny.

Also there is a lot for wives to do in the nearby area. If there was ever a long range match that was also "wife quality" this one is it.

[Don McDowell]

This was the first match I've been to that had door prizes just for the wives, and they were good girly stuff to boot.

[semtav]

Only whining going on around here is from the lack of moisture ( and maybe price of fertilizer and chemical !!)

While you guys were playing with guns.................................

airdrill.jpg

[desert deuce]

AND NO, I had nothing to do with the selection of prizes for the wives raffle. Deb Rueter, Ricks wife, volunteered for that task and helped the ladies whose numbers were drawn identify and evaluate some of the boxed items. According to those ladies present Deb did a splendid job.

Then came the task of clearing the donated prize table for the men. I believe we went through the draw pot 4 times and started on the 5th before we ran out of goodies but I was too busy to keep count anyway. Jim Dorrell scored a nice annealing machine, Don Johnson won a substantial SKB padded case, looks like for a scope or maybe handguns, Robert Wilkes went home with a heavy duty vault like rifle gun case and the prize of the night went to Ed Keller, a stunning piece of metallic art of old glory in colored enamel, by artist/shooter Dennis Armistead, with a facsimile of an original Creedmoor target superimposed on the stripes.

Also provided on the firing line and in the pits was plenty of bottled ice water with many flavors of All Sport Powdered Electrolyte to keep both hydration and electrolyte levels up.

I see KW was too modest to mention his role as Celebrity Entertainer to the Competitors or his ad hoc position as Principal on the Vigilance Committee wherein those not fully enjoying themselves might have faced a traditional hanging if a suitable tree could have been located, however, the miscreant plead no contest to the charges and promised to reform and was allowed to continue. (Note: doubt the rope would have held the subject even if a suitable tree was located.)

All in all it was a high quality fun match put on by shooters for a great bunch of competitors.

[Dennis Armistead]

For the new shooter and seasoned pro...you can't beat the experience and knowledge that can be collected by shooting 8 straight days in demanding conditions. Sorta like the Daytona 500. This was a great match, I got to see old friends and make new ones. This is what long range shooting is all about, whatever the cost.
Dennis

[Don McDowell]

1948DFFF-58E9-4250-A06C-35DDF8F1CD10.jpeg

I see KW was too modest to mention his role as Celebrity Entertainer to the Competitors or his ad hoc position as Principal on the Vigilance Committee wherein those not fully enjoying themselves might have faced a traditional hanging if a suitable tree could have been located, however, the miscreant plead no contest to the charges and promised to reform and was allowed to continue. (Note: doubt the rope would have held the subject even if a suitable tree was located.)

All in all it was a high quality fun match put on by shooters for a great bunch of competitors.

[Don McDowell]

Group photo

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[semtav]

Only whining going on around here is from the lack of moisture ( and maybe price of fertilizer and chemical !!)

Did I mention wind ?? Am pretty sure there is more whining going on about the wind than any high priced commodity !!!!

70 mph Dust storm heading my way. Aren't disk drills and chem fallow wonderful ??

[ian45662]

When gas started coming up I started questioning our trip to Raton but then I did the math. I had originally calculated the gas at 3.50 , which I think the national average was around 3 a gallon at that time ,but re did it at 4.09. With the camper I estimated an average mpg at 8. The added cost in gas only adds 2-300 to the price of the gas for the trip. In the grand scheme of things of all the money I spend doing this, that is nothing. The trip will be a very memorable one as neither one of us has been west of the Mississippi, which I am not counting the Brief time I spent at Fort Hood since we were not allowed to leave the baSe.

[bpcr shooter]

20 more years til I retire....then I will be there!!!

[JonnyV]

I can’t wait to retire. Thinking about getting an RPod and hitting the circuit…

[Don McDowell]

The nice thing about how the Desert International schedule is laid out, being retired isn't a necessary thing to attend, so long as a fella can take a 2 week vacation.