So, Boomershoot appeared to be a big success this year. Looks like everyone had fun and there were plenty of 'splosions to entertain those of us who like things like that. I really would love to make it to one some year, however there are some pretty big hurdles I'd have to overcome.
Outside of travel and lodging, my biggest thing is that Boomershoot appears to cater to the long range shooter, something I am most definitely not. I appreciate the dedication and skill it takes to bolt a firearm to a bench and pull the trigger then pretend the accuracy is all about you. Just kidding, I understand what it takes to really reach out and hit things at a thousand yards repeatedly and can understand why it's such a big competition model. It takes an attention to detail I simply do not have nor do I find interesting. The results I find fascinating, just not what it takes to get there.
Me? I don't go past 100 yards. I'm not a hunter and even if I did start hunting here, it'd be primarily hogs, and that's not something you shoot a quarter of a mile away. The reason I shoot the way I do, generally offhand, is because I shoot to see what I can hit while in the position I would more than likely find myself in – standing up, butt naked from the waist down, wearing a tiara and coated in 10W-40.
Wait… Ignore that I said that.
Even with iron sights, I can generally hit a paper plate at 100 yards with my AR. The M44 stops at 50 yards for some odd reason. Past that and I seem to miss quite a bit. Give me a good red dot on the AR and I'm nailing it every time. At Blackwater, I sucked at the pistols, but nobody laughed when I grabbed the Para TTR and starting alternating between two targets with each shot.
Because I don't hunt, I don't really have a long range rifle (well, the M44 might fit that bill, but I've already explained why that's not an option) so I would have to purchase something that would work at Boomershoot. I'm sure there's someone who could lend me something, but without being comfortable with the rifle (i.e. practicing with it for a while), I'd probably just burn a lot of money in ammo. I don't use powered scopes so my familiarity working with them is low.
In short, I prefer being able to hit something given practically any rifle with any ammunition at distances that are closer to what is most likely for me to encounter in my life (if a war breaks out that requires me to shoot the bastards from a longer distance, I'll learn really, really fast). I do have the feeling though that long range shooters could be handed a random rifle and ammo and still whack the targets at 100 yards just fine.
Of course those people who can nail a gong at 230 yards with a pistol are a whole 'nother breed.
Update – Just in case I'm not being clear, Boomershoot is a benefit to the shooting sports and the 2nd Amendment and at some point in my life, I am going to attend even if I have to sell a kidney to do so. Long range stuff isn't my forte, so it will be a much bigger challenge to me than many others. That's the point I was trying to make.
The attention to detail and the attention span required aren't characteristics of everyone.