I went, I saw, I shot. Didn't necessarily conquer.
The PROs:
1) In Rimfire Challenge (RC) you get to shoot a lot! There were 5 pistol and 5 rifle stages. You shoot each 5 times. 6 targets each. That's 300 rounds IF you don't do any makeups. Good thing I took 500 rounds. I actually shot 332 rounds so there were some makeups. On one stage I missed the stop plate so I just emptied the mag on it.
2) Tim Norris, on Board of Directors of RC, came in from California to make sure everything ran well and to compete. He's a great guy. Gave us some good tips.
3) Rockcastle has 5 plenty big, action pistol bays and 8 cowboy bays. The estate is 2,000 acres and also includes shotgun ranges, rifle range and golf course. They even have their own cave which probably connects to the Mammonth Cave complex. Oh they also have their own winery! They grow some of their own vegetables, the salads are especially tasty in the restaurant.
4) The Rockcastle owner and family couldn't have been more polite and eager to please. The sons did all the RO duties so we didn't have to do anything but paint the targets.
5) I don't have a copy of the full scores, but the RO said I finished 3rd in Open Rifle, behind this other really fast pro and Tim. Cool.
6) Winners got a year free membership to Rockcastle shooting and something else(I forgot what). Everything else was random drawing. I got a nice pistol case. Plus Tim gave me $50 gift card to Timeny Triggers!!!
7) That evening we sat around the outdoor veranda and a local band played and we consume a few beverages. That was cool, too.
PICTURES:
Here's Tim Norris and he's watching the owner's son give the match briefing.
More competitors: Elizabeth is 14 and was an excellent shooter.
This was Pistol Stage #1. Looks easy? It was the hardest one to shoot. The firing box is to the right of the picture. Pointing at the ready cone, your gun is lined up with the large steel plate. So do you swing far right and shoot everything right-to-left? Or do you engage the big, easy plate first, then the ones in the back, then the ones on the right, then swing back left for the stop plate? Slowest times were on this stage.
Here we are in Cowboy Town doing the rifle stages.
FUNNIES:
Here's Miss Kitty and I going on the cave tour. Soon as we got well inside I reminded her about the flooded caves in Thailand. Not a good thing I did there.
Okay i wouldn't have gone swimming anyway.
I can imagine all sorts of reasons for this, but am guessing either golfers cleaning their clubs or shotgunners their barrels.
CONS:
1) This was Rockcastle's first RC match and they're were feeling there way through it. Still more communications would have helped. I registered 6 weeks ahead and never heard anything from them. Nobody was approved on Practiscore until 7:30pm the night before. Just a brief email confirming the match would have been nice, along with a few instructions about when & where to meet.
2) The lodge was built around 1964 and is in need of an update. It was 92+ on Friday and the window air couldn't keep up. Upgraded, insulated windows would have helped. Ceiling fans would have helped, also. Yes it is a lodge, but still a little updating would go a long way. I'll say they gave me a great rate and I wasn't uncomfortable. These upgrades would probably even save them some money in the long run.
3) The restaurant is good and the staff bends over backwards for you. Great people. And while some of the vegetables are home grown others aren't so hot. One of the things I judge a place by is their potatoes. Instant potatoes just don't hack it. There's no excuse for not mashing you own. We ate there a couple of times, but for dinner preferred going down to Bowling Green or up to Cave City's Cracker Barrel. Given more time we might have tried the lodges inside Mammoth Park.
4) PICKY 1st World Problems: Yes, they had WiFi. Could have been a little stronger though and encrypted. LED TVs would save them some money too over the CRT one we had in our room. Not that we watched much.
I will say, that if I go back to shoot there I will stay at the lodge again. I'll just be better prepared with my own fan and a large ice chest, that I'll fill at the local store.