The
12th Annual Buffalo Wallow Assault Weapon and Croquet Tournament
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Lynn and I were invited to take part in the annual Buffalo Wallow Assault Weapon and Croquet Tournament. So, on Friday, June 22, 2001 we hopped into my trusty 1988 Volvo sedan and headed down I-5 from Olympia. This trip provided a wonderful opportunity to see more of the Pacific Northwest, since I had been more or less confined to the Puget Sound area since arriving here eight months ago.
Cutting over to Rte #205 and then joining I-84, which parallels the Columbia River, we turned east toward Pendleton, Oregon. Outside of a brief visit to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, this was my first real visit to the state. I was impressed by the beauty of the Columbia River area in the western part of Oregon. As we proceeded eastward, however, the beauty of the mountains, pine forests, and the Columbia River Gorge area turned to an arid high desert. The contrast was startling (and I was to find the same contrast on our return trip via Walla Walla and Yakima, Washington). I'm a green hills and forests kind of guy, and the topography of Eastern Oregon did little to comfort me during the five-hour trip. Even the agricultural lands of the Pendleton area were too reminiscent of the Middle East for my taste. But, we persevered onward, the Volvo doing what Volvos do, mile after mile.....after mile.
By six that evening we were in Pendleton. After checking into the hotel and bringing our luggage and guns into the room, we freshened up and drove to the Red Lion, where we met our shooting companions for dinner. I knew Barrett, our host, from an internet forum on WWI aviation. The other members of the party were total strangers, but we soon felt right at home, chatting about this, that, anything, and (of course) guns. Most of those present were former police officers, so it was a very enjoyable, and interesting, conversation-filled evening.
The following morning we drove to the nearby sheriff's range for a day of target shooting. Here are some images from that day.
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What can I say?
It was "Testosterone Heaven" for the participants.
Lynn defends "Wake Island" against Japanese hordes.
After firing five shots from the Browning .30 cal, Lynn was required to draw her pistol and get as many hits on the targets as possible with a 7-round clip. She done good.
Jim makes a valiant stand against hopeless odds.
Hitting the target from 100 yds. The lady next to me is the wife of a police firearms instructor. Guess who got the better score.
Reinforcements? Hell, no! We can handle 'em.
Most of these guys were really good.
Private:
Why us? Why does it have to be us?
Sergeant: Because we're here lad.
Tie
scores were decided at the Croquet Tournament.
However, due to the violent and graphic nature of the event, we cannot reproduce
the images on this site.
Created in Dreamweaver 4.
©2001 Michael Baram