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May 7th, 8th, and 9th 2004

Post Event Material

The precision rifle clinic After Action Review is available.

Preparation -- including pictures

Friday Boomershoot pictures

UltiMAK pictures

Sunday Boomershoot pictures

Also see the pictures on other websites:

Some memories

The weather was some of the best we have ever had -- only a small amount of rain and the wind was tolerable.  The targets were some of the worst disappointments we have ever had.  We changed the target containers and the method of preparation.  There were far, far too many that did not detonate.  There were the usual edge hits that would rip a target to shreds and dump the contents but there were some at 380 yards that failed to detonate with a .223.  There were some at 600 yards that failed to detonate with a .300 Win Mag.  Experiments after the event demonstrated that our mix preparation was causing us the problems.  It's easy to fix, in fact it's less work that what we were doing.  We thought we were making things better and we didn't test things sufficiently.  The fireball targets were a problem too.  That problem appears to have been insufficient Titanium.  A few more tests this winter are in order.

The opening fireball targets on Sunday ALL failed to ignite.  Only two out of three of the fireball targets on Friday worked.

We built  tremendous number of targets in a very short period of time.  I had so many people helping, we had good working conditions and we cranked through the production targets.  This is not to say that we didn't have problems.  Electricity seemed to be plagued.  On Thursday the generator wouldn't start.  I borrowed the backup generator from my dad and it had too high of voltage with the light load we were providing.  My brother and I repaired my generator.  Then the batteries died.  We finally finished up on Saturday night with inverters supplied by Tim and Jason running off of Tim's pickup.

Boomershoot being on Mother's Day didn't get me killed or maimed by any of the mothers present. I consider myself very fortunate.

The attendance was about the same as last year which was a disappointment.  But I suspect the Mother's Day scheduling was the problem.

'Celebrities' Kim duToit and Stephanie Sailor both attended although Stephanie couldn't stay for Sunday.

The Clyde Family and my wife Barb all helped with clean up after all the other help 'disappeared'.  That was such a wonderful thing.  I would have been there until midnight working on it if they hadn't jumped in and helped.  They all earned staff t-shirts.

Pre-Event Material

The Opening

If you attended the 2003 event you will probably remember the opening for the rest of your life.  One participant said this:

The demo at the first was worth the fee to shoot & almost stopped our hearts.

This year will be better.  Bring your heart medications and defibrillators.

The UltiMAK Boomershoot Event

This experimental event lets you shoot up-close, fast, and "personal".  Check it out.

Minimum Gun Safety Rules

These are the bare minimum rules which you must follow while at the event.  You MUST have them (or the equivalent thereof) memorized.  Please read the additional rules and clarifications.  These and other rules will be explained at the shooters meeting before you take your gun out of its case.

How to Enter The Main Event

The Boomershoot price and entry is completely separate from the Precision Rifle Clinic.  Friday evening is the experimental UltiMAK Boomershoot.  Sign up for all three to make the most of your weekend.

There are about 60 shooting positions available on both Friday and Sunday.  Each position costs $100.00 ($95.00 if you are Palouse Practical Shooter member or free if you are a mother shooting on Sunday).  This price include Idaho sales tax. If you want to share a position with another shooter there is an additional, but reduced charge for them.  No more than three shooters may share one position.  See the printable entry form for detailed pricing.  If you wish to give someone a gift of a position at the event send the check made out to "FlashTek" for the proper amount and mail it to the address below.  On the check or on a short note say, "Gift for John Doe" or whoever.  Print out the gift entry form and have them send it in at their earliest convenience.  Their position will be held for them, but they must send in the form two weeks prior to the event so they will get all the additional necessary information.

Send your entries to the following address:

PPS Boomershoot
P.O. Box 3745
Moscow, Idaho 83843-1916

NOTE: The '1916' on the zip code is essential!  It goes to the wrong post office without it.

Please indicate which day you are signing up for: Friday May 7, or Sunday May 9.

The entry form has the Minimum Gun Safety Rules which you must have memorized.  Or, if you prefer, Jeff Cooper's four rules of safe gun handling.  Memorize them.  You will be asked to repeat them (take your pick, either the NRA or Jeff Cooper version) when you show up.  Think of this as an I.Q. test.  You don't want to look stupid and go home without shooting.  Pass the test.  You will be expected to follow the rules at all times.  If you don't follow them you will become a non-shooter for the remainder of the day.  Refunds for safety violations will be very unlikely.

You will get an email response confirming your entry.  If you don't get it then send me an email to find out if it has been lost or I have just been lazy in picking up my mail and/or getting the confirmation out.  If you want to reserve a slot then find a partner to share it with you later that is fine.  Send in your entry form with your money then when your partner is ready to send in their entry they should just put a short note on it saying they are sharing a slot with you and send it with the additional money due.

All entries must be received by May 4th.   Make the check out to FlashTek.  You MUST have web access and an email address.  Also, I need phone numbers so that I can contact you at the last minute in case the event must be canceled for some reason.

See General Information for more details on what to bring and expect on site.

Current Status

See also Boomershoot 2004 Preparation

May 4, 2004

Some people have canceled in addition to new people entering and now 28 of the Friday slots and 26 of the Sunday slots have been taken.  We have expanded the UltiMAK event to handle 30 slots and 23 of them have been taken.  "Walk ups" will be welcome in all events except the Precision Rifle Clinic which is full.

Weather reports are moderately good compared to normal.  Slight chance of showers on Sunday but other than that just wind and clouds in the forecast.  Temperatures are moderate.

April 25, 2004

27 of the Friday slots and Sunday slots have been taken.  16 of the 20 available UltiMAK slots have been taken.

April 7, 2004

I just got confirmation that Freeman Creek Concessions will be serving on Friday evening for the UltiMAK event as well as during lunch Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  This is great news for people shooting in both events on Friday -- as well as the workers.

April 2, 2004

There are only five slots left for the UltiMAK event.  Still lots of slots open for the main events.

March 19, 2004

I shot the different ranges the targets will be with a high quality range finder and got better numbers for the different target locations.  The distribution table has been updated to indicate this new data as well putting labels on the ranges in the picture of the range.

March 12, 2004

22 of the Friday slots and 27 of the Sunday slots are taken.  There are only six slots left for the UltiMAK event.

March 6, 2004

Press releases are out.  See the press release page.

25 of the Sunday Boomershoot slots are taken.  Another UltiMAK slot entry is supposedly in the mail.

March 1, 2004

The clinic, as expected, filled up.  I received an email from Eugene saying:

Tell the folks to write me an e-mail asking to be on the waiting list. No money is necessary. I will get hold of them in a first come first serve basis and they can pay me at the clinic.

February 29, 2004

13 of the 20 slots for the UltiMAK event are taken.  21 of the Friday and 24 of Sunday Boomershoot slots are taken.

February 22, 2004

It was a big week in entries.  12 of the 20 slots for the UltiMAK event are taken now.  21 of the Friday Boomershoot slots are taken which puts that event as full as it was last year at the middle of April.  22 of the Sunday Boomershoot slots are taken.   Last year 30 slots were taken by this time.  So on the whole it's running about the same number of entries as last year when Friday and Sunday are combined.

February 15, 2004

There are now 17 of the Friday Boomershoot, 7 of the UltiMAK, and 20 of the Sunday Boomershoot slots filled.  With 2.5 months left I expect the UltiMAK event will fill up, not sure about the other two.  It depends on how many shooting positions will be available in May, which depends on the weather in April and early May. 

February 13, 2004

I have 16 slots filled on Friday and 20 filled on Sunday.   The UltiMAK event has three slots filled.

February 11, 2004

I made it clear on the entry form and other places that mothers shoot for free on Sunday.

January 31, 2004

Entries are coming in faster now.  Sign up soon if you want to participate.

January 18, 2004

I got an email from Eugene Econ.  The clinic is has 10 entries in it already with another four or five who have asked to reserve them slots.  The limit is 24 people so you should consider it half full.  You should sign up soon if you what to get in.

November 29, 2003

The details on the next precision rifle clinic are available now.  There are some significant changes from previous years, lots more shooting for one thing.  Check it out.

October 7, 2003

I have set the target distributions.  Pound wise, it figures out to more than twice as much explosives as last year.  Numbers wise it's about 15% more targets with essentially the same average number of expected shots per target.  Ry and I will be testing out a new target idea soon so there may be some changes in the target size and distribution, but we don't know for certain yet.

September 16, 2003

All things are a go.  The precision rifle clinic will return with Eugene Econ.   Details will be posted when they become available. 

The concrete for the new magazine will arrive at 9:30 AM today.

Size and Distribution of Targets

These are completely different target containers than ever used before.  The interesting numbers are shown in the table below.  The diameters and depth are the "active" interior dimensions where explosives reside.  The outside diameters are slightly larger and are unimportant to the shooter.

I redid the way I predicted the number of shots.  Previously I was trying to make each range "clean" with 90% confidence.  I did the numbers wrong.  Rather than figure out the way to do this properly I just give you the expected number of shots to clear the entire range on the average.  To assure it with 90% confidence would take many more shots.  These calculations assume a .308 Winchester with Federal Match ammo with a shooter capable of shooting five shot groups of 1 MOA at all ranges under perfect weather conditions with zero muzzle velocity variations.  Those perfect weather conditions are degraded to something like a good day of Boomershoot environmental conditions with a 5 MPH wind, a 1 MPH wind error estimation, and a standard deviation of 10 fps on the muzzle velocity.  The probabilities of a hit were done with the computer program "Modern Ballistics".

Target distributions for Friday and Sunday.

Some numbers of note: In 2003 there were 347 targets each day. This time there will be 625.  Combined with the targets used in the precision rifle clinic there will be over 1300 targets available.  In 2003 there were 107 1 Q targets.  In 2004 there will be 300 of equivalent explosive weight.  In 2003 there were zero four pound targets, in 2004 there will be 70 four pound targets.  In 2003 there was a total of about 670 pounds of high explosives used.  This time there will be over 2300 pounds used.  In 2003 it was expected to require a little over 760 rounds to clear all the ranges.  In 2004 it is expected to take over 1187 rounds.  The average number of shots hit a target will be 1.9 as opposed to 2.2 in 2003.  So, to sum it all up, there will be 80% more targets, 340% of the explosive weight, they will about 15% easier to hit, and the average target will contain nearly 200% of the explosive charge.