Idaho & Montana Road Trip - Part 4

At last things were starting to move smoothly and as planned, in spite of arriving in Missoula a couple of hours later than originally planned. We got the RV parked at a friend's place, and turned in for a good night's sleep. We awoke at a reasonable hour, considering there was a match to shoot, and started getting everything ready to go. We had plenty of time to swing by a local restaurant and get a good breakfast before heading out to the range, or so we thought. Fortunately our host reminded us that we better get on the road or we'd be late for the match. We had forgotten that we had traveled far enough East that we were in a different time zone and it was an hour later than we thought. No restaurant breakfast for us! We jumped into the RV and headed for the Deer Creek range in East Missoula.

We met up with Ty, the match director, and I agreed to R/O one of the pin bays for the day, and KeeWee offered to help with the scoring. Soon everyone was blasting away at pins with great enthusiasm. It even looked like the weather was going to cooperate a bit and it was only going to get up to the low nineties, which for Missoula this time of year is fairly moderate.

Bill, on the line, is one of the top shooters we see every year at this shoot.

The basic match format is each ticket you buy gets you three runs at the pins, with five on the table. Your two best runs are combined for your score. You can buy as many tickets as you can afford and shoot as many times as you like. Centerfire pistols and long guns have to shoot every pin clear off the table. Rimfire rifle and pistol only have to knock the pins over. There's also a "9mm.- 9 pin" class where they set up nine pins on the back edge of the table and you have to shoot all nine.

Mr. C. shooting the Taurus 66 .357 single action in the Single Action class.

KeeWee shooting the High Standard in Rimfire.

A common question from new pin shooters is "Where should I aim?". The answer is "Right there!". (A bit more powder might be a good idea, though......)

Here's the nearly almost but not quite world famous Taurus PT-92 "Econo Race Gun" and the "Taco" grip in the 9 by 9 class.

By mid-afternoon the unaccustomed heat was starting to get to both Keewee and I, being as we are used to more "Seattle-like" temperatures and rain. Fortunately the match finally wound down and we all pitched in to dismantle and store the pin tables and pins.

We all gathered in the shade under the covered pistol range to talk over the match and share stories while Ty sorted out the scores. Jennifer had won "Top Lady" with a second in rimfire pistol and a good time in rimfire rifle, thanks to Ty loaning her his Ruger 10/22 to try. Next year we'll have our own 10/22 to take to Missoula! I had entered rimfire pistol, single action revolver, and 9 by 9, and did OK in all three. KeeWee also got an award for "Most Supportive Spouse" and I won an award for "Most Reputable Media Representative". None of the local radio or TV stations that had promised to be there showed up all day. Actually I think both Keewee and I got the media award together, since we are both gun bloggers and have written about the Missoula Montana Shooting Sports Association Celebrity Pin Shoot in the past.

After the match was all wrapped up, Ty's dad Gary, Ty, KeeWee and I headed to the local McKenzie's Pizza place for an excellent dinner.

After dinner we said farewell for another year and hit the road for home. We stopped at Vantage again for some sleep, then the next morning, after a hearty breakfast in Ellensburg, headed West on I-90 towards home. We stopped at a fruit stand for some Eastern Washington produce, then back on the road. A quick stop at Lake Easton to check out the campground as a future destination, then back on the road and across Snoqualmie pass.

Coming down the West slope of Snoqualmie pass, as we neared North Bend, we heard what sounded like a muffled explosion under the hood. Now What? Almost instantly the temperature gauge pegged, and I limped down the off ramp into North Bend, grinding and graunching noises coming from under the hood.

I made it to a gas station, and came to a stop in the back where I could assess the problem. The water pump bearing had completely gone to pieces and the seal had blown out the front of the pump, followed by all the coolant.

I checked at the gas station and it turned out there was an auto parts store only three blocks away. I walked to the store, and they even had a new pump in stock! Two hours later I had the new pump installed, everything filled with coolant, and we were back on the road again.

From North Bend everything went smoothly, we caught the ferry back to Whidbey Island, and finally, we were home. WHEW!

It had been a long weekend with highs and lows, but we had a good time, met some great new folks, and will definitely do it again next year, but hopefully without the mechanical problems.