Tim Oltersdorf
Active member
The past year is gone and with it the 2008 Gulf Coast benchrest season. It is time perhaps to reminisce on what worked and what didn't last year in our region populated by Texans and Cajuns. Given the unique culture of this area some of the experiments tried last year were outside the envelope so to speak.
The decision of all the male shooters to stop wearing underwear at the matches was carried unanimously by acclaim at the regional meeting after a rousing speech by Jackie Schmidt in which he coined the phrase "Let our brains breathe". The speech was so good he was nick named the Gulf Coast Obama. I am told he has strong reservations about this nick name. Shooting commando as it was named had to be abandoned after the first warm weather match in which shorts were worn. Several shooters were charged with unsportsmanlike conduct by the referees and one large, hairy, blotchy pink colored shooter muttering "I'll show you unsportsmanlike" attempted to shoot nude. He was arrested and after drug testing was found to be completely sober. We apologize to the regional director Scott Hunter for having him inconvenienced like that.
Speaking of Scott Hunter; he was indeed caught on FBI tapes trying to sell his directorship. His words were "All (bleep) right! $1500 and not a penny more. You are the (bleep) director now, not me! I will send you the money tonight".
It was a year of diversity in the gulf coast with people of all races, creeds and ages welcome. The motion to restrict match participation to those who can prove they were born of married, human parents, failed because of the likely loss of most of the present membership. Also failing was a motion to propose a new classification system in benchrest not of guns but of shooters. The names of the classes would be the same with one substitution. Sporter would be replaced by ugly. This died after discussion detailing how all other regions, with the exception of the Gulf Coast, would hold an unfair advantage in the ugly class.
A large number of gadgets showed up during the year. Arnold Jewell had a Farley type movable front rest that resembled something out of a Terminator movie. The diesel powered cleaning rod was a great idea from the folks in Midland but needed refinement. The bureau of magic, always lively in the Gulf Coast League, was out in full force with air density meters, computers, tuners, detailed charts and graphs as well as exotic potions that they smeared on their rifles, equipment and sometimes themselves.
All in all it was business as usual. There has been one positive trend in the Gulf Coast. Membership and interest in Denton seems to be growing. This happens to coincide with a closing of the local mental hospitals and an increase in local UFO sightings. Whether there is a cause and effect relationship will only be known in 2009. Tim
The decision of all the male shooters to stop wearing underwear at the matches was carried unanimously by acclaim at the regional meeting after a rousing speech by Jackie Schmidt in which he coined the phrase "Let our brains breathe". The speech was so good he was nick named the Gulf Coast Obama. I am told he has strong reservations about this nick name. Shooting commando as it was named had to be abandoned after the first warm weather match in which shorts were worn. Several shooters were charged with unsportsmanlike conduct by the referees and one large, hairy, blotchy pink colored shooter muttering "I'll show you unsportsmanlike" attempted to shoot nude. He was arrested and after drug testing was found to be completely sober. We apologize to the regional director Scott Hunter for having him inconvenienced like that.
Speaking of Scott Hunter; he was indeed caught on FBI tapes trying to sell his directorship. His words were "All (bleep) right! $1500 and not a penny more. You are the (bleep) director now, not me! I will send you the money tonight".
It was a year of diversity in the gulf coast with people of all races, creeds and ages welcome. The motion to restrict match participation to those who can prove they were born of married, human parents, failed because of the likely loss of most of the present membership. Also failing was a motion to propose a new classification system in benchrest not of guns but of shooters. The names of the classes would be the same with one substitution. Sporter would be replaced by ugly. This died after discussion detailing how all other regions, with the exception of the Gulf Coast, would hold an unfair advantage in the ugly class.
A large number of gadgets showed up during the year. Arnold Jewell had a Farley type movable front rest that resembled something out of a Terminator movie. The diesel powered cleaning rod was a great idea from the folks in Midland but needed refinement. The bureau of magic, always lively in the Gulf Coast League, was out in full force with air density meters, computers, tuners, detailed charts and graphs as well as exotic potions that they smeared on their rifles, equipment and sometimes themselves.
All in all it was business as usual. There has been one positive trend in the Gulf Coast. Membership and interest in Denton seems to be growing. This happens to coincide with a closing of the local mental hospitals and an increase in local UFO sightings. Whether there is a cause and effect relationship will only be known in 2009. Tim
