Two Beard's Muzzle Loading Adventures
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In 1965 I moved into town from a 1 1/4 acre ranchett. At my work a group of us were generating interest in Black Powder shooting. Some were thinking of building their own guns and others weren't as confident in their ability to do this so we were looking where we could purchase a gun. We thought of going hunting and having shoots, etc. Someone found out about Dixie Gun Works and sent for a catalog. We all poured over that catalog for weeks. Someone in our group happened upon a fellow that built Muzzle Loader's as a hobby and he even corresponded with Kirkland Turner (DGW founder).
I offered my shop room to hold meetings in and lo and behold we formed a club. The High Desert Muzzle Loaders were now in existence. Officers and by laws and all. We held shoots entered parades and some of us did the dear hunt thing. We had associated ourselves with the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) where we received information on shoots and Rendezvous and period clothing. Twobeards wanted buckskins and had to wait till enough were collected to home fabricate a set.
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In 1968 our club with two other nearby clubs generated enough interest to travel to Grants Pass OR. To join their club and we formed what would be known as Western States Muzzle Loaders. This shoot is still held around the labor day weekend.
In 1970 Twobeards became President of High Desert Muzzle Loaders and during this time we continued to Support Western States and we held meetings with Officers of a central California Club and again about four clubs got the California State Shoots on firm footing and these shoots are still going strong.
It was during one of these State shoots that I acquired the handle of Twobeards, which was bestowed on me after a skinny dipping episode in the San Joaquin River. You must draw your own conclusion on this.
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I served two consecutive terms as president and in 1978 I served another term, and that is enough.
In 1990 I moved to Oregon and was in the process of building a house and everything that goes into bare land to home. One of the contractors found out that I was a Muzzle Loader and offered to sponsor me into the local club. I jumped on that offer and found it a very active group. Since this group was well in hand I was looking for how I could assist Muzzle Loading in something. I soon became aware that there were too few opportunities to hunt with Muzzle Loaders, only controlled hunts. I joined the Oregon State Shooting Association (OSSA) which is the NRA affiliate in Oregon. I was interviewed for and was appointed to the post of Black Powder Director for the state of Oregon with OSSA. This opened some doors for me to help perpetuate ML. One OSSA member who lobbied for the NRA in the Oregon legislature introduced me to the Associate director of the Oregon Dept. Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) gave me a contact for future use. I attended meetings now of ODFW and OSSA all over the state.
At the start of my endeavors the Black Powder community had 285 controlled Muzzle Loading tags for elk hunts. I looked at the ODFW records on Rifle hunts and Archery hunts and could see where Muzzle Loaders did not have a proportionate share of controlled hunt tags. The ODFW has to present their budget to all parts of the state by holding meetings in five or six areas of the state. I found out where these meetings were being held and contacted dedicated Muzzle Loader's to attend these meeting and I gave them a little canned spiel to present at these meetings. Well when the ODFW came to my area guess what, I knew the moderator (Assist Director - ODFW) and the first thing he did was offer me 500 new controlled Elk tags and told me I had really made my point throughout the state. All I could say was Thank You Very Much. Oregon now has 2,404 controlled hunt Elk tags for the year 2001. I tried to work all the little niches in the hunts to get more tags. The 285 original tags were all cow tags, 1995 of the 2,404 now are ANY Elk tags. In the same year we had 3,841 applicants for those 2,404 tags. I had traveled to my hunt area and checked in with the ODFW in that area and asked them if there was room for a bugling hunt for bulls and would like to see tags for about 25. They said they would check. About a week later they called me and said the COW season for Muzzle Loader's was in the bugling season and it would be easier to convert that season to a ANY ELK season and would I be OK with that and again I said Thank You Very Much. I think the main reason for my success is I ask them what they can do and I don't tell them what I want. You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
My next endeavor came when a club member approached me that the Inline shooters were taking over our controlled hunts and the traditional Controlled hunts were being usurped. A lot of thought went into how we could make a change in the regulation kind of after the fact.
I now knew the Game Management head guy for ODFW who is a Black Powder shooter himself. And I also knew the head Game Warden (the Oregon State Police - division Game - are our Game Wardens). I always made sure he was able to enforce any changes that I might ask for. We did not ask for the inline to be banned, we only ask that they shoot in the same manner we do, percussion caps or flint, loose powder, open iron sights, no sabot type bullets, caps aren't enclosed... I have to admit it was quite a trip going before the Game Commission and testifying for the first time. Any time I asked for someone to attend a meeting I wanted them in their skins or period clothing, and I do think that made a lasting impression. I worked with some others (3) to help me write letters and make phone calls. Those regulations are now in place and this did not happen overnight, maybe 3 or 4 years. I feel I can now step back and let someone else take up the torch.
While the Elk Tag thing was going on I also worked with ODFW on the fine tuning of the Black Powder controlled hunts for deer. It has been a very noticeable impact to our opportunities that I am quite proud of. |
| ~Al Grieshaber |
Any questions, please feel free to contact us, Al or Pat Grieshaber at alfredg@charter.net.
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