A little bit ago I attended a match with the American Single Shot Rifle Association (ASSRA). While they are not specifically dedicated to black powder cartridge, they have a few matches that fit both my rolling block and trapdoor fairly well. The one for the trapdoor is for military rifles with military sights at 200 yards shot offhand. The ASSRA is what I consider a "somewhat vintage" organization that controls the vintageyness of rifles not with a specific age, but rather by outlawing bolt actions. You'll see some brand new falling blocks, but all falling blocks look vintage, so what the hey? In the case of military rifles, it means a trapdoor is about all there is, as the next generation was the bolt action Krag. I didn't specifically discuss British or other falling blocks and trapdoors, but I assume they're legal. Whatever the reason, 3 trapdoors stood shoulder to shoulder in mortal combat. The target, just slightly smaller than a barn, shimmered in the distance. I'd only once before shot a match with stock sights, and was at a bit of a disadvantage without the Buffington setup. No matter, with keen eyesight, a rock stead hold, perfect form, and of course an excess of humility, I just managed to squeeze out a win, my first match win with the trapdoor.
A few weeks later I attended a mid range "gong match." Gongs are hung at 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 yards. Each person shoots in turn and spotters try to tell you where you hit. This was my second match at these kind of ranges. My first was a silhoutte match where I did rather poorly. I managed to hit 42 of the 50 rounds, which was near the bottom of the group attending, but not shameful.
The next day was the "Old Soldiers" match dedicated solely to trapdoors. There were about 7 in attendance, mostly rod bayonette style. One had been built up from parts just a month or so before. The same routine was shot. My score dropped to 24. Still this wasn't the worst out there. The best, however, was astonishing at 45.
Shooting was done in typical format, prone on cross sticks.
Below you can see the Buffington sight (not mine), poised to compete.
I'm glad I've found a couple of events where I can still bring the old soldier out to the field and march him though his paces.
