Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L

No offense taken. That's the beauty of a free country. We each get to balance our personal actions against our own perception of the risks involved. My comments are intended only to express my wishes for the safety of all in the path of this storm. I have many good friends in Florida, (some who will even admit they know me ) and I have seen one in particular loose everything in a past storm. Be safe, and check in after the storm has passed.

What Sun said, get out of the way and deal with the aftermath, after it's gone. As hard as it may be, things can be replaced, people cannot. Stay Safe!

I think this storm is likely to completely reshape the eastern seaboard of Florida. Glad I visited Daytona again this year, it may be in Georgia by the time this thing ends. Now, for those of you who have been putting off getting those much needed repairs done to your roof and installing Hurricane Clips, may I present the Ronco Roof-O-Matic Retension System. Available for a limited time at Tractor Supply, Southern States, and many Truck Stops along the highway. Not to make light of a tense situation, but you guys check in once the storm clears. Looks like the west coast will escape the brunt of this storm, but those along the eastern seaboard, Be Safe!

Still calling for this storm to grow make Category 4 before making landfall on the east coast of Florida. Then it looks like it's decided to turn right and take the I95 corridor straight up the coast. I'm seeing numbers of like 20" of rain over a wide area. 

Just about everything built in Florida since Andrew has been CBS, Concrete, Block, & Stucco. In flood prone zones, like the Keys, everything is 8-10' up on stilts. Often there is a lower level built between the pilings, but the walls aren't attached to the pilings so the storm surge will just wash them away leaving the upper floors intact, assuming the surge is less than that. Problem is that a large portion of Florida was built a long time ago. The Condo my wife and I own (Been in the family since new) was built in '77 as I recall. The codes were much different back then. I often wonder if the windows in the place could withstand a stern talking too, much less a hurricane!

Which ever model has it cutting a path of destruction straight across the state and then sitting over top of Oldsmar/Dunedin for 48 hours would be my bet, the AEMI model in this chart. The place we stay down there seems to be a hurricane magnet!

I just figured you wanted to make sure they found you when you went out for more beer.

BEACON?? Like This??

We are safely up here in Maryland, just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, having returned from our summer vacation in Florida just 2 weeks ago. Looks like we got out just in time! It's what I keep telling Lil, Snow Season in Florida, Hurricane Season in Maryland, watch it all on the Weather Channel, and spend the rest of the time where ever there is a good Cowboy Shoot! Now if only it weren't for that pesky thing called W*RK! Good to know you will be A-OK, and where to find Wyatt if the SHTF. I would imagine that Waimea won't be far behind.

To all my Florida Pards, Keep an eye out for Dorian. Latest info I saw says this is going to be a bad one. The Weather Channel is calling for this storm to grow to a Category 4 before making landfall on the east coast of Florida somewhere around Fort Pierce on Labor Day Monday. I know that for many of you, hurricanes are just part of live down there, but Be Safe and Be Prepared! Do not wait until the last minute to get your supplies, or get the heck out of Dodge! This one could be a bad one! You can track the official information at the National Hurricane Center website.

We clean the carrier after every match (Shooting BP in a straight walled case can get messy) with a brush, but about every 5th match or so we run them through the tumbler with steel pins and JohnBoy's secret cleaning solution (which is published here on the wire somewhere). Dang things look better than new when they come out. Have not seen any appreciable wear as a result of the process. If having them clean makes them faster, it certainly hasn't helped my game any, but then it may take a brain transfer into a younger body in order to do that, or maybe a smarter brain into this one!

Thank you all for the kind comments! It's glad to know that everyone had a great time. I have added the Side Match & Special Awards information to the web and the link below will take you directly to it, (you may have to refresh your browser.) Sorry for the delay, stuff happens.... Once again, congratulations to Two Gun Tuco and Spinnin' Sally as the overall match winners and to everyone else who came out and played Cowboy with the Thurmont Rangers at the 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede, you are all winners in my book. As for the rest of the scores, they can be found here. Links on the Website have be updated, but you can access the scores directly using the links below! 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Main Match Scores - Overall Finish 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Main Match Scores - Category Finish 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Main Match Scores - Clean Matches 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Side Match & Special Awards Until next year...

What A Match! Sounds like everyone there had a great time, and the weather was as good as it gets for early August in Maryland, but I'm sure you all are tired of me hoggin' this thread, so I will refrain from my normal verbosity and give you exactly what you came for, The Winners and the Scores! So, without further ado, Congratulations to Two Gun Tuco (fresh out of retirement ) as Top Overall and Top Male beating out the 2nd place finisherTombstone Coty by 0.02 seconds. That's right "Blink" and You Lose! Talk about close finishes! And a Huge Congratulations to Spinnin' Sally as Top Female who continues to dominate this match "for like forever" and one of the nicest folks you will ever have the pleasure to meet. You would be hard pressed to find better representatives for SASS or the Cowboy Way than these two. As for the rest of the scores, they can be found here. (Links on the Website should be updated later today, but you can access the scores directly using the links below!) 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Main Match Scores - Overall Finish 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Main Match Scores - Category Finish 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Main Match Scores - Clean Matches 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede - Side Match & Special Awards I would like to close by saying that it was a pleasure to see so many names from the past listed among the shooters this year, and especially to see Two Gun Tuco return to place at the top of the leader board. If that's what "A Little Bit Rusty" looks like, better watch out if he ever gets oiled up! Truly, I am thrilled to see you all back, even for a little while, you have all been greatly missed. Lastly, I want to extend my most since congratulations to Dutch Coroner who had the reigns for the Mason Dixon Stampede thrust into his hands and who, without hesitation, stepped up and put on a fantastic match! I have absolutely no doubt that the Stampede will get better and better in the years to come. Congratulations, Pard! And I would be remiss if I did not I extend my most sincere thanks to the rest of the Mason Dixon Committee, Misfire Maggie, M.T.Chambers, D.Q.Dave, Chance Calico, Rifleman CW, Dakota DJ, Ruger Rose, Duece Diamondback, Catoctin, Ca$h Caldwell, and to the TCSC Kitchen Committee as well as all the Thurmont Conservation Sportsman's Club members, and to everyone else who helped to make this match possible. Without YOU ALL, this would not be possible!

Looks like three more folks managed to get their applications in to Dakota DJ before she slammed to door on the Pony Express Rider! And I thought the last 5 were the "Olympic Level Procrastinators", I'm gonna have to come up with another category! And, if the rumors are true, there is one more on the way, must be coming by slow boat from China! That brings our current total to 141, exceeding our attendance last year by 36 shooters. Campers bumped up to 26 as two more decided to join the evening festivities with the "Thurmont Regulars". When I was at the club last, the pool sure looked good with lots of folks enjoying the cool water on that hot day. It is going to be a great place to cool off after a smokin' hot match! Maryland maintains it's strangle hold on 1st Place holding at 40, Pennsylvania holds 2nd at 27, and New York, holds fast in 3rd with 18. Way To Go NY! North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia each add one to their totals so let's give a a big welcome to Single Barrel Sam, High Cotton Kitty, and Mad Dog Max who have decided to join the party. The latest, and possibly last, update to the Who's Coming List has been posted online. I will try to do one more from the road if/when "The Boat" gets in, but that will all depend on the internet connection I have at the time, and if my Grand-Kids, Summer Breeze SASS# 103640 and DooHickey SASS#103641, give me 30 minutes of down time. Apparently, they have completely planned out all of my time for the next couple of weeks! Let's hope I survive it!

Registration For The 2019 Mason Dixon Stampede Is Officially Closed! Looks like the Pony Express finally dropped the last of the registrations off to Dakota DJ and this will likely be the last update of the Who's Coming List. With the match less than two weeks away, this should be it. That said, we added 5 more "Olympic Level Procrastinators" to the shooters to the list taking our final total to 138 Shooters! That exceeds our attendance from last year by 33 shooters. Campers remain unchanged at 24, not counting the "Thurmont Regulars". And the pool, well I can tell you that it is being well tested by more than a few folks at Thurmont. It is going to be a great place to cool off after a smokin' hot match! Looks like Maryland snuck in one more to Maryland end up at 40 shooters, Pennsylvania added 2 more bringing their total to 27, and New York, while holding fast at 18, still taking the #3 spot in attendees. Way To Go NY! Virginia, not to be outdone by PA, also added 2 bringing their total 16 just shy of New York. While we didn't break past 13 States, I am pleased to see the Skinny is among those returning to the Mason Dixon Stampede, all the way from Texas no less. Along with many of the "Aliases From The Past", I expect that every one will have an absolutely awesome time, with a great many Campfire Stories... OK, way too hot for a fire, maybe... "Pool Side" Stories From Days Gone Bye. Breaks my heart that Lil Feathers and I will not be in attendance and will miss seeing everyone, (haven't missed a Stampede since 2004 as I recall) but the new date for the Mason Dixon Stampede conflicts with a long standing, and unchangeable, extended family annual vacation. We knew that was the case when the dates changed, but seeing the increase in attendance, and the return of some of the long absent folks to the Shooters List, certainly shows that it was the right decision. Here is to hoping that Everyone Has A Fantastic Time! Lastly, if you look at the Who's Coming List and you do not see your alias, and you are 100% certain that you sent in your application by the deadline, contact Dakota DJ ASAP (Her contact information is on the Shooters Application) and let her know. Posse assignments will be finished soon, if they are not already done, and it will be next to impossible meet your "Posse With" requests.