Boofest 2013 photos thread

[Boo]

Special thanks goes to Danny Miller and Dan Faherty for their very generous donation to the Kayla fund!
I am very grateful to have help from Gena, Moni, Bob and Sandra!!!! Without these people Boofest would have been much more work!
Chuck McAnany, Kevin Wheeler, Dan Flaherty, The Michigan Crossbow Federation, Laura Scharich, Craig Greentree, Norm and Patty Dworatschek, Mike Zaitz, Wes and Cathy McCallum, John Neilson, Kevin and Gina Gray, Frank Torres, Terry Barnum, Kevin McLaughan, Rick Thibault and anyone I missed (I knowed I missed at least one) gave gifts so a big thank you to youz guys!

[Boo]

Lucky Don had any firewood! Wife wanted it all for carving so instead Don and his wife got a three hundred pound tree trunk for me to bring home. HONESTLY! Thanks to all that helped me load it for the ride home.

Kevin, if you could only have seen yourself! Toooo funny to watch. You could see the question in your face.... how the hell am I going to get this sucker out! All I can say is you sure must love that Wendy, but then that part is easy to understand because she is a sweetie!

[Bullzeye]

Hey kev, most people leave BooFest with great memories, only you would try to bring the woods back with you

[R.J.]

Great picture guys and gals ! ... looks like a fun time had by all > That looks like a beauty property set up for such an event !

Thanks for sharing with those of us that had to work the weekend ... Cool pic's !

[VixChix]

We missed you this year Rick! Hopefully one of these years the schedules work out and you can make it. I know you'd have a blast!

More photos to come - still have to upload to photobucket....

[DaGriz]

Certainly appears that everyone had a great time!

[VixChix]

More photos:

Sheila - JKrug's wife - celebrated her birthday at BooFest as well:


Kiss the cook!


Waiting to compete at the distance shoot:


Shucks/Dan shooting 10's at the distance shoot:


Marcel/Tremps at the distance shoot:


'Shucks in The Ride:\

Some musical entertainment:


Was great to have the TriggerTech crew there again and get to shoot their awesome product. Here's Kevin/ Wheelie chatting with Mats the TriggerTech guru:


Jim/JKrug shooting at the range:

[VixChix]

There were some issues with my xbow - we couldn't get the Redfield Revolution to zero with the HHA Optimizer mounted (ran out of vertical adjustment on the scope).

My heros Danny Miller, Awshucks, and TPM spent a good deal of Saturday afternoon trying to work out the issues. I will admit to just about being in tears over "just one more thing" with my bow.

Here Awshucks is preforming an Opti-dectomy on my beloved Vixen:


TPM preparing to scrub in for the surgery:


'Shucks doing a product review:


Test firing....


Awshuck's expression tells the story:


After all was said and done, my Vixen recovered and I breathed a sigh of relief and I enjoyed shooting the 3D with her after that.

BIG THANKS to Danny, Dan and Tim for working through the frustration for me, and for Rob for loaning me his magic arrows for 3D.

Now... I just have to figure out how to set it all up with the Optimizer again...

[VixChix]

You want more photos? OK - you asked for it...

Jim/JKrug and Rob/ Xbowkidd:


Someone left their beer...


Pretty sexy footwear for the 3D course!


Was great to have the original Team DryFire shoot together again! TPM and I haven't shot with Rob/Xbowkidd for quite some time and it was a good reunion. Rob is a great guy to shoot with -he's got a fun sense of humour and he's good competition.


TPM on the course:


We were also glad to welcome Laura as an honorary member of Team Dryfire on Saturday.



Good shooting Laura!



BigJohn and Kevin/DoeMaster going to pull arrows:


Kevin/MaineHunter with Paul/Farmer:


Laura without a camera in her hand:


BillT, Tim & Kevin/Wheelie:


Awshucks and BillT deep in conversation:

[VixChix]

Some of you remember the whole Awshucks pink nails challenge last year. Didn't have a shoot off this year, but there was some pink anyway:

Laura brought a special present for Dan:
No peeking!


Someone is peeking!


Just his size:


TPM & Shucks - proud supporters of the Michigan Crossbow Federation!


Dan and his pink leis:

[maine hunter]

vix, the wife and i are very happy you eon that great bow, looks very nice!!!!

[VixChix]

Kevin/Wheelie gifted our son with a great little xbow. THANKS WHEELIE!
Ben put it to good use right away by putting a stalk on Don's inflatable decoy:



Taking the shot:


Posing with his trophy. It's going to be easy to gut - has a handy-dandy zipper in the right place!


Thanks to Don for letting Ben adopt the decoy!

[VixChix]

Everywhere you turn at BooFest there are groups of people who share a love for the outdoors. Everyone gets along and it's so easy to have a conversation with anyone there! Here Gena/Cookies is with Sheila & Jim/JKrug and Norm's wife Patty:


Big John and Tracey:


Terry/Munch and his little boy Aaron in the background (red shirt):


Paul/Farmer - he's a sensitive guy!


Norm and Patty:


Tom chatting with TriggerTech Mats:


Tom, Tim & Wes/MrMeat


If it's not the love of the outdoors that binds us the together, it might be the love of home baked treats! BIG THANKS to Gena/Cookies who made sure we were "sweet"!


If you run out of people to chat with there are always 4-legged friends:



Especially if you have food:



Drinks are more likely to attract 2-legged friends.


Our hostess who does the mostest! Karin was always on the go. I know she puts great deal of work into making BooFest so wonderful for all the rest of us - we really really appreciate all she and Don do!

[VixChix]

A highlight of the weekend has come to be the awards and the prize draws. It was especially exciting to incorporate the fundraising aspect this year. What a great way to express our thanks by giving to the community. So many people donated to the prizes and so many people supported the draws by buying tickets - several made cash donations to the cause as well. What a great bunch of folks!

Craig of Gagnon Sports starting off the official part of the evening awards and draws:


The "MillBilly Family" ready to do some winning!


Danny Miller had a pile of tickets to keep an eye on:


'Shucks & BillT sharing the Moonshine!


The view from the outside:


After the draws it was another perfect night to enjoy a fire:

[VixChix]

On Sunday things wind down a bit, campers pack up, but people are still showing up, shooting, socializing...

Spotted this and thought someone was living dangerously: Fortunately, no crossbows were run over at this year's event!


'Shucks forewent pink on Sunday and wore this instead:


This was one of my favorite people in the morning! Harry a.k.a. Sliver was the faithful Timmies coffee delivery. MUCH APPRECIATED!


BillT was also happy to see him on Sunday morning!


Terry/Munch came up on Sunday with his wife, son and nephew - he brought along this zombie-slaying beast (I believe it belongs to his nephew):


Had a chance to shoot the 3D course again on Sunday - enjoyed as much as I did the day before. This time Tim & I shot with Marcel and Joel - a pleasure to spend some time with them and to get to know them better!

Here is Marcel with his Matrix and an excellent shot on a nice buck!


Paul/Taz showed up on Sunday as well and brought his wife Anna along. I didn't get any pictures of Paul (sorry Paul!) but here's one of Anna with Marcel's Matrix about to shoot a bullseye! She's a great shot!


I love it when women step outside of their comfort zone and try something new. It can be kind of intimidating at an event like BooFest when you're surrounded by a bunch a guys who already shoot, but I hope all of the ladies who picked up a crossbow on the weekend continue to pursue opportunities to shoot.

Guys - I honestly believe that the future of hunting and shooting sports depends on getting the ladies involved. If the women shoot, the next generation of kids are more likely to as well. Do everything in your power to encourage women and the youngsters to give it a try. They don't have to take it up as a new hobby, but at the very least they won't be anti's.

Companies & sporting organizations need to spend time and money figuring out how best to reach the women. It's not just about putting out pink or bling - it's about involvement.

Stepping off my soapbox now...