I shot at BLOOMSDALE, MO. last year. It was the shoot that I will always remember. It has been going on over 125 years, no one knows when it first started. This is truly an old time shoot. Bloomfield is a town of about 400, the shoot is in town behind the bar, The Dew Drop Inn. It is shot at 30 yards off of two picnic tables. You BRING a board, 1"x10"x2' is about right. You mark X's on your board with a pocket knife and use a spotter (3 practice shots) to cut center. Your partner or someone places your board up for you when you get to the table and you shoot, go reload and get in line for your next shot. Waiting in line is some of the best part. Everybody knows what they are doing and nobody manages anybody. That means, if you are not a seasonedshooter, you do not belong at this shoot.
They shoot 6 shots and they do not even look at shots that don't cut the center of the X. The "locals" shoot mostly from the right table and foreigners from St. Louis and Minnesota shot from the left. You won't have heard any of these shooters names before, but have no doubt some of them can cut centers with the best.