NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, July 22.
SEQUIM — Re-enactors this week are exploring what it was like to be an American frontiersman during the late 18th and early 19th centuries at the 44th annual Rendezvous hosted by Peninsula Long Rifles.
The rendezvous, which began Thursday, will run through Sunday at a 20-acre site southwest of Sequim at Slab Camp Road, organizers said.
The event is free to spectators not participating in the events, said Rich Kemp, second in command for Peninsula Long Rifles.
“They are very welcome,” he said. “Guests who aren’t participating are free to join us at no charge.”
Those interested in participating in shooting sports can register at the gate.
Registration for those participating in shooting sports is $40 for shooters 16 and older, $20 for those ages 10 to 15 and $10 for those ages 5 to 9 for a well-supervised peewee class.
Registration for non-shooters who plan to camp is $30 for those 16 and older, $20 for those ages 10 to 15, $10 for those ages 5 to 9 and free for those 4 and younger.
Registration includes a steak dinner, entertainment and educational programs Saturday, and a pancake breakfast Sunday.
The gathering includes several activities such as trail shooting, range shooting, primitive archery and tomahawk throwing, said Kemp.
The club is devoted to the art of primitive shooting, according to its website at www.peninsulalongrifles.com.
“You walk through the course and there are different positions where you shoot at different targets,” Kemp said.
“We don’t allow any modern cartridge weapons.”
A hay scramble and candy cannon for children also are planned, Kemp said.
Many traders are on site to offer period items, he said.
Black powder 101
For the first time this year, visitors can participate in Black Powder 101, a free, hands-on class that will teach participants to load and fire a black powder, muzzle-loading firearm, Kemp said.
“We are actually going to let visitors and guests — with instruction from an experienced individual — shoot a black powder muzzle-loading rifle,” Kemp said.
“We are talking about a lead ball and we will let them shoot it at a target under instruction. It is amazing how accurate those old systems were.”
Getting in character
Registered participants dress in period costumes ranging from the French and Indian War through to about the 1840s, Kemp said.
Commemorating this period in American history “is part of the allure,” Kemp said.
“You get involved in the historical weapons and firearms and then you start learning a little bit about the history.
“We encourage people to pick a period in history and form your costume and your weapons around that historical period.”
Some choose historical figures to base themselves upon, he said.
“People will actually pick a particular individual,” he said.
Kemp said he portrays a beaver trapper from the early 19th century.
“I shoot a percussion cap pistol and a rifle and wear a leather buckskin shirt,” he said.
“My particular period is the fur trapper period — the Mountain Man period.”
Directions
To get to the camp, take Taylor Cut Off Road south from U.S. Highway 101, then take a right at the “Y” intersection onto Lost Mountain Road.
From there, take a left on Slab Camp Road, which is a dirt road. The site is about half a mile farther on the left.
Signs will be posted.
The five-mile drive from the highway takes about 10 minutes, organizers said.
For more information, visit www.peninsulalongrifles.com.
________
Features Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
