The typically tranquil community of Teakean-Cavendish will be shaken up as over 200 people gather in North Central Idaho for a weekend of explosives and guns at the seventh annual Boomershoot, May 7-9, 2004. In honor of Mother’s Day, mothers will participate in the Mother’s Day Blowout event, shooting for free on Sunday, May 9th.
“The Mother’s Day Blowout is about honoring our strong women,” says Joe Huffman, Event Director. “Moms will use high-powered rifles to shoot at reactive targets,” says Huffman.
Over three days, 1250 reactive targets containing over 2200 pounds of high explosives will be detonated at the shoot -- enough to be heard over seven miles away, causing cars and houses to shake over two miles from the range.
Huffman points out that explosive targets will be detonated, rather than bombs, “Explosives are used to for entertainment whereas bombs are used for destruction. Our goal at the Mother’s Day Blowout is simply to have fun.”
Huffman, a Senior Research Scientist for a government laboratory, started the Boomershoot in 1998 to give people a safe space in which to enjoy the recreational pleasure of guns and explosives. He is also a certified firearms instructor and has an ATF license to manufacture high explosives.
“It’s like the 4th of July in May, except instead of setting off fireworks to celebrate our country’s birth, we shoot at explosives to celebrate the birth of our children,” says Lisa Clyde, Boomershoot participant and mother of two. ““This will be a Mother’s Day I won’t forget.”
Included at the Mother’s Day Blowout will be appropriate décor for the moms: flowers placed around the mothers’ shooting spots.
Diverse shooters and spectators from across the country are expected to attend the Boomershoot, including law enforcement officers, scientists, engineers, members of the Boeing Pistol & Rifle Club, and Microsoft Gun Club. Others are gun rights activists, such as Stephanie Sailor, who ran for U.S. Congress in ’00 and ’02 as a third party candidate (SailorVsTheMachine.com).
Other highlights of the shoot include Project Fireball, a colossal fiery explosion (Boomershoot.org/general/fireball.htm) and a precision rifle clinic taught on May 8 by Major (Retired) Gene Econ, formerly an Officer in the US Army Special Forces. Econ is currently a marksmanship instructor for the 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) at Fort Lewis (Boomershoot.org/2004/clinic.htm).
For the past six years, the Boomershoot has maintained an unblemished safety record, with participants adhering to strict standards of safe gun handling and operation. Spectators are welcome at this year’s event; shooter positions are expected to sellout. Special spectator/participator slots, including the opportunity to mix explosives and shoot rifles, are available to media representatives.
For more information, please contact Joe Huffman at 208.301.4254, or Stephanie Sailor at . Visit the Boomershoot website at Boomershoot.org. ###