Group holds knife throwing, shooting competitions

Many Tales to Tell:
John “Tall Tales” Hinote throws two hawks at a time. Hinote has been a member of the club for many years and served approximately nine years as the Northern Free Trappers and Muzzle Loaders Club president.

Approximately 300 people gathered for a weekend of friendly camaraderie: shooting black powder pre-1900s rifles, hawk and knife throwing, a Dutch oven cookoff and a visit to traders row to buy their goods. The event, called a rendezvous by the Northern Free Trappers club, was held last weekend on a ranch west of Cottonwood.

Different competitions were held through out the weekend. The most popular of them were the shooting events, which included a 25 target shooting range, that took a course through the hills, and provided shooting for black powder rifles and pistols for the young and old.

In a shooting contest called the "Long Gong," competitors each take their turn shooting at a cylindrical target uphill. Those who hit it keep shooting at further distances each round until the lone shooter is left.

There is also the popular "Stake Shoot," where teams are put together and stakes are driven into the ground. A mark is painted on the stake half way up. Team members take shots at the stake, the first team to shoot the stake in half wins.

Up on Traders' Row, 35 vendors sold their supply and craft items to rendezvous attendees. Wares sold included clothing, hand-made bead work, cast iron cook ware, wooden furniture, blankets, black powder gun supplies, throwing tomahawks and knives.

It is said that if you plan the season right, you can go to a different rendezvous every weekend of the year around the state.

The tradition of rendezvous began when the wildmen, fur traders and the Indians would come out of the wilderness after surviving for six months or longer on the provisions that they had. They would meet at a certain location and trade their goods for the items that they need to get through to the next season. Rendezvous were also a time for celebration and being reunited with those that had not been seen in awhile.

The next rendezvous by the Northern Free Trappers and Muzzle Loaders of Cottonwood is the Darryl Burbank Memorial Turkey Shoot in November. The event is a benefit fundraiser for a child with cancer.