The Firing Line

Can you sense it? The leaves are changing, the nights are getting cooler, that’s right its time for the Fall Nationals. This national I’ll be celebrating my 35th birthday, as my dad likes to remind me, he has only missed one national it’s the one I was born during. I always told him that was poor planning on his part. As a child I loved having birthdays at the fort, I would brag to my friends about the cool mini vacation I was going on for my birthday. As an adult, well not much has changed. I get to celebrate my birthday shooting around friends. This issue is the large one, the post national issues always are. We have some great articles and some fantastic pictures taken by all our photography staff. Special thanks to Allissa Weber who designed the photo layout for this issue. Thank you to all of our writers for this issue as well. We have a wealth of knowledge in this organization, and I love helping it be passed onto the next generation.

The N-SSA means so much to me, since becoming your editor I’ve had numerous opportunities to be on podcasts and guests on webinars talking about the N-SSA. I hope to continue doing this outreach to grow our great organization. Like other shooting organizations we are growing. But to continue growing we need to reach out to the next generation of shooters. I implore all of you, help grow our sport. Teach the youth of today the joys of shooting black powder. We have the most unique sport in the country, we need to let others know about it.

As always, I like to share a little glimpse into your editor’s life. Since the last issue there has been some good news to share. My wife and I have adopted a new black lap puppy. As many of you know I am a mental health and substance use therapist, well this new puppy is being trained to be used in my services as a therapy dog. On the shooting front I am pleased to announce that I have joined the ranks of professional athletes as my wife likes to say. I have become a sponsored shooter. I now shoot for Team Muzzle-loader.com. If any of you decide to make the trip to Friendship for the NMLRA nationals, I’ll see you there.

Until next time. Keep your powder dry and your shot X’s Eddie Davenport 11366V Skirmish Line Editor.