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Rain or shine rendezvous is on target
GUN4-01-09-10
Joe Rivera fires off a shot with his black powder gun through a window of a replica town. - photo by HIME ROMERO

FAST FACTS

• WHAT: Freezearse Rendezvous sponsored by Manteca Sportsmen and includes trail walk, trader’s row, primitive camp, tin teepee area, traditional archery trail shoot and hot dog lunch
• WHEN: Today and Sunday starting at 8 a.m. both days
• WHERE: Manteca Sportsmen Club, 30261 S. Airport Way near the San Joaquin River
• COST: Trail walk (25 creative targets) $5 to $15 depending upon whether it is pistol, rifle, or arrow and age of participant
• MORE INFO: Call 823-7919

Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone were among the great frontiersmen in early American history.

They’re also the inspiration for this weekend’s Freezarse Rendezvous at the Manteca Sportsmen Club.

The three-day event continues today at the facility located at 30261 S. Airport Way. Ned Nelson, who, along with his wife, Ava, and Joe Kroeze, is among the organizers for one of the oldest rendezvous on the West Coast.

“(Saturday) is our big day,” he said. “But with the (wet) weather, we’re hoping to get 80 participants.”

Nelson estimated that last year’s event attracted about 100.

Those at the rendezvous are locals or here from the Bay Area, Sacramento and even as far as Southern California.

The public is invited to see shooters and archers, for extra points, dressed as frontiersmen of the 19th century take aim at the various targets along the trail walk.

 The event kicks off at 10 a.m., with the Sportsmen Club consisting of vendors along trader’s row, a primitive camp, a tin tepee area, archery trail and trap shoot, to name a few.

No alcohol is permitted on this dry camp.

Those attending will likely hear some bantering among the participants using firearm of the 1800s. But it’s all in good fun, according to Ned Nelson.
“If someone has a problem, they’re always the first to help out,” he said.

The trail walk includes 25 targets, varying in points, value and difficulty, according to Nelson.

The top three finishers in each of the shooting categories and the best primitive camp will be recognized at Sunday’s awards ceremony.

The rendezvous has been a fixture at the Sportsmen Club for the better part of 30 years. Nelson, who is on the Sportsmen Club board, has been helping out for the past 10 years.

He looks forward to Freezarse Rendezvous, where the old West comes alive.

For more information, call the Manteca Sportsmen Club at (209) 823-7919.