Rifle/horn/pouch raffle

[mongrel]

Backstory (jump down to "Raffle Particulars" if the "why" of this raffle is too lengthy or doesn't concern you):

On the first day of deer firearms season, in November, a local hunter named Aaron Watson, of Moore's Hill, IN, had his tree stand collapse under him. He fell 30 feet and landed badly, sustaining a separated pelvis, a broken shoulder blade, twelve broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, and a variety of other internal injuries. He also contracted pneumonia. He was kept in an induced coma to allow his body to heal somewhat. Now home, he's wheelchair-bound and faces a long series of therapy sessions and possible further surgeries to repair the damage done.

The American Legion of Milan, IN is supporting several of its members in sponsoring a variety of fundraising efforts aimed at relieving some of the financial burden that this ordeal has placed and will continue to place on the Watson family. My personal experience with post-surgery therapy involved only a badly-mangled index finger, thumb, and palm as the result of a table saw accident, and my share of the cost of those sessions was right at $100 apiece. Aaron's therapy will no doubt be more extensive and expensive, with that cost being added to some obviously significant hospital bills and the simple hardship of his family having lost his work income for a good long while.

I don't know Aaron personally but he is well-spoken-of in our local communities as a man who has always stepped up to give when a need arose.

Now he's the one who needs and to meet at least a small portion of that need I added the rifle, below, to my schedule, finishing it a few days back and after work, today, turning it and the horn and pouch pictured with it over to the committee responsible for raising money to assist the Watsons. The package of rifle, horn, and pouch will be raffled, with the opportunity to buy tickets extending into late February, 2013. Because the committee (two very nice ladies) is a bit overwhelmed by the extent of donations and pledges that have already been made, I've agreed to handle the selling of raffle tickets on this particular package.

Raffle Particulars

What the winner will get is the pictured .50 caliber percussion rifle, powder horn, and double-pocket shooting pouch. The rifle was built by Mike Lange of Choose Your Weapon LLC, of Dillsboro, IN. The stock is curly maple with a length of pull of 13 3/4", finished to a light red-brown shade beneath linseed oil. The barrel is a 30 1/4" x 1" NOS item by Numrich, with 1-62" deep-cut rifling, ideal for laser-grade accuracy with patched round ball. The barrel has been cold-blued to a dull, even blue-brown, with the remainder of the steel parts fire-blued. The lock is a Lancaster model from Dixie Gun Works. The rifle has double-lever set triggers and fixed sights. As with all rifles that come out of my shop, this gun carries a full life-of-the-firearm warranty against mechanical failure or other problems that arise in normal usage or due to the off-chance of a defect in workmanship. Any necessary repairs, parts replacement, and postage involved are my complete responsibility.

The finely-handcrafted, period-correct powder horn and wide checkered strap was generously donated by Mike and Stacey Broucksou (a.k.a. Rev and Peach Pie) of Shea's Mountain, purveyors of top-quality horns, knives, and other accoutrements for discriminating customers. The creamy white horn is scrim-ready but looks completely awesome just as-is. Rev and Peach Pie are located in Cave Creek, AZ, and their store website is sheasmtn.com.

The double-pocket pouch was handcrafted some years back by Tom Hargrove, a.k.a. Two Bellies, who has slipped from the radar recently but is well-thought-of as a kindly man, a Vietnam Veteran, and a first-class leatherworker. He gifted the pouch to me and I am re-gifting it to this cause.

All-in-all this is a fine package for the hunter or rendezvouser. I'm a whitetail hunter and built this rifle to perfectly-serve that purpose in a traditional fashion.

Tickets are $5 apiece, or SIX for $25. Tickets will be considered paid for, and either set aside for or mailed to their buyers, upon receipt of the appropriate funds. This raffle ends with the delivery of my mail on Saturday, February 23rd, 2013, and the drawing of the winning ticket will be on Monday, February 25th.

Please understand that I am not in a position to set tickets aside as they are "spoken for" -- they will become the buyers' property only upon receipt of funds and in the order that those funds arrive. Any payments arriving after the 23rd of February will be regretfully returned in full to their senders. It's up to the buyers of tickets, whether or not I hold their tickets here or mail them out. Either way, I will be posting full details of who won and total funds raised as soon as possible after the drawing of the 25th.

Shipping of the rifle, horn, and pouch is included in the cost of the ticket(s) purchased.

The address to send payment to is:

Mike Lange
13266 Sunset Drive
Dillsboro, IN 47018

Make checks and money orders out to me (Mike Lange) -- they will be converted to cash and the cash forwarded to the Legion. Be double-sure to include ALL contact info (name, address, phone number, e-mail if you have it) with payment, as well as stating exactly how many tickets you wish to purchase and whether or not you want them held, here, or mailed to you.

Thanks in advance for your greatness of heart in contributing to this very worthy benefit.