Sure thing, here is what I sent to the others who asked: (editted)

They are all over the US. Just get a copy of Smoke & Fire News, through your library or a website. It lists events that are coming up and and that will tell you what clubs are around you. There are also many that don't advertise. Many events are not open to the public. It also lists civil war and other types of events.

I should mention, if I didn't think there were things about the Medieval Reenactment/Recreation groups that were worthwhile and thus making it worth fixing things, I wouldn't have much to say. I'd just ignore it.

One thing to keep in mind about MM/bucksinners is that they police their own ranks pretty heavily and are not as open to new people as groups/events like the Medieval Reenactment/Recreation groups and Burning Man are. Most of them require that a member vouch for you before they let you in the club and then you usually go through a probationary period of a year or so. It's also a good time for you to check them out and see if you like that group or want to go elsewhere. All of the ones I have seen are pretty family oriented but a few can get pretty redneck, which is hardly surprising considering the subject matter.

It may sound picky and hard to get accepted but on the other hand I have never had anything stolen at a mountain man event and even with the drinking often being even heavier than at Medieval Reenactment/Recreation groups events or faires, I have still never seen a fight. I've seen thousands of dollars in guns and gear lay on a table all day and even overnight and never move except when someone knew who it belonged to and took it to them.

Even with prizes at stake at some of the big shoots I have never seen a conflict that was not resolved maturely and respectfully.

They also have huge regional gatherings, running 20,000 people and more.

Most of the groups I've met also embrace historic style archery and native american reenactment or members inclined to choose that garb and kit style. When I say embrace I mean sit down and carve your own bow from scratch and make your own arrows and there are a lot of people to help you do it. We have some great archery shoots and knife/tomahawk matches at our club. The place is so nice that a local, and particular nice, especially for the Midrealm, SCA group rents the club for events every year.

In many ways there is much to be learned from the MM crowd that would be highly useful if applied to other historic based hobby groups. The level of authenticity is often higher but the help and tolerance until you get there is also a lot higher.

The jerky, wild game, dutch oven and campfire cooking in that crowd is second to none.

To dispell a few myths about buckskinners/mountain man groups, based purely on my own experience over the years:

Most clubs could care less about the national muzzle loading association. Many aren't even NRA members.

The degree of emphasis on shooting, archery, thrown weapons and camping varies widely as well.

Only bigger events are called Rendezvous, others are called shoots or just gatherings.

James, thanks for the tip. I'll check them out.