2103 Smoke Reports

The ongoing saga of the gun purchased in Boone and shot around the Country!
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smokem
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April 15th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Good morning and what a beautiful weekend in North Carolina. Three shoots over the weekend and a two-day event at BGC. There are two events coming up this weekend including Old Hickory Rocky Mount and Ft. Bragg. Last but not least is the Dogwood at the NC Homegrounds with this being the only time to shoot at the HG before the 100th Annual NC State Trapshoot.

Steve Watson hit the road Saturday and rode up to Buncombe for a day of shooting. Tom Shelley has/had the flu and was unable to travel with Tom Pitts pleading the “fixed income” excuse. Steve took A with a 96/7 and D Class shooter Marty Wood won the singles with a “99”. Pretty good turnout with 3 squads I believe up in them NC Mountains. BamBam slid off the hill last March 18th to the Buckhorn GC prior to shooting at the Dogwood. He must have made sticky note to just wait and shoot at the Dogwood. With a 98/199 in singles, 86/77/94 in caps and 85/93/97 in the dubs he should be ready to get it done at the DWood 2013…..

Mac Herring had a visitor from Kansas named Kevin Blackwell Saturday. Looks like Kevin might be relocating to NC in the near future and I would just like to say come on down. Kevin won the flip with Greg High for singles, Danny Lloyd won the flip for caps with Dave David and Mac won the doubles and the HOA……Next shoot is May 18th so mark your calendar and please plan to attend.

I got some basic info from the two-day shoot at BGC. Saturday Tim Crabtree won the singles with a 100 and the caps with a 96. Dan won AA with a 99 and dropped the bird late in the 100. Jimmy and Curtis Baker tied in doubles with 94’s and would carryover to Sunday. Dan had the pair by 4 and opted not to shoot the dubs so as to give James R. Wilson a chance or so Dan says……..Sunday we had a very happy birthday boy named Braxton “Baxter” Ragan. Baxter broke his 1st 100 in singles on his birthday and congrats to this young fellow. I will endeavor to get the scores posted tonight sometime.

Two shoots this Saturday with Old Hickory @ Rocky Mount and Ft. Bragg shooting typical 300 target programs. Al Bost called me to let me know to post his program and Marty posted his own info and thanks for getting it on the web. Normally I post a single thread in trapshooters.com to catch folks traveling through the area. I heard tell that Charlie Smith at OH@Bostic had folks visit him due to info posted on our NC trap websites.

The Dogwood at the NC Homegrounds is just around the corner and it will happen April 25th through the 28th. This will be your last chance to shoot competition targets prior to the 100th Annual NC State Trapshoot June 5th through 9th. I am hoping to get up there one day and it might be during the week instead of the weekend. I always have a great time at the Homegrounds and looking forward to the Dogwood – NC State – Southern Zone (July 18-21) and the Hall Of Fame shoot in September.

The 34th Annual Southwestern Grand American is over and we had to folks from our neck of the woods attending. Charlie Brown and Bob Goodman made the trip and they experienced some tough weather early in the week. Both Charlie and Bob broke 100’s in singles during the week with Charlie winning Sr. Vet in the Tuesday singles. Other than that it looks like Ricky Marshall and Harlan were shooting great. $100,000 winner Devon Harris won the singles on Saturday with a 200 and an undetermined number of carryover shootoff targets. I am hoping to get to talk with Charlie to see how the week went as soon as he gets back to NC.

I believe PAT trap mechanic Vince Valois will be making the rounds working on PAT traps in South Carolina and North Carolina at the end of the month. That might be a tough job but an important job keeping those traps working properly. He is a pretty good shot also when he doesn’t have to work on those stinking traps. He should be by the Rockingham GC before the May shoot on the 4th.

Lane Murray has got Hunter Murray out on the trap range shooting these days. He shot three rounds Sunday and using a 20 gauge he has become pretty accurate. Lane is getting him ready and it won’t be long be fore he will be whipping all of us. I think of Spencer Power and how he has progressed through the years. A father and son shooting and traveling together creates some great memories just ask the Galloway’s and the Callan’s. Lane sent me some pictures and I will try to get them posted tonight sometime.

I got my hall pass to attend the GA, SC, NC State Shoots and the Konne-Yaut Indian shoot in July. I might be able to make the Zone for the weekend. I am also thinking about retiring on July 1st and working out details as we speak. I hate to go early but having a heart attack or stoke due to stress only has to happen one time to get your attention. Then I guess I will be on a fixed income like Joe Nimer used to say.

JC Nunn has been getting some practice in and is the proud owner of a new fangled security system at his home. We went shooting one time and he walked out and forgot to shut his door. Nobody broke in but the police had to search his house to be sure there were no bad guys pilfering his valuables. He is looking forward to the shooting season and he can’t wait to get out and rolling. July 13th he will turn 90 and we will celebrate at the Ruffsdale Gun Club in Pennsylvania.

Have a great week and we will get all scores posted including Buncombe and Buckhorn. Hello to Lou and please tell me that you will be attending the NC State Shoot in June? Until next week about this same time………………………Smokem……
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April 22nd Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Top of the morning to you and are you ready for the Dogwood? Shooting starts Thursday at the North Carolina Homegrounds and I hope you can make it. As I have stated in previous smoke reports this will be the last time you can shoot at the HG before the 100th Annual NC State Shoot June 5-9. Weather looks marvelous with 75-72-68-70 for the high and winds at 8-7-8-7 for the competition event. Of course weather can change but it does look real good for the Dogwood.
We had two shoots over the weekend and a non-registered shoot at the Rock. I also have a quick overview of the 2-day Buckhorn shoot last weekend. Buckhorn had a 2-day event with some great scores broken both days. Saturday Tim Crabtree won the singles with 100 and the caps with a 96. Curtis Baker won the doubles and the HOA. Sunday Dan Johnson broke one of three 100’s and took the singles and the HOA. Tim won the caps with a 95 and John Miller won the doubles with a 95. Buckhorn shoots May the 11th and for some unknown reason I did not have it posted on the site…..

Al Bost sent me the info on their shoot the 20th and Ernest Henry won the singles-handicap-doubles and the HOA with a 259. Ft. Bragg hosted an event the 20th also and Curtis Baker won the singles and Ed Rabenda won the caps. The Bolan brothers rode down from VA for some NC targets and we are always happy to see them in the tarheel state.. Old Hickory shoots May 18th and Ft. Bragg shoots May 25th so mark your calendar.

Upcoming State Shoot dates – Georgia May 2-5, South Carolina May 15-19 and of course the NC State June 5-9….. Also on the horizon the Zone at the HG July 18-21… A lot of shooting going and it is the season for shooting thank goodness. I will be hauling the crippler around to some of these events so please say hello. I pray that the weather holds up for all of these events – that would be great…

The Rockingham GC held their Lewis Class Fun Shoot Sunday and 15 folks showed up for the event. We had some first timers and several are in the process of joining the ATA. Doug Starr led all singles shooters with the lone 49 and Tommy Brown, Lewis Wyatt and Freddy Redmon led all caps shooters with 47’s. Tommy Brown won the event with a 95, JC won the mid lewis and Tom Sullivan and Gary Fernald split the low lewis. Everybody had a great time and some stuck around to shoot a little more practice after the event. Thanks to Lane Murray for running the event and he actually got to shoot and broke a 92. The Rock shoots registered May 4th and Lewis Class Shoot on the 19th so mark your calendar…..

Tom Brown went by Ted Smiths and spent a little time with him. Ted is 94 and pretty much is confined to his home and 24/7 care. Tommy spent a little time talking about the old days and I know that Ted would love to be shooting if he could. Tommy also commented that Ted’s daughter is about to retire and said she might like to get out and shoot a little trap. That will be interesting and hope to see her around the range very soon.

Jimmy Wilson commented that Alan Vrooman showed up to shoot and shot rather well on Sunday the 21st. He had a 99 in singles and 95 in the handicap event. He joined the ATA at BGC and this is the fellow that was visiting from New York. His son works for Remington and hopefully he will get to shoot more very soon in NC. He runs the trap program that has only one trap in upper NY. He was very interested in the ERAD voice calls had never used them prior to shoot at the Rock several weeks ago.

With the meat of the trapshooting season upon us please help with a few things. Please keep your paper cards up to date with all the info including the class that a club puts you in and also get a calculator to figure your average (if you can’t do math in your head)…… that would be great. Also please for goodness sake remember that when folks are shooting and you are talking loud behind them – they can hear you. You wouldn’t want them yakking it up behind you – probably?

That is about it and have a great week. I am asking off Friday and hope to sneak up to the HG for the singles and the caps. I dropped my gun off at Roger Shaffer’s for some modifications and hope to have it ready by the Dogwood. Big shout out to Lou down in sunny Florida and hope to see you soon like in June….Until next week……………..Smokem
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April 29th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Row row row your boat gently down the stream……Good morning and I hope you are dry at your current location. What a weekend and a quite a variation in weather conditions. The Dogwood for 2013 is in the record books and I will discuss some of the highlights a little later in the report. We have one shoot coming up this weekend and the Georgia State Shoot cranks up the 2nd.
It is that time of the year again and when you see PA shooter Sheldon Hostetter in North Carolina it must be Dogwood time. Sheldon use to attend the Dogwood when it was held at Pinehurst years ago. Day 1 found SC shooter Rodney Raines winning the singles with a 100, SC shooter Lonnie Hapney winning the caps with a 96 and Sheldon winning the doubles with a 97. Day 2 found MD shooter Louis Goodwin Jr winning the doubles with a 95, Sheldon winning the singles with a 99 and Greg High winning the handicap with a 95. Day 3 found Sheldon Hostetter winning the event with the lone 200 and Watauga shooter Steve Watson winning the caps with the lone 96.

Weather info is as follows – Thursday = nice, Friday = nice, Saturday gloomy with rain finally arriving when the shootoffs cranked up. Sunday, well let me just say that the ducks would have felt right at home in that downpour.

Sunday found only 13 entries for the doubles and 12 entries for the caps. Tommy Brown won the doubles with a 94 and SC shooter Todd Wutrick won the caps with a 93. That left Tommy Brown the lone survivor in the HAA race with his 746x800 with Sheldon Hostetter and Gary Olson in the running prior to the washout.

JC and I made it up Friday and JC whipped me by 1 in the singles and by three in the caps. He hit the Lewis in the singles and I hit it in the caps. After the shoot we hit the Fish Camp and partook of some delicious salt & pepper battered catfish filet. He insisted that I eat his third piece of catfish and I had to respect my elder. We jumped in the Nissan at 4:35 and I was sitting at his house in Greensboro at 7:15….

I was very impressed with the new flat screen display that displays the scores as they are posted. That is great and thanks to all that got that up and running. The 3S software is great and I like the ability to swipe my card at classification and cashiering. The new target building looks great and that was quite a project also. I noticed the vendor area behind the clubhouse and we hope to see some vendors at our 100th Annual NC State Trapshoot. The program looks great and hats off to Greg High for the cover change for the 100th. It looks like concessions is looking good and I didn’t get to eat a burger. Ken Duncan was enjoying on Friday so I know they must be good.

Ok – Rockingham Gun Club shoots this Saturday and will offer a typical 300 target program. Vince Valois just visited the club Wednesday and got all 5 PAT Traps up and throwing birds where they are supposed to go. Hope to get up and shoot sometime this week after work to check it out.

I noticed on the web that Frank Hoppe and Tom Knapp passed and our prayers go out to their families. Frank was well known and wrote for Trap&Field. Tom Knapp made his living putting on shows for several different gun makers. Making a salad with a shotgun must have been fun. We had a chance to see Tom at Pinehurst a few years ago and didn’t appear due to health issues.

I just finished using PreSquad.com for Georgia and South Carolina. Make a note that PreSquad starts for the NC State Shoot on May 1st and it sure makes signing up easier. Looks like GA has about 50 squads for singles on Saturday and I believe they have a huge group (15 squads) of AIM shooters on the early squads. It is worth 2 bucks to eliminate the hassle trying to find squads and it sure speeds things up for sure. I believe Georgia uses the wave and SC will use the bank system which might not be the most equitable way of shooting. Back in the day they used odd/even for the championship singles and handicap. Regardless of what anybody tries to tell you there are good banks and better banks at Spartanburg – just saying…..

OK – have a great week and maybe it will stop raining sometime this week. At least let it stop raining this weekend in Georgia. Big shout out to Lou down in sunny Florida and I still haven’t heard if you will be making an appearance in the TarHeel State in June……Until next Monday morning ………….if you can find shells then continue to Smokem…….

PS - Check out the NC AIM - then NC AIM 2013 for the Watauga Gun Club crew that shot Saturday at the Dogwood.....Thanks
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May 6th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

May is here and the rain and cool weather is here also. Maybe we will just skip spring and go straight to summer – we hope. One shoot in North Carolina over the weekend and Buckhorn shoots this Saturday the 11th. Regardless of the weather we are approaching the SC and NC State shoots and they will be here before you know it.
The Rockingham Gun Club hosted their “Memorial” shoot Saturday and the weather started out cold and windy. The sun actually came out briefly and really brightened up after all the shooting was over. Tommy Brown won the singles with a 95 and JC Nunn broke a 92 in the handicap for the win. He was the only shooter to post a 25 in the handicap event. He was shooting his “Franken Beretta” with pieces and parts from several different 391’s. We also had a new ATA shooter Clay Craven shooting a model 12 that belonged to JT Brewer, Paul Dyson, George Hopkins and Cletus Wilde. He did real well for his first registered singles and doubles targets.

Buckhorn shoots this Saturday and Dan Johnson is calling out the band of brothers and sisters from them thar hills in Boone NC. Pitts has a good excuse not to ride but S&W and that doesn’t stand for Smith & Wesson might get to travel. Dan has got that 90-T tuned in and has a mean mental game that he will unleash if need be if S&W show up at the range. Also, Baxter is getting his hat waxed for that 100 he broke at the last BGC shoot… I have been assured that pictures will be sent – clear not blurry pix are appreciated.

The Georgia State shoot is over and I chose not to travel due to the 90% chance of rain and winds 10-20 mph. I talked with Jamie Ivey and he shot Friday in the wind, hung out in the motel room Saturday and headed back home Sunday without firing a shot the entire weekend. GA shooter Ray Grimes didn’t even shoot Saturday and reported 39 squads of singles with 15 squads being AIM shooters. No scores have been posted anywhere and I have been checking since Thursday. Should be interesting to see what won the events in and out of state. I am praying for clear and calm weather for the SC and NC state shoots and oh yeah I almost forgot – the Zone…….

I actually spotted two 4-packs of the Federal Wally-World shells at the Bridford Parkway store Monday. That is the first time in 4 weeks that I have spotted those shells for sale. Maybe they are getting cleaned out over the weekend and might need to check on Saturday. Gander is still stocking Rio’s and I spotted two flats of the Federal pink top guns also. Very few Remington shells to speak of and I will be checking Dick’s Monday for STS light handicap shells and I hope they have a flat.

The SCTP State Championship took place over the weekend at the Durham County Wildlife Club. Hopefully we will get a report and possibly some pictures from the event. Weather should have been good for all of their activities and shooting when dry is so much better than shooting when wet…..

Ok, not much more to add and I hope everybody has a great week. Looks like my appointment to sign papers for retirement will be the 8th….. Got mixed emotions about getting out a bit early but I noticed Tom Knapp died at 62 and that is about 4 years for me if for some reason my health went South…. Hello to Lou down in sunny Florida and could you send a little sunshine this way…..Until next Monday morning …………………..Smokem
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May 13th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

The weekend is over and I hope everybody had a great Mother’s Day. Weather was great and the rain held off for the Saturday shoot at Buckhorn. Three shoots coming up this weekend with two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Also the South Carolina State shoot cranks up Wednesday and I hope to see some of you there. South Carolina shooters have always been great to support our State shoot and I hope we can do the same for SC.
One shoot over the weekend and it was held at the Buckhorn Gun Club Saturday. I got info from Dan Johnson and it looks like the 98’s in singles were broken by Dan and Tim Crabtree. Dan also managed to win the doubles with his “backup” gun courtesy of Jim Wilson. Should have the full rundown tonight and we will get them posted. Buckhorn shoots next on June 16th so mark your calendar. I also noticed that the AIM group from Watauga showed up and we hope to get a report from Morg sometime today.

Three shoots this weekend with Coharie and Old Hickory(RM) the 18th and Charlie Brown on the 19th. Mac and Karole have published their program and I will check with Al Bost on his info. Weather looks great for the weekend and hopefully all events with shoot rain free but you just never know about thunderstorms.

I took a quick road trip Saturday and hoofed it down to Spartanburg to put us three 10x10 shelters. When you don’t have a travel trailer or a motor home you really need a place to hangout and rest. Look for us behind trap 1 up on the hill beside the cypress tree. Ron Burdick was busy working on the grounds and the AIM kids were practicing on trap 6 in front of the 5 stand. Ron built some new scorers chair and they look pretty good and easy to move. Bob Hancock from Tennessee was lining his travel trailer up and it looks like Bob Hedrick and Wally Lowry will be coming also.

My trip to SC took me down I-85 and traffic flowed great in my direction but not too good North bound. Next weekend is the All-Star race in Charlotte and traffic might be murder around Charlotte. I headed back and dropped by the Gastonia Gun Club and shot two rounds with rain threatening. Don Wise was attending the range and Phillip Putnam was off for the weekend. I heard the Phillip’s wife is under the weather and all prayers would be appreciated. Don is the current president of the Skeet association and we threw names back and forth to see who knew who.

I mentioned Nick Lowie and lo and behold he showed up and we talked about the good old days. Nick won the NC State Singles in 1978 and broke a 198x200. He said the only one he was worried about was JC Nunn and Nick was amazed when I told him JC was still shooting. Jack King won the singles 1977 with a 198 and in 1980 with the first 200 to win the state singles title. Pinehurst resident Giff Fisher broke another 200 in 1981 at the Pinehurst Gun Club and I believe Giff still owns White Rabbit catering in Pinehurst. I also ran into a fellow that knows Davis North and his name is Vernon Tarlton and he lives in Hickory. I left the club and decided to run 85 to 77 to 40 and back into Greensboro. I ran into a slowdown right off the bat on 85 and another slowdown on 77 but all in all I think that will be the way I go down and back and skip that Charlotte traffic.

Spartanburg has stood the test of time and hats off to Ron Burdick and others getting things together for this week. NC has seen the Piedmont GC, Tarheel GC and Pinehurst GC all fade into the sunset and all hosted the NC State shoot. Not to forget the Durham County Wildlife Club with all the years it has served the shooting community and also hosted the NC State Shoot. One of the SC shooters expressed their opinion about the current NC Homegrounds and stated that it reminded them of a club they shot at in California. The general consensus is that the current Homegrounds is one of the nicest facilities in the country and that is great to hear.

Only 22 days until the start of the 100th Anniversary North Carolina State Trapshoot at the NC Homegrounds. What a great event and sure would like to see some old faces show up for the event. I reached out to Giff Fisher and have yet to hear from him. I am sure a lot of planning is underway and it will be here before you know it. I will check with Roger Bynum to see if he has any current info to share and we hope to see a few vendors take advantage of the new vendor spots behind the clubhouse.

For those of you that made it to the Georgia State Shoot and stayed dry I would like to hear from you. I talked to Bill Howe Saturday and he was at the Empire Grand in New York. He said he was freezing his rear off with temps in the mid 50’s. Quite a contrast from Georgia and both Bill and Billy shot well in Georgia. I tried to take a look at the Empire scores and it might have been a little wet for the Sunday events. Billy and Bill will be at South Carolina and they can drive back and forth every day.

That is about it for now and have a great week upcoming. It will be a short week for me and I will work 5 days in three it never fails. We will keep you posted on the happenings from SC and might have one or two pictures to share. Some of the Watauga boys are planning on attending and hope to see BamBam and the Spy Twins and Steve Watson. Hello to Lou down in sunny Florida and can’t wait to see you at the NC State Shoot. Until next Monday morning………………………Smokem
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May 20th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Good morning and another week of work ahead for some. Not sure how the weather was in North Carolina due to my attending the South Carolina State Shoot in Spartanburg . We had three shoots in North Carolina over the weekend and I hope to get shoot reports sometime today or Tuesday. There are two shoots coming up this Saturday at Ft. Bragg and Watauga.
Ft. Bragg and the Watauga crew will host typical 300 target programs this Saturday the 25th of May. Not sure if Marty will be making ice cream but that is always a plus. Watauga is always a fun trip and always good to see the Spy Twins and BamBam. Just a few registered shoots left before the NC State Shoot in early June. Also the Rockingham GC will host their Lewis Class shoot the 26th at 2pm.

The 100th Anniversary NC State Trapshoot is about here and I am really looking for to shooting at this event. Please come out and join us for this special time in NC trapshooting history. The NCTA is planning a lot of special things and please take a look at NCTRAP.com for all the details. The NCTA and the NCHOF are going out of their way to make this the best NC State shoot ever.

I had a great time at the South Carolina State Trapshoot and NC shooters did well for sure. I won’t go into all of the gory trophy by trophy wins other than to mention the shooters that won. Among the winners Jack Young, George Ponton, Jeff Galloway, Larry Hill, Marty Hill, George Sudderth, Tommy Brown and I am sure I missed some folks. I will try to get a the full shoot report and make sure I didn’t miss anyone.

I arrived Thursday with JC and just took it easy Thursday and we started shooting Friday. JC and I did not set the world on fire but we did have a great time. Weather threatened all weekend and we got a tad bit wet on Saturday during the first 100 singles. Folks started pulling out Sunday and no rain fell during the doubles and the handicap event. So much for radar and weather predictions and I will just leave it at that.

Hats off to the SCTA and Ron Burdick did a great job and super responsive to all our needs. We had to have microphones replaced and targets reset and we appreciate his patience. It is a tough job and also a big thanks to the ref crew that also works at the NC Homegrounds. The fish fry was a big hit and always a treat every year on Saturday night. This year we shot out 2nd 100 on 7&8 and did not get to smell the fish while shooting out 2nd 100.

It has been a long 4 days away from home and we have a big work week ahead. I hope everybody has a great week and we might take a little time to add a little more info to the SC State shoot report. Hello to Lou and see you in about two weeks. Also I got to meet Don Kearce Sunday and he is quite the doubles shooter….and until next week………………Smokem
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Memorial Day Smoke Report 2013

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Good morning and I hope you are enjoying a day off on the Memorial Day. I would like to say thanks to all that have served and to all that will serve to keep our Country free. There are a ton of memorial services planned for today to honor our proud servicemen and women.
There were three shooting events over the weekend with shoots at the Watauga GC, Ft. Bragg GC and the Rockingham GC. The weather was great both days and we have reports from Ft. Bragg and the Rock Lewis Class shoot on Sunday.

Marty Hill reports that they had 20 shooters with Glenn Alford winning the singles, Ed Rabenda winning the handicap and Winky Mabe winning the doubles and the HAA. Make a note that Ft. Bragg will shoot next on June 22nd.

The Rockingham Gun Club held their Lewis Class shoot Sunday and 19 folks showed up for the event. Lane Murray topped all shooters with a 49 in the singles and a 48 in the caps. He also got to watch his son Hunter shoot his 1st organized shoot at the ripe young age of 12. Hunter did a great job with the 20 gauge auto and I believe the little fellow is hooked.

Hopefully Tom Pitts will get us the scores from Watauga sometime today or Tuesday. Rockingham will shoot this Saturday and will offer a typical 300 target program. The shoot is dubbed the “NC State Warmup” and if you need some birds before the State Shoot please come join us.

Lewis Wyatt, Jeff and Hunter Galloway participated in the 8th Annual Drake Naylor Invitational Saturday. The charity has raised more than $425,000 dollars since it’s beginning and the money goes to the infant/toddler program at the Gateway Education Center in Greensboro. I believe Jeff came in 10th and Lewis came in 20th which isn’t too shabby. Jeff was shooting the old Model 32 and did quite well with the gun.

Only 10 days from the start of the 100th Annual North Carolina North Carolina State Trapshoot at the Homegrounds. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the attendance will be good also. Folks in and out of state really love shooting at the HG. I talked with Ted Carwile from VA at the SC State Shoot and he can’t wait to come shoot at the HG.

Ok, that is about it for now and have a great Holiday. Won’t be long until Lou will head North for the NC State Shoot. Sure will be good to see him and heck he might even get to shoot with his student Dan Johnson….Until next week…………………………………
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June 3rd Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Good morning to all and what a beautiful weekend in North Carolina. Hopefully the weather will hold up for the upcoming NC State Shoot starting Wednesday at the NC Homegrounds. From what I hear all the camping spots are filled and there are folks camping in the overflow area wherever that is.
Bad weather has cancelled the Oklahoma State Shoot and thank the Lord nobody got killed with all the damage this storm caused at the club. It destroyed the clubhouse and turned and flipped trailers and motorhomes. There are plenty of pictures on the threads at trapshooters.com.

The Buckeye Classic is over and it looks like Keith Parrot won the Kolar at the event. Scores looked good at the Cardinal and hopefully we can get up there one day Lord willing. I have heard a lot of good things about the Cardinal and hear it is a great place to shoot.

We had one shoot over the weekend at the Rockingham Gun Club. Tommy Brown ran amuck and won the singles, handicap, doubles and the HOA. He also hit the “1st 50” handicap pot for about 400 bucks. New ATA JrGold shooter Andrew Kung broke a 96 and got a punch shooting from penalty yardage. We also had four folks join the ATA including 12 year old Hunter Murray.

All eyes and minds are focused on the upcoming 100 Anniversary North Carolina State Trapshoot. It takes a lot of planning and effort to put on an event like this and I would like to say thanks in advance for all the effort. If you have a chance to say thanks to the folks that make it all happen – please do.

Ok, have a great week and we will surely be seeing some of you this week at the shoot. Hello to Lou and see you soon and until next week………………….Smokem
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June 10th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Good morning and what an interesting weather week/end. As many of you know the 100th Annual NC State Trapshoot is in the books and what a great time had by all. First let me say thanks to the HOF and NCTA for a well-run shoot and to all the folks behind the scenes – THANKS.
I arrived Thursday and experienced typical NC heat and humidity. Always a chance for rain in North Carolina and Friday found shooters in the rain for the singles. Caps and doubles were shot in dry conditions. Saturday and Sunday was great until the STORM rolled in Sunday afternoon.

There is certainly a lot to talk about so we will make it as brief as possible. The youth saturated the shoot with AIM shooters and youth traveling from out of state seeking those elusive All-American points. We got to see some great shooting from these young folks and thanks for coming to North Carolina.

2013 NC State Singles Champion is Charlie Brown – NC State Doubles Champion is Terry Roush and the NC Handicap Champion is Addison Callan. Not sure who won the HOA and not sure of the other category winners at this time.

There are two shoots this weekend with Old Hickory Rocky Mount the 15th and Buckhorn the 16th. Please make a note to attend the Southern Zone at the Homegrounds July 18-21. Not sure if I will be able to make it and might ride up for the caps on Sunday.

It was great to see all of the new faces at the Homegrounds and as Bill Keever is proud to say – we are striving to be the best shooting facility in the Southeast. Some shooters had never experienced using ERAD devices and really appreciated not having to use microphones. I have never seen the clubhouse filled to capacity like we got to see at this shoot.

OK – been a long four days away from work and back to the grindstone in the morning. Have a great week folks and I sure missed seeing you Lou and until next time ………………………………Smokem…..

PS – Clay Floyd made it to NC and broke 100 HARD Friday in the doubles class Championship……..
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June 17th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Good morning to all and what a great weather weekend in the tarheel state. I hope all the father’s had a great day with their family and hats off to you. Two shoots over the weekend with one reporting and two shoots coming up this weekend. Hard to believe the NC State Shoot is over and in the books with the Zone at the HG soon to be upon us.
Looks like John Miller won singles, caps, dubs and HOA at the shoot in Rocky Mount. That is some great shooting and it looks like Danny Lloyd made it up from the coast. The next shoot I see listed for OH&RM is September 14th so mark your calendar.

I will check with Jimmy Wilson for the scores from the shoot yesterday at the Buckhorn Gun Club. The weather was good but it might have been a tad bit windy in Mebane NC. Buckhorn shoots next on August 4th so please mark your calendars.

Two shoots on the books for June 22nd with Ft. Bragg and Boone offering typical 300 target programs. The weather for Bragg looks like mostly sunny and about 85 degrees. Boone weather looks like mostly sunny with a high of 75 and a low of 46 overnight. Wherever you wind up you will most certainly have a great time.

Hunter Galloway got back from the NC State Shoot last Sunday night and wound up in the hospital. It has been a tough week for Hunter and he wound up having a lithotripsy procedure done late Thursday evening when that storm blew through the Triad. I have kept in touch with Mrs. Galloway and Jeff and hope to get a good report sometime today.

I have about 1 month before I roll up into Pennsylvania for the 94th Annual Tournament and Pow Wow for the Konne-Yaut Indians. I talked to a few of the folks I shoot with that include Jerry Bruns in Indiana and Nick Wracher in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Looks like about 165 members and their families will descend on the Ruffsdale Gun Club for the event. If the weather forecast holds up it will be mid 70’s for the entire week. JC will turn 90 on the 13th and they hope to have a cake prepared for the young fellow.

The Zone is a month away and I would imagine that it will be well attended. I believe folks really like shooting with the ERAD voice calls and they really appreciate that cool clubhouse on those hot summer days. It was great to see that clubhouse filled up with all the people at the NC State Shoot. I hope to make it up for Sunday we will just have to see.

I got a bit of info while at the state shoot about Larry High liquidating his supply of target shotgun shells. Evidently Larry was going to have some surgery on his hands that might prevent him from continuing to shoot. Larry we hope that everything goes ok and sure would like to see you back on the line someday soon. Our prayers are with you for a speedy recovery and we wish you the best.

The Tennessee State Shoot is over and it looks like three 199’s were broken on Saturday with 327 entries. The TN winner looks like Paul White and he is a SubJr. 199’s were broken by Jr Bobby Ray Fowler and Chuck Minyard both from Kentucky. The TN doubles champ looks like Robert Smith with a lone 97 with two 96’s from out of state. The TN handicap champ is JrGd shooter Matthew Mincey with a lone 99 from the 19 yard line. The next highest scores were two 98’s broken by a LD1 and a SubJr both on the 19 yard line. There was one 27 yarder in the mix and that was a 96 shot by Mitch Loveless. HAA in state was Mitch Loveless with a 387 with out of state won by Florida shooter Gerald Armstrong with a 388. HOA in state was Mitch Loveless with 960 and out of state won by KY shooter Mike Fowler with a 937. Looks like TN was well attended and it looks like they had decent weather also.

For those of you wanting to shoot during the July 4th weekend both VA and KY host their State Shoots from the 3rd to the 7th of July. I have attended both the KY and VA State Shoots and they put on one heck of an event. If I played my cards right and the wife wouldn’t divorce me I would attend the VA State Shoot and then roll on up to Ruffsdale…..

Have a great week and it looks like a wet start to the week. With all the storms and the Derecho that rolled across the country last week, it can get a little scary. I traveled to the County Prison Farm Friday morning and one of the old growth trees was down and out. Take care and Lou we sure missed you at the state shoot and until next Monday morning……………………………..Smokem
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June 24th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Another great weather weekend in North Carolina and I hope you made the most of it. Three shoots over the weekend to report on and Coharie shoots this Saturday.
I got the rundown from the shoot Buckhorn held on the 16th of June. Tim Crabtree won the singles with a 98, Karole “Cupcake” Miller won the caps with a 96 and hubby John Miller won the doubles with a 96 and the HOA with a 286. Next shoot at BGC is August 4th so make a note to attend.

Ft. Bragg shot Saturday the 22nd and it started out a little wet for the shooters. Ronnie Manuel stated that some folks got to shoot singles in the rain and when he stepped to the line it got much drier. Ronnie wound up winning the singles and the caps with 96’s. Ronnie also nipped the MID50 pot to the tune of $650 bucks. Pretty good for a fellow that had considered packing up and heading back home before the rain stopped.

The Watauga shoot report is in and they had a slew of shooters in the valley. Great scores were broken in the singles with five 98’s with the eventual winner local Steve Watson. Two 94’s were broken in the handicap with Steve Watson and John Miller knotted up for the top spot. Not sure how they settled it but Steve Watson was the winner. John Miller tied local Morgan Shaw with a 93 in the doubles with Morgan the winner. John’s 98 in singles, 94 in caps and 93 in dubs netted him the HOA with 285 x 300. That is some great shooting and you probably took a few bucks back home with you.

Junior shooter Jared Petty had a 98 in singles, 93 in caps and an 88 in dubs. I believe he is the young man that won the Shamrock leather “AIM” bag in a shootoff at the State Shoot. Also Marshall and Graham Roten attended along with Daniel Taylor. Great to see these kids involved and shooting and thanks to Morg Shaw for all of his efforts. Make a note that the Watauga Gun Club will host their next shoot on the 27th and 28th of July.

Last but not least the Rockingham Gun Club hosted their Lewis Class Fun Shoot Sunday in near 90 degree temperatures. 13 folks showed up for the event and there were three 50 straights broken under partly cloudy skies. JC Nunn, Tommy Brown and Jeff Galloway broke them all leading into the handicap portion.

When the dust settled JC Nunn missed his 100th bird for a 98 and Ronnie Manuel broke a 49 to match his 49 in singles. Jeff Galloway hit the 2nd Lewis with a 96, I hit the 3rd Lewis with a 90 and Brian Beecraft and Ray Shisler hit the 4th Lewis with a 85. Thanks to all that attended and to all that helped out. RCGC shoots registered on the 6th of July so plan now to attend.

The Independence Day Holiday is right around the corner and folks will be heading to the Virginia and Kentucky State shoots. Also coming up is the telephonic Zone shoot at the end of the month. Summer is here and folks need to use caution to avoid heatstroke. Read up on the signs of heatstroke and please hydrate properly.

One shoot coming up this weekend and that is at Coharie. Coharie is a great place to shoot and always a great lunch for all to enjoy. Mac puts on a great shoot and I hope to get down there sometime because it has been awhile.

That is about it for now and have a great week. Want to say hello to Lou down in sunny Florida and I hope you are doing well and until next Monday………………………..Smokem
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July 1st Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Note: Buckhorn is shooting Sunday the 7th.....just got the email announcement this morning from Jimmy Wilson.
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Good morning from soggy Jamestown NC. These storms are wreaking havoc in our area with limbs, trees and power lines down. Friday was a popup storm that really caught folks by surprise. I hope that you haven’t had to experience this so soon this summer.

One shoot over the weekend and two shoots coming up this Saturday the 6th of July. Then a two-day shoot at Charlie Browns and then the Zone. I got a hall pass to attend the Zone for the weekend and it has been quite awhile since I have attended.

Coharie scores are in and it looks like Jimmy Wilson had a good day with a 100 to win the singles, 96 to win the caps and then a 93 in dubs to secure his 289 x 200 HOA win. Mac managed to eak out a win in the doubles after a flip with Greg High after breaking 95’s. Coharie shoots August 3rd so please make a note to attend.

Two shoots the 6th and they will be at the Rockingham and Buncombe Gun Clubs. Typical 300 target programs at each location and we hope the weather holds up with all the rain forecast for the week. Looks like 50% chance of rain with temps in the mid 80’s for Buncombe. Looks like 30% at the Rock with temps near 90 degrees.

Word on the street is that Hodgdon had a little fire down at one of their drying plants. Looks like this is just a rumor and there is not truth to it. Amazing what you see on the internet and what folks come up with. I did however pull out some Red Dot for my one ounce 1st shot of doubles load just to save my Clays….

Since the dust has pretty much settled from the NC State Shoot I will be putting up a post that Jim Callan put out on Facebook about Addison’s shooting over the past two years at the NC State Shoot. It is a very interesting read and I hope you will enjoy it. Addison is a very talented young man and sure hope he can make it to the Zone in July.

JC Nunn has been out practicing pretty hard for the 94th Annual Konne-Yaut Indian Shoot at the Ruffsdale Gun Club in about two weeks. He was inducted at the Bradford GC in 2011 and this will be the first year for the both of us to attend Ruffsdale. It will be great to see all of the folks and I believe there are about 165 members on the program this year.

It is a big week for State Shoots with VA and KY cranking up this week. It is always interesting to see who will win the big events and just how hot the weather will be. Wasn’t it last year that VA had the big storm? Good luck to all attending and especially to the NC shooters attending.

Have a great Independence Day week and enjoy your time off if you get the day off. I am on call and you just never know what will happen in Guilford County. Hello to Lou down in Florida and Happy 4th to you and until next week………………………….Smokem
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July 8th Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

The July 4th holiday weekend is officially over and I hope you made the most of it. Folks headed to the beach and to the mountains and to shoot in NC and VA and KY. A common theme in the Southeast looks like a thing called rain. Thank goodness it held off Saturday for shooting at Buncombe and Rockingham.
Morg Shaw sent me a text late Saturday night with news from Buncombe County. NC Junior shooter Jared Pettet in only his third registered trapshoot broke a 97 to win singles, 96 to win the caps and a 96 to win the doubles. You guessed it he also won the HOA with a strong 289x300. Sure hope he makes it to the Zone to keep this hot streak going.

Rockingham held their Firecracker shoot Saturday and the weather was great. Not a huge crowd but some great scores for sure. Doug Howell from Maryland shot with us last year and wore us out. He showed back up and was 75 straight going into his last trap. He dropped 2 for a winning 98 and his first 75 straight ever.

The handicap cranked up after lunch and folks broke more 25’s in the caps then they did in the singles. Doug broke a solid 96 with a 50 straight in the middle 50. He was on top until Lane Murray came rolling in with a solid 98 and he broke the 1st 50 on trap 1 – HARD. Doug had not played the 50’s but Lane did and clipped the 1st 50 pot to the tune of $200. Tommy Brown won the doubles and the HOA with a 92 in the dubs and 274 x 300 for the HOA. 1st/Mid/3rd 50’s pots are all $600 dollars for future events – fyi.

Buckhorn hosted their shoot Sunday and I will get with Jimmy and post the scores hopefully today. This coming weekend the Charlie Brown Gun Club will host a two-day trapshooting event and I am sure that Karole Miller will get a program posted very soon. Not to forget the Zone at the Homegrounds July 18-21 and I will actually be there after a four year absence.

I have some basic info from the Kentucky State shoot and they must have had no wind Sunday looking at the handicap scores. The KY State Singles Champ is Kolar shooter Aaron Willoughby with a 200 and 225 extra against Marty Crafton, David Riddle and Charles Pearl. I have no details about the shootoff other than Aaron winning. 304 shooters participated in the singles, 196 in the doubles and 293 in the handicap.

KY resident Keith Parrott is the doubles champ with a perfect 100 with TN shooters Mitch Loveless and Garrett Sweeney also breaking the 50 pair. The KY Handicap champ is back fence shooter Keith Ditto with the lone 100 amongst 293 entries. One 100, two 99’s, six 98’s, twelve 97’s, thirteen 96’s and twenty-seven 95’s…….not to mention the all the 94’s. Hopefully more details will emerge in the next few days. As far as I know there were no NC shooters attending the KY shoot.

I took a look at the VA state shoot info and only the Saturday singles are posted. Clay Floyd broke two back to back 100’s in doubles which is quite a feat. Two 200’s were broken Saturday with John Kirksey and Dave “Slab” Shaeffer shooting the perfect scores. Three 199’s at the top for VA honors including newly inducted HOF member Earl Pinkard, Paul Salomon and J.R. Wingfield. I have no idea who won the shootoff if there was one. Charlie Brown broke a 198, Jeff Galloway broke a 196 and Addison Callan broke a 192. Addison and Jim took the Parent Child trophy again and not quite sure what else they brought back to NC. Hopefully we will have more info to share as it becomes available.

For those of you that think you are paying too much to shoot at your gun club take a look at the Greenbrier Resort. Marty Hill brought this to my attention and get out your checkbook. They have four combo trap/skeet fields and a 10 station sporting clays course. For trap or skeet and you supply your shells and gun - $40 per 25 targets. Sporting clays are $80 for 50 targets if your supply your own shells and lead spreader. I have a picture of Hunter Galloway shooting at the Greenbrier when he looked like Jeff does now and I sure wish I could find that picture.

Ok, next week the Smoke Report could be late due to traveling. I hope to maybe crank it out Saturday night so that I can put the bow on it Sunday night late. JC will turn 90 Saturday the 13th and if you would like to wish him Happy Birthday feel free to call my cell Saturday at 336-601-4297….I am sure he would appreciate it. Hey Lou it is raining again up here in North Carolina……and until next week…….Smokem…….
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July 15th Smoke Report 2013

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Hello to all and not quite sure how the weather was in North Carolina. Big week upcoming with the Southern Zone this week and sure hope the weather holds up for the weekend. One two-day shoot over the weekend and I am sure Karole is working on the shoot report. I fell a little behind and have two reports that include BGC and RCGC.
The birthday boy showed off at the 94th Annual Konne-Yaut Pow Wow at the Ruffsdale Gun Club in Pennsylvania. Saturday he wound up winning two shootoffs and also Class “D” Doubles all on his birthday. He won his yardage group runner-up and had to shoot against two other gentlemen. He then proceeded to win his class in doubles with a 85. Then broke another 93 in caps and wound up shooting off for SrVet runnerup and won that shootoff. All in all he had a great trip and got a ton of hugs from lots of folks.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ruffsdale’s Gun Club manager Jim Lambert. A prince of a man and he had that club looking good and running like a top all four days. He had a great crew of young guys and gals and also some seasoned veterans assuring that all the shooters needs were met. There were no delays other than getting folks to the line and filling early squads and Jim had no control of that. Hopefully he can make it to North Carolina one day and we can roll the red carpet out for him.

This is my 5th year with this group and my 1st year attending the Ruffsdale Club. A lot of socializing goes on of course and a lot of eating that included sausages, fresh Italian bread, deli meats, shrimp, cheese and all kinds of finger foods. And one of my favorite things about the event is that the pale-faces get to shuck bags of fresh local corn that is some of the best corn you have ever chowed down on. Oh I forgot the hot rings that are like peppers and they will set you on fire. Next year the 95th gathering will be back at Ruffsdale and then onto West Penn Sportsman in 2015.

I do not have a lot more to share and hope to see some of you at the Southern Zone. Thanks for taking a peek at the Smoke Report this Monday morning and yes there will be pictures posted from the Southern Zone. Hello to Lou down in sunny Florida and until next week ……………………….Smokem.
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July 22nd Smoke Report 2013

Post by smokem »

Good morning and another work week ahead for some of us. The Southern Zone is behind us and the folks at Watauga host “The Glenn” this weekend in Boone NC. Lot’s of stuff to talk about so let me get going. The “Official” Southern Zone report should be ready very soon. Until then the info is available on trapshooters.com.
The Glenn cranks up this weekend with the Ironman 500 target marathon on Saturday. Three hundred caps and two hundred doubles is a true test of endurance. Sunday they will offer a typical 300 target program with registration starting at 11:15. Targets Saturday will be 19 bucks per 100 and you cannot beat that!

I arrived at the Southern Zone Saturday morning and it was hot. Before the weekend was over it would rain and the lightning would halt shooting for almost two hours on Saturday. Regardless, the folks that attended broke some great scores and that is what counts. When handicap scores win with 100’s, 99’s and 98’s shooting conditions are good. I also talked to shooters that were using ERAD’s for the first time and they really like them.

Sometime all the scores from all the locations let’s face it, it is overwhelming. Hats off to the staff that organized and kept everything running so smoothly. From the NCTA with Roger Bynum and his crew to the refs and the great job they do. It takes a lot of folks working to get the job done. Shooting started on time and there were very few delays if any that I noticed.

I could go through and cherry pick names to discuss about how well they shot but you can read about that on the shoot report. I would like to say thanks to the folks that attended from VA, NC, SC, AL, WVA, Hawaii, GA and Washington State and who knows where else? I had the pleasure of talking with Steve Williams from TN. In 1967 Steve Williams, J.C. Morrison, Watt Irwin, Sonny Rich and JC Nunn combined scores to break 993x1000 at the Southern Zone in Winchester VA. That was Steve’s first 200 straight and he was 19 years old at the time. There were three 198’s and one 199 along with Steve’s 200 to produce that great score. Steve commented that he has never shot in another Championship singles squad that have even come close to the 993 mark.

One other note about Steve Williams and is that 50 years ago Steve won the Southern Zone Junior title in Memphis Tennessee and Saturday he won the Southern Zone Vet title Open Site in Bostic with a 197. Such and nice man and I appreciate him coming over to share that story with JC, Jeff Galloway and myself and yes I did video the story.

Ok, big week ahead and I hope everybody has a great week. Just a few more weeks until the Grand and NC shooters will be traveling to the big show. Shout out to Lou down in Florida and until next week………………..Smokem.
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