Blasts From The Past

The ongoing saga of the gun purchased in Boone and shot around the Country!
Post Reply
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Blasts From The Past

Post by smokem »

I am going to use this topic to publish all of my old stories that were published on the old site. It could be shoot reports or reflections on shooting since 2002.

If you have any comments please feel free to post!

FR
Last edited by smokem on Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

391 Days

Post by smokem »

Shoot - Boone 8/03
Got to Biscuitville about 6:50 - got coffee and muffin - to jg at 7:10 - on the road and hit BB - wx overcast with no rain - the closer we got to the mountains the foggier it got - more of 421 open now - arrived in Boone and stopped at Hardee's - crowded and ate in!
Got to the club and parked at the river behind the clubhouse - got squadded in 16's - caps - twins!
16's - jeff.me.dave.pitts.laughter - finally got to shoot - Canterbury failed on trap 1 (spring broke on finger) - 24.25 - trap 3 (canterbury) targets low and anemic - 22 - then trap 4 - skybirds 23 went up over the house! Well 94 - Dave had a 98 - jeff 93 - pitts 96. Shot 30" 1 1/8/8.5's - Just not in em!
Took off 2 Boone for lunch! It was raining cat's and dog's. Got back to the club and ate lunch. Caps had started and our squad finally came up.
Dave and I took the field with sunny skies and no wind! With good pace our two man squad was busting clay! I broke 24.25.24 - Dave 25.24.24! We were backed up at all traps after the 1st field.
Field 4 has always been my favorite! I dropped 1 hard left on 1 - 2 on 2 (watching Dave kill a horsefly) and then 2 more for a 93. Dave dropped 4 for a 94 to win mid yardage! Shot 32" 1-1/8/8.5's.
Doubles - shot with Dave and Jeff! Shot field 1 (canterbury) and Dave and I broke 44's. Shot field 3 (canterbury) and muffed post 3! Wound up with a 87 and won "C" class! I wasn't even going to shoot the event.
Overview - I need to realize that missing targets are my fault. I must see the target to break it. No excuses to miss targets!

Boone - 5/3/03
Left at 7:30 with ocast skies with rain threatening. Talked to Dave Daily about trip and heading on into the club. Arrived at WGC and got ready to shoot. Had a chance to shoot practice on trap 4. Missed1st tgt out, trap wouldn't oscilate and missed one more.
Shot on 3rd squad post 5. Dave on 1, plumbers on 2/3, 4 preston. Ran 1st trap, missed one on 2nd trap, ran 3rd trap (targets were low), 4th trap the targets were "really" high and I fell for it. I misssd 2 on the 1st post then missed 1 then the last one out, I think. Wound up with a 95, 98 won it (Jim Hughes), "if" I had sealed the deal the 99 would have won it. Shot 30" with "IM" and 1oz. Clay.
Got a break for lunch and wolfed down a burger. I had an episode and took 1 excedrin. I stepped to the line with odd vision and proceeded to bust clay. Started on post 2, straight till post 5 and short shot a right angle/24. 2nd trap straight till post 5 and missed a straightaway(lifted head) George Sudderth and his son-in-law were pulling/24. Trap 3 I was only down 1 in 20 and missed 2 left targets on post 1/22. Trap 4 I was 20 straight until post 5. I missed a left angle and short shot a soft lefty. Well my 10th caps score for the 1000 target review wound up getting me a 1/2 yard punch to the 24. Shot 30" "IM" 1 1/8 - 8's.
Twins - I got to looking and realized that I had a good shot at HOA. I decided to lead a squad with John Brizendine and his grandson, also Mr. Farmer. Shot my 30" IM with a 1 1/8oz. 8.5 Clay load. Shot 1st 50 on trap 1 and missed one on P1 and P5, ran the middle 30 for a 48. The Cantebury on #3 was acting up and luckily we got to shoot again on trap 1. Stepped to the line and miscounted my 1st post shells. Ran the 1st post and dropped 5 between posts 2 and 3. Got to post 4 and doubled on my 3rd pair. Luckily I broke the 1st bird! I broke the next 2 pairs and ran the last post for a 93! My projection to best my 94 high fell 2 short! So, let's recap - 95(25 on 4 would have been the winning score 99. 93(25 on 4 would have netted a 95). 93(a little more concentration could have produced my best doubles score ever! 281x300 produced my first HOA outside of Carolina Clay!
391's
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Grand 2002

Post by smokem »

Grand American 2002

Date: 8/13-17/2002
Club: ATA Homegrounds
Weather: Weather nice with some rain!
Gun: Beretta AL-391 30”/Spears/65 shim 16’s – 32” caps
Shot: 99.95 – 92.93.95

Looking back is a hard thing to do after such a great event as the Grand American. I had prepared for the Grand for an entire year and hoped to shoot good scores at this major event. Everyone knows that perfect or almost perfect scores need to be broken to win at the Grand. I will try to capture the feelings that I experienced during the few days I was at the Grand!

Lots of preparation goes into getting ready for a shooting tournament. I had created a checklist to try to keep up with all of the things needed to compete at a high level. Frank Little mentions that not being prepared at the line is a distraction to the shooter and the squad.

Hunter and Jeff Galloway were already at the Grand and I kept in touch with them on a day-to-day basis. Hunter had been shooting 98’s in singles but neither Jeff nor Hunter were really shooting that good or winning anything. Hunter called me on Monday to state that he had position two open on a squad containing Jeff, Hunter, Shane Naylor and Cliff Dowdy. I contemplated the offer and commented that I would confirm my desire to shoot with them by 9pm that night.

I planned to travel to the Grand with J.T. Brewer a long time friend of my Grandfather Jim Brown. I would have to check with him about leaving earlier than we had planned. I called J.T. and he said leaving earlier would not be a problem at all. I called Hunter to confirm my intentions and asked him to get my shells and fees paid before my arrival.

J.T. Brewer and I left Greensboro at 3:10PM on Tuesday August 13th. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we stopped in Princeton West Virginia to eat at the Bob Evans. We had quite a few more miles to travel and decided to spend the night in Xenia Ohio. We arrived in Xenia about 1:30 AM and were anxious to find a place to stay! We spotted a little motel that JT thought Cliff Dowdy was staying at. As we cautiously approached the motel we spotted Cliff’s Buick with the NC tag! Voila, we had found Cliff’s Shangri-La and made our way to the office to check in.

Needless to say, the lobby was not clean and the night clerks were playing video games on a laptop. The price was ok but the room was a disaster! I could go into detail but you would have just had to been there. We fell asleep and got up about 6 and ate a great breakfast at Bob Evans in Xenia.

We arrived at the Grand about 8AM and parked near the fence behind bank 7. I rushed to the trolley and arrived at the locker area to be met by Hunter, Jeff and Cliff heading to bank 23 to shoot their first 100. Hunter said, your shells are in the locker and you need to get ready quickly! I rushed to get ready and caught the trolley to bank 23.

I arrived at bank 23 only to find out that I had missed my squad! However, they allowed the next squad to shoot before us! Several shooters complained about the possibility of them being disqualified for shooting squads out of sequence! An ATA official showed up and put the mess to rest!

So here I was, about to shoot in the Grand American Clay Target Championship! Even as a teenager I imagined this event to be the most distinguished of all the shooting events! I remember reading about the Grand in study hall sitting on the top floor of Grimsley High School and dreaming about the day I would be able to shoot in this event! I would be shooting with Jeff Galloway on 1, me on 2, Shane Naylor on 3, Hunter on 4 and Cliff Dowdy on 5.

Was I nervous is the question and the answer was yes. However it took 94 targets for me to get over it! I dropped my 95th target from post 5 and really wanted to break my 1st 100 straight at the Grand. The 99 felt great for my 1st 100 singles at the biggest clay target shoot on earth. The pressure was off as my squad mates started sending targets to the bank. I headed back to the car and met the Galloways for lunch!

One of the best things about traveling and shooting with friends is eating! We headed to White Castle for some burgers and fries! Great meal but maybe not the best for competitive clay target tournaments. We arrived back on the grounds and hung out with Jeff and Hunter.

We estimated that we would shoot the second 100 about 3pm and sure enough the time arrived. For some reason the second 100 for me wasn’t as good as the first! I broke a 95 and Shane Naylor was the high man for the second 100 with a 99. He let 96 or 97 slide toward the bank; we were all hoping he would run the 100.

That was it for day one and we headed to the Ramada to check in! We arranged to have Hunter pick us up and then eat at the Olive Garden. As usual everybody compared notes about the days events and all agreed that my 194 was an ok showing for my first singles event at the Grand.

Day 2 started early and JT and I arrived about 7:45. If you get to the Grand early enough you can enjoy the grounds without the trolleys running and tons of people milling around. Also another benefit is getting to hear O’Canada being sung along with the National Anthem!

I took time to pay up for Friday and got my Remington Nitro’s for that event. As usual there is a lot to do at the Grand and I took time visiting some of the local dealers. We met the Galloway’s and ate lunch at Arby’s. When I got back to the grounds I took off to the practice traps and shot 20 targets. I broke 17x20 from the 23 ½ and felt good about the upcoming event!

Five o’clock rolled around and we headed to bank 23 to shoot in squad 623. If you don’t have a squad of competition shooters to pre-squad with you never know who will show up! We were lucky and two veteran age shooters along with the Galloway’s took their posts! I started out good with a 24 and it went downhill from there! The weather was ok and the wind minimal. I followed the 24 with two 22’s and a 24 to end it up! A 92 won me about $47 for my efforts and I wished I had shot better!

We all headed to the Red Lobster with the Galloway’s, Joe Nimer and JT Brewer. We had hoped that Elmo and Doc were going to join us but they never showed! We headed back to the Grand to get a look at the shoot offs! We got back to the room about 10 and turned in about 11:30.

Day 3 was August 16th, which was my 47th birthday! Happy Birthday to me and I was looking forward to shooting good today! We put up camp and got to the Grand early to see the Champion of Champions events. Jeff Galloway was our singles champ and he broke a respectable 96. Elmo was our senior-vet and he broke a 93, while Muggs Corpening broke a 96 for out vet rep! It was still very early in the morning and I had a lot to do! We ate lunch at a local Subway and rushed back to shoot in squad 721. We had the pleasure to shoot on bank 21, which was a new bank for me. We had a four-man squad and we had a rather good shooter on post 4.

As we took our post we noticed that bank 21a was experiencing false calls from adjacent fields. Throughout the 400 targets that our squad shot we had at least 50 false calls! I was able to place a styrofoam cup in post 5’s cvr to stop some of the false calls! We had a gent on an adjacent field, that was setting our cvr’s off and he was on post 5! He was shooting a Sietz and wearing earmuffs! This was a similar nightmare to the Virginia State Shoot! We took our lumps and finished up the 100. I broke 21.24.25.23 for a 93 and missed 2 0n my last post! I wished I had shot a practice before the event but hindsight is 20/20.

We took off and headed over to Lone Star to meet Nimer, the Galloway’s and the Trimbacks for dinner. JT and I had worked up an appetite! We had to wait quite a long time to eat nut it was worth it! Amanda and Autumn Trimback are very reserved but cute young girls and their dad is a neat fellow! We had a good meal and the staff sang happy birthday to me! As we were eating a popular song came over the jukebox and the chorus was “get over it”, I remarked to Joe Nimer that this might be his theme song. Of course this was in regards to his dealings with the Rockingham GC situation.

Joe and JT headed to the Grand to get Joes stuff and I headed to find aluminum can coolers for our cvr’s for Saturday’s big event. I found the perfect style can coolers at a Kroger near the Grand. The only problem was that they only had three! I traveled to several more grocery stores before giving up!

I got to the Grand to view the shoot offs for that night and watched Tom Wilkinson shoot for a handicap spot! He shoots his gun looking straightforward with his head up! It looked like his gun had little or no recoil! I headed back to the hotel to clean my gas gun for Saturday’s event!

When I got to the room JT was still awake and I told him I needed to clean my gas gun for the next day. Chemical smell is a big issue when cleaning the AL-391 and I proceeded to get with it. It took about an hour to get it done and I jumped into bed about 12:30. I should have planned a bit better to get a little more sleep before the biggest handicap event of the year!

Day 4 was Saturday August the 17th and my 17th wedding anniversary! The day started very early with a continental breakfast at the Ramada. We got to the Grand and parked right behind the locker area near the fence. I got a few things together and headed for the trolleys. I was able to ride the line past the main building and watch the sun rise and bathe the trap line with a warm morning sun.

As usual the national anthems played and I had about 6 or 7 hours before I shot. I kept busy and visited around and walked the line to see who was shooting. I visited bank 21 and watched the targets in the wind. I decided to eat lunch on the grounds and ordered two cheeseburgers from the vendor right beside the main building.

I sat down and began to enjoy my meal and noticed an older gent heading to my table. He sat down and pulled his shopping bags up close to the table. He looked over at me and said, “don’t think there will be a 100 broken today”. I restrained myself from saying what I was thinking and replied “there is a 100 in everyone one of us” and continued eating my lunch. I try to think positive all the time and in everything I do! The negative comment he made was what he thought and believed to be the truth in his eyes. I asked for a plastic bag to pack up my second burger, I had suddenly lost my appetite.

With about 4 more hours to go before shooting, I decided to get some hearing protectors made that would allow me to listen to music while shooting. I went to the Decot building and had a set made. I also made it to the practice range a broke 19x20 targets which made me feel a bit better.

Jeff Galloway answered the phone when I tried to call Hunter to see where they were. He asked me to come see him as soon as possible and I told him I would be there when I could. I walked over to the car and he handed me a dark blue Beretta cap and said Happy Birthday! This was a very nice gesture and was not expected!

The wind had been blowing all day and I was hoping that it would settle down before our squad had to shoot! I got to bank 21 a little early and settled in to watching the targets on 21a. Very soon thereafter Hunter and Jeff arrived and we all talked to each other very little.

Among the shooters behind bank 21 there were two shooters that would be in our squad. We soon found out who they were. The young man on post three was a junior aged shooter from Pennsylvania and Jeff knew him from other competitions. The fellow on post 5 was a very good shooter and I have no idea who he was. We took our posts and we discussed using the can coolers on post 1,4, and 5. I had placed paper towels inside the devices to deaden the sound a bit.

The first field I was nervous and shot a 22, which was a bit disappointing. Jeff started off good with a 24 and we moved on to field 2 for our 2nd 25. The first field proved that the can coolers were working with no false calls from adjacent fields.

The second 25 I broke a 23 that gave me a 45x50 that I knew wouldn’t win a thing! The can coolers were working on the second 25 also but the junior on post three was distracting Hunter on post 4. When this fellow missed a target he would toss his empty forward in Hunters field of vision. Hunter finally had to ask him to quit tossing his empties.

Fields 3 and 4 I ran and this was my first 50 straight in handicap at the Grand! I felt good about finishing strong at the biggest handicap event in the world! The cvr covers were worth the time I took to find them! Out of the 500 targets our squad called for there may have been 5-10 false calls for targets! This was one-third the false calls we had the day before with one less shooter!

Was I disappointed with my performance at the Grand? Well, I broke 194x200 in singles and 92,93 and 95 in handicap! These caps scores were only the 3rd, 4th and 5th 100 I had shot since I got a yard at Watauga with a 97! Did I play the 25’s and 50’s and the answer is no! I lost $366 on the 50 and about $80 on the two 25’s, this is a lesson learned! J. C. Nunn told me expressly – play the 25’s and 50’s – why didn’t I listen? So there it is and here it is!

The trip back to NC was long but the weather was good! We arrived back into Greensboro about 2am and man was I tired! I left my truck packed and I hit the sack! I am recording this event info at Myrtle Beach SC. Since I left on vacation I missed the Glenn Miller Memorial shoot in Watauga and will miss the Ft. Bragg shoot and one day of the Rockingham shoot!

I will be getting back to Greensboro in time to shoot on Labor Day at the Rockingham GC. I am looking forward to a great shooting season for 02-03 and will be ready to win at the Grand next year! I was classified in AA at the 2002 Grand by the ATA Handicap committee which makes Jimmy Wilson very happy!
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Charlie Browns

Post by smokem »

Charlie Brown Trip #1

Date: 4/28/2001
Club: Charlie Brown
Weather: Clear and windy
Gun: AL-391 Beretta/Timney release
Shot: 16’s 79, hdcp. 72


This was a trip I had been looking forward to for some time! I met the “handsome” Joe Nimer and Steve Morgan at the Bojangles on Freeman Mill Road. I followed them to the gun club and arrived about 10:20.

Terry Roush, Jackie, Steve and I shot in squad five and I was on post four. Before I got to shoot I had to install my new Timney release trigger. I couldn’t get my pull trigger out of the gun! Charlie Brown finally removed it and my squad was waiting for me on the line! Jackie was probably thinking, can this moron get it together?

We be began to shoot and my heart was beating out of my chest! I had a brand new gun and release trigger and shooting on a squad with great shooters! My score reflected my inability to execute basic skills. I was lifting my head and stopping the gun while trying to hit angle targets. I broke79, Terry 100, Jackie 90 and Steve 91.

Overall I thought this was okay for me and about average! I was shooting a new gun and I could use many other excuses as to why I wasn’t breaking targets. As I was walking back to the car Steve came over and offered me some advice! I was taken aback by his candid comments, and didn’t react to them very well. He said, Freddy you need to practice! You need to get your stance together and stop arm swinging the gun! Well this was news to me and I thought man I know how to shoot!

The handicap was starting and I was in a squad with Joe Nimer, Jackie Roush and a fellow form Chesapeake Va. Joe Nimer was spanking some targets and he had definitely entered “the zone”. I was having some problems hitting targets and managed to break 72 birds. Trap three’s targets were very low and with me not keeping me head down it was disastrous. Also, the CVR refs were not paying attention and this was distressing!

All in all I felt like I was improving compared to the last 1000 targets I had suffered through! I was using an improved modified choke and when I hit a target I smoked it! Jackie was feeling good because this was her best singles score since her stroke! Also, Joe “TBD” Nimer won the handicap and got a yard of concrete to carry with him!

Things were looking up for me finally, I thought! The gun felt good except for the fact that my jaw and cheek were sore! I applied ice to my jaw as I was driving back to Greensboro. I was looking forward to the Boone shoot on Sunday, what a weekend. However, would my jaw be okay for two hundred targets at Boone?
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Chilly Day At BGC

Post by smokem »

Chilly Day At Buckhorn!

Date: 12/31/2001
Club: Buckhorn
Weather: Clear – 41 high - windy
Gun: Singles/Caps 30” – Doubles 32” with 30” barrel
Shot: 25.23.20.23-91 – 22.20.21.24=87 – 44.38=82

Lot’s of anticipation leading up to the last shoot of the year! I need to embrace a more positive attitude prior to competitions! Anyway, I got up early and was in the XE by 7:45 and at Biscuitville by 7:55. Traffic was light and we made good time to the BGC. I arrived at about 8:40 and was tailgated by Dan Johnson near the club. Tom Jervis and his wife got there about 9:15 and finally got the ball rolling about 10am.

I was the first person to get classified by Steve Morgan and signed up for all events. I chose squad 2 and position 2 for all events. At first the targets looked really low on field four! My squad leader was a new guy and he was shooting a Baretta Auto. Mr. Villani was in my squad and I can’t remember the other two shooters. We had a good squad and I rolled off a 25 straight and it felt great. My next 25 I missed two left hand angles from position two. As I positioned the gun I opened my left eye for some reason and then quickly closed it! That was enough to break my concentration a bit! I dropped one more on two than ran 20 straight. We then moved to field 3 and the targets were much higher! Clocked at 38mph these targets were hooking it! I dropped 5 birds during my third 25, I remember the missed targets as being straight aways and maybe one angle! If only I could have run this field=96. My last 25 I settled down and only dropped two targets, the B class winner shot a 93. High Gun was a 97 by a “C” class shooter!

I pulled the remainder of squads and it was cold! Dan Johnson was shooting poorly and so was Sudderth. I just watched as they jumped at the targets as they dropped off sharply. The club cooked spaghetti and there was little left by the time I got in there! So I decided to get ready for the caps! By this time they opened trap two and the caps began about 1pm or so.

I shot on a four person squad with Mike McKinney, Ms. Harris and Villani. I can’t remember what targets I missed from where and I dropped 3 on field one! We shot 50 on field three and I missed 9 birds out of the 50. Missing straightaways from post 2,4, and 5? In fact I missed most of my targets on two events on the number three field! Field four proved to be a better round with a 24=87 and 90 won the event.

Doubles was a blast as usual and I shot with Randy Jones and Blake Pickard! Broke all 50 of my first birds and missed 18 of my second birds! Shot a 44 on the first 50, missed 4/10 on post 1 and 5 during my second 50=82! Just not getting to the first bird fast enough to get to number two quickly! Randy won “B” class with an 86 and 97 won the event!

Clothes were a big factor at this event! I wore a new pair of insulated pants that I bought at Dicks. They are poly and merino wool and they worked great! I wore my black boots and CK pants which were ok. Upper body I wore a t-shirt, turtleneck, and wind shell! This was similar to the outfit I wore in Boone! Gloves were a must and I need to buy a full set of batting gloves soon. I wore my gray and blue striped ski cap, which kept my big ears really warm!

Food consumed included a blueberry muffin, bacon egg and cheese biscuit and lot’s of chocolate!

Highlights – 25 straight in singles – 24 in caps – 44/50 doubles – Lowlights –two 20’s and a 38/50 in doubles! Singles average is the same – caps shot better than average – doubles a little lower than average.

All in all, I felt great getting to shoot again and shot “OK” since I hadn’t shot any since 12/2/2001. I am looking forward to my 100 straight before the NC State Shoot!

More to follow so please stay tuned!
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Watauga Shoot

Post by smokem »

Trip to Boone

Date: 4/29/2001
Club: Watauga Gun Club
Weather: Cold and windy
Gun: 16’s 391/release, trigger failure
Shot: 16’s 77, hdcp. 78

I decided to leave early so that I wouldn’t be rushed when I got to the gun club. The last time I visited the Watauga club was when my grandfather was inducted into the Hall Of Fame. We had stayed in the Broyhill Inn and Waylon was with us on the trip. I got to the club at about 10 and hardly anybody was there. I decided to change clothes, because it was very cool and windy.

Things were moving slowly and I headed back to Boone. I went to the Hardees at the main road and got something to eat. I also got some chicken for lunch which turned out to be really good.

I got in squad four post two with Jackie Roush. The wind was blowing in that holler like a tornado! My scores – 20-21-20-16 =77, what happened on the last trap? During the round I had a trigger problem when my trigger pulled through. I really didn’t realize what had happened and just thought I had released the trigger by accident. Jackie shot 88 and Terry broke 97 in the wind. One of the Pigg brothers broke 99 and won the event.

The handicap started and the wind cranked up even more. I shot in a full squad and my first two fields were very bad. The first field I broke 19 and the second field a whopping 16! The third field I got back to a normal 21 and the last field was interesting. The last field I started having problems with my Timney trigger. The trigger pulled through and I got to shoot again, then it happened again within my first five targets. I decided to put the gun down and borrowed a gun for Troy from South Carolina. I shot the over and under with a “pull” trigger and broke my best handicap round a 22!

Looking at my scores my 78 was 11 targets under the D class winner. J.Beam won the handicap with an 88 and he shot in my squad. Jackie broke 77 and Terry had and 84 in the wind. Doubles cranked up and they were wicked targets even for the A class shooters!

This was a good shoot for me and it exposed me to several things. One was dealing with the wind and the other was dealing with release trigger problems! My trigger problems had surfaced and would need to be fixed soon.
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Bustenem At Buckhorn

Post by smokem »

Bustenem At Buckhorn

Date: 1/27/2002
Club: Buckhorn GC
Weather: Nice and sunny – no wind during 16’s
Gun: 32” AL-391 - Timney
Shot: 22.23.25.25=95 Class B – 17.25.25.20=87 – 41.39=80
Ammo: 16’s 2 3/4/8’s Rem – AA Lt. Hdcp 1oz. – Fed WW

Got to travel to Buckhorn again and arrived at about 8:30. Crowd was slow to arrive and I jumped on the 1st squad. Decided to shoot the 32” because I had been shooting it so well in practice. 16's - 1st Squad post 2 - dropped 1st bird out of house/straight to post 1/dropped 2 soft left angles - 2nd 25 drop 1on2/1on4? - 50 straight/field 4!!! Shot with Tom Jervis, McKinney, Blake Pickard and Russell Nuti. Four of us dropped our first bird out of the house on field 2(1) except for Russell! Tom dropped out on field 4(3rd 25) due to a gun break! I led the squad and literally smashed 50 straight birds! Won Class B and beat Russell by one target!

Got hooked into pulling for three rounds and the sun was beating down on my neck! Got a chance to watch others shoot which was great!

Caps started at 12 and I shot with the true caps shooters at Buckhorn. Caps - 1st Squad post 3 - shooting 1oz AA's - nervous - 0/3.1/4.0/5.4/1.3/2=17! - 25 field 3 Jerilyn - 25 field 4 - won mid 50 did not play it! - last 25 1/3.2/4.0/5.1/1.1/2=20 = 87. Yep, I thought about playing the mid-50 but didn’t! I missed a purse of about $460 and that sure would have come in handy! Except for that 1st and last 25 I could have been looking at a 95 or 96!! Rule = eat normal food or don’t eat at all! Supplements or Atkin’s shakes will get me by and no carbonated liquids until after the events are over!!!

Doubles were a disaster - Doubles - Squad 1 post 1 - both 50's dropped 2 1st tgts/dutched pair 1st 50 post 1 - 3/1.3/2.1/3.1/4.1/5=41 - 0/1.1/2.5/3.3/4.2/5=39=80 Will try to do better next time!!

Weather was great and shirtsleeve wx toward the end of the day! This was my first registered shoot since Dan worked with me on my trigger set! This was also the first time I broke two 50 straights in two events in the same day!! I think that this is progress and better more consistent scores are ahead. At the time of this writing (2/11) I practiced at CC with Hunter and Jeff. I broke 23.23-16’s, 25.21- caps, 40 twins! Shot JC Nunn reloads and they will bust a bird!
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Doug House Memorial 2001

Post by smokem »

Doug House Memorial TrapShoot

Date: 7/15/2001
Club: Durham Wildlife Club
Weather: Sunny and warm 80+/-
Gun: Beretta 32” – Spears Trigger
Shot: Hdcp. 93 – 25/24/21/23

I was excited to get a chance to shoot at the Doug House Memorial TrapShoot! I knew that Mrs. House would be there and I hoped that more of the family would attend.

I would have preferred to leave early Sunday but decided that I needed to be at Church that morning. After offering was taken, I slipped out and headed to the house. After loading up the Nissan I hit the highway.

I arrived at the Durham Wildlife Club about 12:15 and didn’t recognize the route described in the shoot brochure. The parking lot was filled with cars and it looked like the handicap had already started. I rushed up to the clubhouse to register and was greeted by Jackie Roush. She said, you can shoot with me which was great! I registered for the handicap and wanted to shoot the doubles but all of the squads were full. I would be shooting in squad eight position five and right beside Jackie.

Our squad consisted of four people with position one open. The squad leader I had met at Buckhorn and the fellow on position three was new to me. We started on field four and I was feeling great! Yes I had butterflies but something was different today for some reason. It seems that I tend to drop targets in the early rounds and finish the rounds out fighting for a good score.

First round was my first 25 since my returning to the sport in February. Everything was clicking and I was actually connecting with the targets. I was nervous but in control which was a little different. The fellow on post two was dropping targets and Jackie was not her usual self. The fellow on post three was shooting quite well. When I broke that 25th bird I was about ready to yell, but I didn’t.

Second round I was straight until post two and I let a soft quarter angle fall in the field! The pressure was off and I broke the rest of the targets for a 24. We left the field and I dropped my bag at the shelter between traps one and two. I walked back to the field and introduced myself to shooter on post three. I asked several times, where is Jackie? Then the ref said, oh she dropped out because she wasn’t feeling well. So here we go, the three of us to shoot.

Third round would be my undoing! I started thinking about winning the handicap and other things were rolling through my mind! I dropped a target early and thought okay 24 will be great until I got to post three. The squad behind us got to our field and I was thinking, I wonder if they are looking at me shooting? I dropped three targets and they were simple soft quarter angles, 21 was staring me in the face! I had 5 more targets and I settled down and broke them like I should have broken the others. So now instead of the possibility of breaking a 97 I was looking at a 95 with 25 straight.

Last round was weird except for dropping two targets! I don’t remember the first target I dropped, but the second target was my last bird! Number 100 was a lost target!

I have developed the ability to hit the deep angles from one and five. I have developed the ability to hit the first bird and the last bird out of the house. Today I had a chance to shine and came up a little bit short! We finished the round and I thanked my squadmates for letting me shoot with them.

I felt great but then I didn’t feel great! How can you feel bad when you just shot your first 25 in handicap and your best handicap score since 1969! I proved that I can drive seventy miles, get out on the field without a practice round and break 25 straight! The winner was Sherwood Jenkins with a 96 and he was long yardage! I was three targets away from a punch and two targets away from a ½ yard reduction!
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

The first shoot at the “Rock”

Post by smokem »

The first shoot at the “Rock”

Date: 2/17/2001
Club: Rockingham Gun Club
Weather: Cold and windy
Gun: Rem 870/pull trigger
Shot: 16/63, hdcp/53

Decided to start shooting again and felt like the Rock would be a great place to start. Weather conditions were raw and not really that great for the first time out after thirty years. Registered with the ATA again and met some of the fellows that I had known for years!

Got up at eight and had a time getting organized. Left the house at nine forty five and got to the club at ten thirty plus or minus. I shot my first targets with Jeff and Hunter Galloway in a three man squad. Those guys shoot fast even in a five man squad! I broke sixty three targets and wound up winning Class “B” by default! I was using the Remington 870 that I had purchased from Odell Hardware. I was shooting Winchester AA’s that I bought from Dick’s sporting goods. I believe a ninety four won the singles.

Handicap was a little different and I got to shoot in a full squad. After I broke 53 targets I wrote in my journal that the wheel ran off! Eighty two won my yardage group and I looked to the future for better scores. One of the things that I noticed was that I was flinching! As a kid I had never experienced this problem! I dismissed it as something that would eventually “go away”.

I left the club at about three and went to Dick’s. Got there and bought some more shells. My shooting outfit included boots, cargo pants, long sleeve shirt, sweater shirt, and my north face jacket. Used a belt and shell holder and catcher. Used a pair of leather gloves, foam ear plugs and Ray-Ban glasses. Wore my odd military cap, I must have looked a mess!

Of course I was looking forward to the next shoot! Little did I know that things would get much worse before they got any better! One of my goals was to register enough targets before the NC State shoot. The major reason was because I didn’t want to shoot penalty class or yardage.

It would be thirty days before I would shoot again! The same butterflies that I felt as a kid were back! I was really looking forward to the next event!
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Bad day at Buckhorn!

Post by smokem »

Bad day at Buckhorn!

Date: 4/14/2001
Club: Buckhorn
Weather: Sunny and windy
Gun: Rem 870/pull
Shot: 16’s 40, hdcp. 33

Arrived at BGC about 9:30 and registered for two events. According to my notes I commented that I was looking forward to better shooting! Little did I know that my worst scores since I began shooting again were about to happen.

We began at 9:30 and finished up the 100 at 10:30. I was shooting in a squad with some great shooters! My first 25 I broke 13 targets! The fellow on post five had to wait for my targets to clear before calling for his target! After we finished the 100 I just walked off of the field really embarrassed. I commented in my Day timer – “what to do”? I didn’t know what to do and I knew I was flinching!

The handicap cranked up at 12:30 and I began at 1:30. We finished at 2:30 and I made absolutely no comments about my squad except for my score. My score for 100 clay targets a whopping 33 hits. That is a bad score for 50 targets much less 100 birds! Had I lost it if I had ever found it? Was I brain damaged? Was there even any use in me continuing to shoot?

Sherwood Jenkins is probably the best shooter pound for pound in the State of North Carolina! He broke 100 straight in the singles today! Would this ever happen to me? Why sure it will!

Got home and pondered the day! I wasn’t really looking forward to shooting as long as my scores were so bad! I had nobody to turn to because what are they going to say? Uh, 33 in handicap what can I say? I had one week to get ready for a shoot at the “Rock” and maybe things would get better! I just wasn’t aware of how much better things would get!
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Breakthrough at the Rock!

Post by smokem »

Breakthrough at the Rock!

Date: 4/21/2001
Club: The Rock
Weather: Cooler
Gun: 16’s Rem 870/pull, hdcp. Beretta 303/release
Shot: 16’s 40, hdcp. 82

Well here we go again into the wild blue yonder! Left the house and filled the XE up with gas. After going to Biscuitville I decided to go back by the house and get more clothes! It was rather windy and overcast and a little raw for shorts.

I was surprised to see and meet K4RBI Bobby and his brother at the club. Bobby was shooting a field grade Benelli with a built up stock. His brother had a 391 and didn’t have a shell catcher! I shot with them and Cliff Dowdy. My singles scores did not improve today and I didn’t know if they ever would! Bobby broke a 97 in his first registered event!

I prepared for the handicap and was approached by Cliff Dowdy as I was loading my shells into my jacket. He said in his deep voice, Freddy you are flinching too bad to shoot a pull trigger! I really didn’t realize what he was saying until he handed me a gun. He said, I want you to shoot this gun because it has a release trigger! As this conversation was taking place a lady shooter was listening as she was preparing to shoot! As Cliff was standing there I said, Cliff I have never shot a release trigger in my life! The lady shooter’s eyes got really big and she went to tell her husband!

So here we go, what have I got to lose? I was on post three and two of the shooters were a husband and wife team from Virginia. They were both shooting K-80 shotguns and were shooting ok! Wes shot on post one and Ted Smith was on five.

The gun felt great and using the release trigger for the first time was a little strange! However, I actually was breaking targets like I knew I could! The first 25 I broke 21 and that was the highest score I had broken since I started shooting again! The next three rounds were similar to the first with a 19,20, and a 22 for a total of 82! That 82 was great and I felt great about that 82. If I can remember correctly an 89 won the handicap!

Was I back on track? Was the release trigger the answer to my problems or what? Only time will tell and where will I get a release trigger for my 870? These are some questions that will need to be answered and soon before I shoot again.
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

CSL 3/12/2005

Post by smokem »

Wow! It's tough determining where to shoot in NC especially when 3 clubs have shoots.
The Rock was only 38 miles North but the weatherman forecast snow flurries until noon. Old Hickory was 140 miles west with the same type of weather forecast. My only hope was the weather forecast for Clinton NC. Forecast was as follows - 60 degrees with partly cloudy skies and wind 20-30 mph.
I reflected back to the March 2004 shoot at CSL. The wind was blowing just as hard with a sand storm. Mark Lane, Jeff Galloway, Charlie Ackroyd and I all tied with 96's. Charlie was the eventual winner after a 50 target shootoff.
Anyway, as I traveled down 421 I got a call from Jimmy Wilson and Dan Johnson. They both wanted to know where I was and which way I was going. I said East of course and we wished each other the best.
I rolled into CSL and noticed a good number of vehicles. I entered the clubhouse and greeted the shooters present.
I got classified by Al Williams and then took some verbal abuse by Mac Herring. Nobody had signed up, so I took 1/1 on all squads.

I got my stuff ready and shot 10 shells for practice. With the sun on the targets it was tough to see them. I missed 1/10 which was no big deal.

Our singles squad consisted of me, Mark Lane Jr., Tom Brown and Doc Scarff. The 91 I broke was well below my average, but only 1 bird off the 92 that won A.
I ate lunch which was great as usual and prepared by Sandi Patterson. Mrs. Lane and Mrs. Herring spread the goodies out.

Our caps squad consisted of me, Al Williams, Mark Lane, Bob and Marty. We started and I felt pretty good about my shooting. 22.23 then we moved to Mac's field, to the higher trap. My 24 was the highest score broken by anybody during the caps. The 47x50 won the daily mid-50 purse, and it's been awhile since I won one. I was down 7 going into the last 25 and I dropped 3. I honestly didn't know how many birds I was down. My 100th bird was a hard rt hander and I 2-pieced it for a 90. Marty was hanging with me and wound up with an 86.

Our doubles squad consisted of me, Tom Brown, Mark Lane, Bob Ladwig. Let me assure you that there was wind and lots of it. Our squad was breaking pairs that were unbelievable!
It went 9-10-8-9-10 - 9-9-10-8-9 for a 91 which was good for B Class. 94 was high and broken by Mac Herring. I missed 2 first birds and no dutched pairs. My breaks on my right hand birds are light breaks. It's almost like I am breaking the targets with the bottom of the pattern. TBC

The last squad of doubles faired much better with the wind. That is not to say they didn't have any wind, they just didn't have as much of it!

I shot in a Browning shooting shirt and a T-Shirt. It was breezy but not cold. It actually got hot by the end of the day.

After they finished shooting, they tallied up the scores and the money. Once they figured out that my 91-90-91 was the HOA high, they started in on me. Even Chuck Patterson got in on the action, with Mac the ringleader.
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Dec Ft. Bragg 12 th

Post by smokem »

Up at 5:30 and on the road by 6 - gas at Wend/I40 and bought shells at WMart.

7 I was on I40 and headed East. It was raining and windy cold in GSO. As I headed East the road got drier.

Dave Daily called to determine whether it was worth shooting with the rain chances.

As I moved closer to Sanford the sun started popping out of the clouds. The winds that were predicted hadn't arrived yet.

We arrived in Sanford and drove through at Biscuitville. We arrived at Ft. Bragg and took a look around.

I could tell the crowd was going to be thin, but what the hey. It was cool and I changed socks and added a turtleneck and my windshirt.

I decided to shoot a practice and stepped to the line. I must have missed 5 birds. I was missing drifters from post 5 and hoped it wasn't an omen of things to come. Shot 1 ounce 7.5's, crushed the birds I hit.

Dave was running late and we followed a 3 man squad. Dave rushed to the line and we commenced to pound em. Daily-?-FR-Ted Bigelow-Bill Weaver. Bill and I ran the 1st 25 and it would go downhill from there.

I went 23.23 then missed the 1st bird on the last 25. Bill Weaver stated that I had chipped the 1st bird and he called it a dead bird. Dave made sure it was marked accordingly. The 96 was two off hi-gun and tied me with a skeet shooter.

Caps squad FR-?-Hill-Dowdy-Daily - 22-20-22-23=87 and tied me with Marty Hill. I missed some 1st birds and some last birds! Need to be ready to shoot!

Twins were sporty and I shot with Weaver-Newman-Dowdy-Daily - I was 39x40 going into P5 and the wind came in! Dowdy had a gun malfunction and had to switch guns. He was hitting Dave with his empties. I dropped 3-2nd birds for a 46. The next trap we had a ton of broken birds and other mess. I had to break the last 10 for a 90 that tied me with Charlie Ackroyd.

It's odd that I tie for all 3 events, but that is what happened. Sandy Patterson kept pressing me to break the ties. Neill McGinnis said let's shoot it and we decided to shootoff with Marty and Charlie.

I stepped to the line on Post 4 and we commenced to pound em. I had a blooper and it still broke the bird. Neil missed 1 on post 3 and 1 on post 1. When he got to bird 24 he said I won. Greg stated that we needed to finish it out. I ran the trap and won "A" class outright.

Neil stuck around to watch me shoot the caps and I ran the trap. Marty dropped 1 out of 10 and 1 out of the last 10. As we walked off the field Neill asked me what I was listening to. I explained that I listened to hip-hop and "Motley Crue" fast R&R. I stated that I may be the only person in NC listening to music.

Doubles pitted me against Charlie Ackroyd and we started on 2 and 4. Charlie ran em and I missed the 1st bird on my 3rd post. I ran the last post and shook hands with Charlie.

It would have been a hoot to have won all 3 extra rounds! I used 1oz 7.5's for 16's and the 1st shot of twins. I also used reloads for my 16's shootoff and it could have cost me due to a blooper. I used factory Nitro's for caps and the shootoff. I used Fed 3dram 7.5's for my 2nd shot of doubles with good success.

My concentration was good today but still needs improvement.
User avatar
smokem
Posts: 2284
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:50 pm
Location: Jamestown, NC
Contact:

Watagua Chicken Wing Fling 2007

Post by smokem »

Wow what a weekend of shooting in North Carolina! We picked JC up at 5:45 and headed up I-40 for the Denny’s in Kernersville. We sat in the usual spot and ate the original “Grand Slam” breakfast to get the morning started.

We hit the road and pointed the Toyota up the hill. We watched the temperature rise and fall between 28 and 32 degrees as we traveled up 421 and the frost was heavy. Let me assure you that the smell from a chicken house is just as bad at 32 degrees as it is at 100.

When we got to the club the crew was getting things ready. George and Shelley were busy getting the houses setup and loaded and Pitts was cranking up the PC’s etc. They already had a fire burning after a mad scramble to find some matches.

As the crowd began to show up and get squadded the chill was getting less and less. I decided that I wasn’t going to burn up shooting and opted for less is better. We got ready to shoot some practice and only missed 1 out of 25 and I could feel my fingers!

It was great to see Tom Smith and his son and Morg had to fill in his spot at the classification table. Barb had to straighten out Morg a couple of times until Tom got there! We got on squad four for singles and caps and then we found out trap 3 was broke. That meant that we would be shooting our 50’s for both events on the “Widowmaker”!

We shot with JC – Fred Rutherford – Steve Hensley and Morgan. I ran the first 50 and was the only person to run a 50 on the front! Then we jumped on trap four and then it jumped on me. Hey don’t get me wrong, I have broke a 50 on four and a 25 in caps on 4 but it didn’t happen today! I limped in with a 93 and 96 was the high-gun score!

We took a lunch break and dined on a loaded baked potato with chili, cheese and sour cream. The home made pecan pie was good also! Caps started and we got ready for the event.

We shot caps with Fred – Steve and JC and the squad had great rhythm. When you shoot in a four man squad with JC it’s like shooting in a three man squad. I wound up with a 90 and broke a better score in caps on the widowmaker than I did in singles – go figure.

Doubles was interesting to say the least and we did the best we could and wound up with an 88. All in all a rather mediocre outing for #1392, would Sunday be any better?

The wing fling was great and Shelley had some moose burgers he was pawning off on everybody. We sat across from Richard “AppalachiaKolar” Colley and he was wound up like a top after his 96 in caps and a fresh ½ yard of concrete to perch on next time out.

The WGC point’s championship finally came to the end with Sudd #1, Fred Rutherford #2 and Morg #3. Last year it was Pitts, Johnson
Post Reply