Tom Shelley, Barb Farmer- Doubles at WGC
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 5:18 pm
A few years ago we were at Watauga Gun Club in Boone for a typical 300 target tournament.
It was a beautiful summer day in the mountains, not too hot and not too cool. A light breeze through the valley where the club is situated made for a post card perfect day
WGC typically draws a good crowd and this shoot was well attended as normal. Prizes and payouts are usually pretty good there so the competitive level is high for most events.
Our Mr. Shelley (Highpockets) had recently acquired “Miss Kitty” (Kolar Combo) from Morgan Shaw and was eager to get with the program and display his anticipated prowess with this finest of competition shotguns! He entered and shot the singles and handicap events, recording results that were more than acceptable considering this was his maiden voyage with the new to him target breaker.
Highpockets had signed up to shoot doubles with myself and Jim Wilson. Jim was leadoff, Tom on post three and I started on post four.
Enter Barb Farmer. Barb loved to keep score for doubles and those of us that knew her, knew that she brooked no BS. Zero tolerance. Period. Judge, Jury and Executioner when she deemed necessary
Now, anyone that knows Morgan Shaw is aware that he is a very meticulous individual. A necessary character component for a Jewler. This trait most certainly extends to the care of his firearms. Prior to transferring ownership to Tom, Morgan had given Miss Kitty a thorough going over, cleaning and lubricating from end to end. Pristine.
The problem was, Kolar triggers don’t like to be wet. They will double on you in less than a heartbeat if residual oil is on them. Well, Morgan had apparently literally dunked the trigger group in a bucket of 10W-30…………
Well, we toed the line and Jim managed to break the first pair. Ol’ Highpockets mounted his gun, called for his targets, BABOOM, two shots sounded as one, the first target disappeared in a spectacular ball of smoke. The issue was that now the gun was empty so he had nothing with which to shoot at the 2nd target
Barb immediately cried foul! She told Tom he needed to shoot the pair over. Tom complied and managed to shoot them without problem. We continued. Again when Tom’s turn came he experienced the same issue. Again Barb intervened and told Tom that if this happened again his targets would be called lost. This continued throughout next station with Tom not knowing if the gun was gonna double or not. After Mr. Shelley went to his vehicle to get more shells, we finished the first 50 targets. Eventually the round was completed. I believe he took 150 or so rounds to shoot his 50 pair………….
So now, Tom quickly rectified the over lubricating situation and has not encountered a doubling issue again. He and Miss Kitty get along fine and he has captured a few events with her.
Unfortunately, we lost Barb a few years ago. Barb is an iconic piece of WGC history and is sorely missed. Her unmistakable personality and style is lost to the Watauga Gun Club and the Trapshooting community of North Carolina.
See you next time wherever it is. Safe passages my friends. Dan
It was a beautiful summer day in the mountains, not too hot and not too cool. A light breeze through the valley where the club is situated made for a post card perfect day
WGC typically draws a good crowd and this shoot was well attended as normal. Prizes and payouts are usually pretty good there so the competitive level is high for most events.
Our Mr. Shelley (Highpockets) had recently acquired “Miss Kitty” (Kolar Combo) from Morgan Shaw and was eager to get with the program and display his anticipated prowess with this finest of competition shotguns! He entered and shot the singles and handicap events, recording results that were more than acceptable considering this was his maiden voyage with the new to him target breaker.
Highpockets had signed up to shoot doubles with myself and Jim Wilson. Jim was leadoff, Tom on post three and I started on post four.
Enter Barb Farmer. Barb loved to keep score for doubles and those of us that knew her, knew that she brooked no BS. Zero tolerance. Period. Judge, Jury and Executioner when she deemed necessary
Now, anyone that knows Morgan Shaw is aware that he is a very meticulous individual. A necessary character component for a Jewler. This trait most certainly extends to the care of his firearms. Prior to transferring ownership to Tom, Morgan had given Miss Kitty a thorough going over, cleaning and lubricating from end to end. Pristine.
The problem was, Kolar triggers don’t like to be wet. They will double on you in less than a heartbeat if residual oil is on them. Well, Morgan had apparently literally dunked the trigger group in a bucket of 10W-30…………
Well, we toed the line and Jim managed to break the first pair. Ol’ Highpockets mounted his gun, called for his targets, BABOOM, two shots sounded as one, the first target disappeared in a spectacular ball of smoke. The issue was that now the gun was empty so he had nothing with which to shoot at the 2nd target
Barb immediately cried foul! She told Tom he needed to shoot the pair over. Tom complied and managed to shoot them without problem. We continued. Again when Tom’s turn came he experienced the same issue. Again Barb intervened and told Tom that if this happened again his targets would be called lost. This continued throughout next station with Tom not knowing if the gun was gonna double or not. After Mr. Shelley went to his vehicle to get more shells, we finished the first 50 targets. Eventually the round was completed. I believe he took 150 or so rounds to shoot his 50 pair………….
So now, Tom quickly rectified the over lubricating situation and has not encountered a doubling issue again. He and Miss Kitty get along fine and he has captured a few events with her.
Unfortunately, we lost Barb a few years ago. Barb is an iconic piece of WGC history and is sorely missed. Her unmistakable personality and style is lost to the Watauga Gun Club and the Trapshooting community of North Carolina.
See you next time wherever it is. Safe passages my friends. Dan