Maine State Shoot - June 26th through 28th, 2009

Denise Murchison hosted the Maine State Shoot at her Silverton Sporting Ranch location for the 3rd consecutive year.

The Shoot was held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was an unexpected sunny day out of weeks of rain and a good thing too because Harry Vanderweide, host of the Northeast Journal television show and editor of the Maine Sportsman Magazine visited and shot a segment to be shown in the future. He and his co-host Mike not only interviewed shooters but spent time shooting the course. As to when the segment will be aired, you will have to check their website at this link:
http://www.northeastjournal.tv/

I shot the Main Event Sunday and the weather did not cooperate with us.

Denise and Staff set 14 stations of thought-provoking targets. The use of the existing terrain was extraordinary. There were shots in wooded areas, over ponds and from towers. "JT" the Target Setter challenged shooters with angles and target speed. He took many shooters our of their comfort zones. You found yourself doubting your "plan of attack" for that station. These were great 'technical targets.'

I shot with David Grody, Matt Stevens and Mark Herbert and planned to try my hand at FITASC but opted out due to the increasing downpour of rain Mother Nature heaped on us. All in all approximately 58 shooters participated this year. Some came from Nova Scotia, Montreal, Texas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Denise; always trying to improve your 'shooting experience' provided participants with online registration and golf cart rental via IClays.

Saturday night a buffet was served featuring spiral ham, baked beans, lasagna, salads, strawberry shortcake and chocolate cake. On Sunday a chicken barbeque was available.

Detailed results of this Shoot can be found on IClays.com. http://www.iclays.com/

For those who are not aware, IClays is a website that far surpasses any other when it comes to providing information about Sport Shooting scores. What is very unique is your ability to view what a shooter scored at each station. There are a variety of options available too involved to go into here. So click on the link above, take your time and look around for a much fuller experience.

The sports men and women in Maine are really blessed to have such a unique facility in their state. "This Sporting Life" blogger raises his glass to Denise Murchison and her Silverton Sporting Ranch!

Click below to visit the Silverton Sporting Ranch website and see the many additional options available year-round other than Sporting Clays:
http://www.silvertonsportingranch.com/

Click below to see photos of the Silverton Lodge:
http://silvertonranch.blogspot.com/

Here is a slideshow of the few photos I was able to capture. I hope you enjoy!

Maine State Sporting Clays Championship

The Maine State Sporting Clays Championship was held June 27th thru 29th for the second consecutive year at Silverton Sporting Ranch in Canaan, Maine.

Ninety (90) shooters registered representing seven States: Maine, New York, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Canada was also represented. I personally did not complete the shoot. I attended the Main Event but due to unforeseen circumstances did not fully participate.

There was a storm delay at the beginning of the day because of thunder, lightening, and sheets of rain. Participants had to seek shelter indoors for about an hour and ended up eating lunch way before time. Good thing Denise Murchison's Lodge has plenty of room.

In addition to the Main Event, there were two 100 Target Prelims, a 50 Target Sub-Gauge, Five Stand, and FITASC. Results of the Shoot can be found here:
http://www.silvertonsportingranch.com/shoot%20results.htm
In speaking with some participants they commented that the target presentations were challenging. Master Class shooter Mark Brannon told me the targets were tournament quality with a mixture of speed and angles. Targets were set by Silverton's "JD" and his crew. They skillfully created challenging presentations for all levels of shooting ability.

What was different at this Shoot was participation of Youth Shooters during the Main Event. Dan Worcester transported a group of children (6) from the Salem area of Maine. It was the first time any of these children shot Sporting Clays and was a great opportunity for them. Dan heads and introduces young people to Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays at the Salem Rod & Gun Club. When he contacted Denise and told her of his plans to bring the kids for their first Shoot, Denise, realizing the importance of exposing young Shooters to our sport offered a 25% discount to each child. She also made arrangements for each child to receive a Browning Gun Case (donated by the "Kids & Clays" Program) a hat, a Shooting Towel, lunch, and if each child brought a box of shells, she would provide the rest!

The kids had a great time! There was a raffle held at the Shoot and with the monies raised, Ms Murchison plans to hold another Shoot in the near future for an even larger group of children at the Ranch. In addition to Dan Worcester's children, Denise hopes to have 8 youths from the Maine Youth Fish and Game Association and another group from the Boy Scout Venturers for approximately a total of 20. They will be classified under the Youth Hunter Class in the Sporting Clays division. Denise says the only thing they will have to bring is 2 boxes of shells. She will provide one box and everything else including lunch. She plans to provide them with a round of Five-Stand and 50 Sporting targets.
Dan plans to take his youths to the Maine Trapshooting Tournament in Scarborough, Maine July 13th.

Perhaps there is something you can do for the children in your area. Dan would like to thank his chaperones for the Shoot: Alan Wyman, Steven Boyd, Charlie Tappan, and Jack Davis.

More information about Silverton can be found at the following links:
Main Website Portal: http://www.silvertonsportingranch.com/
and http://www.silvertonsportingranch.com/shooting%20sports.htm

Here is a link to the Kids And Clays website. It is associated with the Ronald McDonald House and their spokesperson is Olympic Gold Medalists, Kim Rhode
http://www.kidsandclays.com/

Here is a slideshow.

The Ruger Shoot At Addieville East, Smithfield, RI

Well! Where do I begin??
Addieville East has long had the reputation of running the most professional, challenging and interesting Sporting and Fitasc Shoots in the northeast, and they did it again this past May 2nd through 4th.

The weather was a challenge "in and of itself." It was cold, windy and raining Friday and Saturday. Sunday started out drizzly, but much milder temperature-wise. The Clubhouse had a fire in the fireplace all 3 days and shooters took advantage of it by warming their hands.

The Fitasc Competition was held Friday (100 birds), Saturday and Sunday (50 birds each). What made these targets so thought-provoking was: depending upon your technique and "hold point" you could take these targets in two different "kill points." There was no "second guessing." If you did not have a "plan" you were "done" before you began.

The Fitasc Judges were excellent: Phil Turnor, Doug Robare, Mary Rabauno, Ed Fallon, Ron Adams and son were courteous and proficient in their knowledge of fitasc rules.

Saturday began the first day of the Ruger "All Around Championship" with a 100 bird Prelim Event. You could also shoot Small Gauge events of 410, 28 and 20 with Side Events using a Side by Side and Pump. Five-Stand was available as well.

Sunday was the Sporting Clays Main Event with 100 targets. Also, for your shooting pleasure was a "Make-A-Break," Five-Stand and Games. Lunch was "available" on Saturday and Sunday.

I have been shooting in the neighborhood of 19 years. I started out Shooting as something to do to wick off my 'angst' of working two full time jobs during the week and only having Saturday and Sunday to "relax" before getting back to the old grind. During this Shoot I learned I need to know "when to hold them, and when to fold them." Let me elaborate....

The Prelim Event was held Saturday in a cold, breezy, steady misty rain. The targets were pretty straight forward and gave you a feeling of comfort as you progressed through the Course. At first you felt these were targets that had been "seen before;" and though very challenging, they were NOTHING in comparison to the presentations during the Main Event.

Being a "perennial" E-Class shooter, I am always trying to find the "sweet spot" on targets. Jack O'Brien is a wonderful guy, but he is one of the meanest (and I say this in a good way), most skilled Target Presenters in the Sport. He creates angles and speed variations up the "ying-yang." He takes you out of your comfort zone. He has the skill to take away the aquisition of your "sweet spot" and does so quite often unless you are at the top of your game. During the Main Event I was able to take the first pair of many Stations with a level of comfort, but could not duplicate anything after the first presentation. Every target thereafter found me guessing and floundering right to the end of this well-set course.

Approximately 309 Shooters registered to shoot the Ruger. I had the pleasure of shooting with Mark Brannon, Jerald Copp, and Troy Pellitier who gave me much needed "moral support." I shot like hell .... the worst score of my shooting history, but in a strange way, I enjoyed myself! It's humbling to know you can be challenged!

I would really like to thank all of the wonderful folks who made this tournament such a challenging good experience. Another special thanks to the Judges who greeted you with a smile while freezing their Butts off (yes, it was that cold)! Without them, there would not have been a Shoot!

As usual Addieville had amenities such as places to sit near each station, Del's cold frosty Lemonade at various locations (but during this Shoot, nice hot coffee would have been greatly appreciated), and portable toilets available throughout the Course. It makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

Here is a slide show. Hope you enjoy!

Turkey Shoot at Arnold Trail Gun Club, Sidney, Maine

Today (Sunday) was a great day to be out and about in west-central Maine! The foliage is peaked with color and hunters wearing orange are continuing to dot the woods and fields of Maine in search of prey; and some of us chose to try our luck at the annual Turkey Shoot at Arnold's Trail and Gun Club! Arnold Trail and Gun, located in Sidney, Maine is the oldest active club in the great state of Maine. Sidney is approximately a 20 minute ride north of Augusta.

The real name for this Shoot should have been "See how many turkeys you can win to donate to area food pantries' Shoot." I was made aware of this by everyone I spoke to throughout the hours I spent at Arnolds' today.

The Shoot was very well attended and everyone enjoyed him or herself as far as I could tell. Arnold offered 5-Stand, Two-Man Flurrys, Double-Skeet, and Trap.

The 5-Stand
The five-stand program was all about two-shot singles. Each shooter shot two rounds at each station for a total of ten shots. The highest score out of ten won a turkey.

Two-Man Flurry
This game was played at Skeet Field number one. Shooters were positioned on stations three and six on the Skeet field. Twenty targets were thrown for each two-man team. The team with the highest score out of twenty won, with each team member receiving a turkey.

Double Skeet
The Shooter has doubles on stations two, three, four, five and six. The high scorer won a turkey.

Trap
With the trap machine set at "full wobble" each shooter shot two targets per station for a total of ten targets. The high man or woman on the squad received a turkey.

The Arnold club members added something to their Turkey Shoot that I personally haven't seen before. In each game presentation were what they termed "poison birds" (green clay targets) intermingled with the standard orange ones. If you were lucky enough to kill one of the "poison birds" you automatically won two lobsters packed in ice, ready for your cooler! Wow.....!!! This was definitely lots of fun, and kudos to Arnold Trail and Gun Club! Your hearts and spirits are really in the right place.

I would also like to commend them for adding benches on their Skeet and Trap Fields!! I know members and guests appreciate having them available if needed.

The fee for the Turkey Shoot was $5 for each event. Lunch could be purchased for $5 and you had a choice of hamburger, or hotdog, soda and chips.

Now some photos...........

LL Bean's Five-Stand

I have heard of LL Bean's 5-Stand but never took the time to visit until this past Sunday. Located on Fogg Farm in Freeport, Maine is a spacious area where instructions are given for a multitude of outdoor sports. I was surprised to find not only 5-Stand, but a course to teach Sporting Clays to beginners if anyone has a need or desire. They also teach Fly Fishing techniques (including Spey Casting) and Kayaking. Though I can find no mention of it on their website, we did see an instructor in the Archery Field.

LL Beans' 5-Stand is presented as "an opportunity to hone your shooting skills. I found the targets to be very "user-shooter-friendly."

The folks at Beans want Shooters to be able to hit targets! I found the people nice; it was a friendly environment, and the targets were well-thought-out.

It is a good 'tune-up' for hunting! I had a good time, and I am looking forward to visiting next season.

Their 5-Stand Public Shoots are held in Spring, Summer, and until the end of September.

Fees are $7 per round if using your own equipment and ammo; and $20 per round if using their guns and ammo. A round is 25 targets.

They also offer a half-day Shotgun Sports Essential with an introduction to safety and shooting seven times a year. You are introduced to various types of shotguns and their functions. You are also introduced to the games of 5-Stand and Flurry. This course is offered for men and women in separate classes for a fee of $95.

There is also a One-Day Introductory Course to Wingshooting seven times a year for $245. Click on the link for more details:
http://www.llbean.com/outdoorsOnline/odp/courses/shooting/wingshooting-essentials-maine.html

For more information on the Half-Day Shotgun Sports Essential course, click on the link:
http://www.llbean.com/outdoorsOnline/odp/courses/shooting/essentials-halfday-maine.html
Blogger has been having trouble hosting slideshows created with their Picasa Online Album and on more than one occasion the slideshows have been unavailable, so I am trying out a new slideshow creator. With this one, you must manually change the photos by clicking on the arrows. Hope this solution works, although I did like the "automatic play" feature that comes with Picasa.

Now for some pictures.......

Partridge Tune Up Shoot at Scarborough Fish & Game

On Sunday, September 2nd I attended the Partridge Tune Up Shoot at Scarborough Fish and Game in Scarborough, Maine. The Club re-opened Sporting Clay Shooting in May of this year. Approximately 35 Shooters attended.

The Shoot was opened to the public with 100 targets shot over 16 Stations for $50. It was organized with a Shotgun Start, four shooters per squad with flight times at 9AM and Noon. The cost for this Shoot included the NSCA target fee and lunch.

A "Big tipping of my cap" to George Pelletier and his crew! For those who weren't there, you missed a truly well-run, organized Fun Shoot! The program had 8 stations with two shooting positions at each station (red and blue), making it a less strenuous trek for more "mature" shooters.

There was a nice ebb and flow to this Shoot. Stations 1, 2, and 3 were set on the Skeet Field with a variation of left to right crossers, followed on report by a screaming overhead standard target that appeared on your right and going away from you.
Changing positions from red to blue changed the presentation at each station.

Shooters enjoyed the physical layout of the course.

The fine points were:

This was an easy course to walk with wide paths for walking and carts;
Rest stations (benches) were available at almost all stations!

I had the pleasure of shooting with Steve Rice, Ken Baessler and Bill Wiesehahn.

If there had been a suggestion box I would have suggested that the Registration Process be more finely-tuned. Also a "Warm-up" area should be available. Another suggestion would be water made available to Shooters on the course.

I would like to give a special thank you to Earl Glidden and his son, Steve who not only competed, but helped deliver and fill traps on the course.

I look forward to more exciting targets from George Pellitier.

Scarborough has a very informative website. One of the best I have seen.

They not only have Sporting Clay Shooting available, but Archery, Pistol, 5-Stand, Rifle, Trap, Wobble Trap, Home Firearm Safety, and Hunter Safety.

The link to their website is:
http://www.scarfg.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome

Now for some photos!


George Pellitier, Associate Vice President of Scarborough Fish & Games

Slide Show.....

Rocky Mountain Elk Shoot At Varneys' Clay Sports

The Maine Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation held a Hunter's Tune-Up at Varney's Clay Sports in Richmond, Maine today. Varney's Clay Sports is owned and operated by Brad Varney. It was a good turnout of hunters and non-hunters.

The targets were set by the "Wizard of the Woods" himself, Brad Varney! I gave Brad this moniker today after viewing the first Station on his course. Station One was 2 following pair (midis) followed by a simo pair (midi and 90mm targets).

The thing with Brad's targets is he makes you take the shot before you really want to. If you wait too long, the targets become more difficult to locate and shoot!! That's the wizardry of Brad Varney!! He takes you out of your comfort zone!

The format for this Shoot was: 50 main targets from 9am to 12:30pm, break for lunch from 11:30 to 1:30, and shoot the second 50 targets from 1-4pm.

This was a well run organized Shoot by the Maine Elk Foundation.

Question: When was the last time you went to a Shoot where not only did you feel good about supporting our hunting heritage but felt everyone left feeling like a winner?!!

This was my first Shoot with the Rocky Mountain Foundation, but it won't be my last. The men and women of this organization were friendly and sincere in their greeting to us. The raffle tables were full of products we know and use in our outdoor adventures and were provided by LL Bean; Coles Gunsmithing, Browning, Bob Allen and others.
The champion and runner-ups in each class received shells manufactured by Rios, Estates and Fiochie. I understand some folks have already signed up for next years shoot!! Has anyone seen my pen??!!

My Squad team members were: Sarah and Jeff St. Pierre, and Mark Brannon.

Lunch was your choice of cheeseburgers, or hotdogs, bags of chips, devil dogs and twinkies, and a variety of sodas.

There was a 100 target Main Event, NSCA sanctioned and Hunter Class. The entry fee of $75 included the Main Event, lunch and raffle tickets with a $50 re-entry fee for a second round of 100 targets and raffle tickets. There was also a Duck Blind Flurry: two shooters - 20 targets for $10. At the end of the shoot, awards and raffle drawings took place and it was requirement that you must be present to receive your winnings.

My squad happened to be very lucky! Three of us won merchandise! Sarah won 4 boxes of Estate Shells and a hat. Mark won a case of Fiochi and Rio shells. I won 4 boxes of Estate shells, a hat, a zippered Camo Gun case, a book, a Benelli Catalog on CD, and a leather Trap Pouch! Whew!! Haven't been that lucky in quite a while.....

The weather was beautiful! None of the humid, soggy atmosphere like we had yesterday at Hermons'. The sun was shining strongly, but Brad's woods is full of shady trees and provided great protection from the heat.

One complaint I hear more and more lately is a lack of seating at the stations at virtually all Shooting Clubs. Club owners must begin to realize and understand that a fair percentage of their patrons are, or are approaching their senior years. Some have joint or other medical problems that makes it stressful for them to shoot the course. There are some who want to shoot, but can't because there is no place for them to sit once they reach a Station, and visiting 12-14 stations is tiring and uncomfortable. Seating at each station would be very, very much welcomed by everyone, both young and older!!

Brad Varney also gives shooting instructions. He is very accommodating and loves to make sure you 'want to come back' to his Club. Brad has a website. His telephone number is: 207.737.4993. The link to his website is: http://www.varneysclaysports.com/

Now for some pictures.......

Here is a photo of Brad and his delightful companion, Alyse (I hope I spelled her name correctly...it's too late to call them and ask; so if I made a mistake I hope I will be forgiven).



And here is a Slideshow!!