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...........