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.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
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!
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!
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