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AUGUST 2000 NEWSLETTER
© Bruce Buck, editor

IN MEMORIAM RUDY PASSERO… Rudy Passero passed away recently following
a short illness. One of the original Connecticut Travelers, he has
been our club treasurer since the very beginning. We’ll miss him.
Rudy was one of the good guys.


SECRET SOCIETY AND SANDANONA by Vinny La Scalza...

It is common knowledge that every fine institution has its secret
society, so it should be no surprise to anyone that like Yale
University, the Connecticut Travelers have a very secret inner
circle. I have, quite by accident at the Sandanona shoot on July 16,
discovered the names of a few of its members and with every
subsequent shoot hope to uncover more. They are people as different
as day from night except for one binding idea that is the heart of
their philosophy and can be expressed in Biblical terms:

Thou Shall Never Use Full Choke!!!

It is true that under the most demanding conditions after asking and
getting everyone else’s permission on the squad, a member can use a
modified choke. However, he believes in his heart that it would be
certain death if even for one instant he entertained a thought of
handling that very shiny, clean choke with the small F on it. After
all everyone knows that you couldn’t possibly hit anything with a
Full choke.

Some of these miss-guided ones were on my squad at Sandanona and it
was interesting to see their faith sorely tested on station # 16
which appeared peaceful with a stack of split wood out in front of
the shooter’s box. You could almost think that you were in a rocker
on your home porch, until the trap 40 yards in front of you launched
a teal at least 40 yards in height moving on an angle back away from
the shooter. Now, that Greek mathematician, Piggybaccus (spelling
may vary with translation) understood that if two legs of a right
triangle were at least 40 yards, then the hypotenuse must be more
than 40 yards. Since the teal was moving back away from the shooter
it was a lot more than 40 yards. 50 yards is FAR, so use the choke
with the F on it. F is for FAR.

This teal was followed by a standard bird crossing at 25 yards.
Many, many people would miss the teal, but this was the bird you had
to take. Did you miss this bird because you were waiting for the
teal to break with your gun hopelessly out of position? If so, then
you approached this station incorrectly.

Shooters on this course were not asking "How much lead?" but instead
"How do I hit these birds?" It was the order for shooting simos or
flight line of many of the birds that was puzzling. This is another
way of saying that the course was a very technical one. Let’s take a
look at station #10 to illustrate this point.

Station # 10 was a station in the woods with rails extending out on
both sides of the station so your friends could be real close to you
in your moment of need, and your enemies not be without comedy
material at your expense. The first bird of a report pair streaked
from right to left crossing 20 yards in front of the shooter. The
second bird quartered away right to left from a trap 20 yards in
front of the shooter and off to the right side. This bird was
typically broken between 35 and 45 yards away. This presentation is
a classic mixture of a fast, heavy-handed first move combined with a
smooth stroke on a long bird with a lot of careful follow through.
Mixing these two different moves together has been known to cause
premature aging in rats. Most people would be satisfied with this
presentation, but Ed Gerrard (the course designer) is not most
people. Burdened with excessive creativity, he has added some
refinements. The first bird was thrown with the closest edge slightly
lower than the back edge. This causes the bird to dive down quickly
at the end of its flight. So now you have a close bird steaming by
you that accelerates at the end of its flight into the ground.
Better hurry! The second bird is also tilted, but now it is the back
edge that is slightly lower as it quarters away right to left. The
shooter knows that this bird is a long shot and so is very careful to
have a long, smooth stroke and follow through. But, since this bird
will curl down and back under its own flight line, it must slow down
rapidly. All the misses here were way out in front not accounting
for this slow down. The people who broke this bird were very early
or had very little lead and a "poke" rather than a stroke.

I would like to finally discuss both one last station and the curious
behavior of the two secret society members on my squad. It was
station # 2 near the clubhouse called "Pick a pair of Quail" on a
sign nailed to the station’s posts. The first bird of a report pair
was a loooong crosser showing _ of its face as it streaked a rainbow
trajectory across the sky. This was followed by a mini (60mm) shot
out of a trap directly in front of the shooter going away. Almost no
one hit the crosser since its sweet spot was 50 yards away. I stood
back filled with curiosity as the first sect member stepped into the
station. Light mod was installed in his barrel, and he said to me,
"Plenty of face showing on the target!" At fifty yards, a light mod
throws a pattern with holes large enough for a Durango (you are
welcome Al) to drive through.

Then the Target God stepped in, and in a fateful moment of play had
one pellet strike and break the far crosser. The shooter only broke
one of these crossers in what could only be described as a lottery
moment, but as he left the box, I could see that we lost this good
man forever. For the rest of his life, he would be attempting
50-yard targets with light mod and telling every one, " I have broken
this before with light mod!!"

As the other shooter was about to enter the box, I saw a questioning
look in his eye. I pointed to the F on my choke and asked him if he
wanted to break both crossing targets? When he said, "Yes!" I told
him that the F on full chokes not only stands for "Far", but also
"For Sure". The rest as they say is history. Are you curious as to
the outcome? Well, just ask these shooters at the next shoot. They
travel together and one always uses light mod in the gun for far
shots.

HOA Mike Horodyski 86
I-1 Bruce Galotto 80
I-2 Jim Muller 78
I-3 Steve Delena 77
II-1 Nick Weidhaas 81
II-2 Mark Latakas 78
II-3 John Hrynecewich 75
III-1 Steve Scorzetti 74
III-2 Jim Collins 70*
III-3 George Kutch 70
IV-1 Todd Feil 70
IV-2 Kevin Sterk 69*
IV-3 Kip Allardt 69
V-1 Mike Boffalo 62
V-2 Bill Goldhammer 61
V-3 Cato Ealy 59
VI-1 Jan Allardt 47
VI-2 Peter Hoffman 43*
VI-3 Linda Walka 43
Ldy-1 Susie Clarke 65
Ldy-2 Paula Moore 60
Ldy-3 Ginny Tennison 58
Vet-1 Jim Kline 78
Vet-2 Joe Maresca 74*
Vet-3 John Lawlor 74
Jr-1 Lee Horn 64
Jr-2 George Kaiser Jr. 50
Jr-3 Adam Sansouce 49*
Jr-4 Kieran Farslow 49
Jr-5 Rocky Cotoia 45*
Jr-6 Paul Hughes 45
Jr-7 Kristin Rockwell 31
Guest Kurt Anderson 71
* Ties decided by tie-breaker station

TRAVELERS TAPE LIBRARY… In yet another effort to enable our members to
improve their shooting (and thus blunt the reference to our Travelers
Tough shoots as "blood drives"), we have instituted a lending library
of sporting clays videos.

So far we have: Guide to Perfection by George Digweed, Complete
System by Dan Carlisle, Approach to Winning by Andy Duffy, Sporting
Clays from Holland and Holland, Choke and Load, Out in Front by Doug
Fuller, Hitting the Hard Shots by Gary Phillips, FITASC, Sporting
Clays by Jon Kruger, Secrets to Success by Jon Kruger, Developing
Your Style, Optimum Shooting Performance, Shooting Straight by Roger
Silcox, Shooting Straight in Competition by Roger Silcox, and The Eye
System. We will have added new titles since this list was compiled.

Connecticut Travelers who wish to rent a tape should contact Craig
Johnson at 203-356-9991. Tell Craig which tape you want and he will
mail it to you. Keep the box. Rental time is 14 days, but it is
appreciated if you can return it earlier. To return the tape, simply
put it back in the box along with six dollars in cash and send it
back.

If you have any sporting clays tapes (even duplicates of ones we
have) that you no longer need, the library will gleefully accept
donations. As a "thank you" your next rental would be free.

MISS MANNERS AND TOUGH LOVE…

"Oh loathsome little rodents!" intoned Miss M as she sternly stared
out over her Travelers classroom of squirming cherubs. Her steel grey
eyes flashed behind her pince-nez as the micro miscreants quivered at
their tiny wooden school desks. "You have been inattentive to your
lessons. You have backslid. You have disobeyed. You have not been
thoughtful."

Truly, this remonstrance pained Miss Manners as much as it did her
class of little Travelers. She loved them dearly, runny noses, loose
shoelaces and all. Still, it was her job to teach them how to act
properly in a world that occasionally forgot what the word "is"
meant.

"At our last class outing we (Miss M and Queen Victoria both
preferred the first person plural) noticed actual rules violations
and lapses in taste. Since our class is so large, our monthly field
trips won’t go smoothly when conducted in the spirit of gleeful riot.
Even games have rules. Actually, only games have rules. Nothing else
seems to these days."

"Sporting clays differs from golf in many ways. (Golf, a game for
very old people in retirement homes, was still many years away for
the little Travelers, but they listened up because they knew that
Miss M must have been making some kind of important analogy.) Clays
shooters aren’t required to wear pink trousers with little whales on
them, nor are shooters prone to hurl their athletic equipment into
ponds in fits of pique. But there is one similarity- the anathema of
slooow play. Dawdling and fussing about in such a way as to slow down
others is to be avoided in both sports."

"To speed things up the first sporting clays shooter of a squad must
not request a ‘view pair’ if his squad had arrived at the station
early enough to watch the previous squad shoot. If no one is shooting
the station when you arrive, well and good. Ask to see a pair. You’re
entitled. But if birds are being thrown when you arrive, pay
attention to them so that you can just get up and shoot when it’s
your turn. Unnecessary view pairs waste time, delay the next squad,
waste targets and brand the viewer as inexperienced, inattentive,
selfish, piggy or worse, impolite." The little class of Travelers
shuddered under the awesome invective. The pejorative "impolite"
always carried with it the dreadful sentence of fewer nap time
cookies and doubtful milk served well past its "use by" date.

"And while we’re at it," said Miss Manners as she paced back and
forth on the teachers elevated platform at the front of the
classroom, "don’t yell ‘Clear!’ to the trapper when you squad is
finished if there is another squad right behind you waiting to shoot.
The station isn’t clear. Someone from the next squad is about to
shoot. You don’t want the trapper wandering out to get a drink of
water or excusing himself to the boys’ room thinking it is safe. If
no squad is behind you and the station really is clear, then by all
means tell the trapper. But if you are the last shooter on your squad
and another squad is waiting, tell that squad’s scorer that you are
done and they are up."

"When it is your turn to shoot, get into the box and call loudly ‘New
shooter!’ This not only tells the trapper to stop playing and pay
attention, it also gets him used to your voice. This way you get a
good pull. If you just saunter up to the station after several
minutes of inactivity and howl out ‘Pull!’, what kind of instant
response do you think you are going to get? Don’t ask ‘Trapper
ready?’ Responding to this question two hundred times in four hours
is just too much to ask. Have faith. He’ll be ready when you tell him
there’s a new shooter. If he isn’t, he’ll tell you then. So often
good manners are just common sense. That’s why people who lack one
usually lack the other."

One of the biggest concerns of any teacher at a school outing is when
one of the children become lost. Well, there are certain children one
wouldn’t mind being lost and fed to ravening animals, but for the
most part kids ought to be returned at the end of the day whence they
came. Parents seem to prefer that.

Miss M went on to praise her little charges for not becoming lost on
the course because they always followed the station rotation. Good
little Travelers never skip stations and never go "against the
grain". Being very good at counting, they know how to go to six, then
to seven, eight and even all the way up to fifteen or twenty. One
number comes after another in perfect order. If there is a line or
backup on a station, they simply wait patiently, perhaps playing
marbles or coloring in their scorecards. They do not skip, except
perhaps with a rope and the challenge of "Double Dutch".

Then Miss Manners went on to address the situation of new shooters.
She always went out of her way to welcome a new little Traveler to
her class. Miss M was pragmatic and knew her economics. No new
students equaled no need for teachers equaled no job for her equaled
no discount gin at the school PX. New faces were good.

The problem was that some of her new students weren’t as advanced in
the 3Rs as those she had already transformed into little Einsteins.
They needed to be brought up to speed in order to fit in.

It’s like shooters, she thought. New shooters deserve courtesy and
attention because they are the future of the sport. But a monthly
Travelers shoot really isn’t the place to teach someone the ABC
basics. That should be done with some private remedial classwork at a
local club.

Once the basics of safety and gun handling are in hand and the new
shooter feels comfortable attending a Travelers match, any additional
coaching is to be done off the stand. It delays the shoot for
everyone when some well intentioned but muddle-headed do gooder
"instructor" takes up everyone else’s time pointing out this and that
while the hapless, helpless student clogs up the shooting stand. It’s
also against the rules. There is no coaching of a shooter once he/she
is on the stand and shooting.

There’s absolutely nothing at all wrong with telling the new shooter
what to expect and what to do before he/she gets into the stand.
That’s fine. It’s like studying before a test. Coaching while someone
is in the box is like asking the kid at the next desk for test
answers. It’s ruler across the knuckles time. Miss Manners ceased her
pacing back and forth and looked down at her class of little
Travelers. Habitual miscreants avoided her eye. Nascent toadies in
the front row showed her the notes they had taken. Most of the kids
just stared back slack jawed and goggle eyed.

"Well maybe some of it sunk in.", she thought as she doled out an
extra ration of cookies. She loved them all to a fault and wanted to
prepare them for those who did not.

THE TECHNOID RECOILS…

Down in the Technoidal grotto underneath the massive RELOAD! complex
towering towers over the little Connecticut seaport town, our lab
coated hero was happily consuming his fourth piece of two day old
pizza as he popped the tab of another Jolt Cola ("Twice the sugar!
Twice the caffeine!")

Most of you would recoil at the thought of "aged" pizza, but the only
thing that the Techmeister recoils at is --- recoil.

So here are some free recoil numbers for you just in case you forgot.

8# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1250 fps= 19.13 ft/lb
7# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1250 fps= 21.86 ft/lb
6# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1250 fps= 25.51 ft/lb
8# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1200 fps= 17.63 ft/lb
7# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1200 fps= 20.15 ft/lb
6# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1200 fps= 23.51 ft/lb
8# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1150 fps= 16.19 ft/lb
7# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1150 fps= 18.50 ft/lb
6# gun, 1-1/8 oz at 1150 fps= 21.59 ft/lb
8# gun, 1 oz at 1250 fps= 15.55 ft/lb
7# gun, 1 oz at 1250 fps= 17.77 ft/lb
6# gun, 1 oz at 1250 fps= 20.73 ft/lb
8# gun, 1 oz at 1200 fps= 14.25 ft/lb
7# gun, 1 oz at 1200 fps= 16.28 ft/lb
6# gun, 1 oz at 1200 fps= 18.99 ft/lb
8# gun, 1 oz at 1150 fps= 13.08 ft/lb
7# gun, 1 oz at 1150 fps= 14.95 ft/lb
6# gun, 1 oz at 1150 fps= 17.44 ft/lb
8# gun, 7/8 oz at 1250 fps= 12.26 ft/lb
7# gun, 7/8 oz at 1250 fps= 14.01 ft/lb
6# gun, 7/8 oz at 1250 fps= 16.34 ft/lb
8# gun, 7/8 oz at 1150 fps= 10.24 ft/lb
7# gun, 7/8 oz at 1150 fps= 11.70 ft/lb
6# gun, 7/8 oz at 1150 fps= 13.65 ft/lb


*** 2000 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

AUG 11-13 ADDIEVILLE-GREAT EASTERN LOBSTER CLASSIC
SEPT 17 FAIRFIELD F&G- SMALL GAUGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
SEPT * FALL TRIP TO CANADA
OCT 15 MILLBROOK R&G-OKTOBERSCHUTZENFEST
NOV * FRIAR TUCK-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOV 26 EAST MOUNTAIN- KOEHLER SOCIETY FUND-RAISER
DEC 17 MID-COUNTY- CHRISTMAS PARTY
? Date pending

NOTE: We are rescheduling our November Friar Tuck shoot so as not to
conflict with Peconic’s November 10-12 "Shoot for a Cure for Breast
Cancer". The Travelers support this shoot and urge you to attend. Do
the right thing. Help fight a disease that takes our mothers, wives,
sisters and daughters.

*** OTHER SHOOTS OF INTEREST ***
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, CALL AHEAD TO CONFIRM

AUG 5,6 SUFFOLK, LI, NY (631-924-4490) NY NSCA STATE CH
AUG 6 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) SCA SC OPEN
AUG 20 PECONIC, NY (631-727-5248) 100 REGISTERED SPORTING
SEP 9 NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT (860-584-1083) SPORTING AND DINNER
SEP 10 FRIAR TUCK, NY (800-832-7600) GREEN COUNTY OPEN
SEP 21-24 SANDANONA, NY (413-339-4377 VINTAGE CUP SxS EXPOSITION
OCT 1 PECONIC, NY (631-727-5248) 100 REGISTERED SPORTING
OCT 1 WALLKILL, NY (914-564-0185) 150 TARGET FUN SHOT, $65
OCT 8,9 FRIAR TUCK, NY (800-832-7600) COLUMBUS DAY 200
NOV 10-12 PECONIC, NY (631-727-5248) SHOOT TO CURE BREAST CANCER
NOV 12, 13 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) FALL FITASC CH
NOV 19 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) FALL SC OPEN



CONTACTING THE TRAVELERS...

CTSCA Home Office: Email <CTSCA@email.com> (by far the best way) or
telephone 860-354-9351 if you absolutely must.

Membership, Address Changes and Shooting Class: Contact Cyndi Dalena
at 860-584-1083, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Leave message. Or Email
shotguncyndi@prodigy.net

Reload! To place an ad or post a shoot date, contact Bruce Buck at
203-454-1080 (worst way) or <bbuck@juno.com> (best way). The current
and previous issues of Reload! are posted on the internet at
<www.shotgunreport.com>.




**** THE UPCOMING TRAVELERS MONTHLY SHOOT ****

FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 11-13
THE GREAT EASTERN LOBSTER CLASSIC
ADDIEVILLE EAST FARM
MAPLEVILLE, RHODE ISLAND

TAH DAH! This is it, BIG ONE, second edition. Last year’s shoot was a
tremendous success, so naturally we’re going to top it this year. You
thought that 196 guns at last month’s Orvis/Sandanona shoot was big?
Well, stand back. Addieville is going to be so popular that lobster
will be on the endangered species list when we are done.

The is the Connecticut Travelers only OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SHOOT of the
year. EVERYONE IS INVITED. The shoot is NSCA sanctioned, but entrants
do NOT have to be a member of the NSCA, Travelers or any other
organization to participate. This is equal opportunity enjoyment.

Our partner in shooting bliss is Geoff Gaebe of Addieville East Farm.
Geoff’s reputation for clever courses, smoothly run shoots, classy
banquets and great hospitality is unparalleled. The Addieville
imprimatur is a guarantee of a first class shoot. Although you have
already received a flyer with complete details and an entry form, you
can consider this announcement another friendly reminder. This
shoot’s so nice, we tell you twice!

Friday, August 11 is preliminary day. There are five separate 50 bird
pre-lims for the three subgauges plus SxS and pump. Entry is $25
each. There’s also a $50/100 bird 12 gauge preliminary. And a 5-Stand
tournament! That’s a lot of shooting if you can remain standing.

Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13 is the main event of 100
sporting birds each day for a total event of 200. Pre-registered
entry fee (until August 4) is only $150. After that it’s $175.
Juniors are $75. Compare these prices to the fees gouged out of you
at some of the other "national" shoots. The classes are Open, Ladies,
Seniors (55-64), Vets (65+) and Juniors (17 and under). Numbered
classes (AA-E) are based on current averages or known ability.
Addieville’s mathematicians will tell your class. In the Travelers’
tradition, NSCA registration is available, but not required. The NSCA
event runs as a concurrent.

The shoot is by squadded start (four to a squad) and will be run with
two flight times of 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM. You will get a flight time
when you sign up. Also, a 5 Stand and warm up area will be running
all weekend in case you just can’t get enough.

Over $16,000 in awards and prizes are up for grabs. Prizes will
include 8 shotguns, a bird hunt and other items. Prizes are given out
by lucky draw so that everyone has a chance! Everyone gets 10 prize
tickets with their pre-registration and additional tickets are won
for the prizes awarded in class. Class winner gets 10 tickets, second
9 and so on. At this shoot there is none of that "High Overall
winner gets everything and no one else gets anything".

And then there is the Saturday evening New England Lobster dinner!
The cost is $25 per person. We made it optional so that those who
have other plans will not be charged. Still, where else can you get a
New England Lobster dinner with all the fixings for $25?

Nearby accommodations are at Susse Chalet (401-232-2400), Comfort
Suites (401-231-6300) and Quaker Motor Lodge (508-278-2445). Make
sure to tell them that you are with Addieville as many of their rooms
are blocked out for the shooters. Also, ask for the reduced shooter’s
rate. Suchadeal!

TO SIGN UP, YOU MUST CONTACT ADDIEVILLE DIRECTLY. They take credit
cards. Do NOT sign up through the Travelers. Note the lack of the
usual snip-off coupon. This is an OPEN SHOOT. Your guests and the
general public are welcome. Bring your friends.

To reserve your place, pay by credit card and get directions,
contact:

Addieville East Farm
200 Pheasant Drive
Mapleville, RI 02839
tel: 401-568-3185
fax: 401-568-3009
email: <addievil@ix.netcom.com>
Addieville has full information on their website at <www.addieville.com>.