DECEMBER 2002 NEWSLETTER

Bruce Buck, editor

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL: Last month each and every one of you received a
separate Connecticut Travelers Membership Renewal Form. Buuuttt just
in case, for those of you who might have inadvertently lined the
bottom of the parrots cage with that issue of Reload!, we are
including another renewal form in with this newsletter.

Heres the renewal deal again, so you cant say we didnt tell you
twice. For reasons totally unclear to your long-suffering staff, the
Connecticut Travelers are a surprisingly popular organization. We have
an admissions waiting list. Those applicants for whom there is room
will be admitted in February at the annual meeting. Current members
who have not mailed their 2003 renewals to be received by January 31,
2003 will be dropped from the rolls.

So, this is the final notice for 2003 membership renewal. We very much
hope that you will stay with us. Avoid being a lost Traveler.
Hup-hup-reup!

CTSCA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS East Mountain, Dover Plains, NY Nov. 17, 2002
By Lans Christensen

THE COUNTDOWN

Wednesday PM: I hear some passing remarks on the evening weather
report suggesting bad weather on SundayWhat do they know anyway.

Thursday AM: Listen more closely to morning weatherthey might be
right this time.

Thursday PM: Uh-oh, words like wintry mix and noreaster used
frequently.

Friday AM: Call in sick to work and glue myself to the weather
channel and computer for latest satellite photos and global reports.

Friday PM: Begin rummaging around in old suitcases and trunks,
looking for all the old alpine and X-C ski racing clothes. Frantic
search of the Cabela catalog for the latest and greatest in foul
weather gear. Go to bed trying to plan how many costume changes might
be required.

Saturday: Surrounded by piles of outer & inner wear of every range
from tropical to Himalayan expedition, I boil it down to two or three
large duffels. I dont know about everyone else, but my theory about
dressing for certain bad weather is this: Leave the cotton/silk/wool
and all that natural stuff at home! I want to be swaddled in as many
layers of high-tech, chemically engineered, scientifically produced
miracle fibers as I can put on and still move. It works!. Start with
a layer of one of the polypro underwears, then one of the fleece
layers or two depending on temperature (remember, no synchillas gave
up their life to make that vest), and finally something breathable yet
waterproof; Gore-Tex still rules this department.

Sunday: Bring it on!! We head for East Mountain and join 81 Travelers
(who look like they know how to prepare too), to shoot for these most
prestigious championships.

The first thing to notice at East Mountains ever improving facility
is the new shooting stands. Now permanently located, they are built
of sturdy pressure treated lumber, solidly railed, and large enough to
hold several squad members. This is a huge improvement, particularly
on some of those stations on the side hill where footing is tricky.

We had a full 15 station course, with many two trap presentations,
including some with new automatic traps in place. These were
championship targets all day: #7 still has the familiar true pair of
chandelles but today they were 90s. Another old favorite is #8 with
the driven pair, but today they got them to curl a bit from left to
right just at the sweet spot, so it helped to try them a bit earlier
than we usually do. #10 now rolls a gentle gravity rabbitjust soft
enough so that any lapse in concentration produces a very embarrassing
miss.

The aforementioned weather was now living up to the forecasts: cold
driving rain was finding any cracks in our shells. Hands and feet are
still the vulnerable bits so keep em dry and have plenty of the
hand/foot warmers along.

Back to the course, where one theme for the day was a target that was
dropping and arcing as it died. Usually the second bird of a pair, it
forced you to slow down after the first, faster bird. It was
thoroughly challenging, entertaining, and we all shot the same
targetsbut I shared the same complaint with most of the shooters I
spoke with: #9 and #13 were beyond championship difficulty. #9 had a
true pair that flew up L to R on the hillside and stayed on edge even
as they fell back. When whole squads could number the hits on the
fingers of one hand, I think a change is in order.

Likewise #13 had an overly long trap shot. Our squad was down for a
unanimous 0 until our last shooter managed to hit one (thanks Donna
G.). We all felt that four pair was not necessary here, or throw the
trap target with something more reasonable. Those minor criticisms
aside, it was a worthy Travelers course, and everyone said they would
love to shoot it again in decent weather.

Back at the clubhouse Chef Mark had hot clam chowder awaiting us and
the wood stove was cranking as well. By the time the roast beef was
served, we were comfortably exaggerating, grousing about, or excusing
our performances and reliving some of the great shots. Our 2002
champion, Jeff Ledgard, said sure, hed missed the tough ones, but had
one of those rare days when he didnt miss the easy ones. Thats a
good recipe for success.

HOA Jeff Ledgard 80
I-1 Jean Du Lau 73
I-2 Lavert Cypher 73
I-3 Gabe DArco 73
II-1 Mike DeJohn 72
II-2 Joe Cimino 65
II-3 Bill Bretschger 63
III-1 Kip Allardt 71
III-2 Kevin Kruleski 65
III-3 George Parsons 64
IV-1 Frank Horodyski 61
IV-2 Dom Uliano 59
IV-3 Dom Russello 56
V-1 Lans Christensen 53
V-2 Carlos Chaparro 52
V-3 Peter Hoffman 52
VI-1 Manuel Carames 39
VI-2 Debbe Christensen 31
VI-3 Simone Renzuella 22
Ldy-1 Susie Clarke 69
Ldy-2 Paula Moore 66
Ldy-3 Olive Lawlor 51
Msdm Fran Gallogly 56
Vet-1 Zaid Siddig 71
Vet-2 Doug Moore 71
Vet-3 George Ostrander 64
SVet Ted Fedun 62
Jr-1 Mike Fabano 50
Jr-2 Jeff Cornwell 44
Jr-3 Trevor Moehrke 42
Jr-4 Justin Bates 33
Guest Jasen Lenhard 44

SHAMROCKS AND SPORTING

By Frances Gallogly

Sporting clays in the Emerald Isle? Brilliant! Just be sure to pack
your rain gear.

When my husband suggests that we spend a week in October visiting our
nephew Dan, a student at the University of Galway, my first thought
is, Why not shoot sporting in Ireland?

As I browse web sites, it becomes apparent that there is more sporting
in Northern Ireland than in the Republic where trap, down the line and
skeet are more popular. Off season, there are 50-target club
competitions. These are European start and may be re-entered. There
also are commercial shooting grounds. Obtaining the shotgun permits is
a laborious project but they are finally in-hand and were ready to
go.

Shooting Grounds:

Our first stop is Dublin, where Dan joins us. After checking out the
sights including the pubs in the Temple Bar district, we go to nearby
Trim, site of Trim Castle where the movie Braveheart was filmed, one
of the largest medieval castles in Ireland. Dan is into archeology, so
our next stop is the Hill of Tara and nearby Newgrange with an
important passage tomb from 3200 BCE. On the winter solstice, the suns
rays light the burial chamber.

Now it is time to go shooting. Near Dublin, in Balbriggan, is the
Courtlough Shooting Grounds run by Bill Flynn, a former Olympic trap
champion. The course is small by US standards. Major construction of
trenches and berms is underway for noise containment.[Noise
containment is a major issue in the UK-ed.] Eventually, Courtlough
will offer trap, skeet, rifle and air rifle.

At present, there are some eight or nine stands for sporting in a ring
around a field. Each stand is surrounded by hay bales stacked six feet
tall, for noise suppression. There is an excellent modern clubhouse
with a full bar. The club is pleasant, but expensive (70 Euros-about
$70 US- for 100 targets including ammo).

My next shooting opportunity is in Northern Ireland. My host is Hugh
Simms, Secretary of the Ulster Clay Pigeon Shooting Association and an
acquaintance via the internet. We are shooting a Saturday competition
at the Banbridge gun club southwest of Belfast. The weather is cold
but sunny unusual for Ireland. Some 150 shooters drift in and out.
Courses in Ireland are compact. There are five stands of ten targets
within a short stroll of one another. The cost is moderate. There also
is a pool stand. Shooters pay (1 pound) to enter; the lucky HOA
takes home the money.
Banbridge enjoys great terrain including cliffs on which
traps may be secreted at nasty angles. All the targets are visible and
challenging. One stand is a simo consisting of a fast crosser and
tough teal emanating from a high rock ledge. If you take your time on
the crosser, the teal is a stinker falling and fading. Another stand
offers a challenging report pair: an overhead that falls fast arcing
to the left followed by a quartering trap shot exploding from a ravine
below the shooters feet.

The first time around I shoot a dispiriting score, but I improve on
the second try. HOA is a 46 x 50. Hugh, a member of the Northern Irish
shooting team, shoots a brilliant 45. Banbridge has a modest clubhouse
with lunch and snacks. The Irish shooters are warm and welcoming. Hugh
invites me to shoot the following day in the Ballyboley Forest north
of Belfast near Ballymena.

After Banbridge, we head north to the Antrim Coast see the Giants
Causeway formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. As the lava cooled it
cracked into some 37,000 hexagonal columns jutting into the sea.
Legend has it they were formed by the giant, Finn MacCool, who laid a
path to reach his sweetheart in Scotland where similar columns reside.

Sunday dawns cold, gray and rainy. There are no signposts for the
shooting ground, but we find it easily. It simply looks like a
shooting ground. The entry fee is only eight pounds. There is a
trailer clubhouse. The forest is a beautiful venue with stands and
towers in secluded glades, along woodland trails or by picturesque
meadows. The tough targets are exacerbated by high winds. One stand
offers some screaming on-edge crossers at 40 yards. They need more
lead than a yellow school bus, a fact I discover too late. Another is
approached through a woodland path leading to a lovely forest glade.
Here, there are some black floating 110s high and upside down.

Afterward we visit the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Belfast. It
contains old railroad engines, trolleys, cars and fire engines. It is
a wonderful place for young children. Next we tour Londonderry.
Despite the ever-present rain, we walk the city walls (completed in
1618), 26 feet high and up to 30 feet wide. They have never been
breached.

Back to the Republic where the Mulroy Gun Club in County Donegal, 12
miles north of Letterkenny, is open daily and has sporting, skeet,
trap and down the line. However the rain is now torrential. The owner
suggests we try Loch Bow in Sligo, but this club is closed
weekdays. Donegal is famous for its knitwear. Nearby is the
Belleek Pottery that produces elegant latticework baskets, vases and
teapots decorated with flowers and shamrocks. We visit Sligo, famous
for its connection with Irelands beloved poet W.B. Yeats, and Galway,
a pretty university town full of lively pubs, eateries and shops. Just
south of the city is an area known as the Burren, a limestone plateau
of great beauty including the fascinating rock formations of Aillwee
Cave and the Cliffs of Moher, a breathtaking series of precipices
towering 650 feet above and extending five miles into the ocean.

We spend our last night in Doolin, a small town famous for its
traditional Irish music. OConnors pub seems to be the center for the
festivities and an appropriate place to celebrate the conclusion of a
wonderful vacation.

Obtaining Permits

Should you wish to bring your shotgun to Ireland, you need three
permits. Allow lots of time for processing. First apply for the UK
Visitors Permit at the British Clay Pigeon Shooting Association,
http://www36.mysecureserver.co.uk/cpsagb.co.uk/vsgp.asp.

Northern Ireland requires a Visitors Firearms Certificate. See
http://www.ruc.police.uk/farms/visit.htm. No fee is required but be
sure to enclose a photocopy of your UK permit.

For the Republic of Ireland, request a Firearm Certificate at
http://www.icpsa.ie/firearm.doc. This application had me stumped. It
indicated that a fee (payable in euros) must accompany the application
but failed to indicate the amount. It wanted the address of the
shooting ground I planned to visit first and was to be mailed to the
Garda (police) station for the district in which that shooting ground
was located.

Ultimately, High Simms in Northern Ireland suggested I list the
Millhill Clay Pigeon Club, Smarmore, Ardee, Co. Louth as my
destination shooting ground and that I mail the application to the
attention of Sgt. Brian Duignan, Garda Station, Jervis Street, Ardee,
Co. Louth, Republic of Ireland. The phone number of the Garda station
is 011-353-41685 3222. Sgt. Duignan informed me that the fee was 25
euros and that he also required a photocopy of my UK permit.

Also helpful:

The Irish Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (http://www.icpsa.ie/)

The Ulster Clay Pigeon Shooting Association ( http://www.ucpsa.com/)

Hugh Simms (hughsimms@ucpsa.freeserve.co.uk

Clifford Barr (clifford@cbarr73.fsnet.co.uk), publisher of Smokein
Clays, Northern Ireland

David Brennan, chairman, Ardee Sports (db@ardee-sports.ie), for
courses with sporting in the Republic

It requires persistence, but you will be rewarded by the pleasure of
shooting in the Emerald Isle among the warm, friendly Irish.

Finally, imagine winding up the day with your shooting companions in a
picturesque pub listening to traditional Irish music while downing a
pint of Guinness or a spot of fine Irish whiskey!


MISS MANNERS IS QUIZZICAL...

Do you remember the career path tests you had in school? These were
the ones that were supposed to expose your innermost talents and
enable you to select a career aligned with your psyche. Since these
tests have invariably proven to be 100% correct (You did become a
polar explorer, didn't you?), Miss Manners is going to pose a
personality profile quiz to determine whether you were actually
destined to become a sporting clays shooter. Read each statement and
score it a 10 if you strongly agree, a 0 if you completely disagree,
and an in between score if you feel wishy-washy about it. Open your
blue books and begin.

1) I never bother with reservations for the monthly shoot. I just show
up. My schedule is so hectic that I cannot make the effort to commit
to something an entire two weeks in advance. Score:___

2) It is all right if I am a little late for the squad. My time is so
much more valuable than that of other shooters. They will not mind
waiting for me. Score:___

3) When strutting about the course, I always carry my gun draped over
my shoulder. It makes me look cool and others will admire me. If
people cannot duck out of the way of the barrels it is their worry.
Score:___

4) It's OK to talk loudly while someone else is shooting. They are
wearing earplugs and probably cannot hear me. Besides, what I am
saying is much more important than what they are shooting. Score:___

5) I often argue a 'lost' call with the referee. Refs never look at
the birds hard enough when I am shooting. It is important that
everyone pay attention to my score. Refs should know whom they are
dealing with. Score:___

6) If the people standing behind me do not like me ejecting my shells
into them, they can move. Catching my shells and putting them in the
basket takes too much effort. Anyway, someone or other is hired to
clean up after me. Score:___

7) Why should I stick around for the awards ceremony? I did not win
anything this time. Why should I stay to applaud people who shot
better than I did? Score:___

Time is up boys and girls.

The school psychologist has studied the results and it is clear that
the little Connecticut Travelers in the test group know the rules of
polite conduct and respect their fellow shooters. They are certainly
cut out to become fine sporting clays shooters.

As to the other students in the class (none of whom are Travelers of
course), their selfish and thoughtless answers indicate that they are
not destined for the joys of sporting clays. Other careers are
suggested. Possibly politics.



*** 2002 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

DEC 15 MID-COUNTY, NY-DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY



*** 2003 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

JAN 19 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY- MIDWINTER MARTYRDOM
FEB 16 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY- ANNUAL MEETING AND SHOOT

The remainder of the 2003 schedule is in the works. We hope to add at
least one attractive new shooting venue in the coming year.


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

DEC 8 WALLINGFORD R&G, CT (203-265-1012) 50 BIRD FUN SHOOT


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 status: Contact Cyndi
Dalena at 860-582-3142 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Leave message.
Or Email shotguncyndi@prodigy.net

Guide Book questions, contact Dick Orenstein at <rho@usa.com> or call
203-454-4724.

To place an ad, post a shoot date in Reload! or simply heap abuse on
the editor, contact Bruce Buck at tel: 203-454-1080 (worst way), fax
to 707-215-0668 (adequate way) or email <bcb23@columbia.edu>
(marvelous way, you clever Traveler you!).

The current and previous issues of Reload! are posted on the internet
at <www.ShotgunReport.com>. You will also find megs and megs of other
useless Technoidal drivel there. Great literature never dies. It just
sort of lurks around.



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

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2002
THE DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT
MID-COUNTY GUN CLUB
LAGRANGEVILLE, NY

Its Christmas Party time! Our most popular shoot of the year, this is
when we honor Dicks memory and celebrate another fabulous Travelers
year. We will also be naming our annual TRAVELERS SPORTING SPORTSMAN
recipient. There will be gifts aplenty with prizes and lots of lucky
raffles. Of course, the gifts wont extend to the course, which will be
the usual tough love. Well, rumor has it that even course designers
get the Christmas spirit and in that spirit, this will be a fun shoot.
That means the scorecards will be kept for fond memories and for the
many raffle prizes, but not for any shooting awards. We shoot for fun
this time.

Due to its extreme popularity, this is a members only shoot. The shoot
will cost $65. This is a bit more expensive than usual, but those of
you who have been to previous Christmas shoots understand why. There
are usually just bags and bags of loot to be handed out to good little
boy and girl Travelers. Ken Gagnon is going to give us a slide show
retrospect of past Christmas shoots. That ought to be something.
Fasting for a few days before the shoot wouldnt be a bad idea either.
The banquets that the Mid-County members cook for us are always
memorable. We must have your shoot reservations in our hands no later
than Thursday, December 12th. No-shows and cancellations after that
date cannot be refunded and their entry fees will be donated to our
Travelers charity. Arrive by 9:00 AM and check your name off at the
registrars table. Then, and only then, can you begin your assault on
those mounds of Dunkin Donuts and gallons of Colombian dark roast high
test Java.

At this time of year, we are all mindful of the blessings showered
upon us. It is right and proper to give a little something back. The
Travelers participate in the well-known United States Marines Toys for
Tots program. We hope that every Traveler attending the Christmas
shoot will bring a NEW, UNWRAPPED childs toy to donate. Even if you
cant attend the shoot, perhaps you could give the toy to a shooting
friend to bring for you.

DIRECTIONS to Mid-County Gun Club, Lagrangeville, NY: From the
Route 84/Taconic intersection, take Taconic North for about 10 miles
to Rte 55 East exit. Go East (right turn) on Rte 55 for about 1 mile
to Rte 55/Rte 82 intersection. Turn Left and follow Rte 82 for about
1 mile to County Road 89 on Right. Turn Right onto County Road 89 and
follow it for 3_ miles to club entrance on Right. Mid-Countys
telephone number is 904-677-5736.

REMEMBER, EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY AT ALL TRAVELERS SHOOTS.