RELOAD!

JANUARY 2001 NEWSLETTER
© Bruce Buck, editor


CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT...
by Vinny La Scalza

THE GRINCH AND LAGRANGEVILLE

Everyone in the Connecticut Travelers likes the Christmas Shoot a lot,
But in the hills beyond Lagrangeville, there lived a Grinch who did not!

He knew that on Dec. 18, they would gather to shoot and have fun all day,
So he constructed a storm filled with rain, wind, and thunder and sent it their way.
He imagined the cars and people leaving early during the rain.
Oh! How he laughed when he thought of their pain,

It is surely a shame that it did rain and it did thunder,
But it became plain that the Grinch made a horrible blunder.

The Travelers did arrive at Mid-County and were ready to shoot,
But, the hall they did enter was dark, cold, and mute.
The electricity had gone out in the storm it became clear,
Travelers stood in small bunches, blank faced, and eyes filled with fear.
"How could it get much worse?" one Traveler did cry,
"There is no coffee," another did sigh.

And just when it seemed that the Grinch would have his way,
Wise "Old Al" stepped up to have his say.
"We don’t need," he yelled out, "The targets, scores, or the guns!"
We can still party together, laugh, sing and have funs.

Everyone paused for a moment to think,

And then all at once there was laughter and something to drink.
Members of Mid-County had a generator and it did start,
While others were busy with Toys for Tots and their heart.
One hundred and thirty two stayed for shrimp and prime rib,
While others went to the front with Al and tried to ad lib.
A Sportsman of the Year was selected without trouble,
His name is Bruce Buck and so deserving, no one could quibble.

Through the window the Grinch did see this wonderful sight,
Through the window everything appeared, oh, so right!
He had made the storm filled with rain, wind, and thunder,
Where, oh, where did he make his awful blunder?

Well, scores, wins, and victories they last for a day,
It’s the people you shoot with that make it all pay.
It is them you remember with fun and enjoyment,
It is your friends, fellow Travelers, that cause the merriment.

And as the day drew to an end and the cars they did depart,
Two small mysteries emerged with a start,

Isn’t it odd that without a target thrown or a gun fired,
132 Travelers left for the day happy, fulfilled, and somewhat tired?

Isn’t it odd that this author can write about a shoot that lasted all day,
And never, never, ever, even mention a clay?

THANK YOU VINNY…

For the past year Vinny La Scalza has been kind enough to write
Reload!’s shoot reports. We are deeply in his debt. It was nice to
have another point of view and a fresh, vibrant writing style. With
his indentured servitude over, Vinnie has retired with honor to
work on his great American novel.

We are casting about for another potential Hemingway to once again
elevate drab little Reload! into the Pulitzer Prize limelight. It
could be you! Yes, you can become a world famous writer in your spare
time at home. If you’d like to give reporting a try for a shoot or
two, with no further obligation, contact Bruce Buck at
<bbuck@juno.com>.

DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER… There’s more time to shoot. Huzzah!

NEAT WEBSITES…

Well, other than the cutting edge magnificence of
www.ShotgunReport.com where we post the monthly Reload! plus tons of
other useless drivel by the Technoid and his fellow felons, there are
some legitimately good shotgunning sites out there.

One of the most interesting is www.RichardFaulds.com. Faulds was the
enfant terrible of British sporting a couple of years ago. He’s just
as dangerous in seniors today. This year he took some time off to go
to Sydney and win the Olympic gold in men’s double trap. Quite a
shot. He’s not a bad writer either. His "Master Class" instructional
articles on the website are very informative as to sporting clays
technique. Highly recommended.

The bulletin board discussion at www.shotgunsports.com/talkgrou.htm
is quite popular and has some good discussions on all the clay target
sports. www.shootingsportsman.com has a good bulletin board on SxSs,
Vintagers type stuff and wingshooting.

www.gunshop.com has lots of gunshops with extensive used gun lists.

CREDIT IN HEAVEN…

Since the Christmas shoot was rained out, iced out, blown out,
lightninged out and powered out everyone who signed up and paid the
entry fee gets a $40 credit on his next shoot entry fee. This covers
the targets you did not get to shoot, but not banquet that you were
free to stay for. The credit applies only to your next shoot entry
fee, not to any Travelers merchandise or anything really fancy like
that.

Since our accountants are still using abacuses (abacii?) puleeze
include a little note with your next shoot entry fee mentioning your
$40 Christmas Shoot credit and send in a check for the entry fee less
the $40.

SIGN UP NOW! Due to the Holidays, Reload! is running a bit later than
usual. If you want to come to the January 21st Mid-Winter Martyrdom
shoot at East Mountain (and of course you do!), send that reservation
in TODAY!

MISS MANNERS…

The Travelers’ icon of polite sporting clays conduct been reforming
us for over seven years now. That’s long enough so that it might be
useful to re-run some of her earlier lessons, just in case a few of
her little Travelers might have forgotten.

JULY 1993
ON UNCONTROLLED EJECTION…

Although the general deportment of the Travelers is nearly perfect in
every possible respect and at all times almost entirely above
reproach, like our third grade teacher or maiden aunt, Miss Manners
is a stickler for details and has a nose that can ferret out even the
most clever miscreant.

This month she picks on those poor souls plagued by the dreaded
uncontrolled ejection. After firing their guns, they open them and
carelessly pop the empties back into the faces and gunstocks of the
shooters standing behind waiting their turn to shoot. Other times
they eject the shells on the floor of the cage creating unsure
footing for the next shooter. This is certainly unintentional, but
Miss Manners notices a lot of grumbling from the victimized. The
more experienced shooter has enough manual dexterity to catch his
empties and drop them in the bucket or by the corner of the stand.
This not only earns the undying gratitude of the trappers who have to
clean the station, but also of those waiting in line to shoot who no
longer have to bob and weave as the errant empties whistle past.

AUGUST 1993
ON GUN DRAPING...

The prim Miss Manners, she of the steel rimmed glasses, starched lace
collar and ferret-like intuition, has been pleased to note some
improvement in the habit of Uncontrolled Ejection mentioned last
month. However, like the Prussian general Von Clauswitz planning
annexation of yet another chunk of unpronounceable flatland, Miss
Manners has shifted her campaign of moral rectitude to the carrying
around of open guns balanced over the shoulder, i.e. gun draping.

Over and unders dominate our sport and for many it seems most
convenient to drape them over the shoulder while waiting around to
shoot or trekking off to the next station. It works well enough in
the controlled environments of trap and skeet. It avoids the
telltale sooty figure "8" on the toe of the right Reebok and besides,
amateurs think that it looks cool. Some of the novice shooters have
even perfected the technique to the point where they can nonchalantly
walk to and fro dangling the gun over their shoulder with no hands!

Miss Manners is aghast. If there are a number of gun drapers milling
about in a swarm, a sudden turn brings a clang of barrels, a ding of
stocks, a thump to the noggin, a thud to the ground and other
subsequent reactions too suggestive for you gentle readers.

Miss Manners reminds us that if we choose not to carry our shotguns
slung over our shoulders in gun slips with straps (by far the best
way- the Brits occasionally do get some things right), we should at
least carry them open over the crook of our arm or in our hands,
never over the shoulder. If you gun-drape and smack Miss Manners
with your barrels or butt, be aware that there is a second use for
those long, hatpins she wears.

SEPTEMBER 1993
ON COMMITTING GOOD....

Contrary to appearances, Miss Manners does think that there is some
good hidden in your black little hearts. Unfortunately, as with
primal emotions at a garden tea, our iron maiden also feels that the
urge to commit good must be controlled.

To wit: When a contestant on the stand shooting in a match is
foundering badly and about to go down for the third time, the
yearning to provide salvation with the magic words "you're behind,
etc." verges on the uncontrollable. It seems like your bounden duty
to burst out from the crowd and help a fellow human being in
distress.

Well, don't do it! In a match, it is against the rules to coach a
shooter in the box. Even during practice, please don't offer advice
to a shooter on the stand unless you are specifically asked. What you
consider as kindly advice might well be mistaken as an unwelcome
interruption at a most stressful moment.

Dale Carnegie, close relative to our own Miss M., mentions that
unsolicited advice is always a risky scheme. It is doubly so when
given to an armed person having a bad day. If you are going to chance
it, do so when their gun is in the rack. You will not only be
preserving life and limb (yours), but you will be helping the shoot
run smoothly. Miss Manners thanks you. She knows you meant well.

OCTOBER 1993
ON TARDINESS...

Remember how it felt when you once walked into your third grade class
late and everyone turned around to look as you slunk into your seat?
If your teacher was merciful, she might not have said anything.

Miss Manners has all the mercy of an asp and would certainly have
berated as necessary to restructure your little psyche and hopefully
make you a more punctual adult. Unfortunately, Miss Manners did not
reach all of us as children and so must more gently try to complete
the job in our adulthood.

Please, get to registration when you are supposed to. Register as
soon as you arrive, then go get your coffee and donuts. Late
registrants delay things for all the other shooters, just like that
one over heated car on the Long Island Expressway.

Also, try to have your gear ready to go in your shoot bag so that
your squad is not kept waiting on the first stand while you scamper
off to get something vital.

Miss Manners notes that generally Travelers are spot on prompt, a
remarkable feat considering the distances we travel. It is just in
her nature not to let the tardy slip into their seat unnoticed.

NOVEMBER 1993
ON STENTOR, THE DEAF AND US...

Miss Manners, our general of gentility and colonel of conduct, has a
pretty good basis in the classics of literature. She reminds us that
Stentor was a Greek herald during the Trojan War described in the
Iliad as having the voice of fifty men.

Modern hearing protection, which we shooters all sensibly wear,
renders us relatively deaf and at times causes us to raise our voice
level to that of long gone herald Stentor.

Miss Manners asks us to please remember that loud talk from those
waiting to shoot could disrupt the concentration of someone on the
shooting stand. Please also be aware that for some reason,
unfavorable comments always seem to be louder than compliments.
Hearing protection raises the noise level and too loud a voice might
be a classic mistake. At ease. Dismissed. It’s recess.

SPORTSMEN ALL…

Dear Fellow Connecticut Travelers, thank you for naming me your
Sportsman of the Year. It’s an honor I’ll cherish, not only for what
it is, but also because it came from a group of shooters I respect
and admire.

But it shouldn’t be given to just one person. After seeing what
happened at our Christmas shoot, I know who the real shooting
sportsmen and sportswomen of the year are.

After everyone arrived at the club, it became obvious that the
Christmas shoot would have to be canceled. There was howling wind,
torrential rain, lightning, ice, downed trees and no electricity.
Travelers had the option of going home to warmth and comfort or
waiting several hours in the hope that generators would make enough
electricity to turn on the lights and cook lunch. Almost no one left.

You Travelers stayed to present your Christmas toy donations to the
lady from Toys For Tots. You stayed to thank the Mid-County
volunteers for their extraordinary effort under impossible
circumstances. You stayed to share the spirit of the season with your
fellow shooters. You stayed to celebrate this amazing thing that is
the Travelers.

That is what a true Travelers’ Shooting Sportsman is all about.
-Bruce Buck


*** 2001 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

JAN 21 EAST MOUNTAIN- MID-WINTER MARTYRDOM
FEB 18 EAST MOUNTAIN- ANNUAL MEETING
MAR 18* MID-HUDSON-MARCH MADNESS
APR 6-8 MARYLAND SPRING TRIP-NORTH~SOUTH SKIRMISH
APR 22* PECONIC-TAX TIME REVOLT
MAY 6 EAST MOUNTAIN- COURTING CLAYS
MAY 20* TAMARACK-MAY MINUET
JUN 1-3 PEACE DALE- CLUB FITASC CHAMPIONSHIPS
JUN * TAMARACK-NATIONAL TURKEY FEDERATION
JUL 15* ORVIS SANDANONA-SUMMER TIME, SUMMER TIME
JUL 28* MID-COUNTY-DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CLAMBAKE
AUG 10-12 ADDIEVILLE EAST-GREAT EASTERN LOBSTER CLASSIC
SEP 16 FAIRFIELD COUNTY- CLUB SUBGAUGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
OCT 5-7 FALL TRIP
OCT 21* MILLBROOK ROD & GUN-OKTOBERSCHUTZENFEST
NOV 18 EAST MOUNTAIN-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOV 25 EAST MOUNTAIN-KOEHLER SOCIETY FUNDRAISER
DEC 16* MID-COUNTY-CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT
* date pending


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 860-584-1083 between 9:00 AM and 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 or <bbuck@juno.com>. The current and previous issues of
Reload! are posted on the internet at <www.ShotgunReport.com>


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

SUNDAY, JANUARY 21
MID-WINTER MARTYRDOM
EAST MOUNTAIN PRESERVE
DOVER PLAINS, NY

Start the real Millennium (2001) in the sensible way. Come shoot your
gun up in the air and freeze your fanny off! Yessiree, mid-winter is
when the tough shooters become flaky, snowflaky that is. No hunkering
down on the divan, petting the poodle and nibbling sugar plums for
us. Besides, football season is over and there is nothing left to do
but watch people in their underwear heave a ball through a hoop. It
makes ever so much more sense to stand out in the freezing cold,
dressed like the Michelin man, whupping up on some defenseless piece
of clay.

As always, registration opens at 9:00 AM and we go out shortly
thereafter. Make sure to sign in at the scorer's table as soon as you
come in. Then you can have some high test Java, Dunkin’s fat pills
and schmooze a bit.

Winter Rules: Everyone will appreciate it if you shoot with all
deliberate speed. Fidgeting and dawdling around on the stand keeps
everyone out on the course a bit longer. Even though the days are
getting longer, they are also getting colder. You might consider
wearing boots with cleats as the trails can be slippery.

The entry fee for this shoot is $55 and GUESTS ARE WELCOME. For lunch
we promise that there will be brown food and plenty of it.

DIRECTIONS to East Mountain Preserve, Dover Plains, NY:

At the junction of Interstate Rte 84 and NY Rte 22, take NY Rte 22
North for about 27 miles to the town of Dover Plains, NY. Turn Right
at the first traffic light in Dover Plains (a bit after the
McDonalds) and go straight for one mile directly into the East
Mountain driveway. If lost, call East Mountain at 914-877-6274.

INTERNET READERS: TRAVELERS SHOOTS ARE ONLY OPEN TO MEMBERS AND THEIR
GUESTS. WE CANNOT OPEN THEM TO THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL BECAUSE WE JUST
DON’T HAVE SPACE. THE EXCEPTION TO THAT IS OUR LOBSTER CLASSIC AUGUST
10~12, WHERE THE PUBLIC IS CORDIALLY INVITED AND THERE IS ROOM FOR
EVERYONE. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.