RELOAD!

JULY 2001 NEWSLETTER

© Bruce Buck, editor



NWTF NE SC CH

Tamarack Preserve, NY, June 23, 2001

By Lans Christensen

Two shoots in a row at Tamarack, and 150 targets this time!! Double
gun double fun: could it get any better? Well, maybe if the animals
hadn’t been lining up two by two.

Not only was it the annual and popular Turkey Federation shoot, but
it was part II of a CTSCA double-header at Tamarack. Eager Travelers
turned out en masse and bumped up the field to 170 guns. Anyone near
the top of their class at the May shoot had a stake in the event and
motivation to show and shoot well. (I just called everyone in my
class and told them the event was postponed). All this despite ample
warning of foul weather. Anyone who didn’t bring rain gear and/or
costume change was either grossly optimistic, unfamiliar with the
Weather Channel, or at the wrong shoot. For the record: Everyone I
saw was prepared or wet.

Tamarack opened their "Hogback" course for this event and though it’s
only a short distance from the home base "Turkey Hollow", it offered
a totally different flavor and style of target. Open, rolling fields
and distant backgrounds mean: Get out those tight chokes.

Stations 12 through 15 were set on the perimeter of just such an
expansive cornfield and provided those long shots we anticipated.

But it wasn’t all just full choke and ten yard leads. Bob Vanacek has
an impressive portfolio of targets, nuance and subtlety. Take station
#15: a quartering incomer from the left that decelerated and died in
a pond twenty feet below the stand. Followed on report by a trap
target, which left the arm 30 yards away, and moving fast. Each was
fair, fun, and hittable, but the trick was the placement of the stand
itself. It was side-hill and with considerable pitch. You had to make
an adjustment in foot position or suffer some vicious hook/slice
possibilities. The normal move into that trap target was thrown off
by being top heavy and fighting the slope.



Awareness of your stance and how it may affect swing and
follow-through were very important.

I loved #14: A wicked rabbit thrown L to R, down in a gully 25 yards
away and well below, followed by a fast incomer thrown right back at
you from across the gully. This target would disappear behind a tree
barely ten yards to your right. As a recent convert to the order of
gas gun habits, my reaction was that one choke ain’t makin it. But as
we heathens all know we must choke for the farthest target and be
real good on the closer one. Plus we all brought our #9 spreaders,
right? Doesn’t it make you feel good about the world when you center
a 110 with full choke at 15 yards? That’s my kind of microchip.

Rain was steady and soaking as we finished at Hogback and returned to
the clubhouse course. Again it was an eight station course, most of
which we had shot at the May shoot. Shooting stands had been
relocated to provide new challenge.

In the case of #1 it was considerably tougher. This was the signature
high overhead driven pair, but now the stand was farther down the
hill, and in denser woodland. The first bird became more of a true
overhead crosser, but its speed and line were deceptively simple. The
arc of the second target was far more pronounced and treetops played
a larger role. Having finally gotten a bit of a grasp on old #1, it
only took a miss or two and I was back to square one and trying a
variety of useless new approaches. Don’t panic, focus on the target,
and make changes in small increments.

Station #4 had a new twist: Still on the wooden platform pier, you
got the incoming green 110 below and to the right, but now it was
followed by a very ugly flying rabbit. It slashed away L to R, hit
the ground 30 yards out and then showed only edge for a second before
it hid in the bushes. After taking the incomer, you had to swing back
enough to take the rabbit aggressively in the air. Most shooters
realized this, but the misses came with having the gun too high and
momentarily hiding the rabbit’s flight plan. On the ground or in the
air- come up into those rabbits. Don’t let them hide behind your
barrels! Drenched but undampened we finished up and sought refuge
under the big top.

The tent was welcome refuge and was bulging with good food, drink and
lavish silent auction offerings.

Many squads experienced unfortunate delays and breakdowns. These
things WILL happen and are unavoidable, especially in rain. Sure,
they are going to happen on the worst possible days at the worst
possible time. When was the last time your car broke down in front of
the dealership, with the opening day-complimentary food and drink
restaurant on the beach across the street?

I hope the shoot won’t be remembered for the soaking we got. It was
another chance to shoot Tamarack’s great targets (150 of them!), a
good and worthy cause, a fine party, and a break on next month’s
entry fee. These are all plusses worth recalling as you dry your gear
and scrape the rust off your gun. Thanks and compliments to Bob
Vanacek and the whole crew at Tamarack, the Turkey Federation, Baron
Technologies, and everyone who helped keep powder dry and spirits up.
See you next year!

[Following is a partial listing of the results of the combined
May/June Traveler’s dual meet at Tamarack. We apologize for not
having more complete numbers. It has something to do with the large
number of outside shooters, rain and computers. If we can assemble
the numbers, we’ll post them next month. If not, then not. There it
is. ­Ed.]



HOA Godfrey Shelton 208

I-1 Vinny La Scalza 206

II-1 Ted Knapp 205

II-2 Doug Moore 185

III-1 Luis Cabassa 182

III-2 Todd Feil 177

IV not available

V not available

VI-1 Brett Munro 141

Ldy-1 Susie Clarke 177

Ldy-2 Anna Marie Collins 165

Vet-1 Al Anglace 204

Vet-2 Martin Schroeder 191

Vet-3 Ed Moritt 182

*Scores reflect 250 birds attempted





FITASC ROCK ‘N ROLL

Peace Dale, RI, June 1~3, 2001

by Vinny La Scalza

Once, long ago in Rhode Island there existed a busy rock quarry where
Masters came and saw in the rough uncut rock faces finished works of
beauty and strength. They would then begin the transformation
process by supervising the cutting and polishing of these primitive
hulks of stone. This quarry was in Peace Dale and was on land owned
by the Frisella Family.

Today, long after the last loaded down truck passed through the
quarry’s gates, the land is still owned by the Frisella Family and
they are still in the transformation business. They have taken the
remnants of the quarry, cliffs, valleys, and water holes, and turned
them into one of the best clay target ranges in the country. Masters
Ritchie Sr. and Ritchie Jr. now take the rough, unpolished shooters
that enter their quarry and transform them into strong and confident
shooting masterpieces.

If you are the type of person who needs a restroom attendant to hand
you a white towel while you select from a huge assortment of hair
pomades perhaps you should stop reading now. Peace Dale is not for
you! But if you are the kind of clay target shooter that wants to
improve, then I can personally guarantee that you will become better
after only spending one day shooting at Peace Dale.

The most recent FITASC shoot is a perfect illustration of this point.
FITASC incorporates the very best elements of sporting clays without
short shooting windows, and visibility problems. In fact, you are
allowed to shoot twice at the same bird for more than half the
targets. Knowledgeable shooters want to shoot FITASC, but
unfortunately are discouraged by the high price of the game. Many
places begin by charging $2 a bird and higher. That was one of the
pleasant surprises in shooting FITASC at Peace Dale this weekend. In
what has to be the biggest bargain in clay target sports, everyone
paid $70 for a 75 bird FITASC tournament. How can anyone afford not
to shoot in these tournaments?

Now, for the targets themselves, let me revel in Parcours #2, peg 2.
This was the Parcours along cliff edges that overlooked a great
basin. Most people agreed that this was the most difficult group of
clays to deal with, and Peg #2, on an outcropping along the cliff’s
edge was the most difficult Peg. From this point, you had a 40 yard
drop to the basin floor and a 100yards straight a way to the trees
that defined the back edge of the basin. Activity occurred at all
levels and distances. First, there was an incoming green bird that
began directly across from the shooter in the trees, hugging the
ground and falling 40 yards from the shooter. That is 40 yards away
and another 40 yards down. Then there was a quartering away bird
from the left perhaps ten yards below the shooters line of sight.
Then, there was a chandelle quartering away also from the left, only
this went 25 yards above the shooter’s line of sight high out across
the basin’s gray sky. Did I leave out the slow quartering away bird
from the right? It had the audacity to leave a tower of unknown
height and sink all the way across the shooter’s line of sight.
Vertical and horizontal distances began to become confused. The
backdrop of these birds was the trees below the shooter at 100 plus
yards and the open sky above the basin. The shooter couldn’t
accurately determine how far the targets were. When you cannot
determine the distance of the targets, you also cannot accurately
judge the speed of the targets. Congratulations to the target
setters. Most shooters who did well here started with Mod chokes
(and tighter), and all seemed to give these targets additional lead
and follow-through.



HOA Chuck Devinne 65

RU Godfrey Shelton 64

CL-I Mark Schreyer 64

CL-II John Hunter 63

CL-III Paula Moore 58

CL-IV Charlie Troy 55

CL-V Liz Lockyer 36

CL-VI Jan Trolan 44

Vet Butch Tennison 61

Lady Fran Gallogly 51



NOTE: Can’t get enough? Want more of Richie’s FITASC? Well, he’s
doing it again. On July 27~29 Peace Dale is hosting the New England
FITASC Championship. You’ll never see better targets.



STRIKING FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF MEN by Sue Foster

I love to watch the faces of men watching a good woman shooter at an
event. You see that little half smile creep up one corner of their
mouth. The gleam in their eye and the excitement that she actually
knows how to shoot! They watch as she confidently steps into the box,
sets herself up, has a plan and sticks to it, but is flexible enough
to change the plan if need be. She knows the break point and where
she should start the gun hold, has good timing, knows lead and has
smooth not jerky strokes. You can see the pleasure rise in the men
when she does well at a station and they may even congratulate her
when she's finished.

As they get further along and she's still breaking targets, those X's
start to add up on the scorecard. Some men all of a sudden start to
sweat. That little smile turns into a frown as he mentally adds up
his score against hers. Worry sets in and soon you can smell the
fear. As his nerves start to work against him he may begin missing
targets he would never miss before and even blow a few easy stations
not realizing that he is starting to panic. This very same woman may
beat his score!

I for one cannot worry about what my score is in a shoot. I prefer
not to know. It works against me. I only try to beat, or shoot my
average and improve my game. But as one gentleman pointed out to me,
I may not care what my score is or who I beat, but they (the men) do.

Most of all I try to have fun shooting. If I got to the place where
all I wanted to do is win and lost sight of the joy in the day, of
being outside at a great course in nice weather with great people,
then winning would never feel as good.


ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS…

For the past three years Connecticut Traveler Les Carter has chaired
the committee to raise funds to send inner city kids to a summer Boy
Scout camp. Last year he helped 10,400 of them get a breath of fresh
air. El Presidente Al and the entire staff here at Reload! hope that
you might consider supporting this program. It costs $190 to sponsor
a kid, but any little bit helps. Think about it while you enjoy your
air conditioning.

A donation can be made online at: <www.bsa-gnyc.org/events/camp.htm>
or by mail to: Mr. Les Carter, Carter Stone & Company, Inc., "Special
Campership Appeal", GNYC Boy Scouts of America, 747 Third Avenue, New
York, NY 10017. Make checks payable to: GNYC, Boy Scouts of America.



NEW YORK STATE SPORTING CLAYS ASSOCIATION WEBSITE… Travelers Bob
Demchuk and Bruce Lindsay (of Whaleback Farm SC fame) have taken the
NSCA-affiliated New York State Sporting Clays Association to new
heights. They have set up a website at <www.nysportingclays.com> and
also have a newsletter. Check out their web page out if you want to
know what is going on in the sporting world in the Empire state.




This space is left blank because the entire staff of Reload! is on
vacation. You should be too. Pop that top! Hit that hammock!
Relaaaax….. Who deserves it more than you?



FOR SALE*** CLASSIFIED ADS


ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL, FREE to good home, 2-1/2 years old, with
papers showing field breeding and good lineage. Dog has never hunted.
He is liver and white. Great with kids, but family has moved and dog
as to go to a good home. Contact Al Anglace at 860-354-9351 or email
<aaa738@aol.com> to make arrangements to see the dog.



*NOTE: There is no fee for placing an ad. Ads are run solely as a
service to our members. It is the responsibility of the buyer and
seller to see that all relevant laws are obeyed. Advertised items
must be related to sporting clays.

*** 2001 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***





JUL 22 ORVIS SANDANONA-SUMMER TIME, SUMMER TIME

JUL * 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 TO PENNSYLVANIA

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





*** OTHER SHOOTS OF INTEREST ***

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, CALL AHEAD TO CONFIRM



JUL 27~29 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) NEW ENGLAND FITASC CH

JUL 28~29 J&P, MD (410-438-3832) BLUE CRAB CLASSIC

AUG 19 HOPKINS, MD (410-348-5287) NSCA ZONE 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS

AUG 25~26 SKAT, NH (603-878-1257) NSCA ZONE 1 CHAMPIONSHIPS

SEP 8 NEWGATE COON CLUB (860-738-3619) SPORTING CLASSIC

SEP 9 ADDIEVILLE, RI (401-568-3185) RUFFED GROUSE SOC. CH

SEP 13~16 NSCA, TX (210-688-3371) NSCA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

SEP 27~30 ROSE HILL, NC (252-356-2662) UK/US MASTERS FITASC

NOV 9~11 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) FALL FITASC CH

DEC 2 NEWGATE COON CLUB (860-738-3619) CHRISTMAS 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 860-584-1083 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
tel: 203-454-1080 (worst way), fax to 707-215-0668 (second worst way)
or <bcb23@columbia.edu> (marvelous way!). 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.



WRITERS… You’ll note that this edition of Reload! spotlights three
feature writers: Lans Christensen for the Tamarack report, Vinny
LaScalza for the FITASC report and Sue Foster for the ladies’ point
of view. We whole heartedly thank them for their contributions.

We would very much like to publish stories or reports from others in
our membership. It’s not too hard. It’s entertaining and you could
become famous. In addition to sending Reload! to 450 brilliantly
literate Travelers each month, the monthly newsletter is also posted
on the <www.ShotgunReport.com> website. This site gets over 5,000
hits per day from 50 countries around the world. One Reload! article
and your name could become a household word from the Bronx to
Botswana to Bangladesh.

So come on Travelers! Contact Bruce Buck by email
<bcb23@columbia.edu> or telephone (203-454-1080). Volunteer to
brighten the civilized world with your luminescent writing skills.
We’ll do it one article at a time, with no commitment to do more
until you wish it.

Just think, this will give you a chance to rebut some of the
Technoid’s mindless drivel, lay down the law to the Judge or set Miss
Manners straight (good luck on that one). Have a little fun!






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



SUNDAY, JULY 22, 2001

SUMMER TIME, SUMMER TIME

ORVIS/SANDANONA

MILLBROOK, NY



"It’s summer time, summer time, sum- sum- summer time." Doo-wah,
doo-wah, doo. Is golf clubbing you to death? Is sailing all wet? Are
the aunts worse than the ants at the family picnic? Well, take it
easy! Too much summer can be stressful. You will be a much happier
person if you come on out and shoot something. Really you will. There
is nothing like snapping a few caps to help you forget the grueling
hours you are forced to spend on the beach while pretending to read
the Sunday Times behind those mirrored sunglasses.

Always one of our biggest shoots of the year, Orvis/Sandanona once
again welcomes the Travelers to their superlative facility. You just
know that Brian Long’s course will be innovative and Peggy Long’s
organization will be flawless. Sandanona doesn’t need any selling.
It’s one of sporting’s crown jewels.

The drill should be familiar to all of you by now. Arrive by 9:00 AM
and check off your name at the scorer’s table. You WILL have
pre-registered by Thursday, July 19, so everyone will be presquadded
with the usual Travelers eye-popping efficiency. We should be ready
to roll by 9:45 AM. You can devote the intervening minutes to
ingesting all the coffee and doughnuts that the human body can
tolerate. After all, you have to survive until you are served a
magnificent al fresco luncheon under the Orvis marquee. That
restorative luncheon is also essential so that you have the strength
to walk to the front of the room to accept one of the lavish prizes.
All this for a paltry, piddling pittance of $60 for members, $70 for
guests. That’s a lot less than you tip the cabin boy when you take
your yacht to Newport.

Guests ARE welcome at this shoot. The guest fee is $70. Bring a
friend. Just make sure that we have your paid reservations in our
hands no later than Thursday, July 19. No cancellations after that
date. You know the deal. The usual sub-gauge handicaps will apply
just as they always do.

Directions to Orvis/Sandanona, Millbrook, NY:

From Taconic parkway North take the NY Rte 44 (Millbrook) exit. Go
Right off exit ramp onto Rte 44 heading East for 1.5 miles to Rte
44-A. Bear Left onto Rte 44-A. Go 1.2 miles to Orvis/Sandanona sign
and driveway on Left. If lost, call Sandanona at 914-677-9701.