RELOAD!

JUNE 2002 NEWSLETTER
© Bruce Buck, editor

MAY MINUET

Tamarack, Millbrook, NY

May 19, 2002

Tamarack Preserve is the bane of flatlanders. If you think about it,
all the skeet, trap and 5 stand that you do is on the flats. Much of
the sporting is too. Tamarack, like Pawling and some of East
Mountain, is built on the side of a mountain.

Anytime there is a lot of vertical terrain involved in a shot,
another dimension is added. We are used to estimating trajectories by
noting how birds follow the land. We are accustomed to flat land.
When the ground is very hilly, one can’t count on the ground as a
reference. A bird thrown steeply uphill parallel to the ground has to
be really ripping. One thrown downhill parallel to the ground can
coast and still have the same ground to bird distance. Using the
ground to reference speed, the birds seem somewhat the same, but they
aren’t.

Proper technique permits you to reliably hit bird only after you have
figured out its flight path. Without the ability to accurately assess
what a bird is doing in the air, technique means nothing.

One of the charms about Tamarack is that is has always offered equal
success and failure to a variety of techniques. I can’t think of
another course where I have seen so many shooters soar on one station
only to crash and burn on the next. This would be a simple
explanation if it were just that one some stations were hard and
other easy, but that’s not the case here. With the exception of
Station #1, just about all the stations were of equal difficulty.
It’s just that they all probed different weaknesses. Two shooters of
equal ability with identical scores would almost certainly show very
different scores at particular stations. It was that kind of course.

You know you are shooting a Travelers Tough course when there are
only one or two scores above 85. Still, the average score was higher
than usual. The high scores in Class III were noticeably higher this
time.

Station #1 deserves special comment. After scampering up a sheer
vertical ascent of at least ten thousand feet, loaded with hundreds
of pounds of shooting gear, we were presented with two monster
incomers hurled off the top of the hill far above. One was a hooking
110, while the other was a slicing, dropping bat from hell. I’d love
to be able to tell you all how to shoot it, but I can’t because I
didn’t hit many. When I did hit a couple I don’t really know what
happened. It was one of those shots where you couldn’t take the line
because there was no line to take. If you waited too long, you were
faced with trying to hit a brick dropped from a skyscraper. I
suffered. I groveled. I failed.

Every now and then, our Jefe Supremo, El Presidente decides to show
us all just why he occupies such an august position. His comments on
the station were: “I was aggressive on the straight incomer and shot
the left to right slider before it broke hard. I missed only one and
that was on the first pair because I romanced the incomer a bit too
long and did not catch up with the slider. Good thinking course, I
thought.” Which is why he is president and why we all vote for him.

After the shoot, we enjoyed Tamarack’s traditional deluxe al fresco
dining experience. The day was cool and sunny, a welcome relief after
a truckload of much needed rain for the previous week.

A special recognition was given to Bill Tracy who does so much to
make Tamaracks shoots so good.

Prizes were $55 Gift certificates good towards any all-Travelers
shoots. Please do not ask to use these gift credits at a Joint shoot
such as next months NWTF/Tamarack/Travelers shoot or our August
Lobster “open to the public” shoot. We don’t do the bookkeeping at
these two shoots. The gift certificates are good at all our other
shoots.

Tamarack also announced that as of September 1, they would be
requiring the use of degradable wads to cut down on plastic litter.
Our close personal friend, the Technoid, will be looking into what is
available in bio-wads in factory shells and for reloading in a future
issue.


HOA JIM MULLER 87
I-1 Lavert Cypher 84
I-2 Peter Harand 82*
I-3 Preston Moore 82
II-1 Bob Barlow 86
II-2 Mike Luppino 83
II-3 Mike Canale 82
III-1 Dennis Maffei 78
III-2 Bruce Hernsdorf 76
III-3 John Levy 73
IV-1 Lyn Narins 72
IV-2 Lewis Johnson 67
IV-3 Frank Horodyski 64
V-1 Josh Narins 62
V-2 Nancy Audet 61
V-3 Dan McCullough 59
VI-1 Donna Galotto 38
VI-2 Kate Kelly 32
VI-3 Sue Mogan 29
Lady-1 Anna Maria Collins 73
Lady-2 Cyndi Dalena 64
Lady-3 Jan Allardt 49
Msdm Estella Vaden 70
Vet-1 Al Anglace 80
Vet-2 John Lawlor 76
Vet-3 Ed Moritt 73
SVet Don Brenton 75
Jr-1 Luke Sproviero 57
Jr-2 Mike Fabano 44
Jr-3 Trevor Brunelle 28
Guest Jim Lusk 50
*Ties decided by tie-breaker station




GETTING GALS SHOOTING

by Fran Gallogly

[This is the second of a multi-part series on introducing women to
sporting clays.]

Part II: Getting Single Women and Women With Non-Shooting Spouses
into the Game

Most women start shooting at the urging of a male mentor, generally a
husband or boyfriend. However, a few female Travelers seem to have
adopted the sport more or less on their own. In every case, they were
passionately hooked from the moment they smashed their first clay.
All they needed was that first opportunity.

Nancy Meyer got involved when her aunt and uncle (Fred and Carol
Roesslein) invited her to a Ladies Charity Classic. “It’s usually for
a worthwhile women’s charity. There are not a lot of men around. It’s
cool to tell people you shot targets over the weekend!” Practicing is
a problem because she has a young family. She suggests that the
Travelers run women’s clinics four times a year – just a few hours,
not all day events.

Sue Foster started shooting skeet with a colleague during lunch hour.
Sue is an athletic woman who used to do 100-mile bike rides and road
running races. “I think it would be a great date if men took their
partners out for a day of clays on Valentine’s Day.” She adds, “Men
are far more competitive about winning than women. I care more about
being with people, outdoors and learning new ways to shoot.”

Liz Lockyer’s husband didn’t shoot, but a colleague at her office
(Charley Troy) did. Charley’s enthusiasm made Liz want to give it a
try. Having a non-shooting spouse has both positive and negative
facets, Liz explains. It is tough because you are gone for the day,
and weekend shoots conflict with family time. On the other hand, you
are only paying for one shooter and can share the driving and gas
expenses when you travel with a friend. Women don’t grow up lifting
heavy objects like guns and baseball bats, Liz says. “It took me
almost a year to develop the upper-body strength to swing the gun.”

Cyndi Dalena was the first girl on her local rifle team. “My mom and
dad say that I have always been trying to keep up with my older
brothers, and a lot of my ambition to improve my score was the goal
of beating my brothers. One down, and one to go!” One obstacle to
getting women shooting, Cyndi feels, is that women still are the
primary caretakers of their children. “They will hire a babysitter so
they can go to dinner with hubby, but not to go shooting.”

Edie Ellis and her husband Dick took up fly fishing. Their circle of
fishing friends included couples that shot upland birds. Edie
attended an Orvis women-only, two-day shooting school. They joined
Tamarack and she fell in with other women who shot sporting clays.
“We smelled the gun powder, and that was it!” Edie enjoys cooking
wild game. “We have dogs (Dick’s primary interest). I love going into
the woods turkey hunting. It evolved into a way of life for us:
fishing, hunting, dogs, cooking.”

Susie Clarke married a man with a duck marsh and she needed a gun
that could handle steel shot. She bought it from Gary Herman. Gary
introduced her to Tommy Ruger who was putting together a team of five
women to compete nationally. All had shot a little, but not a lot.
Gary coached them for about a year. They went to the Nationals and
took first place. The following year, they placed third.

The Ruger team was featured in Town and Country magazine. A photo
depicted the women glamorously arrayed on an elegant staircase in
strapless evening gowns with their shotguns over their arms. The
publicity almost certainly helped to change some women’s perceptions
of shooting and to attract others to the sport. The team shot
together for three years. After it disbanded, Susie joined the US
FITASC team that took the bronze medal in France in 1991.

Shooting instructor Katy Skahill was first introduced to the sport by
a male friend but was immediately taken by it. She purchased her
first gun, on her own, several days later. After achieving some
competence, Katy took a lesson from Gary Phillips, who then coached
her to her first State Championship, later her first US Open, a US
Nationals and finally a World Championship gold medal in 1995.

“When I first started shooting, I was usually the only woman at the
shoot. If I missed, all the men on my squad would tell me where I
missed, and how to correct. Although they were always trying to help,
they weren’t always correct. I decided that in order to quiet them, I
would have to beat them. That became one of my many motivations to
improve. Mostly, it was the thrill of competition. I found that I
could shoot better sometimes in competition than I really was.”

Instructor Vicki Ash exclaims that shooting is a passion “because it
is so much fun to break targets and it is not really a sport that
women can’t do because of strength. There is only a commitment to
becoming the best you can be.”

Stay tuned – next month – women’s programs at local clubs and ranges




MISS MANNERS AND MORTAL SIN…

Miss Manners was about one hundred yards away when she heard the
bellow of pain and anguish. True, her ears were as sharp as a
gossip's from years intercepting third grade whispers at the back of
her classroom, but it did not take acute hearing to catch that yell.
It was a primal scream if ever there was one.

Hustling up, along with most of the other shoot contestants near
ground zero, Miss Manners came upon the sullen Dudley Dufus being
berated by a beet red, howling mad Wellington Ascot. Wellington was
cradling his elegant Spaghettini Porcini to his bosom with one hand
while pointing an accusatory finger at Dudley with the other.

"He wrecked my gun" bawled Wellington, brandishing his wounded weapon
for all to see. Sure enough, there amid the swirling walnut whorls
of the finest wood that the plundered forests of Circassia could
provide, was a sizeable ding. Super model Cindy Crawford may be able
to survive, even prosper, with a slight imperfection, but a
Spaghettini Porcini was the very embodiment of the fucile d'autore
and the slightest disfigurement was sacrilege. The onlookers gasped.

While Wellington wailed, the miscreant grew more belligerent. As
Dudley's close-set squinty eyes darted left and right beneath his
heavy sloping forehead, he whined "But it was your fault. You stood
too close.” What had happened, of course, was that the saturnine
Dudley had done just exactly what he always did when he opened up his
over and under. He ejected his empties back into the waiting
shooters without thought or regard. He had committed the mortal sin
of uncontrolled ejection.

Dudley possessed the unfortunate combined attributes of a total lack
of coordination and an equally total lack of concern about it. He
never really figured out how the better shooters were able to pop the
hulls into their hands and deposit them in the bucket at the front of
the station. He did not really care either and was certainly not
about to make the effort to learn. He just cranked his gun open and
let his hulls launch "on a frolic of their own", as Justice Cardozo
would have said. Often as not the hulls were propelled into the
helpless people patiently standing behind him waiting their turn to
shoot. Dudley felt that if the peltees did not like it, they could
move. It was not his concern. Some shooters had seen Dudley in
action before and gave him a wide berth. Wellington had not and the
Spaghettini Porcini paid the price.

Well, justice must be served and this case was even clearer than
OJ's. When the hanging was over and the shooters had moved to the
next station, Miss Manners ruminated over the fairness of it all.
Uncontrolled ejection ranked only slightly below gun dangling in the
pantheon of the cardinal shooting sins. She recalled how the Mikado's
Poobah pontificated, "Let the punishment fit the crime." Was the
deceased Dudley's thoughtless uncontrolled ejection actually that
heinous a crime? Was it a hanging offense? After thinking about it a
bit more she smiled to herself, nodded her head and gave a happy
little hop. One down. Many to go.



Courting Clays

East Mountain, May 5, 2002

by Lans Christensen

Aside from the monthly shoot events, the Travelers are also
presenting a growing number of thoroughly delightful “fun shoots”
with the emphasis on “fun”. Ted Knapp’s Howitzer (10 ga.) shoot is
one such, and another is the annual Courting Clays event.

Designed primarily to encourage wives and sweethearts to shoot with
their significant others, the event brought 24 couples together at
East Mountain. This part of May always presents several shoots to
choose from, and we were grateful that these discerning couples chose
the “right” event.

East Mountain is continuing with their massive clearing project and
the group was treated to many new vistas and target presentations.
Thanks go to George Holomakoff as always for setting up a great
course and to Jasen Jasensky too, who helped in fine tuning. The
targets brought out the best in both new and seasoned shooters, and
were enjoyed by all. No one should dismiss the event as being too
easy…..we didn’t find any 100’s on the score sheets. Incidentally,
scores are not turned in, or even read……Everybody wins at this event!

Highlights include watching young Geoffrey Cornwell who displayed
both poise and talent on the course. We hope he makes Traveler events
a habit. Gwen Grant and Holly Grauer brought smiles to all faces.
Holly may well have broken her first sporting targets that day and
her enthusiasm was infectious. We all forget what fun it is to watch
someone discover the thrill of the sport for the first time.

The luncheon, prepared by Chef Mark, was his customary Haute Cuisine
treat. Roses for the ladies, cigars for the gentlemen, fine Merlots
and Sauvignons were all complimentary and heartily applauded and
accepted. Lavish door prizes sent everyone home with a trunkful of
loot and happy memories.

As we soaked up sunshine on the porch, we could hear the last squad
shooting the flush station: after every 4 shot volley we could hear
peals of laughter and encouragement, and one clear voice that said:
“that was the shot of the day”…congratulations to that couple, and to
every other couple too. Join us next year!




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.





Life is short. Eat dessert first.






*** 2002 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

MY 31~JU2 PEACE DALE PRESERVE, RI-TRAVELERS FITASC CHAMPIONSHIPS
JUN 23 TAMARACK, NY-NAT’L WILD TURKEY FED CONCURRENT SHOOT
JUL 21 SANDANONA/ORVIS, NY-SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME
AUG 9~11 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI-GREAT EASTERN LOBSTER CLASSIC
SEP 15 FAIRFIELD COUNTY F&G, CT-SMALL GAUGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
OCT 5~7* SITE PENDING-FALL TRIP
OCT 20 MILLBROOK ROD & GUN, NY- OKTOBERSCHUTZENFEST
NOV 17 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
DEC 1 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-KOEHLER SOC. FUNDRAISER THREE SHOT
DEC 15 MID-COUNTY, NY-DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY

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

JUN 1 FAIRFIELD COUNTY F&G (203-531-4548) WOMEN’S DAY
JUN 2 FIN, FUR, FEATHER, CT (860-455-9516) FUN SHOOT
JUN 5 PAWLING MTN, NY (203-452-1639) D.U. NEW ENGLAND SC CH
JUN 9 NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT (860-542-5028) THREE SHOT FUN SHOOT
JUN 9 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI (401-568-3185) RUFFED GROUSE SC NAT’L CH
JUN 15 FIN, FUR, FEATHER, CT (860-429-6566) D.U. SPORTING FUN SHOOT
JUN 29 RICHFIELD SPRINGS SPORTSMEN, NY (315-853-7250) D.U. SHOOT
JUN 9 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI (401-568-3185) RUFFED GROUSE SC NAT’L CH
JUN 28~30 MID HUDSON, NY (845-255-7460) FITASC, FITASC, FITASC!
JUN 30 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI (401-568-3185) NE D.U. SC OPEN
JUN 9 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI (401-568-3185) RUFFED GROUSE SC NAT’L CH
JUL 13,14 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI (401-568-3185) NASCA ZONE 1 PRELIM & MAIN
JUL 14 FIN, FUR, FEATHER, CT (860-455-9516) FUN SHOOT
JUL 28 WALLINGFORD R&G, CT (203-265-1012) 50 BIRD FUN SHOOT
AUG 18 FIN, FUR, FEATHER, CT (860-455-9516) FUN SHOOT
AUG 24 NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT (800-414-2433 x 246) SHOOT FOR SCOUTING
AUG 25 WALLINGFORD R&G, CT (203-265-1012) 50 BIRD FUN SHOOT
SEP 8 MID-COUNTY, NY (845-677-5736) NSCA REGISTERED FUN SHOOT
SEP 8 FIN, FUR, FEATHER, CT (860-455-9516) FUN SHOOT
SEP 22 WALLINGFORD R&G, CT (203-265-1012) 50 BIRD FUN SHOOT
OCT 27 WALLINGFORD R&G, CT (203-265-1012) 50 BIRD FUN SHOOT
DEC 8 WALLINGFORD R&G, CT (203-265-1012) 50 BIRD FUN SHOOT




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

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2002
NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION
NORTHEAST SPORTING CLAYS CHAMPIONSHIP
TAMARACK PRESERVE, MILLBROOK, NY

Continuing the successful format of last year, in lieu of our usual
“Bustin’ Out” June shoot, we are uniting with our good friends at
Tamarack Preserve to support the National Wild Turkey Federation.
This is a big shoot with a big draw. We are pleased to be a part of
it.

The Travelers will have their own shoot within a shoot. We will run a
concurrent tied in with the Tamarack scores we shot in May. Don’t ask
how. You don’t know how electricity works or why grass is green
either. Just have faith that there will be all sorts of prizes. And a
really fancy catered gourmet luncheon. The June shoot is 150 birds
over Two courses! That’s right. 150 of the little darlins. Eighteen
stations. Two courses. It’s a big deal.

Registration is 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM. This is European Start. Begin
shooting between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Your starting course will be
preselected, but the rest is up to you. Luncheon is available from
12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. You can lunch between courses.

Entry is $140 if you pre-register and $160 if you walk in. Since the
NWTF is a 501-c-3 charitable organization, the entry fee may be tax
deductible to the extent allowed by law or your conscience. Jakes
(Juniors) 17 and under shoot for $25. Note that registration is sent
directly to Tamarack, not to the CTSCA and the check is made out to
the “National Wild Turkey Federation”. As a Travelers “thank you” for
supporting this cause, Travelers who attend this shoot can deduct $25
from their next Travelers monthly shoot. We run on the honor system.
Just include a note with your next Travelers shoot entry. Please
note: Travelers $55 shoot credit awards” are not redeemable at this
particular shoot.

Directions to Tamarack Preserve, Millbrook, NY:

From US84/NY22 junction take NY 22 North about, more or less, sort of
35 miles to traffic light in Amenia, NY. Go West (left) on NY 44 for
2.9 miles to Turkey Hollow Road on Left. Look for Tamarack sign.

From the Taconic Parkway, take the NY 44 exit. Go East on NY 44 for
1.7 miles. Go Left onto NY 44-A heading East for 3.2 miles and then
back onto NY 44 East. Continue on NY 44 East for 6.7 miles to Turkey
Hollow Road on Right. Look for Tamarack sign.

If lost, strayed or stolen, the Tamarack Preserve number is
845-373-7084.

EYE AND EAR PROTECTION ARE MANDATORY AT TRAVELERS’ SHOOTS!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE-REGISTRATION FORM

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2002
NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION
NORTHEAST SPORTING CLAYS CHAMPIONSHIP
TAMARACK PRESERVE, MILLBROOK, NY

Send your check for $140 made to "National Wild Turkey Federation” for the Sunday, June 23rd NWTF NorthEast Sporting Clays Championship at Tamarack Preserve, Millbrook, NY to:

NWTF c/o Tamarack Preserve
RR-1, Box 111-B
Millbrook, NY 12545

NAME:_______________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS:____________________________________________________________________

CITY/STATE/ZIP:_____________________________________________________________

DAY TELEPHONE: ___________________ EMAIL:_____________________________

NSCA # (not required unless you wish) ______________ NSCA Class (ditto) _____________

CONCURRENTS: Lady ___ Vet (55+) ___ Super Vet (65+) ___ Junior (under 18)