RELOAD!

NOVEMBER 1999 NEWSLETTER
© Bruce Buck, editor

In an unheard of and certainly never to be repeated display
pre-crastination, your editors here at the monolithic Reload! complex
have included a form for the year 2000 Connecticut Travelers
membership renewal. We are anxious for you to come play with us next
year, so hup-hup-reup!

OKTOBERSCHUTZENFEST…On October 7, Millbrook Rod and Gun Club hosted
the Travelers annual Oktoberschutzenfest.

Due to a special arrangement which the Travelers have with Higher
Powers, the day was simply glorious. The trees were in full fall
display of red and orange and yellow. The sky was that flawless
Kodachrome blue which can only occur in autumn. Only the pleasant
temperature and light breeze of the Indian summer belied the time of
year. A day like this certainly answers the question about what is so
rare as a day in June.

Still, the Travelers would shoot in a hurricane and wouldn’t complain
if the targets were good. As fine as the weather was, the targets were
even better. Traveler Lavert Cypher set the fourteen stations and gave
us what could well be considered the best course the Travelers have
ever had. Yes, it was hard. The average score for the 114 guns was a
heart-rending 48. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story.

What made the course so good was that each and every one of the
stations was demanding, but none was unobtainable. If the course had a
characteristic it was that most shooters could hit some of the birds
in every presentation, but very, very few could hit them all. That’s
what made it so much fun. You could hit each bird, but somehow you
didn’t. It would be different if you couldn’t hit any of the birds and
could just label the course as being too hard. It’s different when you
constantly hit a few and missed a few at every station. It’s
like playing chess with the designer. He’s constantly probing your
weaknesses while you are promoting your strengths.

Lavert used every trick in the book. You had to plan your attack on
each station after watching how the others shot it. Due to the hilly
terrain, particular attention had to be paid to the bird’s actual
flight line compared to the slope of the land. What you saw was seldom
what you got. Virtually every one of Millbrook's stations would rank
as the "best" on a lesser course.

In addition to the natural hills and ravines of the course, piers and
towers were added for even more variety. Ample use was also made of
specialty targets. The rocket and 110 combo of a high tower were
particularly interesting. Edge-on rockets are every bit as durable as
rabbits and require a bit more choke and shot size for reliable
breaks.

We don’t have the space in this crowded issue to cover the stations in
detail. It would take a full length book to do them justice because
they covered virtually every lesson learned in sporting. The course
was a masterpiece. Well done Lavert.


HOA BILL LOSTY 80
I-1 Denise Losty 74
I-2 Bruce Galotto 71
I-3 Vin LaScalza 69
II-1 George Ostrander 68
II-2 Dennis Maffei 66
II-3 Peter McCree 64*
III-1 Nick Weidhaas 66*
III-2 Alex Jesudowich 66
III-3 Warren Lambert 62
IV-1 Tony Restivo 58
IV-2 Lans Christensen 57
IV-3 Jim Henion 53
V-1 Vin Battaglia 49
V-2 Mark Zeyher 45
V-3 Walt Fell 44
VI-1 Eileen Lambert 31
VI-2 Jeanne Conroy 30*
VI-3 Carol Thomas 30
Lady-1 Cyndi Dalena 47
Lady-2 Estella Vaden 46
Lady-3 Daria Albini 43
Vet-1 Joe Maresca 71
Vet-2 John Lawlor 66
Vet-3 Al Anglace 63
Jr-1 Rocky Cotoia 43
Sub-Jr-1 Mike Soltes 28
Guest Kevin Sterk 57
* tie decided by tie breaker stations


GUIDE BOOK… A copy of the 2000 Connecticut Travelers Guide Book is
included in your membership. Members who already have the 1999 Guide
Book with the deluxe super-fancy snap-ring binder, will receive
plebeian paper inserts to update their book. New members will get the
whole eye-catching book in 2000 and thereafter will receive the
mundane-looking inserts.

We think that it is important to the Travelers that every member has a
Guide Book. It will facilitate calling around for rides to shoots,
doing business with Traveler-owned companies and will ease the social
intercourse that is part and parcel of our association. The Guide
Book is part of the glue which holds us together.

PLEASE READ THIS: We would like to place every member’s name and
information in our guide book, but we understand that some members may
not want this. If you do NOT wish to be included in the Guide Book,
please check the appropriate box on the membership renewal form above.
If you do not check the box, you WILL be in the Guide Book.


CANADIAN ROAD TRIP… (courtesy of Henry Nachaj, our Lone Canadian)

Twelve Travellers plus a number of their better halves made the
journey to the Great White North and Montréal on October 8, 9 and 10,
1999. Lucky for them, this was one of the most beautiful and warm
weekends of the fall.

The majority stopped in at the La Roue du Roy gun club on Friday for
some fun breaking a few hundred clay birds on the front automated
sporting field. This field normally consists of 10 stations with
several shooting positions on each for maximum variety.

Dinner that night was at an exquisite French restaurant called "Le
Paris". It is owned by the Poucant family who are members of La Roue
du Roy. The food is not of the ‘Nouvelle cuisine’ style where portions
are tiny and decoration is of prime importance. This is real French
home cooking with good portions. To our surprise, Travellers happily
ate Boudin ‘blood sausage’, Andouille ‘tripe sausage’, Calmares en
Sauce ‘squid in brown sauce’, Gelinotte de lapin ‘rabbit’ and Huitres
‘raw oysters’. After dinner, several went then to the ‘Casino de
Montréal’.

The following morning everyone, except for a few of the ladies who
shopped in Montréal, showed up ‘bright eyed and bushy tailed’ at 9.30
AM at La Roue du Roy for some very interesting targets. Several
members of the club also joined us. Since it was the hunting season,
the course was set up to present realistic hunting scenarios.

One station had a pair of targets that showed the complete underside
of each. They were flying a slightly quartering path right to left.
The wind being what it was pulled them away from the shooting stand,
thus deceiving the shooter in both distance and speed. They looked
really close coming in, those big fat saucers.

Then the "Tower of Power" appeared on the next station. The tower is
85 feet up. With the wind behind, the targets flew like pheasants from
an English Tower shoot. The shooting stand was hidden behind some
trees and bushes so that no one could see the tower. The target was
descending and being accelerated by both gravity and the wind. Those
who rode the target lost the target. The trick was in the sweet spot
just in front of the stand and ‘Move, Mount and Shoot’.

A good soup and an assortment of sandwiches were provided. In the
afternoon, some re-shot the sporting with an emphasis on educating the
shooter to break these hunting style targets. Others shot the 5-stand
or the ‘Podium’. Pauline and Ricky at La Roue Du Roy provided great
hospitality and superb targets. PS: the website is: www.roueduroy.com
All travellers are welcome year round at this very private club.

That evening most everyone went for supper at ‘Gibby’s’ in Old
Montréal. This is a fine steak and seafood restaurant in a converted
18th century stone stable. The kitchen itself is under the square
formed by the stable. Everyone enjoyed the food and camaraderie. A few
once more went to the ‘Casino de Montréal’.

Sunday morning brought the Travellers groggy but full of spirit, to
the Montreal Skeet Club. A beautiful clubhouse awaited them and the
club set up a 10-station course.

On one station a pair of black midis split well apart deceived a
number of shooters. These targets were left to right, quartering in.
They looked very far due to the lack of a good background, size and
colour. The closest was only 15 yards out, while the outermost was 30
yards out. The killer was the arching of the targets. If you shot
early, under power, you could actually hit two with one shot. If you
waited, there were to many angles to think about.

The teal station provided a pair going up on your right on edge and
then falling 25 feet on edge in front of you into the trees. A little
off line or too much choke and you missed. If you waited to hit them
on the way down, you then had to deal with erratic targets falling
into the trees and bushes. A perfect score on this station was
possible if you kept the line and hit the first target on the rise as
it cleared the trees. Then shoot the second target just as it arced
down.

A fine lunch was available consisting of a great minestrone soup and
an assortment of Italian sandwiches. After lunch, several Travellers
stayed to re-shoot the sporting while others went shopping or made
preparations to return home. The weekend proved to be a great
experience to all that participated in the trip. We hope that more
will take advantage of the possibilities available to them in the
Montréal area in the coming year.



INTERNET READERS, THE FOLLOWING SHOOT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. IT’S FOR
A GOOD CAUSE. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME AND JOIN US.

The Harold Koehler Society’s second annual Scholarship Fund-raiser

"HAROLD’S CHALLENGE" THREE SHOT

SPORTING CLAYS EVENT A 100 TARGET LEWIS CLASS FUN SHOOT IF YOU DON’T
HAVE A THREE SHOT GUN, LOANERS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON ALL THREE SHOT
STANDS.

EAST MOUNTAIN PRESERVE 150 McCARTHY ROAD, DOVER PLAINS, NY

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28,1999

Registration 9am, Shoot Starts 10am

SILENT AUCTION: Featuring hand carved decoys and prints.

FREE DOOR PRIZES INCLUDING GUNS, PRINTS, DECOYS AND MUCH MORE YOU WILL
EAT WELL AND HAVE FUN

$65.00 DONATION sponsored by THE CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SPORTING CLAYS
ASSOC.

DIRECTIONS: RT. 84 EAST & WEST TO JUNCTION OF RTS. 84 & 22 NORTH AT
BREWSTER, NY. GO TO DOVER PLAINS (APPROX. 25 MILES) AND TURN RIGHT AT
THE ONLY TRAFFIC LIGHT IN DOVER PLAINS, ONTO McCARTHY ROAD (LIGHT IS
JUST AFTER McDONALD’S). CONTINUE APPROX. 1_ MILES INTO THE EAST
MOUNTAIN PARKING LOT. 914 877-6274.

RESERVATIONS: Mail your pre-paid reservation to the Harold Koehler
Society, % CTSCA, 91 Park Lane Road, New Milford, CT 06776 on or
before November 24, 1999. NO WALK INS.

NAME________________________________________________

STREET______________________________________________

CITY/TOWN_______________________STATE______ZIP______

PHONE______________________

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: THE HAROLD KOEHLER SOCIETY





*** 1999 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

NOV 21 FRIAR TUCK- CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
NOV 28 EAST MOUNTAIN- HAROLD KOEHLER SCHOLARSHIP BENEFIT
DEC 12 MID-COUNTY-CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT


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

NOV 13,14 FITASC-STYLE (75 TGTS) AT PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730)
NOV 20,21 FALL "3 SHOT" AND OPEN CH AT PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730)



GOING TO A SHOOT? WHY NOT ASK A FELLOW TRAVELER TO JOIN YOU? ALL THE
NAMES AND ADDRESSES ARE IN THE TRAVELERS GUIDE BOOK.

If you know of any area shoots which might be of interest to your
fellow Travelers, get in touch with RELOAD! and we will post them to
the world.


CONTACTING THE TRAVELERS...

CTSCA Home Office: Email <AAA738@aol.com> (by far the best way) or
telephone (860) 354-9351 if it is urgent.

Membership 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>.

PEACE DALE WINTER LEAGUES… What are you going to do after the Super
Bowl? When everyone else is stuck with watching underwear sports like
basketball and Southern Hemisphere tennis, you could be out shooting
with the other masochists. The senior and junior Richie Frisellas will
have their Peace Dale, Rhode Island range cranking along all winter.
The winter league starts just after Thanksgiving and will definitely
get you ready for spring. Call Peace Dale at 401-789-3730 for the
details. For Travelers in Central and Eastern Connecticut, Peace Dale
is a surprisingly short drive.




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

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
FRIAR TUCK INN
CATSKILL, NY

This is it- The Summit Meeting. This is when the big dogs bark and
the little mutts whine. It’s the Connecticut Travelers Club
Championship. You have had all year to practice up for it, so don’t
hold back now. Come on out and strut your stuff. Being a Traveler’s
class champion is the peak, the pinnacle, the paradigm of
plu-perfection. You don’t want to miss this one.

As befits such a momentous occasion, nothing but the best will do.
Ross Caridi’s Friar Tuck Inn is the site. It’s professionally
designed sporting course is guaranteed to be Travelers Tough, yet also
caring and supportive with just the right touch of maudlin sentiment
to properly mix the yin and yang of clay target shooting. If that
doesn’t do it for your inner shooter, perhaps a few belts at the big
cocktail party on Saturday night will set you up for the next day’s
efforts.

The Travelers Club Championship shoot is on Sunday, November 21 and
will start at 9:00 AM just the way it always does. The entry fee is
$55. In addition to the Club Championship shoot on Sunday, Friar
Tuck’s facilities will also be open for shooting practice on Saturday,
November 20. You can either "day trip" it for the Sunday shoot alone,
or ­ as befits the momentous import of the Travelers Championships-
make a glorious weekend of it. You can come up Saturday to shoot
practice and stay at the Inn Saturday night so as to arise fresh and
frisky for the main event on Sunday. Friar Tuck will have special room
and shooting rates for the Travelers. Call Friar Tuck at 800-832-7600
for prices and reservations. To encourage you to come up early, Friar
Tuck and the Travelers will host an attitude-adjusting cocktail party
on Saturday evening. Those who wish can then join the group for
dinner afterwards. Bring your friends. Guests are welcome at this
shoot.

Directions to Friar Tuck Inn, Catskill, NY: Take the New York State
Thruway North to Exit 20 "Saugerties". Immediately after the toll,
turn Left at the traffic light. Proceed a short distance (less than
one mile) and take your first Right onto Rte 32 North. Stay on Rte
32 North for 10 miles. Friar Tuck Inn will be on your right. The
shooting area is in the rear.

If lost, strayed or stolen, the Friar Tuck Inn telephone number is
800-832-7600.

REMEMBER, EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY AT ALL TRAVELERS SHOOTS.

INTERNET READERS: THE CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS IS A MEMBERSHIP
ORGANIZATION. OUR SHOOTS ARE OPEN TO MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS. AT THIS
TIME, THE MEMBERSHIP ROSTER IS FULL AND THERE IS A WAITING LIST FOR
ENTRY.