TECHNOID'S SHOOT KIT... As the Judge and Miss Manners have
stated, this issue of the newsletter is devoted to our newer Connecticut
Travelers members. As many of them are new to sporting clays, as well
as to us, your Guru of Gear and Mechanical Magnificence will pry
himself away from his shop deep in the bowels of the massive
RELOAD! office complex to offer up some more priceless tidbits of
wisdom for the uninitiated. Pull on your boots. You can hose them
down later.

What should you carry with you when you go out for your round of
sporting clays? This is assuming that you have to carry it yourself, of
course. Pack saddles for non-shooting spouses and teenage offspring are
not appropriate. Here is what the Technoid lugs around with him.

The usual vest, hat, glasses, ear protection, gloves, comfy shoes and gun
go without saying. A gunslip with a comfortable carrying strap is a very
good idea. A naked gun can get pretty well beaten up at a crowded
station and a gun case with a carrying strap makes toting it around from
station to station very much easier.

You will also need something to carry your shells in. A shooting bag or
dove stool with pockets is very handy. The stool is preferable. Since
your are going to have to carry a bag anyway, why not carry something
that you can also sit on rather than stand on your feet for four hours? At
the end of the day, fatigue can cost a bird or two. By far the best
shooting stools with appropriate pockets are the ones that the competition
rifle shooters use.

Also include your choke selection (plus Royal wrench- the best) and
shells. The Technoid generally likes pairs of .005" (skeet), .015" (light
modified) and .035" (full) to be shot with one box of #9s paired with the
skeet choke out to 20 yards, three boxes of #8s for use with the Light
Modified from 20 to 35 yards and one box of #7.5s for the Full at
distances over 35 yards. This selection has worked out pretty well on
the average Travelers' course over the years although in our past two
shoots you could have usefully employed a second box of #9s. Some
shooters carry far more shells than they need. A box of shells weighs
about 2.5 pounds and it all adds up at the end of the day.

Little extras that you should also stow are: pencil and small clip board
for the score cards, water, rain gear (if threatening), plus of course,
Twinkies and a spare slide rule in case your primary one falls out of the
pocket protector. Semper paratus.

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