2012 Weekly Blurbs

The ongoing saga of the gun purchased in Boone and shot around the Country!
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smokem
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October 28th Smoke Report 2012

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Good morning to all and another nice fall weekend is over. Sure is windy in Greensboro and our thoughts and prayers are with all the folks having to deal with tropical storm Sandy. I believe we got some of the wind up at the Rock Saturday from the way it was blowing.
We have two shoots to report on and no shoots are on tap for this weekend the 3rd and 4th of November. Maybe Lynchburg and Spartanburg are shooting this Saturday – I will check on that. Anyway, things are winding down a bit the closer we get to the holiday season but we still have 7 registered shoots in NC before January 1st.

Rockingham held their monthly shoot Saturday and the weather was overcast and the wind was just a blowing. Ronnie Manuel topped all singles shooters with a 97 and also won the dubs with a 92 and took HOA. Lane Murray and new registered ATA shooter Casey Parks tied with 88’s with a real honest to goodness shootoff that left Lane the winner and Casey the short yardage winner. Mark your calendar for November 17th (registered) and November 25th (Lewis Class) shoots.

Watauga held their end of the season Annual “Chicken Wing Fling” Saturday and they had a great turnout. Thanks to Tom Pitts I have the details to include in the smoke report for you this morning. Morg Shaw won the singles with a 99, Greg High won the caps with a 93 and Tom Pitts won the dubs with an 88. Morg topped all shooters in the HOA with a 270x300. John Waters cooked up a batch of wings and I know everybody had a great time for sure. I hear tell that the Watauga boys are going to travel to Ft. Bragg on the 10th for the Ft. Bragg “Fried Turkey” shoot according to Eli Waters. I might just make it to Bragg and get some pix of the Cartel in the Sandhills.

There were a couple of folks out of action this weekend including JC Nunn and Tom Shelley. JC took the time to weatherproof the handicap ramp that attaches to his steps. He said that he was so sore from being on his knees he was walking around like a duck. Tom Shelley was working and evidently either driving the tractor or supervising a “hay ride” for the city of Blowing Rock. He had to dress up like a scarecrow and he said the straw was a little itchy around his neck. He is one hard working and dedicated individual dressing up for Halloween like that I know the kids enjoyed it.

In case you haven’t heard the ATA website is allowing you to print your own average cards on the internet. You will need to login with your ATA number and also have a password. If you don’t have a password just follow the directions to have one created. Once you login and click on the average card icon you will be prompted to answer some security questions that include a valid email address.

Once you answer all the info you submit and your browser will close. Go to your email and open the email that says ShootATA Confirmation Account – once you open the email just click on the link and voila your average card appears. Mine worked fine and I printed mine out on card stock and cut it out. It is a little bulky compared to the card the ATA sends out but it will do. Here is a word to the wise – folks like to show up at shoots with 2 or 3 cards and some are filled out properly and some are not. PLEASE fill your cards out the way they should be – is that too much to ask from “responsible” adults?

Also – the two yard reductions that just came out a few weeks ago. Some might not even know they are “TWO YARDS” closer to the traphouse. The OLD rule stated that you have to have an average card in hand with the actual punch showing. I called NC State Delegate Terry Roush last week and asked about the reductions that showed up on shootATA.com. He said all the reductions for NC shooters were valid and that none of the 2 yard reductions for NC shooters were denied by the NC State Delegate. So – we had shooters show up and shoot Saturday and were able to shoot from their new yardage without a paper card in hand based on the shootATA website. If this had been known folks could have shot closer to the house as far back as last weekend. Anyway – hopefully we didn’t confuse you and please go check it out and print your card out.

I got my hands on an Beretta A400 Sporting shotgun Saturday. Yep – Casey Parks bought one to shoot Sporting Clays and it was a 30” model with the reduction system on it . The stock seemed awful short and almost like the “RL” version of the gun. The stock was setup with a neutral shim and the 50/65 shim was in a bag in the box. I shot my caps AL-391 with a 42.5 shim and my 30” I used for singles had a 65 shim installed. Next step is to get Gamaliel to order me a factory pull trigger so I can send it to Cole for a release conversion. At least I will have something to play with over the winter.

I have nothing more to add for this smoke report and if anything comes up I will get it posted during the week. Oh – this is the time of year all the clubs sit down to establish shoot dates for 2013. Sure would be nice to share some of that info so as to eliminate any confusion and make it easier to coordinate. Big shout out to Lou down in Hurricane Sandy free Florida…….Until next Monday moaning………………………….Smokem
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November 5th Smoke Report 2012

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November is here and the leaves are losing their luster. The Holiday season is upon us again and before you know it the Christmas tree will be blinking in the living room. I really enjoy this time of year and really appreciate getting to shoot in NC in November and December.
No NC shoots were held over the weekend with both Lynchburg VA and Spartanburg SC hosting shoots the 3rd. We have two shoots to look forward to this weekend and we are hoping the weather cooperates. Just looked at the weather channel and the weekend looks great! Mid 60’s and no chance of rain is what I read – perfect! Maybe Dan Johnson will come out and play this weekend.

Saturday November 10th Ft. Bragg will host their annual Fried Turkey Shoot. Typical 300 target program in the sand hills of North Carolina. Marty will prepare his delicious deep fried turkey with all the trimmings. There will be turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, corn, beans, rolls, pumpkin pie and homemade ice cream. I heard tell the Watuaga “Turkey” Cartel will roll off the hill to play in the sand with the flatlanders.

Sunday November 11th the Buckhorn Gun Club will host heir annual “Toys For Tots” shoot. Bring a few “new” unwrapped toys to the shoot to donate to the Marine Corps Toys For Tots toy drive. Typical 300 target program and if the Cartel is thinking they will spend the night and stay over for the shoot. If nothing else they can bring the toys and someone will get them to BGC.

Hopefully clubs are conjuring up their shoot dates for 2013. As this schedule is confirmed we will try to post it on the website. We met Sunday at the Rockingham GC to discuss the 2013 schedule for registered and the non-registered Lewis Class shoots. It can be tough finding good help and it can be a real commitment to help run and organize registered events. I guess it is like Church to a certain extent – 10% doing 90% of the work but in the end it is all worthwhile.

Looks like JC Nunn recovered from his little project last week. He is walking normally and is ready to come out and play a little bit. He will probably get out to the Rock this week and practice prior to riding to Ft. Bragg with me Saturday. He is perched on the 19.5 now and told me he needed a little yardage so that he could shoot on the 20 with me. He still works at the auto auction every Wednesday rain or shine unless he is traveling to a shoot.

Okay – not much more to add for this week. Get out and vote Tuesday and I guess we will see what happens….Hello to Lou down in sunny Florida and until next Monday……………………Smokem
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November 12th Veteran's Day Smoke Report 2012

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Good morning and what a great November weekend. Weather was almost perfect both Saturday and Sunday for the shoots at Bragg and Buckhorn. We have one shoot report from the weekend and hope to have the Toys For Tots shoot up today or tonight. Since it is a Holiday for me I am going to take it easy.
First I would like to thank all of the Vets for their military service and sacrifice for their Country. I never want to take the Military for granted and thank God we have them defending our borders (except Mexico looks like) and abroad. JC Nunn served in WWII and he sure has some stories to tell.

Ft. Bragg held their annual “Fried Turkey Shoot” Saturday and had a great turnout. Marty got the scores posted and I got some pictures up also. Tommy Brown won the singles and the HOA, Tom Pitts won the caps and Lewis Wyatt won the doubles. The turkey lunch was delicious with all the trimmings and Marty did a great job making everybody feel welcome.

The Watauga Boys made it down to Bragg Saturday. John and Eli Waters, Tom Shelley and Tom Pitts and last but not least Steve Watson attended the shoot. These fellows shot well with Tom Pitts, Tom Shelley and Eli Waters winning either class, yardage or higun. Tom Shelley came close to winning the MID50 but the 2nd 25 proved to be a challenge.

If my calendar is correct there are three shoots coming up this weekend. Gastonia, Old Hickory@Rocky Mount and Rockingham are all hosting registered shoots. All clubs will host a typical 300 target program and we might have details on these shoots sometime today. Don’t forget that Rockingham has handicap pots on the first/mid/last 50 that are ready to be won. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend with temps in the mid 50’s on Saturday according to Weather.com. Won’t be too long before Terry Roush will publish and distribute his yearly overview of shooting activity in the TarHeel State. It is always an interesting read and we appreciate him taking the time putting it all together for your viewing pleasure. He has had a lot on his plate this year and I hope he and Jackie have a great holiday season.

Lewis and JC had a ball Saturday at Ft. Bragg. JC nipped Lewis in the singles and after that Lewis pretty much had him on the hook. Lewis asked JC at lunch about spotting him a few birds in the handicap and the doubles. JC commented that he would like for Lewis to spots him a few years in age – like 15 years. After the doubles Lewis invited us over to his camper for a hot cup of coffee to ride home with.

I hope everybody has a great Veteran’s day and if you know someone ex or current military give them a ring and just say thanks. Hello to Lou down in Sunny Florida and I hope you are doing well. Oh – met Jim Meucci at the Ft. Bragg complex Saturday. He had been overseas for a few years and now lives in Pinehurst. Hopefully he will get out to some of the other NC shoots in 2013.

Until next Monday morning don’t eat too much prior to Thanksgiving and ………………………………………………………Smokem…….
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Smoke Report For November 19th 2012

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Another great windy weather weekend in the books and here comes Thanksgiving. We had three trapshoots over the weekend and one trapshoot the 24th to look forward to. Things are winding down for 2013 and just can’t wait to take some pictures with folks shooting in the snow! I had a snow picture that I thought was shot at Rockingham until somebody informed me it was at their gun club.
I got this information just in off the “Trap” group on Facebook. Clarence Mason informed us that Leo Harrison III will be going into the hospital on November 26th for treatment. He has a heart condition called ascending aortic aneurysm and will be treated at the hospital in St. Louis. Clarence commented that Leo was very gracious to him as a new shooter and we can all agree that Leo is a great shooter and person in general. Our prayers will be with him and his family and good luck Leo.

Also, Scott Shoulars wife Louise is recovering from surgery after a gall balder operation. She had been sick going back to the Hall Of Fame shoot and the docs evidently finally figured out what was wrong with her. We wish her the best in recovery and we hope she will feel well enough to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

We have one shoot report in for the Rock and it looks like except for a flip Tommy Brown won the caps, doubles and HOA at the Fall Open at the Rockingham GC Saturday. Gorgeous George Brown and Tommy knotted up with 96’s and George won the flip. Father and son Patric Mason spread some lead with us Saturday and we hope they had a good time. Also, George brought William West up for his first shoot at the Rock and we hope to see him in 2013.

Hopefully we will get the other shoot reports and get them posted sometime this week. We have one shoot this weekend at the Durham County Wildlife Club and I am sure Kim will get the program posted. They have been doing a lot of work at the club and we hope to make it to the DCWC in 2013. They have a great time and the lunch is always great and I believe it is prepared and catered by the skeet shooters.

I neglected my duties and finally got the scores from the Annual Toys For Tots shoot at Buckhorn last Sunday. Virginia shooter Ted Carwile won the singles with a 97 and Karole Miller and Check Woody had 97’s also. Winky Mabe won the caps with a 94 with Lewis Wyatt matching that score and winding up with SrVet. Winky also won the doubles with a 91 and the HOA with 281. Jimmy will hopefully get me a picture when all of the toys are ready to be picked up by the Marines. Buckhorn will host the last shoot of the year in North Carolina December 2nd so mark your calendars.

I guess I have one thing to be thankful for and that is Dan Johnson is back in North Carolina with his family. Mary has landed back in NC and Anthony has been in NC for awhile. This will be their first Thanksgiving together in NC in quite some time. And, it looks like Dan is whipping a 90-T together so that he can get back amongst us and give Jimmy a run for his money. I talked with him Sunday and his daughter from PA and her children were down for a visit. I hope they have a great holiday and can’t wait to see Dan back out on the line.

At this moment we have several trapshooters away from home. One has been hunting in Alabama and when I sent him a text he was in a blind hunting for Coyotes. The other vagabond is on his way to Panama City Florida for a visit with his son and family. Dave Daily will be spending his holiday with his daughter and family in South Carolina and we hope to get to see him very soon.

Tom Cox went to the Hamfest in Benson NC Sunday and he said it was cool and windy. I ran a hamfest/computer show for 13 years and it was a two-day event on Thanksgiving weekend. In the beginning it was held at the Franklin Boulevard Armory and then we moved it to the Greensboro Coliseum. Sure am glad I don’t have that stress to deal with during the holiday – whew….

Saturday at the Rock that wind was really blowing and if you looked at the scores I was calling “LOST” a bunch. JC Nunn shot his third 25 on my field and he dropped “5” birds on a post. When I called the “walk” I composed myself because I was thinking about how I would call out a zero? He was the tailgunner and I called out 4-3-2-3-nothing and he turned around and said what was my score? I should have said “zero” and I said nothing because Earl Scripture would call that out when he scored at the Spartanburg GC in South Carolina. The next post he was the only fellow on the squad that broke a five and when I called it out he turned around and grinned and held up 5 fingers. He went on to break a 23 on his last trap and the best score in his squad.

Lane Murray took Hunter hunting Saturday and he had a few issues during the outing. It seems that Hunter didn’t quite get all of the components of his wardrobe assembled for the cold weather and that created a few problems. When Lane called me Saturday morning the “Little Man” as we lovingly refer to Hunter as had headed to the Tahoe to warm up. He looked at his daddy and said I gotta go because I am freezing to death. Earlier in the morning he dropped one of his gloves in the dark and when he got into the tree stand one of his earplugs fell to the ground. I got to talk to Hunter and commented that he had experienced some “sticky note” moments and that there were some valuable lessons to be learned from his trip. Also – he is selling popcorn for the Scouts in case you want some. Last but not least – Lane and the scout troop will be backpacking at the end of the month to “Hump” mountain. That sounds like a great trip and I can’t wait to get a trip report from that adventure.

I had mentioned in an earlier smoke report that I was looking at a Beretta A400. Well things change and we are in the process of buying a 34” Top-Single Kolar barrel for the combo. Not sure what the market is Un-Single barrel’s so I might just hang onto it. I am looking forward to getting the tube and heading to the pattern board. Hopefully getting that tube up under the rid will simulate what I was looking at when I shot those 391’s. I have read about folks that never really recovered after going to the un-single. Only time and tweaking and shooting targets will tell the tale.

I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to the Christmas season. Life is short and we don’t have any idea just how many Christmas seasons we have left. Hello to Lou down in sunny Florida and we hope to get your fill of turkey and all of the trimmings. Until next Monday the 26th……………………….Smokem
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November 26th Smoke Report

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Back to work after a great Thanksgiving and Christmas is almost here! I hope everybody enjoyed being around the family and all of that food! I would imagine that leftovers are resting comfortably in the fridge right now. Just be very careful those leftovers can make you very sick.
Two shooting events over the weekend and we have a little bit to report. Hopefully we will have a shoot report from the Durham County event sometime today. Lane Murray informed me that the November Lewis Class shoot was cancelled and mark your calendar for the December LCS the 23rd. The original date for the LCS was the 16th so please make a note!

Jim Callan informed me that Addison received a 2012 All American Team hat for the primary team with his name embroidered on it. Looks like Addison is in the 9th position in the primary 2012 AA Sub Junior Team and the “official” info will be available shortly. The package with the letter, patch and pin will not arrive until February . That is some great shooting young man and hats off to Jim for getting to all of the tournaments to compete!

I get the newsletter from the folks at the Myrtle Grove Gun Club in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. They have a very active shooting group with frequent registered BIG50’s and also had a registered two-day shoot over the weekend. Pat Childers does a great job promoting all of the activities with a newsletter that chronicles the events and also pictures. If you plan to visit the beach you really need to pack the guns and give Myrtle Grove a shot.

November is about over and we have one registered shoot in North Carolina December 2nd at the Buckhorn Gun Club. Barring any weather issues this will be your last chance to shoot registered in the Tarheel State. I got a private message from a fellow in Pennsylvania asking about shoots in North or South Carolina. He said it was too cold to shoot in PA and he had a friend that had a private plane. Hopefully he will show up – you just never know.

I got a text message from North Carolina’s Dan Johnson Sunday night. He was wondering if the Boone boys would be attending the shoot on the 2nd? He mentioned something about them being scared and don’t know if that is an inside joke or not. I know George has the guns tucked in for the winter but Shelley. Pitts, Watson, Shaw and the Waters are 4-season shooters according to Tom Shelley. Heck – bring 5 from Boone and BGC can host 5 and have a singles team match. Boone 500 target singles total against the BGC total for bragging rights. Sure sounds like fun to me!

Also – both Lynchburg and Spartanburg will host their monthly registered shoots on the 1st of December. I got to shoot at Lynchburg in August and it was quite an experience. That was the last registered shoot I got to attend with Charley Rinehart and please pray for his family over the Holiday season. Spartanburg is an interesting place to shoot also and it is beautiful at this time of the year.

A little thin this week on news and we will try to dig a little deeper next week. I did have a great time at Myrtle Beach over the holiday and will try to post the sunrise I captured Sunday morning. Look like my top-single tube will be arriving sometime this week and I can’t wait to get that barrel tuned in. Have a great week and hello to Lou down in the sunshine state. Until next week……………………….Smokem
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December 3rd Smoke Report 2012

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Good morning and another great weather weekend in the Old Tarheel State. Saturday was a bright sunny day and Sunday turned out warmer but a little bit cloudy and windy. We had one registered shoot over the weekend and that is the last one until we hit 2013. We have a few things to talk about so sit back and relax.
As many of you already know Jackie Roush passed away early last week. We got the news from Hunter Galloway and also got email that was sent by Terry regarding Jackie. I opted not to post that email on the web and chose to post the arrangement information. Terry and Jackie were an inseparable pair and represented the NCTA across the USA at many trapshooting events. She will be sorely missed and please remember that family in prayer at this time.

Also, Hunter Galloway’s wife Debbee had rotator cuff surgery last week and is resting comfortably at home. Hunter has had his plate full with work and tending to her with all the Doc visits during the healing process. Jeff has been helping out but with a full time job at Remington he does what he can. Hopefully the healing and the rehab will go fine and her recovery will go smoothly.

Buckhorn held the last registered shoot in NC for 2012 Sunday December 2nd. I got bits and pieces of info and it looks like they had about 25 shooters for singles. Not sure of any other details but I do know that Dan Johnson led the rowdy bunch of nomads called the Watauga Cartel. Dan led his squad with a solid 98 with Tom Pitts and Steve Watson breaking 96’s. Shelley got worn out by the Pitts Push and Pitts won “three” flips yesterday at BGC. I heard tell that Steve took pix of all the scores and I would imagine I will talk with Jimmy about all the other fun stuff.

We did get to take a look at a preliminary 2013 NCTA shoot schedule. Please get your date into Mrs. Keever so that we can get the info published. I don’t think there will be any less shoots in 2013 and it would be great if they were spread out evenly during the month. Not sure how far Terry was along with his report that he publishes about this time each year. That report gives an overview of all the clubs and the target totals for the target year. Always a good read with some interesting information for sure.

I slipped away to the Rockingham Gun Club Sunday afternoon for a scoring clinic for new folks at the club. You would think the ATA could create a scorer’s manual – I know there is a rule book but something geared for that would be better than nothing. I put together some information for the folks and I believe it was well received. You can have the best targets, the best trophies, the best food but if your refs are bad it can be a long day.

We also had a chance to shoot a round of singles and I got to shoot with J.T. Brewer and Tommy Brown. I was using a 7/8’s ounce Extra Lite load with a XF choke in the un-single. I broke a 25 and maybe 5-7 targets weren’t smokeballs but good hits nonetheless. That might be last 25 targets I shoot out of that tube depending on how the top-single works after it arrives this week. Of course be prepared for me writing that it didn’t work out also – just in case!

The Rockingham Gun Club December General Membership meeting will be held December 3rd at the Summit Conference Center at the Haw River State Park. We got to attend in 2011 and Sheriff Sam Page came out to talk with the members. A great time was had by all and it was the first meeting that one of our new trap shooter’s attended – Jim Roland. The officials will be elected at this meeting and it is always interesting to see who stays and who goes on the board.

Lane Murray and Hunter made it back safely from their “Hump Mountain” adventure. The weather was great and the camping worked out also. The ready to eat breakfast was good Sunday morning but as soon as Hunter got around some real food Lane said the youngin got a belly full. If you take a look at the area they were in, the area offers mountains in the 5000 plus range in elevation. Back when my boys were growing up I enjoyed every minute camping, fishing and skiing with those fellows. On my trip to Myrtle Beach over Thanksgiving my youngest son Michael took me fishing – quite a sobering role reversal for sure.

It looks like old Bob Costas is pushing gun control on Sunday night football. He seems to think that if a handgun had not been available to the KC football player the young mother and player would still be alive. Well I tend the to blame the person pulling the trigger and don’t place much blame on the gun. The young 25 year old man that killed his dad with a cross bow and his dad’s girlfriend with a knife got it done without a handgun. Before you know it they will ban all pointed instruments and we will be eating all our food with spoons. It is something to ponder on anyway while your coffee cools in your cup.

Have a great week and it will be a long one for me. The County IS department plans to move the County data center from the old Sears building to the BB&T building. It is going to be a mess and there is no other way to describe it. God help us all! A big shout out to Lou down in the sunshine state and I hope you are doing well. And until next Monday morning………………………………………….Smokem…….
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December 10th Smoke Report 2012

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Good morning and only a few more shopping days until Christmas. By now you should have the tree up and all the decorations up in and around the homestead. Somebody in the household will take on the duties of sending out the Christmas cards. Some will be composing the “letter” that is included with the card to provide a little glimpse into the activities of the household during the year. And the local radio station will be playing all the Christmas tunes including Elvis Presley and “Here Comes Santa Claus”. Regardless of what you are doing, this is a great time of the year for some and for other’s it could be a “Blue Christmas” also an Elvis Presley song.
Let’s not forget Terry Roush during the holiday season and also the family of Virginia shooter Charley Rinehart who shot his last targets at BGC August 12th, 2012. I have been taking digital pictures since about 2004 and sometimes I run across folks that have gone on. I certainly like to remember the good times we had together and certainly will never forget them. If I ever get the time I would like to create a thread that honors the shooters that have shot trap on North Carolina soil and that are no longer with us.

Ok, now that I have started your Monday morning off thinking let’s discuss what is going on around the state. No shoots to report over the weekend and the weather was really nice Saturday. I heard that JC Nunn has been practicing hard and ran a 25 in singles at the Rock on Saturday. He said he hit some birds so hard you couldn’t even see a visible piece.

I got the scores up from Buckhorn finally and it looks like Virginia shooter Ted Carwile won the singles, doubles and HOA. Glenn Alford won the caps and there were quite a few scores in the 90’s in caps so the wind had to have laid down. Dan Johnson led the Watauga boys and showed them some smoke with a 98 in the singles. Tom Pitts let Tom Shelley drive him to BGC and then proceeded to take his lunch money with a win in singles, caps and doubles. All Shelley did was chauffeur the winners that included Steve Watson and multiple flip loser Morg Shaw.

Rockingham will host their year ending Lewis Class “non-registered” fun shoot on the 23rd at 2PM. This is the last chance to get into the Lewis Class Shootout that pits all the Lewis Class winners together in a last man standing shootout. Last year’s winner and runner-up was Tommy Brown and Charley Rinehart. We always have a great time and I am sure we will be offering the $10 Blue-Birds during the event. Come out an join us before you get all busy with Christmas.

Looking to the NEW YEAR good old Buckhorn will host a New Years Day shoot on January 1st. That is a Tuesday and a great opportunity to bring in 2013 with a good old fashioned trap shoot. Even Dan Johnson will be there to provide all the laughter you could imagine if you go sending targets to the bank. Hopefully the weather will be great and heck you never know they might even cook some good old spaghetti with garlic bread and salad and maybe even some cheesecake?

The top-single arrived on the doorstep Friday and according to the local gunsmith the tube looked like it had never been shot or locked into a receiver. A little adjustment will be needed to get the forend to fit and that shouldn’t be a problem. I have 80 hours to take off from now until January 1st so I might be at the club getting that gun tuned in. JC said he would be my spotter and he has been known to detect smoke if you know what I mean.

The ATA is assembling in Sparta this week for business and we pray that they get a lot of work done in the short time they have allotted. A lot of hubbub always on trapshooters.com about what could or should be done with the future of the sport we love. Looking at the 2013 schedule before you know it the Dixie Grand will be here and then the Southern Grand and on and on. Looking forward to shooting at the Georgia State Shoot this year (son got married in 2012 that weekend). So a lot to look forward to in the new year just hope we are around to see it.

Ok – not much to report but 2012 is almost over and it is time for all of your New Year resolution’s lists. Everybody either puts it down on paper or think about what they want to change in the upcoming year. It is just something else that puts undue stress on a person so why even bother. I had a pastor once that was a big fellow and one of his favorite sayings was – “why lose weight because I feel great”. Whatever you decide to do – good luck.

Have a great week and don’t put off shopping until the last minute and wind up getting cussed out jumping in line to get that special gift for that special someone. Also, if I am not on your Christmas list I need to be. If I ever have to stand on a corner with a sign it is going to say – I will work for shotgun shells! Hello Lou down in Florida and we might slip down to the Southern Grand just to come see you. Until next week…………………………..Smokem…..
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December 17th Smoke Report 2012

Post by smokem »

Good morning and only one more weekend of shopping until Christmas. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the folks hurting after the tragedy in the Northeast. I could go on but the media will take care of that for the next few months. This incident has made me decide to go ahead and get my C2C permit. The Oregon mall shooter was stopped by a C2C permit holder but you don’t hear much about that on the news.
One shooting event in NC this weekend and it will happen at the Rockingham Gun Club. The last Lewis Class shoot and Lewis Class shootout will start at 2PM Sunday the 23rd. All the previous month’s winners and a possible new person will shoot until the last man is standing Sunday afternoon. We hope that the weather is good and thanks to Lane Murray for all of his efforts running the monthly events in 2012. Lane has had a lot on his plate this year and he has managed to keep it all together.

The Buckhorn Gun Club hosted their annual Christmas Party Sunday and I can only imagine all the food that was consumed in that building. Not sure of what all was served but I will guarantee you there were some folks loosening up their belts and readjusting their skirts after all that food. I knew that if I went I would be cross-eyed driving back to Greensboro and that wouldn’t be good. Buckhorn will host the 1st shoot of 2013 on January 1st so come on out for some New Year’s fun.

The NC ATA Delegate’s Newsletter has been sent out electronically and thanks to Terry Roush for all of his efforts. There is a whole lot of reading in those pages and I really do not want to rehash all of the info that you have probably already read. If you are an out of state shooter and want me to send you the info just email me and we will get it to you or contact Terry at troush@att.net. Regardless of the figures trapshooting is alive and well in NC and the calendar is filling up with registered shoots as we speak. Before long folks will be talking about hot it is.

I took off work Friday and rode over to the Rock. Lewis picked up my gun from Roger Shaffer and we dropped that new top-single into the gun. Did I expect magic or maybe a black puff of smoke when I pulled the trigger on that new tube? Regardless of what happened I knew that the stories that would be told would far outweigh whatever happened positive or negative. After I missed five targets in a row I fell back to do some adjusting. Lewis finally broke a target and that was only after JC slow pulled him with the ERAD. JC tried his hand at the mystery and wound up with targets sailing to the tundra.

At that time we decided to head to the pattern board and man we found out some interesting info. After I squeezed off 4 shells it was clear where the tube was shooting. Let me say that it was left and 40/60 from where the lead was lying on the cardboard. Unfortunately I couldn’t install the extended posts that I had due to a bent post. I did however get the un-single centered up and will get the hardware ordered Monday morning. Changing things is so much fun isn’t it? I will leave everything like it is until after the Lewis Class shoot and then commence to tweaking.

The ATA met at Sparta last week and discussed business for the upcoming year. Hunter and Terry traveled by plane and the weather was quite cool early in the week. When I called Hunter Wednesday he was standing at the grandstands and the weather had warmed up a bit. While they were there Terry and Hunter got to look over the list of names that were in the database for North Carolina. As they were reviewing the list they noticed an asterisk beside my name and that meant I was dead!

Yes that is correct and according to the ATA 83-05491 was dead. Hunter and Terry remarked in the meeting about the situation and Hunter even commented that Freddy Redmon normally led his squad and he knew that I wasn’t dead. Evidently it became sort of a joke the rest of the trip and now here is the rest of the story. When I returned to shooting in 2001 the ATA gave me a new number and I didn’t get to keep my original 38-01615 number. A few years ago I asked to have my original number reinstated and that led to 83-05491 being put in the dead file with my name. Anyway all is good now unless I want to change my name to Freddy Deadmon…….

Weather for the weekend, Christmas Eve and day look pretty good. High temps in the mid 50’s with lows in the low 30’s. I just checked and it looks like a three day workweek for me this week and two day workweek for me next week. The only problem is that I am on call for two weeks in a row but that shouldn’t be a problem. I will try to get the shoot calendar and the Southern Zone calendar listed on the site. Terry has it already on NCTRAP.com.

Saturday I took little 4 year old Nick Kashubara up to the Rock to visit and Lewis Wyatt was kind enough to bring along his grandsons BBGun. Lewis had some of those new fangled 3D targets and Nick did pretty good shooting right handed and left eyed. He enjoyed watching Lewis shoot doubles and even Nick knew when Lewis missed a target. Nick whispered to me that Lewis had hit 3 in a row as Lewis was breaking his pairs. He has already made me promise to bring him and his older brother Zach – that will be something to see.

Ok – have a great week and try to be as nice as you can if at all possible during this time of Holiday pressure and gift giving and food eating. Good health and a loving family go a real long way considering all of the craziness going on in the world today. Like to give a shout out to Lou down in Gatorland and hope you have a great Monday! Until next week…………………….Smokem…..
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smokem
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December 24th Smoke Report 2012

Post by smokem »

Good morning on Christmas Eve Day and we hope you are having a great time with friends and family. I actually got out amongst the shopping crowd and it seemed like a lot of sick folks were out shopping. There have been some shooters with some type of bug and that included Jeff Galloway, Jimmy Wilson and George Suddreth. Hope everybody gets to feeling better real soon.
Only one shooting event in North Carolina this weekend and a good time was had by all. 13 shooters showed up at the Rock Sunday and we commenced to shooting. When the smoke cleared Ronnie Manuel was the top shooter with Freddy Redmon taking the mid-Lewis and Youngstown Ohio shooter Stephanie Mistovich taking the low-Lewis. When the Lewis Class Shootout commenced, the top-dog wound up being Ronnie Manuel with the runner-up going to Lewis Wyatt and Freddy Redmon. More details will be provided in the shoot report.

I get the newsletter from the Myrtle Grove Club and it looks like they are still waiting on the steel beam that will run the length of the clubhouse. They are really active at MG with a skeet league, weekly BIG50’s and they practice every Friday. I sure hope to make it down to MG in 2013. Dave Daily is back from Cancun and I know he is ready for the Holiday season.

Looks like Ron Cooley is on the mend after an operation last week. He posted that he was going in for surgery on Facebook and it looks like he made it through the procedure with flying colors. We have a Trap group on Facebook that was started by GA shooter Martin Henderson. Looks like we have a bunch of folks so please check it out.

I did some email cleaning this week and ran across a few folks I haven’t heard from in awhile. Tommy Simpson is alive and well and has been shooting sporting clays. He stated that he might get back to shooting trap and he said that he really enjoyed the folks associated with trapshooting. I took a picture of Tommy and his dog Penny at the Watauga Gun Club in 2006 and I hope I can find it to send him a picture. Penny has gone on and he misses Penny just like I miss my dog Buddy.

Another fellow I ran back across shot at the Buckhorn GC years ago. His name is Hidayatullah Sharief and he moved to Michigan maybe 5 years ago. He is still shooting trap on Thursday evenings Spring through Fall. He mentioned that he ran into Phil Kiner at either the Great Lakes Grand or the Michigan State Shoot. He said that Phil spent some time talking to him about shooting and other topics also. Maybe he will make his way back down to NC one day.

Have a great Christmas and we hope to see some of you at the Buckhorn Gun Club on January 1st. Merry Christmas to Lou down in sunny Florida and until next week...................Smokem......
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December 31st 2012 Smoke Report

Post by smokem »

A very good morning on this last day of 2012 and I hope you are doing well. Not quite sure of your plans to bring in the New Year but please remember not to drink and drive. And you better not drink if you plan to attend the 1st registered trapshoot in North Carolina January 1st at the Buckhorn Gun Club
The weekend started off rainy and then cleared up Saturday afternoon and Sunday was a great day to get out and shoot. As mentioned above the Buckhorn Gun Club will hold their shoot January 1st with a typical 300 target program. Dan Johnson figures that the Watauga Hillbillies (as he likes to call them) won’t show up considering the whipping he applied to them the last time they came down to play. With temps in the mid 40’s and a 80% chance of rain January 1st might be a little sporty.

Saturday January 5th the Rockingham Gun Club will host their 1st registered shoot of 2013. Typical 300 target program and the weather looks like 50 degrees and sunny skies for the event. Sunday Janaury 6th the Rockingham Gun Club will host an “Introduction To Trapshooting” class and it looks like we have about 14 or 15 signed up already. Hopefully we will follow this up with a more in-depth class when it warms up a bit.

We have a few folks traveling and by the time you read this Jeff and Hunter will be headed back from Washington DC. They visited Fed-Ex field for the Dallas-Washington football game. Thank goodness the weather was cold with no snow like they had predicted earlier in the week. The Skins beat those stinking Cowboys and it will be interesting to see how far they go in the playoffs. They also attended the UNC-UNLV basketball game on Saturday and the Heels pulled one out over the 20th ranked Running-Rebels.

I hope everybody had a great Christmas! I was off for 7 days and that was rough due to not normally being off that many days. It isn’t like I don’t have vacation days with about 380 hours in reserves before they trim it to 240 January 1st. We had a great meal at my sis-n-laws and both of my sons made it to the soiree. We got to visit and exchange gifts with some of our daycare families and that was fun also. Before you know it Christmas will be here again…….

Ok – have a great New Years Eve and New years! North Carolina has a lot of shoots on the schedule this year and the Southern Zone is back in Bostic. It should be another great year and sure hope to see some of you on the line around the state and at other shoots around the country. HNY to Florida Lou and until next Monday………………..Smokem.

P.S. – I made it another 52 weeks and Lord willing we will make it another 52 until 2014……
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