December 13th Smoke Report
Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:09 am
Good morning, and just a few more days until Christmas. Yeah, it is that time of year again. For some it is a great time of the year and for others not so much. For those of us that are getting older memories of those that have gone on come flooding back during the holiday season.
I found out that Joe Bouvrette has passed. I found out on Facebook, and it was posted by the Morganton Gun Club. I checked with a few of the Watauga faithful and found out that Joe had been talked to on Tuesday. He passed unexpectedly and that it about all I know. Morg said that Joe was looking forward to the 2022 targets season with a new Beretta Multi-Target shotgun. Please keep his family in your prayers at this time.
Most of you are aware of the tornado damage in Kentucky and in Tennessee. It was reported that the Nashville Gun Club suffered some damage and they felt repairs could be made in a timely manner to get operations back underway. Please remember all those families that were affected by those storms.
Some of you might know John Sandell when he was helping organize BIG50 events at the Charlotte Rifle & Pistol Club. Well, he slipped up North to Massachusetts to be closer to the grandkids. He is however shooting at the Minuteman Sportsman Club in Billerica MA. Looks like a great club with SC, Trap, Skeet and 5-stand with very good reviews on the venue. John is a smoke report reader and I appreciate him taking time to read about what is happening back in NC. His wife Grace also shoots, and I never had the pleasure of meeting his better half. John I hope you have a great holiday season and I am planning a trip up your way in 2022. I have a friend that is a dispatcher in Bangor, and he has invited me up for a visit.
Lane Murray sent me a few screenshots of “premium” shells at the Sportsman’s Warehouse here in Greensboro. Are you ready to spend $10.99 for Federal Top Guns, or $14.99 for STS Light Target premium shotgun shells? So, $36 targets and $6.00 for ATA/NCTA daily fees and $80 for STS light targets shells equals about $122 to shoot 100 singles targets at the Homegrounds. I guess this price increase is going to separate the men from the boys. And of course that did not include any options on the 100 targets……..
Local industry experts seem to think that the retailers are tacking on a price increase to take advantage of the times that we are in. To be honest that is the first time I have seen Remington shells on any shelf in Greensboro in about a year. My local expert stated that February tends to be the month that the premium shells are produced for the target shotgun market. That remains to be seen and some tend to think that the prices we are seeing now is the future of target shotgun shell prices. Folks are already saying that they are either cutting back or laying off shooting like they did when shells and components were readily available and at a reasonable price. When I hear that registered trapshooting is down %20 at the smaller shoots that is alarming. The bigger shoots like the satellite grands seem to be doing ok and shells seem to magically appear at those events. Not sure what the future holds for the sport, but I will always try to stay optimistic.
Carolina Clay hosted their Christmas practice at the Rockingham County Gun Club Saturday. The weather looked iffy all day but not 1 target was shot in the rain. The event consisted of 25 wobble, 26 skeet doubles and a bean bag event. Sam McInteer from VA won the event with her dads borrowed gun and broke a 21 in wobble is some serious wind. Not sure how many folks attended but we had 3 squads of youngins shooting. We had a great meal and the speaker for the event was from the Gideons. Just about time he was going to speak the power went out at the club and we continued under the emergency lights in the building. All-American John “Jack” Williams was inducted into the Carolina Clay Hall of Fame and his name has been added to a long list of former CC shooters. The 2022 SCTP Championship shoot will be held in late April or early May, and we are looking forward to hosting that event.
Tom Shelley sent me a few pictures of his lovely cabin with his fireplace and all types of wildlife hanging on the walls. He is also looking for shells that wont stick in his Kolar. His loader has been at Mec for 6 weeks and he is looking forward to getting it back on the bench. Now that he is married, he won’t have any excuses not to come out and shoot. Always good to hear from him from up on the hill….
I have been approached to host some 300 bird marathon target events at RCGC. Not sure if or when they will be scheduled but as soon as we know we will publish it. I do know that the Piedmont Gun Club in Gordonsville VA hosts a 300-target singles marathon in January and a 300-target handicap marathon in February. The 26th of this month the Christiansburg VA Gun Club will host their monthly shoot in case you want to get out of the house.
A big shout out to George Powell from South Carolina. He shot 20,000 registered targets last year and that is something to brag about. Bill Howe usually is our high target attainment leader every year and not sure how that shook out this year. When Terry Roush was the delegate, he created a nice newsletter that captured all that pertinent data for the target year. Hopefully Bob Schultz the current delegate will put something out on Facebook, and we will hopefully post it over here.
I am out of info, and I hope everyone has a great week. Just a few more days for shopping and preparing that list of all the food that will be prepared. Hello to Scott in PA, Ronnie, Cowboy, Tim, Bobbie, Thea and Anne and until next week…………………………..smokem
I found out that Joe Bouvrette has passed. I found out on Facebook, and it was posted by the Morganton Gun Club. I checked with a few of the Watauga faithful and found out that Joe had been talked to on Tuesday. He passed unexpectedly and that it about all I know. Morg said that Joe was looking forward to the 2022 targets season with a new Beretta Multi-Target shotgun. Please keep his family in your prayers at this time.
Most of you are aware of the tornado damage in Kentucky and in Tennessee. It was reported that the Nashville Gun Club suffered some damage and they felt repairs could be made in a timely manner to get operations back underway. Please remember all those families that were affected by those storms.
Some of you might know John Sandell when he was helping organize BIG50 events at the Charlotte Rifle & Pistol Club. Well, he slipped up North to Massachusetts to be closer to the grandkids. He is however shooting at the Minuteman Sportsman Club in Billerica MA. Looks like a great club with SC, Trap, Skeet and 5-stand with very good reviews on the venue. John is a smoke report reader and I appreciate him taking time to read about what is happening back in NC. His wife Grace also shoots, and I never had the pleasure of meeting his better half. John I hope you have a great holiday season and I am planning a trip up your way in 2022. I have a friend that is a dispatcher in Bangor, and he has invited me up for a visit.
Lane Murray sent me a few screenshots of “premium” shells at the Sportsman’s Warehouse here in Greensboro. Are you ready to spend $10.99 for Federal Top Guns, or $14.99 for STS Light Target premium shotgun shells? So, $36 targets and $6.00 for ATA/NCTA daily fees and $80 for STS light targets shells equals about $122 to shoot 100 singles targets at the Homegrounds. I guess this price increase is going to separate the men from the boys. And of course that did not include any options on the 100 targets……..
Local industry experts seem to think that the retailers are tacking on a price increase to take advantage of the times that we are in. To be honest that is the first time I have seen Remington shells on any shelf in Greensboro in about a year. My local expert stated that February tends to be the month that the premium shells are produced for the target shotgun market. That remains to be seen and some tend to think that the prices we are seeing now is the future of target shotgun shell prices. Folks are already saying that they are either cutting back or laying off shooting like they did when shells and components were readily available and at a reasonable price. When I hear that registered trapshooting is down %20 at the smaller shoots that is alarming. The bigger shoots like the satellite grands seem to be doing ok and shells seem to magically appear at those events. Not sure what the future holds for the sport, but I will always try to stay optimistic.
Carolina Clay hosted their Christmas practice at the Rockingham County Gun Club Saturday. The weather looked iffy all day but not 1 target was shot in the rain. The event consisted of 25 wobble, 26 skeet doubles and a bean bag event. Sam McInteer from VA won the event with her dads borrowed gun and broke a 21 in wobble is some serious wind. Not sure how many folks attended but we had 3 squads of youngins shooting. We had a great meal and the speaker for the event was from the Gideons. Just about time he was going to speak the power went out at the club and we continued under the emergency lights in the building. All-American John “Jack” Williams was inducted into the Carolina Clay Hall of Fame and his name has been added to a long list of former CC shooters. The 2022 SCTP Championship shoot will be held in late April or early May, and we are looking forward to hosting that event.
Tom Shelley sent me a few pictures of his lovely cabin with his fireplace and all types of wildlife hanging on the walls. He is also looking for shells that wont stick in his Kolar. His loader has been at Mec for 6 weeks and he is looking forward to getting it back on the bench. Now that he is married, he won’t have any excuses not to come out and shoot. Always good to hear from him from up on the hill….
I have been approached to host some 300 bird marathon target events at RCGC. Not sure if or when they will be scheduled but as soon as we know we will publish it. I do know that the Piedmont Gun Club in Gordonsville VA hosts a 300-target singles marathon in January and a 300-target handicap marathon in February. The 26th of this month the Christiansburg VA Gun Club will host their monthly shoot in case you want to get out of the house.
A big shout out to George Powell from South Carolina. He shot 20,000 registered targets last year and that is something to brag about. Bill Howe usually is our high target attainment leader every year and not sure how that shook out this year. When Terry Roush was the delegate, he created a nice newsletter that captured all that pertinent data for the target year. Hopefully Bob Schultz the current delegate will put something out on Facebook, and we will hopefully post it over here.
I am out of info, and I hope everyone has a great week. Just a few more days for shopping and preparing that list of all the food that will be prepared. Hello to Scott in PA, Ronnie, Cowboy, Tim, Bobbie, Thea and Anne and until next week…………………………..smokem