DECEMBER 2001 NEWSLETTER © Bruce Buck, editor

CTSCA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

East Mountain Preserve, Nov.18, 2001

By Lans Christensen

The event had been written in red on our calendar, and it was
underlined, and there was a red star too. Own club Super-Bowl,
Kentucky Derby and Indy 500 … The Gran Prix of Travelers' shoots!
During the shooting year, it is important to have high points,
those special events for which you’ve trained and practiced, and to
which you bring that extra focus and determination. If you get it
right on those days, you really can take pride in the effort. If not,
there will be another day written in red coming along.

We must all have done something right, or maybe sweltered enough this
summer, because we were rewarded with a gorgeous day. The piles of
peeled-off outerwear grew as the day progressed.

Not long ago George Holomakoff hosted an "all-you-can-cut" chain saw
party at East Mountain and turned a bunch of eager beavers loose on
the hillside portion of the course. The results were broader and
deeper windows at those stations, and the opportunity to present some
new targets.

If you missed this event, try and get to East Mountain for one of the
upcoming shoots. You’ll be entertained. The word I heard most often
from all levels of shooters was "enjoyable". It was pure fun and the
tough stuff didn’t intimidate. It was subtle and crafty and enticing.

#1 set the tone; a true pair came directly at you from across the
marsh. Closer, closer, you almost shot them in self defense, but they
stayed so much on edge until the last second that getting off two
shots was very tough. They challenged you to commit to the first shot
at a fast, thin target, thus giving time to control the second shot.

The next few stations were familiar presentations, but again with
some tweaks and improvements. Numbers 6 through 11 are now greatly
improved and expanded. #7 still throws the L>R pair going uphill. The
windows are more forgiving and open, but there is still that one big
maple that just happens to be where you’d probably like to take the
shots. Those chandelles at #8 are still there, but they have retired
further back into the hillside. What a difference a few yards can
make.

My new favorite is #10 where a looping pair of incomers can be
tracked for some distance before they settle in at 25 yds. They start
R>L and then turn back the other way. If you ride them too long your
muzzle makes a big arc, an awkward move at best. Better to go at them
while they’re under power and on a simple line.

Out in the field, #13 threw a pair of fairly conventional teal, but
on this day they resembled stale, imitation "Famous Amos" cookies-
lots of dust and no chips. Bio-degradable should read
Bio-unbreakable. Throw a box of super-handicap #7_s in your bag for
these and the tight chokes too. #14 uses the new tower and throws
a pair from behind you that settle down 15 yards away. You are
stationed in Ted Knapp’s penalty box and don’t see them until the
last second. The only way to deal with them was to count the five
second delay between calling "pull" and seeing them, and then be
mounted and moving.

130 shooters then enjoyed lunch, many doing so outdoors, and gathered
for the ceremonies. Al reminded us graciously that the event is held
to fondly remember Dr. Rudy Passero, and it was very special to have
Carol, Neil, and Eric and their friends in attendance. The treasured
silver trophies were presented to deserving shooters.

With even more than his usual modesty, our HOA champion had excused
himself and had been spotted heading up the mountainside to enjoy a
little hunting in the perfect afternoon. When asked earlier on the
course how it was going, he replied "Not bad for an old
guy"…….indeed. Well done John.

HOA John Lawlor 83
I-1 Mike Bruce 83
I-2 Zaid Siddig 79
I-3 Todd Murphy 78
II-1 Doug Moore 79
II-2 Jeff Ledgard 75
II-3 Ted Robinson 75
III-1 Paula Moore 70
III-2 Craig Hovey 67
III-3 Bob Busha 65
IV-1 Howard Weiss 73
IV-2 Rich Russo 68
IV-3 Gil Kenrick 61
V-1 Vin Fabano 54
V-2 Pam Russo 53
V-3 Vin Repaci 50
VI-1 Simone Renzuella 34
VI-2 Eli Hariton 32
VI-3 Pam Kelly 30
Ldy-1 Susie Clarke 65
Ldy-2 Ginny Tennison 51
Ldy-3 Anna Marie Collins 50
Mdm1 Fran Gallogly 56
Mdm2 Ellie Levy 43
Mdm3 Carol Roesslein 38
Vet-1 John Hyrncewich 72
Vet-2 Al Anglace 70
Vet-3 Ed Moritt 67
SVet-1 George Kutch 64
SVet-2 Jim Henion
SVet-3 John Levy 51
Jr-1 George Kaiser, Jr. 46
Jr-2 Luke Sproviero 39
Jr-3 Eli Hariton 32
Jr-4 Justin Bates 29
Guest Jean du Lau 81

THE PARROT By Lans Christensen

You all remember the parrot, whose cage is so dutifully re-lined each
month with a fresh copy of Reload? Well, the other day the bird’s
owner called and asked if I would mind babysitting the creature while
he went for a fitting of his latest fucile del giorno side by side.
It was unclear to me why the bird needed company, but its owner is a
friend and a man of fine taste and vast collection of vintage ports.

When I arrived at his home, he showed me into the elegant den where
the bird resided and insisted I make myself at home during his
absence. As he left, he muttered something about the bird’s annoying
chatter and disturbing temperament. I ignored this and settled into
a comfy chair, armed with a beaker of a rare Port, a stack of Double
Gun Journals, and some J.S. Bach and Merle Haggard on the CD. I soon
became aware of the parrot’s unbroken stream of recital at ever
increasing levels of pitch and volume. The subject was every
conceivable permutation of shot pattern and pellet count at five yard
increments, for every gauge and choke constriction known to man. It
was now squawking with great enthusiasm, having introduced pellet
hardness and dram equivalency into the equations.

The situation was intolerable, his deafening Technoidal chanting
could be heard throughout the house and, I suspect, into the
neighborhood beyond. Unable to stand another syllable, I leapt from
the chair and charged the cage, hoping to scare the wretch into
silence. Unluckily, I tripped over the massive paw of the bear rug
and crashed heavily into the cage, knocking it to the floor whereupon
it promptly sprung open.

Shrieking with delight about Gaussian curves, the vile fowl took
flight. Unaccustomed to the task, it slewed into the mantelpiece
sending some treasured porcelains smashing to the hearth. Gaining
both confidence and altitude, the beast was now circling the room in
swooping arcs, taking occasional damaging swipes at the objet d’art .
Without thinking, I grabbed the first weapon at hand and flung it at
the bird.

Unfortunately, it was a decanter of Port that exploded against the
wall in a hail of crystal and red, splattering on the surrounding
damask drapery and chintz upholstery. I next tried vaulting from the
coffee table to intercept the creature’s flight, but it proved
insufficiently robust. The nicely turned cabriole legs crumpled under
my weight. While I was scrambling to my feet, the ogre now attacked
the magnificent sterling silver pheasants from Asprey of London.

There were no peaceful solutions. I rushed for the gun cabinet,
though I was sane enough to know that shooting it indoors was
impractical at best. I selected the longest gun in the rack, a very
fine Purdey, and wielding it by the barrels, took a long smooth Mark
McGuire swing at the hovering bird. I missed and only succeeded in
putting a nasty dent in the stock and a vicious gouge in the Queen
Anne secretary. The next swing, however, created enough turbulence
and wind shear so that the hideous cretin spun and augured into the
floor. I pounced on it and piled on some leather bound first editions
and Hodgdon reloading manuals, hoping to hold it down while I
assessed the situation.

The extent of the carnage exceeded my wildest estimates: furniture
lay in wreckage, decapitated silver pheasants, lurid red stains
splashing floor and wall alike, artwork torn and gouged by the
gargoyle’s talons, and various bric-a-brac flung far and wide. And
yet, the demon still gurgled happily along, now recalling Miss
Manners every adventure from under the substantial pile of books.

Trying desperately to think of a remotely plausible lie to explain
the devastation, I righted the cage and prepared to stuff the ghastly
thing into its confines. I thought briefly of blaming the owner’s
somewhat dense but exuberant retriever, but it had slurped up a stray
puddle of port and was now snoring loudly with four feet in the air
and it’s head under the loveseat. I decided on the truth: A band of
art-hating marauding gypsies had attacked and I had defended the
property despite sustaining heavy damages. Ah, that’s it!

As I was about to re-cage the horrid buzzard, it started up with some
statistics that, oddly enough, caught my attention: HOA’s of monthly
Traveler shoots. I caution that the bird lies like a rug and its
information only goes back as far as Reload #1, but for what it’s
worth, this is what it was crowing:

Mike Greco 7 wins
Mike Horodyski 6
John Lawlor 5
Al Anglace 4
Neil Chadwick 4
John Devito 4
Andy Duffy 4
Gene Csicsak 3
Bruce Galotto 3
Steve Andiorio 2
Bruce Buck 2
Bill Losty 2
Joe Maresca 2
John Mohler 2
Godfrey Sheldon 2
Zaid Siddig 2


1 win each: Amos, Concannon, Cypher, D’Arco, Devinne, Fawcett,
Goodspeed, Kale, La Scalza, Leonardi, Denise Losty, Moritt,
Schneible, Tennison.

NEW TECHNOID GUN (YET AGAIN)…

In the unending effort to substitute pseudo-techno expertise for
shooting skill, your Guru of Gunning Gear has once again plunged into
the customized gun market.

Many Travelers have bought Perazzis from Andrew Litt in Britain.
(website: <www.litts.co.uk>, direct dial from US: 01144-1633-250025)
There are two reasons. 1) Litt and his UK experts understand how to
spec out a well-balanced sporting clays gun with long light barrels
and slender wood. 2) Litt delivers an MX8 UK sporter to your local
FFL dealer in the US for a lot less than you pay here.

So, when in the UK last month to do a Shooting Sportsman article on
driven pheasant, Rebecca and I spent two days visiting Andrew in
Wales. We shot at his challenging automated "Treetops" clays ground,
visited his store and stayed at a delightful country inn.

Not one to pass up a chance, I had to order something. I’ve always
wanted a 28 gauge target gun and a long-barreled Perazzi UK Sporter
in that gauge should be really neat. Not a stock item, the list of
Perazzi options was like a Chinese menu. Andrew and I specced one out
to be built.

We started with the Perazzi MX8/20 action. That’s the nice 20
gauge-size action, but with no engraving. It has the drop out trigger
because it’s neat to pull it out and show everyone. The 28 ga.
barrels will be a looong 80 cm (31.5") with solid side ribs and a
flat tapered top rib with a single bead up front. For better balance,
the chokes will be solid .015" (that’s Modified in the 28 ga.) in
both barrels. Total weight should be around 7_# with the balance
point about _" in front of the hinge pin. This will be a weight
forward clays gun, but not a nose heavy one. Wood will be the long
slender UK sporter forend (not a Schnabel). The stock is to custom
dimensions, but in a fairly slender profile with modest pistol grip.
Gestation time is four months. If you think there’s something I
missed, I’d love to hear from you at <bcb23@columbia.edu>.

Ordering a truly custom gun is a lot riskier than pulling one off the
shelf at the local store. But, hey. You only go around once.





*** 2001 CONNECTICUT TRAVELERS SHOOT SCHEDULE ***

DEC 16 MID-COUNTY-CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT


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


DEC 2 NEWGATE COON CLUB (860-738-3619) CHRISTMAS SHOOT



TENTATIVE 2002 SHOOTING CALENDAR

INFORMATION BELOW IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
CHECK RELOAD! FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION

JAN 20 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY ­MID-WINTER MARTYDOM
FEB 17 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-ANNUAL MEETING
MAR 17 MID HUDSON TRAP & SKEET, NY-MARCH MADNESS
APR 5~7* SPRING TRIP TO MARYLAND, MD-NORTH SOUTH SKIRMISH
APR 21 OLD NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT-TAX TIME REVOLT
MAY 5* EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-COURTING CLAYS
MAY 19 TAMARACK PRESERVE, NY-MAY MINUET
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

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.



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

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2001
THE DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT
MID-COUNTY GUN CLUB
LAGRANGEVILLE, NY

It’s Christmas Party time! Our most popular shoot of the year, this
is the time we honor Dick’s memory and celebrate another fabulous
Travelers year. We will also be naming our annual TRAVELERS SPORTING
SPORTSMAN recipient. There will be gifts aplenty with prizes and lots
of lucky raffles. Of course, the gifts won’t extend to the course,
which will be the usual tough love. Well, rumor has it that even
course designers get the Christmas spirit. There’s hope. But not
much.

Due to its extreme popularity, THIS IS A MEMBERS ONLY SHOOT. We don’t
exclude guests very often, but this has to be one of those times in
order to be fair to all the members who want to attend. The shoot
will cost $75. This is a bit more expensive than usual, but those of
you who have been to previous Christmas shoots understand why. There
are usually just bags and bags of loot to be handed out to good
little boy and girl Travelers. Fasting for a few days before the
shoot wouldn’t be a bad idea either. The banquets that the Mid-County
members cook for us are always memorable. We must have your shoot
reservations in our hands no later than Thursday, December 13th.
No-shows and cancellations after that date cannot be refunded and
their entry fees will be donated to our Traveler’s charity. Arrive by
9:00 AM and check your name off at the registrar’s table. Then, and
only then, can you begin your assault on those mounds of Dunkin
Donuts and gallons of Colombian dark roast high test Java.

At this time of year, we are all mindful of the blessings showered
upon us. It is right and proper to give a little something back. The
Travelers participate in the well-known US Marines "Toys for Tots"
program. We hope that every Traveler attending the Christmas shoot
will bring a NEW, UNWRAPPED child’s toy to donate. Even if you can’t
attend the shoot, perhaps you could give the toy to a shooting friend
to bring for you.

DIRECTIONS to Mid-County Gun Club, Lagrangeville, NY:

From the Route 84/Taconic intersection, take Taconic North for about
10 miles to Rte 55 East exit. Go East (right turn) on Rte 55 for
about 1 mile to Rte 55/Rte 82 intersection. Turn Left and follow Rte
82 for about 1 mile to County Road 89 on Right. Turn Right onto
County Road 89 and follow it for 3.5 miles to club entrance on Right.
Mid-County’s telephone number is 904-677-5736.

REMEMBER, EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY AT ALL TRAVELERS SHOOTS.