RELOAD!

JANUARY 2003 NEWSLETTER
Bruce Buck, editor

CHRISTMAS PARTY SHOOT
Mid-County, Lagrangeville, NY
December 15, 2002

What a great shoot! Our Christmas Party shoot is always a highlight of
the year, but it seemed even better this time. After the floods at the
2000 Christmas shoot, the pleasant weather last year and this were
Mother Ns way of saying she was sorry. True, there was a touch of
snow and ice on the ground, but there was also plenty of mud
indicating that it was above freezing. The sun occasionally shone and
it wasnt windy. Not bad at all for the 112 Travelers who
participated.

Everyone arrived at the Christmas shoot early to drop off their
Christmas gifts for the local kids in the Marines Toys for Tots
program. We should reflect on how fortunate we are. The lady who
collected the toys for the program told us that three weeks previously
her daughter had been murdered and that she was now caring for her
daughters three children, one of whom had been paralyzed in the
attack.

The course was challenging but very fair. Just about all sporting
courses are circular, so some shots must be towards the sun. In
winter, that sun is very low on the horizon so special car must be
taken to assure that presentations toward the sun are kept low to
avoid sun shots. Mid-Countys volunteers set a perfect course in
this respect. If I had to categorize it, Id call it longish and
transitional.

Long is self-evident. We had a number of 40 yard shots and a couple
that could get to fifty if you were a bit slow. Still, all of the long
ones were hittable, many showing a bit of belly. Each time I whined to
myself about an unfairly long bird, the next guy on my squad would
squash 4x6 or 5x6.

Transitional targets are those that are thrown in an arc. You can
take them early at the top as flattish crossers or later as droppers.
Taken as droppers, they cause problems for the swing-through shooters
because you cant swing on the curved line of the target. Short-swing
sustained lead, or poke-and-pray, often works best.

Then there were the downhill birds. Its always hard to judge the
speed of a bird thrown downhill or crossing downhill because you cant
base speed estimate on trajectory the way you can on flat land.
Mid-County has plenty of hillside terrain and took advantage of it in
this respect. A pointer on winter shooting: Paths can be slippery
with mud/snow/ice. You might find it helpful to use cleats on your
boots. Several brands are available, some strap on like sandals, some
are elastic straps wrapped with wire that slip over the boot. Youll
see them advertised in that stack of catalogues you have on the table
in front of the TV. All will give you just that little extra grip that
can prevent a fall. And speaking of cold and ice, Mid-County had a
couple of warming fires on the course to keep us comfortable.

This Christmas shoot at Mid-County is entirely volunteer run. We are
in their debt that they would give up one of their weekends to
entertain us. It was in this same spirit that Dick Lossee, in whose
memory the Christmas shoot is given, served the shotgunning community
for so many years. As a remembrance, Ken Gagnon donated an attractive
framed print of Dick to the club.

After a Brobdingnagian luncheon of shrimp cocktail and roast beef, Al
made the award of the Connecticut Travelers Sporting Sportsman of the
Year. Annually it goes to the shooter who has best epitomized the
spirit of sportsmanship in our shooting fraternity. Past recipients
were Ken Gagnon 93, Dick Losee 95, Geoff Gaebe 96, Jack Robertson
97, Neil Chadwick 98, Richie Frisella 99, Bruce Buck 00, John
Lawlor 01 and. for 2002, Cyndi Dalena. Cyndi is an effective
volunteer, not only for the Travelers, but also in her community. The
award couldnt have gone to a more deserving person.

In the spirit of Christmas, this shoot was a fun shoot and we used a
kind of modified Lewis Class system, rather than the usual class
structure. I dont even begin to understand how it worked, but lots of
people won stuff. Bruce Galotto had the high score for the day with
82, followed by Jeff Ledgard with 81 and Jean DuLau and Al Anglace
tied with 80s. That was it for the scores in the 80s. Tough course,
typical Travelers.

After this, Santa Al and his elves drew lots for Christmas presents
for the Travelers. Each and every Traveler took a gift home as a
reminder of what has become our best shoot of the year.

FLORIDA GUNSLINGER

by Francis Gallogly

Fed up with ice, wind, snow and endless winter? Head south, my
friends. There's lots of great shooting in the land of sunshine and
orange juice.

Last winter I shot the Seminole Cup in Orlando and the Caribbean Cup
in Miami back-to-back and sandwiched a five-day golf seminar in
between. Two winters ago I rented a car, drove 1200 miles and shot
1325 targets. Thats one target and one chip per mile. I shot in nine
separate locales on 11 different courses and 7 five-stands, and
garnered 500 registered targets in three NSCA sanctioned events.

Keep in mind when planning a Florida shooting trip that many courses
are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So tough luck plan to spend time
at a local beach. Check Blacks Wing & Clay for course locations and
hours, call ahead to confirm and then enjoy some great shooting. For
registered shoots, check the web site of the Florida Sporting Clays
Association at http://www.fl-sportingclays.org.

Orlando is the home of TM Ranch, host of the annual Seminole Cup, but
there are many other competitions to be shot on their two challenging
courses. The hot Florida sun is wilting. So are the targets at TM
Ranch! There is an excellent clubhouse, two shaded five-stands and
FITASC.

In nearby Winter Haven, I shot a Valentines Day Sweetheart Open at
Polk County Trap and Skeet. Be sure to call for driving directions. (I
did so and got lost anyway.) The varied terrain here permits targets
to be shot over water, among groves of trees and over ravines. There
is a pleasant clubhouse, five-stand and skeet. Not far away in
Lakeland is Tenoroc. I did not have an opportunity to shoot it but
heard good reports from Travelers John and Ellie Levy.

North of Tampa, in Land OLakes, Tampa Bay Sporting Clays just
reopened as Pine Creek. When I shot here two years ago there were two
courses set amongst pine and palmetto as well as a challenging
five-stand. Farther south is the Sarasota Trap and Skeet in Nokomis.
This is a first-class facility with finely crafted shooting stands and
gun racks. It is shaded by tall pine and oak draped in Spanish moss
and offers a tough five-stand, large clubhouse and gun shop.

Continuing south, my itinerary took me to two separate courses on the
same day: Port of Islands, south of Naples, and Markham Park in Ft.
Lauderdale. Port of Islands is a small facility behind a trailer park
offering 50-target rounds. From there, it took about an hour and a
half to reach Markham Park across high-speed route 75, called
Alligator Alley. Shaded by tall pines, Markham Park is a beautiful
course designed by Bud Wolfe, who by coincidence was trapping for my
squad. This is a public park, shooting is limited, reservations must
be made far in advance. There is five-stand, trap, skeet and a large
clubhouse.

Sporting Clays International, on Miami's Tamiami Trail, is shooting
headquarters for the Caribbean Cup. At SCI you will find two highly
challenging courses. The five-stands are also above par. One, an
elevated five-stand, is especially difficult with targets resembling
FITASC. Competitors relish Ben Husthwaites imaginative presentations.
One of the most daunting of these was a cherry picker tower that
appeared to be 150 feet tall and threw a quartering target that looked
like a small spitball. There also was the infamous "dropping
squirrel," a gravity rabbit plummeting from a tall tower.

I wind up my trips in West Palm visiting family, but there is always
the urge to shoot just one more course. An hour from West Palm, east
of Okeechobee, is Thunder Cross, a landscape of groves and cattle
ranches. Just as I was beginning to feel that I was about as far from
civilization as I could get, I approached a stand where a lesson was
underway. The instructors cap said Great Eastern Lobster Classic! It
was Gary Bloom from Rock Mountain Sporting Clays in Pennsylvania
another Connecticut Traveler enjoying the great winter shooting in the
sunshine state!

NEW MEMBERSHIP DRILL-

If you have a new member to propose to the Travelers, now is the time
to do it.

We admit new members from our waiting list at the February meeting
after existing members have had until January 31 to renew.

To place a proposed member on the waiting list, the proposer should
submit the applicants name, address, email and telephone to:

CTSCA membership
91 Park Lane Road
New Milford, CT 06776

It would also be helpful if you could include a little bit of personal
information about the applicant and why you think he/she would make a
good Traveler. New members can be proposed at any time during the
year, but all admissions take place in February.

Around February 1st applicants approved from the waiting list will
receive a letter and an application for membership. The sponsor also
gets a letter. The applicant then has ten days to respond. We hope
that new members will attend the February 16th annual meeting with
their sponsor so that they can be introduced to everyone.

WANNA BE A RITER?

From his desk in the corner office of the massive Reload! complex
towering over this quaint little Connecticut seaport town, our editor
stares out the tinted triplex window and smiles benignly thinking of
his fellow man. So many fine and good people, he muses contentedly.

Well, they sure arent much on cummunication, blurts the
grease-smeared Technoid as he barges into the room amidst an attendant
cloud of wood shavings and attar of Hoppes. You keep asking for
people to write articles for Reload! to share their experiences and
most of them write nuthin. They must be sitting in closets all day and
not doing interesting stuff.

Mr. T, you are the last person to talk about people in closets. Look
at that dungeon of yours. Your nether world revolves around Twinkies,
Jolt Cola and Dremel tools. You have the conviviality and human
understanding of a centipede. Many Travelers have been marvelously
responsive in sharing their hooting experiences and expertise through
Reload! stories. Look at the great articles Fran and Lans and Vinny
have written for us recently. Everyone likes reading their stories and
perhaps those will encourage others to write for us. We are all richer
for their efforts. True, it would makde Reload! more interesting if
there were more.

On the other hand, you T Meister, just keep saying the same old yadda
yadda about chokes and shells. You cant write worth beans.

Can too.

Can't.

Can't.

Can't.

I know poetry, the Technoid sulked, assuming a Gollum-like crouch.

Poetry!, hooted the editor in disbelief. You? This Ive got to
hear.

And so the Technoid began:

We all look on with anxious eyes,
When father carves the duck,
And mother almost always sighs,
When father carves the duck.
Then all of us prepare to rise,
And hold our bibs before our eyes,
And be prepared for some surprise,
When father carves the duck.

He braces up and grabs a fork
Wheneer he carves a duck,
And wont allow a soul to talk,
Until hes carved the duck.
The fork is jabbed into the sides,
Across the breast the knife he slides,
While every careful person hides
From flying chips of the duck.

The platters always sure to slip
When father carves the duck,
And how it makes the dishes skip!
Potatoes fly amuck!
The squash and cabbage leap in space,
We get some gravy in our face,
And father mutters Hindu grace
Wheneer he carves a duck.

We then have learned to walk around the dining-room and pluck
From off the window-sills and walls
Our share of fathers duck.
While father growls and blows and jaws,
And swears the knife was full of flaws,
And mother jeers at him because
He couldnt carve a duck.

You didnt write that! Ernest Wright wrote it, right?, accused the
editor. Besides, its a silly poem.

Well, intoned the Technoid smirking. It may be silly, but it did fill
up a column in your newsletter.

Youre right, T-man. I owe you.



MISS MANNERS GETS HOT...

The squad waiting by the station nervously eyed the bushes to the
right of the shooting cage. The twigs were twitching to and fro while
snuffling, grunting noises issued forth. The acorn crop had been thin
that year and the area was not known for feral hogs. What could it be?

Ferdie DeFaust was on his hands and knees stretching out past the last
sprig of poison sumac. The AA hull was just out of reach as he wormed
his way through the underbrush. It had been a pretty good "dive" so
far. He had retrieved six of his own eight hulls, plus a whole bunch
of others. He had even found one of the much-coveted new AA hulls. He
could have sworn that he saw a dark, hairy hand quickly toss one down
in front of him as he felt a gust of hot air carrying a stale and
musty odor. But heck. It was a new AA. He'd sell his soul for a
bunch of those.

Ferdie's plumber's cleavage emerged from the thicket as he backed out
on hands and knees. His fat, dirty face glistened with sweat, but he
was happy with the hull haul. Less happy were the two squads of
waiting shooters, but Ferdie didn't give a damn about inconveniencing
others when there were hulls to be had.

Across the course Pandora Popham was in a vexatious mood. That
incompetent manicurist had overlooked a hangnail. She could feel it
tug under her kidskin shooting gloves as she snapped open her gold
inlaid Glitzini and sent the new AAs flying over her shoulder. So
what if the hulls flew smack dab onto the starched lace collar of some
little old grey haired school marm standing behind her. Ms. Popham
had heard about the lynching of Dudley Dufus for uncontrolled
ejection, but those rules were for the "little" people, not for her.
Besides, staff, who ever that was, could handle the clean up. If
people didn't like it, they could go to the devil.

As Pandora left the station, the begrimed and sweating Ferdie DeFaust
shouldered through the waiting squad. Jostling Miss Manners aside, he
threw himself down on all fours and began snatching up the hulls,
making little grunting noises of satisfaction at each capture. The
stunned squad just stared. No one noticed that Miss Manners had moved
aside and was talking to a shadowy figure.

The sky had been clear all day, but now it quickly clouded. Thunder
rolled ominously and lightening tore the darkness. Just as quickly it
cleared again. Pandora Popham and Ferdie DeFaust were gone.

Most cultures, both ancient and modern, juxtapose a heaven and a hell.
The ancient Greeks were as imaginative as most and had a whole slew of
irascible gods to contend with. Earthly sins were punished with
imaginative tribulations in the afterworld. Remember the thirsty and
starving Tantalus damned to stand in water he couldn't drink below
grapes he couldn't reach? What about the guy who had to roll the rock
up a mountain for all eternity?

Times have changed. In today's society it is not Politically Correct
to be judgmental. Antisocial behavior is considered to be society's
fault, not a personal failing. Bad people have an inalienable right to
sympathetic understanding, free shrinkage and government grants.
Discipline is not constitutional. Retribution is beyond the pale.
That is- until the bad actors mess with Miss Manners.

That winter there was a big sporting clays shoot in Florida. Everyone
made the trip. They had long since forgotten about Ferdie DeFaust and
Pandora Popham. In the evenings the crew enjoyed the bright lights
and laughter at Disney Land.

One night they decided to try something different and stopped at B. L.
Z. Bub's House of Horrors, a run down side show fun house on a back
road. The burnt out bulbs in the blinking road sign looked like rotted
teeth. Weeds surrounded the ramshackle trailer that abjectly served
as the owner's home and ticket booth. The figure selling them the
tickets seemed to be made of smoke and shadow.

Inside it was hot, prickly sweat hot. It smelled of sulphur. Smokey
fires flickered around the edge of the room, but failed to give off
much light. The visitors could barely make out two dark figures in
the center of the chamber. But the voices were unmistakable.

"Staff will pick them up", whined the woman as the ejectors clicked on
empty chambers. "Oh boy, another AA", snuffled the man as he vainly
groped in the murky darkness.

Moral: Many people have friends in high places, but it is those with
friends in low places that you have to watch out for. Take Miss
Manners' advice, handle your shells in a way that doesn't
inconvenience others. Your winter vacation may be warmer, and longer,
than you anticipated.


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

2003 SHOOTING CALENDAR

JAN 19 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY MID-WINTER MARTYDOM
FEB 16 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-ANNUAL MEETING
MAR 16 MID HUDSON TRAP & SKEET, NY-MARCH MADNESS
APR * SPRING TRIP TO MARYLAND, MD-NORTH SOUTH SKIRMISH
APR 27 OLD NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT-TAX TIME REVOLT
MAY 4 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-COURTING CLAYS
MAY 18 TAMARACK PRESERVE, NY-MAY MINUET
JUN * TAMARACK, NY-NATL WILD TURKEY FED CONCURRENT SHOOT
JUL 20 SANDANONA/ORVIS, NY-SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME
AUG 8~10 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI-GREAT EASTERN LOBSTER CLASSIC
SEP 14 FAIRFIELD COUNTY F&G, CT-SMALL GAUGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
OCT 3~5 PENNSYLVANIA -FALL TRIP
OCT 19 MILLBROOK ROD & GUN, NY- OKTOBERSCHUTZENFEST
NOV 16 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOV * EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-KOEHLER SOC. FUNDRAISER THREE SHOT
DEC 14 MID-COUNTY, NY-DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY
* An asterisk indicates a date still to be determined

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

MAR 22 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) NEW ENGLAND THREE SHOT CH
APR 11~13 PEACE DALE, RI (401-789-3730) SPRING FITASC CH

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.



*NOTE: Reload! accepts both Wanted and For Sale notices. There is no
fee for placing an ad. Ads are run solely as a service to our members.
It is the responsibility of the buyer and seller to see that all
relevant laws are obeyed. Advertised items must be related to
sporting clays.


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

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003
MID-WINTER MARTYRDOM
EAST MOUNTAIN PRESERVE
DOVER PLAINS, NY

Start 2003 in the sensible way. Come shoot your gun up in the air and
freeze your fanny off! Yessiree, mid-winter is when the tough shooters
become flaky, snowflaky that is. No hunkering down on the divan,
petting the poodle and nibbling sugarplums for us. Besides, football
season is over and there is nothing left to do but watch people in
their underwear heave some stupid ball through a hoop. It makes ever
so much more sense to stand out in the freezing cold, dressed like the
Michelin man, whupping up on some defenseless piece of clay.

As always, arrive at nine to check the charts and see which squad you
are on. Then you can have some high test Java, Dunkins fat pills and
schmooze a bit until Simon Lagree forces you and Little Eliza out into
the cruel winter snows. Actually, looking over past records, we
usually have pretty good weather for our January shoot. Usually. Well,
sometimes

Winter Rules: Everyone will appreciate it if you shoot with all
deliberate speed. Fidgeting and dawdling around on the stand keeps
everyone out on the course a bit longer. Even though the days are
getting longer, they are also getting colder. You might consider
wearing boots with cleats, as the trails can be slippery. A little
Thermos filled with warm bouillon might be nice to bring along also.

After the shoot, there will be a nice warm fire and a delicious hot
meal. Chef Mark will once again perform his epicurean magic. We
promise that there will be hot brown food and plenty of it.

The entry fee for this shoot is $55 and GUESTS ARE WELCOME. Invite
everyone. More bodies equal more warmth!

DIRECTIONS to East Mountain Preserve, Dover Plains, NY:

At the junction of Interstate Rte 84 and NY Rte 22, take NY Rte 22
North for about 27 miles to the town of Dover Plains, NY. Turn Right
at the first traffic light in Dover Plains (a few hundred yards after
the McDonalds on the right) and go straight for one mile directly into
the East Mountain driveway. If lost, call East Mountain at
914-877-6274.

EYE AND EAR PROTECTION IS MANDATORY AT ALL TRAVELERS SHOOTS.

Internet readers: The Connecticut Travelers are a private organization
and their shoots are open only to members and the guests of members.