New Years Day

At the beginning of every new year, our members and their guests gather in the Club House to enjoy wonderful food, a new year of camaraderie, and, of course, some shooting.  The food always includes traditional black eyed peas (for good luck in the coming year) and a host of other specialties, like soup, favorite game recipes, homemade covered dishes, and desserts. Our preference is, if you can't make something yourself and plan to buy something to bring, skip that shopping trip and just donate what you would spend.  We always have plenty of contributors with their own, unique recipes to make the day special.

St. Patrick's Day

Another day of great food and drink, especially for the Irish among us.  Highlighting the day is our annual Irish Skeet competition.  Using a single box of 25 shells, we start at station 1 on a skeet field, shooting at trap targets.  Each shooter breaks the target and moves on; however, he/she gets a maximum of three shots from that station on that round.  The winner is the last one with any shells remaining.  The winners of each squad of shooters are pitted together in a shoot-off, starting with a fresh batch of 25 shells each.  The winner and runner-up share the prize money.  In the meantime, the non-shooters are in the Club House eating fabulous corned beef and cabbage that has been cooking all day.  Makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

 

Vintager Shoot

Once a year, those with pre-WWII side-by-side shotguns dress up in the clothes they wore in their youth and hold a "competition."  After all, who wants to shoot in a coat and tie?  Well, they have a ball.  You can see some of the shenanigans here on our website.  Suffice to say, it's not for everyone, but, for those that love the long-standing traditions of shooting sports, this is a nod in that direction.

Club Championship(s)

In October-November each year, we hold our Club Championship(s).  Traditionally, it was a skeet competition; however, over the past decade or so, we've added a trap and "Pieces" component, as well as some "modified targets" from our new 5-stand facility.  In the Pieces competition, starting at station 1 and proceeding through station 6, a shooter loads two shells, and tries to break a target and then break a piece of that broken target that could be flying in any direction.  Two shots per target; two targets per station.  Breaking the target scores one point; breaking the piece scores an additional two points.  For each station, a shooter can score a maximum of six points.  Through the six stations, a maximum score is 36 (rarely done).  Two rounds are scored, with winners in the gross and net categories, having obtained a handicap based on the score of the first round.  Since only 24 shells (our of a 25-shell box) are used, after two rounds, there are two shells remaining.  Those leftover shells have spawned the Pole Shoot competition.  We step back behind station 5 next to a light pole and shoot those last two shells at a long-range target, again trying to break a target and a piece of the target. Ties of each attempt shoot off until a champion is declared.  The winner of two rounds of skeet is also declared a champion.  And those that can't get enough punishment elsewhere compete for the "modified targets" championship.  Often, the targets seem to be set up to ensure at least a few of impossible shots.  Still, somebody comes through and surprises us all.  All-in-all, a great day for the competitors, and, as always, great food and drink for those in the Club House.

Christmas Tree Trimming

As the holiday season approaches, in early December, we look for any excuse to get together to eat, drink, and shoot. This is as good an excuse as any.  A few volunteers seem to do all the decorating while the rest, once again, eat, drink, and shoot.

If you're interested in participating in these gala activities, stop by and shoot with us, recruit a sponsor to vouch for your safe conduct on the fields, and submit an application to join us.  You won't regret it.  It's one of the last really good deals and a ton of fun to boot.