13.   Sunday morning, Mark French, Justin "Melons" French, and I headed out to the St. John's Rod and Gun Club for the annual Newfoundland Sportsman Magazine Shoot.

12.   This event consisted of 50 targets shot on the trap fields in the morning, followed by 50 sporting clays targets shot on the Sporting Clays range in the woods in the afternoon.

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8.   Just like last year the weather was beautiful, turn out even larger then last year and we had a great day shooting.

7.   Sporting clays consisted of many unique clay shooting set ups including shoot and reload, horizontal rabbit targets, and various single & double targets on the upper range.

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1.   All in all it was a great day. In our little group, Justin crept by Mark winning the better over all score by one target while I came third. Luckily there were only 3 of us in our group! This year I even won a prize, a one year subscription to the Newfoundland Sportsman Magazine!

From the St. John's Rod and Gun Club Official Site:

This marked a monumental day for the club and trapshooters with the Grand Opening of the fully automated trap range - 4 trap fields all equipped with voice activated release systems and automatic target throwers. It marked a milestone for the club and embraces the dedication of the club's trapshooters for making it all happen. In 1992, the club purchased it’s first automatic trap and just last fall purchased it’s fourth machine. Since 2004 we have also upgraded to the latest voice release technology. This past spring the club’s trapshooters donated the 4th voice release system to the club. Also debuted at this shoot was the club’s new Sporting Clays equipment – two 12V clay target throwers.

57 shooters registered for the event – one of the largest shoots held to date. After the trap portion there was 2 - 49/50 (Don Sullivan from NB and Troy Coldwell), Close behind were Andrea Bassan (48/50), John Bellows and John Tucker (47/50) and numerous other 46 and 45. The Sporting Clay targets always seem to separate the shooters. Organizers try to present a mix of target presentations that everyone can enjoy and hit but some make out better than others. Sullivan and Bassan each scored 41/50 with Sullivan taking the Ed Brocklehurst Memorial Award with a combined score of 90/100 to Bassan's 89/90. Barry Brocklehurst presented Don Sullivan with the award in his father's memory.

The "Continuing the Heritage" theme is also becoming more evident with several father / son entries - Peter and Andrea Bassan, Mike and Andrew McGrath and Chris and Mackenzie Baldwin. There was even a grandfather / grandson combination - Paul Bailey and Colin Thomas. And the family entry - Karsten, Veronica and Patrick Madsen.

The club would like to thank all sponsors – Newfoundland Sportsman Magazine, Labatt Brewery, OP Hunting and Fishing, CG Emery and Provincial Refrigeration. All volunteers should also be congratulated for making this event a huge success.
 

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2011 Michael Smith