13. Sunday morning, Mark, Justin "Melons"
& Matthew 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 up in the
woods in the afternoon.
11.
10.
9.
8. Just like last year the weather was beautiful
and the turn out even
larger. 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.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
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 in
strong with a
third place finish. Luckily there were only 4 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
