In late April I took my first trip out to the Rod and Gun Club for 2024. Back in February having completed my 10th term as President of SJRGC, I decided not to run again as I was long overdue for a break. It has been an incredibly at times insanely busy yet rewarding journey, one which ended up being much longer than anticipated when I first took on the role back in 2013. A fresh volunteer stepped up to fill the role. Cub member, now president George Jenner and the new executive have been doing a fantastic job with the club taking operations to the next level.

There are still a few remnants of winter lingering about the property! To fulfill my duty and obligation to the executive, I will remain on for one more year in the role of past president. This is an advisory position to the new board on the actions & decisions of the past boards.

In April I stopped in to place new forms in the Generator and ATV logbooks and to make a list of supplies needed for upcoming small engine equipment maintenance, which I continue to do for the club.

A small but dedicated crew of volunteers have already been busy at the club getting the Trap Machines reinstalled after winter storage and restarting Sunday shoots. Bassan and the boys got the backsplash and range hood installed behind the new kitchen range which we upgraded last summer.

I made some decals and installed them for Bassan after they relocated the furnace power shutoff.

Earlier this year we had a contractor install a new metal roof and make some structural repairs to the firing line shelter on Range B. It not only looks great but will keep the structure from rotting out for many more years to come.

On Saturday of the May 24th holiday weekend I headed out to the club to begin some small engine equipment maintenance.

Maintenance on the ride on lawnmower came to a halt when I discovered the dealer gave me the wrong/ill fitting aftermarket oil filter for our new machine.

I carried on and got a full service done on the generator which included changing the engine oil, oil filter, both fuel filters and the air filter. This will keep the unit running well again this year.

All serviced, tested, room swept up and ready to go!

May 27, 2024. I finally have the correct ride on lawn mower oil filters in hand thanks to the fantastic and knowledgeable crew at Melvin's ATV in Tors Cove. They are a top quality authorized Husqvarna Dealership who stock the right factory parts for what they sell.

The cheap aftermarket oil filter has a narrower diameter and much smaller gasket which will barely catch the sealing surface on the engine. I definitely prefer proper quality OEM filters matching exactly what came on the engine from the factory.

I started the push mower for the first time since Fall of last year, it wasn't running the best, a quick look at the air filter found a potential cause!  A fresh air filter and spark plug will be picked up and installed on a future work weekend at the club.

You don't need a good memory for part numbers if you take a picture!

With those parts added on my 'to buy' list, I carried on and got the engine oil changed on the mower using my fancy new Princess Auto vacuum oil extractor.

Oil & filter change complete on the Husqvarna Zero turn lawn mower.

Next up was removing and sharpening the blades on the zero turn lawnmower.

I noted their position with this photo so I could reinstall them clocked at the same position from which they were removed. Striking rocks on our grounds is inevitable, keeping the blades sharp ensure the unit always cuts well.

I now have plenty of supplies in stock to service our equipment for at least the remainder of this year.

With our small engine equipment serviced I proceeded to trim the grass for the first time of 2024.

OMB was a good friend and certainly someone who appreciated a neat and tidy lawn at the club. He spent hundreds of hours over the years performing this very task himself at the club.

Gravel in front of the clay target storage building has sunk quite a ways over the years, I threw together a temporary wooden ramp to ease getting the zero turn in & out until the crew gets the area topped up with class A.

August 17, 2024: Today Bassan, myself and a crew of club volunteers got to work on a number of projects at the club. Our aim was to get the clubhouse and grounds in tip top shape for the upcoming Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association (APTA) Championships on Labour Day weekend.

My first task was to install and set-up a Starlink satellite high speed internet system purchased by the APTA to run shoot management software for the upcoming championship event. This system was surprisingly very easy to setup and works very well, which is generally a rare occurrence in my experience dealing with fancy high end technology equipment.

Bassan and Jeff got the flag pole all re-rigged with fresh rope on all three flag positions.

Three more club members made quick work of touching up stain on the clubhouse.

After the Starlink was installed and working, I finally finished up maintenance on club grounds equipment by installing a fresh air filter & spark plug on the lawnmower and a sparkplug in the leaf blower.

Next up: While the boys mowed the grass I finished off by trimming all around the entire grounds of the club so it would be neat and tidy for the big event. Our new leaf blower made quick work of getting grass clippings off the concrete walkways which was always very laborious with a broom on such a rough surface.

Next up Bassan got to work pulling weeds off the foreground of the trap field, after which I hooked the club ATV to our gravel rake to level out/clean up the stone.

Fresh weather stripping installed on the main entrance door of the clubhouse.

All ready for the shoot!

The Atlantic Provinces Championship Trap Shoot went very well with great attendance and thousands of targets thrown over five days. In October Bassan and I headed back out to the club to clue up some end of season maintenance beginning with a final trim of the grass before winter.

While Bassan continued with the trimmer, I performed a service on the club generator which was now due for another oil change after a busy summer of events at the club.

With winter fast approaching I added a bottle of diesel fuel treatment to the fuel tank to aid start-up during the upcoming cold months of winter.

Next up was an engine oil & filter change on the club's Honda ATV which just recently illuminated the service required indicator on the dash.

All cleaned up and ready for winter!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith