March 29, 2009 Clays Match Report

18 Guns Class won by score

Open Chuck Treat 44

Limited Dan Moore 38

March does not appear to be going out like a lamb. People driving to GHSC to attend today's clays match drove in the rain, it was a cold 54degrees today, with the sky overcast and threatening more rain. I guess we are lucky it doesn't snow. So much for global warming.

First the important stuff. Thanks to Chuck Nicodemus, our Match Director, for hosting our match. Thanks to Doug McLean for driving the microphone and the score-sheet. Doug, if I draw number 15 again I'm putting it back! Thanks to Chuck Treat, Chuck Nicodemus and O.J. for designing the target arrays. We are very fortunate indeed to have match personnel with the imaginations to creat our arrays. Not only are they esthetically pleasing, which is totally irrelevant, but they are challenging. In order to succeed in our clays match, one's fundamentals must be ON!! It is important to not break one's shots until the sight picture and trigger prep are properly done, and one can learn a lot about patience by playing this game. Chuck, Doug, Chuck, OJ Thanks for the great work and for the challenges you present. Now, it's up to the shooters to meet those challenges.

Round 1 today was the "bait" round. 8 Huge Green targets surrounding 1 Huge Black one. Go ahead, shoot fast. How could one possibly miss targets that big? (it's easy, refer to earlier comments about fundamentals and patience.)

O O O O O

O O O O

Round 2 went from Huge to hardly. 8 orange micros surrounded one black micro.

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Round 3 changed colors 180 degrees, but contined in the micro sized target mode. This time 8 black micros surrounded an orange micro.

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Round 4 went back to some green standards, some orange micros, and a black micro in the middle.

O O o O O

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Round 5 did a straight line array of 8 orange micros surrounding a black micro, straightforward but oh so challenging.

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At the end of regulation play we have 2 winners. In the open class, Chuck treat led the field with the high score for the match of 44, a testament to the challenge presented by GHSCs Clays Matches. In the Limited Class Dan Moore let the way with a score of 38, again showing the precision needed to succeed in this game.

Well folks, another clays match, another challenge, and another good excuse to engage in the consumption of bi-carbonates.

We'll see you all out here next week, a good grasp of the fundamentals of shooting in hand, and ready for the challenges when you step up to the firing line. Until then, remember this very important mantra:

SHOOT FAST, SHOOT ACCURATELY, BUT MOST OF ALL - SHOOT SAFELY!!

Hal