January 2, 2011 Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club Clays Match Report

 

16 Guns Entered

 

 

 

2 Entered in Ladies Class - Class won by Carrie Morton with a score of 28

               2nd Lady Stephanie Stevens with a score of 24

               

8 Entered in Open Class - Class won by Jay Schoonmaker with a score of 47

               2nd Open - Hal Hansen with a score of 43

               3rd Open - Ken Bagley Sr. with a score of 40

 

8 Entered in Limited Class - Class won by Chuck Treat with a score of 40

               2nd Limited - Tim Kopp with a score of 36

               3rd Limited - Jeff Morton with a score of 35

 

     Good afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen, and welcome to the inaugural 2011 Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club Clays Match.  It's January in the Pacific Northwest, and the temperature reflects that fact.  The match was held in temperatures in the lower 30s, and the heaters were on and roaring!  16 Shooters braved the bracing temperatures to come out and play with their handguns, 8 in

the Open Class and 8 in the Limited Class. 

     Thanks to our match Staff for this first Clays Match of 2011.  Thanks to our Match Director, Chuck Nicodemus, Thanks to our

DJ and scorekeeper, Doug McLean and thanks to our new Arrays Impressarios, Chuck Treat and Darren Foreman for bringing us Page 6 of The Great Equalizer Series.  Let's take a look at what the entrants in today's Clays Match saw.

 

Round 1

     The top row starts out with 2 Green Standards followed by 2 orange micros.  The bottom row starts out with 2 orange micros

followed by 2 Green Standards.  Those are your primarys.  If entered in the Open Class, engage the orange micros.  If entered in the Limited Class, engage the Green Standards. In either case, if successful in engaging and breaking all of your primarys, move to the center of the screen and engage the black micro in the middle.  It will have a big white dot in the middle to help it stand out and challenge the shooter.

 

Round 2

     The top row remains the same, but the bottom row now alternates between orange micros and Green Standards, beginning with an orange micro.  IF you are successful in breaking all of your primarys, then engage the black micro in the middle.

 

Round 3

     Now the Clays Targets on both the top row and the bottom row alternate between orange micros and Green Standards.

The top row starts with a Green Standard and the bottom row starts with an orange micro.  As always, the black micro in the middle just waits for the successful Clays competitor. 

 

Round 4

     The top row now still alternates between Green Standards and orange micros, but now starts with a Green Standard.  The bottom row now has the clays paired by color, with the first two being orange micros and the 2nd two being Green Standards.

IF the shooter is successful in breaking all of their primarys, then they go to the center of the screen and engage the black micro in the middle.

 

Round 5

Now all the clays are huddled together by color.  On the outsides of each screen, 2 on the top row and 2 on the bottom row are 4 orange micros.  On the inside of the screen are 4 Green Standards, 2 on the top row and 2 on the bottom.  In the middle of the screen, waiting for the thus-far successful shooter is the black micro in the middle.  Lets see how the competitors did today.

 

      In the Ladies Class, Carrie Morton and Stephanie Stevens vied for the win, with Carrie Morton emerging with the high score of 28.  Stephanie Stevens came in close behind with a score of 24.    

 

 In the Open Class, Jay Schoonmaker finished with a safe margin of 4, shooting a score of 47.  This reporter, Hal Hansen, finished with a score of 43.  Ken Bagley Sr., returning after an extended hiatus, finished 3rd, with a score of 40.  

 

     In the Limited Class, Chuck Treat won it all with a score of 40.  Tim Kopp, also returning after too long away, fnished  2nd with a score of 36.  Finishing 3rd in the Limited Class was Jeff Morton.  Uh, Jeff, your wife Carrie Won Her Class.  I guess you are the one cleaning firearms tonight, Jeff.

 

     And that's the way we started 2011 at Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club.  We had 16 shooters today, with temps in the mid to lower 30s, and it's just going to get bigger and better from here.   Come on out and join us on Sunday Afternoons at 4PM.  It doesn't matter very much what manner of handgun you shoot, we have a class for it.  Whether your handgun is your daily Carry Gun, or strictly an Open Class Competition Gun, or one you use for BOTH,  there is a class for it at the Clays Matches.

    

     Consider this an invitation also to come out on Monday Evenings at 6PM, right here at Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club for our

Twice Monthly Plate Matches.  On the First Monday as well as the 3rd Monday of each month, except for Mondays that fall on National Holidays, right here at the Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club Rifle/Pistol Range, we have falling plate matches that are just as much fun, and just as educational and skillbuilding as the Clays Matches.  Talk to our Match Director, Chuck Nicodemus, or just about anybody else at the Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club Clays Matches and they will steer you in the right direction.  So now your path is clear.  Practice a lot, and come on out with your handgun and compete with us.  During your practice sessions, keep your priorities clear.  First Priority is FIREARM SAFETY!!  2nd Priority is:  ACCURACY!!!! Only when those priorities are 2nd Nature does one begin to concentrate on SPEED!!!!!!  Always remember and adhere to the competitive shooter's axiom:

 

                           "SPEED IS FINE, BUT ACCURACY IS FINAL"

 

Hal