McHenry Sportsman’s Club Newsletter (July 13, 2002)
Dear Members and Families:
It has been quite some time since the last newsletter was published and is long overdue.
So, with that said, here it is.
You can see the format has changed.
Like everything else, we are slowly beating ourselves into the twenty-first century.
So here it is, all new super duper newsletter using MS publisher.
I sure hope this works, (never done it before).
NOTE: The website version you are looking at right now was not done MS-Publisher.
If you have the version that was mailed out, it looks much cooler than what you are reading in pure HTML on your web browser
Your club continues to move forward.
To start with, we now have a second Pat Trap installed in Trap House 2 and our clubhouse is now air-conditioned.
We also have voice callers installed on all five fields.
We have learned how to adjust our automatic trap machines and as of recent months, our targets are as good as or better than most clubs.
This year, McHenry even won the Jackrabbit Shoot.
We have events coming up in the remainder of the year that you and your family will sure want to attend.
We now have over one hundred and sixty members in our club.
If you have not been out shooting, please, come out and join us.
If you do not want to shoot and you are in the area, please stop in and visit.
Reminder, the club hours are SATURDAY and SUNDAY from 12:00 to 5:00 PM and we are open year round.
The club is closed during certain holidays.
Events Coming Up
August 4: ATA Registered Shoot
This will be a marathon style shoot.
September 8: McHenry Sportsmen's Club family picnic.
Shooting, food, soda and all the other activities associated with the picnic.
Hope to see everyone there.
To Be Announced: Annual Turkey Shoot.
Shoot for and win your family Thanksgiving turkey.
ATA Marathon Shoot
On August 4, your club will be hosting another ATA registered shoot.
As long as I have been associated with this club, we have never held a registered shoot in the MARATHON format.
This appears to be a new thing for most of us.
The shoot is just before the Grand American and has been designed to allow you to shoot as many targets as you can squeeze in before the "big shoot".
You sign up for 100 sixteen-yard singles, shoot them, and may sign up for more.
This has all the makings to be a lot of fun and fast moving.
Four traps will be open all day for this event.
The fifth trap, (probably trap 3), will be used for normal public practice shooting.
Please remember, this is your club and if you come to shoot and we are open, you will be able to shoot, despite whatever special event may be going on.
It just may be a little busier than normal.
All of you ATA shooters, mark your calendars for this event and you non ATA shooters, you may want to come out and shoot anyway.
You can meet some shooters from other clubs who come to shoot ATA events.
There are some really good shooters at most ATA events.
McHenry Family Picnic
Well, here it is again.
The McHenry Family Picnic.
This has been a tradition for many years and will continue to be in the future.
The picnic normally consists of large scale food consumption and some sort of shooting competition.
There has been no work done for this event this year so it remains an open book.
For those who want change, here is your chance.
Last year we roasted a pig.
Most who attended liked it.
Want a pig again?
Get involved.
The shooting events at the picnic could also be improved.
Perhaps we could host meat shoots.
People like "Annie Oakley" and "Protection" shoots.
We had a raffle in the past.
That was a lot of work.
We can do it again but we need members to help get these events off the ground.
We want to enhance the Family Picnic so the entire family will want to come and have fun doing so.
This year’s picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 8.
This gives us some time to develop the event.
We encourage anyone who wants to help out to come to the club and make it known.
Spring Cleanup
In the early part of this summer your club conducted its annual spring cleanup.
A large dumpster was provided as a means to dispose of the junk that has accumulated over the years.
Our usual "crew" showed up and filled the dumpster.
We even got rid of that old "oil tank" barbecue.
The fire pit was cleaned up and fenced in.
Thank you to all that took part in this operation
Wobble Trap
Last year your club purchased its first Pat Trap.
This machine was equipped to throw singles and doubles.
Additionally, the wobble option was purchased so we could also throw wobble targets.
SO... what does this mean?
Wobble targets are targets which are launched in a random fashion like singles, meaning they can come out of the traphouse in random angles.
However, unlike normal singles targets, the elevation of the target is also random.
You could get a low left angle and get a target almost straight up in the air afterwards.
We normally shoot wobble from the nineteen-yard line using a target speed considerably faster than singles.
Wobble is a lot of fun and definitely keeps your mind on what you are shooting at.
Wobble is usually shot with six people.
You shoot and move to the next station.
The game is fast paced and will test your skill at wingshooting.
It is excellent practice for the bird hunter as well as the trapshooter.
In a Nutshell... ATA Registered Shoots
The ATA (Amateur Trapshooters Association) is an organization
which fosters the sport of Trapshooting.
In its effort to do so, the organization maintains shooting averages for all of its members.
These averages consists of the average number of targets broken in sets of 100 targets.
These targets are shot in special events hosted at local gun clubs called "registered shoots".
The culmination of this is the Grand American, which is the grand daddy of all trapshooting events.
After the "Grand", the "target year" is over and everything starts all over again for next year.
The Grand is shot on the ATA's home grounds in August.
Anyone who legally has access to a shotgun and wants to join the ATA can do so.
Both beginners and experienced shooters can go to any gun club hosting an ATA Registered Shoot,
sign up and shoot in the event.
If you are not a member of the ATA, you can join right then and there and start shooting immediately.
You must be an ATA member to shoot an ATA event.
Like most other organized sporting associations, the ATA has many rules which must be followed in an effort to "even the playing field".
The biggest one is the class system.
You are placed in a "class" based on your shooting ability.
This way, you compete with your peers and the "top guns" do not walk out with all the prizes all the time.
Your shooting ability is determined by your "shooting average".
If you are new to the ATA, you will not have an established average.
You will normally be classed in class "B" and stay there until your average moves you up or down.
If you in fact turn out to be a class "B" shooter, you stay in class "B".
If you do not shoot within the average range for class "B", you are placed in a higher or lower class based on your actual average.
If it turns out that you can break 50 out of the 100 targets, you compete with other shooters who shoot the same.
If you are one of those who break all the targets, you likewise compete with others who can do the same.
There are normally four classes (A, B, C and D), but when there are really good shooters present, you may see AA and AAA classes.
Class "B" seems to be the hardest class to win because many class "B" members are capable of breaking all one hundred targets
(as well as only being able to break ninety or so).
The normal games are sixteen yard singles, handicap and doubles.
Each game is shot independently and each game has its own way of classifying shooters based on ability.
Sixteen yard singles is the classic trapshooting game, (as can be seen any day your club is open).
You stand on the sixteen yard line and shoot twenty five targets, (five from each of the five stations).
You do this four times giving you your one hundred targets.
It is possible to shoot ten targets from each station providing fifty targets.
In this case, the one hundred targets would come from two rounds instead of four.
This only works if you can place enough targets in a machine to last a double round.
Handicap is just like sixteen yard except you stand further back.
The really good shooters shoot from the twenty-seven yard line.
Twenty-seven yards is considered "long yardage" and is the highest handicap yardage.
When you first start, they put you on the twenty yard line.
As you do better, you move back.
To advance, you must win the event or get a ninety-six.
The ATA has a rather complex formula based on the number of shooters participating in the event.
You can get a "reduction" if your scores starts to drop.
The reduction comes from the ATA.
Reductions are also there to help provide an even playing field.
There are schemes for winning money, but to put it bluntly, if you want to be sure of winning, you must shoot the highest score in your class.
There is a "Lewis" system which can be played as an option.
The Lewis is a topic for another "In a Nutshell".
To find out more about the ATA and how their shoots are executed,
please refer to the following publication:
"AMATEUR TRAPSHOOTING ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL RULES"
This publication is available at the club or can be acquired directly from the ATA
601 W. National Road
Vandalia, Ohio 45377
(937) 898-4638
www.shootata.com
Local gun store changes owners
Once again, the McHenry Shooting Center was sold and bought by another set of owners.
This time however, the store was renamed: the HP Shooting Center.
We went over to visit the store.
We even shot on their range.
We were very pleased with what we saw.
The new owners intend to maintain the pistol range but seem to have an interest in shotguns and trapshooting.
Next time you are in the area (2908 West Route 120), you may want to stop over and see for yourself.
The store is west of Chapel Hill Road and east of the Fox River on the north side of Route 120 below a bicycle shop.
Because they both shoot shotgun, I would not be surprised if they stopped over at our club and shot a round or two,
(that is if they can get some time off to do so).
Their hours are: Monday through Fridays: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Saturday and Sundays from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
From what we understand, the IPSC shoots will still be there.
We want to wish then luck in their new venture and look forward to shooting at their facility.
Clubhouse Air Conditioning
Several members had a hand in this effort.
This newsletter typically does not mention who does what to protect these people from bosses, spouses and other issues that could get them into trouble.
One member had a hand in acquiring most of the equipment, others formed up and poured the concrete slab for the condensing unit.
Another member supplied and installed the necessary electrical wiring.
To complete the job, yet another member installed the evaporator coil in the furnace, ran the necessary tubing from the evaporator to the condensing unit and charged the system with refrigerant.
When we powered on the system, a miracle occurred.
The system actually powered up and worked.
We now have air conditioning.
For those that want to know, the system only runs when the club is open.
As backup, (if we forget to turn it off), the thermostat is programmed to maintain a 90 degree operating temperature on off hours.
Yes, it will raise our electric bill, but not by enough to be concerned with.
It will run ten to twelve hours a week.
Thank you to all that had a hand in this project.
This was a very successful team effort. and everyone came through.
Where do we go from here?
That is a very interesting question.
The club's mission is to provide shotgun shooting facilities for its members.
The most requested service is practice shooting and meat shoots.
There are some members who like to shoot Registered Shoots and others that enjoy league shooting.
Work was done to improve our registered shoots and that appears to be heading in a favorable direction.
Effort to start and organize shooting leagues was also started this year.
This area needs more work, but is developing.
We only host one meat shoot per year and this has to change.
Additionally, we need to start organizing games.
One of the main problems is that of scheduling.
The club is only open Saturdays and Sundays for five hours each day.
The other problem is the need for members interested in taking ownership of an event, such as a meat shoot.
We are talking about a single event, not a series of events.
There are plenty of people that will assist, but someone has to be in charge of the event.
Please let the club know if you would be interested in taking ownership of an event.
We will work to make the event happen and be successful.
Parting Thoughts
Our club has seen a lot of change over the past several years.
Most of these changes were good for the club and its members.
For our club to stay alive in this era of "political correctness", etc., we must all come together and work as a team.
Not just to preserve our club, but to preserve the shooting sports for ourselves and our children.
Today, as our country becomes more urbanized, more and more people are looking for easy "fixes" to the many problems facing our society.
It has become so easy to equate shooting, firearms and all their related sports with crime.
The firearm is a weapon of choice among criminals.
Whether it be an AR15 or your favorite shotgun, any of these weapons can and has been used in crimes.
It is a very easy fix for a politician to say "get rid of the guns, get rid of the shooting facilities, etc.".
They are looking for votes and most people are uninformed.
OK, we remove the guns, yes, even your shotgun.
Does this eliminate crime.
Look at what is going on in London and Australia.
Criminals, by definition break laws.
By prohibiting law abiding citizens from owning guns and shooting them, you make the criminal's job that much easier.
The criminal is not going to register his gun or turn it in when requested to do so.
If you were going to commit a crime and had a choice of a "gun free city" or a normal everyday town like yours or mine, where would you commit your crime?
We all agree, the abuse of firearms can and does create problems.
It is up to us to see that it this does not happen.
We all must do our part, starting with all of the Gun Safety we were taught,
as well as sticking together and doing what may be necessary to prevent our sport from disappearing due to the political ideas of the modern day politician.
Gun owners are one of the strongest "user groups" in our country.
If half of us stuck together, the problems we are now facing today would not exist.
Do you feel the NRA will remedy our problems?
Well, just who is the NRA?
More gun owners, most of us.
No, you cannot rely on the NRA alone.
The NRA can guide us, but if we assume someone else will address this, we are only kidding ourselves.
Trapshooting is no more safer than IPSC match shooting, and in some cases politically worse.
They want to stop us from owning firearms and shooting, maybe not at McHenry yet, just give them time.
Maybe they are after the handguns right now, the rifles tomorrow and how about your shotgun?
Yes, that too.
What makes you think your shotgun will not be considered the same as your favorite revolver or your trusty 1911 sitting safely in your safe?
You know what we have to do.
It is your constitution, your rights, your shotgun, your club, your sport, your hobby.
Perhaps this makes it your responsibility.
The second amendment is not about duck hunting.
Start by becoming "people"... yes people, not "sheeple".
Sheeple are controlled by shepherds.
The shepherds are not always who or what we want.
Well guess what... In this country, YOU get to pick your shepherds.
It is called VOTING.
"People" go out and vote based on what they believe in.
Sheeple vote (if the vote at all) for the shepherds they are TOLD to vote for.
Be it your boss, your union, your manager or the political party you feel you belong to.
PEOPLE vote for the representatives THEY WANT representing them.
PEOPLE THINK AND ACT.
OK, you know what to do, lets all do it together and make this a better country.
Do your homework, find out WHO to support and actually VOTE.
This would be a great beginning.
GOOD SHOOTING TO ALL
Sincerely,
Tom Carneal, Club Treasurer