Red Chute Gazette. Skeeter Says. Upcoming Skeet Shoots: Publisher Doug Frey Editor Debbie Frey

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1 Publisher Doug Frey Editor Debbie Frey Red Chute Gazette Volume 2 Issue 2 Upcoming Skeet Shoots: Hal Davis Memorial Bandera Gun Club Bandera, TX February TSSA Directors Shoot Comal County Shooting Sports Club Spring Branch, TX February The Sweetheart Shoot Coast Rifle & Pistol Club Biloxi, MS February 27 Fred Smith & John Henry Memorial Bandera gun Club Bandera, TX March Skeeter Says Spring is just around the corner and so are some great skeet shooting opportunities. Those of you who are active in promoting registered shoots at your club need to plan ahead. You will want to take advantage of the Red Chute Gazette Deal explained on page 29 in this issue. February 9, 2010 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 2 Shooters Host Armed Forces 4-7 Practice - Part 1 by L. P Recipe of the Month 17 Readers Respond Promoting Skeet Quail Hunting at Wild Wings CEN-TX Report 28 The Red Chute Gazette Deal 29 Dining on the Road 30 Buy, Sell or Trade 34 Club Contacts Shoot Schedules The Frosty Toes Open Whitetail Ridge Outdoors, Blue Springs, MS March Many Others see the Schedules at the end of this publication

2 As the Red Chute Gazette grew from a modest newsletter aimed at Louisiana shooters to an Internet only magazine targeting all of Zone 6, it soon became apparent that sending out the Gazette as an attachment to our s was becoming more and more problematic. The PDF files were simply becoming too large to deliver that way. We quickly determined that the best way to deliver our magazine was going to be by creating a website. It took a number of months to get there, but we finally did it. The first step was to acquire the domain name redchutegazette.com. That was the easy part. With the help of my daughter Kathleen, we registered our domain name in August At least I thought we had. As it turns out we actually registered redshootgazette.com by mistake and didn t discover the oversight until after Christmas. While Kathleen was enjoying a break from teaching and graduate school, she helped dear old dad launch Now we have a more efficient way to send out the Gazette. As you have experienced, if we have you on our subscription list, we now send out an with a link to our website and the latest issue. One advantage to this is that new readers can enjoy all of the previous issues, as they are all archived on our website. If you are new to the Gazette, you might find those back issues worth reading. We have worked very hard to try to keep things interesting. That is not a small feat, as anyone who has attempted to write-up an article about a skeet shoot will tell you. One thing that has been a great help is the input we have received from the skeet community. Many of you have provided articles, shoot reports, pictures and items of interest. Please keep that up. Ideally someone from each club in Zone 6 would take it upon themselves to become a field reporter for the Red Chute Gazette. In so doing, they would help promote their own club and skeet as a sport. The job doesn t pay anything, but the benefits are, although somewhat intangible, great. The mission of the Red Chute Gazette is to promote skeet as a sport. If you know of someone at your club who is doing something to help promote skeet, foster interest in the sport or teach young folks about the sport write a brief article about it. We like to pass on kudos. If you have a shooter who reaches a milestone like a first 25 or 100 straight, send us pictures and details. We like to report Hat Shoot Events. Don t forget to send us those shoot flyers (see The Red Chute Gazette Deal on page 29). We will help promote your skeet shoots free of charge. Be sure to pass our s on to your friends who might like to read the Gazette. They can subscribe by sending us an at publisher@redchutegazette.com or by registering on our website. Those of you who sponsor websites for your clubs, feel free to set up a link to our site on yours. We would be happy to reciprocate. Good Shooting! Doug Frey Page 2 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

3 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 3 This ad was FREE! Yours can be too. Please see the Red Chute Gazette Deal on page 29.

4 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Louisiana Shooters Host Armed Forces Shooters By: Mike Vickers Page 4 In the November issue Doug and Debbie highlighted their first World Shoot. I have attended the last 14 consecutive World Shoots in San Antonio and I would like to relate my favorite event of the World and how it got started. About 6 years ago at the World Shoot Carla and I were camping with Loyd Coach Huval, Miss Pat and 2 newbies Jim and Peggy Bethancourt. After the Mini World was complete and we prepared for the Main event we found shooting might not be the most important part of this event. On Monday night Reynolds and Karol McCain hosted a dinner at their RV for the Mississippi shooters and graciously invited the Louisiana shooters to join them. We had a great time socializing and the food was super. Tuesday morning over coffee Coach and I were asking ourselves why we couldn t do the same thing. Well it was decided that Thursday evening our group of Louisiana shooters would host a dinner and invite our friends to attend. Serving up Jambalaya and Gumbo for the Armed Forces Shooters and friends at the 2009 World Shoot After shooting the 20 gauge Thursday morning we began our preparations. I was going to cook a jambalaya (2 batches, since I only had a 5 quart pot), Coach was going to fry fish and Jim was cooking his fantastic smothered potatoes. In the mean time Miss Pat and Peggy were busy with dips and hors d oeuvres for our guests. Ben Hulsey & Burt Hoffpauir Conversing at the Party When Carla came off the field from refereeing and saw all the food we had prepared, she asked how many people are coming? No one knew a real firm number and we did have a lot of food. So Carla said she was going down to the stadium field to remind people of our party. After talking to all the Louisiana and Mississippi shooters she could find, Carla began her way back up the hill.

5 Louisiana Shooters Host Armed Forces Shooters (Continued) When she spotted a table full of Air Force shooters she remembers that Jim (retired Air Force) told her he was concerned that the Air Force boys needed some help in their social skills. With this in mind, Carla walked up to the table and said boys, get your up the hill, we are going to feed you and teach you how to socialize. They weren t sure what to make of this but young men do like to eat. We had a very nice time and these young men were extremely appreciative that someone would extend this sort of kindness to strangers. Well over coffee the next morning, Coach, Jim and I started asking ourselves why we couldn t do this again and invite all of the armed forces shooters. In Louisiana fashion, you know that we couldn t come up with any good reason why it couldn t be done. Over the next 5 years we invested in some new cooking gear and settled on a menu of jambalya and gumbo. Sometimes we throw a unique item in the mix. We extend invites to all armed forces shooters, referees, shoot management and our friends from Mississippi and of course those camping next to us. Page 5 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

6 Page 6 This ad was FREE! Yours can be too. See page29. RED CHUTE GAZETTE

7 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Louisiana Shooters Host Armed Forces Shooters (Continued) Page 7 This past year we hosted almost 100 shooters which included the most armed forces shooters I think we ever had, many friends including Todd Bender who showed up to show his support to the military shooters. I know they appreciated this, thank you Todd. We have cooked for several different groups over the past few years and without slighting anyone, I don t think any appreciated it more than the young men and women who serve in our armed forces. Good food, friendship, along with some good natured ribbing over who is going to shoot better the next day. The best part of all is when I get to make a toast to these fine men and women to say Because of what you do every day, we get to do what we like to do. Thank you all. Hopefully we have started a tradition that will continue for a long, long time!! Mike Vickers Publisher s Note: Thank you Mike for sharing the history of this event with our readers. Thanks to you, Carla and Brennan McNamee and everyone else who pitched in to support or armed forces. We also want to thank Carla and Brennan McNamee and Burt and Brenda Hoffpauir for sharing their photos with us Todd Bender posing with Brennan McNamee at the 2009 Party Doug Frey

8 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Coast Rifle and Pistol Club Biloxi, Ms Save The Date! The Redfish Open May 14th, 15th & 16 th, , 20, 28,.410 & Doubles $40 per Gun More details coming here next month. Please RSVP via gorace815@aol.com or by calling Randy Page 8 This ad was FREE! Yours can be too. See page29.

9 Page 9 Happy Valentines Day from Giambrone Shooting Clinics RED CHUTE GAZETTE

10 Practice Part 1 Quantity vs. Quality By: Paul L.P. Giambrone, III Throughout my years in skeet shooting, I have heard the following questions over and over again and they still come up to this day: What do you practice? Should I shoot regular rounds of skeet or just certain stations? How many rounds of doubles should I shoot compared to singles? Is there a magic formula that everyone should follow? I am sorry, but I truly believe that there is no magic formula that everyone should follow because every shooter is different and has different needs. In Practice Part 2, I will tell you the schedule that I follow and that I recommend. The time spent on each stage will be different for each shooter, depending on your level. Before we engage in that conversation, I would like to discuss the subject of quantity of practice vs. the quality of the practice. Both are very important aspects of shotgun shooting and practicing for whichever discipline you participate in. However, there is a fine line between just burning up x amount of rounds and saying yep, I shoot 50 boxes a week and actually getting a good practice when you go to your gun club. Let s take a closer look at some of the pros and cons associated with this subject: Quantity of Practice: Pros: Builds muscle memory (only good with proper form) Can build confidence (if you shoot well) See plenty of targets Helps develop target acquisition Cons: Has tendency to create lazy habits Promotes going through the motions Don t really learn anything from mistakes Don t accomplish any objectives We can take a closer look at the concepts above. The basic pros of shooting a lot of practice include building the muscle memory and seeing a lot of targets. However, if you do not have proper form, building this muscle memory can make it difficult to overcome bad habits later. This is why it is always good to have an instructor keep an eye on you or have one of your shooting buddies watch you. Seeing plenty of targets helps your eyes focus more efficiently on the target which helps with target acquisition. Your eyes are your best tool because without being able to see the targets well, you are not really giving yourself a good chance at breaking targets. When I mean see the target well, I mean to see definition on the target (meaning don t just see an orange object flying across the field, see the rims on the target or if you shoot black rim targets, try and see the black and the orange). Page 10 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

11 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 11 Practice Part 1 Quantity vs. Quality (Continued) How many times have we heard the saying there is a difference between listening to someone and hearing someone? When you hear someone, there is a possibility that you aren t listening. How many times in the middle of a long conversation does your mind drift off and you miss two or three sentences? You still heard the person, but you weren t listening to what they were saying same thing with looking vs. staring. You can look at a target and see it, but rarely do we STARE at a target. Try that out the next time you go to the gun club. Try staring really hard at the targets and see them very well before pulling the trigger instead of casually looking at the target as it crosses the field. I promise not only will you break more targets, but you ll break them harder than you normally break them. Back on target here, the cons of this type of practice are very significant. This has a tendency to create habits of just going through the motions to break targets. This is the worst habit to develop because we miss targets each year from not paying attention and just casually shoot at targets. It also happens to be the easiest habit to form. Take a look at how many base line targets (stations 1, 7 & 8) and incomers (Low 2 & 3, High 5 & 6) that you miss in a year. I bet that number is pretty significant if you do not pay attention and stare at those targets. Those are the targets that cost us big, not the out-going difficult shots. Getting in to this habit usually produces sporadic misses and not consistent misses or missing the same targets. When we go out to the field and are just banging away, we also have a tendency to not have a clue what station we are on or what target we are about to shoot. It is very easy to line up for a High 3 expecting to see a High 4 come out or line up for a Low 5 expecting a Low 6. This is a common occurrence for shooters not having a purpose or a reason to be out there besides to just hear the guns go BANG! Sorry guys, if you want to be a better shooter and break more targets, we need to put a little more effort in to our shooting game. Let s start to talk about how to fix this issue of going through the motions and shooting as many rounds as you possibly can. It all starts by realizing that the QUALITY of the practice is far more important than the QUANTITY of the practice. The quality of the practice all starts with having an objective when going out to the gun club.

12 Practice Part 1 Quantity vs. Quality (Continued) No matter how simple or complex the objective may be, it is always better to have some kind of objective. Some of the complex examples include: working on a pre-shot routine, staring at targets, doubles, mental preparation and execution, tournament-like conditions, etc. These kinds of objectives take time to work on and are pretty much an ongoing item to keep working on your entire shooting career once you have the fundamentals and basics down to a science. Some of the simple objectives are keeping your head down, waiting on the target, foot position, hold points, look points, etc. When all else fails, work on simple things. Giambrone Shooting Clinic February 20-21, 2010 T. O. Toby Bancroft, Sr. Gun Club West Monroe, Louisiana To register or for information contact: Harry Hawthorne Overhead Door Company of Monroe PHONE FAX harryhawthorne@gmail.com When you have a clear mind and are truly ready to work on a hard task, work on the more complex items. Keep in mind when learning anything new, there is a training period that we all have to go through. Think back to the early days when you first started shooting and everyone would always tell you keep your head down. How many times did we all hear that phrase before it finally settled in and we didn t have to think about it anymore? Probably heard it over a thousand times!!! What about another classic phrase wait until you see the target before you move? Probably still hear it today! The point that I am making is that one day after all of that training time of keeping your head down or waiting on the target, we finally were able to do it without having to constantly think about it. Any time we work on new things in skeet or in life, we all have to train first before we can properly execute it all of the time in our sub-conscious mind. So, when you go out to the gun club, have an objective when going to practice no matter how complex or simple the task at hand is. You will find yourself shooting better and better working on individual things rather than just going to shoot x amount of boxes. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via at info@gsclinics.com. As always, for more information please visit Tip of the month: Stare hard at the targets when going to practice. Do not casually look at them as they cross the field but stare a hole in the target. See how much harder you break the targets and how much better you see them. Also, have an objective when going to shoot practice don t just show up, take up space, shoot 10 rounds and leave. Work on simple things if necessary ex. Keeping your head down, waiting on the target, etc. No matter how simple it is, work on it. Have an objective before going out to practice Paul L.P. Giambrone, III Giambrone Shooting Clinics Page 12 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

13 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 13 The Cenikor Foundation 7 th Annual Shoot for Change Skeet Shooting Event! Saturday, March 27, 2010 Hunter s Run Gun Club in Port Allen, Louisiana Dear Shooters: Cenikor is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to assist people in developing the skills needed to become responsible citizens free of substance abuse. The month program stresses honesty, responsibility, accountability and the long term benefits of a life in recovery. Clients work their way through the program with jobs in the facility or other on-thejob training programs. This work therapy and the generosity of contributors allow Cenikor to not rely on government support. Over 90% of those who graduate from Cenikor each year remain clean and sober! The shoot is scheduled for Saturday, March 27, 2010 at Hunter s Run Gun Club in Port Allen, LA. This shoot has grown to be an entertaining event for a wonderful cause. The more teams/ participants we have, the better this competition will be! I figure competing members from the Louisiana Skeet Shooting Association will be exciting to watch for everyone involved. I have details on the shoot that I would like to share with anyone who is interested. Please contact me regarding this event. I look forward to future correspondence. Thank you, Kelli A. Holleman Community Resource Manager Cenikor Foundation, Inc Bunker Hill Dr. Baton Rouge, LA Fax: Cell:

14 Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana Presents the Gertrude Hurlbutt Open April 10, 2010 Event Targets Gauge Rotation #1 Rotation # Gauge 9:00 AM 10:30 AM Bore 1:00 PM 2:30 PM 3 50 Doubles 4: PM TBD If you need to register targets in another gauge, we are happy to accommodate you. Ties: Ties will be shot off (time and weather permitting) with Doubles at Food: Lunch will be provided at the club. Prizes: No prizes or purses, just registered targets. Pre-registration is required to insure your opportunity to shoot. The number of entries may be limited. Squadding preference will be given to shooters entering two or more events. To preregister for this shoot, contact Doug Frey by at dougfrey@bellsouth.net or by phone from 8 AM to 5 PM at (318) or fax at (318) Call (318) PM 9 PM. If you do not have a current yellow or blue membership card for Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club or a military ID, please contact us. With advance notice, Club Management can make special arrangements to get you through the gate. Visitors must enter through the East Gate. If you need directions contact us for a map. To reserve a space for your motor home or camper in the base campground or to rent a 3 bedroom house trailer or camper please call Paul Williamson at (318) or him at Paul.Williamson@BARKSDALE.AF.MIL. Shoot Management reserves the right to make modifications without further notification. Page 14 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

15 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Cen-TX Skeet Club February Flyer Page 15 This ad was FREE! Yours can be too. Please see the Red Chute Gazette Deal on page 29

16 From Doug, Debbie & Skeeter At The Red Chute Gazette Page 16

17 Recipe of the Month Page 17 Turtle Cake Just in Time for Valentine s Day! 1 German Chocolate cake mix 14 ounce package of caramels ½ cup Eagle Brand milk ¾ cup butter (1 stick & 4 tablespoons) 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup chopped pecans Mix German Chocolate cake mix according to directions on box and pour half of the batter into a 9 x 13 inch cake pan, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Melt the caramels with the Eagle Brand milk and butter; spread this mixture over the half of batter baked above. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans. Pour remaining batter into pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving. This recipe came from our Editor s Family Cook Book. If you have a recipe that you want to share, send it to us at publisher@redchutegazette.com. We would particularly be interested in a good recipe for quail and gravy. Red Chute Gazette

18 Readers Respond Very Good job. Keep up the good work Willie Hey Doug, The new format seems to work very well! No downloads either. Thanks for your and Debbie's tireless effort to help clubs and people in our skeet community. It is evident that your heart is in this 100%! Keep up the great work! Capt Randy Brownlee Just finished reading the Jan 2010, on-line issue of Red Chute. Great on-line publicaton, informative, colorful, and had some great info on gun fit. Keep up the good work, it's a great on-line publication, in fact, it's just a great publication no matter how one reads it. Thanx for a great job art Congratulations on getting the website up and running! It looks great Doug! Hope you and the family had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks, Paul Giambrone, III Giambrone Shooting Clinics Phone-(985) Doug: Happy New Year! The new website is an excellent way to disseminate your newsletter. Easy to navigate and it will help to keep all issues organized in one place for easy reference - heck, even Roddy should be able to navigate the website. Keep up the good work. Darrell Page 18 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

19 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Readers Respond (Continued) Page 19 Hey Doug, Hope y all all had a good Christmas and better New year. I been enjoying your Gazette its a first class piece of work. I shot ducks on Catahoula with some friends last weekend and had a good hunt, but the birds are educated this time of the year. Attached are some pics from the shoot. If you want to shoot some Pintails and Canvasbacks this is definitely the place to go. Mark Sunrise on Catahoula Lake near Jena, Louisiana Definitely one of the premier duck hunting locations! [Publisher s Note: Thanks for the photo Mark! I must have missed that voice mail message about when and where to meet.]

20 Promoting Skeet [Publisher s Note: I wrote the following letter to Bill Batty after reading his article in the January Issue of Skeet Shooting Review. I am sharing it with our readers as it addresses some of the steps our local club has taken to help promote skeet as a sport. The letter to Mr. Batty did not include the pictures, which have been added to give our club a plug! This is your invitation to come shoot with us this year.] Mr. Bill Batty, President NSSA Dear Bill: Your article about Mandatory Purses in the January Issue of Skeet Shooting Review highlights an issue that may be deterring some shooters from participating. I know a number of shooters, myself included, who would prefer not to have to play the money game to shoot in competition. The costs to play this game add up quickly when you consider equipment, ammo, travel expenses, etc. I am also sure that there are a number of shooters who look at the prize money as a way to help defray their costs. Regardless of where we come down on that issue, we can all agree that we need to get more people participating in this sport if it is to survive. I would prefer to see it thrive. For a number of years now, I have been promoting skeet shoots at Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club on Barksdale AFB. Our club is small, with only two skeet fields. One of those was built with financial assistance from the NSSA. Thank you NSSA! We have only a hand full of competitive shooters, but we have been able to draw shooters from across Louisiana and from East Texas. We usually have 15 to 20 shooters at every shoot. At our one 3 day shoot, the North Louisiana Open, we can accommodate 30 shooters. Now, those are certainly not big numbers, but for a club with only two skeet fields, we think we have done pretty well. It takes a lot of work by the club staff and volunteers. We have made a few mistakes (consider them learning opportunities) along the way. Here are some of the things we have done to bolster participation: 1. Scheduling Scheduling is a very tough job. I am not sure how it is done in other States, but in Louisiana representatives from our participating clubs meet at a central location to work out our schedule. We take great care to avoid conflicts with big shoots that are scheduled in other states that would compete for our shooters. We also coordinate all of our shoots so that we do not have conflicts within our state. Last but not least, we take into consideration hunting seasons and holidays that would hurt our attendance. Page 20 Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club Club House on Barksdale AFB RED CHUTE GAZETTE

21 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 21 Promoting Skeet (Continued) 2. No Cash Prizes - Most of our shoots are honors only with plaques for winners at the North Louisiana Open and our club championship. We really can t host a shoot large enough to facilitate more than 30 shooters. We are not staffed to deal with the complexities of handling cash prizes and payouts (read that, Doug doesn t have time to deal with it anyway ). No mandatory purse makes it much more cost effective for the majority of the shooters. 3. Free lunch - We tried charging for lunch separately, but that made the cash flow less predictable. Now we just include a small amount in the per event fee to cover the cost of lunch. We do charge non-shooters (other than workers) for lunch. Sometimes we have a big sammich from Wal-Mart with chips. Usually, we have much better fare which is either cooked on site by volunteers or brought from home by members. The food can be a big draw for some of these events. We have some good cooks! 4. Travel Accommodations - We are very fortunate to have a first class campground on base about a quarter of a mile from the club. For out of town visitors that do not have a travel trailer or motor home, the campground has some very nice 3 bedroom house trailers and camper trailers (thanks to Katrina and FEMA) that have all of the amenities of a hotel room with kitchen facilities at half the price. Before we had access to the campground, we made sure to let shooters know about available accommodations off base. Lloyd Webb cooked up this pot of Jambalaya for one of our shoots. One of the luxury house trailers available for rent by the night at the camp ground just down the road from Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club. The photo on the left gives a view of the playground and picnic area at the camp ground which many of our out of town shooters stay. To make arrangements to stay for one of our shoots, contact: Paul Williamson Outdoor Recreation Manager Barksdale AFB Paul.Williamson@BARKSDALE.AF.MIL Red Chute Gazette

22 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Promoting Skeet (Continued) 5. Treat Visitors as Guests Extending good old Southern Hospitality to our out of town guests is a must. We want them to feel appreciated, welcome and we want them to come back and preferably bring friends with them. 6. Promotion Promoting our shoots has been a big factor in increasing participation. If you want people to come to your party, you have to invite them! Item number 6 has been an effort that I have been working on for some time. Several years ago, I began sending out flyers for our shoots via . We didn t really have a budget for postage and most of our shooters have . In addition to sending out flyers for Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club, I began sending out flyers for the other Louisiana clubs. Early in 2009 it dawned on me that we were sending out so many flyers that we might as well do a newsletter. My wife Debbie said, If you will write it, I will publish it. So, we did. The Red Chute Gazette was born. Our newsletter was a big hit and soon, it had grown into what we are calling an Internet only magazine. By the end of 2009, we had expanded our scope to target all of the clubs in Zone 6. The primary goal of our publication is to promote participation in registered skeet shoots. We have made an offer to all of the clubs in Zone 6 which we call the Red Chute Gazette Deal. We will include in our publication flyers for skeet shoots from any participating club at no charge. All we ask in return is a write-up (with pictures) from the club about the shoot so our readers can read about the fun. That s free advertising and promotion of skeet shoots to our readers. By the way, we now have over 1,500 readers across Zone 6. Every club in Zone 6 should be taking advantage of this opportunity to promote their shoots. With our January 2010 issue, we launched as a more efficient delivery mechanism for our magazine. The Gazette now has too many pages to send out as a PDF attachment to our s. Now we send a link instead. The Red Chute Gazette has been well received and our readership is growing. More importantly, the clubs are beginning to recognize the value of our offer to help promote their shoots. Working together, we can help each other grow our sport. With Best Wishes to you and everyone at the NSSA for a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year, I am, Most Sincerely, Douglas F. Frey Douglas F. Frey Publisher Red Chute Gazette Page 22

23 Quail Hunting at Wild Wings Page 23 After the skeet year ends in October, there are not a lot of skeet shooting opportunities in Louisiana other than practice rounds at the local clubs. There was that really fun trip to Tyler, Texas for Skeet Gumbo in November, but that was it for me. The Louisiana clubs don t hold registered shoots from November through February. Partly because the weather is less favorable but mainly because it conflicts with various hunting seasons. For several years now, I have had the opportunity to go pheasant and quail hunting in Kansas with friends. This past year, all of the individuals who would have been likely participants in that outing were unable to attend. Efforts to replace them were unsuccessful, so I had to cancel the trip. That was a shame, because Lindy Howard and Terry Ketcham with Runnin Roosters, LLC do a great job guiding those hunts. Look for their ad in this issue. One of the friends I contacted about the Kansas hunt was Travis Sturdivant. Travis was unable to make that trip, but was very interested in hunting quail, as he had acquired a new Beretta over and under and was anxious to give it a workout. Travis and I had hunted pen raised quail at Wild Wings Sporting Club & Lodge in Downsville with my son Michael a number of years ago. We decided to make a reservation for the Friday after Thanksgiving. I contacted Wild Wings and, as luck would have it, the desired date was available. Since our last hunt there, Wild Wings Sporting Club & Lodge has changed hands. The new owners Randy and Gayle Smith run this club with their son Jeffrey. Gayle was very helpful scheduling the hunt and making arrangements to have plenty of birds for us. As the largest shooting facility in North Louisiana, Wild Wings offers a wide variety of shooting opportunities: Wobble trap, Five- Stand, and Sporting Clay shooting with 20 different shooting stands spread throughout a beautiful wooded environment. Quail hunts are available during the hunting preserve season. They have facilities available for parties, family reunions, meetings, weddings, overnight stays, birthdays, get togethers, camp outs, or cook outs. The lodge can sleep 22 comfortably. Red Chute Gazette

24 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Quail Hunting at Wild Wings (Cont.) The game plan was to drive over to Downsville to shoot sporting clays on the course as a warm-up. Then drive to Ruston for barbeque and return to the lodge in time for our hunt at 1 PM. After I had made the reservations for 3 hunters and 60 birds, Travis called me to ask if his son Phillip could join us. I contacted Gayle Smith and she was happy to make the adjustments and add another 20 birds to the count. This was going to be fun! As father and son outings go, this is one of the best. Two Dads and two Sons out for a day of challenging clay targets, great barbeque and an exciting day afield hunting quail over bird dogs. It brought back memories of those quail hunts with my Dad back in the 60 s. Dad has been gone since 1982 and my son Michael never got to meet him. Hunts like this build memories that last a life time. I want that legacy for Michael. It will certainly be worth more to him than any financial inheritance that he might receive. When the day of our adventure arrived, Michael and I drove over to Bossier City to pick up Travis and Phillip at 9 AM. Then we took off for Downsville which is about 13 miles Northeast of Ruston, Louisiana. The drive from I-20 up to Wild Wings is really beautiful, especially in the fall. We arrived about 10:30 ready to warm-up our shooting skills on the various target presentations setup on the Wild Wings woodland course. Our young trapper put us through our paces with target presentations of every type and situation you might encounter in hunting situations. Of course some of those presentations might better represent something you might encounter on a duck hunt or a rabbit hunt. All in all it was a great way to get the hand-eye coordination tuned up. That was probably less important for Travis who hunts a lot or for me, as a regular skeet shooter. Michael and Phillip probably don t get as much practice as their Dads do. Then, those young guys do have the advantage of youth when it comes to hand-eye coordination. After a hundred sporting clays targets we were famished. So back to town (Ruston) for some delicious chopped brisket sandwiches and all the trimmings at Hot Rod Bar B Que. Once we were fueled up for an afternoon chasing quail birds, we headed back to the lodge where Jeffrey Smith was already putting out the quail we were to hunt. Michael Frey about to shoot a quail. Page 24 When we returned to the lodge, Jeffrey instructed us to follow him to the fields he had prepared a few miles away. At the field, we loaded up our guns and followed the dogs to the first covey. Travis and I stood back letting Michael and Phillip get the first shot at the covey flush. I knew from experience

25 Quail Hunting at Wild Wings (Cont.) this strategy would work very well during our hunt, giving everyone ample shooting opportunities. Page 25

26 Quail Hunting at Wild Wings (Cont.) When coveys flush, birds go every direction. You spend a lot of time looking for downed birds. Good dogs make the job much easier. Finding them in tall grass would be very difficult without bird dogs. Jeffrey has a good report with his Brittany Spaniels. They worked hard for him this day. We hunted 80 quail and bagged 69. We would have gotten more, but we ran out of daylight. With that many birds, we should have started earlier. One of the nice things about hunting at Wild Wings is that we didn t have to clean the birds ourselves. That service is provided. While we had a long day, Jeffrey and his family had a longer one. They had to clean all those birds after we left! I picked them up on a later trip to Wild Wings. Page 26

27 Quail Hunting at Wild Wings (Cont.) Page 27 Travis and I and our sons Phillip and Michael had a memorable day afield, watching Jeffrey work his dogs. There is just nothing quite like hunting upland birds over pointing dogs. The adrenalin rush of a quail flush is exhilarating, even when you know it is about to happen. You just can t predict what will happen. Doug and Michael Frey, Phillip and Travis Sturdivant To those purist who only hunt wild birds, I agree hunting wild birds is quite a different challenge than pen-raised birds. Yet, rarely will you get as many shooting opportunities in one trip. Of course, when I get invited to hunt wild quail with one of our readers, I will happily share the details of that trip with you also. If you would like to avail yourself of the extended game preserve hunting season, check out Wild Wings Sporting Club on the web at: Downsville Road Downsville, Louisiana Phone: (318) Fax: (318) If you go, please be sure to tell Randy, Gayle and Jeffrey Smith that I sent you. Doug Frey Jeffrey Smith, and his faithful Brittanys [Publisher s Note: Next Month we will have an article about a trip to Thornhill s Shooting Preserve in Jayess, Mississippi, with guide Wayne Thornhill and some good friends. Check out Thornhill s at MENU RED CHUTE GAZETTE

28 CEN-TX January Tuesday Shoots Report by Henry Wurzburg The regular Tuesday Shoots held by Cen-TX in January were well attended, despite the occasional rainy or frigid day this month. The New Years, Playoff, MLK, and Superbowl Minis had an average attendance of 15 shooters each shoot. Formats for these shoots are 200 bird in 3 gauges (100/50/50) with the three gauges rotating weekly. While most participants just shoot the 100 bird gauge, eat lunch and enjoy the rest of their day doing other things, a few dedicated individuals complete the entire 200 bird shoot each Tuesday. All four shoots this month were held at Randolph Air Force Base. This month, Bob Henderson (on right in photo) dominated the 100 target events, winning the gun in 12, 20, and 410 gauges with scores of 99, 100, and 97, respectively. While Don Snyder (on left in photo), the recently retired NSSA-NSCA Executive Director, took the 28 gauge with a 99. In the 50 bird events at these shoots, Marty Froebel, Hugh Milner, Don Karges, and the author were gun champs, sometimes more than once, as there were 8 of these events in the shoots this month. February is looking to be even warmer, so attendance should climb back up to our normal levels of 20 or so shooters. Don Snyder and Bob Henderson Page 28 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

29 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 29 The Red Chute Gazette Deal Mission Statement The goal of the Red Chute Gazette is to promote the game of American Skeet. Our target market includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. These states comprise Zone VI within the National Skeet Shooting Association. Our goal is accomplished through publication and distribution an Internet only magazine containing items of interest to those individuals participating in, promoting and supporting registered skeet shoots. Subject matter includes calendars of upcoming events, shoot flyers, shoot reports and pictures. Also included are articles and stories about bird hunting, travel and food. The Deal The Red Chute Gazette will include flyers advertising registered skeet shoots for your gun club at no cost to your club. Simply send us your flyer in Microsoft Word or PDF format via . Please limit the size to two pages. That s FREE! The Catch If we agree to publish your shoot flyers, you agree to provide us with a shoot report suitable for printing in the Red Chute Gazette. Include pictures (jpeg or gif files) if possible. What about Sporting Clays and Trap or other events? The mission of the Red Chute Gazette is to promote interest and participation in registered skeet. Sporting Clays and Trap are not subjects we focus on. We recognize that many gun clubs offer events other than skeet. We are happy to provide commercial advertising space for clubs that wish to promote other shooting related events. We are happy to offer a special package deal to clubs that support our magazine. If your club buys an ad in the Red Chute Gazette for a full year (1/4 page or larger), we will not only include your ad in 12 issues, we will include any shoot flyers (please limit flyers to two pages) for sporting clays, trap or other events your club promotes in those issues at no additional charge Advertisement Rates for Gun Clubs Promoting Shotgun Sports Quarter Page 1/3 Page Half Page Full Page Annual Rate $ $ $ $ Single Issue Rate $37.50 $50.00 $75.00 $ These rates have been substantially discounted for gun clubs. Other commercial advertisers should request a rate quote. To take advantage of this service contact Doug Frey by phone at (318) or via at dougfrey@bellsouth.net All Rights Reserved Douglas F. Frey 6600 Gahagan Circle, Shreveport, LA

30 Dining on The Road Recently, I had the pleasure of having lunch with John Burnham and Philip Mayeaux of Peak Wealth Management. We were in the Abbeville, Louisiana area on business and stopped for lunch at Dupuy s Oyster Shop. I have passed this way several times before and noticed that there always seemed to be cars parked in Dupuy s lot. That is a good sign. I was not disappointed. This restaurant is another one of those gems you might not know about if someone didn t point it out to you. Dupuy s was founded in 1869 by Joseph Dupuy and is now run by owners Jody and Tonya Hebert. Open daily, except Sunday and Monday, Dupuy s provides lunch and dinner specials. Their menu includes the traditional South Louisiana fare that you would expect in a restaurant in the heart of Cajun country including oysters, crab, catfish, shrimp and alligator. On this visit, I enjoyed a cup of Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo (if you know me, you would expect nothing less) and an Oyster Po-Boy. The gumbo was a very good appetizer. The Po-Boy was as good as any I have had (and I have had many). The oysters were very light for fried fare. Philip Mayeau was starving, having skipped breakfast, so he ordered the Oyster Combo which included Fried and Grilled Oysters and Oyster Rockefeller Soup which looked to be a very good choice to me. Apparently he liked it, as there was nothing left when he finished. As I recall, John Burnham had a Fried Shrimp and Oyster Combo which also looked to be an excellent choice. I was very impressed with the Dupuy s. I will definitely find a reason to go to Abbeville at meal time again. Now that I think about it, Dupuy s could be a good choice on the Thursday evening before the Briley Louisiana Open in June. It a short drive from Lafayette Skeet Club and definitely worth the trip! Perhaps I will try the Eggplant Dupuy which looks to be a very tempting alternative. Doug Frey Dupuy s Oyster Combo Page 30 Eggplant Dupuy RED CHUTE GAZETTE

31 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 31

32 Briley Louisiana Open (Continued) Page 32 RED CHUTE GAZETTE

33 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 33 Look for an application form at This shoot ad was free! Yours can be too. See page 29.

34 Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana & T. O. Toby Bancroft, Sr. Memorial Gun Club West Monroe, Louisiana Present The 2010 Jim Dozier Memorial Open March 13-14, 2007 Scheduled Events: Event #1: 12 Gauge - Saturday 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM (RCSSC) Event #2: 28 Gauge - Saturday 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM (RCSSC) Event #3: 20 Gauge - Sunday 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM (TBMGC) Event #4:.410 Bore - Sunday 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM (TBMGC) Event #5: Doubles Targets - 50 Saturday 4:00 PM (RCSSC) 50 Sunday 4:00 PM (TBMGC) Event #6: HOA -400 Targets Event #7: HAA 500 Targets Ties: All ties will be shot off (time and weather permitting) with Doubles at 3-4-5, as provided for in NSSA rules. Food: Lunch will be available at the clubs. Prizes: No prizes or purses, just registered targets. Pre-registration is requested. Space may be limited. If you do not have a current yellow or blue membership card for Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club and you do not have military ID, please contact Doug Frey ASAP. We can make special arrangements to get you through the gate, if we have advance notice. If you need a map or if you want to register for day one or for more information, contact Doug Frey by at dougfrey@bellsouth.net, by phone from 8 AM to 9 PM at (318) or fax at (318) To register for day two at T. O. Toby Bancroft Memorial Gun Club, contact Charles Richardson at (318) or by at c_n_j@bellsouth.net. We hope to see you there. This ad was FREE! Yours can be too. Page 34 Please see the Red Chute Gazette Deal on page 29.

35 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Page 35 Notice to Gun Clubs in Zone VI When your skeet shoot schedule is finalized for 2010 be sure to send a copy to the Red Chute Gazette for publication in future issues. Send your schedules to dougfrey@bellsouth.net. Don t forget to send us your flyers. We will help you promote your skeet shoots at no charge.

36 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 Skeeter Skeeter says your advertisement should be in this space. If your business wants to target the skeet shooter s market, you should advertise in the Red Chute Gazette. Call Doug Frey at or him at dougfrey@bellsouth.net To talk about rates and supporting the sport of skeet. $ Buy, Sell or Trade $ If you have something shooting related that you want to buy, sell or trade, advertise it here in the Red Chute Gazette Want Ads. Send us an with the details and your contact information. Digital pictures (jpeg) help, but are not required. Wanted used TruckVault or Cargo Caddy for a 2007 Tahoe. If you have one for sale, dougfrey@bellsouth.net. Wanted L C Smith long range or waterfowl shot gun. Condition is not important as long as the barrels are sound, not badly dented, pitted or cut. Bill For sale: Browning 12ga BPS Ducks Unlimited. 3" Receiver. Beautiful wood & Receiver. In excellent condition. $ Call Bill McIntyre at (318) HYDRAULIC MEC LOADERS FOR SALE 12, 20, 28 &.410 Mec 9000H loaders with one (1) Hydraulic Pump New never used. $2,150 plus shipping Contact Ben at F/S Perazzi Mirage-S, 30" barrels, with Kolar AAA tube set. Comes with 11 chokes for 12 Ga. RAD recoil reduction sys., adjustable comb and butt, extra chokes for sub-guage tubes, all in Americase $5500 Bill Corvers wacorvers@yahoo.com. These Want Ads are free! Page 36

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38 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Arkansas To pre-register for a shoot or find out more information about a club contact: Club Contact Phone Web Site Arkansas Skeet Shooting Association North Little Rock, AR Hal Matthews, Pres. (501) hc.matthews@sbcglobal.net Bella Vista Skeet Club Springdale, AR Jerry A. Leding (479) jerryleding@gmail.com Blue Rock Sportsman Club, Inc. North Little Rock, AR David Robustelli, Pres Mike Solomon, Sec (870) (501) blugum@windstream.net Dirty Creek Skeet & Gun Club Coal Hill, AR Duncan Farms Shotgun Sports & Game Birds Bismarck, AR Malloy Sportsman Club El Dorado, AR Rick Weaver (479) John Duncan (501) dfarms@catc.net Chris Crawford (870) Mountain Valley Sportsman s Assn. Hot Springs, AR Robert Sailer, Sec/Tr Ed Olds (501) (501) arfnc@cox.internet.com claybirds@hotmailc.om Pajaro Gun Club Fort Smith, AR Wendall Holmes President (479) glow2282@yahoo.com Twin Lakes Gun Club Mountain Home, AR Dennis Sternberg President (870) bobsyd@northarkansas.net West Poinsett Gun Club Weiner, AR Wayne Black Chairman (870) wayne@bscn.com Louisiana Club Contact Phone Web Site Louisiana Skeet Shooting Association Walter Williams, III President Frank Randazzo Secretary/Treasurer (318) (337) wwthree3@msn.com frank.randazzo@eaglegaslift.com Bayou Boeuf Gun Club LeCompte, LA Hunters Run Gun Club Port Allen, LA Lafayette Skeet Academy, Inc. Kaplan, LA Wade Jones (318) Wjones1015@aol.com Dan Gibbon (225) dangibbon@bellsouth.net Gordon Benoit (337) slimskeeter@gmail.com Page 38

39 Louisiana, cont. To pre-register for a shoot or find out more information about a club contact: Club Contact Phone Web Site Page 39 Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club Barksdale AFB Doug Frey H(318) W(318) dougfrey@bellsouth.net T. O. Toby Bancroft, Sr. Memorial Gun Club West Monroe, LA Charles Richardson (318) c_n_j@bellsouth.net South Louisiana Gun Club Bridge City, LA Fred Graff President (504) Fgraff9046@aol.com Mississippi Club Contact Phone Web Site Mississippi Skeet Shooting Association Starkville, MS Clark Hartness (662) (662) clark@msskeet.org Capitol Gun Club Jackson, MS Jerry L. Tharp, Manager (601) (601) jerrycgc@comcast.net Coast Rifle & Pistol Club Biloxi, MS Chester Abbott, President (228) cha9969@cableone.net Greenwood Gun Club Greenwood, MS Randy Clark Secretary/Treasurer W (662) H (662) randyclark@clarkins.org Lake GEP Skeet Club Laurel, MS North Delta Gun Club Clarksdale, MS W. M. Deavours (601) deavours@c-gate.net Tim Rankin (662) Troy-Natchez Trace Gun Club Pontotoc, MS Whitetail Ridge Outdoors Blue Springs, MS Michael Goines Manager Richard Holloway President (662) mag@ventriloquistinc.com (662) whiteridgeoutdoors@yahoo.com Oklahoma Club Contact Phone Web Site Oklahoma State Skeet Association Edmund, OK Gary Matthews President Lindsay Plesko Secretary/Treasurer (918) president@oklahomaskeet.com sec_treasurer@oklahomaskeet.com RED CHUTE GAZETTE

40 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 Oklahoma, cont. To pre-register for a shoot or find out more information about a club contact: Club Contact Phone Web Site Ada Skeet & Trap Club Ada, OK Jim Bevers Wade Drennan Chairman (405) Cb(580) H (580) jbevers@earthlink.net wade@cableone.net Bartlesville Sportsmen s Club Bartlesville, OK L M Winkler, Chair. Joe Simon, Secretary (918) lossonw@sbcglobal.net joe.simon64@gmail.com bartlesvillesportsmensclub.org Oil Capital Rod & Gun Club Broken Arrow, OK Michael Brewer Secretary/Treasurer (918) (918) ducknorth28@yahoo.com Oklahoma City Gun Club Arcadia, OK Craig Wasson (405) wasson@ionet.com Sand Springs Sportsman Club Sand Springs, OK Harold Hockett President (918) secretary@sssportmanclub.com sssportsmanclub.com Tulsa Gun Club Tulsa, OK Ax Synar Joel Blankenship, Pres (918) ax@laservault.com jblankenship@atlasok.com 69 Clays Miami, OK Jean Lasiter Manager (918) clays@datalinkok.com Comanche Skeet & Trap Fort Sill, OK Bob Wolf Manager (580) Texas Club Contact Phone Web Site Texas Skeet Shooters Association Rockwall, TX Aerial Targeting Systems Uvalde, TX American Shooting Centers Houston, TX Arlington Sportsman Club Mansfield,TX Bandera Gun Club Bandera, TX Bexar Community Shooting Range Marion, TX Callahan Co, Shooting Association Clyde, TX Capitol City Trap & Skeet Austin, TX Woody Anderson President Tomm Hupp Manager Ed Arrighi President Ernest Blocker Manager J. M. Clements Manager Jennifer Winkelmann Manager Kevin Meier Chairman Henry Wurzburg Skeet Chairman (214) wanderson@mytssa.com (830) acero@hilconet.com (281) lynn@amshootcenters.com (817) Asc-membership@swbell.net (830) bandergunclub@sbcglobal.net (830) bcsrths@sbglobal.net (325) (512) hwurzburg@yahoo.com Page 40

41 To pre-register for a shoot or find out more information about a club contact: Texas, cont. Page 41 Club Contact Phone Web Site Cen-TX Skeet Club Randolph AFB, TX Matt Hansen Skeet Manager (210) matt4skeet@att.net Comal County Shooting Sports Spring Branch, TX John Van Ausdall (210) jvanausdall@logixonline.com Corpus Christi Gun Club Corpus Christi, TX Dallas Gun Club Dallas, TX Ellis County Sportsman Club Waxahachie, TX El Paso Skeet & Trap Club El Paso, TX Fayette County Gun Club West Point, TX Fort Hood Skeet & Trap Club Belton, TX Fort Worth Trap & Skeet Club Ft. Worth, TX Graham Skeet Club Graham, TX Bud Colwell Skeet Chairman Woody Anderson Skeet Chairman Charlie Beard Skeet Chairman John Braddock Skeet Chairman Walter Van Wart Skeet Chairman Henry Wurzburg Skeet Director Steve Landsfed Skeet Chairman Bob Manskey Skeet Chairman (361) arthur.colwell@hdrinc.com (972) info@dallasgunclub.com (469) cebeard@peoplepc.com (915) johnrose23@sbcglobal.net (979) wb78963@yahoo.com (512) hwurzburg@yahoo.com (817) fwts@mesh.net (940) Grand Prairie Gun Club Grand Prairie, Texas Randy Walhood (972) randy.walhood@farmersbranch.info Greater Houston Gun Club Missouri City, Texas Hot Wells Skeet Range Cypress, TX Gun Emporium Conroe, TX Madison County Gun & Archery Madisonville, TX Maud Gun Club Texarkana, TX Mission Skeet & Trap Club Mission, TX Kevin Doughtery Manager Dallas Lamar Secretary Mike Scambray Skeet Chairman Dave Radenz President Tony Wakin, Skeet Chairman David Whitlock Skeet Director (281) manager@ greaterhoustongunclub (281) dlamar6@sbcglobal.com (936) info@gunemporium.net wwwgunemporium.net (936) gailradenz@aol.com (903) Twakin1225@cableone.net (956) dwhitlock@bordecapitalbank.com RED CHUTE GAZETTE

42 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 To pre-register for a shoot or find out more information about a club contact: Texas, cont. Club Contact Phone Web Site Randolph AFB Skeet & Trap Randolph AFB, TX Rose City Flying Clays Tyler, TX San Antonio Gun Club San Antonio, TX See Cen-TX Skeet Club Chris Dorsey Owner P. D. Parker Manager (903) chris@rosecityflyingclays (210) manager@sagunclub.com Sheppard AFB Skeet Wichita Falls, TX Rick Davis James Schmehl (940) rickcrashdavis@hotmail.com JUDGEFLB@HOTMAIL.COM Terrell Rifle and Pistol Club Terrell, TX Waco Trap & Skeet Club Waco, TX David Bell President Greg Surber Manager (903) davebbell@gmail.com (254) wstclub@wacoskeet.com Arkansas Skeet Shoot Schedule Date Club Shoot May 7-9, 2010 Blue Rock Sportsman Club, Inc. North Little Rock, AR The D. U. Rock July 9-11, 2010 Sept , 2010 Blue Rock Sportsman Club, Inc. North Little Rock, AR Blue Rock Sportsman Club, Inc. North Little Rock, AR The Arkansas Open State Championship & Open This schedule is not complete for all clubs. Please remember to pre-register! Page All Rights Reserved Douglas F. Frey Red Chute Gazette 6600 Gahagan Circle, Shreveport, LA (318)