PARKSVILLE-QUALICUM FISH & GAME ASSOCIATION SUMMER 2018 DORMAN RANGE - RON CARD

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1 PARKSVILLE-QUALICUM FISH & GAME ASSOCIATION SUMMER 2018 DORMAN RANGE - RON CARD Welcome to summer everybody. We started out April and early May with some poor weather, but lately we have had great, sunny weather. You will note that the clubhouse photo above has been updated to show the shelter that our work crews constructed a short while ago (See previous newsletters for details). The shelter is a great addition to protect shooters & observers from the rain and the sun. The second photo of the skeet shack now shows the concrete sidewalk that was constructed by our work crews, also a short while ago. The sidewalk makes access so much easier for those people that have walking difficulties. A great deal of thanks must go to our members that continue to maintain and operate our ranges. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement. ROAMS On May 2 we hosted a group of high school students that are participating in the ROAMS program (Rivers, Oceans And Mountains School). Dave Upper, along with the student s teacher, Darin Carmichael, provided instructions, guidance and shooting advice. The kids enjoyed the shoot. On May 14 th we hosted the balance of the ROAMS students. Myself and Darin provided instructions on safety and shooting tips. This group is highlighted in the photos below: Photo 1 The students at the patterning board, seeing the effect of barrel chokes and the size of the pattern. Darin has his back to us. Photo 2 - The students being introduced to Range 2 and an

2 explanation of the speaker system and what to expect for the flight of the clay pigeons. Photo 3 The students at the firing line and ready to break birds, which they did surprisingly well. I don t mean to brag, but I finished my 14-day diet in 3 hours 12 minutes. Vancouver Island Skeet Competition On May 20, our Club hosted an Island skeet competition. This event was put together by Reg Ross. There were 4 squads of shooters, which was slightly less than previous years. The format for the skeet shooting requires a large amount of time and the event had to start at 9:00. Fortunately, the neighbours had been given a yearly schedule of events at the range and we did not receive any complaints about the early start. Photo 1 Cars in the parking lot mainly skeet shooters. Photos 2 & 3 - Skeet shooters at various positions around the skeet field. Our skeet shooters invite Club members to join them on any shooting day. Even doctors make mistakes. Mine asked me to undress. Parksville-Qualicum Fish & Game Association General Meeting in May (plus some added attractions) Photo 1 A Bald Eagle that is prevalent in our area. Photo 2 The Club s General Meeting on May 23, with our long-time member, Don Wilson, in the front row. In addition to Club business, a speaker, Bob Hooten, gave a very interesting talk and slide presentation on Steelhead in BC. Photo 3 A borrowed photo of a bear with a bee on his nose. (there s no way that I would get that close to a large bear ) The sole purpose of a child s middle name is so he can tell when he s really in trouble. The trouble with living alone is that it s always my turn to do dishes.

3 ALL ROUND SHOOT This shoot occurred on May 26 and it was an expansion of our normal Sporting Clays shoot. This shoot was a fund-raiser for the BCWF Action Fund. The Action Fund supports the legal challenges that the BCWF pursues on behalf of shooters, fishermen, and general outdoors people. The advertising poster is partially shown below and this was sent to all our members, as well as to other Clubs on the Island. The Shoot was well-attended. This may have been, or close to, a record number of shooters. There were 96 shooters but only 80 could be accepted in the All Round event. The balance of the shooters shot sporting clays on the upper 5 stations, in both the morning and afternoon. SIXTH ANNUAL ALL ROUND SHOOT **All proceeds to go to the BCWF Action Fund** DORMAN RD. RANGE Saturday, May 26, 2018 $60 - Includes Trophies, Prizes, Surf and Turf Lunch with Rhubarb Pie and a ticket for the Diner s Draw My idea of a Super Bowl is a toilet that cleans itself. FORMAT OF THE ALL ROUND SHOOT The All Round program was comprised of a total of 115 birds - 15 skeet birds, 25 wobble birds (where the clay pigeon machine throws birds in a random pattern, constantly varying horizontally and vertically), 25 handicap birds (shot from 22 yards from the clay pigeon machine), and 50 birds at the upper sporting clays stations. The high overall shooter was Ron Stubbings with 102 out of a total of 115, Dave Upper & James Hicks tied at 101. Dave Upper won the Class A (shooters are assigned to 5 different classes, depending on their previous scores.) I never run with scissors. (Those last 2 words were unnecessary.) Maxine says that most stress is caused by 3 things: money, family & family with no money. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

4 Photo 1 The parking lot was full with the record number of shooters Photo 2 - Our chefs were setting out tables in preparation for a scrumptious steak and oyster lunch. Photo 3 A squad of shooters starting off at the skeet field. I don t think that I get enough credit for the fact that I do all of this unmedicated. Photo 1 A squad shooting the skeet portion. Photo 2 A squad shooting the wobble Photo 3 A squad shooting the 22 yard handicap (It is still classed as 22 yards and it has not been metricized.) Photos 1 & 2 Shooters (and observers) enjoying the delicious lunch in the clubhouse. collection of shooters vehicles, one with ramps to allow quads to get into the box. Photo 3 A I want my children to have all the things I couldn t afford. Then I want to move in with them. Phyllis Diller said that Burt Reynolds once asked her out. She was in his room. She also said The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day I accidently got gin in the steam iron.

5 Photo 1 Shooters at Station 6 (the sand pit) Photo 2 Shooters at Station 7 Photo 3 An effective fisherman I d consider hormone replacement, but I ve got a bunch of other things that need to be replaced first. A great thanks must be given to those people who helped with the set up and made the All Round so successful. Some of the people were: Lynne Wiebe & Phil Charlebois who looked after registration, Rod Wiebe & Heart & Stroke Recovery Assoc ladies for preparing the lunch. Bill Kellow, Rigger Wilson, Darrin Peerens (our caretaker), Rick & especially John O Regan for his setup efforts AND his running back & forth during the shoot, to provide extra clays and load the machines. And thanks to the family that helped with the tear-down after the shoot. A delicious lunch was created including steak, oyster on the shell, lemon meringue pie and chocolate cake. There s always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example, I am sitting here thinking that it is so nice that wrinkles don t hurt. Shell Order In May, we put together an order for shotgun shells. These shells came from Prairie Shot Ltd, in Manitoba and the order comprised 468 cases of shells on 5 pallets, each pallet weighing approximately 2,500 lbs. People placing orders for shells were located as far north as Port McNeal, as far south as Victoria, from the Alberni area eastwards to Galiano Island. The Broughton Fish & Gun Club, in Port McNeal, not only participated in the shell order, but they also piggy-backed on our earlier order for clay pigeons. They had ordered 4 pallets of birds. Transportation of their clays was a challenge due to the weight and the bulk. They initially were able to take 3 pallets with truck & trailer. Later, one of their members picked up about a third of the remaining pallet when they picked up their shell order.

6 Photo 1 A repeat photo of Andy Lemmon, offering again, to unload the shells when they arrived. Photo 2 Several pallets of the remaining shells. The shells were quickly picked up. Photo 3 Some damaged shells caused by a fork lift. (This wasn t Andy.) Some of the shells were so badly damaged that they wouldn t fit into the shotguns. They had to be pulled apart and recycled. Our trap and skeet shooters enjoy our sport very much, and if they can help other Clubs and their shooters to reduce costs by allowing them to participate with our orders, it gives us great satisfaction. What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus. Reclaim Nets Earlier, we had installed posts in preparation for setting up nets to catch the unbroken birds. A work party was formed recently and nets were hung on the cables. Some of the work party were Rod Wiebe, Dave Vaton and Rigger. We will be able to reuse the unbroken clay pigeons, which will help to lower our cost of birds. Thanks everybody. England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool. Sporting Clays in June On June 23 we held our regular 4 th Saturday of the month sporting clays event. There were 46 shooters that attended. Last year there were 60 shooters but summer vacations and earlier shooting events at other Clubs reduced the numbers. Lunch was organized and provided by Rod Wiebe, helped by the barbecue specialist, Paddy Brown. Thanks to the other people that helped with the lunch. We had the good fortune to entice Diane Upper out of retirement and she returned to look after registration. She was ably assisted by Lynne Wiebe. Photo 1 Vehicles used for the sporting clays setup crew at Station 7. The crews started at 8:00 am, to insure that the Shoot could start at 10:00 am. Photo 2 The crew that set up the upper 7 stations, is finishing the setup at Station 10. The crew was comprised of Pierre Cloutier, Fred & Mike Benoit, Dwayne Fujima, John O Regan, Bob Marr and Keith Thompson. They are checking the flight of the birds to make sure that I couldn t hit any of them. Photo 3 More fishermen taking advantage of the herring run. While this crew set up the upper 7 stations, another crew set up the lower 3 stations. They also insured that I couldn t hit any of the birds.

7 These crews, in addition to Ed and Mark Bowater, and others, helped with the take-down afterwards, putting the equipment away and collecting the cardboard boxes and empty shells. We are very thankful for these volunteers. All the toilets in New York s police stations have been stolen. Police have nothing to go on. Odd-dated Wednesdays On odd-dated Wednesdays our range is closed due to agreement with our neighbors but 5 to 10 of our members go down to the Nanaimo range to shoot. As with our range, we usually help to load clays into the machines, collect the cardboard boxes, pick up empty shells and help with putting the equipment away after the shoot. NF&G appreciate our help. A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran. Next Sporting Clays The next Sporting Clays will be on July 28, assuming that the fire hazard will be low. Photo 1 A real cat-and-mouse game. Photos 2 & 3 A friend of mine, Nick Demchenko, who now lives in Australia, worked in Chile for several years. He has retained contact with his many friends in Chile and he passed on these photos of a Spring Salmon that his friends caught in one of the rivers. Note the row boat with oars.