April/May 2017 Newsletter Dorman Range, by Ron Card,

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Gervase Horton
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I guess the flowers and trees appreciate the frequent rainfalls but at least we haven t had any snow for a while now, and the temperature

That event was dedicated to the Oceanside Stroke Recovery Society.

The lunch for this event was prepared by the ladies of the Oceanside Stroke Recovery Society.

We were able to donate $2,865 to their program.

1 April/May 2017 Newsletter Dorman Range, by Ron Card, Welcome to Spring. We are still waiting for some extended periods of sunshine. I guess the flowers and trees appreciate the frequent rainfalls but at least we haven t had any snow for a while now, and the temperature has warmed up. This report is a little lengthy as it goes back to the March 25 Sporting Clays. That event was dedicated to the Oceanside Stroke Recovery Society. We had a record (or near record) turnout for the shoot, with 102 shooters. The lunch for this event was prepared by the ladies of the Oceanside Stroke Recovery Society. They had also prepared the lunch for the February Sporting Clays. Thanks very much, ladies; the lunches were delicious. We were able to donate $2,865 to their program. As in all our Sporting Clays shoots, the shooters are placed in various classes; Class A for the good shooters, right through to Class E for the novice shooters. For the March 25 Sporting Clays, the high Class A shooters were Brian Royan with an 89, James Wicks with an 87, Jared Earthy with an 86, Ron Stubbings with an 81 and Tom Dawes with an 80. For Class B, the high shooters were Bill McNeilly with an 84, Dane Hryhoryshen and Jack Morgan with 81 s, and Darren Perrens (our caretaker) with an 80. All together there were 11 people in the 80 s and 12 people in the 70 s. The average score was 59. Photo 1 Transporting clay pigeons to the Sporting Clays houses 2 days before the shoot. Photo 2 Sporting Clays day with large pile of nets that will be used to catch unbroken trap targets. Photo 3 Our wonder woman Diane Upper registering the Sporting Clays shooters.

Photo 1 Our luncheon ladies from the Oceanside

Photo 2 Shooters waiting for the pre-start

Photo 3 Shooters on Station 2 The kids text me plz

I text back no which is shorter than yes.

Photos 1, 2 & 3 - Shooters lined up for the Annie

(A brief description an Annie Oakley event is where

2 The biggest lie that I tell myself is... I don t need to write that down. I ll remember it. Photo 1 Our luncheon ladies from the Oceanside Stroke Recovery Society. Photo 2 Shooters waiting for the pre-start announcements. Photo 3 Shooters on Station 2 The kids text me plz which is shorter than please. I text back no which is shorter than yes. Photo 1 Shooters on Station 3. Photo 2 Shooters enjoying lunch. Photo 3 The ladies collating the morning scores. Photos 1, 2 & 3 - Shooters lined up for the Annie Oakley. (A brief description an Annie Oakley event is where everybody lines up across the field, in one line. Three people at a time participate. If the first shooter misses, the second one fires; if he breaks the bird the first shooter is knocked out. If the second shooter misses, the third shooter fires. If he hits the bird, the first two shooters are knocked out. The next three shooters start after the last shooter that hit the bird.)

3 At my age, getting lucky means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for. Photo 1 The final three shooters for the Annie Oakley. Photo 2 Shooters at Station 9. Photo 3 The throwing machines at Station 10. Photo 1 - Here is an aerial view of the clubhouse and the line-up for the Annie Oakley.

Just a few extra photos: Photo 1 A real houseboat: a large house and smaller units on a barge being towed, likely to a forest camp. Photo 2 Blue Herons foraging on the foreshore.

Grant to Assist Handicapped Shooters The Dorman Range had made application to the Federal Government for a grant to purchase a vehicle that could transport handicapped people around our property, but

The Federal Government turned us down but our local MLA, Michelle Stillwell, went to bat for us and she was able to get us a provincial grant of $15,000. We thank Michelle for all her efforts.

4 Just a few extra photos: Photo 1 A real houseboat: a large house and smaller units on a barge being towed, likely to a forest camp. Photo 2 Blue Herons foraging on the foreshore. Photo 3 A Coast Guard ship anchored for the night in Northwest Bay Optimism is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat & taking the tartar sauce with you. Grant to Assist Handicapped Shooters The Dorman Range had made application to the Federal Government for a grant to purchase a vehicle that could transport handicapped people around our property, but mainly for access for Sporting Clays. The Courtenay Fish & Game Club had received a similar grant prior to this. The Federal Government turned us down but our local MLA, Michelle Stillwell, went to bat for us and she was able to get us a provincial grant of $15,000. We thank Michelle for all her efforts. We have now purchased two golf carts and we will be constructing more facilities that will make access easier for handicapped people. Photos 1, 2, & 3 The presentation of the $15,000 cheque by Michelle Stillwell to our Vice- President, Doug Kitts, at our General Meeting on March 28. VISL Shoot On April 2 we hosted a VISL competition shoot (Vancouver Island Shooters League). There were 44 shooters from up and down Vancouver Island. They shot 6600 targets. PQF&G made $ including proceeds from lunch & a raffle. Winners from our club were Gordy Brooks, Bill McNeilly, Jim Simpson, and Dave upper. A big thanks to all who helped out: Bill Simpson, Gordy Brooks, Jim Walters, Ron Card, Dave & Diane Upper, Steve & Marie Kennedy, Jim Simpson, & Darren for running the bobcat. Thanks also to the non-club members who pitched in: Jim Hilchey, Tracy Savage, & a special thanks to Art Moore for fixing trap #2. Apologies to anyone that I forgot to mention. Philosophy If you want to walk fast, walk alone, but if you want to walk far, walk with friends. Mark Twain said that compassion is language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

5 VISL shooters on Ranges 1, 2, & 3. (above) Photo 1 Handicap Shooting on the skeet field, Photo 2 Handicap shooting on Range 2. Photo 3 16 yard shooting on Range 3 Photo 1 16 yard shooting on Range 3. Photo 2 21 yard handicap. Photo 3 - And no event is complete without a great lunch provider. Photo 1 VISL 23 to 27 yard handicap. Photos 2 & 3 We have switched providers on our clay pigeons. The Caldwell birds were breaking too easily in the skeet clay pigeon machines, so we decided to try a higher quality Lawry bird. As you can see, our warehouse is jammed full of clay pigeons. We got this shipment on the morning of April 12 and this shipment should last us

6 through to November. As well as the birds we also bought 10 speakers from Lowry to replace our old speakers that had degenerated considerably. On the same day, in the afternoon, we received a shipment of shotgun shells from Prairie Shot Ltd, in Carberry, Manitoba. There were 4 pallets (420 cases) weighing over 10,000 pounds. Shooters from other Clubs on the Island also participated in this order. Everybody must have run out of shells because they were picked up very quickly. 5-Stand As long as there is interest from our shooters as well as from shooters from other Clubs, we hold a 5-Stand event on the skeet field on the second Sunday of the month. On April 9, we held an Argentina Shoot, which is somewhat similar to 5-Stand. The shooting position is in the centre of the field and birds are thrown from different machines located around the field. This tests the shooting skills of the shooter, besides being just a fun event. Skeet shooting does not occur on these days. Sporting Clays 59 shooters On April 22 we held our regular Sporting Clays event. John O Regan laid out the course, and he did a great job of travelling around the course during the shooting, to make sure that all the machines were working properly, and re-filling them with clay pigeons. As usual, we attracted shooters from many of the other Island Clubs, from Campbell River right through to Victoria. I want to thank our members who contributed their efforts for the setup, the running of the events, and the take-down at the end of the day. (The above statements, except for the date, were the same statements as in the last newsletter but everything still applies.) We had 59 shooters at this event, and the high shooter was Phil Charlebois with an 86. Other high shooters were James Wicks with an 85, Mark Bottomley and Ron Stubbings with 82 s, and Darren Perrens (our caretaker) and Kelly Stevenson with 80 s. The course average was 64 which was lower than usual. There was a general feeling that, for those that were not skeet shooters, the course was very difficult. John said the he would take this into consideration for our shoot in May. Our thanks once again to Mike Fall for collating the scores, both for the Vancouver Island Sporting Clays members and also for the non-members. I try to avoid things that make me fat.... like scales, mirrors and photographs. Instead of cleaning the house, I just turn off the lights.

see the 3 birds, one of them being white) and if the

rabbit and an overhead bird. Photo 3 Shooters at Station 4.

rained, and over on the left, a wooden barrier to protect

Retirement Sad for us but wonderful for Diane.

7 Photo 1 Shooters waiting for the start. Photo 2 John O Reagan giving the introductory and safety talk. Photo 3 Something unique. 3 birds were thrown (if the picture was larger, you could see the 3 birds, one of them being white) and if the shooter hit the white bird he automatically was considered to have lost the 2 other red birds. Photos 1 & 2 Shooters at Station 1 where there was a rabbit and an overhead bird. Photo 3 Shooters at Station 4. Photo 1 Bird machines at Station 5 a hat in case it rained, and over on the left, a wooden barrier to protect the machine in case there was a misfire. Photo 2 Station 6, the sand pit. Photo 3 Shooters at Station 8. Retirement Sad for us but wonderful for Diane. Diane Upper has finally retired after helping out at the Dorman Range for 20 or more years. Diane has taken registrations for all our special events, as well as being there for our Sunday practice shoots. She made sure that there was always coffee made, kept track of all the shooters and collected the fees therefrom. She put together Sunday

lunches if there was food left over from the Saturday Sporting Clays.

We will miss her greatly and we wish her all the health and happiness in her retirement days.

we hope that he will be able to lure Diane back occasionally so we can say hello.

that was busy serving it up to all our members.

To finish off this report, I would like highlight the efforts of a work party that replaced the

The decking had become rotten and it was in very poor condition.

8 lunches if there was food left over from the Saturday Sporting Clays. Diane made everyone feel welcome at the range and she always had a smile on her face. We will miss her greatly and we wish her all the health and happiness in her retirement days. (Fortunately, her husband Dave stays active at the range including being on the range committee, and we hope that he will be able to lure Diane back occasionally so we can say hello.) Photo 1 & 2 A cake was provided for Diane s last day at the range, and as usual, Diane was the one that was busy serving it up to all our members. Photo 3 This is for Diane her last photo of a 16 yard trap shoot on the Sunday. To finish off this report, I would like highlight the efforts of a work party that replaced the decking from the clubhouse to the washrooms on April 28 and 29. The decking had become rotten and it was in very poor condition. The work party was spearheaded by Jim Cholin and he was assisted by Dave Vaton, Rigger Bob Wilson, Bob Marr, Keith Thompson and John O Regan. The photos below show the work that was involved. We greatly thank these fellow for their efforts. Lumber came from Stan Ziolkowski portable sawmill, cut earlier in the year from fallen trees on our property.

Photo 1 After the old decking had been ripped out.

Photo 3 Preparing the lumber as John operated the bobcat to haul the lumber from the

This is the lumber that was cut earlier in the year from trees that had fallen down

Photo 1 John and his bobcat hauling in the lumber. Photo 2 Stringers in place.

Photo 1 Decking, handrails and ramp completed. Photo 2 The completed project.

9 Photo 1 After the old decking had been ripped out. Photo 2 Preparing the ground and placing concrete pads for foundations. Photo 3 Preparing the lumber as John operated the bobcat to haul the lumber from the drying yard. This is the lumber that was cut earlier in the year from trees that had fallen down on our property, using Stan Ziolkowski s portable sawmill. Photo 1 John and his bobcat hauling in the lumber. Photo 2 Stringers in place. Photo 3 Some decking and railing in place. Photo 1 Decking, handrails and ramp completed. Photo 2 The completed project. Thanks to Rigger for the set of photographs. One last item: All Round Shooting Event. (Sporting Clays) Don t forget the BCWF Action Fund Shooting Event on May 27. This shoot will contribute funds to help the BCWF fight topics that arise that have not had any budget allocated to them.

10 The particulars of this shoot are: 125 birds total, comprised of: 50 birds sporting clays; 25 birds on wobble ; 25 skeet birds; and 25 handicap (22 yards) There are quite a few options: Price for full 125 birds is $60 which includes a sumptuous lunch. Price is $50 without lunch. Alternate: Shooting only Sporting Clays (50 birds) $30 with lunch; $20 w/o lunch. Alternate: Shooting only Sporting Clays (100 birds) $50 w/ lunch; $40 w/o lunch. There will be prizes for each shooting level (ie. Class A to E) for shooters that shoot 125 birds.

September/October Newsletter Dorman Range, by Ron Card,

September/October Newsletter Dorman Range, by Ron Card, roncard@shaw.ca Welcome back from summer. Many events have taken place since our last newsletter. I will attempt to highlight some of them with words