President's Day Weekend...it's about us!
Every other year, for the past several years, I have always gone up to the ranch. But since infected by an uncommon virus called "Sporting Clays", well...well it is all about finding time for therapy, therapy, therapy by seeking the only remedy known to man, practice, practice, practice-->go to the range! That wonderful doctor/editor of Sporting Clays Magazine, George Conrade, made it pretty clear a few months ago when he discussed the levels by which a new shooter graduates; Ground pounding determination, shooting, studying and guess what...regular injections of life saving instruction! But why do we have to be told this, can you succeed at ANYTHING by doing less?
Sooo, following my own prescription of hard work and persistence.... I went to the Moore & Moore, Shot and Won In My Class...
yep you heard it.... WON IT!(click on photo). In fact,no one even came close to my score.
Now let's not forget that I am in a lower class and doing a lot of shooting...like maybe every other day, PLUS taking lessons 
AND shooting with real good shooters like "Heavy Tow" Tom John, Bryan " Big Bad John" Laws, "World Class" Dan Reese and multi-weapon, talented Peter " No Hostage" Taylor. These guys are good, very good, the Best! Tom has held the State Championship for 5 years running. Even dumb, green shooters like me will learn something by just picking up his spent smoking casings and pressing them firmly to the base of the skull for 30 seconds. What is really amazing, is that I almost didn't go to this Shoot, this flu bug I picked up in Mesquite is giving me fits of coughing and restless sleep patterns. The flu drugs have kept me dizzy and running to the Kleenex box. I seriously considered just turning the truck around several times this morning, but as a last resort, I reached deep into my medicine bag and drug out Corey's Cure--->> "Harden The F***K UP!" and swallowed all I had. It worked....I never coughed once when I was in the station!
Our squad of 5 started out on station 3, Hank, Jeff, Randy, Spenser and myself. Hank was the senior on the squad and took the squad leaders position, great shot, really good voice for calling birds. I want this guy on every squad I am on...his background, interestingly enough, was Medical Administration and he spoke eloquently on the subject during lunch. But in "the Box" Hank was brilliant on the targets.
Jeff Owens always ranks top in his class, easy going with a natural talent for shooting competitively. He commands a construction company to keep him in ammo. Jeff is just one of those guys who will step in the box and whisper a suggestion in your ear if he sees your off target...even knowing it may help you beat him! Randy Fitzgerald, who I have shot with before, and watch closely, is a really nice guy with a very cool gun, with a gold inlay depicting a broken clay ... probably made by some gun maker I cannot afford like Perazzi or Krieghoff..hell, I can't even spell them, so how am I going to write a check for one! Anyway, then there was Spenser, a young shooter, trained by the great Dan Reese, wearing a dozen winning belt buckles, like scalp's on his shooting belt, shot very well....
Hey, I bet some of you did not know that " World Class" Dan Reeves also plays "Flaminco" guitar and is a serious SURFER! When I met him and saw his long manicured false fingernails, I asked myself..."humm, what night is the drag night event?" So I had to clear that up so after he explained how he needed the nails to play....I started taking lessons ASAP! Great guy. Straight shooter, calls them like he sees them, pulls no punches, a real guys' guy and has a shooting history that most of us will only dream about. From Kings and Princes to the Rich & Famous, and his Wounded Veterans signature shooting event, PLUS his work with kids just getting started in the Sport, his achievements are endless and envious! I will do a separate post just on him soon.
Now back to shooting...one of the things Pat Moore and his son Corey do well---> they listen to Janet, Pats' wife! But the second best thing they do well is organize a Shooting Competition, from Target presentations to feeding the classes. It's a family business and they treat their clients like family, earning the title of, "The Friendliest" range in the West, www.moorenmoore.com . Just stop for a minute and think...can you imagine how many times during Pat's career he has answered the same question over and over, to new AND old shooters, and he does it like it was the very first time he had been asked... " that is what separates the professionals from the guys who want to open a range for fun and profit?" Pat will get a separate post as well.
But back to shooting! Yes, the Event was attended by 50 or so of the "usual suspects". I did see a few new faces and some from the Oasis Shoot like Jeff Ort, representing Briley Manufacturing, from Houston, Texas. Home Boy, ya know... one of my people! Texas guys have a special calling out here in the land of fruits and nuts... to pull you folks back out of the sun so you can see the real world...anyway, Jeff is a damn good shot and a serious competitor. Better keep your eyes on him, Tom.
Anyway, in perfect timing, the scores were posted and the whining promptly began around the cork board in the club dining room. Some cheers went up as well as the men crowded around the small board. Ya know, the women in this sport have so much more class than the guys...they just sit eating their lunch...with a napkin, until the guys stop shuffling for position and leaning on one another like old tag team wrestlers in a ring, getting louder and louder, aggressively waiting to get a look at their score. The women, on the other hand, just wait and casually walk up, scan their scores and sit back down or leave. They have come to do their best, be with their husbands or boyfriends, or just driven by a desire to shoot well. I think, if more women realized the fun in this sport, a Women's Team could easily be formed. They could have their own "skins night", humm sounds sexy when you think about it....oops, it's California, got to be careful....but an all Women's Competition...YEA! Anyone out their interested, email me, I have a sponsor for you event.
Anyway, Pat had to close station #4 because of mechanical problems. If Pat has a problem with a machine and neither Carmen or he can fix it...it's a problem! So, we all did get a 10 for that station, which means... if you shot it, you got extra birds to make 10, however, if you shot a ten then you were not as happy, as the guy who shot a 3!
Anyway, stick to the facts...Bryan " Big Bad John" Laws won the event this year. He is fresh off a 28 gauge win in Nevada and on a roll, building up to the State Shoot in April. He also got a new vehicle, VERY cool Ford Sportsvan, all tricked out for running to any tournament, anywhere, being first on the field in the mornings, with style and comfort. So watch out for him on the Tour!
Bryan has a new girlfriend, real beauty this time...lol..lol..she works for one of the airlines, but after talking to her about another pleasure, learned she enjoys horses. I am not sure if she is a stewardess or the PILOT! This women has a strong hand, good muscles and a very determined nature...she can fly my plane, oops did it again! Anyway she may well qualify for the Womens' Team because she is beginning to take an active interest in Sporting Clays. Only 4 Ladies shot today. I will make a point of asking if there are other women who shoot at M & M and do an interview with them, for a separate post, soon. If you 're out their Ladies, email me!
OK, so back to the scoreboard, Bryan won HOA...hooray! Arthur McCall won A, Tim Deaver won B, Guy St. Louis won C and picked up a punch, Pete Taylor won D and picked up a punch and some guy accidentally discharged his weapon outside the city limits, and hit a target, to win the E class....James B. Towle! WOW! He either got a punch or got punched or punched someone...I'm not sure, but he is very, very happy.....c-ya.
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