Well, I guess it could have been called the "The Hurricane that stole the Texas State Sporting Clays Championship", but God loves Texas. He comes here alot...ask anyone. The weather turned east, leaving only a few clouds to hold the sun off. Now, with a perfect day, all we needed was a tall, chilly brew of luck, experience and a dash of salt...it was still a bit warm.
There are two people you need to hire when you have a shoot this size. Lois Lessing and Bruce Hering. Don't make the mistake of thinking second best will do. Lois knows everyone and every rule in the book. This is not her job...it's her passion! Bruce has the most professional station referees in the country....and they dress and report themselves like professionals----> "Don't leave home without them!" Mo Parson knew that...that's why they were here.
click on any photo to enlarge and copy!
The location was perfect. 400 plus shooters registered. Mo Parsons and his team worked diligently to set the targets. THE TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP was about to start. What a great facility. 300 plus acres. The Bush Park is a flood zone area for Houston, cunningly designed for public recreation. 
I saw ponds, dog parks, soccer fields and the American Shooting Center. There could be other facilities, but I just did not have the time to explore. This was the Texas State Shoot and I was in it! But, as a kid growing up on Memorial Drive, I remember how this area was a swamp, heavily treed and overgrown. Buffalo Bayou was the big draw, 
for us kids, right up through high school. I would rather be down at the bayou than graduating!
Hunting along the banks, fishing for catfish and Alligator Gar, shooting "rattlers".... only the brave came here. The bugs, the insects and creepy legends of monster, kept most away. A kid could sneak down here and smoke cigarettes with his friends....or so I have heard...lol..lol.. But some of us locals will recall places like" wolf corners" where the tails of bounty hunted wolves were hung on the fence. It was a common location to stop, drink a cold one with your buddies, count the tails and dream about all that bounty money you get ...all $15.00 per!
Main..Day 1
The Crockett course was set in and around the lake. A beautiful setting. The weather had remained kind to us. As my squad drove from station to station, we banged away at everything Mo could throw in the air. Some of us were better at chasing them down than others. A guy at my level struggled. But guys in the master class held their demeanor and swung into action. Mo had set some difficult targets. But "Hey it's the STATE SHOOOT" , what w
ere we expecting? Your training and discipline were tested here today.
Main...Day 2
The Bowie course was do-able. The scores soared compared to the day before. Lori Fowler came into the field. She brought Bobby's secret 
weapon....herself! But,there is another secret that will be in their upcoming book...it's about keeping hydrated and staying in good physical condition.
Our buddy, Tony Rivera, "banged" them out of the sky and delighted in the course. He shot just ahead of us making it possible for me to observe not ONE but TWO great shooters on the same course. While our friends 
behind the scene, like Baretta's rep, tried desperately to find me a particular brand of shells by calling everyone he could think of, assured all of us that everyone would do whatever it took to see we had the best Texas Shoot that could be administrated. 
The list runs long on people who have come forward to help. Our favorite BRILEY rep was trying to line up the Briley family for me to interview on the radio...ThanX Hanna. She also shot in the competition and did well in her class. We, at the "American Trigger Sport Network", are hoping to support both Hanna and her friend Shelia Howard in the near future as they hone their skills.
Hey, Tim what happened to you? We had a great conversation. Good lunch together. But at the awards ceremony you were MIA! Hey, Tim Johnstone you were one of the guys who cleaned up! Sorry you had to leave...heck you must have run side by side with Gary Greeway racing out the driveway. Both of you won awards and shot well. Gary you were in a shoot-off and I was recording the event on the radio to air this week... Hope you guys made it home OK.
I guess I made Gary feel bad when I said I hoped he won some money so he could get some new upholstery on that shooting cart of his....I know why he didn't stay now, he slipped the cart back onto the trailer and split before I could get a photo! OK, I guess I have picked on Gary enough....besides, I really like the guy. What an asset to the NSCA. I am scheduled to attend one of his classes after the Nationals and I am very excited to be invited. ThanX Gary.
Hey, now here is a shirt logo that you see EVERYWHERE!
But to earn it you have to work hard. Talk about a stroke of luck here, I was in Houston and trying to find the Ash's for an on-site interview, then WHAM , they suddenly appeared right in front of me. We pulled under a shade tree to get out of the sun while Gil and Vicky began explaining to me what was coming up in the future for OSP. Hunting Safari's all over the world with Gil & Vicky! Another book...no three more books! Does the news ever end on these two? I don't think so...it has been guess-timated that Gil & Vicky train some 2,000 shooters a YEAR! Unbelievable! Look at how many books they have out..how many venues they attend...how many classes they hold. We have had them on the radio show many times, they have been featured in magazine articles and TV, and there is always something more to talk about with the Ash's. PSSSST...come closer...I do have a little secret to share with you...Gil cooks! OK, so you knew that..but did you know he loves to fish? Now I have not asked, but, if he is as good at fishing as he is at cooking...well , what will that book title be?----> "How to train the fish to jump in the boat?" Don't miss this interview on the radio!
OK now let me ask you this....who is more TEXAS than the Robertson family? Wow, what great folks. This was our first interview. I have never spoken to Scott before. He is well known in the shooting world, but is just one of those guys who is all business. Catching him on the course is probably NOT going to get you an interview. Finding him lounging around the scoreboard is not the place to see him. So how do you get an interview with Scott? Find out who he is married to and talk to her! Wendy was not hard to find. She was the most beautiful woman there. Once I found her it was just a matter of fighting my way in front of her children to get to her...lol..lol..
Ya know, Scott is just not the smiley, back-slapping type. I was not sure of his feelings about radio, so I introduced myself to Wendy ( I hope I am spelling your name right) and asked her. She assured me Scott was friendly and usually does not bite..lol..lol...
We had a great interview. What a guy! What's that old saying about quiet waters run deep...Scott is a wealth of information and research on shooting. I had been collecting questions from friends AND listeners for months. Most have never had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Scott , so they wanted to know a little about one of the "TOP GUNS" in our country.
First of all, he is from Kalifornia. His father was associated with the Triple B shooting range in El Monte before it was Triple B. But most of the questions I had centered around the subject of Eye Dominance. YES, he WAS left eye dominant and a RIGHT HAND shooter. Yes, he did train himself out of it using techniques we all know. But basically, the answer is SHOOT< SHOOT>SHOOT and when you shoot about 10,000 targets, Scott says your brain will overcome the problem...lol..lol...I'll have the entire interview on the radio soooon! Tune in! ThanX Scott and Wendy for a great interview.
I would like to compliment the American Shooting Centers for presenting their Sponsors at the shoot well. 
I would especially like to thank LEGACY FORD for a terrific job of allowing us to see, feel and smell all that new leather they brought to the show! WoW!
Now, let me just me take another minute to mention that PRO-MATIC did a great job. Just about the time I thought I had seen everything the American
Shooting Centers had to offer, I came up on Buck Heath, and, his buddy, Cole Story playing "WASHERS"....yeah for those of you who don't get out much, it's the RAGE! Of course, when PRO-Matic finds out what Buck and Cole have been doing on company time..oops!
Well shooters time is running out for this edition of the Blog. I need to go do some radio work. But I do want to thank everyone on the squad, George Ball, Bobby Fowler and the whole Henderson family for the support and kindness they showed me during a difficult station. J Henderson and I have shot together a few times and he is always "on his game" and a pleasure to watch. I had not met his Mother and Father before and now I can see why he is so successful....good genes! I'll be seeing all of you again at Nationals.
KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN AND YOUR BARREL UP! See you on the radio!
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