2017 May Markham Newsletter

Markham Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays MAY 2017 Volume 8 Issue 5

FTA Spring Championships are May 19-21 at South Florida Shooting Club 1

April 2017

OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS 2016 OFFICERS

Club News - Magazine Review 4-11 For Sale Wresting Hall of Fame Charity Shoot

12-13

Tribute to Phil and Alan

14-15

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PRESIDENT—Vacant

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VICE PRESIDENT—Vacant

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TREASURER—Vacant

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SECRETARY— Joe Loitz

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RECORDING SECRETARY—Jerry Schwab

DIRECTORS:

Calender of Events

16-17

Club Calender

18-19

Palm Beach Trap/Skeet Pro Shop

20-21

Inside issue: Sportingthis Clays Program

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and

Results Skeet Program and Results

24-25

FSA Skeet Calender

26-27

Trap Program

28-29

Trap Results

30-31

Youth Program

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Rich Nilsen

Contact info: Markham Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays 11873 NW 30th Street Coral Springs, FL 33065 •

www.markhamclaytargets.com

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www.markhamskeet.org

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www.markhamsportingclays.org

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E-mail: jloit@bellsouth.net

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Newsletter: jloit@bellsouth.net

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Next General Meeting Thursday June 1st Starting at 7:00 PM

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Club News The Trap and Sporting Clays shoots were both cancelled this month. Sporting Clays due to Easter and the Trapshoot due to weather. The Skeet shoot was well attended by nine shooters who shot 1800 targets. Robert Vazquez shot well tying for the 12 ga. event, losing to Paul Billings in the shootoff.

Bruse Gordon won the 20 ga. event and Robert again had the second high score. He won both the 28 and .410 events and the HOA with a nice 192. Congrats guys, nice shooting.

If you weren’t aware we lost two great friends in April. Alan Harris and Phil Demena both passed away within weeks of each other. Phil was a Board member for several years and was a great supporter of the club.

I cannot say enough about these two. They were great friends and incredibly fun to be with. These were the guys you wanted to sit with at the club. Great conversation and tons of laughs. My life as well as the shooting community are truly diminished by their absence.

There are some great pictures of

them on page 12-13 and a good picture of Phil on page 15. I will miss them every time I go to the club.

I got a request for some help selling four guns. Rick has a 12 ga.

BPS Browning pump for $250, a Weatherby 30-06 Mark V Lasermark with Bushnell scope for $1600, a Webley & Scott 20 ga. for $2500, and Remington 700 with Redfield scope in 30-06 for $550.

His number is 954-608-3121 if you are interested. See page 12 for pictures.

The Florida Chapter Hall of Fame is sponsoring a Sporting Clay Shoot May 6 at Quail Creek as a fund raiser. See page 13 for details. The FTA Spring Championships are at South Florida Shooting Club on May 19-21st. Hope to see you there. Check out the new pictures of the Palm Beach County club on pages 30-31.

Tough month for many of us in the shooting community. Take a moment to spend some time with your friends this month. See you at the club!

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Magazine Reviews Shotgun Sports – May 2017 Research has proven Pre-Shot routines improve “self-paced skills” in sports such as golf, free-throw shooting, and placekicking and consequently should improve our results in the shooting sports. Michael J. Keyes, M.D. has reviewed the studies and advises it is not the duration (time spent) executing the Pre-Shot ritual but the consistency and discipline in applying it. Following the sequence of the ritual religiously improved free-throw shooting 12%. Look at it another way and almost 33% of the missed shots are turned into successful attempts!

As your skill level increases so does the importance of your Pre-Shot ritual. Following it faithfully increases your confidence, enhances relaxation, and allows the brain and body to get in sync with your subconscious memory of previous successful shots. Good advice would be to eliminate conscious evaluation during your ritual. Make any decisions about the targets before starting the ritual. Visualize the shot then go into your Pre-Shot routine. Let the Pre-Shot ritual be about preparing visually and physically and nothing else. Don’t let the conscious become involved once you have moved into PreShot mode. Keep it simple, let your shooting-self do the shooting as John Shima would advise.

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Magazine Review

I am a big advocate of cross-training and stealing ideas from other sports. For me tennis and golf are two of the best cross-training sports. Both promote concentration and Pre-Shot preparation. They also train you to keep your head down and your eyes on the ball. John Shima has stated in his writing how his students who are tennis players seem to bring an advantage to the shooting sports. Bob Palmer has gleaned some excellent ideas from his observations in the athletic world and passes them on to us this month.

the crowd. This works in several ways, reminding you to perfect your form and it can have a calming effect, removing your worries of embarrassment from a poor shooting performance. Do this enough and the crowd becomes a permanent presence in your mind and if an actual crowd is watching, the pressure is dulled since you have been envisioning this scenario every time you shoot. As to the elastic band idea, I have always told skeet students, they know they have the correct lead on Station 4 if they feel as if they are pulling the target across the field with their barrels.

Mounting the gun in a mirror is a prime aid for improving your shooting. Problems with your mount and your visual alignment become immediately selfevident in a mirror. Personally, I prefer getting pictures and video of your mount and your swing rather than using a mirror. The good thing about the mirror is that it needs no outside assistance.

“I love hills,” is not a statement most runners make.

In Mr. Palmer’s thinking you should embrace the things that make your sport difficult. Thus, you love hills if you are a runner. You love wind, you love crowds watching, or you love shoot-offs. Say it enough times with conviction and you just may own it.

TRAP & FIELD – April 2017

From hill climbing during the running sports we are advised to look up at the horizon rather than straight ahead at the road. Looking to the horizon prevents the mind from withdrawing into itself and finding the discomfort we feel as we push up the hill. The horizon takes us out of ourselves and allows the task of running to quiet our minds taking itself away from our body’s discomfort. In shooting, looking out, into the distance makes the targets seem closer and slower. This also permits our peripheral vision to become fully active which is part of the quiet eyes philosophy. Soft-focus past the traphouse or trap also has a calming effect on our mind aiding in disconnecting the conscious from the equation.

Finally, he relates how some athletes, runners specifically, will go into a trance as they perform. “Wake me at the end,” is his catch phrase for this mental exercise. Yes, most of us have felt it. During a round you enter the Zone and seem to break targets effortlessly and before you know it the round is over. This is total emersion. Drop the expectations and just shoot. The fun is in the game. No eightyear-old thinks about playing a game of soccer, tag, or kick-the-can. They just play with the full expectation they are enjoying every minute. Reach that state of mind and you just may feel eight years old again!

Bob has runners envision a giant elastic band pulling them up a hill or along parts of the course. Maybe it simply works as a mental distraction but if it works it keeps you more connected to your running and disconnects the conscious mind. In shooting, perhaps you could envision yourself instructing other shooters and demonstrating the perfect technique to 6

ClayShootingUSA – March-April 2017 Pro Sporting Goods owner Otto Geiger and James Herrod have come out with PRORIB a company specializing in rib customizations for Blazer shotguns. These are also available for other gun brands. If you are interested in customizing your rib stop by and see them near the IKEA Center on NW 136th Avenue in Sunrise.

SHOOTING SPORTSMAN – MayJune 2017 Texas Parks & Wildlife Department did a study during the 2008-2009 dove season regarding the efficacy of lead versus steel shot. Hunters on state grounds were issued either lead 1 1/8 oz., 7 ½, 1200 fps or steel 1 oz., 6 or 7 shot, 1300 fps 12 ga. ammo.

They kept track of the shells expended,

birds killed and retrieved, wounded birds, and X-rayed 1,110 birds. They also did necropsies to determine pellet strikes and depths of penetration.

Tom Roster presents the interesting results. Most shooters used IC or Mod. and averaged 4.5 shells per bird bagged with a 39.2% wounding rate. There was no statistical difference between the performance of the steel versus the lead. There was a better bagging-performance for the steel however, specifically the 7 shot. Pattern density seems to be the key when it comes to lethality. I would not recommend steel in high winds. The shot will drift at a much higher rate than lead. In winds above 20 mph stick with lead.

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Magazine Review

CLAYTARGET NATION – April 2017 Don’t ever think you can control the outcome.

This simply promotes fear of failure and mental discomfort brought on by your expectations. Put your effort into watching the target break is always part of John Shima’s mantra and his article this month is true to it. John believes introducing intentions into your Pre-Shot Routine rather than doing what needs to be done to break a target is one of the biggest problems for most shooters.

Don’t try to control the outcome of shot, let it happen without conscious intervention from expectations and intent. The same notes Michael J. Keyes, M.D. was playing in his article.

trust in your shooting. Performance goals should be just below your current competence so they don’t conflict with the confidence and trust you have built through your training. Set training goals slightly high, performance goals slightly low.

Discipline yourself to follow your Pre-Shot Routine. Falling into soft focus at your look point helps disconnect the conscious mind from the shooting process. Trust in the process, avoid expectations, and just shoot.

Eliminate expectations from your Pre-Shot Routine and only do those things that will help you break the target. Trust in the process, visualize the shot, set your feet and body, mount the gun, go into soft-focus, and concentrate on picking up the target. If thoughts start creeping into the routine, acknowledge them and let them pass. Let the shot happen, don’t try to make it happen.

John’s second article this month is about closing the gap between “knowing what you are capable of doing and believing in your ability to do it consistently.” The confidence gap exists when belief in your abilities comes in conflict with your goals.

His suggest two things to build your confidence and eliminate the gap, master your shooting through training and master your mental state by “eliminating inappropriate goals, unrealistic expectations, and misguided intentions.”

He goes into detail on his philosophy on the mental makeup of an athlete which won’t necessarily make you a better shooter, so I will skip it. The main points are setting training goals slightly above your current competence to push you into performance breakthroughs. The idea is to gradually increase your shooting competence, subsequently building confidence and unconditional

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Foot position is something an advanced shooter takes for granted. I rarely if ever think about my stance in relation to the target but for the beginning or intermediate shooter it is another among a long list of strategies that must be learned.

Todd Bender goes through the theory of foot position this month providing everything we need to know about it.

If you are truly dedicated to your shooting you will find Todd Bender’s article this month on tournament preparation meaningful. Todd suggests finding somewhere quiet one to two hours before you shoot to rehearse and visualize the event. Imagine and feel the emotions you expect to feel as you shoot. Arrive at the club 45 minutes to one hour early to prepare your shooting bag, gun, and equipment. The night before you should have prepared everything you need or could need including towels, rain gear, gun, shells and all your other paraphernalia.

Thirty minutes before Todd shoots he listens to music on his head phones. This is calming and it keeps others at bay. The half hour before you go to the line is your time and you don’t want distractions. He watches the squad before him shoot their last round, noting wind conditions, target heights, background problems, etc. This also activates his eyes, preparing them for the event. Some on-going fitness regimen is a good idea if you want to perform at your best during a long event. Attending to these suggestions allows your mind to be occupied only by the upcoming event rather than with unnecessary distractions.

Your feet should be shoulder width apart and parallel to each other as if you are wearing a pair of skis. Your knees should be relaxed not locked.

This is simply in keeping with any athletic pursuit. You don’t lock your knees in golf, tennis, or when hitting a baseball, you need them relaxed so you can pivot through your swing. This rings true for any of the shooting sports. He likes to wind his body back to the hold point in preparation for the target. Your stance at the break point is then in the mid area of your arc of swing rather than at its limits. This allows you to unwind into the target without fighting against your body.

He is an advocate of the whole-body swing from the ankles up. Turning like a tank turret limits your movement and can cause you to “come out of the gun” swinging it away from your face as you pursue the target. Over-swinging with your arms promotes loss of visual connection with the gun since your face can’t stay with the stock.

You are shooting in the blind at that point. This is especially true on hard angles and steep vertical targets. Swing with the whole body and everything stays together physically and visually.

As to feeling uncomfortable at the hold point Todd believes you shouldn’t let that bother you.

How comfortable you are at the break point is what’s important. As long as your discomfort doesn’t affect your move to the bird, don’t worry about it.

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Magazine Review

Clayton M. Rue passes on good advice this month on outgoing and incoming, quartering targets and using your go-to swing method. Outgoing quartering birds need less lead the farther they fly. Using PullAhead on an outgoing, quartering target will probably provide too much lead once the target gets beyond 20 yards. SwingThrough or the Intercept method is more advised at distance for these birds. As an incoming, quartering target gets close it becomes a crossing target and accelerates in its direction change thus requiring more lead.

Using Sustained-Lead will put you behind the target. Switch to Pull-Ahead to accommodate the accelerating directional change.

Punch fever is the fervent pursuit of Class punches. This also happens in trap and

skeet when shooters are more concerned with their averages than shooting the event.

This plays into the theme of imposing expectations on your shooting. Rusty Andre’ recounts how making this his focus kept him from reaching his full potential and removed the fun of shooting during his blind chase for punches. Focusing on outcome not process is the snare expectations bring to your game.

The affliction of Punch Fever can make a shooter over cautious “leading to tracking or riding targets too long.� Focusing on the outcome rather than the shooting process causes a total degeneration of everything you are trying to accomplish which is breaking the target. Forget about the punches and get back to the process of shooting.

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Fear can be a pervading issue for some shooters. Gil Ash addresses this in his article. Take a deep cleansing breath, move slower than normal, and focus on one part of your Pre-Shot routine are his suggestions. I am a big advocate of attention to your breathing as part of the Pre-Shot ritual.

Getting into rhythm with your breathing can relieve pressure and keeps you focused on the task at hand. I take a breath before I shoot and slowly release it until near the bottom of the breath I mount and call for the target.

I once viewed a video of Italian, Olympic shooters where one shooter suggested you take a deep breath then call for the target. He believed by releasing the breath you eventually go into oxygen deprivation thus degrading your physical performance. Guess they never heard of the eight second rule from the U.S. Army sniper school manual. At the bottom of your breath you have eight seconds to shoot before lactic acid starts to build up causing involuntary spasms in your muscles. During those eight seconds your body is at its most relaxed state and is obviously a good time to trigger the shot.

Expectations are a recurring theme lately and that’s were fear finds its roots. Stick with the process of shooting and eliminate

expectations from your mind. Expectations cause us to try harder, become more careful, questioning our lead and a myriad of other counterproductive, damaging behaviors not to mention the physical tension it brings on. Create your shot plan in your head, visualize the shot, execute your Pre-Shot routine, and go into soft focus.

Process not outcome relieves tension and fear making you a more effective and successful shooter.

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Registration Fee: $100 All proceeds benefit THE CLASS OF 2017 HALL OF FAME HONORS WEEKEND! Register at : fl-nwhof.ticketleap.com Email: Rem@pbcwhof.net or 561-688-1515 Ext. 301 Registration: 8:30 AM—9:30 AM Includes Lunch, golf cart and 100 targets Tax Deductible.

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Our friends Phil Demena and Alan Harris

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives.

The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.

Dalai Lama 15

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

Mark Twain 16

Calender of events: Gun Shows: May 6-7th Ft. Lauderdale War Memorial Aud.

Skeet this month: Markham

for $579.90 for 10 flats. This includes shipping. These are 11/8 oz., 7 1/2’s & 8’s, 1200 fps, 12 gauge.

Dick’s: They are running specials every other week. Watch the papers and check out their website.

May 6th

South Florida May 28th

Trap this month: Indian River

May 7th

South Florida

May 19-21st

Markham

May 28th

Sporting This month: Indian River

May 6th

South Florida

May 7th

Quail Creek

May 13th

OK Corral

May 20th

Markham

May 21st

Okeechobee Shooting Sports May 28th

Current shell specials: Walmart: Currently selling Winchester Universal and Federal 4 packs at $21.74 (12 & 20 ga.).

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Mark Twain

Cabela’s has Herter’s shells on sale 17

May 2017 Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

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3

4

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Youth Program

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8 Youth Program

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15 Youth Program Cancelled

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Sporting Youth Tourney Program

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Trap Youth Tourney Program

Skeet Night

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Trap Night

10 Skeet Night

16 Skeet Night

23 Skeet Night

30 Skeet Night

Trap Night

17 Trap Night

24 Trap Night

Skeet Tourney

Sporting Clays

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12

13

19

20

26

27

Sporting Clays

18 Sporting Clays

25 Sporting Clays

31 Trap Night

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June 2017 Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

1

2

3 Skeet Tourney

Sporting Clays

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5 Youth Program

11

12 Youth Program

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19 Youth Program

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Trap Youth Tourney Program

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7 Skeet Night

13 Skeet Night

20 Skeet Night

27 Skeet Night

8 Trap Night

14 Trap Night

21 Trap Night

28 Trap Night

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10

16

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23

24

Sporting Clays

15 Sporting Clays

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Sporting Tourney

Sporting Clays

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30

Sporting Clays

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PALM BEACH TRAP/SKEET PRO SHOP FIREARMS ALL NEW FIREARMS WHOLESALE PLUS 10% TRADES INS ACCEPTED

AMMUNITION AMMUNITION WHOLESALE COST PLUS $2.00 PER CASE WITH 10 CASE ORDER $4.00 LESS THAN 10 DELIVERIES TO Ft Lauderdale/Miami CONFIRMED WITH ORDERS

CALL FOR CURRENT PRICES ON FIREARMS/AMMUNITION

561-793-8787 THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR BUSINESS JOE FORDHAM 20

2015-2016 Schedule of NSCA Sporting Clay Tournaments

Date

Tournament

Saturday - Jan 21, 2017

Snow Bird Open

Sunday - Feb 5, 2017

Honest Abe's Birthday Bash

Sunday - Mar 26, 2017

St. Patrick's Day Open

Saturday - Apr 16, 2017

Spring Blast

Sunday - May 21, 2017

Memorial Day Open

Saturday - Jun 24, 2017

15th Annual Sunshine State Classic

Saturday - Jul 15, 2017

Super Sizzle Open

Saturday - Aug 12, 2017

Summers End Open

Sunday - Oct. 8, 2017

Pumpkin Blast

Sunday—Nov. 5, 2017

Richard Merritt Memorial

Saturday—Dec 30, 2017

Bud Wolfe Classic

I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.

Mark Twain

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SPORTING CLAYS PROGRAM

Markham Skeet, Trap & Sporting Clays Club

MEMORIAL DAY OPEN 100 Targets Shot over 14 Stations

SUNDAY MAY 21ST Registration: Opens 8:30 a.m. and will close at 10:00 a.m.

All scorecards must be turned in by 1:00 p.m. in order to be posted.

Entry Fee: $50 N.S.C.A., $50 Hunter, $35.00 SubJunior, Junior No Scorers or Trappers will be provided.

Shooters will be asked to squad themselves into groups of at least 4 and designate a field judge to verify scores for the squad.

This is a Targets Only format with No Lunch served.

COURSE RULES: All shooters and spectators are required to wear ear and eye protection on the course.

MAXIMUM LOADS PERMITTED: 12GA, 3 DR EQ, 1 1/8 oz. Shot 7 1/2.

For additional information contact: Steve Haynie (954) 980-4240 email: sdhaynie@comcast.net For Tournament Schedules and Shoot Results Please Visit Our Website: www.markhamsportingclays.org 22

SPORTING CLAYS RESULTS APRIL SHOOT CANCELLED

April sporting Clays shoot was cancelled. See you at the May 21st shoot!

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MONTHLY SKEET PROGRAM Price per 50 targets includes $5/100 NSSA/FSA Fee

.410 gauge 28 gauge 20 gauge 12 gauge Doubles

50 Targets 50 Targets 50 Targets 50 Targets 50 Targets

$19.50 $19.50 $19.50 $19.50 $19.50

Shoots usually held the first Saturday of every month.

Gauges may be shot out of sequence with the permission of management. More than one 50 target program may be shot in the same gauge as a preliminary event.

AWARDS Break a 50, 75, or 100 Straight and get one of these guaranteed awards!

50 Straight Kennedy Half Dollar 75 Straight Eisenhower Dollar 100 Straight Morgan Silver Dollar 50 Straight Doubles Liberty Silver Half 24

Skeet Shoot Results

The fear of death follows from the fear of life.

A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.

Mark Twain

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Trap Program SPECIAL NOTICE

Trap Program:

*** PROGRAM CHANGE ***

We are changing our Trap Tournaments back to Sundays for the 2016-2017 season.

100 target 16 Yd, Hdcp and Doubles events.

First 100 targets. $37.00 (Includes ATA and FTA daily fees)

ATA SHOOT SCHEDULE 2016-2017

February 26th March 12nd April 23th May 28th June 25th July 23th August 27th

Subsequent 100 target events. $32.00 See Joe Loitz for details: 954-857-5278

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT SHOOTING IS STILL POPULAR WITH THE SHOOTERS. SIGN UP WITH STEVE NORRIS AND THE REST OF THE REGULARS AND TRY YOUR SKILL AND LUCK AT ALL THE GAMES.

Come out and join the fun!

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TRAP RESULTS

ATA Shoot was rained out. See you next month!

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As you can see construction on the Palm Beach club is continuing at a good pace!

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Youth Program

Congratulations to Gene Bryan for his acceptance to Purdue University! Gene is looking forward to studying Engineering and joining the Purdue Shooting team. This summer he is going to make a visit to the Lafayette, Indiana campus and making it over the the Indiana State shoot. Way to go Gene!

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ADVERTISERS Professional and Industry Vendors

We are going to update this section of the newsletter on a continuing basis as requests come in.

If you would like to advertise your business in this section of the newsletter contact me at: jloit@bellsouth.net Joe Loitz at 954-857-5278 Business Cards - $50 for one year Full Page ads - $200 for one year

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