Dear Member
Now that the holiday season is over it’s time to get into our normal routine again. Jacksonville Clay Target Sports has an exciting few months coming up.
In February, the club will host an NSSA-sanctioned, Fish Fry Open skeet event. The Fish Fry is the largest participation event the club will host during the year. During the Fish Fry the club will host several retailers, including one of the best stock-adjustment specialists in the field. I hope many of you will come and watch or participate in the event. Please check your calendars for the dates.
As you enter the club these days you will find a new electronic front-desk registration system. This system will make it easier for you to register and will give the club the ability to communicate better with you in the future.
Gunsmiths Inc., our gunsmith store, will now carry plastic ear-molding hearing protection as well as shooting glasses, chokes, and accessories. We hope you’ll take some time to stop by the store and see what they offer.
As for the governance of the club, we have three new members of the Board of Directors. They are Dave Haviland, John Pope, and Terry Allen. When you see them at the club, please take the opportunity to congratulate them on their selection to the board. Due to term limits, board members Gary Hopkins, Phillip Teague, and Early Piety will no longer be on the board. When you see these gentlemen please thank them for their service to the club.
This year there will be several new committees forming, These will include membership, marketing, technology, skeet, trap, sporting clays, safety, environment, and legal. If any of you would like to serve on any of these committees please let Sara or any board member know.
The club legally established its designation as a 501c3 corporate entity at the end of 2016. It is now a non-profit corporation with its main purpose being education in shotgun-shooting. As a consequence of its 501c3 identity, donations to the corporation are now tax deductible. We had a good start with donations in 2016, and I hope many of you will choose to continue donating into 2017.
That’s all the news for now.
See you on the range,
Z Mincek
Upcoming Events
Every Wednesday Night at 6:00pm
"GRILL YOUR OWN" Steak Night
Monday, February 6, 2017 8:00am
Angelwood Inc. Sporting Clays Charity Event
Friday - Sunday, February 17 - 19
International Skeet Shoot
Watch 2016 ISS Footage
Thursday, February 23
Athlete to Champion Sporting Clays Charity Shoot
Friday - Sunday, February 24 - 26
Fish Fry Open NSSA Skeet Shoot
Monday, February 27 1:00pm
Downtown Rotary Club Sporting Clays Shoot
Gunsmiths, Inc. News
Hello Jacksonville Clay Target Sports Members and Guests,
As we welcomed the New Year in January, we welcomed a few big changes to Gunsmiths Inc. Tim, as the new COO of DuPont/ Krieghoff has been hard at work in Vero Beach as well as Jacksonville ensuring a smooth transition into February. As we continue into 2017, it promises to be a year of change and growth. We will continue our gunsmithing services with the same integrity and quality Tim has offered our valued customers for years. Tim has been a great asset in translating his quality of work to every part of our team, ensuring our standards at Gunsmiths Inc. will remain consistent.
As February begins we are also kicking off our custom ESP hearing protection services! For the month of February we will be offering these services at a discounted rate of $30.00 per pair for the Membership. You will also see a more involved retail space as we move through February. Chokes, Safety Glasses, and other general gun-care items will be available as we develop this new phase of the business.
A special Thank You to Tim Ward and the board of Jacksonville Clay Target Sports for making this transition successful. We would also like to thank our valued members and customers for their continued support and trusting us with your firearm related needs.
Best Regards,
Kelsey Doleo
GUNSMITHS, INC.
Skeet News
Well the time to shoot some skeet has arrived. Hopefully by now everyone has their guns in top shape and their shells loaded or procured. Just as important we have got our practice regiments in place. Feb 24 JCTS has its first shoot. The Annual Dutch Dewitt Fish Fry Memorial has been a premier competition for over forty years. It appears that we will have great turnout. We have friends from fourteen different States and Great Britain pre-squadded. After that St Augustine will host the US Seniors Skeet Championship starting March second. If you haven’t had enough shooting by the end of the Seniors Shoot, the P H Parker memorial will be held the next week in Palatka.
There are many more good shoots her in Florida this year.
2017 FLORIDA SKEET SCHEDULE
Other News from NSSA
Get NSSA Lifetime Targets Validated
Our Lifetime Target pins are very popular, but we've learned that some of our members don't know what is included in "lifetime targets" or how they are validated. All registered targets and Event 6 targets are included in the number, and all targets shot after 2002 are included in our online database and validated. However, if you registered targets prior to 2003, our staff can validate those targets manually so they can be included in your lifetime target records. Get the details. Have You Renewed Your Membership?
If you haven't yet renewed your NSSA membership, there's no time like the present. Just click the link below to renew quickly online. Renewing now will make sure there's no lapse in your member benefits, such as the ability to register targets, your members-only discounted gun insurance, and Clay Target Nation magazine. Renew your membership online now.
Find Scoreboard, Shoot Register on Website
The NSSA Scoreboard and Shoot Register are easily accessed on our websites. Go to MyNSSA.com or ClayTargetNation.com and you'll quickly see Scoreboard and Register links. Or, just click on the sidebar link here in Target Talk for the NSSA Scoreboard.
Big Changes for Shooting for Rewards Program!
NSSA-NSCA announces some major changes in the Shooting for Rewards program for 2017. First, rewards redemption is now open year-round, not just during quarterly redemption periods. You can redeem your points any day of the year, 24/7, making it possible to order an award as soon as you have enough points collected and eliminating the problem of expiring points during non-redemption months. Secondly, those who participate in state, zone, or World Championships will receive bonus points -- double points for state and zone shoots and triple points for the World Shoot. Get out and shoot and collect your rewards points for every registered target!
Do You Have Questions for the Pros?
Do you have a question you'd like a professional instructor to answer? Do you need to have a rule interpreted? Is there a shooting skill you're struggling with? If so, perhaps one of our professional instructors/writers can address it in an upcoming issue of Clay Target Nation. Send us your questions and topic ideas to CTN@nssa-nsca.com, and we'll consider them as we make assignments for 2017 issues.
Giambrone Video: Pre-Event Routine
Most of us know we need to develop a pre-shot routine, but do you have a pre-event routine to ensure you get to the shoot in the right frame of mind and ready to compete? Paul Giambrone III does, and he explains it in this short video.
Monthly Target Procedures:
When you arrive at the club, pick up a Monthly Target Individual Registration Report (MTIRR) and score sheet from the Cashier.
- Shoot your targets.
- Record your scores on the MTIRR.
- Submit your MTIRR, Score Sheet and daily fees to the Cashier.
Note:
Monthly targets must be reported in increments of 100.
The Monthly Target Individual Registration Report must be filled out completely and correctly for the gauge or gauges shot.
The Lead off Shooter is responsible to submit the score sheet to the Cashier when more than one shooter is shooting
Do you have a suggestion for future issues of the JCTS Newsletter? Do you have a question that you think other shooters would also like an answer to? Send it to us. We welcome your feedback at any time. Contact Bud Steil at gsteil61@gmail.com
Skeet Fever-Catch it!
Collegiate News
Varsity Shooting Team emerges as a national powerhouse
Source: The Wave Jacksonville University News Hub
Seven seasons, 10 national event championships, several Olympic hopefuls, two individual National HOA Champions, too many Gold medals to list and hundreds of students excelling at teamwork and mentor ship while learning the theory and academics of wing and clays shooting.
JU Varsity Shooting Team member Nick D’Asto JU’s Varsity Shooting Team is now seen as a major force nationwide, holding its own and more against top universities. It is emerging as a key attraction for numerous new high-performing students interested in the country’s fastest-growing sport: recreational shooting, now a $23 billion industry with more than 48 million participants. (See list of accomplishments below.)
“If someone were to ask me about the level of our team, it’s not an exaggeration to say we are to the collegiate Clay Sports world what the likes of Alabama, Florida State, UF, Clemson and LSU are to the football world: we are a powerhouse,” said Head Coach and team founder David Dobson. “We recruit highly sought-after kids with very high GPA’s – honor students whom we help develop and succeed here and after they leave.”
The program’s origins date to 2009, when it began as a club, gaining full Varsity Team status in 2012.
Several hundred students have now passed through it, and it boasts a regular active roster of 45-plus members. Team headquarters are at the multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art Jacksonville Clay Target Sports facility on New Berlin Road, 10 minutes from campus.
JU Varsity Shooting Team Co-Captain Marissa Biggie. Meanwhile, Dobson, co-chair of the Collegiate Advisory Board to the Scholastic Clay Target Program, entrepreneur and management skills consultant (and professional touring and studio blues guitar virtuoso to boot), runs the whole operation out of his office in Davis Student Commons. He guides team members, leads organizational meetings and brainstorming sessions — and shreds a scorching solo here and there on his ’57 Gibson Les Paul Custom or Paul Reed Smith if time permits.
He also attracts tens of thousands of dollars in donations annually for the team’s activities, and helps write grants for and plot subject material for JU’s Wingshooting academic program. That’s right, the Varsity Shooting Team is about more than pointing shotguns from stands. It’s also about theory in the classroom – for team members or just those curious about shooting. Since 2010, three ascending levels of Wingshooting courses and an independent study course have been taught via the Kinesiology program in the Brooks College Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences.
In the coursework, students learn about everything from the history and theory of shooting to eye dominance and shooting methodologies to manufacturing protocols and industry standards. A quick review of a syllabus reveals practical content related to gun safety, knowledge of gauges, ballistics, proper stance, gun mounting techniques, approved shooting methodologies, industry players and vendors, and the different types of Clay Sports (American Skeet & Trap, Sporting, and International). Then there are the esoterics of “Robert Churchill’s Theory of Allowance,” “Jon Bidwell’s Move, Mount, Shoot” and “The Dan Carlisle Triangle Method.” “These courses help students gain an appreciation for the activity, become advanced in its applications, and then proceed to become mentors and instructors themselves,” Dobson said.
Dobson attributes the program’s success to a holistic approach that encompasses aggressive recruiting, superior teaching and mentorship, ownership and accountability. “We take all comers, including grad students and veterans, with or without shotgun experience, and we train them. And a key to our continued success is that we allow the students to have 100 percent input into how we run the team,” he said. “They vote for their own captains, have their own executive committee, work on marketing us, do social media, set policies for the team’s charter and weigh in on disciplinary action. These students have shown themselves to be highly self-motivated, top performers.”
Team members for the 2017 season are: Alexander Amechi, Matt Bednarek, Marissa Biggie, Sophia Biglin, Megan Birtalan, Danielle Buttermore, Joe Byron, Matthew Chesser (USMC), Zachary Christensen, Nick D’Asto, Matt DeBord, Joe DeYoung, Colin Dulaney (USN), Mike Esposito, Benji Felder, Tom Frawley (USN), Sydney Fritz, Clayton George, Jonathon Glover, Jacob Hecht, Nathan Heeb, Sean Hensley, Marshal Hill (NROTC), Bobby Jacobs, Jena Jacobs, Kalie Jones, Devin Kennedy, Morgan Lambert, Stephania Landaeta, Christian Lizotte, Shelby LoPresto, Luke Macwilliams (USN), Mike Notarfrancesco, Brett Ollila, Drew Overmyer, Ron Palazzetti, Cassidy Pinto, Remington Rhoden, Jessica Roberts, D’Ayn Sayre, Kelby Seanor, Nick Stillwell (USA), Joseph Suarez, Palmer Szavuly, Brianna Tasset, Noah Torres (NROTC), Hunter Tracy, Glenn Turner (USA), Brittany Wilcox, Kasey Williams and Parker Woodring.
Membership Report
JCTS continues to develop into a world class shooting sports facility. The clubhouse has undergone substantial renovations this past year, while the second sporting clays course is nearing completion.
INVITATION TO GUESTS
As always, guests of JCTS are invited to join our club and enjoy member benefits, including member-only events, discounts on costs of rounds, bulk ammunition, and reloading supplies, as well as discounts with club vendors, Gunsmiths, Inc. and Wild West Guns & Gold. Memberships can be established through the Pro Shop or through the club website.
VOLUNTEERS
The great popularity of our club and target shooting sports means that we can always use your talents and energy to help us keep the club running smoothly. Please contact us if you would like to join us in the management of club activities.
George Prattos
Membership Chairman