2008 Closer

Markham's skeet year ends quietly.

Smaller turnout than expected, Bowman cleans up - again!

Chuck "The Weatherman" Farnham was not the only face missing from this month's shoot (the weather did show up, just not Chuck!). In an unusual turn of events, a number of our regulars were otherwise occupied. This weekend was the Mini-World, and apparently there some hunters among us who headed for the fields. I used to be aware of the hunting seasons, but alas, no more. There were 13 attendees though, and together we shot 3700 targets. Great food from Antoninos  made up lunch both days, thanks to "Mr. Doubles" himself, Rocky Long. Glen Rieske made the office run smoothly even though he was not able to pop any caps, he helped me immensely. Thanks to all who helped.

The Thorguard Lightning Alarm once again is not functioning correctly. The unit on the main clubhouse is once again not sounding alarms or all clears. I have expressed, in detail, my "concern" to the staff at the range, and I hope the problems will be addressed by our next shoot. I would like to note that I would not be a good reference for the Thorguard system at this point. Perhaps a Thorguard rep will see this little post and take an interest in getting it right. We have the potential for a world class facility, but so far it is not a place good shooters like.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

12 Gauge

The 12 Gauge event was a another "almost". Todd Bowman was running them when the lightning alarm pulled us off the field. When we resumed, Todd missed a shot and ended with a 99. Just bad luck I guess. Craig Priest posted a beautiful 96 and took Runner Up, and Robert Williams edged out Steve Haynie on long run for Third. Class winners were Haynie (AA1), Thomas Tamayo (C1), Steve Sagal (D1), and Rich Weissman (E1).

20 Gauge

The 20 Gauge Event was another almost for Todd Bowman. The Markham "curse" has allowed only one 100 this year - still! Todd's 99 was good enough to win Champ. Todd's squad-mates Thomas Tamayo and  Steve Haynie took Runner Up and 3rd, respectively, from Steve Sagal (B1) in a shoot off of 94's. Other class winners were Chuck Reller (A1) and Craig Priest (C1).

28 Gauge

Todd finally posted a score that wasn't a 99 - he posted a 98 in the 28 Gauge. That was good enough to wallop Steve Haynie's 97 into the Runner Up position, and put Thomas Tamayo in 3rd. That's no way to treat your squad-mates! Class champs were Steve Sagal (C1) and Craig Priest (D1), both of whom had a stellar shoot.

.410

Once again the fickle little gun, so loved and dreaded, proved to be the "bad witch". 89 was the best score of the day, and even though it was posted three times, that's still an 89! The conditions, the distractions and the facilities - what ever the reason, once again a lesson in "never give up" was posted. Thomas Tamayo captured what I think was his first 410 Gun Championship, Rich Weissman captured Runner Up and Tony Cicchirillo took 3rd. Todd Bowman did capture his class (A1) with an 87, and Steve Haynie posted an 88 for B1. Chuck Rellers' 87 took C1 and Craig Priest took his class as well (D1). Those may have been good scores for what we had to work with! Hopefully the weather gets better from here on out.

Doubles

No near misses in Doubles were there? Oh No! Not again! Not one, but two shooters posted 49 of 50 scores! Man that Markham Curse is strong! So we had a Doubles Shoot Off for Doubles. Or is that a just a Doubles Shoot Off? Either way, it took half a box to decide the winner, and "Mr. Doubles" was the "other" Mr. 99, Rocky Long. Besting Todd Bowman for the second time in as many shoot offs, Rocky claimed the Doubles crown. Todd will no doubt have his day, but it wasn't this one.

HOA

Todd Bowman really liked the stromboli we served for lunch.  We fed him as much as we could and rushed him out to the field to "help" his shooting, and it, er, "worked". Todd won "HOA going away". Topping 3 of the 5 events, he posted a ten target margin over his nearest rival, Steve Haynie (RU). Thomas Tamayo took 3rd. Class Champs were Steve Sagal (C1) and Rich Weissman (D1). In honor of his resounding win, and in appreciation for his making the 110 mile drive each way to shoot with us, we awarded Todd the  "Stomboli-to-go-Award" (which he had to pick up at Antoninos). I hope he enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed his shooting this weekend.

General Info

We implemented our new "non-shoot expense fee" this month with no complaint. We had provided drinks and food in the base cost of the events, but with target prices rising, not to mention food and beverage costs, we could not continue without an increase. The separate daily fee is fair to everyone because single gun shooters don't gain an advantage over the multi-gun entrants. Thanks to the shooters for  understanding that we cannot absorb the increases indefinitely. We were able to use the computer program to collect the fee - using the "Hat's" field. We also received some lunch donations to assist in that area. Turnout was small, and we lost several hundred targets to the weather delays, but it was a good shoot. We did not lose money, and we ate pretty well. We even gave a HOA "Award Stromboli" away!

Our next shoot is November 1st and 2nd. The 2009 Chuck Fohlbrook Opener, named for last years champion, will start the new year off with a bang. Be sure and pre-squad early and give me complete information so that we can have a smooth start to the new skeet year. Rumor has it that the G Man himself, Glen Rieske, may just make an appearance at this shoot, and show us how to do it with a 28! December brings the S&H Systems Shoot and some gift for each shooter - I'll think of something. Check out the schedule on the home page of shoots next year around the state.

The 2008-2009 Skeet Year 

The new skeet year is fast approaching. The new schedules are posted on the first page of this website and linked on the Shoot Info page (can you find it?). Review the dates and make plans to attend as many shoots as you can. Start early with your Class All American quest, as your competition will! I have scheduled 12 shoots next year and if there are well attended, will try to do so each year. If attendance is poor, then I will cancel or not schedule shoots in the future, it's up to you!

Through the efforts of many South Florida shooters, three major shoots are being hosted in or near our area next year.
Polk County, in Winter Haven,  is hosting the 2009 Florida State Championships April 16-19, 2009, and Trail Glades Trap and Skeet will host the 2009 J B Maszk Fall State Championships September 18-20, 2009. Winter Haven is less than 3 hours away, has a nice facility and reasonable motel rooms. Trail Glades is in Miami, so close you don’t have to get a room to participate in a major skeet event. These event always feature great shooting, great shooters and great food and beverage – a great time. These two shoots are open to registered shooters statewide, in all classes. I encourage all shooters in our area to make every effort to attend these two shoots. If you recently started shooting, you should go now to these shoots. Do not wait until “you are better”, because then the competition is even tougher. That is why we have classes. You are welcome and even encouraged to attend. Because the Board of Directors will likely rotate these shoots to different clubs bidding on them, we will not likely be the location for these shoots again for sometime. Attend them now and you help the chances of getting a return engagement sooner.

Additionally, there is a major event at Trail Glades range February 19-22, 2009, The Teddy Montoto Flamingo Open. This shoot attracts shooters from all over the country, including former World Skeet Champion Kevin Monteleone and the officers of the NSSA. They have a “famous” dinner with a “Latin flair”, and exciting "410 blind" competition that you have to see to believe. This is also the "annual" for Trail Trap and Skeet, so they really appreciate our support. I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Over 100 shooters are expected to attend these events and shoot over 35,000 targets at each. If you have yet to take in a shoot that large, go do it this time. I cannot encourage you enough to try and attend these three events next year. Support your sport.

Until next time, Keep your head down and break 'em all. - Steve Haynie

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Markham Skeet, Trap and Sporting Clays Club
16001 West St. Road 84, Sunrise, Florida 33326
(954) 357-5143