2021 Markham Newsletter by smokinjoe48

Markham Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays Volume 12 Issue 3 March 2021

Markham Park hours: Sundays 8:00-7:00 Mondays 1:00-9:00 Tues., Wed., Thurs., 4:00-9:00

Markham Park Gun Club Youth Program Currently on hold NSSA Skeet Sunday, March 7th ATA Trap Sunday, Mar. 14th NSCA Sporting Clays Sunday, Mar 21st

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS 2020 OFFICERS

PAGE 4 5 6-13

14-15 16 17 19 20-21 23 24-25 26-27 28 30 32-33 34

CLUB NEWS STEVE NORRIS SHOOTING INSTR. MAGAZINE REVIEWS 6 TRAP & FIELD 10-11 SHOOTING SPORTSMAN 11 Shotgun Sports 12 ClayShoo-ngUSA FOR SALE St. Patrick' Day Open Frauens and Sharpe Podcast EVENTS CALENDAR CLUB CALENDAR SPORTING CLAYS CALENDAR SPORTING CLAYS PROGRAM AND RESULTS SKEET PROGRAM AND RESULTS FSA SKEET CALENDAR TRAP PROGRAM TRAP RESULTS YOUTH PROGRAM

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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—Vacant

DIRECTORS: Greg Ritch Sporting Chair

Contact info: Markham Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays 11873 NW 30th Street Coral Springs, FL 33065 954-857-5278 

www.markhamsportingclays.org

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E-mail: jloit@bellsouth.net

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Newsletter: jloit@bellsouth.net

Next General Meeting ON REQUEST FROM SECRETARY

Club News The Sporting Clays shoot couldn’t be rescheduled in February because of conflicts with other shoots. The skeet shoot was attended by five shooters. Ric Sherman won the 12 gauge event with a 46x50. Joe Loitz won the 20 gauge with a 48x50. The Trapshoot was well attended by 18 shooters. Three squads of Singles shot the event with Dax Demena leading the event with a lone 97x100. Antonio Spadaro and Thomas Jett followed closely with 96’s. There were two Doubles events Dax Demena won both with a 96 and 97x100. The latest out of Palm Beach is from a phone call I made to the reservation number at the club. The fellow who answered the phone at the reservation desk told me they would be up and running in 7-8 weeks. So, that means it should be open by May 1st.

Let’s start a betting pool. Unless something goes wrong, we are going to have the first ATA shoot at Trail Glades on Saturday, April 17th. I am working with Robert Vazquez and Henry Ovares to get this organized with the county. Look forward to seeing everyone there. No decision has been made as to when we can start the Youth Program again on Monday nights. Not much else going on. Southern Grand is the weekend of the 20th and 21st and the State Trapshoot is the week after. Look forward to seeing you there. See you at the club. Joe Loitz jloit@bellsouth.net 954-857-5278

STEVE NORRIS SHOTGUN SHOOTING LESSONS

With over 30 years of experience Steve Norris has established his reputation as one of the premier shotgun instructors in South Florida. Whether he is guiding a beginning shooter through their first shots or perfecting an advanced shooter’s game, Steve is the go to coach at Markham Park. He has worked with over 1,000 Youth shooters in

Markham’s Youth Program and has helped guide six of them to national championships. Steve is available for lessons in Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays. At $200 for three hours of instruction, targets included, Steve is by far the best shotgun instruction your money can buy! Call him at: 754-264-9584.

Magazine Review TRAP & FIELD – January 2021

(leaning back pushes the gun up and over the target). Finally, a full body swing is more athletic.

How firmly do you hold a shotgun against your shoulder for effective shooting? Interesting question that Jim Blevins takes a shot at answering. He believes you should “grip the gun firmly and pull it tightly into your shoulder”. Also he believes in moving the shotgun by swinging with your upper body as a unit, don’t arm swing. Arm-swinging uses little upper body rotation and can cause disassociation between the gun, the shoulder, and your eyes and is not the recommended method for moving your shotgun to the target.

As to gripping the gun firmly I would suggest taking a cue from golf and tennis. You only grip a racket or club firm enough to control the swing, then tighten the grip as you meet the ball. It’s a matter of feel. I tell my students to hug the gun. Be one with the gun grasshopper. Everyone’s different, snug means tight to one person and tight means snug to another. Jim is correct in advising there be no muscle tension in your gun mount. A firm, snug, yet relaxed mount is what you want to achieve.

Jim’s not wrong, but more importantly, he’s not right. I, like many other instructors, believe in a full body swing, even in Trap. Swing from the ankles up. Harlan Campbell “leans” into the target from the ankles up. Chris Batha and the Orvis Shooting School recommend a “full body” swing. Personally, I believe a full body swing gives more control and helps prevent leaning back to swing the gun

Jim suggests adding weight (a couple of pounds) to your gun and doing dry mounts at home, sets of 25 then take a break. Continue until you reach 100 mounts over a 20minute period. I don’t think adding weight to your gun is a good idea. The additional weight could change your mount. Don’t add the weight. Interesting how Jim suggests taking a deep breath after you’ve mounted your gun, then release half of it. He does this to relax his back muscles. I take that breath before I mount and release half of it before I mount. Something to think about. 6

When it comes to gun fit and mount there aren’t any absolute rules. Unless you mount the gun conventionally gun fit is only speculative. That being said, I never espouse absolutes. General theory states your triggerhand thumb and your nose should be 1”-2” from each other on the comb. Ian Darroch suggests they should be ½” or closer without causing yourself to be punched in the face with your knuckle. Also, your face should be almost on the nose of the comb, but not over it. Having your face forward on the comb does have its advantages. It is not an absolute, however. Kim Rhode’s thumb is probably 3” from her nose and her cheek is at the middle of the comb nowhere near the nose of the comb. She’s not the only exception, just the only one I can recall off the top of my head. Joe Fanizzi doesn’t even place his face on the comb nor is his face forward on the comb and he’s pretty good. As you can see conventional isn’t an absolute guarantee to shooting success. Ian also makes another absolute statement about where to hold the forearm. He recommends the middle of the forearm. Guess he’s never seen Paul Giambrone III

shoot. Paul extends his arm to the end of the forearm. I know several top shooters do this. Morris Stinebring used to hold the end of the forearm as I recall. Again, nothing is absolute. He is correct about pitch. Pitch is welldescribed by Ian. Positive pitch is where the toe or bottom of your stock sticks out further than the top or heel of the stock. Pitch can be a major cause of face-slap from recoil. The wrong pitch and the gun kicks up, slapping your face. If you feel no face-slap at this time then your stock probably has the right degree of pitch. If, however, you are experiencing face-slap you should adjust your pitch. Do this by adding a washer over the screw under the toe or heel of stock’s pad. One or two should do it. The change can be pretty dramatic. Don’t suffer in silence, try the washers to eliminate face-slap. 7

Magazine Review TRAP & FIELD - February 2021 Jim Blevins dives into mount and stance this month. Of course, the biggest consideration is comfort in a relaxed physical preparation for the target. No body tension in the same way you would address a golf ball or when hitting a tennis ball or softball. Set your feet to take advantage of your best range of motion. Interesting, the wider you spread your feet the less range of motion you have. Shoulder width is best for most people, but I’ve known several excellent shooters who stand with their feet touching because of back problems and other physical issues. Jim Beyerlein was born with a club foot and stood with his feet touching. He led the nation twice in Singles averages at Trapshooting, once with a 99.50% average. Foot posi-

tion usually changes for every station whether it is Trap, Skeet, or Sporting Clays. One size rarely fits all in the shooting sports. Standing too erect is not a good idea. I always emphasize standing athletically, slight lean forward with weight on the lead foot. Jim suggests 60% weigh on the forward foot. As long as the stance is relaxed, I agree. As to mount, Jim is a purist. He is obviously not familiar with shooters who mount the gun towards the middle of their chest or low shoulder shooters. He tells us to mount to the shoulder pocket formed just inside the ball of our shoulder. I do agree when he says that for most people the heel of the pad should be level or below the top of the shoulder.

Ian Darroch continues this month with his dissertation on gun fit. I’m not going into the mundane descriptions of cast, offset, toe, and drop, but will just hit the highlights. Yes, your eyes should be level as you look down a stock. One of the hardest things to get a new shooter to do is get their eyes level as they mount a stock. Ian likes the heads up style of shooting with the eyes level. Not what I grew up with, but he is right, you don’t want to be looking through your eyebrows. I don’t (look through my eyebrows). Bad enough I barely have any as I get older. He does have a point about being too upright, it becomes less athletic. This is proba-

bly why I like my stance and mount, it’s more athletic than the typical trap mount. Too erect in your stance and you have tension in your muscles which will affect your swing radius. You will also incorporate your back when swinging, forcing the barrels to swing up. Not good. He does admit that the top shooters have a more athletic stance with slight lean forward.

Magazine Review SHOOTING SPORTSMAN – January/ February 2021 Chris Batha presents six drills for at home practice during these COVID times and after. The first is a body rotation drill using an 8-lb medicine ball. I substitute a 10-lb dumbbell. Place three pieces of blue tape 3’ apart on a wall at shoulder height. These are targets from what I can gather by the description. Place your feet shoulder width apart and belt pointing at a break point for one of the “targets”. The object is to hold the weight between your outstretched hands and make smooth rotations from right to left, turning

from the ankles up as you would when turning into a shot. The second drill is your standard gun mount into a wall mirror. Move slow and smooth. Done correctly, you will be looking down your barrel right back into your eye. Stand far enough back to allow for a 34” barrel is good advice. Six feet would better and be sure your feet are properly placed. The third drill uses a laser bore sight. This is the same drill Vicki and Gil Ash recommend. Set a look point, the ceiling corner of a room, possibly mark an insertion point along the seam of the ceiling and wall and mark a break point further along the seam. Use the laser to work on a smooth insertion, swing, and follow-through. Another laser drill is the three cartridge drill (also a Vicki and Gil drill). Place three shells three feet apart at 6-8 feet off the floor. Stand 10’ back from the shells and set up in your stance. Now hard focus on the center cartridge then swing to the left or right shell. Increase the distance between cartridges as your peripheral vision improves. Next, holding a bungee cord end in your forearm hand and standing on the other end, slowly mount your gun to build up strength and stamina in your arms. Finally, get a ShotKam or other device to record your shooting for later evaluation. As with anything, practice makes perfect. Start slow and stay smooth in your movements. 10

Tom Roster attacks the age-old question, does barrel length affect velocity and pressure. Smokeless power is completely consumed and turned to gas within the first 5 inches of the barrel. So, burn-rate is not a factor. For every inch of barrel over 20” out to 40” your pellets gain 4 fps. A 20” barrel with 1200 fps ammo as they exit the barrel becomes 1280 fps at 40”. Thus, the velocity difference between a 26” barrel and 32” barrel is only 25 fps at the muzzle. After 25 yards the difference is minimal. Full chokes can increase the muzzle velocity 30 fps or higher compared to IC chokes. The big advantage of a longer barrel is an improved sighting plane and that’s what you should take-away from his research. Nice job Tom! Shotgun Sports – February 2021 Flinching is a delicate subject for those afflicted by it. The release trigger is the overall fix, but the cause can be something that’s simple to fix. Mark H. Taylor delves into the subject and gives explanations and suggestions in this issue. I could be caused by a visual conflict when the barrel blocks the target or the nondominant eye conflicts with

the dominant one. The simple fix for both is lowering the hold point so the target always passes over your gun before you see it. Another fix is obscuring the off-eye for the ones with dominance problems. There is also a rail that can be attached to the rib to block the off-eye from seeing the beads on the barrel. Of course, if you have no beads, as some sporting clays shooters don’t, this won’t be much help. Recoil reduction is another solution to flinching. Go to lighter shells or installation of recoil reduction devices. Mark goes into some issues with how the trigger is pulled that I question. I was early on in my shooting told, you slap a shotgun trigger, never squeeze it. He also suggests getting away from squeezing it. Mark also thinks going to the release trigger is a last resort. Many shooters would disagree. Up to you. Read the article for yourself and decide.

Magazine Review ClayShootingUSA – January/February 2021 Dee Orr presents a nice write-up on the 2020 Florida State Shoot in this issue. The only instructional article is from John D. Shima on training to become your best self. The crux of John’s article is the elimination of emotional attachment to the result of a shot. Pride and fear of loss of self-esteem can interfere with any shot you take. John believes and I do too that a shooter should discover their inner Shooting Self, the one that takes a shot naturally without conscious input and without judgement.

control over the outcome and let the shot happen naturally, watch the target break as John would say. The goal isn’t to shoot better than your competition, the goal is to shoot better than your previous self.

When a shooter trains, they should be training to create a better connection with their inner Shooting Self on every shot. Yes, you are practicing shots from right to left, left to right, or straight-away, but you are also practicing how to take these shots without conscious input. Sure, the first shots at any new target or when you are working on change require conscious input, but the finishing of the should be to break the target without the conscious input. Trying to hit targets to prove you are a better person places you in the conscious mode and defeats the Shooting Self mode. Give up

Winchester SUPREME 12 Gauge 28” barrels excellent condition with choke tubes and selectable barrels. Also includes a gun sleeve and 4 boxes of ammo. This gun was made by FN for Winchester for several years around the turn of the century (2000)

Fired less than 50 shells - asking $1,000 (negotiable) Call Gary: 954-240-6967 garylea@bellsouth.net 14

Frauens and Sharpe SCTP and NSCA Champions and Friends

Reanna Frauens and Madison Sharpe are featured in a podcast interview at:

Shotgunsportsusa.com Tune in and listen to Reanna and Madison discuss their wonderful adventure to the ranks of the top women in the SCTP and NSCA.

10704 Wiles Road, Coral Springs, FL 33076 954-846-2336

I always saw hurdles as a form of art, because it's very individual. One technique that may produce a world record for one guy could be useless for another guy. Edwin Moses

Registered Shooting and Events in South Florida Gun Shows Natl. Guard Armory Miramar Mar. 20-21st

Skeet Markham So. Florida

March 7th March 13th

Trap Gulf Coast Clays March 7th Markham March 14th So. Florida March 27th

Sporting Clays Vero Beach Quail Creek OK Corral Markham

March 6th March 7th March 14th March 21st Gulf Coast Clays March 28th I always saw hurdles as a form of art, because it's very individual. One technique that may produce a world record for one guy could be useless for another guy. Edwin Moses

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

2 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

3 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

4 5 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

8 Tourney Club is Club is Open Open 1:00-9:00 8:00-7:00

9 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

10 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

11 12 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

14 Club is Open 8:00-7:00

15 Club is Open 1:00-9:00

16 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

17 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

18 19 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

21 Sporting 22 Tourney Club is Club is Open Open 8:00-7:00 1:00-9:00

23 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

24 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

25 26 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

28 Trap 29 Tourney Club is Club is Open Open 1:00-9:00 8:00-7:00

30 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

31 Club is Open 4:00-9:00

7 Skeet

Fri

Sat

APRIL Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Club is Open

Skeet Tourney

Club is Open 8:00-7:00

4:00-9:00 8 9

Club is Open

1:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00

Club is Open 8:00-7:00

Club is Open

1:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00

18 Sporting 19

Tourney Club is Open 8:00-7:00

Club is Open

25 Trap

Tourney

Club is Open

Club is Open 8:00-7:00

1:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 30

1:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00 4:00-9:00

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 22

2021 Schedule of NSCA Sporting Clay Tournaments Date Sunday - Jan 17 Saturday - Feb 27

Tournament Snow Bird Open

Cancelled

Sunday - Mar 21

St. Patrick's Day Open

Sunday - Apr 18

Gerry Stumm Memorial

Saturday - May 15

Memorial Day Open

Saturday - Jun 19

21st Annual Sunshine State Classic

Saturday - Jul 10

Super Sizzle Open

Saturday - Aug 14

Summers End Open

Saturday - Sept. 11

Markham Fall Fest Shoot

Sunday—Oct. 10

Pumpkin Blast

Sunday - Nov. 7

Richard Merritt Memorial

Sunday—Dec. 26

Bud Wolfe Classic 23

SPORTING CLAYS PROGRAM

Markham Skeet, Trap & Sporting Clays Club

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY OPEN 100 Targets Shot over 14 Stations

SUNDAY MARCH 21ST Registration: Opens 8:00 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: $60 N.S.C.A., $60 Hunter, $40.00 SubJunior, Junior No Scorers or Trappers will be provided. Shooters will be asked to squad themselves into groups of at least 3 and designate a field judge to verify scores for the squad.

Lunch will not be 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: Greg Ritch (561) 271-5319 email: gregsritch@gmail.com

Please Preregister using: scorechaser.com

SPORTING CLAYS RESULTS No results February shoot was cancelled

CONCURRENTS

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

$20.00 $20.00 $20.00 $20.00 $20.00

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 26

Skeet Results Markham and South Florida Shooting Club

South Florida Shooting Club

It doesn't matter who you are. It can happen to anybody. We have Kenyan, Dominican Republic and even Scandinavian Olympic gold medalists. All you need is will power. Edwin Moses

Trap Program Trap Program: SPECIAL NOTICE

Trap Tournaments are usually the fourth Sunday of the month.

100 target 16 Yd, Hdcp and Doubles events. First 100 targets. $40.00 (Includes ATA and FTA daily fees)

ATA SHOOT SCHEDULE 2020-2021

Additional 100 target events.

October 25th

$32.00

November 22th December 27th January 17th

See Joe Loitz for details: 954-857-5278

February 28th March 14th April 25th May 23th June 27th July 25th August 22nd

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!

TRAP RESULTS

16 Yards

SINGLES

CLASS

SCORE

DAX DEMENA

ANTONIO SPADARO

THOMAS JETT

ALEX RIERA

HENRY OVARES

WARREN LEDFORD

JOSE LOPEZ

TED GALATIS

ISAIAS VARGAS

NICOLA FONTANA

ORACIO RICCOBONO

RAFAEL CARBALLIDO

SERVANDO VALES

ISIDORO LOPEZ

PABLO GONZALEZ

Handicap No Handicap event was held.

Doubles DOUBLES

CLASS

SCORE

DAX DEMENA

JOE LOITZ

96 86

ALEX RIERA

A B C

86 85 82

97 93 91 88 79

THOMAS JETT ANGEL ESTEVEZ

DAX DEMENA ALEX RIERA JOE LOITZ THOMAS JETT ENRIQUE BERNET

A B B C

Youth Program

The Youth Program is currently on hold until the park returns to normal operations. 34

SPONSORS 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 sponsor our newsletter: contact me at: jloit@bellsouth.net Joe Loitz at 954-857-5278