March 2024 Markham Newsletter

March 2024

Markham Park Gun Club

Youth Program

Mondays 6-9

NSSA Skeet

Saturday, March 16th

ATA Trap Sunday, March 17th

NSCA Sporting Clays March 30th

Next General Meeting

ON REQUEST FROM SECRETARY

ClubNews

There was no Sporting Clays shoot this month. Given all the large shoots this month, it is hard to compete with the loss of our shooters to those events.

Trap was well attended by 20 shooters who shot 2,900 targets. The skeet shoot was still disappointing this month with only 4 shooters and 500 targets.

Clays, Skeet, or Trapshoot in the next couple of months somewhere in Florida.

If you know someone who would like the newsletter, forward them a copy and tell them to email me so I can add them to the list.

Joe Loitz

954-857-5278

jloit@bellsouth.net

Attendance on Mondays continues to be excellent. Most nights we have 15-16 shooters. We could use more coaches now and if attendance keeps up we could use more in the future. If you are interested in Youth coaching or just getting experience as a coach, come and see us on a Monday night and get the paperwork started.

This is still high season for registered shooting in Florida. Hope you get a chance to attend either a Sporting

Shotgun Sports – February

2024

Everyone has a club they feel at home with and subsequently they perform better when they are competing there. I always shot well at the club my family ran in Illinois and there was another club 15 miles away that was just as comfortable to me. Shooting twice a year at the Ohio State Shoot and the Grand American made Vandalia seem like a home club also. I shot most of my best scores at those venues. Michael J. Keyes, M.D. talks about home field advantage this month and its effects on our mental state. I think the best takeaway from this is there is an aura of expectation where we believe a positive outcome is assured when we are shooting at our favorite and familiar venues. How can I fail, I always shoot well here? This predictability allows us to relax and perform at our best. It helps relieve the anxiety that surrounds outcome unpredictability. We always do well here, so why would today be any different? This is the power of positive expectations.

How do we relieve the anxiety that a new shooting venue presents? First

Micheal warns us we need to be aware that new contextual and environmental changes will naturally cause stress levels to increase. Obviously, but what’s the fix? He suggests, as I would, concentrate on the target and the shooting process. Same holds true of any distraction, whether it is a new venue of shooters talking while you are on your post or station. Concentrate on the process and visual concentration on the target. Play the game and enjoy it. Don’t let fear of missing the target override your desire to break the target. Finally, if you are going to be a competitive shooter you have to get out there and experience every club you can. I have shot targets at over 90 clubs around the world and the US. Some I liked, some I dreaded.

Why do we miss? Ian Darroch has some ideas this month. Moving too early, either before you see the target or as you call. Do not move until you see the target! Moving too early will either cause you to over-move in the right direction or you will move in the wrong direction. More important is the fact you are not looking at the target when you move. Visual lock on the target before you move is paramount.

Ian loves foot position and hold points are one of Ian’s speaking points. Don’t overcompensate for the angle with your foot position and hold points. Hold points and foot positioning is very individual to each shooter, just don’t over-compensate to the hard angle. Finally, Ian thinks you hold the gun tight. Not a fan. His belief is that keeps your head from lifting off the gun. If you know how to shoot, you won’t do that. Hold the gun in a relaxed manner like you would a golf club, tennis racket, or baseball bat. You squeeze as the shot is

taken like you would squeeze the club, racket, or bat as contact is made with the ball.

Trap & Field - February 2024

Like most coaches that give class type lessons, where several shooters are taking lessons all at once, Ian Darroch hands out lots of “strategy and tactics” suggestions. There are never any practical suggestions about learning how to shoot. Ian talks about what’s required to reach the “Competitive Level” this month. First, make sure your gun fits and make sure the gun is a quality gun. Guess shooters like Mark Arie or Arnold Rieger would never have gotten competitive in Ian’s world. Gun fit is important and should be addressed. Few shooters ever shoot a fitted gun or a properly fitted gun.

Good shooting glasses are important. Get a variety of colors, yellow, vermillion or burnt orange, and brown. Next practice with a purpose to narrow down your faults. Maybe some suggestions as to what common faults are would be a good idea, so I’ll give you some. If you don’t see the target break, you are not shooting properly. You are shooting more by instinct than with actual purpose. Reaction shots are bad. You should be in control on every shot and know to shot because the sight picture was correct. If you are simply reacting and throwing the gun at the target, you are not shooting on purpose. Fix that!

Finally, shoot more than just one club. Go to other clubs and get experience shooting new venues. Ian also suggests taking a class. Again, if you don’t al-

ready have a well-established ability to break targets, those classes are pretty much a waste of time. Learn how to shoot first.

FORSALE

FORSALE

holsters, NIB never $575.

scope. Made by Nikko Arms. Weatherby look alike. $600

fired. $575.

#1- Ruger Ranch Mini

14 SS, 2-30rd & 2-10rd clips.$650

#3- .380 SIG P365xl with ex-mag, 2 holsters, NIB never

#2- Golden Eagle .338 Win Mag with

#4- .380 SIG P365xl with ex-mag, 2

P365xl holnever fired.

older shoulder holster.$875

#5 Browning Hi-Power 9mm luger with ex clip. Aso comes with

#6- .Beretta BL1 OverUnder Double trigger, 28"bbl F/M.$525

#7- Browning B 2000 12 ga 2 bbls luggage case. 1-30" full choke bbl and 1-26" Skeet bbl with vent ribs. $600

FORSALE

#8- Remington 700 SS .50cal Synthetic Stock Black Powder $425

#9-

ROYAL SPORTING ARMS

located in Davie, FL right on I-595 and 5 Minutes From Markham Park Trap Skeet and Sporting Clays Club. We are open year round to serve you at our FL Location.

Here at Royal Sporting Arms we are excited to help you with your next gun purchase.

We carry new and used Beretta, Perazzi, Rizzini, Krieghoff, Blaser, Syren, Fabarm, Caesar Guerini.

We are a full service shop, offering Fine guns, Ammo, stocks, over and under Barrels, gunsmithing, Gunstock work, recoil pads etc

We'll Pay TOP DOLLAR for your used guns and also take firearms on trade / consignment!

We are excited to see and work with you! Please contact our team to make an appointment or to stop in!

ATATrapshoot

Saturday,March17th

Signupstarts8:00

ShootingStartsat9:00

10016Yardtargets

100Handicaptargets

100Doublestargets

$42first100targets

$36foreachadditional100

AdditionalShootDates SeePage34

TrailTrap&Skeet

ATATrapshoot

NoShootinMarch

Signupstarts8:00

ShootingStartsat9:00

10016Yardtargets

100Handicaptargets

100Doublestargets

$40first100targets

$34foreachadditional100

MarkhamSkeet,Trap&SportingClays

NSSASkeetTournament

Saturday,March16th

Signupstarts8:00

ShootingStartsat9:00

50targets12gauge

50targets20gauge

50targets28gauge

50targets.410gauge

50targetsDoubles

$22each50targets

954-846-2336

What do I mean by concentration? I mean focusing totally on the business at hand and commanding your body to do exactly what you want it to do.

Arnold Palmer

Registered Shooting and Events in South Florida

Gun Shows

Miramar National Guard Armory March 9-10th

Skeet

Markham March 16th

So. Florida March 24th

Trail Glades March 30th

Trap

PBS Complex March 9th

Gulf Coast March 10th

Markham March 17th

Sporting Clays

Vero Beach March 2nd

Quail Creek March 3rd

OK Corral March 9th

Gulf Coast Clays March 17th

South Florida March 21-24th

Markham March 30th

your personal resources,

2024 Schedule NSCA

Sporting Clay Tournaments

Date Tournament

Saturday Jan. 27th Snow Bird Open

February No Shoot in February

Saturday Mar. 30th St. Patrick’s Day Open

Sunday April 14th Gerry Stumm Memorial

Sunday May 19th Memorial Day Open

Saturday June 22nd 23rd Annual Sunshine State Classic

Saturday July 13th Super Sizzle Open

Saturday Aug. 10th Summers End Open

Saturday Sept. 14th Markham Fall Fest Open

Sunday Oct. 20th Pumpkin Blast

Sunday Nov. 3rd Richard Merritt Memorial

Sunday - Dec 22nd Bud Wolfe Classic

ST. PATRICK’S DAY OPEN

100 Targets Shot over 14 Stations

SATURDAY MARCH 30TH

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: $80 N.S.C.A., $80 Hunter, $60.00 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. Tiebreaker station rankings will be posted during registration. 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:

Jon Roberts (786)-210-9448

email: MarkhamSportingClaysClub@gmail.com

Please Preregister using: scorechaser.com

SPORTINGCLAYSRESULTS

No eventwasheld.

CONCURRENTS

Price

.410 gauge

28 gauge 50 Targets $22.00

20 gauge 50 Targets $22.00

12 gauge 50 Targets $22.00

Doubles

50 Targets $22.00

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.

Skeet Results

Markham Skeet, Trap, & Sporting Clays

As my father taught me, and he drove home that point, he said, 'Just remember something. You don't need to tell anybody how good you are. You show them how good you are.' And he drove that home with me. So I learned early not to brag about how good I was or what I could do but let my game take that away and show them that I could play well.

Arnold Palmer

Trap Program

Trap Program:

SPECIALNOTICE

Trap Tournaments are usually the fourth Sunday of the month.

100 target 16 Yd, Hdcp and Doubles events.

First 100 targets.

ATA SHOOT SCHEDULE 2024

January 28th

February 25th

March 17th

April 28th

May 26th

June 23rd

July 28th

August 25th

September 22nd

October 27th

November 24th

December 22nd

$42.00

(Includes ATA and FTA daily fees)

Additional 100 target events. $36.00

See Joe Loitz for details: 954-857-5278

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

Come out and join the fun!