Annual Picnic, 2011

Monday, 18 July 2011

The club's 2011 Annual Picnic was held on Saturday, 16 July 2011.  The day started early, with volunteers and the cooks arriving before 7:00 AM.  Of course, preparatory work was being done days ahead of time, to get food, raffle prizes, targets, range set-up, and all of the other things needed to make an enjoyable family event.  There was some concern about the weather, which was justified during the first half of the morning, but the rest of the day turned out to be nice - partly cloudy to cloudy, and the rest of the rain showers held off until after the picnic was done.  People trickled in slowly in the morning until the light rain had subsided, and then they arrived at a faster rate.  There were at least 143 people who came to the picnic, including 82 club members and 61 family and friends.

The picnic included several activities, in addition to the socializing:

• Annual rifle competition
• SASS demonstration and participation
• First ever archery competition, even though it was informal
• Lunch and drawings for raffle prizes
• Annual shotgun competition

The barbecue lunch of pork and turkey, with caesar salad, potato salad, baked beans, steamed corn on the cob, bread and rolls, condiments, potato chips, and ice cream was served at noon, with plenty of food for seconds and thirds (for those who were really hungry).

The raffle prize drawings began around 11:30 AM, and continued through to 2:00 PM, with ammunition, knives, head lights, free rounds of trap, and other goodies for the winners.  There were also two additional raffles:  one which was a barbecue for up to 50 people donated by John Parish, and the second was for a Garmin Oregon 450T GPS donated by Doug Hill.  The two raffles brought in $265 for the hunter education and youth programs at CRGC.  The barbecue was won by Dennis Kenagy, and the GPS unit was won by Ken Wilson.

The rifle shooting began at 7:30 AM at a range of 200 yards.  The shooting was done for rifles in two categories:  large game (legal for elk), and varmint.  The competition was for smallest group size.  Varmint caliber rifles were measured on 6 shots from a bench, and large game rifles were measured on 6 shots (2 from the bench, 2 from a standing position, and 2 from kneeling or sitting position), but Veteran (senior) shooters shot 4 from a bench.  The winners were:

Class	Position	Shooter	Group (inches)
Veterans	1	Jim Burdett	3.25
Veterans	2	John Pursley	8.25
Men	1	Richard Phaneuf*	13.0
Men	2	Dennis Kenagy	14.9
Men	3	Brad Myers	19.7
Varmint	1	Donette York	2.4
Varmint	2	Jay Partlow	2.6
Varmint	3 (tie)	Brad Myers	2.9
Varmint	3 (tie)	Richard Phaneuf	2.9

* Shot with iron sights.

The SASS demonstration was well attended, and 25 to 30 of the young people at the picnic seemed most interested.  There were three tables set up, one each for pistols, rifles, and shotguns, and three sets of targets.  Each person shot at all three tables for familiarization.  Several of the guns used black powder.  The ammunition and firearms were provided by the Molalla River Rangers, and eye and ear protection were provided by the individual members who helped during the demonstration.  The River Rangers may have made some more converts to the SASS with the demonstration.  (For those with more interest, there will be a Wild Bunch match - which uses 1911 pistols, lever action rifles, and 1897 pump shotguns - at CRGC on Saturday, 30 July 2011, in addition to the regular monthly cowboy action shoot on 6 August 2011.)

The archery range was used for the first time for demonstrations and hands-on experience with a variety of archery equipment provided by CRGC archers and the Oregon Bow Hunters, Inc.  Mike Brown, of OBH, brought a trailer full of equipment, including bows and arrows, backstops, and targets.  About 15 adults and more than 30 kids found their way to the archery range to try their luck and test their skills at ranges of 20 and 30 yards.  Shooting results varied, and member Jay Partlow, otherwise a good rifle and shotgun shooter, needed to have a shoot-off with member David Scott for last place.  Club president Chuck McClaugherty's 6 year old daughter Hailey was the youngest shooter there. Archery chairman Paul Shuey said the bow was taller than she is, and she didn't want to stop shooting.

The shotgun shooting started about 2:15 PM.  The shotgun competition this year consisted of 10 shots at each of the following presentations.

• Goose shoot.  In the goose shoot, the shooter lays on the ground about 50 feet in front of the trap house, and the targets pass over the shooter before the shooter can get into a position to fire.
• Rail shoot.  The rail shoot is standard trap, but shot on trap #2 at the rail behind the trap pad, about 30 yards from the trap house.
• Quail walk.  The quail walk starts with the shooter on the 27 yard line, and targets are released at random intervals as the shooter walks toward the center of the trap house.
• Load and shoot.  In the load and shoot, the shooter calls for the target with an empty shotgun, and must load and shoot after the bird is pulled.
• Shoot from a stick.  While standing on the 21 yard line, the shooter must rest the shotgun on a shooting stick while aiming and shooting.

Class	Position	Shooter	Score
Men	1	Jay Partlow	38
Men	2	Ted Troutman	34
Women	1	Cindy Kenagy	18
Women	2	Donnette York	17
Junior	1	Ethan Kirkpatrick	21
Junior	2	Cody Partlow	17

The special first prize ($1.00) in the Gopher shoot goes to Ken Russell, who spotted one of the pests digging in the new lawn, and ruined its day.

The following people volunteered or assisted in Saturday's picnic.  A new member is signified by an asterisk following the member's last name.  Cal Barrett, Mike Bruck, Jim Burdett, Jim Casey*, Gary and Joanne Edwards, Fred Herrle*, Doug Hill, Al Kitzmiller, Jennifer Kunzman, John and Cory Parish, Bob Ray, Jim Robertson, Steve and Dorothy Roden, Bob and Pat Scharbach, Paul Shuey, Steve and Nancy Stash, Dan Stevens, Mike and Vici Strickland*, Delores Veldhuisen, Scott Werner, Glen Watson, and Mike and Gwyn Williams.