31 March 2013

Arizona Commissioner's Cup - Sporting Clays edition

The SCSon has really taken to the scattergun.  And I really can't blame him.   Much as I admire and aspire to precision long range shooting, shooting moving targets or stationary targets while moving is a lot more fun.

The SCTP club (RSTT) ends the season with the Commissioner's Cup.  The first event was Sporting Clays.

Let's meet the team:

Andrew
Mike
SandCastle Son
Unofficially all three shot something in the low 70's/100.  I carried the score sheets back to HQ and mentally added up the scores three times.  I came up with three different errors answers.  Likely not good enough to move on, but I'm proud of how far they've come in just a few months.  Official scores will likely be posted this week.
 
Prescott Clay Busters

Here are a couple more pics of the event:

Here is one of the opposing squad, a club out of Prescott.  He's probably the best shooter on the two squads as evidenced by his 10/10 on the first stage and four or five later stages as well.
Got The Shot

The Trap event is next Saturday, followed by Skeet at the end of April.  And he's never shot a single skeet in his life!  (Rio does not have a skeet field).





 I initially thought I'd caught the shot cloud 2' off the end of the barrel.  But if that's the shot cloud, where is the shotcup?  I suspect the blur is the shot cup.  Still, just goes to show, Shoot a lot of pics and you're bound to get a couple good ones.




 
Video or it didn't happen!

30 March 2013

March ePostal entry

Good Friday is a dayjob(tm) holiday.  There are a lot of holidays we don't take but this one is kinda neat in that only a few take it.  That means everything is open (including the USPS).

The SCSon  and I took advantage by hitting the range.  We started on the sporting clays course in preparation for his Commissioner's Cup appearance (Separate post to follow).

He shoots half price clays due to his youth status.  But that means we have to be off the course and back to the office by 3 to return the card.

Then we hit the main range to shoot the March ePostal "The Mess' Revisited".  I did surprisingly well with the .22/45:
Most of our best targets scored in the 10 to 15 range.  But I scored this one at  85 (Subject to the contest manager's review).  That's the thing about "The Mess".  The distance from really good and really bad is tiny!  To wit, while this target scored 85, my 9mm target scored zero.   The penalties neatly offset the gains.  Target submitted anyway.

BTW, these targets were shot a 11 yards due to range minimum distance requirements.

These ePostal matches traditionally run along calendar boundries, but I'm a fan of two-fers where the incoming and outgoing matches are open on the weekend closest to the end of the month.  These allow a shooter to enter both matches at a single range outing.

TrueBlueSam has taken over ascended to management of these ePostal matches. I'm not sure who is on deck for April but keep an eye in the upper left of this blog.  Update 31March2013:  The Conservative UAW guy has brought back a classic: The Fly.  Also keep an eye on TrueBlueSam for updates.

BTW, check back here for the May ePostal match, hosted by the SCSon and myself.  Our match will be an 'homage to gaming FPS style crafted by the SCSon.

01 March 2013

Win 1 of 2 Winchester SX3 Sporting 12 Gauge Shotguns

Update 02Mar2013 10pm:  RSTT Chief Jeff informs me the risk of bad checks is too high.  I figured we could simply hold shipping until the checks had cleared.  Apparently the hassle is not worth the risk.  I have inquired into the viability of USPS Money Orders.  That's what our Az DPS uses to certify funds when applying for a CCW. 

Rats... I was hoping this would be simple :-( such are the times we live in.

Also, apparently he hasn't seen the gun either and is unsure if the gun actually has the adjustable comb or if the MSRP is accurate.  As I mentioned in the std.disclaimer, I haven't seen the guns so I matched up the description on the ticket "Winchester SX3 sporting" with what I found on the Winchester website.  I've asked for clarification on the process... I'm working on best available information at this time....  I'm just trying to help.

The SCSon's SCTP club is raffling off two Winchester SX3 Sporting shotguns (MSRP $1699).  
Photo Courtesy Winchester Repeating Arms.*



There are only 1000 tickets and 2 guns.  If I remember my probability and statistics, that's a 1:500* chance.  Buy 10 tickets and you have a 1:50 chance.  Each ticket is $10  All proceeds go to the Rio Salado Target Terminators - I do not take a commission.  Ticket sales are limited.  First come first served!

Logistics:
You can purchase tickets through me.  Email me at sandcastlescrolls att msn dott com (correct the obvious typos).  If you are local in the Phoenix Metro area, you can visit the Rio Salado Sportsmans Club office or I can accept cash &
checksMO FTF.  Do not send cash through the mail.

For out of state purchases I will respond promptly with payment details.  For now, only
checks &USPS money orders are acceptable through the mail, payable to "Rio Salado Target Terminators".  Once a
checkMO has been received, I will write your name on the numbered ticket and scan and email back.  You will also receive the actual ticket stubs via USPS.
We are working on logistics of how to accept credit card payments.  If we can figure out the credit card stuff, I expect a three way call (me, you and RS office) with cc info will follow with ticket scans and USPS hard ticket stubs.

If you win, you must make arrangements to take delivery of the shotgun.  All federal and state laws will be observed.  You will be responsible for all transfer costs (if any).  Heck if I'd just won a $1699 shotgun, I'm pretty sure I could find a way to finance actual transfer fees.

I will post video of the drawing so you will have confidence the drawing was conducted properly.

About Rio Salado Target Terminators:
RSTT is an Scholastic Clay Target Program which teaches youth to safely handle a shotgun and how to hit a moving target.  The SCSon tried the junior Olympic shooting club (precision .22LRs)  a couple years ago and did not like it.  Moving targets are a lot more fun!

RSTT provides instructors, shotguns, shot shells and targets for a very nominal annual fee**.  The program is obviously sponsored through grants from Arizona Game and Fish and  others.  If you have a  5th - 12th grader and this sounds interesting, check out the web page and come on out.  It's really a heck of a deal for youth shooters.

#include std.disclaimer:  I have not seen the actual shotguns that are being raffled off.  This picture is from the Winchester Website and the name "Winchester SX3 Sporting" matches.  Looks like a nice gun.  I hope you win!  I hope I win (I have skin in the game too)!    In the end RSTT definitely wins, and that's a good thing.

* Odds are actually a little better than 1:500.  First drawing has a 1:1000 chance to win (.001).  2nd drawing probability is 1:999 since the 1st winning ticket is out of the 2nd drawing: (.0010010001001 etc),  Add  and invert.  Odds of a single ticket win are 1:499.7498.  Math is cool!  Now here is where I wish I had a better understanding of game theory as that would tell me the optimal number of tickets to buy.  Sorry that's above my edumucation level :-(  (if you do understand game theory, I will give you a guest post for the analysis)

** The annual fee wouldn't buy the shells & clays for two months of this program, let alone borrow the gun and the expertise of the instructors.  Like I said, it's a heck of a deal!  Plus there have been multiple opportunities at additional free shoots.

FMI: contact the head of Rio Salado Target Terminators: "Jeff @ RioSCTP"   You can get tickets directly from him as well.