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Women Powder Clay Targets At Game & Fish Shotgun Clinic
Last updated Thursday, March 20, 2008 4:54 PM CDT in Outdoors
By Flip Putthoff
The Morning News
Shotguns popped outside the classroom at the Gunsmoke Sporting Clays range in the countryside north of Pea Ridge. Inside, a dozen women watched shooting coaches demonstrate the nuances of hitting a flying clay target with a volley of lead pellets.
They listened carefully with unwavering attention. Soon these ladies would be the ones out on the range hollering "pull!" and firing live ammunition, some for the very first time.
The gathering held Saturday was the annual Arkansas Game & Fish Commission shotgun shooting clinic for women, held each March at the sporting clays range northeast of Pea Ridge.
Instruction indoors gave the 12 women respect for the shotguns they would shoot later in the day. Steve Dunlap and Phyllis Speer, educators with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission emphasized the importance of handing the guns safely, always pointing the barrel in a safe direction and treating every firearms as if it is loaded.
Safety, safety and more safety was the mantra of the day.
Shooting coaches taught the proper stance, how to shoulder the gun and explained shotgun jargon such as "gauge."
"That's nothing more than how big around the barrel is," Dunlap said.
Shot size - the size of the pellets in a shotgun shell - can be confusing. The bigger the number, the smaller the shot. Go figure.
The idea of the clinic is to give women the opportunity to learn to shoot a shotgun in the camaraderie of other women without their husbands or boyfriends around.
Some final words of shooting wisdom rolled off the coaches' lips. After a spot of lunch it was time to shoot.
Eager To Learn
Kandy Everhart of Rogers carried her own shotgun, a beautiful heirloom side-by-side shotgun with beautiful dark wood and filigree that graced gleaming metal components.
"We do a lot of rifle and pistol shooting, but not really a lot of shotgun. I'm hear to improve my shotgun shooting," she said.
Most of the women stepped up to a rack of 20 gauge shotguns provided for the clinic by Game & Fish. Shells are provided, too, along with eye and ear protection.
The women pay a $30 fee to attend the clinic. The state one-eighth of one percent Conservation Sales Tax also funds the event. Game & Fish provides shotguns, or shooters can bring their own. Shotgun shells and protection for eyes and ears is furnished.
Joanna Duchon of Rogers chose a gun from the rack and picked it up. It was her first time to clutch the narrow grip of a shotgun, but she wasn't reluctant to step up to the firing line when Dunlap asked, "Who wants to go first?"
Game & Fish Wildlife Officer Brian McKinzie stood by her side and offered gentle advice on how to lead the round orange target that would soon rocket in front of her.
It only took a couple of tries before Duchon's shot smashed her first target into shards of clay and gray dust. Whoops and applause from her peers and shooting coaches followed the blast.
"That first shot surprised me because the gun kicked I wasn't expecting it," she said. "I thought, 'How am I going to break that little orange thing in the air?'"
Minutes later she was regularly shattering targets.
Shotgun Game
Shooting coaches taught their charges to point the gun, not to aim it, and to keep the gun barrel in front of the target to lead the bird.
A smooth swing of the gun, even after the trigger is squeezed, means a smooth follow-through and more hits.
A big cause of miss-itis is waiting too long to shoot. Get the barrel on the target quickly, swing the gun and shoot, was the mantra of the coaches.
Once the target starts to drop, it's game over, coached Thomas Dunlap, a Game & Fish hunting education instructor and brother of Steve Dunlap.
After firing about 10 shells at flying-away targets to get a feel for shooting, the women fanned out among the different shooting stations of the sporting clays range.
Targets fly a different way at each station to mimic shots at wild game. Crossing shots imitate quail or doves. An incoming clay bird might simulate a decoying duck.
There's even a station where the target goes bouncing across the ground like a speedy cottontail rabbit.
By the end of the day, not many targets got past a gun barrel intact. If the dozen women were shooting at wild game instead of clay, they'd have the makings of a bountiful feast.
At A Glance
Sporting Clays
• What Is It? Sporting clays is a shotgun game where shooters fire at clay targets the simulate shots common in hunting, such as flushing quail, decoying ducks and bounding cottontail rabbits.
A game consists of 50 or 100 targets. The shooter breaking the most targets wins. Shooters can also traverse a sporting clays course without keeping score.
• Where To Shoot? Gunsmoke Sporting Clays is located northeast of Pea Ridge. From downtown Pea Ridge, follow Arkansas 72 east to Twelve Corners Road. Go north approximately 4 miles to London Road. Follow London Road north approximately one-half mile and watch for the sign.
Range hours are 9 a.m. to dark seven days a week. Call (479) 451-8720 for information.
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/03/20/outdoors/032108shotgunmain.txt
Women Powder Clay Targets At Game & Fish Shotgun Clinic
Last updated Thursday, March 20, 2008 4:54 PM CDT in Outdoors
By Flip Putthoff
The Morning News
Shotguns popped outside the classroom at the Gunsmoke Sporting Clays range in the countryside north of Pea Ridge. Inside, a dozen women watched shooting coaches demonstrate the nuances of hitting a flying clay target with a volley of lead pellets.
They listened carefully with unwavering attention. Soon these ladies would be the ones out on the range hollering "pull!" and firing live ammunition, some for the very first time.
The gathering held Saturday was the annual Arkansas Game & Fish Commission shotgun shooting clinic for women, held each March at the sporting clays range northeast of Pea Ridge.
Instruction indoors gave the 12 women respect for the shotguns they would shoot later in the day. Steve Dunlap and Phyllis Speer, educators with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission emphasized the importance of handing the guns safely, always pointing the barrel in a safe direction and treating every firearms as if it is loaded.
Safety, safety and more safety was the mantra of the day.
Shooting coaches taught the proper stance, how to shoulder the gun and explained shotgun jargon such as "gauge."
"That's nothing more than how big around the barrel is," Dunlap said.
Shot size - the size of the pellets in a shotgun shell - can be confusing. The bigger the number, the smaller the shot. Go figure.
The idea of the clinic is to give women the opportunity to learn to shoot a shotgun in the camaraderie of other women without their husbands or boyfriends around.
Some final words of shooting wisdom rolled off the coaches' lips. After a spot of lunch it was time to shoot.
Eager To Learn
Kandy Everhart of Rogers carried her own shotgun, a beautiful heirloom side-by-side shotgun with beautiful dark wood and filigree that graced gleaming metal components.
"We do a lot of rifle and pistol shooting, but not really a lot of shotgun. I'm hear to improve my shotgun shooting," she said.
Most of the women stepped up to a rack of 20 gauge shotguns provided for the clinic by Game & Fish. Shells are provided, too, along with eye and ear protection.
The women pay a $30 fee to attend the clinic. The state one-eighth of one percent Conservation Sales Tax also funds the event. Game & Fish provides shotguns, or shooters can bring their own. Shotgun shells and protection for eyes and ears is furnished.
Joanna Duchon of Rogers chose a gun from the rack and picked it up. It was her first time to clutch the narrow grip of a shotgun, but she wasn't reluctant to step up to the firing line when Dunlap asked, "Who wants to go first?"
Game & Fish Wildlife Officer Brian McKinzie stood by her side and offered gentle advice on how to lead the round orange target that would soon rocket in front of her.
It only took a couple of tries before Duchon's shot smashed her first target into shards of clay and gray dust. Whoops and applause from her peers and shooting coaches followed the blast.
"That first shot surprised me because the gun kicked I wasn't expecting it," she said. "I thought, 'How am I going to break that little orange thing in the air?'"
Minutes later she was regularly shattering targets.
Shotgun Game
Shooting coaches taught their charges to point the gun, not to aim it, and to keep the gun barrel in front of the target to lead the bird.
A smooth swing of the gun, even after the trigger is squeezed, means a smooth follow-through and more hits.
A big cause of miss-itis is waiting too long to shoot. Get the barrel on the target quickly, swing the gun and shoot, was the mantra of the coaches.
Once the target starts to drop, it's game over, coached Thomas Dunlap, a Game & Fish hunting education instructor and brother of Steve Dunlap.
After firing about 10 shells at flying-away targets to get a feel for shooting, the women fanned out among the different shooting stations of the sporting clays range.
Targets fly a different way at each station to mimic shots at wild game. Crossing shots imitate quail or doves. An incoming clay bird might simulate a decoying duck.
There's even a station where the target goes bouncing across the ground like a speedy cottontail rabbit.
By the end of the day, not many targets got past a gun barrel intact. If the dozen women were shooting at wild game instead of clay, they'd have the makings of a bountiful feast.
At A Glance
Sporting Clays
• What Is It? Sporting clays is a shotgun game where shooters fire at clay targets the simulate shots common in hunting, such as flushing quail, decoying ducks and bounding cottontail rabbits.
A game consists of 50 or 100 targets. The shooter breaking the most targets wins. Shooters can also traverse a sporting clays course without keeping score.
• Where To Shoot? Gunsmoke Sporting Clays is located northeast of Pea Ridge. From downtown Pea Ridge, follow Arkansas 72 east to Twelve Corners Road. Go north approximately 4 miles to London Road. Follow London Road north approximately one-half mile and watch for the sign.
Range hours are 9 a.m. to dark seven days a week. Call (479) 451-8720 for information.
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/03/20/outdoors/032108shotgunmain.txt
