Skeet Committee Report: 2007

2007 was another strong year for skeet shooting at FTSC. We are experiencing a significant increase since the new facilities (fields 2 and 3) were added. In 2003, we were at some 2000 rounds, in 04/05 we jumped to 2400 rounds and now we are at some 2800 rounds per year, an increase in the last 5 years of some 40%. This just proves the theme that if you build it, they will come. And skeet shooting is the activity that our members participate in, or rely on, on an ongoing basis year round.  

As an overall premise for our future direction, FTSC will continue to be an active and respected shotgun facility; however, we need to be cognizant that shotgun sports are peaking, or have peaked. We will still be an active club; however, growth will be hard to realize, either in membership or registration in our shooting events. However, it will be important that FTSC maintains the reputation that we have gained over the years.

Aside from the stats and trends, one item that needs to be reported is the experiment we tried in 2007 in moving two of the Laporte machines into the skeet houses on field 2 in late fall. This was done in the interest of comparing target flight consistency using the Winchester vs. the Laporte machines. We have enjoyed the target carousels from the point of view of having to take fewer trips up and down the ladder; however, the jury is still out as to whether we have seen a significant improvement in flight consistency – that appears to be more a function of the field layout and the vulnerability to wind shears.  

As to NSSA events, a spring event was held in April, with a large contingent from Halifax participating. A fall event was held in October, where we had our usual die-hards from Moncton and PEI. These shoots tend to occupy the two shoulders of the skeet season and are well received by the NB/ Maritime competitive skeet fraternity. As a result, no change in the number of shoots over past years is foreseen. As to hosting the Atlantic Championships, as in previous years, FTSC should defer to other clubs to host that event.

For our spring NSSA event, though, what we might consider is a change to the format – an experiment, if you will. A mini 4 gun event is proposed with 50 targets per gauge as the new format, as opposed to 100. With the three fields, using 45 minutes for two rounds, using two start times for each gauge, or an hour and a half in total for each gauge, we can handle up to 30 shooters easily. This would be fun for a change, and is expected to be a drawing card for NSSA members, as this is a new concept in tournament shooting, and there will be curiosity to try it.

In 2007, FTSC increased the shooting options available to our membership with the advent of the new trap field, superimposed on skeet field 3. This will serve us well in terms of maintaining shooter interest throughout the winter; however, skeet has always been a mainstay in terms of year round shooting at FTSC. And to this end, well functioning and reliable skeet equipment is a must for this club. As a minimum, first hand, we need to ensure proper maintenance on all our existing Winchester machines. We need these machines to be operationally ready at all times. At this time, a couple of our Winchester machines need some service (albeit, not major) but we need to proceed with this ASAP in preparation for the start of the new season.

Aging is common to us all, and the Winchester machines are no exception. As these machines age further, they will become more and more difficult to properly maintain, due to dwindling parts availability and increased expense. To ease that burden, attention needs to be given to providing new skeet machines for all our three skeet fields as quickly and easily as resources will allow.

For discussion purposes, in recent years, FTSC has been spending in the order of $10-14 k per year on new machines. This has been instrumental to providing operational flexibility and ease to the sporting clays circuit, and a strong trap capability with the new machine and the second field for winter shooting. As for new skeet machines, the expense would be in the order of $10K for each set, and we need to replace all three sets of machines, but the critical aspect is that they do not have to be replaced all at once. They can be replaced in a sequence – one set in 2008, another in 2010 and yet another in 2012, all the while continuing to maintain the Winchester machines.

The other shooting disciplines need to continue to grow as well, and by adopting the sequence suggested for skeet machine replacement, monies would still be available for sporting clays and trap to continue to grow each year , especially the alternate years - a little more modestly perhaps - maybe one new SC machine per year – not two – maybe the 5 stand circuit board, and, if we continue to experience the cash flow as per recent years, there could also be sufficient cash for a second trap machine as well. Sounds a little ambitious maybe, but, this is doable, but needs the support of the club as a whole. The important aspect for this AGM is that we recognize this need for skeet machine replacements and that we do get started with it.

Based on this outline, the skeet committee is seeking approval in principle for the replacement scheme and permission to prepare a formal proposal for the first set of new skeet machines, based on proper estimates and equipment selection. Subsequent replacement sets will still be subject to club approval.

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George Lindsay

Chair

Skeet Committee

FTSC