Dear Member
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and that 2017 will be a great new year for all of you and your families. We are looking forward to an exciting year at Jacksonville Clay Target Sports, with many new undertakings planned for the club. Most initiatives will concentrate on facility improvements, customer experience, and marketing. Over the last couple of years, we spent a lot of time and effort on our building facilities. Now that we have them, the next step is to tell potential customers what we have and how they also can use these facilities.
In early December, we had a club championship, and I am pleased to announce that Anthony Mann took first place, Mike Kogan second, and Mark Travis third. My congratulations go to all three of them and the many others who participated in the event. I also want to thank Larry Freeman for serving a wonderful lunch. In 2017 the club is looking forward to hosting NSSA and NSCA sanctioned events on monthly basis. I hope many of you will choose to take advantage of the local competition and participate in these events. For more information please check out the Jacksonville Clay Target Sports website and look under the calendar tab where all events and dates are posted. With this edition, we are beginning a new tradition for our newsletter by featuring one of our member's profiles in each monthly edition. It is of interest to all of us to see how people of different ages, backgrounds, and life experience interact and enjoy each other's company. We would like to make a correction for some inaccurate information that appeared in last month's edition. The Jacksonville Corporate Challenge dates will be April 13 & 14 and not the 3rd and 4th. We apologize for the mistake.
Z. Mincek
President
Upcoming Events
Every Wednesday Night at 6:00pm
"GRILL YOUR OWN" Steak Night
January 22
NSCA Feeling Lucky Sporting Clays Shoot
Skeet News
The 2016 skeet year at the Jacksonville Clay Target Sports (JCTS) proved to be full of accomplishments. Our club threw some 129,350 registered competition skeet targets. The JCTS Club hosted the Zone Four Skeet Championships in August 2016 in addition to our annual Fish Fry and Pappy Memorial shoots. These accomplishments are a testament to the hard work, commitment, and dedication of the Club’s Staff and the Skeet Committee. We hope our reputation as The Club in Florida continues.
This month is pretty much quiet on the competition skeet front. Then in the next four month the guns will be blazing. Check the 2017 FLORIDA SKEET SCHEDULE for an overview of shoots in 2017.
JCTS will be in the forefront of major tournaments in Florida and nationally in 2017. We start the year out by hosting the annual Dutch Dewitt Memorial Fish Fry 24-26 February. In April JCTS has been selected to host the Florida State Skeet Championships. For the first time since 1999 JCTS won the competition to hold the 2017 World Armed Services Skeet Championship ASSC in May. This will be an excellent opportunity for our community to show their support for our Armed Forces. You may give your Tax Deductable Contributions to the JCTS Fund to provide meals during the 2017 World Armed Services Skeet Championship. See Bud Steil or Joe Luke for details. The host club for the ASSC is required to throw a pre-shoot in order that the Active Duty Shooters that have been excused from their normal duties and traveled numerous miles have an opportunity to shoot extra registered competition targets. JCTS’ Pre Shoot will be named after the founder of the Armed Forces Skeet Association General Ken Pletcher. The Pletcher will be an open shoot. The Armed Services Skeet Championship is open only to Active and Retired Military members and just recently Military Veterans became eligible to participate. A Military Veteran is anyone that served honorably in one of the Armed Services and can provide a copy of their DD-214 to NSSA to have the MV concurrent added the their profile.
Now is the time to get our skeet guns preventative maintenance done, our shells bought/loaded, and serious practice in. On the subject of loading shells, there are enough reasons on why gun powder is in such short supply that you could fill volumes, but no one reason seems plausible. Hopefully this New Year will see an increase in powder availability as 2016 did.
News from NSSA
Donate Rewards Items to Junior World Shoot
Members who don't want to use their Shooting for Rewards points now have an option other than letting them expire: you can redeem your points for items to be donated to the Junior World Skeet Championships. Small items make ideal door prizes and provide beneficial support to the event. You can place your order and note in the comments section that you want to donate the item(s) to the Junior World, and we'll deliver them to the event. Or, you can contact Nicki Martin, nmartin@nssa-nsca.com, 210-254-1510, to let her know you want to donate the points, and she will select and ship an item.
Have You Renewed Your Membership?
If you haven't yet renewed your NSSA membership, there's no time like the present. You can either return the renewal form you received by mail, or even easier, just click the link below to renew quickly online. Renewing now will make sure there's no lapse in your member benefits, such as the ability to register targets, your members-only discounted gun insurance, and Clay Target Nation magazine. Renew your membership online now.
Find Scoreboard, Shoot Register on Website
The NSSA Scoreboard and Shoot Register are easily accessed on our websites. Go to MyNSSA.com or ClayTargetNation.com and you'll quickly see Scoreboard and Register links. Or, just click on the sidebar link here in Target Talk for the NSSA Scoreboard.
Do You Have Questions for the Pros?
Do you have a question you'd like a professional instructor to answer? Do you need to have a rule interpreted? Is there a shooting skill you're struggling with? If so, perhaps one of our professional instructors/writers can address it in an upcoming issue of Clay Target Nation. Send your questions and topic ideas to CTN@nssa-nsca.com, and we'll consider them as we make assignments for 2017 issues.
Life Members: Update Your Records
Since Life Members don't have to renew their membership each year; they sometimes have out-of-date contact info in their records. If you're a Life Member who hasn't updated your records recently, please complete a Member Change of Address form. This will ensure your magazine and member materials are mailed to the right address, as well as have your correct email address for member communications
Monthly Target Procedures:
When you arrive at the club, pick up a Monthly Target Individual Registration Report (MTIRR) and score sheet from the Cashier.
2. Shoot your targets.
3. Record your scores on the MTIRR.
4. Submit your MTIRR, Score Sheet and daily fees to the Cashier.
Note:
Monthly targets must be reported in increments of 100.
The Monthly Target Individual Registration Report must be filled out completely and correctly for the gauge or gauges shot.
The Lead off Shooter is responsible to submit the score sheet to the Cashier when more than one shooter is shooting
Do you have a suggestion for future issues of the JCTS Newsletter? Do you have a question that you think other shooters would also like an answer to? Send it to us. We welcome your feedback at any time. Contact Bud Steil at gsteil61@gmail.com
Skeet Fever-Catch it!
Bud Steil
Skeet Chairman
Sporting Clays News
Sporting Clay activity continues to grow rapidly. November targets shot were 85500 or an increase of 27% over last year. Dec activity is projected at 100000 targets or 49% over last year. It appears that we have a lot of new shooters coming thru, with some of them becoming regulars. Remember, word of mouth is our best source of advertising. Tell your friends and associates about our courses and the facility. We still have a lot of people coming in and ask “how long have you been open”. I would guess that less than 5% of people in Jacksonville know that we exist. This gives the club a tremendous opportunity as we advance our marketing activities.
The above activity numbers don’t include special events, which will account for another 35000 targets in Dec. The club hosted it’s 6th registered Target Sporting Clays event in Dec with good fun had by all. Club member, Boyce Mann, recorded a 191 to take 2nd place HOA. Overall HOA was J. Warren at 194 targets. Another notable score was our newest member Zane Lee , third overall at 189 targets, Zane Lee is 15 years old. Our youngsters are achieving great results due to a lot of practice and hard work. Our next registered event is January 22nd.
Our new course continues to improve with our sign package expected in Jan. The club especially wants to thank our new sponsors and founders who have not received much recognition yet. Without them we wouldn’t be at our current levels.
Hope to see you soon.
Joe Luke
Treasurer
International Skeet News
Definition of sporting:
Sporting aka FITASC (Federation Internationale de Tir Aux Armes Sportives de Chasse) and Parcours de Chasse, is a shooting discipline reproducing hunting situations and practiced with a hunting weapon and artificial targets of different types that are launched in order to highlight the shooters' technical and sporting skills. The layouts reproduce hunting trajectories with varied levels of difficulty.
The organization of a sporting layout must take into consideration the safety of all those present, the protection of the flora and management of the environment. Shooting at live animals is not permitted.
Shooting Rules:
1. Shooters must adopt the ready position, i.e. standing with both feet within the limits of the shooting stand. The heel of the gun stock touches the body.
2. Shooters must not shoulder their guns until the target appears. Shooters must fire with their guns shouldered on all targets, including rabbits.
Jacksonville Clay Target Sports will be hosting the International Skeet Shoot this year February 17 - 19, please contact Ed Franco for more information.
Ed Franco
International Skeet Chairman
Membership Report
After a successful 2016, JCTS is ready for a busy 2017. Attendance at the club has been very strong due to the fantastic shooting facilities, holiday firearm gifts, and beautiful weather. As always, shooters must adhere to all firearm safety rules. In addition to recreational shooting, the club has many competitive, corporate, and nonprofit events on the calendar. All members and guests are invited to participate in the competitive events, and we welcome volunteers to assist in the operation of these events.
This April 13 – 14 we are looking forward to hosting our third annual JCTS Corporate Challenge. This is a fun and collegial event of 4-person teams that will compete for bragging rights – and prizes – in the 100-target sporting clay tournament. Get your teams together, and get registered!
Sunday, January 22, 2016 NSCA Registered Shoot
Friday - Sunday, February 17 – 19 International Skeet Shoot
Friday – Sunday, February 24 – 26 Fish Fry Open
Friday – Sunday, March 10 – 12 Collegiate Spring Regional
Saturday, March 18 NSCA Registered Shoot
Thursday, April 13 JCTS Corporate Challenge Dinner & Reverse Draw 6:00pm
Friday, April 14 JCTS Corporate Challenge 8:00am – 1:00PM
Friday – Sunday, April 21 – 23 State of Florida Championship
Friday – Friday, May 5 – 12 General Pletcher Armed Forces Open
For our guest shooters, December is a great time to upgrade your sporting life to a membership. JCTS members enjoy the camaraderie of member-only events, receive member discounts on cost of rounds, bulk ammunition, and reloading supplies, as well as discounts with club vendors. Current JCTS vendors include Gunsmiths, Inc., Wild West Guns, Jim’s Ear and Eye, and Nimnicht Chevrolet. JCTS is a jewel among US sporting clay clubs, offering all sporting clay disciplines, as well as the services of a nationally renowned gunsmith on the premises. You can establish your membership at the Pro Shop or through the JCTS website.
See you at the club!
Wednesdays Fields open: Noon – 8:30pm
"Grill Your Own" Steak Night
RSVP for dinner: 904-757-4584;
Fridays Fields open: Noon – 6:00pm;
Saturdays and Sundays Fields open: 9:00 – 6:00pm.
George Prattos
Membership Chairman
The Talent Among Us:
Larry Freeman
Have you ever stopped to wonder about the background and accomplishments of some of our Club members? Well, Larry Freeman is one accomplished member worth learning about. Larry hales from Talladega, AL originally, where he auspiciously constructed a 5 million volt Tesla coil while in high school. Life only got faster for Larry after that. Larry blazed a path of electronics and avionics excellence throughout his career. He amassed a distinguished Navy career over 24 years, punctuated by 21 medals, that took him to all corners of the world. Besides Naval Operations, Larry has always been prized for his instructional knowledge and skills. These skills have also served him well as a driving force in the growth of clay target sports in S.E. U.S. Larry’s operational skills and clay target passion have been instrumental in the growth of JCTS and military and collegiate sports. Besides being an all-around ardent advocate for our sport, Larry is a proud husband, father of 2, grandfather of five, and almost a great-grandfather. New members and friends, be sure to say “hello” to Larry at the club.