The
Satuit Nimrod
The
Monthly Newsletter of the Scituate Rod & Gun Club
May
– June, 2008
Contents
Spring
Has Sprung, The Grass is Riz…
Cowboy
News
Welcome
Aboard!
Rifle News
BATFE and Forfeiture
Quote
of the Month
Calendar
Spring
Has Sprung, The Grass Is Riz…
…I
wonder where the birdies is.
The birdies is on the wing!
Don’t be absurd!
The wings is on the bird!
With that wonderfully silly piece of doggerel, we welcome spring — at
last!
Kid’s Fishing Derby
We held our annual fishing derby for local kids on Saturday,
May 17th. The weather was perfect, in fact you couldn’t
have asked for a better day.
A constant stream of young Izaac Waltons filled the available
fishing spots around the pond, all hoping to land Moby Trout
as the pond had been stocked with a large number of average
sized fish, plus a few big ones.
Trophy fish were landed by Emily Drew and James Ivers.
Securing liability waivers and dispensing hooks, bobbers and
poles was the responsibility of Rich Greim, our erstwhile Fishing
Chairman, while his lovely wife Rox manned the kitchen and
made sure the little darlings were well fed by dishing up a
constant supply of hot dogs and sodas.
A handful of other members were in attendance to help out as
needed. Hooks, bobbers and bait were generously donated by
Peter Belsan of Belsan Bait and Tackle whose ad appears later.
We hosted a second fishing derby on Tuesday, May 20th for a
Special Needs class from the local high school. All the kids
had a wonderful time and the fish were biting.
A complete set of images from the Kid’s Fishing Derby
can be viewed here:
www.scituaterg.com/kfd-08
In Other Club News
We held a Cleanup Day the morning of May 18th. Thirteen members
started the morning with a hearty breakfast before heading
off to spread loam and reseed the Skeet field, cut and stack
additional firewood for the next heating season and give our
property and clubhouse a general “fluff and buff.”
When all was said and done, the grounds and clubhouse were
in spanking condition.
Two large shipping containers, retired from service, are now
providing extra weatherproof storage space for target frames,
cowboy targets and other items that were overflowing from the
small storage shed. The containers are located behind the high-house
and small shed.
Considerable work has recently been done on both the large
and small ranges. The berms, including the side berms, have
been covered with a layer of wood chips to prevent weed growth
and to aid against erosion.
In the case of the berm on the large range, additional erosion
control in the form of a terrace with drainage to carry water
to the sides of the berm was completed.
For the small range, a mini-berm was constructed short of the
backstop to prevent ricochets off the ground from leaving the
range.
Note: There will be no Safety Course in July, our next class
is scheduled for August 7th and 9th.
Of Interest to Fishermen and Captains
Two recent items of interest were recently brought to our attention
for onward disbursement to the membership — pulpits and
Stellwagen Bank.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing a rule to
allow harpoons and pulpits on charter boats.
Opponents of this proposed ruling feel that:
“This proposal will significantly increase retention
and mortality of school and small medium bluefins. Allowing
pulpits on for-hire boats will invite cheating because it is
impossible to police this rule.
In an attempt to harpoon giant tuna many school/small medium
fish will be harpooned/electrocuted under 72 inches and they
will be discarded dead, retained illegally, or retained and
not reported”.
Members may voice their opinions on this subject to:
National Marine Fisheries Service
N.E. Regional Office
1 Blackburn Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
Attn: Sarah McLaughlin
Please reference “0648-AV92” in your comments.
In the second item of interest, Stellwagen Bank National Marine
Sanctuary managers are now updating its management plan for
the first time since Congress created it in 1992. The draft
plan doesn’t include immediate restrictions on uses,
but could eventually lead to more protections for wildlife,
it says.
Conservation groups, including the Conservation Law Foundation,
are pushing for more aggressive protections and want Stellwagen
to become more of a true sanctuary for wildlife.
Public comment is open until August 4th, 2008. Comments may
be mailed to:
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
175 Edward Foster Road
Scituate, MA 02066
or emailed
to: sbplan@noaa.gov
The draft plan can be viewed at:
www.stellwagen.noaa.gov/management/mpr/draftplan.html
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to Top
38 Country Way
Scituate, MA 02066 |
Phone:(781) 545-9400
Fax: (781 545-0477 |
Cowboy
News
by
Nantucket Dawn aka Sue Lennon
The
2008 SASS MA/CT/RI State Championships was hosted by the Harvard
Ghost Riders at the Harvard Sportsmen’s Club of Harvard, MA
between May 30 and June 1, 2008.
Friday was a great day with all the side events a person wanted
to shoot. A person could choose to shoot the warm up stage
using two pistols, a rifle and a shotgun or go to one of the
many stages set up just to shoot one gun of their choice for
speed.
At the end of the day when all gear was put away, a cowboy
dinner was served in the main tent.
Saturday, after opening ceremonies, the start of six of ten
Ghostly stages was shot. There were approximately 154 cowboys
and cowgirls participating in this event. Saturday evening
was the banquet at the Concord Elks Club. Dinner was carved
beef and chicken. There were costume contests, dancing and
karaoke.
Sunday was another beautiful day and the remainder of the stages
were shot. Then it was time for the Top Gun Team Shootout.
The top 16 male and top 16 female shooters from Saturday’s
results were chosen for this fun event.
I am proud to say that four of SRGC’s female Gunnysackers made
it into this event: Dee Bonnie (Bonnie Dee), Jean Alexander
(Boston Lady), Connie Carter (Avocatessa) and myself (Nantucket
Dawn). Gunnysacker Gals Rule!
The awards ceremony was held shortly thereafter. See all results
and photos at www.harvardghostriders.com.
Note the photo of Ron Rice aka Yankee receiving the Spirit
of the Game award. Congratulations Ron!
Everyone had a great time and are looking forward to next years
Tri-State match.
Our next match in Scituate will be held on Saturday, June 28th.
[Ed: There’s a set of photographs of this 3-day event at:
www.scituaterg.com/nimrod/n15v05/tristate.html.
The photos were taken by member Bill Ryan, an aspiring cowboy
shooter.]
Back
to Top
Welcome
Aboard
The
Club welcomes these new members who have recently joined our
ranks:
- Raymond Des Roches
- Richard Lee
- Paul O’Brien
Back
to Top
Rifle News
by Scott Hollis
Many thanks to those who’ve inquired concerning the bolstering of SRGC’s participation
in the Summer League matches at Old Colony.
We'll be shooting for another 9 weeks
at Old Colony in Pembroke on Tuesday evenings, starting promptly at 6pm.
Once again, for anyone interested in participating in the matches, the minimum
equipment required is; any rifle, any sight which is sighted in for 200 yds.,
22 rounds of safe ammunition (2 sighters and 20 for score) and a desire to do
your best in a match environment.
When not shooting, you may be in the target
pits, scoring for another relay and they depend on you for an accurate accounting
of their scores.
For those of you who use iron sights, binoculars can be helpful
in seeing your spotting discs posted on the target.
We need at least four shooters for each match to achieve an aggregate score.
While it is possible that you may secure the loan of another shooter’s rifle
and ammunition, this cannot be assured. It is best to have your own rifle. Remember,
we’re shooting against several other teams on the South Shore.
All shooting is done offhand in pairs, four targets with 8 shooters on the line
per relay.
Relays usually run for 30 minutes. On busy nights, we often run three full relays.
Safety is, as always, of paramount importance.
I can be reached at (781) 367-2221 if you need further information.
Back to Top
Seems that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) is
still up to it’s tricks.
As part of its Asset Forfeiture training program for agents, the BATFE ordered
2,000 Leatherman tools inscribed with the words “Always Think Forfeiture.” The
program urges agents to focus on seizing private property.
Representative Bill Sali (Rep. ID) is introducing the ‘Always Think Freedom’ bill to send a message to the BATFE that freedom still means something in this country.
Rep Sali believes the agency should be thinking ‘Freedom,’ not ‘Forfeiture.’ The Idaho Republican complained about the program and received a letter from Acting ATF Director Michael Sullivan, who apologized for the “confusion” over the issue and halted distribution of the tools in the face of public outcry.
Back to Top
Quote
of the Month
“We’ll
take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily — given
the political realities — very modest. We’ll have
to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again
to strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate
goal, total control of handguns, is going to take time. The
first problem is to make possession of all handguns and ammunition
(with a few exceptions) totally illegal.”
— Peter Shields, founder of Handgun
Control Inc.,
New Yorker
Magazine, June 26, 1976
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to Top
Calendar
- General
Meetings
- Monday,
July 7 – 8:00 PM
- Monday,
July 21 – 8:00 PM
- Pistol
League
- Wednesdays,
April 16 – June 18. 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
- Hotter ’N Blazes Shoot
- Saturday,
June 28 – 9:45 AM
- Safety
Course (No July Course)
- Thursday,
August 7 – 7:00 PM
- Saturday,
August 9– 9:00 AM
- NRA
Jr. Marksman Program
- 1st
and 3rd Sundays, 10:00 AM - Noon
- Skeet (unless
otherwise noted)
- Sundays,
11:30 until 4:00
- Wednesday
evenings, 5:00 until 9:00
Back
to Top
The
Scituate Rod & Gun Club holds its meetings at 8:00 PM on the
first and third Mondays of every Month at the Club House located
off Route 3A in North Scituate. Members and guests are invited
to attend. Call (781) 545-1510 on the weekends.
That's
all for this Month.
The
Satuit Nimrod is the monthly newsletter of the Scituate Rod & Gun
Club, Inc.
www.scituaterg.com
nimrod@scituaterg.com |