Can you believe it? 2010. What will the new year bring to your life and for that matter the skeet world? In my case I will be getting a new son in law. My daughter Jamie has become engaged and will be married next December. Josh actually ask my permission to ask Jamie to be his bride. Josh seems to be a great guy who promised me he would treat her with respect and lots of love. Oh by the way, part of Josh’s sucking up to me included Killens on draft. At a boy.

 

I have kept 3 male puppies. At the end of March I will be down to two. A customer of mine will be retiring at the end of March and wants one of my guys as a pet. I told her that by then I will have a better feel on which two will make the cut and which one will be better off as a great house pet. But, her deposit can be refunded, if I decide that all three will make the cut. At 7 months, they are doing great, I would be unable to make that decision with confidence at this time.

 

I need to take the time to say thank you to Dan Moore, Jim Gast and Brian Rogers for not taking “Dave”. Each showed a lot of interest in Dave at the Zone shoot, but because of their spouses, said no. Let me tell you this, Dave will be one of the two I keep. His manners around birds has been amazing, and his nose seems to be a little better than his brothers and oh by the way he is  natural retriever to hand, with a super soft mouth. He is one those dogs that will take very little training.

 

Some inside skeet news! Now this is not currently written in stone, but the ColorMatrix will probably not take place in 2010. There are a lot of reasons, none of which involve John’s interest in continuing as the major sponsor. I know that under different circumstances and more support from Sportsmen’s Board the shoot would still be in the mix. Having served as the shoot chairman the last 5 years I am disappointed in it not being held in 2010. Now, I had not planned to continue as shoot chairman, but would have lent my support from the side lines. Not only will this put a hit on Sportsmen’s bank account, it will effect the OSSA’s bank account, and NSSA’s.

 

Aw, but out of the ashes there may be a new old shoot revisited. Would you be interested in a 400 - 410 ga. shoot over two days? I would! Probably will not be held in Ohio though, maybe Indiana. If I find out more info I will let Ralph know, who of course will let everyone else know. Even though Ralph has not shot is some 5 years, he assures me he is going to make a come back in 2010. (COME BACK FROM WHAT?)

 

Sportsmen’s held a 50 bird fun shoot a couple of weeks ago. 19 shooters shot at 50 skeet targets. Most of these shooters were not registered. The results: high score was 50, and the low score was 26. Using a modified lewis system, 14 of the 19 got some money back, including the 26. Tried a similar shoot last Sunday, but got rained out. Entry fee was $15.00 that included a free lunch and $5.00 going into the lewis purse. Seems like a nice diversion during these cold months.

 

Deer shooting! Well I did it again. Got my doe on a Friday using my Rem. 1187 20 ga. with a skeet choke and slugs that I purchased some 39 years ago. It was approximately a 30 yards and she was broad side. The shot was perfect (heart), she only went 15 feet. I am hoping that on Sat. I duplicate that shot again, only this time with my S & W 357 mag, I will let you know. I did pass on an eight point buck on Monday, because I was and am looking for something young and tender.

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  

 

Jim  #80600