PO Box 80 261 Oxoboxo Dam Road The Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Oakdale, CT 06370 Club Newsletter http://quakerhillrodandgunclub.com/ October 2015

The Official Journal of the Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club

A Tip Of The Hat

As a result of increasing pro- fessional obliga- tions Peter Volk- mar has reluctantly had to step down from the position of Newsletter Editor. Peter has performed admirably in this important Club position over the

: "Trap league actually outdoors painting the trap house; and...... no donuts in sight!" past few years and we are indebted to him for doing such a fine job keeping our members informed of club activities QH To Host Major Junior Tournament and accomplishments. The late David L. Swanson was a very active We wish him the best at work member of the Manchester Rifle Club during the 1960-61 and don’t forget to thank him should you season. Taken ill, his shooting career was tragically cut see him about the club. short when he passed away as a teenager. The Swan- McKee Leads Quaker Hill to son family, wishing to recognize his passion for small- bore rifle shooting, donated a handsome trophy to the Big Bore Championship Manchester Rifle Club, in his memory, to be placed into Quaker Hill's Ryan McKee deci- annual junior competition. sively won the individual title of the The first Swanson match was held in 1963 and Connecticut Big Bore Leagues 2015 continued, uninterrupted until 1986 when issues with the season while leading Quaker Hill to an- Manchester range caused a halt. Jason Stansfield took other win in team competition. custody of the trophy and records with the hopes of re- McKee, who was not distracted viving competition. While reminiscing about 'The Old by his duties as QH team captain which Days' with Steve Rocketto the Swanson Match came up involved set-up, breakdown, and clean and the two dedicated themselves to bring the match up, set a torrid pace which left the near- back. And so, through two long time Connecticut junior est competitor in the dust. He never coaches the Swanson match returns to competition. shot lower than a 390X400 in the four From December 4, 2015, through December 6, 2015 at position centerfire matches to accumu- Quaker Hill. lated a total of 1563 points, out of a pos- The match is almost half full, with about 110 en- sible 1600, on his way to the title. His tries at press time. closest competition was 26 points be- hind him. Former QH President Jack Santo won the tourna- Quaker Hill went undefeated ment as a QH junior back in 1977. Perhaps home range posting a record of 18 wins to earn its advantage will see a QH Junior repeat the feat in 2015. fourth consecutive title Page 2 The Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club Newsletter

Membership News Meeting Information

Michael E. Kelley II, of Nian- Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club tic, sponsored by Jeff Urgitis, was General Membership meetings voted into membership at the Sep- are held on the third Thursday of tember General Membership meet- each month, except July and Au- ing. gust, at 7PM in Sullivan Hall at 261 Oxoboxo Dam Road, Oak- Newsletter Contributions David J. Mathis, of Wethers- dale, CT 06370 field, has had his first reading and Newsletter con- tributions are encour- will be voted on at the October 15, CLUB OFFICERS: aged. Submit your mate- 2015 General Membership meeting. President: rial no later than the first Thursday of each month Richard Civitello for inclusion in the cur- If any member knows of any 860-884-5009 r e n t n e w s l e t t e r . reason why an applicant to the club [email protected] Send contribu- may not meet the required stan- Vice President: tions to Hap Rocketto at dards for membership they must Doug Britt [email protected] or 401-322-7193. notify any member of the Executive 860 949-4443 Board immediately. [email protected] Treasurer: Display QH Cards Robert Giffen All club mem- 860 608 7137 bers are required to dis- [email protected] play their membership Work Hours and Volunteers Secretary: and Range Certification Every third Saturday the QHRGC Timothy Fournier Cards while on club will hold work parties for the benefit [email protected] property. of the club and for members to fulfill Sergeant at Arms: work hours. Dave Madole Trustees: Safety Is Not It is up to the Committee Chairper- Tony Goulart, Jeff Urgitis, Keith An Option sons to have projects for these work Griffin, Ralph Jackson & Scott parties. Chairpersons are to contact The three basic Pierce Rich Civitello with your work list at general rules of safe the E Board meeting. gun handling. Contacting Officers Always point the The epic project of removing the muzzle in a safe direc- tion; never point a fire- tires is going to start after Labor When contacting officers please arm at anyone or any- Day, so we don’t have to melt in the leave your complete name and a thing you don't want to sun. contact number or email to insure shoot. a prompt response. Keep your fin- We will need members that need ger off the trigger and work hours and some volunteers. If outside the trigger guard we manage a large turnout we can Meeting Range Closures until you are ready to fill a trailer in a weekend, and have shoot. clean range. All ranges are closed during Gen- Keep the action eral Membership meetings. open and the gun A Rapid News announcement we unloaded until you are be used when the club arranges a ready to use it. The Carroll range is closed during trailer to fill with the tire company. EBoard meetings. The Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club Newsletter Page 3

New London County Pistol League The Club sponsors two teams in the New London County Pistol League, Quaker Hill and the Quaker Hill Nutmegs. Matches are fired at home and at various clubs throughout New London County in Monday evenings. Four weeks into the season our teams find themselves a bit behind the eight ball. The Nut- megs are at 1-3 and in last place in Class A while Quaker Hill sits on 0-4 and is also in the cellar of Class B. Quaker Hill pistol shot leaders Phil Kohanski and Pete Tripputi are in a virtual tie with 281 av- erages while Charlie Allen leads the Nutmegs shooting a 268. He is supported by Bob Droesch, Tony Goulart, and Dennis Allan all knotted up at 266. Anyone interested in participating in this league only need show up at the club any Monday at 7PM or contact the team captains: Quaker Hill– Bill Weinschenker at [email protected] or 860-639-9571 or Nutmegs-Jack Santo at [email protected] The Nite Owl League Re- Southwestern League sults The Southwestern Rifle League will begun its Quaker Hill participated new season. On October 30th This is a three posi- in the 2015 The Nite Owl tion league shot on the NRA/USAS 50 foot target. League , a weekly 22 caliber The SWL shoots on Friday mornings at smallbore rifle match fired dur- 10AM. Because it is a postal league, scores are ing the months of May, June, July, and Au- mailed in to the scorer weekly, one need not shoot at gust. that time. Fired locally it is also a postal league Team Captain and contact is Ernie Mellor at with scores from Quaker Hill melded with [email protected]. scores from numerous smallbore ranges Archery Range News across southern New England. The course of fire is 40 shots prone with any sights at 100 Broad head practice targets are in the shed at the yards, with a perfect score being 400X400. archery range. This year the Club fielded 19 of the One is for compound and recurve bows and the 128 competitors in the match. Hap Rocketto emerged the individual sling shooter cham- other for crossbows. pion with an average score of 400-32X over Keys for the shed are available from Chairman Jay 12 matches. He was only bettered by an F Pollock telephone at (860) 546 9560 or by Email at Class shooter, one who uses a rest, who fired a 400-33X average. [email protected]

Misfires and Brass Safety

Each range has a prominently marked and placed Misfire Can and all outdoor ranges have one or more expended brass bucket. A misfire is any cartridge that does not go off when fired. Misfires are considered to be live ammunition and must be taken home or placed in a Misfire Can for disposal. The residue from a fired cartridge is expended brass or hulls, in the case of shotguns. Place any expended brass or hulls you are not taking home to reload in the brass bucket. Do not put misfires or expended brass in the trash barrels as it is a safety hazard. Page 4 The Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club Newsletter

Carroll Range Winter Schedule Club Skeet Champs And Notes Crowned

The Carroll Range is reserved for the follow- The Quaker Hill ing club sponsored activities from September Skeet Championships through March. were held on Saturday, Monday September 26 and Sunday September 27. It was a tight match that went down to Montville High School-3PM to 6PM a three way shoot off between the eventual New London County Pistol League-7PM to 11PM High Over All champion Rich Civitello, Pete Tuesday Krause, and Gary Rogoff. Grasso Technical High School-3PM to 6PM Neither Krause or Rogoff went home Wednesday empty handed though. Krause took the dou- bles crown while Rogoff topped all in 28 Montville High School-3PM to 6PM gauge and 410 bore competition. Mohegan Rifle League- 7PM to 11PM Dick Anthony won 20 gauge laurels. Thursday Doug Britt won High Over All in 12 Grasso Technical High School-3PM to 6PM gauge competition. In 12 gauge class com- Friday petition Civitello was Class A winner. Keep- ing it a family affair Doug Britt’s son Dwayne Southwestern Rifle League-10AM to Noon Britt won Class B while grandson Cory Britt Quaker Hill Junior Program-6PM to 10PM did the same in Class C. Bill Eckhoff topped all in Class D The Carroll Range will be closed for the Swanson Match all day on Saturday December 5th and Sunday December 6th. Mohegan Rifle League It is also closed during all Club General The Mohegan Rifle League shoots a Membership and EBoard Meetings. 40 shot four position match at 50 feet using The use of jacketed ammunition is prohib- NRA A-17 targets. Matches are held each ited in the Carroll Range. Wednesday starting at 7PM. If in doubt remember that there is no com- Anyone interested in joining in mercially available e.22 ammunition that is jack- the fun is invited to contact the team cap- eted, even if it has a brass or bronze color. If you tains, Quaker Hill, Mark Wujtewicz at are shooting any other ammunition if the bullet in [email protected] and the Quaker not soft lead you may not shoot it. Hill Magnums captain, Hap Rocketto at Remember, “If it is gray, it is OK.” [email protected] or just drop by the range Range Chairman Gary Zawistowski can be on any Wednesday evening at 7PM. reached at [email protected] for infor- mation or range certification. The Quaker Hill Rifle Range For range certification or, If you need Rocketto Range Information some work hours, or want to help, please For Rocketto Range certification, or range contact Ed Welch, Rifle Range Chairman, questions, please contact Gary Owen at (860) 447- via telephone at (860) 389 5042 or email at 1092 or Email at [email protected]. [email protected] The Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club Newsletter Page 5

Practical Pistol News and Match Results Annual Toy Shoot Fall Outdoor League The Fall Outdoor League started on Saturday The Annual Toy Shoot is scheduled for Sat- October 3rd at 1 PM and runs until December 12th. urday October 24th with sign up at 9 AM and the This is a .22 pistol, semi-automatic and/or revolver, match starting at 10 AM. bowling pin style league. The targets will be the spe- This event is open to all and raises money cial steel pin racks we have for the pin tables. Bowl- for Montville Social Services to buy toys and clothes ing Pin League match rules apply. It is not too late to for needy children. It is a Bowling pin style match join. Entry fee is $10 per gun. with an entry fee of $5, whatever you would like to donate, or a new unwrapped toy. Contact Tony Practical Pistol Matches Goulart at 823-1234, or [email protected], if you Practical pistol matches are Saturday morn- have any questions. Let’s have a big turnout for this ings with set up at 9 AM and shooting starting at worthwhile event. New members needing hours the 10AM, so come early to help. Matches use USPSA easiest work you could ever do is be a pin setter for targets and rules. We usually shoot three or four a few hours. scenarios per match, with from eight to 30 rounds fired per scenario for 80 to 100 total rounds fired. If 22 Rimfire Plate Shoot Season the weather forecast is iffy, on Friday email will be sent out to past participants informing them if the The last match of the 22 Rimfire Plate Shoot match will be held. Contact Jean Martin with any season is October 25, a charity shoot. The match questions at [email protected]. starts at 9:00 AM. Shooting will be one on one with each shooter having four 4”x 6” plates on the lower Summer Large Bore Bowling Pin section, two 6”x 6” plates on the upper section to League knock over first and then a 4”x 6” hinged tie break- The Summer Large Bore Bowling Pin League ing plate. First shooter to knock over their plates will results are in and first place in the auto class went to win the string. Each will competitor will shoot six Joe Trudelle, 2nd to Scott Pierce, 3rd to Chris Co- strings and the one with the most wins gets first lombo and 4th to Russ Shaw. First place in the re- place and so on. In the event of a tie there will be a volver class went to Allen Egerton, 2nd to Ernie timed shoot off. Pistols will be shot at 15 yards and Beckwith, 3rd to Bob Birge and 4th to Jeff Urgitis. A rifles will be at 25 yards. revolver shoot off had to be held and the winner was Any sights magazine fed semi auto pistols Joe Trudelle and with Allen Egerton as the runner and magazine fed semi auto rifles are preferred but up. The auto winner was Pete Volkmar and the - tube fed rifles and revolvers are welcome. Entry fee ner up was Cliff Libby. The Most Improved Shooter will be $5 per relay for members and $6 for non- for the season was Cliff Libby. members. Payout will be determined by how many shooters participate. Chamber flags are mandatory In other match results the weekly leaders for and only 22 caliber long rifle ammunition is allowed. September in Practical Pistol were Justin Montgom- A flier is on the website or you can contact Allen ery, Joe Warmus(2) and Chris Colombo. Egerton [email protected] for more information. Practical Pistol Range Certifications .22 Rimfire Plate Shoot September brought out seven rifle shooters Frank Torcia, Practical Pistol Range Chair, and eight pistol shooters for the September .22 Rim- requires appointments for certification be made by fire Plate Shoot Results. In pistol competition first email only at [email protected] place went to Mark Morehouse, second Don Dyer and third Allen Crouch. First place in rifle competi- Direct Practical Pistol Range questions, ex- tion went to Allen Crouch, second place Don Dyer cept certifications, to Frank Torchia at 376-9455 or and Mark Morehouse was third. email at [email protected]

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As both a pilot and fan the draw my attention. From an aviator’s point of view Red Sox left fielder and the “Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived” and Yankee second baseman Jerry Coleman stand out. Both served in World War II and Korea as Marine aviators. Cole- man, the only pro player to see combat in both wars, flew 120 combat missions earning two Distinguished Fly- ing Crosses. Williams served as a flight instructor during World War II and flew combat missions in Korea. Both men are members of the Marine Corps Athletic Hall of Fame. Unfortunately wearing the Pinstripes has not proven to be a talisman against aviation misfortune. A trio of Yan- kees met their fates at the controls of civil aircraft. First to go was Thurman Munson. Practicing takeoffs and landings in his Cessna Citation at the Akron-Canton, Ohio Regional Airport on August 2, 1979 he failed,”… to recognize the need for, and to take action to maintain, sufficient airspeed to prevent a stall into the ground during an attempted landing” according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report. and are often referred to as a battery so it seems eerily fitting that the next aviation accident to take a Yankee involved a . Jim Hardin died on March 9, 1991 when the propeller on his Beech 35-C33A disinte- grated from metal fatigue on takeoff from Key West, Florida International Airport. Fifteen years later, on October 11, 2006, the Yankee suffered another loss when Cory Lidell and his in- structor Tyler Stanger flew into an apartment building in New York City. The NTSB determined that the,“…probable cause of this accident was the pilots’ inadequate planning, judgment, and airmanship in the performance of a 180º turn maneuver inside of a limited turning space. Years earlier my beloved Brooklyn Dodgers had decamped from “The Borough of Churches” and headed west- ward. I was in the middle of my Great Baseball Hiatus when my boyhood chum Mickey Moss, a fanatical Yankee rooter, sucked me into the 1961 vortex of the Yankees’ M&M Boys pursuit of ’s 1927 homerun record. Ruth third and Lou Gehrig hit fourth for the Yanks in 1927. Pitchers could not pitch around the Bambino be- cause they had to face the Iron Horse. With this advantage Ruth was able to hit 60 homeruns in 154 games. Mickey Mantle and were the reincarnation of Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the usual 1961 batting order having Maris hitting third and Mantle fourth. By the way the Yankees introduced uniform numbers in 1929 and they were assigned by batting order but Gehrig’s number four was the first player number ever retired and Ruth’s three the second. Expansion ruled baseball in 1961. New teams brought with them a season of 162 games. Maris and Mantle started with hot bats and a month into the season Mantle had 14 homeruns and Maris 12. July saw Maris in the lead with 40 to Mantle’s 39. At the end of August Maris had 51 home runs and Mantle had 48. Mantle dropped out of contention when an old leg injury flared up causing him to miss a few weeks of play. Maris hit his 59th in the season’s 154th game. On September 26, Maris connected on a pitch from Baltimore’s to tie Ruth. With Maris holding at 60 homeruns the Yankees faced the Red Sox on October 1st in the final game of the sea- son at The Stadium. Sox pitcher served up a wicked fast ball to Maris in the fourth which was caught ten rows back in the right field stands by Sal Durante, a 19-year-old truck driver from Coney Island. The Yankees won the game 1-0 and Maris, the new homerun king had hit, as Mickey Moss jubilantly put it, 61 in ‘61. Fifty one years later I was hunched over in the damp cool of the Smithfield Sportsman’s Club range. Earlier I had shot a 200X200 in the sitting stage of the 2012 NRA Four Position Sectional and was starting a continuation of fire to try to establish a new senior category record. I had held the record for a short time and lost it. I thought I’d like to get it back as I also held the senior 50 yard indoor iron and open anysight sitting records. Regaining the 50 foot anysight sen- ior record would make for a neat sitting hat trick. The great humorist Robert Benchley once said of both of us, “I do most of my work sitting down; that's where I shine.” My old All Guard team mate Ed Jensen holds the open record with a mind boggling 200 with 500 additional tens. I once asked him why 500 and he replied that he stopped there because he just didn’t think that anyone was thick headed enough to try to break it. With Ed’s comment in the back of my mind I started on my quest. I had a good position and steadily knocked off 19 tens to secure my obscure place in the record book. I doggedly continued on. I wanted to make sure that anyone who sought to best me to would have to work hard to do so. Soon the chill, damp, and my advanced age started to get the better of me. My back had tightened up and my legs ached. Running out of enthusiasm I began desperately thinking of any way to get out of the mess with grace, panache, and without shooting a nine. I had just turned 65 and Mickey’s rallying cry, “61 in 61!” suddenly flashed into my head. Reeling out a single target I settled in and concentrated. After a few sighters I carefully went for record, shot five tens, and stopped with a sigh of relief. I had done it. Like Maris, who had hit 61 in ’61, I had shot 65 at 65.