For the Annual Turkey Shoot, it didn’t seem to be a bad day for a competition, but a couple of competitors complained about excessive fouling buildup, hang fires, and “unexplained” errant shots. Unfortunately, there were only 12 shooters in the match. Where were you guys???
Surprisingly, there wasn’t one word about the selection of turkey targets for the competition. Shutzenmeister JP Sherkus had decided that since it was a Turkey Shoot, we were going to shoot Turkey targets. With regards to invisible targets, there were no invisible turkeys of any kind, sorry Art.
The first target at 25 yards was the 3 Turkey Heads, one shot per head. Judging from the scores, this was the hardest target of the day. Some supposed that the turkey heads were actually snakes which were swaying constantly. John Marhefka was top scorer with a 24. He actually managed to hit each head once. Ron Vecchioni also managed to hit all three with 22, then came Frank Nicoli with an 18, Doug Crowe with a 17 and Rich Burkhart with a 16. Jim Ellis and Roman Sartorius (a new member!) hit a 14. Mike Rodzianko, Ben Burkhart, and JP Sherkus hit a 13.
Next was the Small Black Turkey for 3 shots. Art Twitchell surprised himself with a 25, not bad for a “visible target”. John Marhefka and JP Sherkus both had a 24-1X, with Rich Burkhart coming in with an 18. Mike Rodzianko came next with a 15 chased by John Ferranti with a 14. Ben Burkhart and Roman Sartorius both hit 10 and then came Ron Vecchiani and Jim Ellis with 5.
Then came the Big Turkey, cousin to the Invisible Squirrel, for five shots. That was because despite its size, the turkey had a much smaller scoring area with much of the body being Zero. John Marhefka totaled the beast with a 45, followed closely by JP Sherkus with a 43. Doug Crowe had a solid 34. Jim Ellis and Frank Nicoli tied with a 29-1X. Art Twitchell and Roman Sartorius both followed with a 28. Ben Burkhart came in next with a 26, beating his dad with a borrowed rifle, and Ron Vecchioni hitting a 19. Rich Burkhart had a 16 and John Ferranti finished with a 9.
At 50 yards, Shutzenmeister Sherkus chose the venerable large turkey heads. These had been seen several times before and did not cause much if any whining. The first was the round turkey head which had some highs and lows for three shots. JP Sherkus killed the bird with a 30 followed by John Marhefka with a 27. There was a three way tie at 24 by Mike Rodzianko, Doug Crowe, and Ron Vecchioni. Roman Sartorius shot a 16 with a tie at 15 for Rich Burkhart and Frank Nicoli. Jim Ellis and Art Twitchell turned in an 8 and John Ferranti hit the paper with a 0.
The final target was the skinny Turkey Head. JP Sherkus has said many times that his rifle likes long distances, and he showed it again with a 48! Doug Crowe came in next with a 43-1X followed by John Marhefka with a 42. Mike Rodzianko came in fourth with a 39. Rich Burkhart as had a 26, Frank Nicoli had 25, Ron Vecchioni had a 20. Roman Sartorius and John Ferranti had an 18, with Jim Ellis, having trouble with his sights, turned in a 15. Art Twitchell, still complaining about no invisible turkeys turned in an 8.
The Top Shot for the day was again El Presidente John Marhefka this year with a 162-1X. Second was JP Sherkus, just four points behind with a 158-1X (darn those three turkey heads). Doug Crowe had a 143-1X. Mike Rodzianko broke three figures with a respectable 117-1X as did Frank Nicoli ending up with 100-1X. Next was Rich Burkhart with a 91, Ron Vecchioni with a 90, and newbie Roman Sartorius with an 86. Art Twitchell finished with a 71 followed by Jim Ellis with a 71-1X. Ben Burkhart had a 49, even without shooting the 50 yard targets due to fouling problems. Last but not least was John Ferranti with a 46.
The next match will be December 20, 2020. Yes, that’s the Sunday of Christmas week, but it will be an Aggregate Score Competition, so you will bring home some prizes (presents?). You get 3 of each rifle target. Shutzenmeister Sherkus promised that there will be “Joyful targets”. There WILL be a pistol competition for those who wish to participate. Score your own, hand in your best target sheet. Please, do not stockpile or delay handing in your target sheet. We want to keep the score sheet current.
All shots are from the free-standing, off-hand position. Shooting begins at 9 AM and ends at 2 PM. If we finish early, we can stop before 2 PM. Relays are approximately 20 minutes each. Any safe muzzle loader (flint, cap, fire-lock, side slapper, under hammer, inline) may be used. Iron sights (open, peep, aperture) only, no scopes or optics permitted. Spotting scopes may be used. Subject to change without notice—generally there are 5 targets, some requiring 5 shots, some only 3. Expect the unexpected and have a bundle of fun. Usually distances are 25 and 50 yards. Please return any unused, unshot targets at the end of the match.
Keep yer powder dry.
Rich