North Dakota Pheasant Hunt 2010

After reading Nacho's article on pheasant hunting in the recent OSC newsletter, I was inspired to post some pictures from a recent hunt in North Dakota.

Gage "The Workman" with the fruits of his labor.

Mike and Gage near the corner of 14 Ave SE and 101 St SE.

Gage and John with the daily limit.

Happiness is a Chevy tailgate full of roosters.

Fall at the Club

This UCB member enjoyed a couple rounds of shooting at the Sportsmans Club this evening. It was a great night to be outdoors. Stu has a really challenging course set up for the Fall Hunters League that includes a make shift duck blind. You sit down and call for a bird then stand up and take care of business.

The old skeet house and fence have been torn down to make way for a new a new storage building that includes a skeet house on the North end.

The foundation for the new building has been poured and they will be putting up the walls next week. Thanks Hefty Construction.

2010 Class AA Champions

Congratulations goes out to Stu Cameron and his Sport Products trap team for winning the 2010 Class AA Championship. They won a shoot out against the S/S Boys by one bird – 216-215!

A well deserved Championship for Stu!

Class AA Champion T.B.D.

Sports Products won the first half of the season and the S/S Boys won the second half. There's a shoot off planned for Monday, August 30 to determine the championship team.

Here's the overall Class AA kill totals:

1. Sports Products: 1293 + 1292 = 2585
2. S/S Boys: 1268 + 1307 = 2575
3. UCB Local 505: 1247 + 1271 = 2518
4. Upper Deck: 1273 + 1238 = 2511
5. Signature Const: 1270 + 1223 = 2493
6. Sorry Shooters: 1215 + 1228 = 2443
7. Oregon Bowl: 1208 + 1205 = 2413

Cale Severson will be named the 2010 Oregon Sportsman's Club Top Gun. Congrats and nice shooting Cale.

Week 12: That's All Folks!

Week 12 signifies the end to another season of trap shooting. It's amazing how fast 12 weeks can fly by. The United Clay Busters Local 505 salutes Mike for finding the Oregon Sportsman's Club back in 2005 and establishing a trap team. That's over 20,000 rounds through our barrels and a ton of great memories.

John was Top Gun in week 12 and squeaked out the 2010 UCB Team Top Gun title by just four birds. Mike and Curt were M.I.A. this week due to work and vacation schedules.

Alex finished the season very strong by posting his highest score of the year. Way to go Schmalz!

Shawn and his Beretta enjoyed another good year of shooting. Shawn was one of the original team members in 2005. Here's a little trivia. What was our original team name? Comment with your answer.

What a great picture to end the season on. The Sorry Shooters are on the line for a final time in 2010 as well. Good night everybody and thanks for following along on our blog!

Week 11: Gone Fishing.

The UCB Local 505 did not field a full team in Week 11 due to vacations and hectic work schedules. Unfortunately Alex was the lone gunner on Tuesday.

John wore the UCB colors while fishing in the Wisconsin north woods as a sign of UCB team unity.

Celebrating 40 Years!

Every fall the Oregon Sportsman's Club holds a steak feed as a way to celebrate their awesomeness. This year was a special celebration seeing how it's their 40th Anniversary. Great food, great company, and of course great raffle prizes.

The Oregon Sportsman's Cub was founded in 1970 by two men – Jim Rowe and Sonny McKune. Jim and Sonny were honored in a special ceremony and presented 40th Anniversary awards.

In this photo: Shawn, Jim, Sonny, and John.

Delicious ribeye steaks were grilled and served at the celebration. A special thank you to all the club members who volunteered to prepare the food and organize the event.

What feast would be complete without a grill full of baked potatoes?

Shawn and Amy, or better known as Mr. and Mrs. Lucky, were big raffle winners. They won a box of shells, two Packer tickets, and a Daisy Red Ryder carbine rifle.

John didn't go home empty handed either. He won 100 Remington Sport Loads, a Gander Mountain hat, and a Browning Pheasants Forever strap vest.

Team Shotguns. Part 5 of a 5 Part Series.

In the final installment of UCB Local 505 shotguns we are featuring the beautiful firearm of Mr. Harper. Shawn shoots a 12ga. Beretta 686 Onyx. His 686 features cool metal work that gives the gun a sporty feel. Beretta always brings great design and styling to their firearms and the 686 Onyx is no exception.

UCB Week 10: The Two Amigos

The UCB Local 505 had a skeleton crew on the line this evening due to business travel and vacations. Shawn and John had the pleasure of shooting in what felt like a Viking® convection oven but turned out to be the Hook Lake swamp land. The 89% humidity had our barrels a smokin'.

Photo of the Day

If you enlarge this photo you can see the lead shot hitting the front edge of the orange clay target. The wad follows closely behind and resembles a tracer round.

Photographer: Mike.

Gunner: Cale.

Week 9: A Race to the Finish.

After completing our ninth week of trap shooting the finish line is in sight. Only three more weeks of joyous trap shooting, card playing, peanut eating, and of course beer drinking. Only three more weeks to determine a club Class AA champion and three more weeks left to see which UCB Local 505 member gets their named etched on the coveted L. Wilcox trophy. Only three more weeks of having to read these ridiculous blog postings.

JK was TG this week. CH and AS were MIA in Week 9 due to business and pleasure trips. Team Kriefski/Krull whooped the asses of Harper/Severson on the 500 card table. We may have to start a monthly 500 card party through the winter to keep us in shape.

Each night at the club there is a sacrificial burning of the cardboard boxes. Tony Allhands pays tribute to all the clay targets that laid their lives on the line for our shooting pleasure.

Steak named the official meat of the United Clay Busters • Local 505.

The United Clay Busters of America signed an epic deal today with the United States Beef Council and named Medium Rare Steak as their official meat. Nothing gives a Clay Buster the strength they need like a little protein. And when the Local 505 thinks protein they think red meat.

Delicious ribeye steaks are resting to let the juices absorb back in. Dinner is served.

Team Shotguns. Parts 3 and 4 of a 5 Part Series.

In this weeks feature of UCB team shotguns we're showcasing the iron of Local 505 members Curt and Alex. They both shoulder beautiful Browning Citori XS Skeet shotguns. There is a lot to love about a Browning Citori: time proven design, quality construction, nice package of features, and all at an affordable price.

Week 8: Butler County Rules

The United Clay Busters posted their highest collective team score this week with some damn fine shooting. The Local 505 shot one of the later shifts but still battled the hot, humid July evening. There were approximately 13 trillion bugs buzzing about tonight as well. We'll be shooting in the missing man formation for the next 3-4 weeks due to a lot of upcoming business travel and vacations.

John broke the most clay in week 8 and also partnered with Harps to dominate the 500 card table. Team Butler County battled Hanke/Kriefski in some really good card games. Great fun boys. Alex joined the team for post shooting beverages and may have set a new team record for the amount of shelled peanuts he put away. Good luck in the morning Schmalz.

Team Shotguns. Part 2 of a 5 Part Series.

This week we are featuring the shotgun of fellow Local 505 member and three-time UCB Team Champion, Mike Kriefski. Mike shoulders a beautiful SKB 785 over/under 12 ga shotgun that has a long reputation of putting the hurt on anything that flies. Mike's SKB also features custom ported barrels, an extended forcing cone, Briley chokes, elaborate engraving, and a sweet ass wood finish. Nice gun No. 1. Nice gun indeed.

For more info on SKB shotguns visit: http://www.skbshotguns.com

Week 7: Upper Range – 8pm

The Local 505 returned to the line after the holiday bye week. At this point it's all about having fun and busting clay. Mission accomplished.

Mike was the UCB Top Gun in week 7 with another solid night of shooting.

The Local 505 getting ready to do work.

Harps came to the line tonight with his game face on after not shooting for three weeks. He posted a score well above his average. Nice shooting.

Class AA

The rankings are posted at the club and for the third year in a row the United Clay Busters of America have made Class AA. The Local 505 finished fifth out of 28 teams. Congrats to Stu Cameron and Sports Products on winning the first half. It's a clean slate starting next week so let's aim for a season ending shoot off.

The lower range trap house got a shiny new roof during the bye week. The new roof is 3-1/2" higher in the front of the house than the previous roof. I didn't notice any difference in shooting and the good news is the clay pigeons will stay nice and dry.

Bye Week

The Fourth of July holiday means there is no league shooting this week. There is however open shooting on Tuesday and Thursday night in case you start to get withdrawals.

Week 6: Half Way There

Week six marks the midway point to the season and will also determine which class the Local 505 ends up in. Our best guess puts us in the AA class. The UCB scores are definitely on an upswing which should bode well for the second half of the season. Harps was M.I.A. again this week due to a little business upstate.

The UCB had co-top guns in week six. Congrats to Alex and Curt for their most excellent shooting. Nice job gentlemen.

The 505 pre-game warmup includes watching Jake and the Fat Men do work.

More friends of the 505

Dean Retzlaff is a good friend of the 505. We have been shooting either before or after Dean's team for the last five years. We always look forward to hearing about Dean's latest big game hunting adventure.

Rick Phillips is a rock solid trap shooter and gets the job done week-in and week-out. We have known Rick since the beginning. Yes, way back to the Johnny Sarter "whoooooa" days.

Week 5: Chippin' Away

The United Clay Busters shot in the missing man formation this evening as Harps had to take care of a little business. The Local 505 shot their highest team score of the season but this blogger fears it's too little, to late to secure a spot in the AA Class. One more week to make up some ground. John was the Week 5 Top Gun.

The real story of the last couple of weeks is Curt's impressive shooting. He's getting things dialed in just in time for the UCB's Championship run. No pressure though! Curt is pictured here with the Wisconsin DNR's finest, Cale Severson.

Positive Reinforcement

We have two weeks to prove we belong in the AA Class at the club. Two weeks of kicking ass and taking names. It all starts with a positive attitude. Let's go 505!

Remember the guy in this photo? He loved 7:30pm lighting.

Week 4: Signs of Hope

The weather Gods definitely smiled on the Oregon Sportsmans Club this evening. After two days of steady rainfall, the sky cleared up just in time for our league shooting. Finally, the UCB Local 505 put up a respectable team score. We are still way off our 2009 pace but hopefully this is a sign that the bleeding has stopped.

John was the leading clay bluster tonight. The Local 505 also made up our second bank score. Alex missed out on possibly the best lighting a guy could ever wish to shoot under. Perfect weather conditions lead to really decent bank scores.

Mr. Hanke came up with a nickname for himself that may have just stuck. Say hello to "Clubhouse Curt!" Curt sometimes lacks confidence on the trap line but always brings his "AA" game to the bar, clubhouse, and card games.

The Local 505 found a new way to spice up trap shooting nights. A quick phone call to Pizza Pit quickly satisfied our hunger. So sad that Schmalzy missed out on this fresh, hot, and delicious pizza. Thanks again Curt for the tasty grub.

OSC Sporting Clay Shoot

The Oregon Sportsmans Club held a sporting clay shoot today. By the number of trucks in the parking lot it looks like they had a good turn out.

Our team consisted of myself, Bill Shultz, Kevin and Kris Hermanson, and a guy named Jeff.

The Hermansons both shot really well.

Chuck grilled up delicious brats for lunch.