Vanzant Clay Pigeon Farm, Mo. 2 Day Shotgun Event, 8-9 Apr 2022

The Vanzant Clay Pigeon Farm of Vanzant, Mo.
will be hosting a private shoot for
INVITED GUESTS
Apr 8-9, 2022
SAFETY BRIEFS: 3PM Friday & 9AM & NOON Saturday
1st FLIGHTS 4pm Friday & 10am Saturday,
RAIN OR SHINE
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
Bring at Least 12 Boxes of Ammo, an assigned Small Gift Prize, and an assigned Pot Luck Dish
if we go over 10 shooters.
ANY GUN
ANY GAUGE
Event Cost is a suggested 100.00. (an unheard of bargain for a 250 bird match)
Tickets are transferable but not refundable. No carryovers.
The Days Events Will Be:
3pm - Friday Intro/Waivers/Gun Insp.
4pm - Field 1 & 2 Open for practice
6pm - Open kitchen. Fend for yourselves
7-10pm - Night Birds
9am - Saturday Intro/Waivers/Gun Insp.
10am - Shooting Begins
Box 1-4 = Friday Flights
Box 5 = 16yd ATA Trap
Box 6 = 21yd Handicap Trap
Box 7 = Skeet
Box 8-9 = Turkey Shoot/Polish Duck Blind
Box 10 = Annie Oakley
Box 11-12 = 50yd Trophy Match and a Calcutta
12 Noon = Lunch
3-5pm - Trophy Match, Shoot Offs, Wildcard Calcuttas, and Awards
6pm - Club 60 Meal in Town
NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED
FREE TRAINING
FREE RUSTIC CAMPING. Bathroom in club.
50 YD TROPHY MATCH IS A TRAP WALK BACK TO 50YDS WITH HOA, ANNIE, TURKEY SQUAD ANDDUCK BLIND WINNERS..
RANGE OWNER SHOOTS IN PROXY FOR LOW SCORE AS WELL.
LAST MAN STANDING WINS.
Extra games available at the counter.
Call and reserve a spot. 417-948-0095

 

if youre reading this, youre invited.

 

anyone care to donate for the apr trophy? pm me. you don't need to attend to donate for it.

 

cliff just signed up. we have 1!

 

brian just signed up. we have 2.

 

april will include new shoot policy. since 99% of my attendees bypass night birds, i have a choice. either make it a 1 day shoot or give an incentive to come friday as well. so, lets go with the incentive first. if you come friday night and shoot a game of skeet or trap. and the score you log during night birds is higher than the main event score on sat, you can use the higher of the 2. a lot of time and energy is expended for too small a crowd. i will do this if it draws shooters friday. if it doesnt pan out, im going to cancel night birds and make my shoot a 1 day event oct 2022. ive tried every combination one can imagine to bend to the needs and desires of the shooters. i made it a 3 day event, a sat/sun event, and the current fri/sat event. and people STILL cancel. its impossible to please everyone, so if i have to, i will please....me as a last resort.

 

just remember folks, canceling may be easy on your end and it may be truly needed, but on this end, it hurts the prizes, the pot luck, and the others who come to socialize to meet friends and new faces. many travel long distances to attend. its a miracle many come as far as they do, for just 4 to 5 people at a match. we owe it to everyone to work at making it worth coming. keeping me on the hook until the last few days to decide if youre coming, or ignoring emails and pm's isn't fair to management either. man up and sign up early or give me a firm no. maybes in my book have always been no's. tickets talk.
anyone who has coordinated a match knows is hard enough, let alone being the host who travels 1500 miles to hold it. I like the sport enough to do it. but others would certainly say im insane for what I do on my vacation time.

 

bob L signed up. we have 3.

 

we have a trophy donor. im going into town tomorrow.

 

here it is. come and win it!

 

I'm going to itemize the shoot for those that have difficulty understanding the costs.
The 2 day match is a suggested 100.00. If your lifestyle doesn't allow you to commit until 30 days out, its 125.00. Early birds save 25.00 by booking their other life events (around my) shoot. Normally, those that wait to the last minute are booking my shoot (around their) other life events.
We tell you to bring 10 boxes of ammo. Why? Because 10 boxes will entitle you to 4 night games or 4 practice games on Friday, and 6 boxes for the main event. Heres the breakdown of games:
Friday = 4 boxes of 25. 4 games.

Saturdays main event......

Skeet = 1 box of 25. You just shot 5 games.
16yd trap = 1 box of 25. You just shot 6 games.
21yd trap = 1 box of 25. You just shot 7 games.
Turkey shoot = 1 shot.
Duck boat = 10 shots....which leaves you 14 rounds in your pocket. You just finished your 8th and 9th game.
Annie Oakley = 1 box of 25 plus the extra 14 rounds you have left over. If you are a good shot, odds are they will be expended here, since annie oakley can go on for a long time. If you go out early, oh well. You go home with left over rounds. Annie oakley is the 10th game.
The 50yd trophy shoot is free. Only those that win a spot in this event get to shoot it.
Got leftover rounds? Did you bring extra ammo? Sure hope so. You might need it here. Its a 25 round event only if you last to the 50yd line. If not, you go home with leftover ammo.
If you didn't expend 250 rounds in 2 days, its not our fault. Shoot better next time.
Now, we don't limit you to just 10 boxes in 2 days. If you want to shoot extra games, all you do is go to the counter and sign up. Extra games are a suggested 5.00 each. These games are not part of the event, therefore you pay separate for them. And as stated, the event is not refundable. If you have to leave early or cancel for any reason, you are disqualified. You are paying for the entire event plus any extra games. There is no haggling for event games not shot to cover the cost of extra games. Pretty simple.
For 10 years I maintained an inventory of my personal factory ammo. I even stocked reloads at the range for those wanting to pinch a penny. Rarely did anyone buy it. So I don't stock it anymore. Its gone. But being the responsible host I am, I do still offer reloads for the shoot, to those coming unprepared or for those not willing to drive 60 miles on a gamble that Wal-Mart has some on a 3 box ration.
And lastly, if you don't attend the Friday portion of the shoot, or if you don't shoot all 10 boxes, your games expire. There are no carry-overs. Been there done that. Never again.
I hope this helps our guests.

 

rain or shine means rain or shine.
if you don't want to ruin your fancy skeet or trap gun, bring a clunker as a back up. we don't cancel due to rain. if lightning is striking, we will delay until it passes. if there is 2" of rain in the duck boat, bring boots. its suppose to simulate duck hunting! if you don't come prepared, don't blame us. we told you in advance.
my shoot may appear po-dunk to some, but my match isn't for the faint at heart. hunters that attend, tend to feel right at home. others tend to waiver. its part of making the match well balanced.

 

i need to nip this in the bud. its becoming too common over the years and it needs attention.
------------
prizes. we all bring prizes to be divied out to the winners. it keeps the cost of the tickets down. if we were to charge for prizes, the tickets would go well over100.00 each. is it a little more work for you? sure. we do this because it makes tickets stay lower and it attracts shooters. many wouldnt come if it gets too expensive. it is a long way to travel. being inexpensive is the main draw. we offer shooters a chance to look in their closets for nice prizes laying around that you bought ages ago to be donated at a savings to you; or, we allow you to buy new items on clearance to pinch a penny. heck, we are talking a 5 or 10.00 prize. we arent asking to donate guns, 4wd quads, tents, or duck decoys. 10-20 bucks max. wow. but be in made known, we have had very generous and financially capable shooters donate more expensive or even numerous items for shoots, to stock the shelves to cover the delinquent and we recognize them for their efforts. you know who you all are. you are truly team players! kudos to you. everything donated goes right back out to shooters. we dont keep any of it for ourselves.

but, recently we've had a lot of people who dont read my blogs or read the flyer and show up at the shoots empty handed with a dumb look on their faces and expect us to look the other way. taint happenin'. you are responsible to READ THE FLYER and READ MY EMAILS telling you what to bring. we do this so we get a variety of prizes in. if we dont assign you a prize, everyone ends up bringing hoppes 9. so, READ MY EMAILS and bring what we suggest you bring. marching to your own drum doesnt help the team.
if you dont follow instructions and you show up at the counter empty handed, we will not squad you.
since we are responsible hosts, to help cover you, we have pre-bought some prizes to cover those forgetting prizes, they are flat rated, bagged, and available. (the time and labor to shop for you and the 'I forgot my prize' will cost you 20.00.) either buy it and toss it in the pile, or go home, no refund.

hate to be like this, but we dont like being taken advantage of or be treated as pushovers. we may be po-dunk in view of other shoots and matches, but its our shoot, our range, our rules.

we prefer to be friendly. when everyone does what they are asked, its easy.
its only when someone doesnt follow rules that our claws come out.
thanks for understanding.

 

hopefuls:

(any new forum attendees) +
rex
stan
joe
larry
kenton
gary/beth
dude & son
the altermatt family
jack

 

as always, if we get 10 we have a pot luck.

 

waiting for james q to answer a letter invite.

 

he must not know how to read.....

 

sign up early and save.........

 

rex is nibbling!

 

hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
rex
stan
joe
larry
kenton
gary/beth
dude & son
the altermatt family

 

joe tells me he's thinking about apr. if he comes, itll be 2 years since i saw him last.

 

Bob, thanks for setting this shoot up. It takes a lot of work and patience and I appreciate your willingness to do so. Look forward to seeing you in April.
Merry Christmas!

Cliff

 

my pleasure. glad you made it over to the new site. happy holydays.

 

happy holydays to all.

 

sprained my wrist pretty bad. I thought it broke but VA said no. problem is, its my grip hand. cant hold a shotgun. im out of action for some time. hopefully ill be back in action, but for now, I cant do much w/o sarahs help. im a one armed man in a pull up contest for sure.

 

my 4 fingers are working again. my thumb still cant squeeze anything. wrist is moving but when I try to grip a pistol grip it tells me it doesn't like it, one recoil and itll hurt, so im still in a 'no shooting yet' status. the old navy term is... (limited duty.)

 

1 deg this morning. thank GOD I split wood back in nov!

 

early bird sign up ends 1 march guys. if you can sign up early to give us a feel for the crowd size, do it now. thanks.

 

rex just signed up. we have a whooping 4!

 

jim is out. the lure of San Antonio has him shooting mims and points matches this year. we wish him well.

 

Kenton wont know until later.

 

hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
larry....always waits to the last day.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
the altermatt family.......never answer my pm's and emails.

 

stan is out. surgery.

 

6 days to early bird offer ending.

 

tickets are now full price. snooze ya lose.

 

larry's nibbling. his wife might come.

 

I have a guy here at work that is trying to get himself and 2-3 more guys to come. He seems pretty serious and wasn't all that concerned that he missed the early bird price. No guarantees as it might be a last minute decision and pay when they get to the shoot. If I hear anything more definite, I will let you know.

 

we try to discourage paying at the counter brian, but we understand most cant commit. it throws off our planning and prep time if we decide to have a pot luck. if we get 10, we set up. and too, they need time to shop for their door prizes assigned them or we must charge them a prize at the counter if they come empty handed. so if you can get them to commit early, lmk. and make sure they have 10 boxes+ of ammo. i have zilch made or available. thanks for searching for bodies!

 

most i talk to agree im the cheapest guy in town. rockbridge is charging 25.00 for 25 birds!

 

frank may come .frank is a local trap shooter here in douglas county.

 

i sent an invite to larry alferman. be nice if he'd come down and chew the cudd with us little folk!

 

the altermatt family is out.

 

byrons out.

 

larry alfermans out. he has work that day.

 

im in mo now. local phone is best way to get me.

 

hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
larry....always waits to the last day.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
frank and kenton....said yes but, tickets talk
brians buddy and 3 friends are teetering
cliff might have a buddy

if they all came, we'd have 12 more. holy cow, it would be a record....and a POT LUCK.

 

ok, if theres anyone actually reading my posts, I need you all to chime in if you plan on shooting night birds Friday.

rex called and will be here Friday.

anyone else?

 

cliff will be here fri.

 

brians coming.

 

bob L is debating it.

 

larry is totally out. attendees are dropping like flies.

 

hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
frank and kenton....said yes but, tickets talk
brians buddy and 3 friends are teetering
cliff might have a buddy

 

ok, we have 3 for night birds.
3 birds in hand and 12 in the bush. geesh. times are tuff.

 

we only have 4 coming TOTAL! we need bodies!

 

if bob L shoots night birds, we will have 100% of the attendees shooting friday. i will honor that for part of my decision to keep friday night birds. oct i will make my decision.
rex
brian
cliff
bob L...maybe

 

kenton will be iffy up till the last moment.

 

ya know....im just going to say this and i know the world has changed but, they call it a week(end) for a reason. youre suppose to rest and relax and worship on weekends. ever wonder why the majority of venues and festivals are planned for week(ends)????

 

my uncle and aunt in pomona are/were farmers. they never visited anyone. we always visited them. i realized early in life that farmers are tied to their live stocks needs. its part of farming. nothing wrong with it. its by choice, but it has been known to kill both men and women. it took my uncle. nothing glamorous or easy about the farm life. its hard and i have a huge respect for it all. my mom was a farmer during ww2 back east when the east was known for dairy. what im learning here in mo is my ability to socialize with them is based solely on seasons and in between times of availability. my heart goes out to them because it tends to isolate them from others and effects their minds and hearts. and even though they are all around me here on huge farms, they are as distanced as my neighbors back east hiding behind pulled shades. everyone is struggling and youre expected to struggle as well here. strange life. im glad sarah and i are allowed to move around. cabin fever is not an option in our lives. we have too much good life left to live.

 

ok, bob L is no go for friday night.
we are at 75% night bird attendance.

 

hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
kenton....said yes but, tickets talk
brians buddy and 3 friends are teetering
cliff might have a buddy


best we can do is 15 if they all come.
worst case is 5.
keeping with a 10 year stats table of 33% no shows....odds are 1 of the 5 will not show.
making it 4. i drove 1500 miles to run a 4 man match.

it should be obvious that i do this for the passion of the game and to somehow try to establish lasting friendships, not profit.
otherwise i'd be selling this place and retiring to some cozy little community where kids cut the grass, shovel snow, and do the chores for us old guys; while, i order everything on line, order food to my door from uber drivers, movies on netflixs, the latest toys from amazon, and go to my VA dr. appointments on the free van that would transport me there and back.
its still an option.

 

frank just signed up. we have 5 and...hes coming for night birds.

80% night attendance.


hes going to ask some locals too.

 

btw........thanks dude. you were the only one who left a comment on claytargetsonline last april.
matter of fact, you were the only comment at all. no one left anything for the oct 21 shoot either. too much to ask i guess.

 

Well the possible attendee I had and the 2 possible attendees he was bringing with him just cancelled. He had a family event show up on his calendar for that weekend.

 

thanks for trying.

 

7 hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
kenton....said yes but, tickets talk
cliff might have a buddy
frank may have a buddy

 

all we need is 5 more and we have the pot luck.

 

a vanzant dictionary lesson............

the cameo appearance: when a shooter shows up at the counter unannounced without a reservation, unaware of the published flyers instructions or terms beforehand, and without the assigned door prizes or pot luck dish.

we wont turn away anyone who does this, itll just cost you a little extra.
the drawback to this practice is.....it can tip the squading on its heals, causing some to have to shoot alone....which slows the whole match up. and it can delay the pot luck serving time, causing food to sit cold while the majority of contestants wait for the late arrivals to finish. it also ties up the scoring team from doing other duties such as filling machines, updating score boards, and directing the flow of the meet thru a smooth pace to completion.

add to that bad weather and the whole match can be thrown off track, making for a bad experience.

so.........call in advance before you come so i can at least tell you what is required of you prior to your arrival!

those that bring friends.........TAKE NOTE!

 

7 hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
kenton....said yes but, tickets talk
cliff might have a buddy
frank may have a buddy

 

tested the lights. all working.

 

kenton is out.

 

6 hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
cliff might have a buddy
frank may have a buddy

 

10 days to go. not looking good for a crowd.

 

frank isnt answering emails or phone. odd.

 

ok, 10 day forecast calls for 58-63 deg on shoot day, partly sunny both days, wind gusts 11mph.

 

sent gary and beth a flyer since it wont be raining. now we just wait for an answer..........

 

ok good news. bob L will be shooting fri night. we are at 100% night birds. so far, night flights are being spared.

 

free hot dogs/chili will be served over the campfire fri night to all.

 

guys be careful of the rutts in the driveway up at the mailbox hill. tractor is backfiring and i cant blade it.

 

ok, frank called in. he wont be bringing buddies.
the chance for a pot luck just went away.

 

5 hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come. they dont communicate much.
dude...... waiting to see how his hunting lottery goes.
cliff might have a buddy.

if i was a betting man, id say none of these people will come.

 

dude is out...........

a high school reunion popped up out of nowhere without any warning or foreknowledge. lol.

 

4 hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come. they dont communicate much.
cliff might have a buddy.

if i was a betting man, id say none of these people will come.

 

safe travels guys..............

 

cliff bailed out. imagine that. down to 4 attending.

 

cold weather guys. dress warm.

 

3 hopefuls:
(any new forum attendees) +
joe.........working long hours on a new job. hope he can get away this year. its been a while.
gary/beth....only if it doesn't rain. will be walk in's if they come. they dont communicate much.


if i was a betting man, id say none of these people will come.

 

28deg, light frost on everything!!! dress warm!

 

its snowing on and off guys! light but its there! wind blew the boat over last night!

 

wind died down for night birds. cold and clear, but good time was had by all. sarah cooked for the boys!

 

i won my bet on joe, gary, and beth!.

 

frank won the trophy. brian won 1st place!

 

small, but big fun with good loyal friends. covid is over, but now we are battling cost of living, ammo shortage and travel expenses. we shall see how oct turns out. looks bleak.