Paddling Robinson's Preserve into Tampa Bay

 

Dundee and and Steve kayaked two hours in Robinson Preserve, Manatee County, Bradenton, Florida. The Robinson Preserve borders the mouth of the Manatee River directly across from Emerson Point. This Preserve opens to Tampa Bay and Anna Maria Island.

Robinson Preserve is a 620 preserve with 40 acres of peaceful mangrove-lined waterways and mangrove water tunnel passages for canoeing and kayaking. It offers well-maintained put-ins and take-outs with restrooms, picnic shelters, kayak and canoe wash stations with hoses, and a 40-foot observation tower with a 360-degree view of the Preserve.

Directions to Robinson Preserve

From Bradenton, we take Manatee Road toward Anna Maria Island. A mile before the bridge to Anna Maria, 75th Street Crosses Manatee Road. Take a right on 75th Street. Continue to near the end of the road, and take 17th Avenue on your left. Continue to the end of 17th Avenue, and Robinson Preserve Park is in front of you.

The Robinson Preserve borders the mouth of the Manatee River. The Preserve opens to Tampa Bay, Anna Maria Island, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the 2nd longest bridge in Florida.

Our Route.

We see the observation tower after a ten-minute paddle from the kayak put-in. We land our kayaks and climb the tower for a fantastic 360-degree view of the region. In particular, we see Anna Maria Island, Tampa Bay, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

We paddle across the lagoon from the tower put-in, looking for the mangrove trail under a footbridge. The trail bears left and right under the same footbridge, entering Tampa Bay. We then see clear Bay blue water and the four and a half mile Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Enjoy the below 4-minute video of kayaking in Robinson Preserve.

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Below, our New Hampshire neighbors join us in putting together a 1008 Piece Puzzle graciously given to Cathy by Cousin Linwood.  After four days of late-night effort, we (mostly Cathy and Dundee) completed the puzzle that celebrates the Knife Edge Trail hike. L-to R: Paul, Mike, Dundee, Tim, Shaun, and Steve as they celebrate their conquest of one of the most dangerous hikes in New England. We accomplished our goals:

1. Hike to Baxter Peak, the northern terminus of the 2,162 mile Appalachian Trail (AT).
2. Cross the fabled 1.1 mile Knife Edge Trail.
3. Hike five miles on the AT starting at its northern beginning at Baxter Peak.

Our ultimate achievement through endurance and teamwork brought satisfaction because of the challenges and time on the mountain.  Our Mt. Katahdin accomplishment was both physically demanding and mentally challenging. I am incredibility proud of my fellow adventurers and how we worked together for this team triumph.

Hiking the Fabled Knife Edge Trail 

Click this link to SUBSCRIBE to OutdoorSteve's YouTube Channel

" Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"

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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

  Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X

How to Cook an Egg with Oranges and Onions at a Campsite

Open campfire cooking is part of outdoor treks. Families and friends recall memories of delicious and unique ways to prepare breakfast. Here we cook an egg in two unique ways. One method is to cook the egg inside an onion. We take a fresh onion and cut about a quarter of the top off ... save this top as you will use it later. Then ream out the inside of the onion. Now crack the egg into the hole in the onion. Replace the top on the onion, and wrap it in aluminum foil. Place this wrap into the coals of the fire, or hang it over the open flames. Wait for 15 to 20 minutes or until anxious to check the cooking status of the onion/egg. The cooked egg will have a delightfully slight onion taste. Now eat the tasty cooked onion. 

The second method uses an orange. We cut the top off similar to the onion. Now take a spoon and ream out the inside of the orange ... eating it for your daily vitamin C. Now, crack the egg into the orange, and replace the orange cap. Wrap the orange and egg in aluminum foil like the onion, and surround this package with embers in the open campfire. Some may choose to hang or balance the packet over the open flames. Comparable to cooking the onion/egg, wait 15 to 20 minutes, or until anxious to check. The result will be a delicious egg with a slight orange taste.

An unforeseen benefit for the regular cook, is most of the attendees make their own breakfast!

Lots of fun for you and your family and lifelong memories of your trip.

Click this link to SUBSCRIBE to OutdoorSteve's YouTube Channel

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"Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends" S. Priest

Books by OutdoorSteve.com

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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

  Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X

Paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Section 6: The Clyde River - Island Pond to Pensioner Pond

Four friends spent four days paddling the Clyde and Nulhegan Rivers and Spectacle Pond – parts of what the NFCT calls section 6. Island Pond is the highest point in the NFCT and serves as the headwaters for the Clyde River, which flows 40-miles northwest to Lake Memphremagog and leads to the Saint Lawrence River.

Island Pond, through Spectacle Pond, is also the headwaters for the Nulhegan River, which flows east to the Connecticut River.

This blog and below video will focus on the Clyde River. The video has a teaching moment, as two of the paddlers, carrying their safety vests in their boats but not wearing them, unexpectedly entered class 2 whitewater. First is a  one-minute introduction/trailer to the video:

We tented at Brighton State Park's Spectacle Pond shoreline four days.

Water Conditions

On Day One the Clyde River water was clear and moving slowly from our Island Pond put-in to Ten Mile Square Road take-out. Paddling from Island Pond to Five Mile Square Road was five miles of zigzagging and took us about four hours. We overcame many obstacles such as down trees in the river, beaver dams, Class I-II boulder fields from a washed out logging-era dam, and walls of wood debris and blow-downs. The water level exposed many of the felled trees and was a challenge to our kayak and canoeing skills to overcome these barriers without portaging. The width of the river from Island Pond to Ten Mile Square Road was narrow (ten to twenty feet wide).

Day Two was an all-day drenching soaking rainstorm, and we only managed a brief evening paddle on beautiful Spectacle Pond passing the NFCT sign to portage to the Nulhegan River.

On Day Three we continued from our Ten Mile Square Road take-out nine miles to Pensioner Pond. Certainly the previous days deluge had an impact on the Clyde’s width and speed with overflows with high water levels. We estimated a 3 to 4 mph current that really moved. This Day Three section had more marsh and fewer trees than Day One from Island Pond to Ten Mile Square.

Questions on how we found conditions on the Clyde?

We used the highly recommended NFCT online Trip Planner (http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/tripplanner/) to plan and map our trip. We also purchased the NFCT Lake Memphremagog to Connecticut River Section 6 water protected map - and referred to it frequently throughout our paddle.

How long does it take to paddle from Island Pond to Five Mile Square Road, and then to Ten Mile Square Road? How long does it take to paddle from Ten Mile Square Road to Pensioner Pond? The Island Pond to Upper Clyde reference (http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/media/Island_Pond_And_The_Upper_Clyde.pdf) has a very good Trip Summary of paddling miles and times.

Want to know what it feels like to paddle the Clyde River? What does the country side look like? What obstacles may be encountered? Want to see Tim, John and Dundee paddle a short section of Class I – II boulder field rapids?

Usually, as we approach log dams and other barriers in the river, we slow and check the area for our approach, and then go through one person at a time, waiting to make sure each person safely gets across before the next person goes. We stop before the rapids and scout the best way to go through the rapids when we know rapids are ahead.

About four miles from our put-in at Island Pond, I was the first person through one of the many fallen trees blocking the river, and I intended to paddle clear of this obstacle and wait for my fellow paddlers. However, the fallen tree was on a bend, and when I made it through the barrier, I immediately found myself in Class II white water without a place to pull out and wait for the next paddler.

Essentially I was committed to these rapids with boulders and small drops, not really knowing how rough they were nor how long they would last. I was safely able to make it through this two hundred yard set of rapids – and my friends did likewise. 

So what is the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT)?

The NFCT is a living reminder of when rivers were both highways and routes of communications; the Trail is a celebration of the Northern Forest. The Trail is 740 miles of historic waterway traveled by Native Americans. It begins/ends in Fort Kent Maine, and travels through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Quebec, and ending/beginning in Old Forge, New York. http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org.

The NFCT is a journey through the landscape of the northeast. The land speaks of its history – of rocks and ruins, people and plants, and natural and economic forces at play.

The sections of the NFCT that friends and I have paddled are:

• The Allagash Wilderness Waterway
• Lake Umbagog: Androscoggin River
• Lake Memphremagog
• Connecticut River
• Moose River and Attean Pond on the historic “Moose River Bow Trip”
• Umbazooksus Stream
• Clyde River, Nulhegan River, and Spectacle Pond

See my NFCT travels in my recent book, Outdoor Play "Fun 4 4 Seniors" (http://www.outdoorsteve.com) and my blog, (http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/)

Four Days in Northern New Hampshire with Family and Friends Hiking, Paddling, Tenting and Moose Sighting. http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/2012/07/four-days-in-new-hampshire-of-family.html
Exploring Lake Umbagog – a Gem in the Great North Woods http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/2010/09/exploring-lake-umbagog-gem-in-great.html
Paddling the Allagash Wilderness Waterway http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/2009/07/paddling-allagash-wilderness-waterway.html
Special 24 Minute Clyde River Video: Clicking here provides the Northern Forest Canoe Trail ordeal of a writer/cameraman who is also occupied as a kayaker on the Clyde River in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

Click this link to SUBSCRIBE to OutdoorSteve's YouTube Channel

"Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go outdoors." – S. Priest
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 Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

References

1. Northern Forest Canoe Trail
   http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org
2. Island Pond and the Upper Clyde http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/media/Island_Pond_And_The_Upper_Clyde.pdf
3. NFCT online Trip Planner
   http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/tripplanner/
4. OutdoorSteve.com
   http://www.outdoorsteve.com
5. Blog: Outdoor Enthusiast
   http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/
6. Paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail: The Clyde River from Island Pond to Ten Mile Square
   http://youtu.be/ZF6KswIEPHM
7. Brighton State Park, Vermont
   http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/brighton.htm

February 5, 2022 Charleston, South Carolina - Sam and Madison Smith

 

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"We Do"

Dancing the Night Away Celebrating Mr and Mrs Smith

The Smith's and the Priest's Gather for a Special Holiday Boil.

Low-Country Boil With Shrimp, Potato, Corn, and Sausage - Mixed with Love and Great friendship!

Hosted by Sammy and Madison

" Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"

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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

  Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X

Iceboating in New Hampshire

Rare are the right iceboating conditions – sufficient ice thickness – no snow on the ice – and a windy day.

This blog reflects on the uniqueness of two types of iceboats, terms of the sport, and includes a ride with an iceboater.

Once you get over the initial “What am I doing here?” feeling, you sense being one with the boat. You hear the wind in the sail and the rumble of the runners over the ice. 

Tim, Steve, Dundee

Indeed, you must dress in layers for relative comfort at below-freezing temperatures and high winds. The driver of the iceboat is encouraged (required in races) to wear a helmet in case the boom hits the head, or the boat has a flip.

The first iceboat shown in the video is a DN Class iceboat, meaning the DN is a Class made to specific specifications (see below reference International DN.) The temperature at sailing was 28-degrees. The ice has frozen for the past week, and a few chisel holes into the ice showed the ice to be 3 – 4 inches thick – plenty of strength for ice boating – and smooth ice with no lingering snow.

The second iceboat is handcrafted by Dundee using skates, a broken hockey stick, and his summer sunfish boat sail. The temperature was 10-degrees, and the ice thickness more than 8-inches.  

Checking for Ice Thickness

Dundee uses a chisel to see how thick the ice is.

Microspikes – essential for walking on ice

The frequent crackling sound in the video is not the wind – it is the sound of microspikes as Steve walks on the ice. Microspikes offer serious traction on ice for walking and tasks such as pushing the iceboat.

“Let’s go iceboating!”

The DN Class Iceboat

The DN iceboat was given to Dundee by a friend.  The boat had been disassembled and stored in a barn for forty-plus years. It was re-assembled by Dundee.

Dundee has many creative skills – and the second iceboat is Dundee's handcrafted iceboat, made to his specifications (e.g., can fit two persons.) A special treat in this video is riding alongside Steve as he skims over Perkins Pond.

Below Video: One-minute peek of riding in an iceboat.

Below Video: The DN and Handcrafted Iceboats

Learn More About the Iceboats

For the DN boat, three 26-inches angle iron blades called "runners" support a triangular-shaped wooden frame with a front steering cane-shaped tiller. The blades are attached to the boat, one on each end of the rear cross plank and one at the fore end of the hull. The runner blade in the front is capable of rotation controlled by the tiller. There is a backrest seat in the middle for the driver.

The mast for Dundee's custom iceboat is from his summer “Sunfish” sailboat. (A Force 5 or Laser sailboat mast will work just as well.) A rope is tied to the sail and used by the driver to control the sail. The custom boat uses an old hockey stick for the tiller with old ice skate blades for 10-inches runners. 

The DN Class boat has a sail specific for the DN boat. Dundee's boat is identified on the sail as DN 1792. A well-tuned DN can sail three times as fast as the wind speed.

The boat with sail weighs about 125 lbs.

Starting, Steering, and Stopping

The boat can be started by putting the boat sideways to the wind. You then pull onto the sail to capture the wind – and off you go.

The crafted boat is steered with the hockey stick tiller to direct the front runner.

The driver pulls or releases the sail via the boom rope to angle the sail to catch the wind. The only seeming limitations to iceboat speed are windage, friction, the camber of the sail shape, strength of construction, quality of the ice surface, the level of skill, athleticism, and fearlessness of the sailor. There are many styles of iceboats, but it is said, an iceboat of the DN style can go twice the speed of the wind, i.e., with a 20-knot breeze, your iceboat can reach a speed of nearly 40-MPH!

Tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow into the wind through the 'no-go zone' so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side of the vessel to the other. The tacking method gets the iceboat up and down the pond. Catching the wind on an iceboat in the winter is precisely like sailing a boat in the summer.

Sailable ice is known in the sport as "hard water" versus sailing on liquid or "soft" water. Iceboats are strictly wind powered and need nearly snow-free smooth ice to sail.

References:

• International DN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_DN
• DN North America: https://www.idniyra.org/about/specifications/
• Video and Blog: Ice Boating on Perkins Pond
  http://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com/2015/01/ice-boating-in-new-hampshire.html

• Iceboat.org: http://iceboat.org/faqiceboat.html
• Tacking (sailing): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacking_%28sailing%29
• Sailing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing
• Ice Boating in New Hampshire - Bedford Community TV http://tiny.cc/46y26x

 " Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"

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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

  Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X

Hiking Reney Forest Loop Trail Grantham, NH

I was looking for a short Sunday hike. For years my wife and I had passed a trail sign in Grantham for the Reney Trail. I googled "Reney Trail" and found the below references.

 About the Hike: The Forest Society's Reney Forest is located on the slopes of Barton Hill in the town of Grantham. Its main hiking trail takes you on a moderately steep 1.3-mile loop up and down the hillside along old roads, through areas of recent logging, and on a snowmobile trail mainted by the Blue Mountain Snow Dusters.

Begin your hike on the yellow-blazed trail starting from the right side of the parking lot. The path crosses a minor brook and begins climbing right away. Cross a few grassy old roads, where signs mark the trail. The grade moderates after a while, and the trail crosses another little brook and emerges in a snowmobile trail corridor after just under half a mile. Turn left to join the snowmobile trail and continue the climb uphill. Follow the narrow footway through the grassy trail for about a quarter mile until it crests the top of a ridge and levels off.

Just as the snowmobile trail begins to descend, watch for a left turn back into the forest on the foot trail. The trail generally follows the top of the ridge downhill as it skirts a clearing and joins an old road.

After 0.35 miles, the trail swings right for a bit, then bears left as it joins a different woods road. Descend for another quarter mile, and bear left at a junction with a path leading to a separate parking area. Continue about 0.15 miles across level terrain back to the trailhead.

Below is my video of this pleasant 90 minute hike. 

Driving Directions: Trailhead and parking area are on Rt. 10 in Grantham, NH. Look for the spacious dirt parking area on the east side of the road, 2.9 miles north of the center of Croydon and 0.5 miles south of the junction with Rt. 114.

References

• NH Family HIkes
• Donas J. & Margaret Reney Memorial Forest
• Blue Mountain Snow Dusters
• Exploring New Hampshire's Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsage Greenway
• OutdoorSteve.com

" Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"
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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X

ORFS BOWL MEYER MAPLE LANES IN CLAREMONT

This is never serious bowling but always a lot of laughs! There is a fee for games and rental shoes. 

DIRECTIONS: From New London, take Rt. 11 to Claremont. Go past the Opera House Square on your right and continue on to Pleasant St. (which is also Rt. 11/12 South). Turn left and go 0.9 mile. Turn right at the light on Maple St. and go 0.6 mile to Citgo sign at 125 Maple St. Turn right past EZ Mart to Maple Lanes parking lot. We will have lunch together afterward at Chinese Imperial Buffet, take left after WalMart intersection on 154 Washington St.

Who Are the ORFS?

The Outdoor Recreation for Seniors (ORFS) group meets every Tuesday year-round at 10 am. In the summer, we kayak/canoe, hike, swim; in the fall, we hike and bowl; and in the winter, we snowshoe and cross-country ski. Our trips are from 1½ to 2 hours, followed by lunch.

Directions and locations are available for our Tuesday 10:am outings via email and the monthly New London Chapin Senior Center Courier newsletter. To learn more and join, contact the Chapin Senior Center at 37 pleasant Street, PO Box 1263, New London, NH 03257 or go to their web site at http://www.coachapincenter.org

The ORFS are a very informal group and participation is for all outdoor enthusiasts wanting guaranteed good exercise with a friendly fun group.

" Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"
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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X

Never say, “I wish I had taken Skeet Shooting Lessons”

  Introduction: 50-Second Trailer Video: Never say, “I wish I had taken Skeet Shooting Lessons” 

Introduction

 My friend Mark invited me to go skeet shooting. My first inclination was to say, “Thank you, but I know little about skeet shooting, I have never shot skeet, and I do not have a shotgun.” Mark’s positive response was, “I will teach you.”  Mark continued with my motivational mantra, “Never say, I wish I had.”  I was forced to concede to his skeet shooting challenge.

 Definition of Skeet Shooting

Skeet shooting is the dynamic sport of shooting at 4 –5” targets (called clay pigeons or birds) thrown in the air, generally with a clay target thrower machine. In my case, a shotgun is used to shoot at the clay targets thrown.  In skeet shooting, targets are launched from two houses in somewhat sideways paths that intersect in front of the shooter. 

An Upper and Lower House Skeet Shooting Range

As I delved into this sport with Mark, I learned Skeet Shooting is an Olympic sport. I watched the 2020 Olympics woman’s and men’s Skeet Shooting events. The 2020 Olympics certainly helped get me excited about learning more about this vibrant sport.

 My first two lessons

 A friend, Al, invited us to use his wooded rural property with a temporary range to expose me to the sport of skeet shooting.  Foremost in learning skeet is to master the rules of gun safety protocol.  Knowing AND practicing gun safety is a MUST.  Skeet shooting is very safe, in that, like learning to fly an airplane, the participant cannot break the safety rules without receiving harsh warnings and possible exclusion from the sport.  Any safety lapse is never taken lightly.

 Mark demonstrated the shooting stance, the technique of melding the shotgun to the cheek, mounting the gun to the shoulder, sighting the target with the gun bead, and other suggestions to prepare me to shoot the flying clay bird. After that, he critiqued each shot I fired.

 I will make this introduction brief. I had two lessons from Mark, firing about 50 rounds at the flying clay targets.  My initial score was hitting ZERO of FIFTY targets.  Mark recommended more intense instruction from Bill Rody of Rody Gun Shop in Newport, New Hampshire.  Bill came highly recommended by Mark as both a master instructor and skeet shooter.

 Skeet Shooting Instructions for a Novice skeet shooter

 The below video of this novice skeet shooter was taken during my third of three lessons with Bill. You can watch the full thirty minute video, or three individual videos.

 One more thing.  At the end of my third lesson, I hit about a third of the targets.

Here is the 30-minute video that covers: Understanding your Shotgun - Right from the box, Snippetts of Steve's range shooting instructions with Bill Rody, and Cleaning the shotgun.

 Enjoy this video.

Here are the individual parts of the 30-minute video:

Part 1: Understanding your shotgun – Right from the box (12 Minutes)

Part 2: Snippets of Steve’s range shooting instruction with Bill Rody (11 minutes) 

Part 3: Cleaning the shotgun (7 minutes) 

 My Novice Perspective

 As you watch the videos, keep in mind the perspective is from a novice  with very little skeet experience. The intent is for you to get a feel for the sport, so you never have to say, "I wish I had…”

Always practice with an experienced skeet shooter – and ALWAYS practice safety protocol.

 Key pointers I learned (as seen from the eyes of a first time skeet shooter:

•  Begin with the proper stance
• Bring the gun to your cheek, not your cheek to the gun. Then position the gun tight to your shoulder.
• At the end of the shotgun barrel use the bead at the end of the barrel as a guide. Better yet, look at the target/clay pigeon
• My first instruction resulted in a sore shoulder.  I did not hold the gun tight against my shoulder.
• After my first lesson my cheekbone was sore. I learned I was bringing my cheek to the guy. Bill’s instruction to overcome a sore cheekbone was to get into the proper stance, and then bring the gun tight to just below the cheekbone. Bringing the cheek to the gun, results in my head tilting, often missing the target, and the gun banging against the cheekbone.  

·       I found many of Bill’s instructions referenced in the article, HOW TO SHOOT SKEET – 8 HELPFUL SKEET SHOOTING TIPS. Here is the outline of these 8 Tips. See if you can spot them in my videos.

1.     Know the Rules

2.     Perfect your Stance

3.     Mount Your Gun

4.     Refine the Swing

5.     Fire

6.     Learn Your Weapon

7.     Find Some Friends

8.     Use Proper Equipment

9.     Tip 9 is added by Bill – Above all: Safety, Safety, Safety.

 

A big "Thank You" to my mentors Mark, Al, and Bill.

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References

Definition of skeet - Merriam-Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeet

Skeet definition is a dynamic shooting sport in which a shotgun is used to hit clay pigeons thrown in such a way as to simulate the flight of birds.

 HOW TO SHOOT SKEET – 8 HELPFUL SKEET SHOOTING TIPS
https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/how-to/how-to-shoot-skeet-8-helpful-skeet-shooting-tips

 Clay Pigeon Shooting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_pigeon_shooting

Mounting to the cheek
https://www.ducks.org/hunting/shooting-tips/perfect-your-gun-mount-at-home

Stance and how to mount shotgun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO7Ogc7R4UI

 How to lead a target
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+lead+a+target+when+shotgun+shooting

Shotgun Bead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3hzXm2U5S0

 Don't Look Down the Barrel | Shotgun Tips with Gil Ash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXo0WUiCx34

" Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"

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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.

  Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics. 




Additional Sources of Books at:
Hardcopy at: http://outdoorsteve.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X
E-book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098503842X