Dead Eye Eddy
Banned
Okay. It's 2:44 a.m. and I just got in from work. I've got to be up in 1 hour and 16 minutes. Should I even go to bed?
Welcome Guest!
Almost-famous Hartwell dove shoot Sep 13 - you're invited
- Thread starter DaveH1
- Start date
K80
Senior Member
How was the shoot?
Hooked On Quack
REV`REND DR LUV
Dead Eye Eddy
Banned
The shoot was awesome. I limited out both days. See the other post for details.
Doc_Holliday23
Senior Member
BigOx, we enjoyed hanging out with you guys Friday night, and of course, your cobbler was awesome.
Only killed a couple of birds Saturday morning and couldn't hang around for the afternoon, but I enjoyed the hunt and thank Steve and Dave for doing a great job and supporting such a great charity. Keep up the good work guys.
Only killed a couple of birds Saturday morning and couldn't hang around for the afternoon, but I enjoyed the hunt and thank Steve and Dave for doing a great job and supporting such a great charity. Keep up the good work guys.
bigox911
Senior Member
Great turnout, successful event!!
The hartwell dove shoot went quite well. This is going to be a long post, so if you don't read it all please read at least this: There was room for improvement in some areas, so if you attended, please give us feedback so that we can make the shoot even better next year. Even if you didn't attend, if you have experience in running dove shoots, we'd like to hear what is the best way to assign stand positions, if we decide to go that route next year.
Here's the numbers. 92 shooters registered plus 15 or so kids. More than $6,000 raised for the Outdoor Dream Foundation.
Thanks to all who attended, helped with setup, cleanup, or otherwise supported the fundraiser/shoot. I met some great folks, many of whom had participated as a result of reading these posts. My apologies if I was not able to spend much time with some of you. Maybe next year, I'll just walk the fields with my camera and help with lunch setup. Kinda hard to lay the gun down after only four years of shooting doves, though...
Some of you have already volunteered to help out next year. That would be great. The more folks we have to help, the better the day goes. It's easy to get people to donate money, it's hard to get them to donate time. So if you can step up to the plate next year, that would be great.
Good numbers of birds both morning and afternoon. As is often the case, some parts of the fields were hotter than others, but most folks got action.
Some limits were collected. I managed to get 10 birds Sat and 8 more Sun AM, including two with one shot. That's one for the memory bank!
As was the case last year, the lunchtime skeet shooting was a big hit with the kids. One was a sight to see. Four feet tall with a three-foot gun, busting birds on a regular basis. And pumping another shell fast enough to take a second crack at the ones he missed!
Todd Mulvey wasn't shooting great at first, but with some coaching, he started to break a few. Todd was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 6, has endured five brain surgeries, and will be hunting mule deer in Wyoming this fall, courtesy of ODF and everyone who attended this shoot.
The food was super, catered by Jennifer and Mike Obarr.
Raffle prizes awarded included a Mossberg 835 12 gauge shotgun, a Thompson-Center muzzleloader, a collectible handmade knife, and a custom turkey call set including a box call and a slate call, contained in a matching wood box.
Radio and Coach Harold Jones were in attendance. Radio signed hats and shirts for people. If you've seen the movie, come meet the subjects next year.
Lots of sponsors were involved with making the day a success. If you can send any of them some business, you're basically helping out the cause. So here they are:
Upstate Forklift and Truck Services, Seneca SC
Booth Enterprises and Treasures Unlimited, Danielsville GA
Nextran Mack Dealership, Atlanta GA
IMI, Watkinsville and Savannah GA
Chapman's Lawn Service, Hartwell GA
Lance and Tom's reps Jim and Anita Cook, Hartwell GA
Jerald and Martha Ashworth, Hartwell GA
Mike and Jennifer Obarr, Hartwell GA
Lee and Misty Moore, Franklin Springs GA
Jeff and Jody Gray, Sam's Path Petting Zoo, Hartwell GA
Georgia Outdoor Network
Jerry and Theresa Waters, Heartland Nurseries, Hartwell GA
Curtis Pearson, Savannah Valley Carpets, Royston GA
Vanna Fire Department
Jim Hodges, Ag Georgia Farm Credit, Royston GA
Lamar's Bait and Tackle Shop, Hartwell GA
Clifford Beard, Old 29 Golf Carts Hartwell GA
I've received feedback from some attendees already. Here are some of the areas that could be made better next year. We want to keep improving the experience. Please give me your feedback, either via this thread, PM, or email.
Food amount - we ran low. We may want to ask for a deposit to hold one's place. This could help us get a better estimate of how much food to provide.
Some folks felt it ws too crowded in some parts of the field. Numbered stakes or sectors? Rotate after lunch?
More chairs.
Music at lunchtime.
Handwashing station at lunchtime.
More drinking water for those who didn't bring enough to the field. Ice and Ziplocks for doves.
Shuttle truck to get hunters in and out of field after they had placed their gear.
Emphasize specific safety expectations of hunters in the field. With the rolling nature of the east field, with shooters on ridges and on lower treelines, the birds presented a variety of shots. Some folks took lower shots than was safe. For the most part, shooters had good judgement, but we may need to clarify what constitutes a low bird on that field. No four-ounce bird is worth blinding a fellow outdoorsman for life.
See if local EMTs could be on site during event.
Emphasize keeping the fields clean. Pick up empties and trash, remove blind material. Station trash cans at entrances to fields, have extra bags there for hunters to take to blinds with them. Sunday, I collected a BUNCH of hulls, bug repellent, Gatorade bottles, etc. Steve's crew collected a five gallon bucket Monday. If we can't keep this farmer's fields clean, he may not allow us to hold future hunts. Those who can act responsibly will probably have a chance to shoot again. Those who cannot clean up their mess may not be invited back. Let's don't turn this into a policed shoot. Just be responsible, and everything works out.
Those are a few of the issues and ideas that we have already been kicking around. Please let us know your feedback on any of this, or other items not on this list. Post or PM/email if you don't wan't your feedback public.
Thanks again to all who supported this effort. If you did not get a chance to go, and would like to make a donation, please call Coach Harold Jones at 864-226-8775.
Sincerely,
Dave Horton
The hartwell dove shoot went quite well. This is going to be a long post, so if you don't read it all please read at least this: There was room for improvement in some areas, so if you attended, please give us feedback so that we can make the shoot even better next year. Even if you didn't attend, if you have experience in running dove shoots, we'd like to hear what is the best way to assign stand positions, if we decide to go that route next year.
Here's the numbers. 92 shooters registered plus 15 or so kids. More than $6,000 raised for the Outdoor Dream Foundation.
Thanks to all who attended, helped with setup, cleanup, or otherwise supported the fundraiser/shoot. I met some great folks, many of whom had participated as a result of reading these posts. My apologies if I was not able to spend much time with some of you. Maybe next year, I'll just walk the fields with my camera and help with lunch setup. Kinda hard to lay the gun down after only four years of shooting doves, though...
Some of you have already volunteered to help out next year. That would be great. The more folks we have to help, the better the day goes. It's easy to get people to donate money, it's hard to get them to donate time. So if you can step up to the plate next year, that would be great.
Good numbers of birds both morning and afternoon. As is often the case, some parts of the fields were hotter than others, but most folks got action.
Some limits were collected. I managed to get 10 birds Sat and 8 more Sun AM, including two with one shot. That's one for the memory bank!
As was the case last year, the lunchtime skeet shooting was a big hit with the kids. One was a sight to see. Four feet tall with a three-foot gun, busting birds on a regular basis. And pumping another shell fast enough to take a second crack at the ones he missed!
Todd Mulvey wasn't shooting great at first, but with some coaching, he started to break a few. Todd was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 6, has endured five brain surgeries, and will be hunting mule deer in Wyoming this fall, courtesy of ODF and everyone who attended this shoot.
The food was super, catered by Jennifer and Mike Obarr.
Raffle prizes awarded included a Mossberg 835 12 gauge shotgun, a Thompson-Center muzzleloader, a collectible handmade knife, and a custom turkey call set including a box call and a slate call, contained in a matching wood box.
Radio and Coach Harold Jones were in attendance. Radio signed hats and shirts for people. If you've seen the movie, come meet the subjects next year.
Lots of sponsors were involved with making the day a success. If you can send any of them some business, you're basically helping out the cause. So here they are:
Upstate Forklift and Truck Services, Seneca SC
Booth Enterprises and Treasures Unlimited, Danielsville GA
Nextran Mack Dealership, Atlanta GA
IMI, Watkinsville and Savannah GA
Chapman's Lawn Service, Hartwell GA
Lance and Tom's reps Jim and Anita Cook, Hartwell GA
Jerald and Martha Ashworth, Hartwell GA
Mike and Jennifer Obarr, Hartwell GA
Lee and Misty Moore, Franklin Springs GA
Jeff and Jody Gray, Sam's Path Petting Zoo, Hartwell GA
Georgia Outdoor Network
Jerry and Theresa Waters, Heartland Nurseries, Hartwell GA
Curtis Pearson, Savannah Valley Carpets, Royston GA
Vanna Fire Department
Jim Hodges, Ag Georgia Farm Credit, Royston GA
Lamar's Bait and Tackle Shop, Hartwell GA
Clifford Beard, Old 29 Golf Carts Hartwell GA
I've received feedback from some attendees already. Here are some of the areas that could be made better next year. We want to keep improving the experience. Please give me your feedback, either via this thread, PM, or email.
Food amount - we ran low. We may want to ask for a deposit to hold one's place. This could help us get a better estimate of how much food to provide.
Some folks felt it ws too crowded in some parts of the field. Numbered stakes or sectors? Rotate after lunch?
More chairs.
Music at lunchtime.
Handwashing station at lunchtime.
More drinking water for those who didn't bring enough to the field. Ice and Ziplocks for doves.
Shuttle truck to get hunters in and out of field after they had placed their gear.
Emphasize specific safety expectations of hunters in the field. With the rolling nature of the east field, with shooters on ridges and on lower treelines, the birds presented a variety of shots. Some folks took lower shots than was safe. For the most part, shooters had good judgement, but we may need to clarify what constitutes a low bird on that field. No four-ounce bird is worth blinding a fellow outdoorsman for life.
See if local EMTs could be on site during event.
Emphasize keeping the fields clean. Pick up empties and trash, remove blind material. Station trash cans at entrances to fields, have extra bags there for hunters to take to blinds with them. Sunday, I collected a BUNCH of hulls, bug repellent, Gatorade bottles, etc. Steve's crew collected a five gallon bucket Monday. If we can't keep this farmer's fields clean, he may not allow us to hold future hunts. Those who can act responsibly will probably have a chance to shoot again. Those who cannot clean up their mess may not be invited back. Let's don't turn this into a policed shoot. Just be responsible, and everything works out.
Those are a few of the issues and ideas that we have already been kicking around. Please let us know your feedback on any of this, or other items not on this list. Post or PM/email if you don't wan't your feedback public.
Thanks again to all who supported this effort. If you did not get a chance to go, and would like to make a donation, please call Coach Harold Jones at 864-226-8775.
Sincerely,
Dave Horton
The farmer is opposed to burning, wants all the waste returning to thesoil as organic matter. I'll keep trying to make headway on htat issue.
Disking is a good idea, will put that in the hopper.
I take it you shot on the west field behind the barn? How'd you do?
dave
