Newsletter May

May, 1st, 2009
Warm weather has finally arrived !!!
On page (5) there are details about the raffle at the Kentucky State Shoot. We still have
tickets left. Don’t forget about
the BBQ Dinner Saturday night
for everyone that attends. The
dinner is a donation and all proceeds from the dinner go to the
Kentucky Youth Program.
If anyone is interested in
hosting a shooting clinic let me
or Dean DeBow know when and
where you would like to do this.
For details go to:
www.ddshooting.com
DeVault’s Winners Box
Bill McGuire: Blazer F3 ~ DeVault Custom Stock & Add-on Delrin rib. US Gran Prix FITASC & Sporting
Championships. Champion - FITASC 191 x 200 Champion - Sporting 186 X 200
Remember to let us know your scores so we can post you in the winners box!
The World According to Me ~ “Dennis DeVault”
A tribute to my Dad. He stands
5’- 6” tall with a small frame and
weathered face that displays narrow eyes. They are wise and have
the look of many years of decisions that have not always pleasant but decisions that had to be
made. My father has been my best
friend for many years. Dad introduced me to trap shooting when I
was 11 years old. We did not have
a lot of money so I worked a paper route to earn money to shoot a
couple of practices each week.
Pop ran a gun club for 10 years.
Every Friday night I rode to the
club with him to set trap, pull and
score or work the kitchen. A
When all my friends were off to
school dances and dating I was at
the gun club doing my duties. I
don’t feel that I missed out on
anything. In fact I am grateful for
all the memories of the older
shooters and good times that I had
growing up. My Dad never went
anywhere that I wasn’t riding
“shotgun” in the passenger seat
next to him. Dad wasn’t the greatest shot but he did manage to
break a 100 straight from the 22
yd. Line a week before the Grand
American. That week at the
Grand he Broke a 97 in the Budweiser Handicap and then broke a
96 in the Grand American Handicap. I remember that there was
quite a large amount of celebration for two days around the camp
grounds that week. We always
stayed in the back of the school
next the east end of the grounds.
There was a fence with a gate that
led over to the school. The back
doors of the school were unlocked so
all that camped could shower in the
gym locker room area. It was a different time and things were just a lot
simpler then. In the mid 90’s I
bought a trailer and fixed it up a little for displaying guns. Pop, and a
good friend we called Babo would
take my trailer and head to The
Phoenix trap and skeet club for the
Spring Grand. It was great: they
would pack all the guns and clothes
and head out. I would fly out and
they would be waiting for me at the
airport to take me to the hotel. We
would shoot the week there and then
head north to Las Vegas for the midWinter tournament that always followed the Spring Grand. I remember
the first year we did this was 1996.
Dad was the official re- loader and
that year he loaded 10,000 rounds
for us to shoot for the two weeks.
Pop and Babo had a ball and shot a
ton of targets. On the second day of
the shoot in Vegas Pop informed me
that we were out of shells. I had to
by 20 more flats to make it through
the rest of the week. Pop told me
that I shot more than my share but
everyone had a great time and we
did shoot a lot of shells those two
weeks. This method of travel and
shooting lasted for 3 years with Pop,
Babo and myself going everywhere
together. I remember that I bought
three reloading machines. The Mec
was first the PW was second and the
Spolar Gold was the last loader that I
bought. I don’t know how many
shells Pop loaded on the Mec but
when I sold the PW had 143,000 on
the counter. I sold the Spolar Gold a
couple of years ago and the counter
had been reset three times. When it
left the shop the counter had 63,000
on the display. I will never forget
those times, they have helped to
form me into the person I am today.
I miss those days and the life that
was a little slower. No cell phones,
no cable TV, no computers, My
Space and NO STRESS. Pop and my
Mom will celebrate their 80th Birthdays this year and I am very lucky to
still have both of them. Pop is showing signs of slowing down but he
still drives into town every Tuesday
and spends a couple of hours just
setting in my office, observing and
sitting quietly watching and thinking
I am sure about days gone by. Pop
told me this week, when the weather
warms up, that he wants to go and
shoot a little bit. I told him that it
will be my turn to pick him up and
chauffer him to the shoot. He just
smiled and said that would be great.
I know that time is not on our side
anymore, and the days are growing
short, but I will do all I can to cherish the time we have left. I dedicate
this month to the smartest man that I
have ever known. Pop does not have
a computer, and will not be able to
read this, but I want to say, “I love
you Dad and thank you for all the
sacrifices that you and Mom went
through to make me the person that I
am today.”
Your loving son,
Dennis R. DeVault
AKA Rodeo Man
From the Mind of ~ Dean DeBow
The season is on top of us once
again Things are going full speed
here so this article will be short, and
to the point. This month I would like
to talk about ammo and or reloads.
Ammo plays a crucially important
role, be it good or bad, in your
scores of course, I know a father and
son who are both shooting from mid
yardage. They were both shooting
well after we had worked together.
A couple of weeks later they headed
to the Grand to shoot both weeks.
When you shoot for 10 days straight,
all of the little problems start to
show up. The ones you get away
with shooting the 2 or 3 day shoots
re-surface. The father called me, to
complain about being unable to finish with a good score. He would start
out good but go in the tank out of the
last 35 to 40 targets! I asked if he
had changed anything, he replied
“No”. The next time we were able to
be at the same place together was at
the Grand. So off we went to the
practice trap. At that point I noticed
he and his son were both shooting
Handicap loads! I questioned this
because they were shooting lighter
loads before. After trying some
lighter loads he started to realize his
shooting was no worse, in fact a bit
better. But it took time for his brain
to realize that less recoil was not going to hurt. By the end of the Grand
both of them were shooting better. In
fact his son was in a shoot off in the
last handicap. Point being; if you
practice with one load and it works,
stick with it. Do not go changing because someone else won an event
with a particular load. Use what you
are use to! Pointing the gun properly
and staying in it, lighter loads,
means much more than a faster
load or more shot! I have seen people use 1 oz. loads in practice and
then change to a heavy 1-1/8 in a
tournament. Then they wonder
why they have trouble finishing
the event. They will get sore and
the gun will kick more than usual,
by the time this is noticed, it is too
late. The highest handicap average
was set one year, over 98 percent,
with extra light loads from the 27
yard line. They were 1125 fps. I
am not going to tell you to shoot a
certain load or brand of ammo. All
I am saying is, in my opinion you
are better off shooting the lightest
load you are comfortable with
mentally. I have broken some very
good scores from 27 yards using 23/4-1-1/8 loads, the same thing I
shoot in singles and doubles
events, I just change shot size.
Some very good shooters use 8’s
in handicap during the summer
months. A have a friend that
worked for one of the major ammo
company’s. They did some testing,
and the results were amazing.
From 27 yards shooting a HDCP
1-1/8 load-1250, and a light load1145, using the same amount of
shot, the point of impact difference
is 5.8” to center of the mass. When
you look at it this way it just does
not make sense to put yourself
through this punishment! Consider
that when choosing a 1250 fps
load as opposed to a softer 1145
fps load to shoot from 20 to 24
yards, the point of impact difference of the mass is less than 3”. I
do not believe you will notice any
difference except the way you feel
at the end of a day or two, and epically a week or 10 days of shooting!
For all of you who reload, here is
some valuable information. Please
do not get caught up in chronographing your reloads unless you
have a factory load to compare it to.
The chronographs sold by most distributors through the mail or over
the counter are single projectile
models are for rifles or pistols. The
chronographs used to check shot
shells by the factory are called mass
chronographs. They measure the
speed at the center of the mass of
the shot cloud. So if you use one be
sure to check it against a factory
load that you want to duplicate. If
you have access to a cylinder bore
choke use it. It will give you a truer
reading than a full choke by shorting the shot string. I have seen people shoot for hours, load after load
across the chronographs. It is good
to see if your loads are consistent,
within 40 fps of each other, most
factory loads are not! But other than
that it is a waste of time. I am expressing my individual opinions in
hope that some of you will not have
to purchase the mistakes that have
already been bought and paid for! I
hope all of you have a successful
shooting season and reach some or
all of your goals. Also I hope to
meet some of you who read these
articles, especially if it helps! Remember there is a Champion in
each and every one of you.
Until next month,
Dean DeBow
Private One-on-One instruction Contact Dean DeBow @
270-348-2223
If you have a group of 10 shooters we can arrange for a
clinic to be held at your local gun club.
Check out our web site at www.ddshooting,com for all the
details
Clinic dates are listed on this page and up-dated as we fill
these clinics.
Shooting lessons, video work, stock fitting and the mental
game to help you become the best that you can be!
Reach us on the web or call the number above for Dean and
for Dennis DeVault 330-456-6070
Thank you and let us know how we can be of service!
DeVault Industries LLC
3500 12th. Street NW
Canton, Ohio 44708
330-456-6070
www.devaultind.com
E-mail dennisdevault@sbcglobal.net
I don’t know where
this is but Cindy
keeps telling me it’s
where she wants to
be. Cindy said that
she could checker
even better if I would
take her to this spot.
Never hurts to
dream!!!