Pennsylvania State Championship Group Match Recap

Guys and Gals,
Once again, the Kane Fish and Game Club hosted the PA State Championship Group Match this past weekend in their warm welcoming style with 51 Group BR shooters attending this very popular match.
The annual Pa. State Championship Match is an annual favorite of many NBRSA and IBS Group shooters. All shooters are met with warm smiles by Dick Lockwood and all the club's staff upn arrival.
Dick's wife, Judy and the kitchen staff ensure no one goes hungry. The Kane match is the very best place to take a sabatical from your Nutri-slim or Weight Watchers all protein diet in favor of an all high Carb Pie diet. Even I will depart from my very strict, on-going Slim-Fast/French Vanilla ice cream milk shake diet (Just kidding... I hate Slim-Fast)
On a serious note....
This year we lost 2 very, very good friends and highly respected shooters from the Eastern Region recently.... Briar Hail passed away right before the SS, and just last Saturday, Charlie Dalessandro also passed away. Both were staples and strong promoters of our anuual Kane match. The loading porch will never be the same during the match and... after during the many evening celebrations. We love them both and will miss them very, very much. Please keep both of them and their families in all your daily prayers!

On to the match details...
We were all treated on Saturday morning to a shooting school hosted by everyone's good friend, Milt Craven, with his awsome .1470" agg in the HV100 class. Needless to day, Milt was razor sharp with this display of his vast shooting skills among tricky switch condistions. Milt certainly broke the current Kane HV100 range record with his performance! Fantastic job, Milt! (I will be submitting Milt's signed targets and backers to the NBRSA target committee for their review and consideration.) Let's wish Milt the best as his tagets are reviewed in light of Rex Reneau's current .1399" HV record and Jackie's recently submitted potenial HV100 targets as well.
Here's the top 10 finishes in the HV100 class:
1. Milt Craven: .1470"
2. Stan Buchtel: .2182" No way.......! Must be a &^%$#@! miss-print? (Happy 97th B-Day, Stan!)
3. Don Powell: .2284" (Don only came because I called him and told him Kane was hosting the Nats this weekend)
4. Jack Neary: .2356"
5. Dan Shelhamer: .2368"
6. Mike Gamble: .2466"
7. Ron Burdick: .2518"
8. Joe Freeman: .2522"
9. Tie- Dave Bruno and Al Weaver: .2596" (Hmmm... must be a joke here, but I refrain, as I am waiting on a new barrel for my Rail Gun from Dave aka ...Adam Sandler/chim-chim)

All the shooters then each ate the 12 course lunch (at leat I did...) and then moved to the LV100 class. Conditions grew a little more spirited, which did not bother uncle Milt in the least bit as he led the pack (again) with nice .2322" agg. Well done, Milt!
1. Milt Craven: .2322"
2. Rob Kenderdine: .2356"
3. Martin Zuck: .2376"
4. Mr. George Carter: .2398"
5. Gregor Walley: .2412"
6. Ken Pritt: .2492" (Drove up from the Hollow ...16hrs away)
7. Jack Neary: .2664"
8. Clayton Martin: .2676" (aka... Capt Morgan!)
9. Gary Conaway: .2742" (Shot agg with 5 different Conaway/Acme bullets)
10. Skip Cramer: .2788"

There is nothing quite like the time spent on the porch on Saturday night at Kane. George Carter (Mr. Super Shoot) and his lovely bride, Vera, treated us to some 40 Mile Canadian brown syrup and we raided the local drive-thru... several times, to test out someone's newly found credit card... Everyone told me Sunday morning I had a great time!
Alas... we were missing our good friend Danny Suptin from the Holler who was undable to attend, due to recent back problems.. (I tried to tell Danny I could fix his back if he would let me walk around on his back and... increase his load of Old Crow to 56 clicks, to no avail... )
On to Sunday...
We had very mild conditions to start Sunday morning's LV200 class. Here's the list of the top 10:
1. Jack Neary: .2161"
2. Milt Craven: .2508"
3. Mr. Geoge Carter: .2645"
4. Bob Brushingham: .2695"
5. Martin Zuck: .2715"
6. Rob Maclennan: .2721"
7. Mike Gamble: .2747"
8. Gary Conaway: .2831"
9. Ken Pritt: .2923"
10. Dave Abbott: .2957"

Live Varmint Grand Top 10:
1. Jack Neary: .2413"
2. Milt Craven: .2415"
3. Mr. George Carter: .2522"
4. Martin Zuck: .2546" (Great shooting, Mr. Zuck!)
5. Ken Pritt: ..2708"
6. Greg Walley: .2721"
7. Mike Gamble: .2777"
8. Gary Conaway: .2787"
9. Rob Maclennan: .2856"
10. Clayton Martin: .2865" (Clayton will be the poster boy for Capt. Morgan's rum 2011 TV ad campaign)

As the LV 200yd. was coming to a conclusion, thunderstorms came during our lunch break and brought the wind. Sunshine soon returned for the HV200 final stage of our beloved Kane match! Here the top 10 in the HV200:
1. Jack Neary: .1881"
2. Mr. George Carter: .2645"
3. Ken Pritt: .2671"
4. Greg Walley: .2820"
5. Jeffy Gaidos: .2840"
6. Milt Craven: .2882"
7. Tom Griffin: .2905" (welcome back!)
8. Skip Cramer: .3027"
9. Martin Zuck: .3052"
10. Bill Eckenrode: .3068"

Here's the top 10 in the HV Grand:
1. Jack Neary: .2119"
2. Milt Craven: 2177"
3. George Carter: ..2745"
4. Ken Pritt: .2746"
5. Stan Buchtel: .2848" (more Geeeez...)
6. Bill Eckenrode: .2858"
7. Greg Walley: .2882"
8. Dan Shelhamer: .2883"
9. Jeff Gaidos: .2908"
10. Ron Burdick: .2931"

Here the top 20 in the 2-Gun:
1. Jack Neary: .2266"
2. Milt Craven: .2296"
3. George Cater: .2633"
4. Ken Pritt: .2727"
5. Greg Walley: 2801"
6. Martin Zuck: .2822"
7. Mike Gamble: .2926"
8. Stan Buchtel: .2955" (Geeez...)
9. Gary Conaway: .2974"
10. Ron Burdick: .2984"
11. Skip Cramer: 3001"
12. Jeff Gaidos: .3009"
13. Bob Brushingham: .3031"
14. Bill Eckenrode: .3084"
15. Dan Shelhamer: .3154"
16. Big Al Weaver: .3167"
17. Dave "Chim-Chim" Bruno: .3180"
18. Don "Best Cuts" Rossetti: .3230"
19. Don Powell: .3232"
20. Rob Kenderdine: 3255"

Congrats to Milt on his awesome HV100 agg!
A very special thanks to Dick and Judy Lockwood, Roger the Range Master and the Kitchen and Target crews! We could not have this match without your generious support!
We are all very grateful!
If you're reading this post and have never attended this annuall Pa. State Championship match at Kane, you really owe it to yourself to make plans to attend next years match!
I promise you will NOT regret it!
Jack
 
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Jack
I also want to thank Dick and all the other volunteers that came out to support there club and us shooters so we can do what we do. Seems like half the town of Kane came out to help once again thanks very much, you guys are all a first class act..........
And now to you Jack, saturday was my day but sunday was all yours with that killer 18 agg in some pertty bumpy conditions brought the champ out in you buddy good shootin my hat's off to ya...
 
Kane is indeed one of the most well run matches you could hope to attend. They enlist more folks to run a match than any other match I attend throughout the year, short the SS or maybe Nationals. Thanks to all who make this one happen. Congrats to Jack and Uncle Milty for some outstanding shooting all weekend long.
 
Thanks for the report Jack. That is one phenominol agg laid down by Milt. But it looks like quite a few shooters were at the top of their game with great Grand Agg and Two Gun aggs.

Great Shooting to all who did well............jackie
 
Sounds like the 40 mile Canadian Brown syrup has not left his system. Joel you are so right. That is a match report.
 
Great report as always Jack and good shooting.
WOW, Stan Buchtel is 97!!!
 
My name is Deb Ann Phelan. I used to shoot benchrest and was a part time bullet maker for Berger Bullets. I stopped shooting due to illness...but after 15 years, we finally know what it is- Lyme disease. I give you my "credentials" because I'm sure you wouldn't give personal information to just anyone. I received an email containing a story that Stan Buchtel told me at the 1997 NBRSA Nationals in Phoenix. It was hilarious! A few years later at one of the Cactus Classics, I asked him to retell it. He remembered parts and pieces, but not the whole thing. He said, "If you ever get that story, send it to me." This morning, Dave Selvy sent me the closest version I've heard since Stan's rendition. Can you put me in touch with Stan so I could forward the story to him? I wish someone would send the story he told right after this one...as a "suite" they were perfect. I think that's why we couldn't figure either of them out; we had combined them and the concoction didn't make sense! ....and yes, a very Happy Birthday Stan!

Best regards,
Debs
Longspur36@sbcglobal.net
PS...I'm in touch with Walt, I can try that direction also...
 
Thanks Bill! Hi to Stan and straight shooting to all.
I’ve learned the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and the less important ones just never go away. Stan falls into both categories; we love him to pieces and hope he never goes away! Happy Birthday Guy!

I live on the far west coast, so I’m way out of the loop. I had better rejoin the NBRSA so I’ll be able to find my way to a bench once they heal this Lyme Disease! I miss the sport but I especially miss all the great people I met through Benchrest!

Ask Stan about the guy who parked next to me at the Cactus one year…speaking of guys we miss. He parked so close; I couldn’t use the driver’s side door for the day. Then again, I don’t think he could reach all of the nooks and crannies on the service body of his pick up either. Technically, I had his parking spot, but I arrived at 1:00 am and didn’t know it had been reserved. Those parking wars were legendary and now most of you will know of whom I speak.

All my best,
Debs
 
Hi Debs,
Stan was with us for dinner at WWCCA. Sat across from Stan. We do a Steak cookout, when there is a Benchrest Tournament. $12 Steak dinner near Detroit. Can't beat it. And we had fresh local corn. It was the best.
I will try to remember to ask Stan in the morning.....In case the Old Goat from Canada forgets.
I think, I heard Stan say he was 97 this year. Took it for a joke.....
Glad to hear you figured out the Lyme Disease. As Stan would say, "That's nasty stuff!".
 
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