Ron Burdick
New member
I would like all you shooters to know the ability you have to make an impression on young shooters. My son Devin and I was lucky enough to be able to attend most of the IBS shoots this summer. I am very proud of my son and how he handled himself this summer around all the great shooters we met. He ended up 7th overall in the points for shooter of the year and that was only possible because of all your help. My son is a Junior in High School and had to write a paper of a life changing event that happened this summer. He chose to write about the Camillus Pro-Am shoot. I would like to share his report he did for school. Thank You to all the great people we met this summer.
Devin's English report:
It was the first weekend in July. More than 50 people from all over the country gathered for the 18th Annual Pro-Amatuer competitive shoot in Camillus, New York. Over a dozen members of our local club, the Genesee Rod and Gun Club, were attending the match. The greatest shooters from across the country were there too. The attendance even included members of the USA World Shooting Team that would be competing just a few weeks later for our country. It was my Dad and my first time at this particular match and we were itching to go. We were getting prepared to go for the near impossible, shooting for the win against world record holders, and even shooter of the year contenders.
The Friday before the shoot began, my Dad and I practiced alongside all of the other match attendees. We tried many different loads for our guns and practiced the trade of reading the wind flags at that range. We were very grateful and lucky to have help with that trade by the topdog shooters whom had been shooting there all week. As the night came, shooters started to shuffle to fellow competitors camping areas to talk late into the night about countless stories and previous matches.
With Saturday, the day of the first day of competition, came the greatest case of butterflies I had ever felt. It was time to begin shooting at 100 yards and try my hand in earning some wood to bring home. When the shooting commenced in the morning, I had five groups to shoot in the Light Varmint class, and I struggled fairly badly with a 28th place, around mid pack. I knew this was not myself, that I was capable of so much more, and that I needed to make a change for the afternoon. I decided that I must focus better on the wind, and make sure to be focused coming into the Heavy Varmint class. With this in mind, I came by some success and confidence. I finished 6th in the afternoon out of the 50.
Next came the final day of competition on Sunday. It was time for 200 yards, where I had excelled all year long. With 200 yards being my favorite and my good finish the afternoon of the day before, I came into Sunday with great confidence. The morning shooting began and I was off to a running start. After the first two of five groups, I was leading by a huge margin. However, I didn’t know if I managed to hold it together. My Dad and I went to lunch where I heard constant chit-chat of fellow shooters saying things like “he shot well,” and I caught countless looks from unfamiliar faces. What felt like the longest walk of my life came next, from lunch to the scoring board. As soon I reached the board, packed by dozens of shooters seeing where they finished, a fellow club shooter at the front of the pack, Bob Brushingham, turned around and shook my hand in front of countless shooters who had no idea who I was. He said “Congratulations, great shooting,” and I was greeted with congrats from many people who had no idea who I was. I had managed to win Heavy Varmint at 200 yards, and the Heavy Varmint Grand, the 100 and 200 combined, both. I was ecstatic, but that wasn’t the end of the shooting. While I knew I couldn’t manage to shoot for the win in the other class due to my poor shooting the prior morning, I knew that I could shoot for the Light Varmint at 200 yards and the two-gun grand, which is both classes combined. I beared down and began the afternoon, but on the wrong foot. I had shot a big group and began to hang my head for the afternoon, but on the way back a fantastic shooter, the shooters of the year leader at the time, and the individual who would go on to win the shoot, Paul Mitchell, stopped me. He said, “Don’t give up, everyone is bound to fall on their face this afternoon.” It changed my mood immediately. I went on a tear for the next four groups and ended 3rd after a 25th place start that afternoon. With the comeback came even more congrats and respect from fellow shooters. I had made the top 3 in two-gun grand between both classes against the best of the best.
The experience was beyond humbling. I came into the shoot as somebody that nobody there had heard of. My Dad and I had received help from shooters who we had previously interacted with, but the rest of the individuals were foreign to us. However, when a young shooter like myself had so much success, everyone there was beyond happy for me. I got more congrats and handshakes than I had ever dreamt of. The experience was truly one that will never leave my mind and it certainly changed my view of the shooting community. I will forever be confident against the best of the best of them, but yet humble and pay congrats to those that have earned it. It is an unforgettable memory.
Devin's English report:
It was the first weekend in July. More than 50 people from all over the country gathered for the 18th Annual Pro-Amatuer competitive shoot in Camillus, New York. Over a dozen members of our local club, the Genesee Rod and Gun Club, were attending the match. The greatest shooters from across the country were there too. The attendance even included members of the USA World Shooting Team that would be competing just a few weeks later for our country. It was my Dad and my first time at this particular match and we were itching to go. We were getting prepared to go for the near impossible, shooting for the win against world record holders, and even shooter of the year contenders.
The Friday before the shoot began, my Dad and I practiced alongside all of the other match attendees. We tried many different loads for our guns and practiced the trade of reading the wind flags at that range. We were very grateful and lucky to have help with that trade by the topdog shooters whom had been shooting there all week. As the night came, shooters started to shuffle to fellow competitors camping areas to talk late into the night about countless stories and previous matches.
With Saturday, the day of the first day of competition, came the greatest case of butterflies I had ever felt. It was time to begin shooting at 100 yards and try my hand in earning some wood to bring home. When the shooting commenced in the morning, I had five groups to shoot in the Light Varmint class, and I struggled fairly badly with a 28th place, around mid pack. I knew this was not myself, that I was capable of so much more, and that I needed to make a change for the afternoon. I decided that I must focus better on the wind, and make sure to be focused coming into the Heavy Varmint class. With this in mind, I came by some success and confidence. I finished 6th in the afternoon out of the 50.
Next came the final day of competition on Sunday. It was time for 200 yards, where I had excelled all year long. With 200 yards being my favorite and my good finish the afternoon of the day before, I came into Sunday with great confidence. The morning shooting began and I was off to a running start. After the first two of five groups, I was leading by a huge margin. However, I didn’t know if I managed to hold it together. My Dad and I went to lunch where I heard constant chit-chat of fellow shooters saying things like “he shot well,” and I caught countless looks from unfamiliar faces. What felt like the longest walk of my life came next, from lunch to the scoring board. As soon I reached the board, packed by dozens of shooters seeing where they finished, a fellow club shooter at the front of the pack, Bob Brushingham, turned around and shook my hand in front of countless shooters who had no idea who I was. He said “Congratulations, great shooting,” and I was greeted with congrats from many people who had no idea who I was. I had managed to win Heavy Varmint at 200 yards, and the Heavy Varmint Grand, the 100 and 200 combined, both. I was ecstatic, but that wasn’t the end of the shooting. While I knew I couldn’t manage to shoot for the win in the other class due to my poor shooting the prior morning, I knew that I could shoot for the Light Varmint at 200 yards and the two-gun grand, which is both classes combined. I beared down and began the afternoon, but on the wrong foot. I had shot a big group and began to hang my head for the afternoon, but on the way back a fantastic shooter, the shooters of the year leader at the time, and the individual who would go on to win the shoot, Paul Mitchell, stopped me. He said, “Don’t give up, everyone is bound to fall on their face this afternoon.” It changed my mood immediately. I went on a tear for the next four groups and ended 3rd after a 25th place start that afternoon. With the comeback came even more congrats and respect from fellow shooters. I had made the top 3 in two-gun grand between both classes against the best of the best.
The experience was beyond humbling. I came into the shoot as somebody that nobody there had heard of. My Dad and I had received help from shooters who we had previously interacted with, but the rest of the individuals were foreign to us. However, when a young shooter like myself had so much success, everyone there was beyond happy for me. I got more congrats and handshakes than I had ever dreamt of. The experience was truly one that will never leave my mind and it certainly changed my view of the shooting community. I will forever be confident against the best of the best of them, but yet humble and pay congrats to those that have earned it. It is an unforgettable memory.
