sporting clays event

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.

A handful of teams are needed to fill out the roster for the Oct. 13 third-annual Governor’s Sporting Clays Classic.

“It’s one of the most exciting, most challenging and unique events for outdoorsmen in the area,” said Classic committeeman David Reynerson.

One reason is that the demanding, 15-station course is laid out to take advantage of the Avondale Scout Reservation’s piney-woods terrain near Clinton.

The Boy Scouts’ Istrouma Council uses proceeds to renovate Camp Avondale. The fee for a four-shooter team is $1,500. The fee pays for three days – Oct. 11-13 – and includes several meals and the sporting clays action.

The schedule begins Thursday with a by-invitation-only reception and auction at Duplessis Cadillac-Volvo on Airline Highway and continues through Friday’s practice round at Avondale.

“Cajun Injector and the Front Porch Restaurant are catering food for Friday’s practice round,” Reynerson said. “We’ll have breakfast Saturday morning, and Outback Steakhouse will cater the day.

“It’s more than food,” he said. “It’s the chance to entertain to be with family and friends and help a worthwhile organization.”

Each shooter will receive a shell bag, glasses, ear plugs and other gunning equipment along with 12-gauge shells to complete the course. Each shooter must bring a shotgun. Shooters with guns other 12 gauge must supply shells.

Stations are designed to imitate decoying ducks, fast-flying doves, running rabbits and rising quail. The course gives gunners shots at near, moderate and far ranges as well as overhead, passing and “going-away” shots.

Reynerson said this year’s event will include celebrities such as Bill Venz, the retired U.S. Navy aviator who trained actors for Top Gun; country-western musician T.J. Clay; actresses Tracy Shakespeare and Stacy Randall; and sharpshooter Michael Blackburn.

The team headed by Ron Duplessis won the first event. The Alford Safe and Lock team won last year, when Randy Brown, a hunter, not a competitive shooter, won the individual title.

For information or to sign up, call Troy Hebert at 225-332-7998, Duplessis at 225-292-4700, or Torrey Hayden at the Boy Scout Office, 225-926-2697.

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on caring for equipment between the major hunting seasons.

Had a good deer season?

How about ducks?

These are sad days – indeed – because those seasons are being mentioned in the past tense.

Now that the allotted days for hunting whitetails and mallards are gone, the best most any of us can think about today is enjoying the table fare the hunts produced. True, there are days left afield for squirrels, rabbits, quail and geese – and there’s the still-to-come spring turkey season – but, ducks and deer are off the calendar for months.

Ah, but the season isn’t over, not from a wife’s perspective, not until “all that stuff” is put away. Properly storing all the equipment used over the last four months is important to get a head start into what now is a much-anticipated next season.

And, there’s lots of it: shotguns and rifles, ammo, camouflage clothing, rain gear, special hats, decoys, calls, hip boots, knee boots, waders, pirogues and the engines that pushed us through the swamps and the marshes helped make our seasons bright. All can go bad if not stored properly over the coming spring, summer and early fall.

Even more is that detail needs to be paid to all equipment no matter the size nor cost.

ENGINES

From outboards to Go-Devils and ATVs, Warren Coco, the in-the- workshop, hands-on owner of Go-Devil said post-season maintenance is a “do it now, or pay later” proposition. A Go-Devil uses air-cooled engines to run a straight shaft and propeller. It’s a favorite of duck hunters, who travel in shallow water and swamp hunters who traverse areas that would tear up an outboard.

“The No. 1 thing to do before storing a Go-Devil or any other engine is to add fuel stabilizer to the fuel tank,” Coco said.

The next step, he said, is to get the engine running and run out the fuel. It means either shutting off the fuel flow or disconnecting the fuel line from the engine.

“Since lead was removed from gasoline, the additives that have been used to replace the lead gums up in the carburetor. If left for a long time, the gum turns into varnish and will not let the engine work properly,” Coco explained.

He said the stabilizer removes the gum and goes a long way to eliminate the varnish problem. Stabilizer is available at all auto parts stores, small engine shops and the discount chain stores.

“It costs $3 to $5 to use, or you’re facing a $100 to $200 repair bill on the carburetor to clean or replace it before next season,” Coco said.

After that, cleaning the tank is next step. Coco said water and trash collects in the bottom of all gas tanks, and removing it is easy.

“Tilt the fuel can or the fuel tank on equipment with a built-in tank to a point where one corner is lower than the rest of the can. Water and trash is heavier than the gas and will settle in that corner. Then, it’s easy to take a siphon and get the trash and water out, and it’s more effective than dumping the contents of the can out,” Coco said. “This is a good time to do it. We’ve come through a cold time of the year when water condenses in gas tanks and becomes a problem. Most times what you get wouldn’t fill a coffee cup, but even that small amount can cause big problems.”

The third step is to fill the fuel tanks to the top to eliminate condensation and water build-up for the engine’s next trip. Remember to add stabilizer to the tank to equal the fill-up.

If storing the outboard or ATV, remember to cover all intakes. Mud daubers like to use water intakes on outboards and air intakes on ATVs for their spring and summer homes. Their mud nests make it all but impossible to start the engine next season.

SHOTGUNS & RIFLES

Central gunsmith David Reynerson and wife Lydia will see more than their share of other folks’ problems between now and next September. If history is a guideline most of those other folks will find out about the problems later rather than sooner.

“Safety first,” he said. “Before you think about cleaning and stowing a gun or rifle, you have to double and triple check to make sure there’s no round or shell in the chamber or the magazine and to open breeches and bolts.”

After that it’s pretty much standard operating procedures.

From his workbench, Reynerson said he recommends gun owners take rifles and shotguns down only if they’re completely familiar with the weapon and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter.

“Don’t fool with the trigger mechanism, because there are too many parts to handle for someone without the expertise and the proper tools,” he said.

Cleaning is what you’re after, and it’s time to use solvents to make sure brass and copper build-ups are removed from barrels. Run a solvent-damp patch down the barrel, set it aside while cleaning other parts, then run a clean patch, then an oil patch, and, finally, another dry patch.

Care is needed to remove all the solvent and to remove most of the oil.

“Most people load up on the oil. They use way too much,” Reynerson said. “One or two drops is all that’s needed for the barrel and other working mechanisms, because all too much oil does is attract dirt.”

More advice comes quickly.

Using compressed air helps blow out as much of the loose dirt as possible before using solvents and gun oil.

Use only high-quality gun oil only for rifles and shotguns.

A silicone-impregnated cloth on the outside parts of a gun is usually the only treatment these parts need.

Do not use oil sprays like WD-40: “It hardens . . . and forms a varnish on rifles and shotguns that becomes very hard to remove,” he said.

Never store guns in hard-sided or soft cases. The cases hold moisture and can lead to rust on the weapon.

Store guns upside down: “Oil seeping from the working parts of a gun will eventually seep into the gun’s stock and ruin the wood,” Reynerson said. “Turn them over when company comes so the guns look good, then turn them over so that you will have that gun for as long as you want it.”

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

firearm cleaning

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series about adjustments and care of a rifle to maintain or better accuracy.

Have a rifle?

Want it to shoot better?

Better yet, do you want it to shoot straight? On every shot?

What hunter doesn’t?

Like all other relationships you develop on hunts – and in life – there’s nothing like making a good first impression.

And, that’s something you have to do with your rifle, too.

In addition to checking out sights, trigger pull and overall workings of a rifle, gunsmith David Reynerson said accurate shooting depends on how you treat the barrel, especially if you’re using a new rifle for the upcoming deer season.

Reynerson uses several brands of replacement barrels for his customers. Shilen Barrels is among them.

“Shilen is a high quality barrel, but no matter how good it is, we all have to understand that rifling a barrel means the cutting tool isn’t slicing through the metal, it’s tearing it,” Reynerson explained.

When a bullet goes through the barrel, the nicks inside the barrel leave scars on the bullet, small gouges that can make the difference in down-range accuracy.

“If you look at the riflings through a microscope – riflings are the series of twists in the barrel that spin the bullet to make it more accurate – you’ll see jagged edges,” Reynerson said. “What you have to do is remove those jagged edges.”To do that, Shilen’s experts recommend cleaning, break-in and maintenance regimens for barrels.

The break-in steps include: For the first 5 shots, clean the barrel after each shot; For the next 50 shots, clean the barrel after each 5-shot group; For accuracy purposes, the barrel is now “broken in;” To maintain the quality and accuracy of the barrel, clean the barrel at least every 20 shots, but more often is preferred.

Shilen’s “cleaning the barrel” instructions are a more complicated process than what most hunters go through to clean a hunting firearm.

To properly clean a barrel, Shilen’s technicians recommend “using a plastic-coated cleaning rod, a bronze brush, flannel patches and a quality bore solvent.”"Saturate the brush with solvent and make 20 passes (10 cycles) through the barrel. Let the solvent soak in the barrel for 10 minutes, then saturate the brush again with solvent and make 20 more passes through the barrel. Then, push 3 patches through the barrel to remove excess solvent and loosen fouling.”Reynerson said “fouling” refers to the copper and lead residue left by the bullet in the barrel. The copper and lead must be removed.

“What this entire process does is smooth down the surfaces in the rifling … removing the jagged edges on the rifling,” he said. “This process takes time, but it’s worth it for the benefits it gives you at the target.”The problem for most hunters is this process takes a long time. Firing five shots, then working the brush, and sitting the rifle for 10 minutes could take as long as an hour and a half to complete Shilen’s recommended first step. And, as every good shooter knows, firing 50 shots through a rifle means spending a couple of days (or more) at a range just to break-in the barrel.

“It’s what bench-rest shooters do now,” Reynerson said. “And what they do takes about 10 years to get back to the rest of the shooters. What the bench-rest shooters are doing now will be what all good shooters will do in 10 years.”Bench-rest shooters, the men and women who strive for dead-on, dead-center accuracy on every shot have taught the shooting world about copper fouling, and how costly an excess of this metal in the barrel can affect the bullet’s flight.

The bench-rest folks believe in cleaning the barrel after every five shots – not every 20 – to maintain first-rate accuracy.

“We get rifles in our shop with so much copper in the barrel that we have to block an end of the barrel, fill it with solvent and let it soak overnight,” Reynerson said. “When it gets that bad, it will affect accuracy.”"It’s much easier to clean the copper after a few shots,” he said.

The copper on the riflings is coming from the bullet’s jackets, and the heat and gas when a bullet is fired is almost like burnishing copper on the inside of the barrel.

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

Gary from Reynersons Gunsmith

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La. Author:JOE MACALUSO Date:Oct 12, 2000 Start Page:12.C Section:Outdoors   Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on improving accuracy in shooting. It took only a couple of minutes for the diagnosis. David Reynerson stood over the sick patient with instruments enough to effect a cure. It was touch and go for a while, but the patient pulled through. As it turned out, it was a matter of life and death, not for the patient laying on the gunsmith’s bench, but for the rifle’s owner. The rifle was admitted to Reynerson’s emergency room for sick and injured hunting weapons in Central with a serious problem. It fired when the safety was clicked off, not when the trigger was pulled, but when the safety was pushed from “safe” to “fire.” One wrong move during the hunting season, and a much more serious accident was in store for the owner. “A wise move to bring this rifle in,” Reynerson said. It was obvious someone had tampered with the rifle, not so much with the rifle than with the trigger mechanism. “One of the features Remington uses to sell its products is that its rifles have triggers that can be adjusted,” Reynerson said. “That’s OK, but only if the person adjusting knows exactly what he’s doing. “Otherwise, the best advice is to let the experts work with the trigger mechanisms,” Reynerson said. “They’re different in virtually every make of gun.” If all this sounds like more than you ever wanted to know – or cared to know – about rifles, then consider that one of the more popular notions among hunters is that they can improve their weapon’s accuracy by getting a “trigger job.” For gunsmiths, the term is “trigger adjustment,” and while Reynerson said it can help a hunter improve down-range accuracy, the adjustment is one on a list of mechanical corrections that can be made to get the hunter to hit his or her mark. Reynerson’s sequential list includes: Checking rings and mounts for the telescopic sights. Improper rings and loose mounts can alter accuracy on each shot, Reynerson said. Checking bedding screws to make sure the barrel stays in the same place in the stock on each shot. Checking the muzzle crown to make sure it is free of burrs. Reynerson said the crown is the machined-in recess at the of the barrel. Barrel makers do that to protect the riflings. “If you get a ding or a nick in the crown, and it scores the bullet, then you’re going to lose accuracy.” Check the trigger pull. It’s measured in pounds, and the ideal seems to be a pull weight of 3-5 pounds on the trigger to fire the weapon is considered by most hunters and shooters to be “good.” Reynerson said, depending on the weapon, he’s measured trigger pull weights up to 11 pounds, far too much, he said, for accurate shooting. Still, he shied away from the notion that getting trigger pull to 3-pound territory will solve all problems. “Any one of those things, or a combination of any of them can add up to poor shooting,” he said. “And, a trigger adjustment is not the most important.” A relatively new improvement is called “glass bedding,” a process that involves shaving away some of the wood on the inside of the stock where the barrel mounts into the stock. “You use epoxy and pour it in to conform to the bottom of the receiver. The epoxy sticks to the wood, and you put a release agent on the receiver, then put the receiver into the stock and tighten the action in there. Then you let it dry,” Reynerson said. What happens is that the owner has a stock that conforms to the bottom of the barrel and the receiver. “Glass bedding is a way to solve a problem when the gun is not shooting accurately,” Reynerson said. ” Whenever the gun is taken down to be cleaned, it allows the receiver to be tightened down in the same place every time.”OK, so the sights, the barrel-to-stock fit and the muzzle crown is OK. “That’s the only time I suggest a trigger adjustment,” Reynerson said. “There’s little doubt that it works, too. I’ve seen rifles with 9-pound trigger pull shooting 8-9 inch groups (three bullets strike in a 9-inch in diameter circle). “An adjustment down to 5 pounds pulls the group into 3 inches. “I know this: all things equal, a guy shooting a rifle with a 4- pound pull will outshoot a guy with a rifle with 6-pound pull.” The problem with a “heavy” trigger pull is the force of the index finger on the trigger often pulls a rifle off the target. Lighten the pull and the less force is required to get the firing pin to strike the bullet and send it on its way. Reynerson said inexperienced hunters know about “trigger jobs” and have heard anyone can do them. “That’s not true, because you have to check the sear angles and the sea engagement,” he said, admitting he was venturing into the heady world of gunsmithing with that statement. Sears are the connecting parts between the trigger and the firing pin. “It’s not just turning a set screw here and there to lessen the pull. It’s more, much more and folks need to know that,” Reynerson said. “A lot of hunters who come into the shop say they want a trigger pull between 3.5 to 4 pounds. That’s what they’ve heard is the best. “What I have to tell them is that pull weight isn’t the only part of it. A trigger pull has to be crisp and smooth, too, and crisp and smooth is more important than a light pull. “I’ve had guns in the shop where guys thought polishing the sear led them to think they had done a trigger job. That’s not the case. Sometimes they made it worse because the trigger pull is lighter than before but the pull, the “slack” (the distance between the trigger’s resting spot and where it triggers the firing pin) is worse than it was before. “That’s why it’s important let experts do this work,” he said. For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

hunters for the hungry

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.
Author:JOE MACALUSO
Date:Sep 21, 2000
Start Page:14.C
Section:Outdoors

The sixth-annual Hunters for the Hungry Committee “Clean Out Your Freezer Day” comes up Sunday, and the group has set a lofty goal.
“Last year was our best ever. We collected 14,000 pounds of game and fish on one day, and we want to beat that record,” Hunters for the Hungry chairman Richard Campbell said.
The game and fish collected goes to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank for distribution to the 110 shelters, lunch rooms and soup kitchens in the 12-parish area around Baton Rouge. St. Vincent de Paul also benefits from the effort.
The main collection site will be the parking lot opposite Alex Box Stadium on the LSU campus from 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Over the last five years, the collections sites have expanded to seven other parishes and 11 other sites. These satellite sites will accept donations from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Other collection sites for Sunday’s event include: Reynerson’s Gunsmith, 13421 Hooper Road near the intersection of Sullivan and Hooper roads in Central; The Bank of Zachary on Main Street in Zachary; The St. George Volunteer Fire Station on Perkins Road; The Bank of West Baton Rouge, 320 North Alexander Avenue in Port Allen; Basin River Electrical Supply, 24310 Railroad Avenue in Plaquemine; F.S. Williams Store on La. 19 in Ethel; Feliciana Seafood Market & Deli at the Exxon Station on U.S. 61 north of St. Francisville; Denham Springs Freshman High, 940 NE Range Avenue in Denham Springs; Holiday Inn-Gonzales on La. 30 near I-10 in Gonzales; False River Motor Sports at 431 New Roads Street in New Roads; and, Soprano’s Supermarket, 8389 U.S. 190 in Livonia.
The purpose of the collection is to allow hunters and fishermen to clear their freezers of frozen game and fish to make room for the upcoming hunting and fall-winter fishing seasons.
GBRFB workers ask those making a donation to labeling the frozen foods to help group the meats for distribution.
Other meat items will be accepted.
“The biggest need we have is meat protein,” GBRFB executive Carl Stages Jr. said. “This program is one of the few we have that supplies this need.
“For what the hunters and fishermen in the area have done in the past, all we can do is say ‘Thank you,’ and ask that they consider making future donations,” Stages added.
The Hunters for the Hungry Program was responsible for nearly 20,000 pounds of game and fish in 1999. The program also accepts contributions of deer during the season.
For more information, call the Food Bank, 359-9940.

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

David Reynerson

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.
Author:JOE MACALUSO
Date:Aug 17, 2000
Start Page:12.E
Section:Outdoors

It’s easy to forget, but if you haven’t check your calendar, then dove season is just 16 days away.
The special teal season opens in less than 30 days, and the squirrel and rabbit season is just seven weeks down the road.
That’s why David Reynerson’s gunsmithing shop in Central is so busy these days.
Unless you’re blowing holes in the sky at a skeet range or punching holes in paper targets, your shotguns and rifles are collecting dust right now, and the best bet this weekend will be to dust them off and make sure they’re in working order for what’s soon to come.
Dirt holds moisture that leads to rust, Reynerson said, and rust is settling on every metal part in your sporting weapon now.
That is unless it was stored properly at the end of last season.
In that case, the heavy layer of gun grease or oil you liberally applied before storing is too thick to take the weapon into the field.
“They need to be fired, too,” Reynerson said.
“Under normal use, a shotgun or rifle should be professionally cleaned at least once every two years,” Reynerson said, adding that dove and duck hunters need it every year because they shoot more than other hunters.
Before handing that sporting firearm for the first time this season, it’s best to follow Reynerson’s first item firearms do’s and don’ts list – “Always treat a firearm as if it is loaded. Double and triple check to make sure there are no rounds or shells in the chamber and magazines, and open breeches and bolts.”

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

Gary from Reynersons Gunsmith

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.
Date:Aug 17, 2000
Start Page:12.E
Section:Outdoors

David Reynerson says you should always treat a gun as if it is loaded. Other possession gun-cleaning tips include:
. Don’t fool with the trigger mechanism: There are to many small parts.
Use solvent to clean barrels: He recommends Hoppe’s No. 9. Run a solvent-damp patch down the barrel, then cleaning other parts. Go back to the barrel, run a clean patch, then an oil patch, then a dry patch to remove excess oil.
. Use oil sparingly: Too much oil attracts dirt.
. Use compressed air: Try to blow out loose dirt before using solvents and oils.
. Use silicone treated cloth on the outside parts of a gun.
. Check spent shells and cartridges: Misfiring or improper weapons show up on spent casings. If dents or nicks are found, then stop firing, unload the weapon and take it to a gunsmith.
. Don’t use oil sprays like WD-40: When heated, these oils harden and form a varnish.

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

Turkey

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.
Author:JOE MACALUSO
Date:Mar 16, 2000
Start Page:12.C
Section:Outdoors

Camp talk.
Humbug, except that this one was a little more serious than the weeks just before the last deer season.
It was spring – really late winter – and its a time akin to baseball’s Hot Stove League.
You know about hot stovers? The name came from folks sitting around a stoked pot belly – the heating kind, not the human belly kind – between the World Series and the start of spring training and talking baseball.
Well, it was that kind of talk that filled the camp last week. It was filled with far off plans for food plots, fertilizing the whitetails’ natural food sources, what stands paid off and what new stands were a bust last season.
Then, somebody mentioned turkeys and it was Katie bar the door.
If you know turkey hunters, then you know this kind of talk leads to shotguns, loads, calls, roosts, camo, set-up, hoots, whistles and the usual when, where, how and why.
It was endless and filled most of the afternoon until somebody said the bass were chasing shad in the 15-acre pond just steps from the camp’s door. That was only halftime: Talking turkey continued over barbecued chicken, baked beans and potato salad, a favorite camp meal, and lasted through dessert.
Then a voice in the corner threw down the gauntlet.
“Hey, you’re the outdoors writer. Com’mon, you’re supposed to know all about this stuff. You’re the expert.”Not hardly. Except for The Almighty, there’s no one who knows all there is to know about every hunting sport. That applies to fishing, too.

Expertise is valued, but with all the hunting seasons and all the fishing open to Louisiana outdoorsmen, it’s the experts we value, the men and women who dedicate their time to hard-to-learn specifics.
In this case, those folks Central gunsmith David Reynerson and Joe Cagnolatti, a veteran who’s led restocking efforts in the state through National Wild Turkey Federation chapters for the last 15 years.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Reynerson’s advice is simple: “Know your shotgun,” he said, knowing fully that the statement is as complicated as any three words can be for turkey hunters.
“You have to know what it’s going to do . . . how it’s going to perform under difference circumstances,” Reynerson explained.
That’s not as easy as it sounds.
Turkey hunters want tight patterns, but how tight is the big question.
Reynerson said he has machined chokes down to .63 (63 percent restriction from cylinder bore) for a couple of hunters.
But, that’s not always the answer.
“You have to fit the pattern of the shot to the shotgun you’re using to the area you’re hunting,” he said.
Cagnolatti said other than Texas where rifles are allowed weapons for turkey hunters, more Deep South hunters wrangle with a solution for this problem than any other aspect of the sport.
It’s because of the diverse terrain and habitat. Turkeys are found in deep woods and open fields. Roosts and tree lines pose completely different situations, Cagnolatto explained.
“And, Your pattern has to fit all these places,” he said.

Reynerson said finding the right pattern starts by making a pattern board. Use four four-foot long 2×2 wooden boards and fasten at the corners to make a square. Using small hinges and two more 2X2s, cut the 2x2s to a length that will make the frame stand up square to the ground. Fasten the hinges on the top of the frame and the 2×2 legs with small screws.
You want to make sure that none of the hardware – hinges, nails and screws – are on the front of the stand. Hardware on the front can cause a ricochet.
TESTING AND TUNING: Fix newspaper to the frame. Taping four sheets of double-wide newspaper sheets together will give you a target.
Place the target in an area where any and all shot pose no hazard. Safety is important here, too.
Since the best shot on a turkey is at his head, you want to approximate that target on the paper. Take your non-writing hand, point the fingers forward and put them together and bend the hand it forward to make it look like a turkey head on the end of a turkey’s neck. Then with your hand about 18-20 inches above the bottom of the form, trace your arm and hand in the middle of the paper. Make sure to use a red felt marker so it’s an easy target.
Then, since most new shotguns come with choke tubes or some kind of removable choke system, start with full choke.
Reynerson said the first shots you make are to check that the shotgun shoots at the point of aim.
“Believe it or not and depending on the gunner, some shotguns don’t shoot dead center of where they’re aimed,” Reynerson said. “Adjustments are needed either by the hunter with the point of aim or in the (gunsmith’s) shop.”Using different sizes of shot – usually No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 are good for turkey – and different brands, find the shell that give you the best pattern at a specific distance – usually at 40 yards.

“That’s where is all starts,” Reynerson said. “Knowing where you’re hunting, knowing what distance you’re likely to engage the gobbler are other factors.”Adding those factors to the equation – things like vegetation density and target distance – should send you testing even more.
“Believe it or not, we’ve had No. 5 shot in 2 3/4-inch shells test better than No. 5 in 3-inch shells from the same company. And, we’ve had different shells pattern better at 30 yards than they do at 40 or 50 yards,” Reynerson said. “That’s what the hunter has to know BEFORE he even thinks about scouting for that opening day bird.”

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

Shooting

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.
Author:JOE MACALUSO
Date:Oct 21, 1999
Start Page:10.C
Section:Outdoors

All Steve Pol could do was wipe his brow and let loose a whistle.
“I hope the ducks are easier to hit than some of these targets,” Pol said after tackling the “Teal in the Morning” station, one of 14 in Saturday’s first Governor’s Sporting Clays Shoot held at Camp Avondale.
The event benefited the Istrouma Council of the Boy Scouts to help refurbish the camp.
The competition was fierce and the course challenging.
Baton Rouge area businessman Ron Duplessis and Central gunsmith David Reynerson set up the course. For Pol and dozens of others among the 27 four-shooter teams, it was the first time they’d seen a true sporting clays course.
The Avondale layout was divided into a Woodlands and Uplands courses. Each course had seven stations. Some among them were labeled Runnin’ Rabbits, Be’casse (French for woodcock), Mexican Whistlers, Decoying Mallards, Sky-busting Crows and Wannapeeka. All stations were designed to simulate shotgun-hunting situations. The Runnin’ Rabbit station threw flat clay targets along the ground and demanded the quick-shooting response of rabbit hunting.

“Roland Dugas came off the course and was disappointed that he’d just shot at the last station,” Reynerson said. “He was disappointed that he had to quit. That’s how much fun it looked like all the shooters had. The weather was beautiful and it was hard to have more fun at a shooting event that we had Saturday.”Duplessis said the event was modeled after other sporting clay shoots Boy Scout councils have used for fund-raisers. He said the Boy Scouts realized $24,000 from the one-day event. Corporate-based teams participated at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 levels. “In this first year, we raised more money than some of the events that have been in existence for five or six years,” Duplessis said.
“That’s an indication of the tremendous support from the shooting and corporate community in the Baton Rouge area. It was extremely successful for a first-time event and we managed to attract some world-class shooters.”Two of them, Ronnie Conn and Bill McGuire, joined Duplessis on his team. Conn and McGuire won the National Pro- Am Sporting Clays title in early October. Conn busted 66 of the 72 targets (36 on each course), while McGuire his 62 and was tied by Bank One’s Royce Murphy. The Duplessis team won with a score of 233 of a possible 288 targets. The fourth member was Craig Stewart, who finished in a tie for seventh with 55 targets.
Ben Johnson’s Latter & Blum team, with top area gunners Gary Alford (61), Britt Harrison (56) and Gary Hallam (53), finished second with 215 targets. Third was the Lipsey’s, Inc. team headed by Richard Lipsey (55) and completed by Flint Virgets, John Shiroda and Waylan Owens with 194 targets.
Reynerson said 20 of the 27 teams have already signed up for next year’s event, which, Duplessis said, is tentatively set for Oct. 28, 2000.
Co-chairs for the event were John Barton and Murphy Foster.
SPORTING CLAYS RESULTS

TOP TEAMS (best possible score 288)1, Duplessis Automotive Group, 2332, Latter & Blum Realtors, 2153, Lipsey’s, Inc., 194TOP GUNS(best possible score 72)1, Ronnie Conn, Duplessis Automotive, 662, (tie) Bill McGuire, Duplessis Automotive, 62Royce Murphy, Bank One, 624, Gary Alford, Latter & Blum, 615, Britt Harrison, Latter & Blum, 566, (tie) Richard Lipsey, Lipsey’s, Inc., 55Craig Stewart, Duplessis Automotive, 55 G.T. Owens, Cajun Injector, 559, Gary Hallem, Latter & Blum, 5310, (tie) Richard Dugas, Spillway Sportsman, 52Jim Keith, Cajun Electric, 52

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.

Davids Turkey

Advocate – Baton Rouge, La.
Author:JOE MACALUSO
Date:Mar 25, 1999
Start Page:1.C
Section:Outdoors

 Right about now there are thousands of Louisianians for whom Saturday morning won’t get here quick enough.
They are turkey hunters, and Saturday’s season opener in State Areas A and C are as long-awaited a date as any on the hunting calendar.
Talk to any dedicated turkey hunter these days and it’s like conversing with a bird dog on point. It’s this penchant for the woods and the call of a turkey that spurs hunters toward Saturday’s first light.
“About the only thing that stand between us and a good opening weekend is the weather,” said state upland game biologist Mike Olinde. “The weather patterns over the last month has brought rain for the weekend. No pun intended, but that really would dampen the spirits of a lot of turkey hunters.”
Rain is in the weekend forecast – for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s rain in the eastern part of the state is likely to come late in the day, and should afford hunters a shot at that well- scouted gobbler on opening morning.
Olinde said the turkey population is solid in the areas where restocking efforts has taken enough of a foothold to warrant a season. Even the Florida Parishes area – from the Mississippi River to the Louisiana-Mississippi line and north of Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain – turkey numbers are up.
The one part of the five-week long season in Area A, which takes in most of the parishes in the Capital City area, that concerns wildlife officials is safety.

“We can’t stress it enough,” said Wildlife Division administrator Hugh Bateman. “There will be a lot of people in the woods, and unfortunately people make the same kinds of noises when they walk through the woods as a turkey does. Everybody out there just needs to use common sense.”
The National Wild Turkey Federation teamed with Winchester ammo to publish a Turkey Hunter’s Code of Conduct. The list included:
Don’t let peer pressure or the excitement of the hunt cloud my judgment;
Hunt the wild turkey fairly;
Know the capabilities and limitations of my gun or bow and use it safely;
Avoid knowingly interfering with other hunters and respect the right of others to lawfully share the out-of-doors;
Value the hunting experience and appreciate the beauty of the wild turkey;
Positively identify my target as a legal bird and insist on a good shot;
Obey hunting regulations.
Among the rules hunters have been forgetting is the state regulation that requires a $5 turkey stamp to be a legal hunter. That’s in addition to the basic and big-game licenses. The funds collected from the stamp sales are dedicated to turkey restocking and habitat programs.
Another area hunters dwell on before the season is guns: Tight patterns from their shotguns are a must in knowing about “the capabilities and limitations” of their weapons. (The use of rifles is banned for turkey hunting in the state).
Will Primos, a member of the Advantage Camouflage Team, said turkey hunters are much like deer hunters in that patterning a turkey gun is as necessary as sighting in a scoped deer rifle.

“Patterning a turkey gun give you the chance to find its true point of impact and determine its maximum effective range with a given (shotshell) load,” Primos explained.
He said you should do point-of-impact sighting at a short range, say 20-25 yards. This impact point is determined by lots of factors. All of them come from a relationship between you and your gun. Hold the shotgun to your shoulder and sight along the barrel to the bead at the end of the barrel. Put the bead on a target. What you have to remember here is that you’re trying to aim at a small target, the head and the neck of a turkey.
Primos said that if the impact point is low, then build up the comb of the stock. To raise it, lower the comb. To adjust the pattern horizontally, build up or sand down the side of the stock. All this will move you “shooting eye” in the direction you want to move the pattern.
Determining maximum shooting range is relatively easy.
After impact-point shooting at 25 yards, move away from the target at and fire another shell at five-yard increments. When the pattern density diminishes, then you know the range of your gun.
“Many shooters will be surprised by how quickly even ‘super full’ patterns fall apart,” Primos said.
This patterning and range practice isn’t done with one or two shots, and it shouldn’t be tried with one size or shot or one brand of ammunition.
Central gunsmith David Reynerson said it’s common that major brands of shotshells perform differently in different guns, even though the guns are equipped with extra-full chokes.
“Some shells mix different sizes of shot in the same shell, and there are lots of hunters who like those mixed-size shells,” Reynerson said. “I’ve seen some of those (shells) perform very well in some guns, but poorly in others. It means that hunters need to work at what works best in their gun, not what works best in somebody else’s gun.”Most turkey hunting veterans advise using No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6 shot. State law allows shot not larger than No. 2 lead or BB in steel shot.

“Practice is the most important part of making sure you’re successful during the (turkey) season,” Reynerson said. “Making sure you gun performs at its peak and knowing what are the limitations of the gun are as important to the hunter as scouting and using the right call.”

For Warranty Repair or to order guns and accessories, go to http://www.Reynersons.com or call 225-261-4860.