2021 Spring Southern - April 22-25

[Mike of the Mountain]

Tom, we'll be there cocked, locked and ready to rock, Doc!!

[Keavin Nelson]

Question, with Thursday for "other" non SXS shooting, if I want to shoot a round with my cousin using SXS will I be able to? He wanted to shoot the family Parker and lives about an hour away.

[Randy Roberts]

Originally Posted by keavin nelson

Question, with Thursday for "other" non SXS shooting, if I want to shoot a round with my cousin using SXS will I be able to? He wanted to shoot the family Parker and lives about an hour away.

Keavin it appears the "other" events you are speaking of run from about noon to 3:00 on Thursday. I would think you could shoot SxS on the course before or after. During those times if you cannot shoot the course with a SxS the 5 stand challenge events and practice 5 stand should be up and running and could give you some shooting opportunities. See you there !

[Mills]

The rules are the same as they have been in previous years, but for those new shooters and regulars who need a refresher . . . .


1. Competition is open to all members in good standing of the Organization (the LCSCA, or the PGCA) represented. Updated Membership rosters will be available at the both the LCSCA and PGCA booths inside the shared LCSCA/PGCA display tent for membership confirmation; and new member applications will also be available at both booths for those individuals wishing to join, or renew a membership to allow that individual to represent the Organization of his/her choice in the Challenge Event competition.

2. Members holding joint memberships in both the LCSCA and PGCA must choose ONE Association to represent in the competition; and will do so at the time of registration for Event One. Event One qualifying scores recorded by anyone who has registered, and participated for both Organizations during the Event One qualifier round will be disqualified.

3. Challenge Event entrants are required to be a member of either the PGCA or LCSCA but are not required to actually own a shotgun of the make related to the Organization they represent in the competition; but shooters are required to SHOOT with a double gun manufactured by the maker of the Organization they represent. Therefore, guns may be borrowed for use during the Challenge Event competitions; and arrangements for a loaner gun made at the registration table (see Equipment rules below).

4. Adult professional shooters (men and women), or an adult receiving a sponsorship/s in any form from dealers, industry, or any like organization/s are not allowed to compete in this event. An adult is defined as anyone aged 18 years or older.

GUNS & EQUIPMENT

1. Shooters must use a vintage double shotgun manufactured by the gun maker represented by their Organization. Those shooting LC Smith guns and representing the LCSCA are limited to LC Smith guns manufactured in Syracuse and Fulton, NY; and those manufactured under Marlin Firearms ownership in New Haven, CT. Those shooting Parker Bros. or Parker labeled guns and representing the PGCA are limited to Parker guns manufactured in Meriden, CT; and Ilion, NY.

2. Participants may use any hammer or hammerless model and grade of Smith or Parker gun produced by the above named original gun companies. Reproductions or modern/imported guns marketed under these famous trade/brand names are not allowed for use in this event.

3. Any gauge/bore size in which the Smith and Parker gun was originally manufactured may be used in the Challenge Event.

4. Modified and restored guns are allowed, including those with stock replacements or alterations, recoil pads, shortened or lined barrels, mono-blocked or sleeved barrels, screw-in chokes, etc. Guns used with relined barrels must be equipped with barrel liners of the same gauge in which the gun was originally shipped if the barrels of that gun, when manufactured, had been “fluid” steel.

5. Chamber inserts or chamber-size reducers (Chamber-Mates and similar devices), and full-length barrel inserts with gauge reducers are acceptable only for use in guns originally manufactured and fitted with Twist or Damascus steel barrels.

6. Shooters using guns equipped with screw-in chokes can do so, but such chokes may not be changed once competition has commenced; and this restriction applies to both the Event One qualifier and Event Two the Challenge Team Championship event.

7. The wearing of Eye and Ear protection is required of all competitors; and all ammunition used during any venue must be loaded with size 7 1/2 shot or smaller in conformance with insurance requirements in place at the Deep River Sporting Clays complex.


Event One Qualifier April 23, 2021


1. Registration for the Challenge Event will take place inside the LCSCA/PGCS Exhibition tent where the registrar will have on hand a current member roster for both organizations. At registration each participant will declare the name of the Organization he/she is representing, and the participants name will be checked to the appropriate member roster to verify current member status. Those participants, whose membership is verified as current, will then be allowed to register for the event. Participants whose name is not on the active member roster will be advised to return to the LCSCA/PGCA booth where they will take appropriate action to either 1) renew their membership, 2) join the organization of their preference, or 3) clear any issues that may have prevented their name from appearing on the currently active member roster. Once that issue is resolved, that member will be given a slip indicating his membership is current, which slip is then presented to the registrar to complete registration. Time will be a limiting factor for the Event One qualifier event, therefore LCSCA and PGCA members will shoot in mixed squads with the Organization represented by each participant noted on the registration form.

2. The Event One qualifier will consist of 50 targets to be fired on the Event One designated 5-stand layout/field. Registration will begin promptly at 8:15 AM Friday morning, April 23th, 2021; and shall continue until approximately 12:00 Noon (or until the last participant has shot his/her qualifier round) on Saturday, April 24. EARLY REGISTRATION is a MUST HAVE requirement in order to keep the Event One qualifying process moving in a timely and orderly manner, as time constraints will limit available shooter slots to approximately 125 total; so register early or risk losing the opportunity to participate.

3. An Event One Entry fee of $10 will be collected by the Registrar at the time of registration and membership verification; and all Event One participants will receive a custom designed participation pin to memorialize their participation in the 2021 LC Smith vs. Parker Challenge. All Challenge entry fees will be donated to a charitable cause selected by the management of Deep River Sporting Clays in appreciation for hosting the Challenge Event.

4. Each participant in the Challenge Event will be responsible for his/her own Target fees, set at $30.00 for the 50-target Event One qualifier; and said fees shall be paid directly to the 5-stand operator at the shooting venue (5-stand tickets may also be purchased in advance at the Deep River Club House; BUT DO NOT purchase a ticket at the Deep River Club House and go directly to the 5-stand with the expectation of registering and shooting immediately).

5. The Event One qualifier will begin at 9:00 AM sharp on Friday morning (4/23). As participants register for Event One, they will be squadded and assigned a specific shooting time; and all shooters are encouraged to be at the Dove Field shooting venue at least 15-20 minutes prior to their scheduled shooting time. Again, PGCA and LCSCA members will be shooting as part of combined squads based on registration order unless other accommodation is made at time of registration; and then only if it is possible to make such accommodation.

6. For early Challenge Event arrivals, a designated 5-stand practice venue will be open all day Thursday, April 22, 2020; and the same venue will also be open all day Friday, April 23, from 8:00 AM until closing; and on Saturday, April 24, until approximately 11:00 AM. Practice rounds will be available on a first-come/first-served basis; and the practice venue will consist of 30 targets. Shooter target fees will be $20 per round with those target fees paid directly to the clays vendor (or purchased at the Deep River office); but no target fees are included with the $10 Challenge Event entry fee. Shooters purchasing practice round tickets may only sign up for ONE ROUND AT A TIME, and may not place their name in rotation for another practice round until they have completed shooting their first time through the course.

7. Target presentation for the Event One qualifier will be 50 TARGETS fired on ONE 5-STAND course; and the target presentation shall be as follows: one (1) Report Pair followed by four (4) True Pairs at each of the five, 5-stand shooter stations.

8. During this 50-target Event One qualifier venue, shooters are allowed one gun malfunction with the opportunity to re-shoot any target/s lost as a result of the malfunction. Referees will verify any gun malfunction while the shooter maintains control of his gun with gun muzzles pointed in a safe direction. Any further malfunctions will result in a target/s scored as “Lost”; and the decision of the referee shall be final in all instances. Note: If a shooter calls “pull” and loses a target either because his gun was in the “On Safe” position, or he failed to cock a hammer; that over-sight does not qualify as a gun malfunction, and the target/s will be scored as “Lost”.


Event Two - Challenge Cup Shootout: 3:30 PM Saturday April 24,2021


1. At the conclusion of the Event One qualifier, representatives from the LCSCA and PGCA will, based on Event One highest qualifier scores, determine their 10 Challenge Cup Team members to represent their Associations. Should Event One results for either team result in tie scores for the tenth and final team position; the following tie-breaker rule will be utilized: the final team slot will be determined using the reverse long-run method (the longest string of targets scored broken counting from the last target presented).

2. Participants must report to the registration tent after Event One has been completed in order to determine their status for Event Two. Final scores will be tabulated by approximately 2:30 PM on Saturday, April 24; and the names of those ten (10) Challenge Team members for both Organizations will be posted to the leader board located by the entry to the Exhibition tent. Alternate Challenge Team members (those three members from each organization with the next highest Event One scores) will be asked to remain on stand-by should any one of the original 10 qualifying Challenge Team members be unavailable for any reason prior to the commencement of the Challenge Cup Shootout.

3. All Challenge Team members will be provided with commemorative caps (Red for Team Parker and Green for Team LC), and will proudly wear those hats prior to, during, and after the competition for Team identification purposes, and for Event related photos.

4. The Challenge Cup Shootout will begin at approximately 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon; April 24; and shooters representing each Team will report to their respective Team Manager not later than 3:00 PM for squad assignments and Team strategy sessions.

5. A coin toss will determine the start of the competition. Whichever team wins the toss has the option to either field the first team, or defer to field their team second. At that point the appropriate 5-man team takes the field with each team alternating thereafter until the Challenge Event shoot-out has been completed.

6. The course of fire for the Challenge Shootout will consist of THIRTY (30) TARGETS for each squad member fired as follows: one Report Pair and two True Pairs at each station. Target presentations will be completely reconfigured prior to the beginning of Event Two so that the “playing field” is leveled for each Team. Each Challenge Team member will be responsible for his/her target fees set at $20.00 for the 30 targets.

7. The Team who will lay claim to the 2021 Challenge Cup will be the Team registering the highest number of broken targets from the combined 300 target presentation format.

8. In the event of a tied team score, the Team winner will be determined by a shoot-off conducted from station three; with each team represented by the shooter from that Team who has the highest combined scores from Event One and Event Two. Tie scores for the “Top Gun” individual award will be settled in the same manner.


List of Awards:

Top Gun
Runner Up
3rd Place
4th Place
High Lady
2nd Place Lady
High Youth
2nd Place Youth (17 years and younger)

note: Lady and Youth shooters are also eligible to win the top Challenge Event awards based on individual performances.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS DETERMINATIONS:

In the event of a tie(s) for any of the remaining individual awards, the ultimate winner will be determined by a shoot-off conducted immediately following the completion of the Challenge Shootout. It will be the responsibility of each competitor to determine if he/she might be involved in a shoot-off; and any qualifying shooter not present for said shoot-off will forfeit all claims to the contested award. Therefore, following the conclusion of the Challenge Shootout, each of the 20 competitors involved are hereby strongly encouraged to determine their scores and ranking before leaving. Should time constraints or weather conditions preclude a shoot-off, ties will be resolved via the reverse long run scoring method; i.e., the longest string of targets scored broken counting from the last target presented. in the event that any award is contested, representatives from each Association will confer to determine the winner and their decision shall be final.

***Please note that RST will not be selling shells at the Southern Side by Side***

[Mills]

Again, rules are the same this year as past years for the hammer gun challenge. Here they are again for those interested . . .


COMPETITOR QUALIFICATION

1. Competition is open to all members in good standing of the Organization (the LCSCA, or the PGCA) they represent. Updated Membership rosters will be available at the both the LCSCA and PGCA booths inside the shared LCSCA/PGCA display tent for membership confirmation; and new member applications will also be available at both booths for those individuals wishing to join, or renew a membership to allow that individual to represent the Organization of his/her choice in the Hammer Gun Event competition.

2. Members holding joint memberships in both the LCSCA and PGCA must choose ONE Association to represent in the competition; and will do so at the time of registration. Scores recorded by anyone who has registered, and participated for both Organizations during the Hammer Gun competition will be disqualified; HOWEVER, a dual membership holder may compete in the Hammer Gun Challenge for a different Association than the Association which that member represented in the Challenge Cup Event.

3. Hammer Gun Event entrants are not required to actually own a shotgun of the make related to the Organization they are representing; but are required to SHOOT with a hammer gun manufactured by the maker of the Organization they represent. Therefore, guns may be borrowed for use during the Hammer Gun Event competition, and all members who wish to participate in the Hammer Gun Challenge are encouraged to make arrangements to borrow a Smith or Parker shotgun to use.

4. Adult professional shooters (men and women), or an adult receiving a sponsorship/s in any form from dealers, industry, or any like organization/s are not allowed to compete in this event. An adult is defined as anyone aged 18 years or older.

EQUIPMENT

1. Participants are required to use only those double shotguns manufactured by the maker represented by the Collectors Association to which they belong (i.e., L.C. Smith/Hunter Arms/Marlin for LCSCA; or Parker/Remington for the PGCA).

2. Participants may use any exposed-hammer model or grade, and or gauge/bore size LC Smith or Parker shotgun originally manufactured by those respective companies. Reproductions or modern/imported guns marketed under these famous trade names are prohibited for use in this Event.

3. Modified and restored guns are allowed, including guns with a stock replacement or alterations, recoil pads, shortened or lined barrels, mono-blocked or sleeved barrels, screw-in chokes, etc. Guns used with relined barrels must be equipped with barrel liners of the same gauge in which the gun was originally shipped if the barrels of that gun, when manufactured, had been “fluid” steel.

4. Chamber inserts and gauge reducers (Chamber-Mates, etc.) and/or full-length barrel inserts with gauge reducers are acceptable only for use in those L.C. Smith and Parker hammer guns that were originally manufactured and shipped with Twist or Damascus barrels.

5. Shooters using guns equipped with screw-in chokes can do so, but such chokes may not be changed once competition has commenced. Participants using guns equipped with screw-in chokes may not change choke tubes once the competition has begun.

6. The wearing of Eye and Ear protection is required of all competitors; and all ammunition used during any venue must be loaded with size 7 1/2 shot or smaller in conformance with insurance requirements in place at the Deep River Sporting Clays complex.

Hammer Gun Challenge Event

1. Registration for the Challenge Event will take place inside the LCSCA/PGCS Exhibition tent where the registrar will have on hand a current member roster for both organizations. At registration each participant will declare the name of the Organization he/she is representing, and the participants name will be checked to the appropriate member roster to verify member status. Those participants, whose membership is verified as current, will then be allowed to register for the event. Participants whose name is not on the active member roster will be advised to return to the LCSCA/PGCA booth where they will take appropriate action to 1) renew their membership, 2) join the organization of their preference, or 3) clear any issues that may have prevented their name from appearing on the active member roster. Once that issue is resolved, that member will be given a slip indicating his membership is current; which slip is then presented to the registrar for registration completion.

LCSCA and PGCA members will shoot and qualify utilizing the same mixed-squads format used in the Challenge Event, with the name of each participant’s Organization noted on the registration form at the time of sign-up. Participants will be assigned to a squad based on the order of their registration; and if an individual wishes to shoot with a partner or shoot with friends or as a group, all must be registered simultaneously. Again, participants must register to represent only one Organization. Squadding and registration shall commence Friday morning (April 23, 2021) in conjunction with Challenge Event sign-ups. Sign-ups will continue until the beginning of the Hammer Gun Challenge Sunday morning, April 25, 2021 at 8:30 AM; the final day of the Southern Side x Side Championships. Given Event time constraints, all participants are STRONGLY encouraged to register as early as possible; and sign-ups will conclude when the last squad registered has completed shooting.

2. All Hammer Gun Challenge participants will pay an entry fee of $10 at registration and verification of Membership status; with all proceeds from those entry fees to be divided between the two Organizations according to the number of members from each Organization.

3. Hammer Gun Challenge target fees are $20.00 per 30 targets and may be paid directly to the shooting venue operator at the “Dove Field”; or purchased in advance at the Deep River operations office.

4. Participants will be squadded at registration for their approximate shooting time; and the first squad will begin shooting at 8:30 AM Sunday morning April 25. Participants should be at the Dove Field venue 15-20 minutes prior to their scheduled shooting time or risk an alternative time slot being unavailable should they fail to report at their appointed time.

5. Practice shooting will be available (but limited by time constraints) at the Dove Field 5-stand venue beginning all day Thursday (April 22), for early arrivals; and Friday (April 23) and Saturday (April 24) until approximately 10:30 AM. Practice rounds are always available on a first-come-first served basis. Shooters may sign up for ONLY ONE PRACTICE ROUND AT A TIME, and may not place their name in rotation for another practice round until such time as they have completed shooting their first time through the course. Tickets for practice targets may be purchased directly from the venue operator, or purchased at the Deep River operations office; and target fees for each practice round will be $20 for 30 clays. Target fees are NOT included within the $10 Hammer Gun Challenge entry fee.

6. Course of fire for the Hammer Gun Challenge will be as follows: THIRTY (30) TARGETS fired as One (1) Report Pair and Two (2) True Pairs from each station. All traps will be thoroughly re-set prior to commencement of the Hammer Gun Challenge so that the “field of play” is leveled for all participants.

7. Participants are allowed one gun malfunction during the event with the opportunity to re-shoot any targets lost. Referees will verify any malfunction while the shooter maintains control of his gun with the gun pointed in a safe direction; all referee decisions will be final. Any further gun malfunctions will result in a target/s scored as “Lost”. Note: failing to cock a hammer prior to calling for a target/s does not qualify as a gun malfunction.

8. The winning Hammer Gun Team will be crowned by determining the top 10 individual shooter scores from each organization; then tabulating the combined total number of broken targets. The team with the highest combined total of targets scored broken will be declared Winner of the 2021 Hammer Gun Challenge. In the event of a tie between the LCSCA and PGCA, the scores of the 11th place shooters from each Organization will be compared to determine the winning Team. Should the Teams still be tied afterwards, those scores recorded by the 12th place shooters will be compared to determine the winning Team; and so on until a tie is broken.

TIE SCORES FOR HIGH GUN AWARDS

The Hammer Challenge (TOP GUN) Award will be presented to the shooter with the highest individual score in the Hammer Gun Challenge Event based on the 30 target presentation. In the event of a tie score, weather and time constraints permitting; a shoot-off shall be held at station three to determine the Top Gun winner. Representatives from both the LCSCA and PGCA will confer with the 5-Stand operator to determine the course of fire; and all participants are strongly encouraged to wait for tabulation of final Hammer Gun Event scores to learn if their participation may be required in a tie-breaker shoot-off. Should time constraints or weather conditions preclude a shoot-off, ties will be resolved via the reverse long run scoring method; i.e., the longest string of targets scored broken counting from the last target presented. In the event that any award is contested, representatives from each Association will confer to determine the winner and their decision shall be final.

Ties for the Second Place award will be resolved based on the results of a shoot-off as described above; and should a shoot-off be required, said shoot off shall also be held at station three; and conducted under the same parameters as noted above for the Top Gun award. Should time constraints or weather conditions preclude a shoot-off, ties will be resolved via the reverse long run scoring method; i.e., the longest string of targets scored broken counting from the last target presented. In the event that any award is contested, representatives from each Association will confer to determine the winner and their decision shall be final.

AWARDS and SCHEDULE

List of Awards:
Team Trophy: The Hammer Gun Challenge Team Trophy
Individual Trophies: Top Gun and Runner Up

The Hammer Gun Challenge Team trophy and both individual shooter awards will be presented at the conclusion of the Hammer Gun Challenge Event on April 25 at the LCSCA/PGCA Exhibition tent.

[John Bastiani]

I figured there would be some reports from the Southern by now. I got there Thursday about 12:30 and there was already a good crowd and had to park way down on the main road. This was my first Southern and couldn't believe how many people I knew and met from collecting guns for over 40 years. I was also surprised how many of the dealers I knew as well. Was really surprised the amount of guns and tables they had set up. I did miss seeing the Parker Collectors as nobody was at the table yet-maybe next year.

[6pt-Sika]

Won the open , 16 and 20 challenges . Dunno what the scores were just that it’s a sweep so far. Friday morning there were six 8’s . Three Parker’s a Smith a Lefever and a European double 8 . Mr. Stan Hoover was 25x25 in the informal 8 gauge event !

[6pt-Sika]

Few pics .

[Mills]

Team Parker won the Smith Parker Challenge!

HOA : Mal MacGregor
2nd : Mike Koneski
3rd: Rusty Durham
4th : Russ Roeder

There were ties and nail-biting shoot offs for both 1st and 3rd places. All of these shooters were from Team Parker

Oscar Gaddy Trophy to Anthony Pilotti who was top shooter in the qualifying rounds. He shot a Parker Damascus hammer gun and missed only one target!

High lady was Sarah Spartz of Team LC Smith who also made the team and shot very well.

High youth was Harry Morrison who tied with Louis Dunn at 27 out of 50. Tie broken by reverse long run.

More pics and details after I settle down (and get photos downloaded)


Congratulations to Team LC Smith as well! It was not for lack of good shooting that they came in second. There was a lot of impressive shooting on both teams. A lot of new faces as well and we hope everyone will come back next year!

[Woodcock survey]

Congratulations to all but especially Harry Morrison!!!!