2023 Spring Southern SXS

[Mills]

If you have not already, now is the time to make plans to attend the 2023 Spring Southern SXS shoot at Deep River Sporting Clays in Sanford, NC!

The dates are Thursday, April 27 to Sunday April 30.

More details to follow.

[Dollar]

Can't wait!

[6pt-Sika]

Aren’t the 10-16 and 20 challenge stuff going to start Wednesday afternoon ?

[Mills]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

Aren’t the 10-16 and 20 challenge stuff going to start Wednesday afternoon ?

I believe so. Smith-Parker qualifying rounds are Friday - Saturday with shoot off around 3:30 Saturday. Hammer Gun challenged is Sunday morning. More details to follow

[Randy Roberts]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

Aren’t the 10-16 and 20 challenge stuff going to start Wednesday afternoon ?

Wednesday is practice only. I did speak to Ed Strickland about this as I was hoping that scores for Wednesday would count. It would allow shooters to cross a few events off of their list affording more times for the course and the tents. At the end of the day it appears to be a staffing problem for Rick this year as he was not contemplating that. Next year may be another matter when he has time to plan in advance.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Randy G Roberts

Wednesday is practice only. I did speak to Ed Strickland about this as I was hoping that scores for Wednesday would count. It would allow shooters to cross a few events off of their list affording more times for the course and the tents. At the end of the day it appears to be a staffing problem for Rick this year as he was not contemplating that. Next year may be another matter when he has time to plan in advance.

Well shit if I’d known that I wouldn’t come down until Wednesday . I based my arrival on what took place the last two years .

[Randy Roberts]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

Well shit if I’d known that I wouldn’t come down until Wednesday . I based my arrival on what took place the last two years .

I was also planning on going down Tuesday and being there all day Wednesday but with these developments I changed my plans. I will be arriving Wednesday afternoon.

[Mills]

Nineteenth Annual L.C. Smith vs. Parker Challenge Cup
April 28-30, 2023

RULES

READ CAREFULLY


COMPETITOR QUALIFICATION

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 located inside the shared LCSCA/PGCA display tent.To participate, the registrar must verify that a participant’s member status is current. Members with expired memberships must renew said membership prior to participation; and membership applications will be on hand for those individuals wishing to join the competition and represent the Organization of their choice in the Challenge Event.

2. Members holding joint memberships in both the LCSCA and PGCA must select only 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 found to have 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 or an adult receiving a sponsorship in any form from dealers, industry, or any like organizations 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 branded 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. This restriction applies to both the Event One qualifier and Event Two Challenge Team Championship event.

7. The wearing of Eye and Ear protection is required of all competitors. All ammunition used 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 28-29, 2023


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 they are representing, and the participant’s name will be checked to the appropriate member roster to verify current member status. Only 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 and 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 the 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 field. Registration will begin promptly at 8:30 am Friday morning, April 28, 2023; and shall continue until approximately 2:30 am Saturday April 29. 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 could limit available shooter slots to approximately 125 total; so don’t risk losing the opportunity to participate.

3. An Event One Entry fee of $10 will be collected by the Registrar in the LC Smith/Parker tent 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 2022 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 their own target fees, set at $40.00 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 8:30 AM on Friday morning (4/28). 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 Wednesday, April 26 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm and on Saturday, April 29 until approximately 2:00 pm. 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 $25 per 30 bird round with those target fees paid directly to the clay’s vendor (or purchased at the Deep River office); 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 shooter stations.

8. During this 50-target Event One qualifier 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”. 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 “Safe” position, or they 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 29, 2023


1. At the conclusion of the Event One qualifier representatives from the LCSCA and PGCA will, based on Event One highest scores, determine the top10 Challenge Cup Team members to represent their Associations. Should Event One results show a tie/s for the 10th place qualifier the tie-breaker 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 completing Event One in order to determine their status for Event Two. Final scores should be tabulated no later than 3:00 PM on Saturday, April 29 and the names of those ten (10) Challenge Team members for both Organizations will be posted to the leader board located in front of 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 April 29. 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 take place before the start of the competition. Whichever team wins the toss has the option to either field the first team or choose to field their team last. 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 their target fees set at $25.00 for the 30 targets.

7. The Team who will lay claim to the 2023 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 Woman
2nd Place Woman
High Youth (17 years and younger)
2nd Place Youth

Note: Lady and Youth shooters are also eligible to win 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 they might be involved in a shoot-off and any qualifying shooter not available for the 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 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.

[Mills]

L.C. Smith vs. Parker Hammer Gun Challenge

RULES
READ CAREFULLY

COMPETITOR QUALIFICATION Sunday April 30, 2023

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; 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 compete and represent the Organization of his/her choice in the Hammer Gun Event.

2. Members holding joint memberships in both the LCSCA and PGCA must select only ONE Association to represent in the competition; and will do so at the time of registration. Qualifying scores recorded by anyone found to have registered and participated for both Organizations during the Hammer Gun Event 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 vintage 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. Hammer gun 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 28, 2023) in conjunction with Challenge Event sign-ups. Sign-ups for the Hammer Gun Challenge shall resume Sunday morning, April 30, 2023 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 $25.00 per 30 targets and may be paid directly to the shooting venue operator at the “Dove Field”.

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 30 until 12 noon. 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 at 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm Wednesday (April 26), 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Thursday (April 27) and Friday (April 28) and Saturday (April 29) from 8:30 am until approximately 2:00 pm. 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 $25 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 2023 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 & Second Place

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 30 at the LCSCA/PGCA Exhibition tent.

[Mills]

These are not official organization events, yet. But I am posting and encourage all to participate.

2023 Parker Brothers vs. LC Smith 16 & 20-bore Challenge


In order to add excitement and enhance one’s overall shooting opportunities and experiences during the annual L.C. Smith vs. Parker Challenge Event celebration, arrangements have been made for the Deep River five-stand fields to be open all day Thursday (4/27/23) to provide a bit of friendly competition for those members who love and appreciate the challenge of shooting small-bore L.C. Smith and Parker guns. Event descriptions, details, and rules for both venues are identical, and are as noted below:

Where: The Deep River Sporting Clays Dove Field; both events to be supervised and managed by trapper RICK HEMINGWAY of Back Woods Quail.

Time Frame: Thursday April 27, 2023 from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM

Shooters have the option to enter one or both events. Please note that only 16 and 20 gauge L.C. Smith and Parkers Brothers shotguns may be used; and the competition is open to both hammer and hammerless models. Modified guns are allowed; although all modified guns must be permanently chambered. Shot size is limited to No.’s 7.5, 8, or 9 with max shot loads limited as follows: 16 gauge @ 1oz; and 20 gauge @ 7/8oz.

Participants may enter one or both venues as many times as desired with that shooter’s best score in each venue used to determine a final qualifying score. Participants are welcomed and encouraged to shoot as many times as desired in an effort to qualify. The total top five (5) scores from Parker and LC Smith will represent the two teams, high score wins, there’ll be no shoot off.

The winning team will be awarded the perpetual trophy for each event which will be engraved with the name of the winning team at a later date. Team and individual awards will be awarded Saturday afternoon (4/29) in conjunction with the Challenge Cup awards ceremony.

This is not an LCSCA/PGCA sponsored event; therefore there are no entry fees for these events. Simply pay Mr. Hemingway (or his designated party) the required target fee at registration; that fee being set at $25 per round of 30 targets. To eliminate confusion, signs will be posted in front of the five- stand field being used and designated for each event

The qualifying events will consist of 30 targets to be fired as follows: two report pairs and one true pair. Score sheets will be maintained by the trapper at the registration tent; therefore, when a shooter registers and pays his targets fee, he must be sure to give the trapper his name and the name of the Organization for which he is shooting. Additionally, it’s the shooter’s responsibility to make sure they are shooting at the correct five-stand field.
Normal shooting event safety rules apply (eye and ear protection, etc.) and will conform to those promulgated by the Deep River Shooting School. Remember these events are solely for fun and bragging rights amongst friends, so please be there early; join in the fun and participate in some very challenging and exciting small-bore competition!