Mid-Carolina Gun Club Campout Report
Feb. 18-20, 2011
We met at the usual 5:30 on Friday afternoon, loaded gear in the trailer, and circled up. A few announcements were made regarding safety, cleanliness, and responsibility at the club. Mr. Lee’s dog locked the keys in his truck so we waited briefly for the Timmy and Mrs. Lee to return with the spare keys. Austin offered a prayer and we were on our way by 6:05.
We arrived at the gun club about an hour later and began pitching tents, careful to locate away from the skeet range. A few played Frisbee or tossed a football, and of course the youngest guys picked up clay pigeons. Soon all gathered at the pavilion to begin the Cracker Barrel and most watched the movie "Up” provided by Mr. Lee. All were reminded of “lights out” and things were quiet shortly after 11pm.
Saturday morning came early for some but soon all were up and gathering around the pavilion. The Hunton and Lee ladies (with some other help) provided a wonderful breakfast of plain and blueberry pancakes, eggs with sausage, juice, milk, and coffee. Most returned for seconds as long as it held out. Patrol lines were formed and all said the pledge of allegiance. Carter merged the four patrols into three for the day’s events. Mr. Hunton reminded all of the plans for the day and about safety, especially staying away from other ranges while club shoots were ongoing.
Adult teams began setting up the ranges so that three patrols could rotate through .22 cal. Rifle, trap (12 or 20 gauge shotgun), and archery. Shooting was soon underway with lots of one-on-one instruction. The scouts did great with almost all shooting above 40 (of 50) in rifle, all hitting at least one pigeon in trap, and all shooting well in archery, and most also trying out the tomahawk throw. Since we ran a little behind, lunch was delayed till about 12:30. It was a great lunch with hot dogs (and special rub), buns, slaw, chili, onions, relish, baked beans, chips, cookies, and soft drinks. No one left hungry.
After lunch, a service project got underway to help the club with some of their work and to thank them for their indulgence in letting us use the place. We scraped and painted two sets of wooden bleachers. Most pitched in for a little while and a few got off unscathed – meaning no green paint being visible. Owen was particularly enthusiastic and helped on both sets of bleachers (as did some others). Some had a chance to throw football or Frisbee while waiting to work. Thanks to Mr. Edenfield for overseeing the painting.
Two scouts had a chance to work on a Wilderness Survival MB skill – starting a fire without a match – under the watchful eyes of Mr. Bebber and Mr. Jordan. Jackson Jordan and Douglas Wu completed the requirement after finding the right tinder.
Soon dinner was ready and all the activities made us all very hungry. Thanks to the Lees and Huntons we had a fantastic meal of chicken bog, green beans, bread, cornbread, slaw, lemonade, and soft drinks. It was noted that dessert would be provided later. After all ate their fill, the adults went to the trap range to try their hand at shooting. All shot a round or two and scouts (with extra cash) had a chance to shoot again too. Others played Frisbee or football or watched “National Treasure” in the pavilion. A cool wind came up while we were shooting and most went for extra layers. Dessert was provided that included either or both chocolate/cherry cake or banana pudding – mmmm! All went to bed in a timely manner.
Sunday morning most were awakened by geese coming in to eat grass on the archery range but deciding all those tents may not be a safe place to land. Scouts and adults arose slowly and began packing up or heading to the pavilion. Breakfast was excellent once again with fresh bacon biscuits with packaged cinnamon rolls or strudel (provided by Mr. Stan Lee), with juice, coffee, or milk. All went to finish packing and a cleaning detail was dispatched to clean the restroom and the pavilion. The boys did a great job, and the restroom and pavilion were then proclaimed to be the cleanest ever. The range and other areas were also policed for litter.
We assembled for the Scouts Own Service led by Austin. The service included two songs, a Bible verse with explanation, and a prayer. Everyone then expressed their “thorns & roses” with the roses highlighting the shooting, tomahawks, weather, good food, and fellowship. Mr. Hunton announced and passed out awards as follows:
Overall shooters:
1st Colin Fletcher (264)
2nd Richard Hunton III (260)
3rd Carter Edenfield (251)
Rifle Shooters:
1st (scoring 49 out of 50) – 4-way tie – Colin Fletcher, Richard Hunton III, Robby Kuenzli, Timmy Lee
2nd (48 out of 50) – 3-way tie – Colin Fletcher, Mary Helen Hunton, Alex Jaques
3rd (47 out of 50) – 5-way tie – Damien Driggers, Andrew Fennell, Katherine Hunton, Will Layton, Alex Wyatt
Shotgun:
1st Colin Fletcher (22/25)
2nd Katherine Hunton (21/25)
3rd Richard Hunton III (17/25)
Archery:
1st – 2-way tie (scoring 194 out of 200) – Colin Fletcher, Richard Hunton III
2nd Carter Edenfield (189)
3rd Alex Jaques (187)
Best Shot New Scout:
Rifle – Robby Kuenzli
Shotgun – Douglas Wu
Archery – Robby Kuenzli
Mr. Hunton congratulated the shooters for their excellent scores and thanked Mr. Rennebaum for providing some FN Manufacturing items as awards. Carter announced two Scouts of the Campout (selected by the Scout leadership): Owen Emerson (Young Scout) and Damien Driggers (Older Scout). Congrats to them! Carter thanked Mrs. Hunton and Mr. Hunton for all the coordination of food and activities. A few were asked to sing for lost/recovered items. We lined up for a quick group photo. We were soon on our way and home about 12:15 pm.
Thanks to all who helped to make this a safe and enjoyable campout. We couldn’t have done it without the outstanding Scout and adult leadership displayed this past weekend – thank you!
Scouts/Other Youth Attending (2 nights camping, 1.5 hours service unless otherwise noted):
Carter Edenfield, SPLDakota AveraAustin Cathcart
Jacob CathcartStefan CosolaDamien Driggers
Owen EmersonAndrew FennellColin Fletcher
Matthew HeronRichard HuntonEdward Izett
Alex JaquesBryan JehlenJackson Jordan
Robby KuenzliDaniel LaytonLuke Layton (Webelos)
Will LaytonRob LeeTimmy Lee (1 night camping)
Jackson McGregorCollin McKinnon Justin Pettigrew
Josh Ranta (Sat. morning only)Robbie RomanekDouglas Wu
Alex WyattDallas Zuniga
(Katherine Hunton)
(Mary Helen Hunton)
Adults Attending:
Greg Lee, SMAngela Lee (one night)Tony Bebber
Chris CathcartPerry EdenfieldJeremy Emerson
John FletcherRobert HeronCindy Hunton
Richard Hunton (missed service project due to SLED SWAT call)
Chris JaquesEric JordanStephen Layton
Stan LeeJeff Ranta (Sat. morning only)
Stuart SharpeMr. Zuniga (1 night camping)
Yours in Scouting,
Tony Bebber, ASM
Richard Hunton, Jr, ASM