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Show HILL TOP TIMES M9."lli . Friday, August 22, 1986 Mum. aa OO . Just 'horsiimg rufiidf furnmeirii There wasn't a large crowd on hand, only the sound of metal clanging against metal and occasional comments from the small group of men involved in one of the oldest sports on the books...horseshoes. In a game where there isn't much glory and fanfare, team members thrive on gut feelings in an attempt to get that all elusive ringer. When the dirt stopped flying, Tom Gartside made it by Robert Fitch to win the 1986 Intramural Horseshoes Tournament in singles. V'-- - 'V Third and fourth place finishers were Eric Johnson Glen Pickeral. The team to beat was 2849th CES which was very impressive in the doubles, placing three of the top four places. The team of Roger Young and Robert Guhrke took first while their teammates, Al Chap-pe- l and Dan Miller, finished second. Rounding out third and fourth places were Leon Tarrant and Pickeral of 2849th CCQMA and Johnson and Dwayne Brown of 2849th CES. I '' I L (U.S. Air Force Photos by Charles Freeman) Robert L. Chaffin lets the metal fly during the recent Hill AFB Intramural Horseshoes Tournament. During the singles round, Richard L. Timmins (I) and Robert L. Chaffin measure the distance between the horseshoe and the peg to calculate points. Wildlife officials test steel shot Briefs By Tom Aldrich Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Office sponsors steel shot seminars The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has scheduled a series of informational seminars in August and September to dispel "myths and misconceptions" surrounding the biological effects of lead shot and tell sportsmen more about characteristics of steel shot. The series of 10 seminars across the state will brief hunters on the upcoming waterfowl hunting season and new regulations for steel shoot zones in northern Utah Waterfowl Management Areas. The seminars will be broken into three segaments covering biological effects of lead shot, shooting techniques for steel shot and basic waterfowl identification. All Utah waterfowl hunters are urged to attend the seminar nearest their home. For more information, contact any Utah Division of Wildlife Resources office. With federally imposed steel shot requirements marching across the continent, many casual conversations among waterfowl hunters have become heated debates regarding effects of the new regulations. Among the topics for argument are differences in ballistics of lead and steel shot, and what adjust-ment- s a shooter must make in choke, swing and shot size to be successful with steel. Some of the many common beliefs about steel shot are: (1) An experienced lead shot shooter will have difficulties adjusting to steel; (2) most people miss targets because they shoot behind them; therefore, shooting the faster steel loads should increase performance on crossing shots; (3) steel shot patterns are tighter; therefore, the advantage goes to steel when shooting at small targets at long distances. The Division of Wildlife Resources recently conducted an informal leadsteel shot field trial at the Lee Kay Center for Hunter Education in Salt Lake City to test these common beliefs. Sixteen people with diverse shooting skills each shot eight rounds of steel and eight rounds of lead at three different ; skeet stations. The first position was at station 7, nearly a shot, at 25 yards. The second station was a 90 degree crossing shot at roughly 25 yards. The third station was a 90 degree crossing at 40 straight-awa- y yards. All shooters used a Browning BPS shotgun, modified choke, and were not told whether they were Swimdiving meet In an easy victory, Det. 440th ARRS won its fifth straight swimming and diving meet. The second place team was 2849th CES. Third place went to 2849th HSS and fourth place was the 6514th Test Squadron. High point swimmer for the meet was Capt. Ray Mosner of the 6514th. He had two first place and two second place finishes. -- 1 shooting steel or lead loads. The results of the test were surprising. Lead steel in eight of nine comparisons of shooter class and position. The ninth comparison was a tie. Combining all shooters and stations, about eight percent more targets were hit with lead than with steel. Looking at the 16 individual scores, nine shooters shot better with lead, three shooters shot better with steel, and four shooters shot the same with both. Two of the three who shot better with steel out-perform- ed were experts. The effect of shooter experience on the ability to shoot steel shot revealed that experts shot steel nearly as well as they shot lead (a three percent difference). Intermediate and novice shooters, however, both hit about 10 percent fewer shots with steel than with lead. What does all this mean to the average waterfowl hunter? Several points are obvious: (1) Steel shot will probably be somewhat harder to shoot at all distances and angles if you use the same choked gun as you have in the past; (2) the precision and consistency of shooting style that comes with experience will help you in scoring with steel shot rather than count against you as commonly believed; (3) the inexperienced shooter would be further ahead by practicing to become a better shooter rather than worrying about adjusting his shooting style to accommodate the steel loads. After becoming a better shooter, some adjustments in technique may improve your performance with steel shot. TMA |