HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. - Soldiers, retirees, Family Members and their guests gathered in a cool, misty rain at Fort Stewart's Skeet Range for a traditional turkey shoot, starting at 4 p.m., Nov. 12. The competition also included a trap shoot and a paintball competition.
Marne Club members, Bill and Brenda Julian, got the afternoon's shooting underway with a round of skeet. While they walked the half-moon circuit, firing at each of the eight stations, turkey shoot enthusiasts began to gather. Despite the foul weather, seasoned and novice shooters waited their turn to stand on the firing line and try their luck at hitting the bulls-eye on a paper plate target 35 meters downrange. Stan Kane, a retired Fort Stewart Soldier, brought his entire Family, including his daughter and deer hunting partner, Sabrina, 17; his son, Mark, 12; and his wife, Heidrun. Although Sabrina has been an avid deer hunter for years, Mark and Heidrun had never even fired a shotgun until Thursday evening.
Another novice shooter competing and firing a shotgun for the first time was Nicole Sanders. She said her boyfriend, Justin May, urged her to try it. She missed the entire target on her first shot, but May won the first round, having put more bird shot pellets in and around the center of the bulls-eye than the other five shooters. Sanders tried again on the third round. This time, her target was the one with the most shot in and around the bulls-eye.
Following the third round of traditional turkey shoot competition, the misting rain had stopped, so shooters paused for hamburgers and hotdogs provided by the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. With darkness setting on the skeet range, everyone then went into the next competition - paintball.
According to Daniel Thompson, recreation assistant with FMWR's Pass & Permit office, his office will hold another Turkey Shoot from 4-8 p.m. every Thursday (except Thanksgiving Day) until Dec. 17. Hunter held its own Turkey Shoot from noon to 3 p.m., Nov. 14, and will hold another one this Saturday, same hours. Cost for the Turkey Shoot is $3 per round. For more information, call 767-2515 at Stewart and 315-9205 at Hunter.
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