Newsletter - March 2008

Upcoming dates & events

March 8th - Driven Pheasant Hunt
March 22nd - Driven Pheasant Hunt
March 23rd Easter - CLOSED
March 31st Hunt Season Ends
April 5th NSCA Class Shoot
April 15th Summer league Begins
April 15th Field Course Opens
Ap[ril 29th Ladies Introductory Instruction
May 3rd Part 1 of THE MEDINA OPEN
May 6th Lady's Night Begins
May 8-11th George Hickox Dog Training School
May 17th French Creek Labradors Handlers Seminar
May 31st NSCA Scorekeepr/Referee Training
June 7th-8th Marlin Mid America Cup
June 13th Wild Game Dinner
June 27th-29th Ducks Unlimited Great Lakes Regional Championship
July 19th Summer League ends (Banquet)
August 1st-3rd Ohio Sporting Clays Championship

2008 Shoot Schedule

February 2nd NSCA Class Shoot
March 1st NSCA Class Shoot
April 5th NSCA Class Shoot
May 3rd Part 1 of THE MEDINA OPEN
June 7th-8th Marlin Mid American Cup
June 2th-29th Ducks Unlimited Great Lakes Regional Championship
August 1st-3rd Ohio Sporting Clays Championship
September 20th - Charity Shoot (Safe Kids/Rainbow Babies)
December 6th NSCA Class Shoot

Website

Please visit www.hillndaleclub.com. We have recently updated the site. On the Homepage, you can sign up for email alerts. Once you enter your email, we can send out reminders about upcoming events and dates to keep you informed on what's going on. Newsletters and events will be updated on the site periodically so check in often.

Summer Members Sporting Clay League

There will be a 10 week sporting clay league beginning on April 15th and ending on July 19th. The format will be 50 targets on a new course each week, either the main woods course of the field course. The course will be ready to shoot by Noon on Tuesday of each week. Only the top 8 scores of the 10 weeks will count for the overall total so you can miss 2 weeks without dropping out of contention. You will notice that there are actually 14 weeks over shich the league will run. On April 29-May 4, June 3-8, and June 17-29 (2 weeks), we will not throw league targets as we will be preparing for a tournament on these weeks. Entry for the league is $30.00 and includes an awards banquet and steak dinner on July 19th (Saturday). Your league round is $15.00 for the 50 targets and your first score on that course counts toward you league score. Targets will be scored by other squad members. If you shoot the league without any other shooters, someone else mut be present to verify your score such as a Hill 'n Dale Club employee. Prizes will be awarded for Master-E class, ladies, and hunters. 1st place only for under 3 in class, 1st and 2nd for under 10 in class, and 1st-3rd for over 10 in a class. League shooters will have the option to register their league targets if they would like. No punches or awards are given for these targets. The cost to register these targets is $20/500 targets. Any missed weeks can be made up later on for registered targets only, not for league score.

Members Steak Dinner July 19th

On July 19th, along with the awards banquet for the Summer Sporting Clay League, there will be a steak dinner at the lodge pavilion for all members. Cost for the Strip Steak Dinner, Complete with potato and all the fixin's, beer and soda is $20.00 per person. Call if you would like to sign up (330) 725-2097.

Members Dog Hunt Test

We held a shoot to retrieve test at the club on February 23rd. Points were awarded for bird finds, birds in the bag, retrieves to hand, and the number of shells returned. Each team (2 hunters and 1 dong) had 10 shells and 20 minutes to hunt 5 birds that were released within a certain marked area.

Points

Finds = 10 points
Retrieves (within 1 step of hunter) = 5 points
Bird in the bag = 20 points/bird
Shells Returned = 5 points/shell
Ties were broken by clock.

The results from the test were:

Wild Game Dinner

There will be a wild game dinner on June 13th at the lodge. Our last wild game dinner sold out early so please make sure to call in advance. This is a Friday. Leave work a little early, come out and shoot in the afternoon, then stay through the evening and enjoy the many different wild game dishes that will be prepard by the River Styx Grille chef. The menu will include:

Pheasant Ala Hill 'n Dale
Ostrich Tenderloin with rosemary Au Jus
St Louis Wild Boar Ribs/Bourbon BBQ Sauce
Fried Frog Legs
Petite Spinach and mixed green and mushroom salad

Dinner will be served at 6:30pm with cocktails beginning at 5:30. Please bring your own alcoholic drinks. Please call (330)725-2097 to sign up. The cost is $40.00/person (plus tax and gratuity).

George Hickox

George hickox will be out on May 8th-11th to conduct a Dog Training school with 12 students. George is considered on the of top dog trainers in the country and is featured in such magazines as Shooting Sportsman, Gundog, and Sporting Clays. During the school, hundreds of quail and pigeons will be used and many dogs and trucks will be using the field with the windmill in it. As always, please us caution when driving through the club. If you would like more information on the school, please visit George's website at www.georgehickox.com.

Lady's Introductory Instruction April 29

April 29th, a week prior to the traditional Tuesday night ladies night, there will be a special night of instruction to introduce new women shooters to shotgun shooting. Along with Bill Mayer and Rick Reiss as instructors, Dawn Warner will lead the instruction beginning with the basics. Dawn is an avid shooter with years of experience. She has been an instructor for the NRA and will be getting certified as a NSCA Level 1 instructor over the summer. The intent of the evening is to introduce women to shooting in a setting where they are comfortable. Safety will be the first order of business. If you or someone you know has any interest at all in learning how to shoot, please make time and attend this night of instruction. The class will meet at the lodge at 5:00pm on April 29. The cost is $15 and covers up to 50 targets. Please bring your own shells or purchase at the lodge.

NSCA Scorekeeper/Referee Training

We will be holding a training session on May 31 for any potential scorekeepers. Currently we have a good network of reliable and friendly scorekeepers, but we will need a few more hands to help out for some of the shoots this summer. If you have any interest on being a scorekeeper for upcoming tournaments, please let us know.

The training session is scheduled for May 31st, Saturday at 2:00pm. The sessin will cover scoring rules, scoring porcedures, etc. Sessions should last approx. 1 hour. At the end of the session, a test will be given to certify each scorekeeper as an official NSCA Referee. If you have interest in being a scorekeeper and can not make the sessin, let Shawn know and we can attempt to schedule a one on one training session.

Lockers

Currently we have a waiting lis for lockers in the lodge. If there are any members who have a locker assigned to them and they are not currently using is, please help us by returning your keys. Geginning with the new membership year (July 1), there will be a $20 yearly fee per locker. Thank you.

Clubhouse

Since the construction of the lodge in 2002, the main clubhouse has not been used as much as in the past. We would like to remind all members that the clubhouse offers many uses including overnight stay for up to 8 people, professionally prepared sit down meals in the dining room (seats 28), a locker room with shower downstairs (lockers are available), and a lounge/bar area. The clubhouse is ideal for conducting meetings, hosting clients/customers overnight and throwing dinner parties and other special events. Many graduations and weddings have been held at the house over the years. Over the last year, the clubhouse has had many improvements and updates. Some updates to the clubhouse this year will include new upstairs carpeting and new exterior paint. Feel free to stop in and take a look around next time you are out.

Log Cabin

If you are in need of a rustic getaway and want to spend an evening or two fishing, cooking over a fire, and sleeping in a real log cabin, let us know. The cabin, located on Terrill lake, has 6 cots, a wood burning stove, propane cooking stove, lanterns, an outhouse, and water and wood provided. This is an easy way to sneak away from the "real world" and get back the basics. All you need is yourself, some friends and/or family, sleeping bags, any food you might need and you have an easy mini-vacation. If you have not seen the cabin and would like to check it out, please ask someone to show you what it is all about the next time you are out. I have seen deer, turkey, pheasants (of course), ducks and geese, and many fish swimming all from the front porch of the cabin over the years. Cost to rent the cabin for the night is $50.

Food Service

Below are two of the menu selections offered for lunch that we are highlighting. We will continue to highlight a few selections and recommendations for your next visit to the club.

Sandwich - Monterey Turkey
Roasted Turkey, Romaine, Avocado, and Monterey Jack on a buttery Croissant. Served with a dill pickle and kettle fries or slaw.

Entrée - Roasted Atlantic Salmon
Wild Rice Blend, vegetable of the day, herb butter sauce.

Medina Open May 3-4

We have a unique tournament scheduled on May 3-4. There will be a 200 target main event on Saturday and Sunday. 100 targets will be shot at Hill 'n Dale Club on Saturday (9:00am or 1:00pm) and 100 targets will be shot at South Cuyahoga Sportsmen Association on Sunday (9:00 am or 1:00pm). If you shoot 9:00 on Sat, then you will shoot 1:00 on Sun. and vice versa. We are looking forward to having this shoot and working with SCSA.

Lunch is included both days and the payouts go down 5 deep. A flyer was sent out recently. For more info, please call the club at (330)725-2097 or Ed Coyne (SCSA) at (330)667-2973. All registrations will be handled through Hill 'n Dale Club.

Ducks Unlimited Great Lakes Regional Championship June 27-29

This shoot is one of only 6 like it in the US . DU has partnered with many national sponsors and will be putting on a great event this weekend.  All shells ( Winchester ) for all events are included in the entry. Budweiser will have a truck here for after your shoot. There will be a Friday night party and a Saturday night Banquet. There will be separate subgauge and preliminary courses on Friday. A registered 5-stand event will be available on Sat and Sun. The main event will be 100 targets on Sat and 100 targets on Sun. The preliminary and main event will all be squadded events. There will be some other shooting games to play throughout the weekend also. On top of all this, there will be a special non-registered 'hunters' course (50 targets) on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, we can get some non-registered shooters and hunters out to the club to try their hand at this special course and stick around for the fun on Saturday night. More info will be coming shortly. For more info: www.ducks.org/ohshoot.

A special thanks goes out to Gary Pennington and his committee for helping to bring this prestigious event to the club. 

French Creek Labradors Handlers Workshop May 17th 9am-4pm

Hill 'n Dale Club member, John Kovacs, has helped make this workshop a possibility. If you would like some first hand info about French Creek Labs and trainer Shawn Trzciak, please feel free to call John Kovacs directly at 440-343-0099. John owns one of Shawn's dogs and is very impressed with his training style and facility. The workshop will focus on French Creek's unique 'British Style' methods of Retriever training. French Creek is the first and only Orvis Endorsed Labrador Retriever Breeding and Training facility in the Northeastern United States. Emphasis will be placed on developing the HANDLER SKILLS at the workshop based on French Creek's unique non-force training.  All training is done without E-collars and force fetch. Topics will include obedience, Steadiness, Line/Blind matters, Marking Exercises, Steadying to shot, Flush and calling, Memories, Hunt Commands, Exposure to live Birds and Water. Participants will be permitted to use their own dog throughout the day. However, a dog is not necessary to participate as this is a HANDLERS course designed to improve your skills as a trainer/handler. French Creek will have 5 dogs on hand to use if you do not have your own dog. Anyone bringing their own dog will need proof of current vaccinations as well as a suitable kennel to put up their dog as required. Bring hip boots, duck calls, raingear and shotgun. This event will be held rain or shine (If you hunt in it, we train in it). If interested in attending, please sign up at the lodge. The class is limited to 15 students so that individual attention can be given. The cost of the workshop is $275.00. Anyone attending will receive access to Shawn's private email for training help and receive a bound training journal plus $25 off monthly training fees if you choose to have French Creek do some training for you. www.frenchcreeklabradors.com.

Bruce Schultz Shooting Instruction

Bruce Schultz, a NSCA Level III instructor, will be at the club on these dates:

April 25-27
May 23-25
August 15-17

If you are interested in taking a lesson with Bruce, please call him direct at (937) 498-9922 or email at: bschultz2@woh.rr.com.

Also, a level I instructors course is scheduled to be held at the club on July 11-13. For more info, please contact Bruce Schultz at the above contact info or Gary Greenway at 254-445-2225.

Referral Credit

The club is always looking for new members. As a current member, you are our best form of advertisement. The club would like to thank any member who helps bring in a new member to the club. A referral credit of $100 will be given to any member who brings in a new member to the club. If the new member is prorated or has a discount that brings their membership value below $800, a $50 credit will be given in place of the $100. This referral credit is not available on Trial memberships, however.

Member Count

Bird Harvest

Hill 'n Dale Club Staff