THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511250057
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 161 lines
ONE BY ONE, they stepped up, shouldered their guns, aimed and fired.
They were drawn by the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline that comes from pumping a shell into a shotgun, pulling the trigger and bracing for the recoil.
The high is addictive, even if the targets are just pieces of white paper marked with Xs. Even if the prey is already dead, cleaned and frozen.
The Indian River Ruritan Club's annual turkey shoot is attracting some real hunters. And quite a few folks who just want to have a good time.
``These people take this thing pretty seriously,'' said Paul L. Wolfe Jr., the Ruritan Club's secretary. ``They want to win themselves a turkey or a ham.''
The shoot, open every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., has been operating since October and will run through Dec. 17.
For $2, marksmen can compete to win a 10- to 11-pound frozen turkey. Whoever gets a bead of shot closest to the center of the X gets the bird. Five dollars buys a chance to compete for a Smithfield ham. Each participant also gets to enter a raffle, to be drawn on the weekend of Dec. 10, with prizes such as turkeys, hams and gift certificates to area restaurants.
``This is about the best one (turkey shoot) around,'' said Raymond L. Bruso, 35, a Deep Creek resident who has won a couple of hams this year.
It's the third year the club has operated the shoot. The event was so popular the previous two years, when it only ran for six weeks, that club officers decided to expand it to eight weeks this fall.
Last year, the shoot raised $2,274 over 11 days. This year, that amount was surpassed last Sunday, only the eighth day of the event.
Proceeds go to the Paul L. Wolfe Sr. Memorial Athletic Scholarship fund. Wolfe, who died in 1985, was a long-time club member and athletic fan. Every year, the club awards $500 in his name to an outstanding athlete graduating from Indian River High School.
Club President Earl J. Baker, 53, said the goal is to build up the fund to about $10,000, primarily with money from the turkey shoot. The interest generated then can pay for the scholarship each year.
Baker said he also is planning for next year's shoot, hoping that enough money will be raised to establish a second scholarship in his son's name. Mark J. Baker, an Indian River High athlete and honor graduate, was 21 when he died in a work-related accident in 1991.
Earl Baker said he would match whatever money is raised next year, up to $5,000.
If the weather holds, and the turkey shoot continues to attract the numbers of camouflage-clad hunters and families it has so far, the club should continue to rake in money this year. By last Sunday, most of the more than 100 frozen turkeys purchased from a Norfolk poultry plant already had been awarded.
The turkeys were stored in a generator-powered freezer in the bed of Baker's pickup truck.
Storage of the frozen birds during the daylong target sessions was just one of many thorny details the club had to overcome to make the shoot a success.
For one thing, land was a problem.
During the first year of the shoot, the club used a site on South Military Highway next to an auto dealership. But the place was only available one day each weekend.
Land hasn't been a problem for the past two years, though, thanks to a Chesapeake resident who owns a large field on North Battlefield Boulevard. He let the club use it for free.
``As long as we can use the site, Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT Earl Baker of the Indian River Ruritan Club hands out turkeys to winning shooters John Tandy and Bill Mullinax.
this thing will be a success,'' Baker said. Club member William F. Moore, who owns his own grass-cutting business, mows the high grass and weeds.
The Georgia-Pacific Corp. this year donated the plywood on which the paper targets are fastened. Wolfe's son fashioned metal posts and frames to hold the wood and targets.
Otherwise, though, overhead for the shoot is high. It cost the club $900 this year to purchase liability insurance in case someone gets hurt during the event. Then there's the expense of the turkeys and hams that must be purchased in bulk. The hams are more expensive, which is why it costs more to compete for one.
Also, Baker said, the club is small - only about 12 members - which means a tiny corps of volunteers must devote eight weekends to operating the event.
On a recent Sunday, Baker and Moore set the targets and supervised the shooting. Wolfe judged, sometimes using a caliper to decide accurately who had the closest shot. Club members John M. Ames and Steve W. Ames, father and son, performed various tasks, such as collecting money.
``It's a good thing,'' Baker said of the event. ``It's a lot of work, though. This is running us to death.''
But Wolfe said, ``To see the families enjoy themselves out here, it makes it all worth it.''
Participants say they like the camaraderie of standing around in the field with other shooters, exchanging stories, comparing guns and discussing technique. It's good practice for real hunting, too.
But, truth be told, the attraction of the turkey shoot is the competition.
``With regular hunting, you're usually out by yourself,'' said Michael J. Kallestad, 37, an Indian River resident. ``You don't get a chance to show off, show your stance.''
Sean R. Albert, 22, of Virginia Beach, who has won three turkeys and two hams at the Ruritan Club's shoot this year so far, said, ``It's a lot better to eat a turkey that you won than one you go to the store and buy.''
With egos and holiday dinners at stake, the club has a few simple but strict rules for the shoot.
First, only 12-gauge shotguns are allowed, except for children, who get to use a .410 the club has on hand. The club has shotguns available for people who want to participate but don't have their own.
Shooters also must use shells provided by the club, which are included in the cost of competing.
If a winner is too close to call, a shoot-off is set. And the judge's word is final.
``It's just luck anyway,'' said 14-year-old Richard A. Moore, an Oscar F. Smith Middle School student who lost a turkey in a shoot-out with James C. Burd, 12, a student at Indian River Middle.
Burd's favorite thing about winning the bird was that he beat out his dad, who shot in the same round.
Many hunters bring their kids to the turkey shoot, a safe place to familiarize them with guns.
Charles R. Tudor, 46, of Virginia Beach used a lull in the shooting last Sunday to give a lesson about gun safety to his young daughters and some other kids.
``When people respect guns, they know it's their responsibility to handle them in the proper way,'' Tudor said.
Shooting well ``is kind of a healthy experience. It's a self-confidence thing,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos , including color cover, by D. Kevin Elliott.
Jimmy Williams of Norfolk takes aim at the target in hopes of
bringing home a ham or frozen turkey.
Earl Baker, left, and Bill Moore, collect the paper targets after a
shoot.
Steve Ames of Virginia Beach squeezes off a round at the target.
Bill Moore, who's with the Indian River Ruritan Club, hands Pat
Lancaster some shotgun shells. All shooters must use shells provided
by the club.
Earl Baker checks a target. Looking on are, from left, Pat Lancaster
of Chesapeake, Bill Mullinax of North Carolina and Ray Ford of
Virginia Beach.
Earl Baker of the Indian river Ruritan Club hands out turkeys to
winning shooters John Tandy and Bill Mullinax.
Photo
Wolfe
Graphic
Photo
In Memorium
Mark J. Baker, an Indian River High athlete and honor graduate,
was 21 when he died in a work-related accident in 1991.
by CNB