Club Photo Album

If you have ever been to the club during the warmer months chances are you have seen J. T. Brewer. He's the one mowing the grass. When he's not mowing, he can be found putting targets in a trap house, working on a trap, scoring a match, or doing any of a number of chores necessary to keep RCGC running smoothly. When asked why he works so hard he replied, "I just want the club to look good". J. T. takes great pride in RCGC and wants members and guests to remember it as a nice place to shoot. He feels "it is important to make it as nice as it can be". This outlook and commitment is the reason J. T. Brewer is Member of the Year for 2009. He says he is glad to be appreciated and values this award highly as recognition of the job he has done. Like many of us, J. T. was introduced to shooting at an early age. As a youngster, he spent a lot of Saturdays during hunting season in pursuit of squirrels and rabbits in rural Montgomery County. He quit school at 16 and thumbed a ride to Greensboro to get a job at Cone Mills. While working full time, he still managed to return to school and get his diploma. J. T. turned that first job into a lifelong career and remained in Greensboro where he married and raised a family. When his younger son, Glenn, became interested in trap and skeet, J. T. began shooting clay targets with him and joined RCGC in 1994. The two of them are often at the club together shooting trap or .22s. Glenn is an excellent shooter and a NRA certified trap instructor. J. T. says he really admires him. "He is my hero!"

J. T. and Glenn shot together in a number of registered trap shoots through the years. Besides RCGC, they most often competed at area clubs including Buckhorn and the former Carolina Clay Target Club. But, they also travelled as far as Florida for the Southern Zone and Ohio to shoot in the Grand American. J. T. remembers the day he shot 98 to win the Handicap Event in a registered shoot. That's good shootin' !

J. T. says he prefers staying closer to home these days and has recently returned to shooting .22s. The old squirrel rifle, a Marlin Model 25, has been replaced by an Anschutz with a 36X scope and the new "rabbit gun" has an adjustable stock. But only the equipment has changed. J. T. Brewer is still the same steady down-home guy he has always been. When he's not working at keeping the grass cut, look for him at club trap shoots and .22 score matches this year. When you see him, take the time to say hello and let him know how much you appreciate what he does for RCGC.

RCGC is open to members 365 days a year, and sees plenty of use no matter what the weather! 

J.T. Brewer receives the 2009 Member of the Year Award from Board member Irvin Earles. 

J.T. keeps the ranges mowed, works on the mowers, works and services the trap machines, keeps the trap machines loaded with birds, cleans up the place, and empties the trash.  J.T. shoots trap and helps run every Trap match. He also shoots Rimfire rifle. J.T. is a Life member, a great person to be around and a fun person to shoot with.

Some lively discussions followed the December '09 meeting.

Members enjoying an afternoon of trap shooting at RCGC. Fall 2009

Chris Shoulars at 18 is one of the youngest trap shooters at RCGC, and one of the best. He started coming to the club with his dad, Scott, when he was 12 years old. At that time RCGC had a “learn to shoot trap” program on Wed. afternoons. Chris tried it and immediately took to it.

He started out shooting a 20ga 1100 and soon moved up to a 12ga. Scott brought Chris to the club to shoot trap almost every Sun. afternoon. By 14 he had joined the ATA and spent some of those Sundays shooting in nearby registered shoots. With help from Elmo Matkins, JT Brewer, Lewis Wyatt, Roger Shaffer, and others Chris improved quickly. The 1100 was traded for a Beretta 391 and next for a Remington 90T.

At the NC State trap shoot in 2007 Chris broke 197 out of 200 and was named the state Junior Champion at age 16. In 2008, Scott bought Chris a Joel Etchen 687 Beretta for doubles events. One day preparing to shoot, Chris realized the forearm was cracked on the 90T and decided to use the “doubles gun” in singles. He hit 97. Within two weeks he had a perfect 100 with it. Two weeks after that he broke 199 out of 200 in the NC State trap shoot. That was the best score turned in by anyone that day and Chris had his choice of being named Junior Champion two consecutive years or becoming the 2008 NC State Champion. What a pleasant predicament! He made the easy decision and was named NC State Trap Champion for 2008 at the age of 17. This is something most shooters cannot do in their entire career. The 687 is now “the gun” for all of Chris’ trap shooting. This year at the NC State shoot Chris missed the first two targets and then broke 198 straight to repeat as the Junior Champion. Three years in a row he has returned from the state shoot with a Champion title and a nice trophy. In addition, this year there was an event named for him, the “Chris Shoulars singles”. It is likely there will be more such events after he wins additional state crowns.

Because he was still in school Chris has competed most often in local shoots but he can hold his own in major competition. Last year, he shot a perfect 100 in the “Champion of Champions” event at the Grand American. He is headed back to that tournament this week. We wish him good luck, hope he “stays straight”, and brings home another title.

Chris is quick to credit his father for the moral and financial support he has given as well as those at RCGC who have advised him. When asked about his other interests Chris said, “If it has bullets, I shoot it”. He has just graduated from Rockingham County High School and plans to enter Western Carolina University this fall to study Criminal Justice. Part of preparing to go away to school included lining up a new place to practice. It looks like we can expect additional accomplishments from this young man.

Ron Anderson reports on the success of the Spring Shoot-Out during the Semi-Annual General Membership Meeting June 1, 2009. The Shoot-Out raised $1500 for our Youth Shooting Program.

 Meet one of the first members of RCGC, Elmo Matkins. He helped establish the club in 1985 and has served continuously on the Board of Directors since then. Anyone who shoots trap at our club, and many at other clubs, know Elmo Matkins is one of the best trapshooters anywhere, any time. Elmo, at 78, is a lifelong resident of Rockingham County. He developed his early skill with a shotgun hunting quail on local farms. This activity provided a welcome break from the demands of running his own plumbing company in Reidsville. As quail became harder and harder to find Elmo says he mounted a clay target thrower on the back of his pickup truck. On days when he couldn’t find enough real birds he would shoot at come clay birds thrown from his truck. Shooting those self-thrown clays evolved into some real trap shooting at Buckhorn Gun Club; which in turn led to reloading to cut the cost of ammo. One day while buying some reloading supplies at Southside Hardware in Greensboro, Elmo had a conversation with Jim Brown. Jim told him about Jack King’s gun club near the Greensboro Airport. He went out to Jack’s club, met him, and shot a few rounds. This was 1978 and Elmo says “things got serious”. Jack King was arguably the best trap shooter in this part of the country. He gave Elmo some instruction and soon had him shooting registered targets. Within a year, Elmo says he was shooting “pretty good” so he decided to compete in the NC State Trapshoot at Pinehurst in 1979. At that time, no one in NC had ever shot 200 straight in Singles. Elmo and Jack King squadded together and shot side-by-side in the first squad that morning. They both had 100 straight! They were in the first squad after lunch and again shot side-by-side. Elmo missed one that afternoon and finished with 199. Jack shot another 100 to become the first trapshooter in NC history to hit 200 straight Singles. After the competition, Jack asked Elmo why he missed that one. Elmo replied, “I had to do something so you could win”. Elmo told Jack it wouldn’t be right to beat him after Jack had taught him so well. The next year Elmo went to Vandalia, OH to compete in the Grand American. This is considered the world championship of trap and consists of two weeks of daily trapshooting contests with hundreds of competitors. The world’s best trapshooters meet to determine who is #1 and in 1980 it was Elmo Matkins. He won the Grand American with 199 in Singles and 100 in Handicap, where he beat two others in a shoot-off. Elmo won numerous titles after that including the Zone Handicap but a title that got away stands out in his memory. In 1984, he led the Handicap at the Grand all day long with 99. It held up until late in the day when a shooter in the 775th squad finished with 100. What a letdown that was. For years, Elmo traveled across the country competing in trap shoots with his friend and fellow club member Joe Nimer. They were almost always together at the Southern Grand in FL and at state shoots in NC, SC, and VA. They even drove to Las Vegas to shoot and entered shoots in ID, UT, and AZ while “in the neighborhood”. Joe passed away unexpectedly recently and Elmo doesn’t get around to shoots as much as he did. You can usually find Elmo at the trap field on weekends. If you don’t already know him, stop by and make a friend. His smile and handshake will leave you feeling like the #1 member of RCGC.