Remington’s Shoot to Cure, a sporting clays tournament to benefit Arkansas Children’s Hospital, is a premier event.
The first two shoots in 2022-23 were successful, but they had a loose, finding-their-way feel. Under Kris Carson’s guidance, the Shoot to Cure has has arrived and it will continue to grow.
Carson, director of product affairs for Remington Ammunition in Lonoke, said that after expenses, the 2024 event raised more than $10,000 for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Held Sept. 19, the third annual Shoot to Cure featured 140 shooters on 28 teams representing a diversity of businesses, including Healthway Pharmacy, United Health, Fitz Services, Nabholz Construction, Peoples Bank, AFE Drilling, Lamb Packaging, Windsor Door, Heartland Auto, the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and others. A team of nurses represented Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Staley Electric, Nighthawk, Garver Company and Team Finley fielded two teams. Healthway Pharmacy won the event with a score of 412. Team Finley 2 finished in second place with a score of 36.
Tommy Browning, father of Olympic medalist Kayle Browning, won individual honors with a score of 94. Madison Sharp shot 92 targets, and Steve Powell shot 90.
The weather was ideal for Friday’s event. It was clear and warm, but not overly hot. The course was set up for medium difficulty. I led a team consisting of federal magistrate judge Joe Volpe, Rusty Pruitt of Merchants and Farmers Bank and John Bethel, director of public affairs for Entergy. Our fifth member canceled at the last minute, so the rest of us took turns as the fifth shooter under the name, “Imaginary Guy.” I had the lowest score on our team. I would be tempted to blame it on using a new shotgun for the first time, but the gun was a dream to shoot. It’s a Browning Cynergy Wicked Wings over/under 12-gauge. I like it so much that it might well become my first choice for all 12-gauge shooting.
I had a devil of a time shooting targets quartering away to the right. You swing through that presentation as you would any other, but I missed every one of those targets, and there were way too many. As always, I also could not hit rabbit targets. They are large discs that roll across the ground. Out of eight opportunities, I missed seven. I ran two stations, but I also zeroed on two stations. I actually shot better as “Imaginary Guy.”
Most of the stations could be shot with a skeet choke, but several targets required at least an improved cylinder choke. A modified choke was appropriate for a few targets. I am considering getting a set of extended chokes for sporting clays. They are easier to remove and install than the flush variety.
Using a Remington Model 1100 with a plain barrel and modified bore, Bethel high-pointed our team. Volpe, using a 1973 Browning Citori with improved and modified bores, was second, followed by Pruitt with a Remington 11-87 that stopped ejecting spent hulls early in the competition. I took Pruitt’s gun home and gave it a thorough cleaning. The gas ports in the barrel were so clogged that I could barely see them. I dipped a tobacco pipe cleaner in solvent and scrubbed out the ports. A fair amount of residue poked into the barrel from the ports. Two pulls with a Hoppe’s Bore Snake removed it and made the bores bright and shiny.
When a semiautomatic gas-activated action fails to eject, clogged gas ports are almost always the cause. Remington 1100s and 11-87s also have a nylon O-ring that will decompose over time and fail. O-rings are inexpensive and easy to install.
Prize stations generated a lot of excitement. A trap at the prize stations randomly threw pink targets, giving every shooter at least one opportunity to enter drawings to win some nice prizes, such as a case of Remington Nitro Steel, two cases of special “Shoot to Cure” ammo with its distinctive sky blue hulls, a Hornady Night Guard safe, a Hornady key pad safe, and six gun cases. You could also win a Henry Golden Boy .22 rifle, a Henry ranch style semiautomatic rifle, a Benelli Nova shotgun and a Benelli M2 20-gauge shotgun. Volpe ignored the plain target on several stations and shot only at the pink targets.
The Shoot to Cure has become one of my favorite events for the fun and fellowship, but mostly because it benefits such a great cause.…Read more by Bryan Hendricks
