Annual Hussar turkey shoot
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
The Hussar Fish and Game Club hosted their annual Turkey Shoot at the club grounds. The club started in 1985 when a bunch of shooters pretty much just wanted a place to shoot. The Turkey Shoot always takes place the first Sunday after the Thanksgiving long weekend.
“We’ve been having turkey shoots for, oh the last ten years anyhow,” said Gordon Schaffer, a club member who was also labeled as the pillar of the club. Schaffer said they picked the weekend after the holiday because it worked best for most of the guys and harvest is usually done by this time of the year.
“We do this shoot every year, we also have a memorial shot for Randy George who was past president,” said Barry Traxell, club member. He said they also do a team shoot, and there is often a lot of time spent between their club and the Drumheller club. It’s not all about guns :at the Hussar club either, there is archery on Thursday afternoons during school for the kids and they also teach the kids a hunter education course.
“Probably the best part about it is the archery and the kids stuff that they do,” said Traxell.
Typically once a week all of the members gather at the club and practice shooting the clay pigeons and have friendly competitions.
On Oct. 17 it was all about having fun, and while turkey shoot brings to mind a sea of red and feathers flying, that wasn’t the case at this club.
The clay pigeons were the targets, and depending on the game and the judge, the prize for the winner was either a frozen turkey or chicken. Not everyone at the shoot wanted to shoot, but with some of the games and the door prizes being given out they still had a chance to be a part of the fun.
“We get some people down here who just want to come down and visit, who don’t shoot,” said Schaffer.
Annie Oakley seemed to be a favourite among the shooters, who were all boasting 12-gauge shotguns. Annie Oakley involved everyone lining up. The first person to go would yell ‘pull’, a clay pigeon would be slung out of the cement hut into the air and the person would take a shot. If they missed the next person got to go, and so on. Sometimes up to five people would shoot and not hit the bird. If the third person to go shot the bird, the two people who shot before him would be out, until it was down to the last two competitors. The club is hoping to add a cowboy shoot in the spring, if all goes well and they can get the proper authorization. They are also one of the few clubs which has a registered pistol range.