Shotgun Sports USA
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Shotgun Sports USA
2024 Southeast Regional: Zac Guerrettaz
Listen in with Zac Guerrettaz as we explore the Southeast Regional's tumultuous past at Forest City and the extraordinary growth of the club since his arrival. We'll also shed light on the 2024 Southeast Regional, revealing how Forest City's private club status enhances the shooting experience for participants, establishing it as a premier destination that never fails to impress.
Find out everything you want to know about this year's tournament, What to do after shooting while in Savannah, and what to expect.
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Speaker 2:In this episode, I'm joined by Zach Garettas from Forest City Gun Club to talk about the much-anticipated Southeast Regional. Find out everything you want to know about the shoot. Also, I have a guest coming on towards the end of the show that will be a target setter on one of the prelims at the Regional. I think you all will be surprised. Thanks for tuning in to Shotgun Sports USA, mr Zach. What's up, man? Hey, how are you Good? You know, I've kind of been waiting for the regional to get to Forest City this year, and the reason being is because the last time the regional was there, it was basically a big cluster. Because of weather. Yeah, which was what? What year was that 18 cluster?
Speaker 3:because of weather, yeah, which was what?
Speaker 2:what year was that 18?
Speaker 3:Yeah, 2018. I forget what the hurricane name was, but, um, they had predicted that this thing was going to hit Wilmington, north Carolina, and roll down the coast of North Carolina, south Carolina, and miraculously go up the Savannah river. Um, there was a lot of, there was a lot of, there was a lot of people pulling out just due to, you know, a hurricane scare. Um, there was a lot of people that couldn't get here because of evacuation routes for north carolina and south carolina. A lot of the folks up north just could not get through the the evacuation routes.
Speaker 3:Um, so I think we we were supposed to have in between 800 and 815 uh shooters, which was going to be the biggest shoot, our biggest regional, uh, southeast regional at the time. Um, but the meadows and dominic and eric threw a really good shoot in 2020, and that number is going to be really hard to beat, but we ended up having bluebird skies, a little bit of rain like a misting rain, and a little bit of wind on one of the days, but other than that, it was a really, really good weekend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we had us a big old time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was a. It was a. It was we had had. We had everything ready to go for twice the amount of people that showed up and everybody had a great time yeah, so now we're, we're in 2024 and another one's coming, a regional's here.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, uh, for the people that had never been to forest city, I want to kind of back up and talk about forest city for a minute, because what year did you get?
Speaker 3:there is that, so I got here in february of 2013, so I've been here for just over 11 years wow, I didn't know.
Speaker 2:It's been that long, yeah, what? So tell me how it was when you got there and how it is now man when I got here, um, they had.
Speaker 3:You know, our club is a private club established in 1883. We've been on three or four different locations in Savannah in that 141 years we have. I guess when I got here in 2013, we had just had some transition on board, on the board of directors, and it was just the perfect time for me to come in here after Chris Cantrell and take over what Chris had started and, along with my staff and a great board, we have completely changed how this club looked. In 2013, um, 2013, we were nowhere near ready to to to throw a big sporting clays event. I know that they had hosted one in 2012, um, but I from my understanding they had brought a lot of machines in because the machines just weren't in in good shape. But, moving forward, in the 11 years we have, we have went from having 30, maybe 40 working sporting clays traps to we have 105 traps on the on the grounds at all times, um, and then you know multiple trap and skeet fields as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, big place for the youth, for City is now it is it is.
Speaker 3:We get really busy in the fall and the spring with Scholastic Clay Target Program in the spring and then the Georgia Independent Schools Association in the fall. We actually get a one-week break from this regional and then we will be hosting the scholastic clay target program, southeast regional um at the end of April, which is which is big it's. There's over 600 people signed up right now. Wow.
Speaker 2:You know what? What interests me or what I find interesting about four city is that you can't just pull in and shoot. I mean, I've even came down there before and the gates closed and I have to call Zach, can you let me in? I mean, you can't just pull up and shoot at this place, and that's what the people coming to the regional you know. It's pretty neat that you're shooting on a private club.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is. It's a. It's a very special place and it holds uh, it's really near and dear to my heart. Um got a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this place um to watch it be what it is now and um, it's, it's our membership. They take really, really good pride in it and we have just um just at right at 800 members were capped. Um, but the membership takes a lot of pride in it and um, I think people will be blown away when they come in here and see how nice this place looks. Um, and then you know to have that safety net of being behind that gate and then located just in the smack dab middle of Savannah, pretty much is is another incredible thing as well, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's. Uh, the place is big. I hope you have a whoever's going. Better have a golf cart or some means of transportation to get around this place, because if not you need to leave about an hour early to walk.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. From the clubhouse to to um, what we call our lake or North course is um right at three quarters of a mile, close to a mile.
Speaker 2:Could you imagine me and you have to walk out there?
Speaker 3:No, we'd be out of breath, we wouldn't shoot good.
Speaker 2:So. So anyway, the membership process you were just talking about how does that work?
Speaker 3:It's developed over time. From my understanding, prior to my arrival it was a little bit easier to get into the club, but as the club developed itself and got nicer and more exclusive, it's it's become a lot harder. Um, there's a lot more people that want to be a member of the club, but we just don't have the. We don't have the capacity for more than what what our cap is right now at 800. Um, we have a waiting list. It's very, very lengthy waiting list. Um, it used to not be that way. When I first got here, there might have been under 100 people on the waiting list, but we're well over 300. Anymore either, you know, we might, might lose 10 members a year. Um, so it's it's. It's changed a lot yeah, yeah, it's pretty.
Speaker 2:It's pretty neat how it works. You know you have to vote.
Speaker 3:I think y'all vote on the, the people that are up and and uh and go from there, so anyway yeah, you get, you get proposed for membership and then you, you, you wait your time and um, and then you know you get proposed for membership and then you wait your time and then you get the phone call and you get. In that way it's pretty cool to watch it go down.
Speaker 2:And you have to live there too, right.
Speaker 3:You don't have to live here. We have several out-of-town members that are members and they're obviously not as active as the locals, but they enjoy it as well.
Speaker 2:Okay, so the regionals. Here it's. On what date Is it April? What?
Speaker 3:Well, it starts April 9th fee task on April 9th and 10th, and then on April 11th. Thursday april 11th is when pretty much everything else starts. We got a thursday prelim um the sub gauge startup on that day, super sporting um five stand sub gauge fee task, um they all start on that day. And then um friday thursday prelim closes, but friday prelim day. And then um Friday, thursday prelim closes, but Friday prelim opens. And then, of course, the main event on Saturday and Sunday.
Speaker 2:Who's uh, who's your target setters.
Speaker 3:Um so we have per fee task. I'm setting fee tasks myself. Um sub gauge fee task is Eric Dorsey from Meadows. Um Thursday prelim is none other than zach keembaum wait what?
Speaker 2:stop for a minute.
Speaker 3:He's setting targets he is setting targets. He actually told me the other day that he doesn't think that he has set targets since 2010, so, um, I thought it would be really fun, since this is his home club now to extend the offer and um and he is. He is jumped at the challenge. Hopefully he has what it takes. We know he can, he can shoot them, but we don't know if we can, if he can set them.
Speaker 2:I'm surprised to hear that, not the fact that he can't he can't do it, but just that I mean that takes a lot of work and a lot of effort to have a good course and there's no telling what will be out there if he's setting it Well you know, I mean in the 14 years that he's taken a leave of absence and setting targets, he's shot several hundred thousand rounds of targets.
Speaker 3:So hopefully he can and choose from the ones that he has in his memory or in his mind, or the ones that got away and throw a great, great thursday prelim. Well, that's cool that's, that's.
Speaker 2:That's neat that, uh, he'll be doing that. So anyway, I didn't mean to interrupt you, no you're good.
Speaker 3:You're good, um, our sub gauge course is going to be set by eric dorsey as well. Um, super sporting will be set by jake spangler from the cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, ohio. He's a fellow classmate of mine. And then Mike Bashaw is going to set the five stand. He's fully healthy and ready and eager to set. Rick Hemingway is going to do our Friday prelim. My right-hand man, chip Deagle, is going to set the Win. Rick Hemingway is going to do our Friday prelim. My right-hand man, chip Deagle, is going to set the Winchester woods course. Um, and then I am going to set the bread of Maine, nice.
Speaker 2:Got a little bit, a little bit of everybody there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we got a variety. It's, uh, it's going to be fun. I'm, I'm, I'm stoked and ready to start setting targets, yeah, so what tell me about the, the regional?
Speaker 2:what all is? What are you? What are you doing in the afternoons? You have, you have dinner plan. Give me the details.
Speaker 3:So, um, well, obviously we're a little bit different than most gun clubs. We have a full, full bar, um, and a really nice clubhouse, so you know the bar will be open as long as you you're done shooting, um, partake at the at the bar and act like a member for for five days or six days, however long you're going to be here, um. And then on Friday, we're going to have a cocktail party with none other than a roasted alligator, a whole roasted bacon wrapped in bacon. I don't know if you remember that from 2018. I do. I actually just got the email confirmation.
Speaker 3:We have an eight-foot alligator that's going to be wrapped in bacon, slow-cooked all day, and then we're going to throw a low country bowl with that, um, for for friday, with, with cocktails. And then on saturday, we have the fish eye grill out of little old gerard, georgia, which is about an hour and 40 minutes from here, um, towards aug. Um, they have kind of become our new caterer there. They do a great job. Um, we're going to have beef tenderloin with grilled shrimp and a bunch of fixings and desserts on Saturday. Um, it'll be, it'll be, it'll be a real treat.
Speaker 2:Nice, I remember the alligator and I think I had one of my kids with me. I think I can't remember. Have you you've had an alligator there, other than just that regional right?
Speaker 3:I think I well, we've only had it at that regional We've. We talked about having it for the state shoot in 21, but we just could not. Um, they couldn't get a gator.
Speaker 2:And he's like he looked at it. He says and he's like he looked at it. He says what is what is that up there for? I said, that's for dinner. He says I'm not eating that.
Speaker 3:And there was a lot of people that was uh real hesitant on trying it, um, and then once they started nibbling on it, it was really good. It's it's presentation just like a pig picking, so it'll be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:The whole thing's on the table the head the mouth the tail. Everything is up on the table. It's pretty neat. You know I was thinking about something while you were talking just a second ago Nationals, this year Didn't you finish up top in fee task, or something like that?
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, I did. I, tied for master first, Lost the shoot off. I'm starting to get a lot. My eyes are starting to get a lot um worse as my old age and um Gavin and Joe and um I forget who else was in the shoot off, but they whooped my tail.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it's just it's. I remember seeing that and I thought didn't you win double a at the nationals in something?
Speaker 3:Yes, I won the national fee test, uh, or the the fee task event at nationals in 2016 as a double a shooter. Yeah, h O, a, h O a yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I remember that I saw it again, you know, this past year. I thought Zach one thing he can do, he can shoot some feed tasks.
Speaker 3:So that's good that you're saying you know, I grew up hunting, um, quail hunting and stuff, and when, and with my grandfather and my dad, and it's just that natural killer instinct I can. I should shoot sporting clays that way, but I, I refuse to do it, why, uh, I don't know. I just I'm a free mountain shooter when it comes to sporting glaze on 80% of the course and and I will, logan, you know the other 20%, but um, I like to attack the bird pretty pretty quick.
Speaker 2:I noticed on a picture Zach Keenbaum posted that you have some asphalt going down out there. What's going on with that?
Speaker 3:so we have, like I said earlier in the conversation, we have a really good board that, um, they take just as much pride in this place as what I do, which it's a lot of fun to to have to have a board that you know wants to work with you, and they have they have their own vision, but the vision is making this club better than what it is you know at at at its current time.
Speaker 3:Um, in 2019, we resurfaced the first 700 feet of the club.
Speaker 3:At the entrance, through the gate, you can actually see where the asphalt stops, and we kind of had a plan that we were going to continue that COVID hit.
Speaker 3:We had to do some other stuff and upkeep on some other things, and in that meantime we built a covered five stand as well. So we've kind of been kicking around asphalt or redoing, you know, adding to or resurfacing some asphalt in the last few months of our monthly board meetings and we decided just a few weeks ago that it would be really good to go ahead and get this the tail end past our covered five stand and where the rv park is asphalted for dust control and that kind of thing, um, with with the amount of people that's coming in as well as our membership. We actually built a pole barn a lot about it about a year ago, um for our members to park their polaris's or can-ams or cow stocking mules under um, so that we just have a little bit more traffic on that end of the road, and so we poured some asphalt and and it looks great so is.
Speaker 2:Is the parking still the same when you pull in that big field right there?
Speaker 3:Yes, sir. So we're going to have several different areas where you can park your trailer. We'll have people parking you as well or leading you in the right direction, but we're going to park anywhere, from right up front here just beside my house, to the, the trees behind the skeet fields, um, and even on our back line of skeet fields. We have a big area marked off for that right now as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a big place and I mean, you know, kind of getting away from the gun club a second. You're in Savannah. You mentioned that a second ago, that you're right in the middle of Savannah and we talk about this a pretty good bit. You know, when Zach's on and it's, there's everything to do in Savannah. There's nothing that you cannot find to do.
Speaker 2:The place is really close, you know. If you want to leave for lunch, you know, while you're shooting you have a little break, you can literally get somewhere in two minutes. Yeah, that's cool, you know it's it's.
Speaker 3:It's incredible where it lays out, you know the from. From my understanding, like in the seventies and the eighties, um, well before I was even out of diapers, um, well before I was even out of diapers, um, there was, you know, ferguson Avenue was a dirt road and it was actually a racetrack. Um is where where people you know raced on Friday nights or whatever you know. And then Montgomery crossroad was also a dirt road. So where we're located right now used to be what I guess you would call the country of savannah, um, but obviously now it's well, well populated and um we're we've kind of gotten built all around. Um, there's a sam's and walmart literally three minutes away some of the best eating in savannah. Um.
Speaker 3:I'm partial to what we call the sandfly area, which is the, the four-way stop right there when you come in. Um, oh yeah, this sandfly barbecue is probably by far the best barbecue in town. Um, we have two mexican restaurants. I I favor the tequila town. Um, we have a new restaurant that just came in in 20, late 21 or early 22, called the five spot. It's like a burger joint. Um, it's really nice. We have lox chicken and waffles probably some of the best breakfast in the area.
Speaker 2:Um I was gonna ask we got it all there.
Speaker 3:Lox, yeah, waffles we got two seafood, nice seafood joints just right down there as well, all located in that um, cast away and drift away. Um, your pie pizza is really good. Uh, there's just there's. Like you said, if you have time, if you, if you're shooting the 8 30 rotation and you don't have to shoot fee task or five stand or super sporting until three o'clock in the afternoon, you have the ability to pull out of the club and go five minutes down the road and and kind of endure what we get to do every single day all right, let me ask you something.
Speaker 2:So if you're going to lunch, what's your number one spot?
Speaker 3:man. I tell you it just depends on you know chip, when we talked about this back in 2018.
Speaker 2:He's kind of a picky individual yeah, he wants to eat pizza all the time.
Speaker 3:He's a pizza or burger or chicken finger guy and it really and truthfully depends whether I care what he wants to eat or if I don't care. But my go-to that I really like to do is go to Sam's Fly Barbecue. It's really good. My number two is the Castaway.
Speaker 2:Is that the seafood place across from it?
Speaker 3:It is the actually. So that's drift away. Drift away is really good too. We actually ate there yesterday. So, um, I'm not partial one or the other. We, we kind of float around, but, um, my, if my go-to, my favorite is sandfly barbecue All right.
Speaker 3:So go into dinner at night. Name a good place. You can't go wrong with Castaway or Driftaway If you feel like a surf and turf, or even just straight-up seafood. They have great dinner specials. Five Spot is phenomenal for dinner. You have all your fine restaurants downtown. The only problem with downtown is, you know, parking. You have to either stay, park in a garage or pay for parking on the street or whatever so. And then tequila town is is is a really good mexican restaurant to to have dinner at as well. My kids love to go there and get hamburgers for some reason.
Speaker 2:Sounds like mine, you go to a barbecue place and they order chicken fingers.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, that's what Chip does. He goes to a barbecue joint and he says they have one of the best hamburgers in town.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I'm glad Chip got married. He did. He got married last fall. I mean I wouldn't, I didn't. I mean Chip's a nice enough guy, it's just. You know, I just look at him as a as still a kid, and I know he's not.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I told him. So. Chip became the assistant manager of the gun club in 2017. And I told him this morning. I said, man, I saw a picture of you that popped up on my phone from 2017 and you were a kid. Yeah, from 2017 and you were a kid. Yeah, um, it's crazy, uh, that he's been here just as long as me and and we we have a great time.
Speaker 2:He's just as excited about this regional coming back as I am yeah, so this is the home club to zach keenbaum, desi edmonds, connor daniel. Who else is down there?
Speaker 3:keith higgins keith um yep keith higgins, keith Higgins, yep, keith Higgins. He practiced here. I think it was last week or the week before. He pops in every once in a while. Those are our top guys, but we have a lot of junior that call this place home as well, that are doing really good in the lower classes right now. Um, for this for this spring.
Speaker 2:How are the four city juniors doing this year? Are they doing, or are they going to be doing, good?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're man we're trucking along, it's, it's, uh, we've we've been practicing. This will be 10 weeks of practice so far since we started. They're shooting really, really good. We've got roughly around 85 kids, I think again this year. So it's a whole different job that I've had the responsibility of being in charge of with Lee Summerford since 2014. But this year is the first year that I actually have some skin in the game. Um, my son's shooting. He's nine years old. He's shooting on the rookies, so this is going to be fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, mine started last year you know, and it's I'm telling you man it's. I've gotten to the point, zach, that I don't even care if I shoot Like as, I'd rather just go watch him do it you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's pretty remarkable um to watch them. You know progress.
Speaker 2:Yup, that's good. So four cities, one of the best, in my opinion, one of the best gun clubs in the country.
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, you got to watch what you say there, one of the best gun clubs in the country. Um yeah, you got to watch what you say there. I mean, gary Fitzgerald might not like that. Why he? I have never seen Gary at this club, but he, he, he has a pretty dang good gun club too.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, but I hadn't been to Gary's so I can't say that I have, uh, seen his. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. So, but it's one of the nicest places that I have been to. I'm excited about going. I know my son's excited about going. He just wants to stay at a different place. You know how you are when you're a kid.
Speaker 2:Oh, I get to stay oh yeah so yeah, but yeah, we'll be down there and uh, uh, if you have any questions, I know that you should get a hold of callie, which is your sister. Uh, she is unfortunately the registration issues, or registration questions. Uh, you just call them score chaser and I think her email is on there somewhere.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, you're going to have a good good crew of registration. Once you get on the grounds, they're going to take really good care of you. We got my sister, callie, who's worked for score chaser for a few years now, and then you know, her boss, casey chase um, um does a phenomenal job as well as becky rogers.
Speaker 2:They're all going to be here taking care of everybody, making sure that they get pointed in the right direction I know you've got a a huge staff there that's going to make this regional successful and I know you've got a lot of vendors coming to to the regional. Let's talk about those people before we get off yeah.
Speaker 3:So, like I said in in the in the earlier on, we have a really good membership. Um, we met, we've met for the last three or four weeks. We call it the shoot planning committee. We have a great group of guys um that are that are shooters, um travel around and bring their you know their opinions and intel back in. We have a great full-time staff chip deco, my assistant manager, anna whitley, my office manager, several bartenders. Cody brown he's on our maintenance crew. He's, he's phenomenal you'll see him rolling around with a hat on backwards 90% of the time and a lot of other folks too, as well as our board of directors. They'll be popping in and out making sure that everything's good. It'll be a good experience for everybody.
Speaker 3:And then we couldn't do it without our sponsors. We've got Krieghoff. International is our title sponsor. They also sponsored the 20 and 28-gauge VTAS, the Super Sporting. We have Beretta as a main event sponsor. Winchester as a main event sponsor. Daniel Defense is sponsoring our Saturday night dinner, which is going to be delicious. We've got our Game Boar is our FETAS sponsor. Our Thursday prelim, cesar Guarini. Friday prelim is Rhino Chokes.
Speaker 3:Our five-stand is sponsored by Suisponte Foundation. It's formed by some retired Army Rangers, some local guys. We have Briley that's sponsoring our sub-gauge and that rounds off the event sponsors. We have Pure Gold, clay, target Vision, pms and several others that are popping up daily, and then we have tons and tons of vendors on the hook coming. The other thing we didn't really talk about, you know, we talked about food off-site, but we're planning on having several food trucks on-site for those that maybe have a jam-packed day that need to go get a quick bite and then head back out to the course. We'll have plenty, plenty and a variety of food trucks as well. We might not be able to fit a worm on this place after we get everybody here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sounds good. I mean, I know it takes a lot to get something like this how many people registered shooters registered now 850, or something like that.
Speaker 3:We're gaining some and still dropping some. Yesterday we were 830. Today we're 827. We're still full in the main event. Me and I added it up we have like 707 guns in the sub-gauge. It's going to be packed.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm ready to go and I'll be seeing you, I guess, a couple of weeks, next week, whenever it is so yeah, well, it's actually like seven days.
Speaker 3:We're seven days and counting on Thursday now.
Speaker 2:All right, well, I'll see you.
Speaker 3:And how about this? I'll see you on Thursday. Yeah, sounds good. Just challenge people to do your homework coming into Savannah If there's something that interests you. There's tons of stuff. I did look and the Savannah Bananas are out of town, which is a huge attraction, but we actually have a semi-pro hockey team that started last year. They're in town, I think Saturday, maybe Saturday.
Speaker 3:So, you know, if you're into hockey, go check out our new in-market arena. I think there's some concerts in town as well, you know. So do your homework and make the best of it. Tybee Island's not that far away. It's 30 minutes away. Um, it's just. Uh, it's a really good area and and you know you, you'll come here for the shoot and you'll say, man, I should have came a couple of days earlier, cause we hear that all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's one of it's big. It's a nice place.
Speaker 3:There's. There's a lot of stuff to do downtown. There's a lot of stuff. If you're bringing your wife and you don't want her to mess up your shooting, you can send her away and she's going to have just as much fun without you, downtown with your credit card as you are here shooting.
Speaker 2:All right, zach. Thank you, man, I appreciate you all right, I appreciate it. We'll see you soon I told you at the beginning I would have someone on, and he is not expecting this call at all. Yo, this is uh, this is. I'm recording this, just so you know.
Speaker 4:Right now.
Speaker 2:Right now.
Speaker 4:How's the audio?
Speaker 2:The audio's fine.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 2:I just got off the phone with zach garettis and he was going through his target setters and he was saying who set feet, or who's setting fee, setting fee task and who's setting this? And then he got to the thursday prelim and he said you and I thought what, like, I mean? I mean you can't be a target critic if you, uh, if you're not willing to set them.
Speaker 4:And I thought what, like, I mean, I've even you can't be a target critic if you're not willing to set them. I'm not a target critic.
Speaker 2:Do you understand how much work that is?
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 2:Okay. So when's the last time you set a course?
Speaker 4:I have set. The last time I set a course was probably 2009 or 2010. It's a long time ago at Triple B Clays in California. I don't even know what the event was it was nothing major. But that's the last time I did it and, to be honest, it's probably the best course ever set.
Speaker 2:The best course you ever set, or that was ever set. The best course ever set.
Speaker 4:The best course you ever said or that was ever said. That was ever said. I'm just kidding, I don't even remember. I don't even remember what I said. I don't remember if people liked it or not, but I don't think there's that I can count on one hand, people that have, uh, shot more targets than I have, at least, like you know right, different places and different types of targets. I got a pretty good idea of what people can and can't hit, so I'm not scared I think it's cool.
Speaker 2:I honestly think it's cool. Yeah, are you gonna be the one? Are you gonna ride around on the four-wheeler?
Speaker 4:I think that day I think I have an, an event, uh, later that day, but most of the day, yeah, I'll probably be cruising around the course making sure, seeing how everyone's doing what?
Speaker 2:uh, I know you've been thinking I didn't know this till right, like literally right now. So what? What are you thinking about? I know you've got some something in your in your head. I've got.
Speaker 4:I've got a hundred texts and calls about it just people asking what I've said. A lot of people want me to set something crazy hard. I think I'll just make it interesting. It is the Thursday prelim. It's not a world championship by any means, but I want to set some interesting stuff for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I've got my 10-year, my 10 year old, coming now and you gotta remember that, you know. So don't, don't be setting it too hard.
Speaker 4:Obviously, yeah, that's kind of in my line lately at some of these shoots, is I? I think it's important that the target setters know their audience and you know what, uh, who's coming and what's on the line. Obviously it's just a fun event, yeah, but, um, as a coach, I think uh, I really have an idea of what people can and can't hit, and I don't think some of the target setters uh understand physics at at times, what a shotgun shell can actually do on it with a clay target, um, but also just what gives people problems so does that mean you're going to set something far from that comment you just made?
Speaker 4:probably not nothing too too far. Okay, I'm gonna try to beat you. I'm gonna try to beat you within 40 yards for sure. Well, that ain't how you can beat me.
Speaker 2:I mean that ain't hard. You can beat me. I mean, that's not hard.
Speaker 4:Are you?
Speaker 2:talking to me or just in general.
Speaker 4:Just in general.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's cool. When are you, when are you going to start shooting there? Wednesday on FeeTask.
Speaker 4:I start FeeTask on Wednesday, but I'll be out there all week. I think we're going to set that course on Monday, whenever air. I don't know if they're going to be Eric Dorsey's traps or Rick's traps or coming away, Um, but either way it'll be machines that are coming in on Monday.
Speaker 2:Nice, well, I'm kind of pumped about it, man. I think that's cool that you know that you're doing that, and I think that's probably going to be what you're going to start doing more of, anyway.
Speaker 4:No, oh I've always said I'm a shooter. I am definitely a shooter, not a target setter. But, being forest city, being the regional, and zach asked me to do it, I didn't ask to do it, it was his idea. Yeah and um, I said absolutely, yes, that's, it'll be fun, I be fun. I don't think the Zach Keenbaum Thursday prelim is not the biggest draw. I think our town here and our gun club are the draw. It should be a really, really good event.
Speaker 2:I asked Zach a second ago if he had to go. We were talking about food, like we always do but if he had to pick some things to do when he's not at the gun club, what would you do?
Speaker 4:Oh, I mean, take a drive out to Tybee, go downtown. There's a million restaurants in the area, but you've got some really good restaurants within five minutes of the gun club. Come out the gate, turn left, go to that intersection there in Sandfly, and you've got barbecue, you've got Mexican, you've got seafood. You have an outstanding New York deli. Anyone coming from the Northeast that's picky about their sandwiches or their delis, this guy's straight from New York City and it is fabulous. But there's a lot of options close and you know, 20 minutes to downtown.
Speaker 2:He said the same thing. Yep, he said the same thing, so I guess that's it. I just wanted to talk to call you and, uh, ask you about that. I thought that was. I thought it was kind of funny, but I thought it's cool at the same time.
Speaker 4:So yeah, it's cool. They've been doing a ton of work at the club. We've cleared a lot of areas around, especially that north course around the big lake. People will be impressed with that. They've laid down some more asphalt. The club will be ready for sure. I think there's a lot of youth shooters. This is the youth shooting club in the southeast, mainly because we have so many trap and skeet fields, because those events whether it's a high school event or an SCTP event, they have to shoot all three games trap, skeet and sporting and every major shoot for youth in the southeast is at Forest City Gun Club. So there's a lot of families that are used to coming and spending time in savannah and they absolutely love it, but the, the parents and the adults don't get to shoot it for a city that often. So this will this will be a good change of pace for them yeah, I told I was.
Speaker 2:I brought that up with with zach earlier. I said it's not often that you can go to a place and shoot. That's totally private, right? You know when I put, when I pull up to go down there, you know if I'm coming down there and we mean you shoot or whatever it is, it's the hey. Can you open the gate for me?
Speaker 1:you cannot I mean you can't get in so right, that's.
Speaker 2:That's what I think is pretty cool about this place. And, yeah, um, the last regional we mentioned this as well it it was the, the hurricane back in 18, I think it was.
Speaker 4:Yeah, 18 or 19. Yeah, we had a hurricane coming in off the Atlantic and I remember making some Facebook posts about it just how the media can sensationalize some of these weather predictions and stuff and, yeah, probably 40% of the shoot canceled didn't come and we had a great event. We had a little bit of wind, but it wasn't. I mean, I think it's windier out there today than it was that weekend. Yeah, um, and that was a great event and and that was I was really excited for that event back then because we we had been coming to forest city to teach a lot. We didn didn't live here then, but I just knew it was going to be the biggest, best regional of the year and the entries were it was going to be a monster shoot and fortunately Mother Nature didn't cooperate and scared off a lot of people. But I know a lot of people are excited to come here this year. I think it's going to be a good event.
Speaker 2:Yep, well, I'm done, that's all. I excited to come here this year. I think it's going to be a good event.
Speaker 4:Yep, well, I'm done, that's all I wanted to talk to you about All right.
Speaker 2:All right, see you. We'll talk to you later. Thanks, we'll be right back. Outro Music.
