Big Seafood Blast Friday was an amazingly beautiful day in south New Jersey. Eighty-five degrees in April, with virtually no wind, is quite a treat around here. Registration was a breeze with Lois Lessing checking us in and Donna Matarese handling the money and giving out these really cool insulated bags with the M&M logo, in an assortment of colors. That’s one of the really special things about M&M, they are always looking for different ways to “treat” the shooters. These folks just always go the extra mile, and you know the scoring is going to be top notch when Lois is on-site.
Article by Dee Orr
The FITASC and 5-Stand competitions could be shot on any of the three days. Parcour 1 on the FITASC offered speed and distance shots, and with each peg we moved a little farther away. The target that seemed to give our squad the most trouble was a chandelle from way out in the woods that did an interesting transition as it fell away to the left. Parcour 2 offered a midi looper with the spring wound tight, and it climbed as it crossed. Surprisingly, Peg 3 provided the best shot when shooting from right behind the trap with it on edge all the way. That was the only place we encountered any problems, but Chuck Frazier, who M&M had bring in many traps, was there to the rescue and he got it resolved. The other really challenging target there was an incoming battue that was hard to pick up and landed close-by. It was tough to get a second shot off if you missed on the first. A short off-speed shot needed a lot of focus and presented with a fast crosser, made for a true pair that required your attention. This event went on for the entire three days, but the 49 put on the board by Gary Phillips Friday proved to be the winning score.
The first of the 5-Stand courses offered a single and two true pairs. The layout included a crossing rabbit at 30 yards and some tall climbing incomers that mostly required you shoot them falling, of course having shot behind Mike Hafley I know he could have gotten them climbing, but I’m not that fast and he wasn’t there. Completing that course were some quartering and off-speed shots. On the second 5-stand, the 3 bird was a looper coming from a platform behind a row of trees on the left and about 60 yards out, and if that was not enough, the 4 bird was a chandelle presentation that was equally daunting. Those targets beat me; however my friend and squad-mate Diane Clark kicked its butt with a solid 22, giving her a 40 on the course which held through the weekend to give her the top Lady position.
My final event of the day was the 50 bird 12 gauge Friday Prelim. These targets were aggressive and challenging. Station 1 was a true pair with a fast climbing trajectory that resulted in dashing many dreams of a perfect score immediately. Station 6 had a battue thrown as a slicing on-edge crosser, fast at about 10 feet off the ground, not bothering to show much face until it was well into its flight path, and on report a standard crosser that was not to be taken for granted, the fact that you shot down at them from a platform was the saving grace. Station 3 was a true pair shot from another platform, there he combined a low, quick flat target thrown from a trap about 10 yards out front that just cleared and then disappeared over a mound of dirt a short 25 yards away with a high trap shot launched from under the stand. Winning top honors as the day came to an end was Bill Dennis with a 48, Dorothy Packer took Ladies first with a 42, Veteran Champ – Douglass Robare shot a 46, Junior Pat Messner came in with a 37, Steve Glidden turned in a 41 to lead Sub-Juniors, Carter Stanton topped off a large group of Super-Vets with a 44 and Ed Stroik was our Senior Super-Vet hero with a 38.
Saturday brought us another beautiful day and fun with Sub-gauges. Kim Spohn delivered the only perfect score of the day and weekend with his 28 gauge. The main attraction on Saturday is the 100 bird De Vito Memorial Preliminary Event. If you have been to M&M, you know that a lot of the targets are on a course known as De Vito Alley. This event is a memorial to that gentleman. John De Vito came to M&M one day to shoot and became hooked on sporting clays. It was he who partnered with Anthony Matarese, Sr. to put on the first “Big Seafood Blast” which was the first large shoot at M&M. They did not have the industry sponsors that they have today or the assurance of large numbers of entries, so John went out and convinced many of his friends and associates to contribute so there would be a purse sufficient to draw the shooters in. Ninety-nine shooters showed up that day and the rest is history. Several years ago, John passed away and his widow, Lorraine, chose to honor his love of this sport by continuing to sponsor this event and add the John De Vito Memorial Preliminary. Lorraine and her two sons, Chris and Anthony were there Sunday serving us from a substantial seafood buffet. Their business, New Seafood, is the primary sponsor for this event.
The targets for this prelim were up to M&M standards. Whether it is by pairing or presentation, their targets make you work for every “X” on the card. Station 13 offered a very testy battue. Stations 4 and 10 were true pairs that could be shot either way depending on your preferences. A focused and experienced shooter would prevail on this course, and Joe Carey took high honors with a 95. Diane Sorantino led the Ladies with a very impressive 91, Cord Kisthardt took Sub-Juniors with an 80, Jack Concannon won Veterans with an 88, and Carter Stanton was the Super Vet Champ with a 93 that also gave him M3 and the second highest score of the day. By the time we got home, Lois had all the scores posted on her website, complete with All-American points and punches.
For the Main event on Sunday, the weather gurus were calling for rain in the afternoon and the sky was looking threatening, but hardly a drop or two fell and those not until the last squads were off the course. The little bit of wind we had lasted through the day and just enhanced the dance that Anthony Jr. had already planned for the targets. The course was a beautiful combination of nice and evil, but even the nice ones seemed to have teeth if you did not give them your full attention. I think all day we had only two or three broken targets, and we moved reasonably unhindered through the course. We began on Station 2, which was a very quick diving crosser followed by an equally fast rabbit that traveled behind one bale of straw and had be shot before reaching two others a short distance further, requiring that it had to be shot while under power. Station 5 showed a true pair coming towards you from a platform out in the field to the right, the first one off the trap was passed by another that kept coming and passed by high on the left and the other sort of faded and fell out in front. Station 10 was a true pair that required a lot of focus, a low incomer that came straight at you from about 70 yards away and faded to the left about 20 yards out that made you wait for it, all while the other bird, a high incomer from the same platform, began its decent right about the time you could shoot the first. Station 14 was a low trap shot from the left and a short battue thrown from the right, just out from the station with just the slightest hint of spring. All in all, the targets were inventive and thoughtful while at the same time hittable. High score of the day was a 93 and was turned in by Rodger Becker. A score of 80 won Ladies for Kristin Canale and Sub-Juniors for Cord Kisthardt. The Junior high score of 81 was posted by Nick Lepore. Veteran Champion was Rich Lanzilotta with an 87, he claimed the title in a shoot-off. Super-Vet, Carter Stanton was tops among his group with an 84 and the Senior Super-Vet Champion was Roy Greisler, scoring 84.
M&M is a great location and offers shooters an amazing venue to pursue their passion. It is, by all definitions, a family affair. All of us know Anthony Matarese, Jr. as a poised and accomplished shooter and instructor, but not everyone realizes what a talented course setter he is. He set every target on every course, of which there were many. There was even a 100 bird practice course available all weekend, as well as games and practice 5-stand. Anthony Sr., as best I can tell, does everything and anything that needs to be done. Honestly, he’s everywhere. Donna and daughter Amanda take care of administrative details and assist Lois with scoring. Mike Matarese and Robby Dimait run the field crews and are responsible for the smooth operations we so appreciate. Courses were well supplied with nuts, candy, fruit and even pastry, and there were water and cups at every station. The trappers knew and did their jobs in a courteous manner. Sponsors included Bruce Ney who donated a Beretta 391 for the participant prize, Bret Fleming of GP Traps, Bob Lepore, Kreigoff and Audi.
I cannot say enough good things about M&M. Their shoots are well run, and they make you feel welcome. If you have not shot here, you owe yourself the experience. The only downside is that they close for the summer, so you need to get there soon. Their next big event is the Masters Cup in May, a team
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