This month’s destination was a hunting lodge in Woodland, Lacy Township, NJ. This was chosen by the scouts because we had been working on our Rife and Shotgun merit badges over the last couple of weeks. The place was rustic and did have a huge kitchen, common rooms, plenty of bedrooms (Slept 40+) and of course a rifle and shotgun range. 22 scouts with 5 full time leaders and 6 leaders part time attended this trip. We also had two certified NRA merit badge councilors (Thank you Mr. Lines and Mr. Malm). Friday night was definitely and experience. It wasn’t easy to find a house in the dark
and in the middle of nowhere. Of course
the light workload Friday night, not having to set up kitchen, a tent etc. was
a welcome relief from what we are used to. Lights out was set by the scoutmaster, after
the fire safety drill, for 10:30 pm. The
ranking scouts this week, Tommy and Lake woke everyone up at 7 am Saturday morning.
We woke to pouring rain which continued all day. Breakfast was simple, cereal
and some fruit then everyone was tested, one at a time, to ensure they knew all
the requirements for the merit badges especially the firing rules and shooting safety
procedures. Then, each scout was brought
out to the range and worked with the instructors to shoot the 22 rifle and earn
their badge. Lunch was tortilla pizzas,
plain or peperoni (Thanks Mr. Demino, Mr. Conely and Mr. Pitarresi for
cooking). Then, it was back outside for
the shotgun portion. Each of us got to
shoot a 12 gauge shotgun at 15 clay birds.
Most of us hit some and one scout Luke, hit 13 of 15! Dinner was served as the light outside
faded at around 6:45. Thanks again to
the adults, dinner was amazing. Mr.
McLaughlin brought his smoker in the morning and grilled pork shoulders all
day. That grill smell filled the whole
township! The meat fell off the bone and we had shredded
pork for dinner. Sides were mashed
potatoes, baked beans and apple sauce.
What a meal. Afterwards the
scouts played cards and or the board game Axis and Allies. Also, movies were being played all day since
scouts had down time while others were shooting. We played Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, Ghost
Busters and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sunday morning was a breeze since
camp breakdown was a minimum. The scout
leaders assigned each scout bedroom (Which consisted of 6 bunk beds each), was
assigned to clean their room and a portion of the common area such as kitchen
or family room. Since this was done quickly,
Mr. Lines held an open shotgun shoot.
Everyone got a chance to shoot again, even the adults. Mrs. Ally, Mr. Pitarresi, Mr. Bludgus, Mr.
Perkinson and a couple of others even took their turns. Once completed, we were on the road home. This is one trip that WILL be repeated in the future!! YIS Tommy
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