We recently lost one of our most senior members — Charlie Wood — who passed away on May 25th surrounded by many loved ones.

Charlie was a Life Member of the Scituate Rod and Gun Club, where he served in a number of capacities including terms as President in the 60's and 70's. He greatly enjoyed the camaraderie of gathering with the afternoon crew at the clubhouse to discuss their activities, current events and just shoot the breeze over a cup of tea.

Charlie was a longtime Commercial Lobsterman out of Cohasset, having a career of 63 years that began at age 12. He could scull a skiff and splice a mooring pennant with equal ease, and he used to joke about being a matinee fisherman because his schedule didn’t involve leaving the dock until between seven thirty and eight o’clock unless a low tide necessitated an earlier departure. Golden Eye was Charlie's boat.

Charlie's knowledge of lobstering and lobster boats was encyclopedic and would stoutly defend his position on the subject during debates with other club members who were lobstermen.

He was an avid sportsman and loved being in the fields and woods hunting; just taking walks or on the ocean fishing. He loved duck hunting in his younger days and loved pheasant hunting. He had a special bond with his friends at the Markover Hunting Preserve in Connecticut, telling stories of meeting actor Rick Schroeder, who was also an avid hunter. His greatest passion, however, became turkey hunting, and he looked forward to every approaching season.

He was a loyal supporter of the National Wild Turkey Federation as well as Ducks Unlimited.

Charlie was also accomplished in other shooting sports, as well. He had decades of Skeet Shooting experience and was responsible for introducing Skeet to the club. He could break 100 straight, but he loved the social nature of the sport every bit as much; his name appears on many of the trophies and plaques in the clubhouse. He later developed a love of Cowboy Action Shooting, using firearms and the garb reminiscent of the ‘Old West’. He was known as the ‘Old Fisherman’ to his Cowboy Action Shooting friends, and he traveled all around the New England area competing and expanding his circle of friends. His mantle is adorned with numerous plaques and awards earned in his competitions.

Fair Winds and Following Seas Charlie, you'll be missed!

A visitation will be held on Friday, June 2, 2023 from 5-8 PM at Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home, 382 First Parish Road, Scituate, Massachusetts. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Charlie Wood to support cancer research and patient care at:

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
P.O. Box 849168
Boston, MA 02284
or via dana-farber.org/gift.

Portions of this article have been borrowed from Charlie's obituary published by Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home.

Quotes of the Month

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.”
– Alexander Hamilton

”The same people who have no idea how to stop record-setting murders in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., St. Louis, Los Angeles, Baltimore, etc. apparently have all the answers for how to stop mass shootings. All your have to do is trust them.”
— Unknown

"Foolish liberals who are trying to read the Second Amendment out of the Constitution by claiming it's not an individual right or that it's too much of a public safety hazard, don't see the danger in the big picture. They're courting disaster by encouraging others to use the same means to eliminate portions of the Constitution they don't like."

— Alan Dershowitz

Deciphering The Language Of The Revised ATF Form 4473

by Art Merrill, Field Editor, NRA/Shooting Sports USA, posted on May 17, 2023 

The revised federal Form 4473 for the purchase of firearms has two new questions that many buyers find confusing.

If you haven’t recently purchased a firearm from a federally licensed (FFL) dealer or gun store, you will discover two new questions on ATF Form 4473, revised in December 2022 and replacing the old Form 4473 as of April this year. The language of the two questions baffle many first-time users of the revised Form 4473, both in meaning and purpose. Here’s a common-English explanation of the new form.

As on the old Form 4473, purchasers fill out Section B, which begins with information that identifies the purchaser, such as name, address and physical features (race, sex, height and weight). Block 21 in Section B contains 15 yes-or-no questions, the last 12 of which are to determine whether the purchaser is a “prohibited possessor,” that is, prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law. The first three questions, 21.a, 21.b and 21.c relate to “straw purchases.” A straw purchase is essentially one in which the buyer, who is not a prohibited possessor, intends to purchase the firearm for one who is a prohibited possessor. Questions 21.b and 21.c are new.

“ATF added those two questions to help their enforcement of straw purchases,” attorney Ryan Cleckner, who specializes in FFLs, said in an email exchange. “On the old 4473s, straw purchases were intended to be thwarted by having the customer affirm that they were the actual purchaser [which they still do, in Block 21.a]. However, that led to plenty of confusion about who the ‘actual purchaser’ was—for example, they may have been purchasing the firearm with their money but later planned to sell it to someone else. To help make it more clear that the purchaser is not a prohibited person and that they weren't purchasing the firearm with the intent to give it to a prohibited person, ATF added those questions.” Read the entire article here.

Club Calendar

MONTHLY MEETING
Monday, June 5th – 8:00 pm

Executive Board Meeting
Monday, June 5th – 7:00 pm

SKEET
Sundays: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesdays: On hold until Fall

TRAP
Saturdays: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tuesdays: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

PISTOL
"If It Moves — SHOOT IT!" match — Saturday, June 10th, starting at 2:00 pm.

COWBOY
Non scheduled.

SAFETY COURSE
Tuesday, June 6th – 7:00 pm & Thursday June 8th – 7:00 pm Register here
Tuesday, August 8th – 7:00 pm & Thursday August 10th – 7:00 pm Register here.

RANGE ORIENTATION
Sunday, June 11th – 9:00 am Register here.

…And Finally