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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2019)
PAGE LABEL MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, July 31, 2019 A9 WEDNESDAY July 31, 2019 SHOOTING THE BREEZE The .25-06 Remington T The Eagle/Angel Carpenter John Day swimmer Sierra May high-fives a Lakeview opponent at the East Cascade District Finals on Saturday. John Day Sea Dragons host East Cascade District Finals May earns team-high 25 points By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Swimmers in the Cascade East District enjoyed the season finale district championships as they flocked to Gleason Pool Fri- day-Sunday, July 26-28, in John Day. A total of 182 swimmers from four teams competed. Prineville’s team won with 885 points and 76 swimmers on their roster. Lakeview was second with 641 and 55 swimmers, John Day third with 365 points and 37 swimmers and Hi-Desert (Burns) fourth with 243 points and 25 swimmers. Sierra May, 11, was the high- point swimmer for the John Day Sea Dragons, contributing 25 points. May said she set personal records last year. “I have to try even harder this year to set records,” she said at the meet. Quinn Larson, 14, was the high- point swimmer for John Day’s boys team with 19 points. Larson and Brady Wyllie, 14, said the sport is fun and they like being with friends at the meets. The two compete in several sports, including basketball and baseball together, plus Larson plays football. Wyllie said he’s also on the The Eagle/Angel Carpenter John Day swimmer Morgan Walker, center, competes with teammate Olive Thunell, right, and a Lakeview opponent at the East Cascade District Championship Swim Meet. middle school cross country team. “This is an all-in-one sport,” he said. “It works out every muscle in your body.” “This is my all-time favorite, right here,” Larson said. John Day swimmer Russell Hodge, as he was getting ready to compete in the 100-yard freestyle event, said everyone was compet- ing well and swimming hard. “My goal is to make it to finals for each race. You have to be in the top five, and there’s one race for each event,” he said. John Day head coach Sabrina Howard said a highlight from the championships was seeing Russell and his brother Justin race each other in the finals. “It definitely gave a thrill for all the spectators, cheering to see who will touch the wall first,” she said. “I’m tickled at how our team performed in our district champi- onship, for the size of our team,” she said. “They worked super hard and are very deserving of third place — we should be very proud of that.” Howard said the growth from the John Day Invitational Swim Meet, held the previous weekend, to the district championship was amazing. “Some swimmers even shaved up to 17 seconds off their time,” she said. The sad part, she said, is that some of the swimmers are at the peak of their season, and they have to close the chapter. “I’m hopeful that we have returning swimmers for next year, along with having inspired other kids in our community to want to join our swim team family,” she said. Howard said it takes many peo- ple to run the meet, including par- ents who help “in every aspect” including recording times, serving as deck officers and helping with food. “It’s amazing,” she said. She said Shanna Hunt helps keep track of medals, Julie Lar- son is the meet director and Chan- tal DesJardin adds stats into the computer. Howard said that Gleason Pool is a big part of the Cascade East. “With the jeopardy of losing our pool, it will affect a larger spec- trum of athletes across the state,” she said, adding the revenue that comes from the local meets makes a “big economic impact on the community.” She said at the meets visitors hear about places to explore in the area, and they talk about returning to Grant County. She said what the pool provides to families, promotes the growth of the town. “You want to be able to offer these things,” she said. An awards banquet for the team and family and friends will be held at the John Day city park at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. Golfers ‘lend a hand’ at a health care foundation scramble By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Dozens of players soaked up the sun at the 13th annual Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation Golf Scramble Saturday at the John Day Golf Course. It was a cool 70-degree day to start, and the Roof Creek Gutter- ing team, with Scott Myers, Colt Carpenter and Clay and Bree Waley, was enjoying the event. Myers, who is the Grant County Court judge, said he and Carpenter have been competing in the event for 13 years — since the scramble had its start. “It’s always really fun, and always perfect weather,” Myers said. There were a total of 65 golfers taking part. “We had an excellent turn- out, and it looked like everyone enjoyed the day,” said Chris Cro- nin. “We appreciate all the sup- port for health care services here in Grant County.” “All money raised this year will be put into our Helping Hand Fund,” said Jena Knowles, who is the foundation and public rela- tions director. She said the foundation board will meet in August to determine how the funds will be spent this fiscal year within the hospital district. In gross results, first place, with a score of 57, went to the Labhart/Avera team, includ- Bree and Clay Waley were enjoying Saturday’s scramble at the John Day Golf Club in support of the Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Scott Myers takes a swing during the Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation Golf Scramble Saturday at the John Day Golf Club. ing Brent Labhart, Lacy Avera, John Avera and Anna Avera. There was a two-way tie for second and third with a gross score of 61, Southworth Broth- ers Ranch No. 2 team with Brad Smith, Billy Colson, Jay Kenyon and Matt Wenick and the Bank of Eastern Oregon team, includ- ing Bob Quinton, Sawyer Quin- ton, Nicole Propheter and Gary Propheter. Winning first place net with a score of 51 was Chester’s Team No. 2, including Dan Gorley, Tim Dentler, Alex Bremner and Chip Grove. In a second and third three- SCRAMBLE RESULTS: KP Women: Lacy Avera, 14 feet, 2 inches KP Men: Greg Jennings, 10 feet, 4 inches Longest Drive Women: Nicole Propheter Longest Drive Men: Jesse McMa- nus way tie, with net score 53, was the NW Quadrant team, includ- ing Gary Miller, Virgina Miller, Troy Reinhart and Forrest Rine- hart and the St. Charles team with Jeremy Buller, Tracy Bloo, Thad Labhart drives the ball at the start of the Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation Golf Scramble. Erin Olson and Bryce Camp- bell and the Southworth Broth- ers Ranch No. 1 team with members Lucas Moore, Trevor Wilder, Micah Wilson and Shane Koppel. he “quarterbore” does not enjoy the popular- ity it deserves these days. The various .24 calibers on one side and the shiny new 6.5s on the other seem to cast a giant shadow on the once popular 25s. But if someone does own a .25-caliber rifle, chances are good that it’s a .25-06 Remington. Legiti- mized in 1969, this laser beam of a cartridge has been around in wildcat form since the 1920s. With- out exception, it may be the best deer, ante- lope and sheep cartridge ever conceived. My intro- duction to Dale Valade the round goes back to high school. When my grandfather passed away, I inherited his .25-06. A barely used Rem- ington Model 700 ADL with an inexpensive 3-9x32 scope, it quickly became a favor- ite. To me it made perfect sense. I had a light-recoiling rifle pitching 120-grain bul- lets faster and flatter than the various 6mm cartridges could huck 100-grain bullets. I am not sure why I thought that 20 grains made much difference at that age, but I digress. A favorite deer rifle, I’ve also taken a couple of boat loads of coyotes with it. I’m still waiting to draw a prong- horn antelope or bighorn sheep tag, though. Having used it to take two elk, I’ve come to believe that there are bet- ter choices for an elk rifle. It’s adequate for elk in the same way the .22-250 is adequate for deer, though neither are ideal for such employ, respectively. In those days I didn’t do much handloading, but since the 120-grain Corelokts came at a then-precious $12.95 a box, within a year or so I pur- chased dies. While I think I’ve tried almost everything under the sun in .25 caliber, like I do in every other caliber, I’ve come to rely on a couple of “go-to” bullets for everything. In factory loads, I espouse the aforementioned 120-grain Remingtons or the Federal Pre- mium 117-grain Sierras, while in handloads I’ve come to pre- fer the Nosler 115-grain ballis- tic tip. Dubbed “blue cyclone” by a friend of mine, they are absolute dynamite on every- thing I’ve used them on. I’ve used the lighter 80- to 100- grain bullets as well but find they don’t hold up as well at higher velocities on deer as the 115- to 120-grainers; while some use their .25-06 as a var- mint rifle, mine is used for deer et cetera. The blue cyclones shoot flat and hit hard, what more can you ask for? Since those days I’ve made a few improvements to my .25- 06. Namely I acquired a BDL stock and had Marc LeQuieu glassbed it for me. One of the older ones with the fleur-de-lis pressed checkering that used to come standard. A trigger job and a Nikon 4.5-14x Buck- master scope set in a Leupold mount and rings have been welcome recent accoutrements. My favorite handload featur- ing that 115-grain Nosler and Retumbo powder will regu- larly shoot three-quarter inch five-shot groups at 100 yards if I hold my mouth the right way. If you’re in the market for a reliable, accurate, low-re- coil deer rifle, give the .25-06 Remington an honest chance. It compares quite favorably to anything out there includ- ing the seemingly anointed 6.5 Creedmoor. Compare the bal- listics before you drink the Kool-Aid. It may surprise you how similar they are for hunt- ing applications. Are you a fan of the .25- 06? Write to us at shootingth- ebreezebme@gmail.com! Dale Valade is a local coun- try gent with a deep love for handloading, hunting and shooting.
