The Satuit Nimrod

We held our Annual Meeting and Election of Officers on Monday, September 15th. Reports from the heads of the various committees were given along with the Treasurers annual report on our finances. The Executive Board ran unopposed so the Nominations Committee chairman cast the one vote necessary to re-elect them. Six members ran for the five Director positions necessitating a paper ballot. The five previous Directors were reelected.

The locks on the gate and clubhouse were changed at the Annual Meeting. If you need a new key, they are available at no cost whenever there is a club activity — see the Calendar section below. They are also available weekday afternoons from 3:00pm-ish until 4:30pm, or thereabouts.

Range fobs have been deactivated for unpaid members. You may reinstate your membership by paying the Current Dues plus a $25.00 Late Fee by November 1st. After November 1st you will have to rejoin the club by paying the Current Dues plus the $50.00 Initiation Fee.

Skeet and Trap

Skeet is shooting on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Trap is  shooting on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings. See the Calendar section below for times.

Cowboy Action Shooting

Our intrepid band of desperadoes, the Gunnysackers, are wending their weary way home from shooting in the Nationals in Oklahoma. Expect a full report in next months newsletter.

Archery

The club is seeking an Archery Chairman. Deer season is not too far away and the archery butts need an overhaul, add to that, it would be nice to get an the old archery course on our property back in business again.

Pistol

The Pistol Committee held a .22LR Rimfire Pistol Steel Shoot on Saturday, September 13th. The competitors had a great time knocking over some targets  and making others move; all accompanied by a nice PING! when the 22 rounds hit the targets. Top three places were taken by: Dick Martin 150; Mark Baker 149 and Alex Koines 142.

October's pistol shoot was a Lucky Bullseye Shoot, held on October 11th. For those not familiar with this shoot's format, it comprises two targets on one holder. The first is a regular bullseye type target, the other is a Lucky Target, the same as we use at the Turkey Shoots. The scores of the two targets are added together; the Lucky Target adds a randomness to the shooter's score. Three relays were shot, the top three for each relay are given below.

Relay 1

Paul Figueiredo 145

Alex Koines 138

Dick Martin 129

Relay 2

Alex Koines 133

Paul Figueiredo 131

Dick Martin 126

Relay 3

Dick Martin 121

Mike Guidicci 117

Paul Figueiredo 116

A date and format for a November pistol match had not been decided at the time of publication.

Pumpkin Drop

This year's Pumpkin Drop will be held on Saturday, November 22nd a little later in the day than in the past so that the little darlings will be through with activities such as soccer, etc. A time for the drop had not been decided at the time of publication. 

Quotes of the Month

"Have we reached the ultimate stage of absurdity where sane people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, while other people are not held responsible for what they themselves are doing today?"

~ Thomas Sowell

"The first rule of gun control is to never let your government control your weapons."

~ SteveLovesAmmo on X (Twitter) 

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms… disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

 ~ Thomas Jefferson

Welcome Aboard
Scituate Rod & Gun Club welcomes these new members who have joined us recently:

Peter Christian Andrew Havens

John Havens Joshua Mamary

Kathleen McGuire Anthony Verruchi

What CCWers Can Learn From Sun Tzu

Though we have a very different objective than Sun Tzu’s original audience for "The Art of War," we can learn a lot from these quotes from the ancient master.

by Jo Deering posted on October 10, 2025 in NRA Women.

Somewhere around the fifth century BC, Chinese master military strategist Sun Tzu penned what we now know as a book titled The Art of War. Millenia later, we still consider it a master class on warfare and fighting. Sun Tzu (there’s some debate as who he actually was, whether he even existed at all or whether the book is a compilation from multiple authors, but just go with me here) was writing to soldiers and generals, but today, the book is revered by not only military tacticians but also business leaders and anyone who studies strategy and human behavior. And concealed carriers are no exception.

Now, remember that Sun Tzu was writing about war, which is frequently offensive. As concealed carriers, we are most certainly not on offense, so you have to read his work in the proper context and apply it to self-defense appropriately. And, of course, you can interpret many of these quotes in more than one way. Regardless, there are certainly a lot of principles of self-defense we talk about frequently that Sun Tzu stated first (and probably better).

“The wise warrior avoids the battle.”  

When he said this, Sun Tzu was stating the most important self-defense rule of all: Avoid trouble if you possibly can. Similarly, he also wrote, “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” I say the same thing all the time, albeit less eloquently, when I tell you that the only way to win a gunfight is to not get in one.

On top of that, Sun Tzu also advises, “Be where your enemy is not.” This reminds us that a great way to avoid trouble is to stay away from places where trouble tends to break out and people who tend to cause it.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

This is similar to the paragraph above about not getting into a fight, but it takes on additional meaning when you read another Sun Tzu quote: “Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” Now, you can take that advice to mean different things, but for our purposes, I look at it as a reminder that de-escalation is always preferable to using lethal force, when it’s an option. Modern-day self-defense writers state this in terms of giving a would-be bad guy “a face-saving exit” as a way to let him opt out of violence before it all goes pear-shaped.

“Deep knowledge is to be aware of disturbance before disturbance…”

The quote continues, “…to be aware of danger before danger, to be aware of destruction before destruction, to be aware of calamity before calamity.” No, Sun Tzu wasn’t clairvoyant, but he knew the importance of looking ahead. Today, we call it situational awareness or Condition Yellow—paying attention to what’s going on around you so you can spot trouble while it’s developing before it kicks off.

“To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.”

I’ve written before about how to think like a criminal and why that can be a really important, helpful exercise to enhance your personal safety. When you put yourself in a bad guy’s shoes, you’ll become more aware of potential danger zones. Sun Tzu elaborated on this, writing, “Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive; knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.” That part about knowing yourself is all about confidence, and confidence comes from doing (training) so you know what you’re capable of.

“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.”

In other words, fail the criminal interview.

“Plan for what is difficult while it is easy; do what is great while it is small.”

Sun Tzu knew that preparation is everything; he also wrote, “Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.” This is about forethought and training—just as you wouldn’t march into battle having never fired a gun or swung a sword, you don’t want to rely on your concealed-carry firearm to save your life if you’ve never practiced with it. Train as much as you can.

On a related note, Sun Tzu wrote, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is noise before defeat.” This is a simple reminder that you need both the physical skills and the mental ability to mount a successful defense. Speaking of which…

“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”

Sun Tzu knew that a warrior mindset is crucial for coming out on top—he also wrote, “You have to believe in yourself.” It doesn’t matter how fast and accurate your shooting is if you don’t have the tenacity to pull the trigger when it’s necessary. In a previous article, I called this capability vs. capacity.

“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.”

On the other hand, knowledge and mindset will only get you so far. You also have to possess the physical skills to put that knowledge to use. If you spend all your time reading articles and watching videos on self-defense, and never going to the range to actually practice, you personify this Sun Tzu quote about knowing how to conquer without being able to do it.

“Who wishes to fight must first count the cost.”

Self-defense isn’t free, literally and figuratively. If you are ever forced to use your firearm in defense of your life, it will cost you something—maybe money, time (maybe a lot of time), sleep, your reputation, and certainly a tremendous amount of mental and emotional turmoil. That’s not to say it isn’t worth it—obviously we’ve all agreed it is, or we wouldn’t be carrying concealed in the first place. But Sun Tzu knew that before engaging in violence for any reason, it is important to ask ourselves the hard moral questions and go in with our eyes wide open regarding the potential consequences.

Club Calendar.

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

Monday, November 3rd – 7:30 pm

MONTHLY MEETING

Monday, November 3rd – 8:00 pm

SKEET
Sundays: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Wednesdays: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm.

TRAP

Tuesdays: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Saturdays: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

PISTOL
TBA.

COWBOY
TBA.

PUMPKIN DROP
Saturday, November 22nd. Time TBD.

SAFETY COURSE
Tuesday, November 4th –7:00 pm & Thursday, November 6th  – 7:00 pm Register here.

RANGE ORIENTATION CLASS
Sunday, November 9th – 9:00 am Register here.

…And Finally