[Drew Hause]

Obituary for Neil M. Winston
Published on July 14, 2019
In his own words: Neil M. Winston, 78, of Saint Paul passed away on the eighth of July, 2019. Neil was born in Minneapolis on August 27, 1940. He graduated from Lawrenceville School in New Jersey in 1959. He enlisted in the US Army in 1961, attended the 47-week Army Language School in Monterey, California, and served out his enlistment as a Czech Linguist stationed on the Czech Border in West Germany. He graduated from California State College in San Bernardino and attended Graduate School at the University of Minnesota in Psychopharmacology for several years.
In the 1970's Neil built and raced flat-track racing motorcycles locally and throughout the Midwest, along the way helping many up-and-coming young riders who made the name Winston Racers well-known and respected.
In 1982 he took up the sport of clay-target trapshooting and was immediately taken over by it. By 1985 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the 35,000-member Amateur Trapshooting Association, a post he held for more than 20 years. In 2008 he served as President of the ATA. Over 35 years of competition he registered more than 630,000 targets across the country and scored many wins in top competition classes, including two third-place finishes in the Clay Target Championship of America in Vandalia, Ohio, against more than 4,000 competitors.
Neil used his university training to set up a ballistics laboratory where he carried out and published entirely original research on the performance of sporting shotguns, a task to which he devoted an unimaginable number of happy hours over 20 years. His dogma-challenging work has informed and challenged the minds of trapshooters for years.
He shared his life with many German Shepherd dogs, most recently with his beloved Anka and Kyra. Preceded in death by father Frederick S. Winston and mother Elizabeth M. Winston, he is survived by brothers Donald (and wife Bente) of Missoula and Frederick (and wife Eleanor) of Wayzata, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He leaves many close friends in motorcycle racing, fishing, and sport-shooting, foremost among them partner Cindy Thompson to whom he owes much everything, really - for a lifetime of love, support, and help.
Memorials may be directed to the causes you love.

 

[Perazzi_MX8]

While I’ll be one of many that misses Neil’s excellent contributions to our sport, I have the utmost faith in Timb99 to continue his fine work.

 

[code5coupe]

Thank you for posting. Rigorous experimental shotgunners are few, and Neil stands tall among them.
A summary thread of his work is just what we need to remember him, and his contributions.

I agree; thank you for compiling this and posting it.

 

[N. J. BOB]

Yes thank you. Neil Winston will long be remembered as a great ambassador of our sport...

 

[Drew Hause]

Neil Winston on high ribs, unsingles, and canting
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/is-effect-of-cant-greater-w-high-ribs-winston.79103/
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/pros-and-cons-of-raised-rib-guns.811817/
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/high-or-flat-rib.499665/#post-4929361
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/canting.811965/page-3

 

[Drew Hause]

"Neil loved his friends"

 

[rwbarschow]

RIP Neil
Robert

 

[Drew Hause]

Thread by Tim "Pattern Testing Results - Four Guns, One with a Wilkinson Barrel"
Neil's comments start on p.6 and continue but unfortunately the images have been lost
Pattern Testing Results - Four Guns, One with a...

 

[2llc]

A good read then, a good read now........ Larry

 

[Drew Hause]

Neil's Legacy Lives On - Pressure and Velocity Testing

 

[bobby ward]

It was my privilege and honor to meet Neil and shoot with him on two occasions at the Grand American. He was a gentleman and friend that I very much enjoyed being around.

 

[Drew Hause]

Temperature, Altitude, and Patterns
http://www.claytargettesting.com/Temp&Altitude/Temperature&Altitude.pdf

 

[berettagod1]

This is a beautiful Tribute to Neil Winston. He will very much appreciate it.

THEN AGAIN IAM A NIGERIAN SCAMMER AND WAS BANNED, I JUST CARE ABOUT GETTING INTO THE CLASSIFIEDS AND RIPPING YOU OFF.

 

[George MT.]

This is a beautiful Tribute to Neil Winston. He will very much appreciate it.

Neil will be missed greatly by many of us here on the forum as his contributions were excellent and many times above and beyond. Unfortunately Neil has passed away.....so please pay attention !!!@!@!

 

[JACK]

Neil would laugh...

 

[B.C.]

RIP

 

[mattcabi]

He did not impress me very well, but then very few do. A lot of people seem to think he should be a saint, so you have to admit he was not a failure at least when it comes to various knowledge of how shotguns and ammo perform. He will probably be long remembered, maybe even a year or two or even more, who knows?

 

[entropy]

Well, if you know someone alive who knows more about shotgun ballistics, do tell. It's not you. Neil forgot more than I will ever know about the subject, and I feel honored to have met him. Tim has quite a legend to live up to, but if anyone here can, I believe it is Tim.

 

[Gene58]

I ask a question on here not that long ago and Neil jumped right on and answered my question,my biggest regret is never meeting him face to face or even better shooting with him,he was a Saint to me.Thank You Neil for all you have done for us.

 

[flashmax]

The ones who don’t like Neil tend to be the myth makers and “gun club porch crew” that Neil made look like fools as they argued that big bores reduced recoil as they increased velocity. Or other such nonsense.