Around the ATA
Information for Around the ATA is provided to TRAP & FIELD by state and provincial ATA Delegates and/or their designated representatives.
Shooters and local officials: Please inform your ATA Delegate of news about shooters and clubs in your area.
Western Zone
Arizona
In case you missed it, our juniors have taken over most of the top spots in Arizona. Just look at the last two state shoots. It’s nice to have young eyes and quick reflexes, but there is more to it than that. We have a group of dedicated coaches all over the state putting in many hours developing our next generation of trapshooters. This is done through the SCTP program under the guidance of Game and Fish with the generous assistance of the Midway Foundation.
The SCTP season reaches its climax with the Commissioner’s Cup, held this year on April 15 at Tucson. There were 208 competitors ranging in age from pre-teen to college seniors. Nineteen clubs participated: Arizona Outdoor Sports Dust Devils, Ben Avery Clay Crushers, Bird Busters of Payson, Brophy Mustangs Shooting Sports, Buckeye Buck Shots, Central Arizona Target Shooters, Firing Line, Globe-Miami Wad Squad, Mohave Top Guns, Phantom Sure Shots, Prescott Bird Busters, Rio Salado Target Terminators, Shooting Sports of ASU, Tucson Shooting Stars, University of Arizona, Yuma Young Guns and (I have saved the best for last) the XCP Hotshots. They are one of the three all-girl (am I being politically correct here?) SCTP teams in the country. All are students at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix.
Tyler Elliot of the Dust Devils and Lucas Hoem (ASU) tied for high gun at 99. They were closely followed by Victoria Hendrix (Clay Crushers) and Brandon Matschke (Top Guns). Colton Hartley (Dust Devils), Eric Zingg (Sure Shots), Steve Henderson (ASU) and Trysten Routledge (U of A) finished at 97. Everyone gave it their best. Well done, coaches and shooters!
This is our quiet time of year, but there are registered shoots all summer at Flagstaff, Pleasant Valley, Cochise and Tucson. Speaking of Tucson, they are one of 10 sites hosting the ATA Western Zone July 14-16. To some, the thought of competing in mid July in southern Arizona may not be enticing, but Karen and I have shot the Zone there the last four years, and it has become one of our favorite shoots; we are not alone. It starts early at 8 a.m. and ends around 1:30. What about the heat, you say? Well, I won’t lie, it was hot (and dry) in 2016, but it was only mid-warm (and dry) for the previous three years, and I will take those odds at the poker table any day. Here is your chance to compete in a professionally run, major ATA event under relaxed conditions. Come join us; you won’t regret it.
John Bergman
ATA Delegate
Utah
Spring has finally arrived in Utah, which doesn’t mean it’s warm; it means that we can expect nice weather along with dicey weather. Spanish Fork and Vernal both hosted shoots, and by looking at the scores, one can tell the weather made things quite challenging. Some very good shooters had some not very good scores! Scores are posted on the USTA website. Make special note of George Cook’s 100 in singles at Vernal. That was a great score in those conditions. Good job, George.
This is the time of year that the snowbirds return home from the warmer areas that they have been holed up in the past six months. A couple of those snowbirds are Karl McKnight and his wife Carrie. Karl is the main gunsmith at Tucson T&SC during the winter months, so it is nice to have him back in Utah just in time to get our guns tuned up or repaired in order to start the target season off with a well-functioning piece of equipment. It is very nice to see Karl at most local shoots with his trailer in tow and the ability to do on-site repairs. Carrie also provides a service to shooters in making custom-molded hearing protection. If you can’t wait to see Karl at a shoot and you live in the Salt Lake area, you can swing by his house, drop your gun off, and get it back before the next shoot.
Another who provides a service to shooters is George Cook of 3S (Shooting Sports Software). If George isn’t doing the cashiering at one of the local shoots around the state or cashiering one of the neighboring state shoots, odds are pretty good that his program is being utilized by someone at the club. George’s program makes it easy to sign up and handicap the shooters as well as figure out a trophy report and also have a finished shoot report to send the ATA. For those who have been around a long time in the shooting world, you will remember that in the mid 1980s, George’s cashiering business was called C3A. These initials stood for (George) Cook, (Ron) Christensen, (Phil) Cox and (Dale) Amos. At the time, all four traveled, shot together, and ran the program that was George’s brainchild. As time passed, the four went their separate ways; Phil quit shooting, Dale more or less quit shooting due to health issues, Ron moved to Nevada with his real job but still shoots (and very well). This left George and wife Jan to carry on the legacy of electronic shoot reporting in Utah. If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting with George, I encourage you to do so. He always has a smile on his face and great stories to tell.
Another person I would like to mention who certainly helps with information distribution is Mark Scholes. Mark is the original designer of the USTA’s website. If you have a program or scores to post, Mark is your go-to guy. He went on a sabbatical the better part of the past year, and he was dearly missed. He is now back and has been working on updating the website with accurate club info as well as posting scores and programs. Mark has also added an e-mail link that will go straight to him. So if you have something to post or a question to ask, don’t hesitate to contact him. Everyone likes to see results posted, especially if they didn’t attend a shoot, so I encourage all clubs to send shoot results to Mark so we all can enjoy them.
For those of you who are involved with the AIM youth program, you need to check out the ATA website and see if your club or team is eligible for some of the grant money provided by the Potterfield family of Midway USA and the ATA. Here is a link to the letter the ATA sent out describing the endowment program: http://www.shootata.com/Portals/0/pdf/MidwayUSAPressRelease2.pdf.
The ATA put up $250,000 and the Potterfield’s did a two-to-one match ($500,000), which means the endowment is now over $750,000 with interest earned. To be eligible, teams must be registered by July 15, 2017. This is a great opportunity to help out our young shooters.
Ed Wehking
ATA Delegate
Washington
Greetings once again from the Evergreen State. I hope this finds everyone well and smoking targets. We have had some sunny days, but everyone is still packing the rain gear to each shoot, just in case.
We are saddened by the passing of Bob Bingham. The Tri-Cities’ friendliest barber, Bob always had a big smile and a good story to tell. I’ll bet it’s not very often that someone enters their favorite barber shop only to interrupt a session of reloading. We hope to have an obituary for Bob in the Completed Careers section in a future issue.
I recently attended shoots at the Odessa GC, Marlin GC and the Inland Empire Handicap in Spokane. Fun was had by all, and competition is getting stiffer as we approach the state shoot, which will be in the books by the time you read this.
There were some good scores shot in Spokane for the Inland Empire, and two handicaps were won by sub-junior Austin Warne. We’re seeing a real youth movement here, and young shooters like Austin are working their way toward the back fence.
Malden-Pine City GC will offer a registered tournament the last Sunday in July. I think it is remarkable how many small rural clubs in our area offer ATA targets. This participation really helps keep the WSTA strong and encourages a lot of new shooters to get involved with our great game. Don’t miss your chance to make friends and register targets at some of these clubs. I know you’ll be greeted with a handshake and a smile.
As we reach the busiest time of our shooting season, I’d like to point out some things we, the shotgunners, can do to help things run smoothly. First, watch the squad board to see if we are on deck and need to start packing the gun and ammo toward our starting trap. The squad board won’t get changed until the numbers are changed at the starting traps, so if you are about to start your event, don’t be afraid to take your number down and post the on-deck squad. The squad behind you and shoot management will appreciate it.
Also, make sure your average card is up to date, including scores you’ve recently shot that may not be posted online yet. Make sure you notify those at the handicap table of any special categories you may be eligible for, or if you want to shoot for class. If you shoot a good score, check to see if you are in a shootoff or if you’ve earned yardage to make sure you are classified correctly next week. Last, check to see if you’ve won a trophy! We want to make sure you get what you’ve earned, and someone would love to take your photograph with your new hardware!
Next time I’ll be sharing some results from the WSTA Championships, so until then, don’t forget to take someone out to the club and introduce them to trapshooting. We love having new ATA participants.
Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.
Sean Lewis
ATA Alternate Delegate
Central Zone
Illinois
Hello, shooters! By the time you read this, the state shoot will have come to an end. Hopefully, you’ve left with a handful of trophies! I’ll be sure to give an update on the winners in the next article. The last couple weeks have been the Missouri State Shoot and the southern zone for Illinois. Illinois was definitely well represented in Missouri and was all over the trophy list: Chase Horton, Ian Lawrence, Tony Fortino, Ron Wolf, Sharon Campbell, Regan Armbrust, Sharon Howard, Thomas Fester, Frank Haynes, Frank Payne, Brian Hezel, Joe Nehrt, Ziggy Tkaczenko, Donald Gilmore, Randy Leach, William Lawrence, Lucas Schmedeke, Mike Obert, Roy Morrison, Leland Hassler, Mike Westjohn, Dale Miller, Doug Porter, John Kravanek, Brian Boyd, Harold Bolen, Mike Jordan, Daryl Fornoff, Dave Bockhold, Garrett Zeeb, Jordan Lenz, Darrell Ostertag, Ronald Wayland, Gary Miner, Jerry Sedlacek, Lawren Ruths, Alex File, Janis Goudey, Kenneth Jones, Tom Fortino, Kevin Showalter, Rowdy England, Jordan Nichols, Jeff Gunn, Dennis Burnett and myself. Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone. Congrats, everyone! The zone shoot was tough, too. The singles was won with 199. There were three of them, and Don Herdes ended up champion. The doubles was won by Jerry Sedlacek with 98. The handicap champion was Mike Jordan with 98 from the 27. Jordan also ended with the all-around with 386. Weather was a little windy, a little rainy, but they sure didn’t let that show. Hopefully the scores in the next article covering the U.S. Open and the Illinois State Shoot will all be as good as these.
Lauren Mueller
ATA Delegate
Indiana
Greetings, shooters! The registered season is in full swing, and I know many of you will be reading this while we are at the Indiana State Shoot July 4-9. I really hope everyone is having a fantastic shoot and we are all talking about how perfect the weather is and how great the targets look! If you have any questions during the shoot, don’t hesitate to let me or any of our ITA Board of Directors know. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated BOD members and volunteers who make our state shoot possible each year. Please make sure you let them know how much they are appreciated.
I would like to thank everyone who attended our Indiana zone shoots in May. Special thanks go to our host clubs: Indian Creek in the southern zone, Roachdale in the central and Fulton Co. in the north.
Congrats to all winners at the Indiana zone shoots. Top scores at Roachdale included junior Daniel Williams in singles with 195, Brad Suding with 96 in the doubles, and David Heeringa and Garrett Delk, who both broke 94 in handicap. There was a three-way shootoff for HOA, with Williams winning over Suding and John Hill. In the north, Garl Gresley was tops in singles with 199, Devon Harris was high in doubles with 97, and Charles Holton won the handicap buckle with 96. HOA honors went to Scott Cochran. At the southern zone, 197 was the top singles score turned in by Jack Curry, and in doubles Jerry Fosbrink broke the high score of 96. Handicap saw a tie at 95 between Tyler Lewis and Marvin Lester, with Tyler winning the belt buckle. Josh Brewer was HOA. Nice shooting, and congratulations to all our trophy winners!
Don’t forget about the ATA Central Zone shoot at Evansville GC July 28-30. Keep an eye on the indianatrap.com and shootATA.com websites in addition to Trap & Field for shoots. On indianatrap.com, click on “Calendar of Events” to see which clubs are shooting when.
As always, don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything. My e-mail is [email protected].
Jason Barnett
ATA Delegate
Iowa
Shooting finally started as I write this in May, but when this is read in July, we will be in full swing. The Iowa high school shoot was a huge success, and a huge thank you goes to all the volunteer workers from the ISTA who made it happen. The same people will be working 15-hour days and trying to shoot at the state shoot as well.
Make sure everyone shows up and supports our state shoot, as it’s one of the best in the country. We will have the Heartland Grand coming up as well. Make sure you all go to Stockdale GC online and check out the program. This is always a great shoot, with many extra fun activities at evening to keep everyone full and laughing.
Remember all our small clubs who are out there throwing registered targets on weekends. They need our business to survive and keep the ATA growing for our future.
I hope to see many of you at the Grand American shooting off at night, as we are working most nights at the shootoffs. I hope you all have a great state shoot, and I look forward to seeing you all! On a side note, we have certified three trap clubs this year, and the fourth is being built now.
I can be reached at 712-830-2612.
Heath Kasperbauer
ATA Delegate
Michigan
As the shooting season is in full swing, I would like to congratulate the 2017 Michigan State Shoot champions. Additionally, please put the Central Zone Shoot July 28-30 on your calendar. It has been at least a decade since Michigan has been a site in this unique and highly competitive telephonic shoot. Jan Frickert and the leadership team at Blue Water Sportmans Club are hosting this great event, and I hope to see you there.
The MTA Board of Directors did a phenomenal job putting on the 2017 Great Lakes Grand. Following is MTA president J. B. Lewis’ review of the shoot:
“Toward the end of each big shoot, we always get questions such as, ‘Are there more shooters here?’ and ‘Are you throwing as many targets as last year?’ In 2014, we had 483 shooters and threw 268,600 registered targets in 13 events. In 2015, we had 515 shooters and threw 316,700 registered targets in 13 events. In 2016, we had 557 shooters and threw 289,100 registered targets in 13 events. This year we had 587 shooters and threw 303,800 registered targets in 16 events. During this Great Lakes Grand, 794 practice rounds were shot. These 19,850 targets are not included in the data above.
“So, in 2017, the first two days had lower attendance than we had in 2015 or 2016. By the time of Event 10, participation was even with 2015 and a bit (11 shooters out of 272) behind 2016. This year’s participation peaked with Event 13, Saturday’s 200 singles, with 403/405 (first hundred/second hundred) shooters. This was 50/53 more shooters than in 2015 and 15/13 more than 2016. Event 16, Sunday’s championship handicap, had 255 shooters, 53 fewer than 2015 and 46 fewer than 2016.
“It’s always risky to draw too many conclusions, but it seems that threats of rain kept the participation lower the first two days. Both the championship doubles and handicap on Sunday had fewer shooters, despite good weather. Why is not clear. But the bottom line is, we threw more targets than last year.
“Krieghoff came to the Great Lakes Grand. Don and Jacqui Baughman from Ottsville, PA, were quite busy with gunsmithing and demo guns. John, from Pacific Sporting Arms East, the Indiana Gun Club folks, and Hampels had high quality guns for sale and demos. There were more vendors selling a wider variety of things than we’ve had at recent GLGs.
“Any shoot, especially one with this many shooters, takes a real team effort. Thanks to all who volunteered to help the MTA and the Hall of Fame.”
Please remember to patronize the vendors when attending shoots; there is a lot of sacrifice and commitment to bring the things you may need or possibly forget when you’re at shoot. Without your support, it becomes difficult for them to justify making the trip and effort.
Safe travels, and until next time, shoot well.
Darryl Hayes
ATA Delegate
Ohio
Congratulations to junior shooter Tanner Harrison on his first 200 straight. Tanner broke his 200 on May 20 during the Ohio southwest zone shoot at Middletown SC. Tanner led the field that day with only a 198 behind his 200.
The Karen’s Cup was Memorial Day weekend, followed by the Buckeye Open. The Ohio State Shoot was June 20-25. I hope everyone who attended had a great time.
Remember, the SCTP will be held in July at the Cardinal Center and the Mid-Summer Championship July 21-23. The Cardinal Classic is always held the week after the Grand American. I hope all you can stop by on your way home from the Grand and crack a few ’caps with us. If you don’t attend the Grand, you can get an early start to the Cardinal Center for a very good shoot.
I will have more to report next month after our state shoot. I will leave you with the words of my good friend who always says before taking the line to keep your head down, follow through, and “bust ’em.”
Roger McNamer
ATA Delegate
Wisconsin
Today I received an e-mail from David Stanonik, Twin Lakes, WI. He started out by saying, “Dear sweet Sandy [that was so nice of him], you asked for article information.” He also said that I didn’t know him, but he has known me for years. He wanted to share his great accomplishments with his shooting friends by telling us that he shot his 1,500th 25 straight at Jefferson SC. To shoot that many 25 straights is great, and to have kept a record of them is even better. David, thank you for sharing with us, and congratulations.
My phone rang the other day with a shooter letting me know a shooting friend from Tennessee passed. It’s so hard to hear that kind of news. Richard Collins welcomed us to his camping dinners at the Grand; such a great guy. Sending prayers to Richard’s family.
By the time this article gets to you, it will be close to our state shoot. Please, if you are able to help with anything at our shoot, don’t hesitate to ask. We need you! Camping is almost full; a limited number of electric-only sites are available. Big thanks to Amy for answering the phone a million times a day to make this happen (call her soon if you need a campsite: 888-704-6588). Dewey, Jim, Dennis, Paul, John and all of the board members, committee chairs, volunteers and vendors, thank you for your help in making this shoot amazing.
Looking at your program you recently received in the mail; you will notice that we have some new event sponsors that include Crazy Quail, Bill’s Top Notch Tree Service, Eau Claire R&GC, MEC Shooting Sports, Federal Premium Ammunition and Jim Fuller Memorial. Other sponsors that have continued to support us are Red Wing Kennels, Direct Drive Express, White Flyer, Log Home Doctors, Ho-Chunk Casino, Erbert and Gerbert’s Sandwich Shop, Kolar Arms and Recob’s Target Shop. Without these sponsors, it would be tough to provide the quality shoot we have planned. Also, thank you to the businesses that have placed ads in the program.
Please thank the trophy companies that we have purchased from or trophies that have been donated by them: Sterling Cut Glass, Tilden Trophies, Rapid River Knives, Gift Card Company, ATA and Shamrock Leathers. We have been given a very nice donation by Bob Schultz, also known as Target Shotguns; he has generously donated two voice release sets to us.
There is so much that will be going on besides shooting at those wonderful orange targets. Friday night will be fun night in the big white building. Join us for prizes and raffles to raise money. There will be a mega shell raffle, meet-and-greet Thursday night and WTA Friday night fish fry and fundraiser. Some of the items that have already been donated for the raffle are a Savage Arms .308, donated by Jimmy Dukay, and a custom-fit Kolar (100% of the proceeds go to the WTA), donated by Kolar Arms and Jeff Mainland. Tickets for this raffle are still available as of late May, so e-mail me. Paul and Mary Becker, 1/2 day Lake Michigan Charter, Zauhar family bead raffle money, Vortex Binos by Vortex and Janice Fude made a quilt. Please take the time to read your program and say thank you and support the sponsors.
There are a lot of local shoots in our state before the state shoot. I am wishing all of you 100 straights. Be safe and help out at the clubs; there is always work to be done. Even picking up empties on the line is great bending exercise. Remember to stop into the trophy pod to say hi to Dennis and me.
See you at our state shoot, and keep smiling; I am!
Sandra Jo Jack
for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring
Eastern Zone
New Jersey
As I sit here writing this on the verge of another Memorial Day weekend, it is raining again here in the Northeast. The rain in May has had a significant impact on shoots in the Garden State and surrounding area. It is not to say it compares to terrible weather throughout the country, it’s only to show why attendance at club shoots are hurting.
As long as I’ve been shooting, it is the first time I can remember that a preliminary day of a state zone shoot was canceled due to weather, as it was on May 5. The south was inundated with three inches Friday. The remainder of the weekend held off and shooting was completed, although temperatures were only in the low 60s on Saturday and low 50s Sunday with passing showers. Southern zone resident winners were Bryan Romanow, singles with 194 and doubles with 93; Len Fennimore won the handicap after a shootoff; and Gene Moir took the all-around. A nice turnout came to Pine Valley and the satellite shoot at North Jersey CTC. Zone winners can be found on the www.njsta.com website.
At this zone shoot, and other shoots, volunteers help keep costs down so clubs can put money in the bank to offset ever-increasing costs of staying open. I’d like to commend these volunteers who keep your shoots running smoothly: George Vogle, Tony Venuti, Bob Shappell, Tony Derieux, Jim Clark, Jack Rodgers, Tom Smith, John Wilson and Paul Dimeglio at Pine Valley and Tony Almeida, Mike Petrone, Craig Gasparine, Mickey Rufino, Sue Gulotta and Noelle Feucht at North Jersey. If I left anyone out, I apologize.
The second weekend in May was the Empire Grand, and weather again was a factor for most of the Northeast. At Cicero, rain occurred during the night, with moderate temperatures during the early part of the shoot; on Friday rain gear was a necessity. Saturday saw some sprinkles in the morning, and by 10 a.m. the rain stopped. Storms were to the east of us, with a Nor’easter raging along the East Coast. Leading New Jersey shooters was Ed Taylor with three trophies followed by George Wright, John Tierno and Bob Malmstedt with two each and John Zultanky with one. See the report this issue or go to nysata.com to see who won what.
The third weekend of May was the annual Keystone in Elysburg. Weather was very warm on Friday, and huge crowds were on hand for the 16-yard, handicap and doubles events. Attendance was up over 200 shooters from last year’s (terrible weather hurt attendance last year), and with scorers still in school, volunteers were again asked to get the shoot started on Friday. Saturday’s weather was another story; with rain overnight, morning temperatures dropped 40 degrees from the day before. People arriving in shorts due to hot weather Friday at home were welcomed with cold, windy conditions. Sixty-three New Jersey shooters were on hand. Duncan Stevenson led the way with four trophies, while Bob Malmstedt, Jack Rodgers, Tom Clarke and John Zultanky won one each. Who won what can be found in the story this issue and on rjstuart.com.
Back in April, I was in Mansfield, home of Shongum SA. It was formerly the Chapel Hill Club back in the 1980s. Since purchasing it, the club has evolved both in physical buildings and membership. It is a pistol, rifle and shotgun facility, with membership covering all three disciplines. They have an indoor pistol and rifle range, an outdoor pistol and rifle range and four trapfields. Talking with Don Mercovich, the facility shoots the Big 50 on Tuesdays. They also have worked out an arrangement with other shooting clubs in the area to use their trapshooting facility. The traps are equipped with Pat-Traps and Canterbury voice releases. If you’re in the area, you should take a look. Please visit their website at www.shongum.org.
On a sad note, Fred Ellenberg passed away April 11; he was 83 years old. Fred was raised in Pleasantville, graduated from St. Peter’s and Holy Spirit High School. During the Korean War, he served our country in the Navy. He worked for the Atlantic City Electric Company, retiring as a district supervisor. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, woodcarving, making decoys, and of course, trapshooting. Fred did a lot for the Pine Belt SC back in the 1990s. He started registering ATA targets in a big way in 1990. In his first year of shooting, he shot at 7,750 singles, 2700 handicap and 200 doubles targets. During his career, Fred shot at 45,650 singles, 13,000 handicap and 2,100 doubles targets. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lee, a son and three daughters, their spouses and their children.
Robert Cossaboon passed away May 12 at Friends Village in Woodstown; he was 89 years old. He was a longtime Hopewell Township resident. Bob is survived by his wife of nearly 70 years, Doris, plus four daughters, three grandsons, four great grandchildren and a sister.
Born in 1927, in Stow Creek Township, Bob was an Army veteran of World War II. He was a union carpenter by trade, working in that profession for over 60 years. Bob enjoyed trapshooting, hunting, woodworking and gardening. He was a life member of the ATA. During his career he shot at 161,600 singles, 46,250 handicap and 16,000 doubles targets.
Joe Sissano
ATA Delegate
The trapfields at Shongum SC in Mansfield, NJ, include Pat-Traps and Canterbury voice calls. The club hosts Big 50 shoots on Tuesdays.
New York
Hello and summer greetings to all of my friends from New York and other states and provinces. I hope all is well with everyone and you are doing much trapshooting.
The 13th annual Empire Grand American is now history, and I would like to thank all who attended. We were down 20% from 2016, but last year was the second-high total of targets thrown in the history of the tournament. I believe the weather forecast did not help bring shooters. However, bad weather held off, and some excellent scores were posted.
Three 200 straights were shot in the Singles Championship, and Chris Vendel prevailed as champion after shootoff, while Curt Robbins was runnerup. In the Doubles Championship, scores of 99 were posted, and Evan Mood had to shoot off against Frank Pascoe to win the title. Frank was the sub-veteran champion. The Handicap Championship was won by Richard DePuy with 96. Don Schaffer Jr. was all-around champion with 390, and Brian Luther won the high-over-all with 954×1,000. All trophy winners can be viewed on our webpage www.nysata.com and in Trap & Field.
Thanks must be given to the trap help, classification, cashiering, kitchen personnel, shootoff personnel and the officers and directors of the NYSATA for all their hard work. Special thanks to ATA Eastern Zone Vice President Paul Shaw, Wayne and Joyce Morris, and Central Handicap Committee member Ray Greb for their guidance and help. Without these fine people, the tournament could not be conducted and be successful.
At the Keystone Open at the PSSA homegrounds in Elysburg, many New York shooters took home trophies: Nick Michailides, Phil Pfeifer, Alexcis Coningsby, Justin Slater, William Wallace, Terry Davis, Gerry Ostrander, Suzanne Shaeffer, Uday Madasu, Josh Buchiere, Charlie Wildenstein, Tammy Wildenstein, Bradley Heath, David Proper, Barney Knoeferl, Mark Fritz, Chris Vendel, Dominick Pagnotta, Urban Womer, Michael Waschitz, Mike Latocha, Keith Miranda and Tiffany Decker. All trophy winners can be viewed on Bob Stuart’s webpage www.rjstuart.com and in Trap & Field.
In next month’s article, reports will be given for the New York State western (Tonawandas SC) and central (Pathfinder R&GC) zone shoots.
Please remember that the New York State Shoot will be July 11-16. We promise you an excellent tournament and hope you all plan to attend.
If there is anything you want to have me write about in future articles in Trap & Field, please e-mail me at [email protected].
Thanks, and I hope to see you all soon. Good shooting, keep your powder dry, and break all those targets. I wish you all well and may God bless.
Dave Cichelli
ATA Alternate Delegate
Ontario
Greetings from Ontario, Canada. My apologies for not having a June Delegate article. On that point, incidentally, I have always attempted to include information that highlights accomplishments and initiatives of Ontario shooters and clubs. But in addition to this, I try to include information that is informative, often offers challenges, and is sometimes controversial and frequently humorous.
All of us strive to hit as many targets per event as we can, and virtually all of us can say unequivocally that there is always room for improvement. In other words, trapshooting is a great sport, but few should give up their day jobs. My day job is as a lawyer. Part of what I do involves wills, estates, and estate planning. From my experience, most people who plan their estates ensure that spouses and family are adequately taken care of. Next in line are their favorite charities. (By the way, it is not uncommon for people to leave a nest egg for the care of their pets as well.) It is rare here in Ontario, at least for wills, to contain a specific or residual bequest for the shooting sports. The ATA has benefitted from some very substantial legacies for junior shooting programs, etc. Most people keep their estate planning plans confidential, but on occasion an individual will reach out and broach the topic of perhaps leaving money for trapshooting. Keep in mind that if there is disposable money available, why wait until the will is probated? Gifts can be made at any time. The ATA can provide a tax receipt, which will reduce income tax payable for U.S. residents. There are tax exempt entities in Canada as well. Sponsor a trapfield, a shooter’s shelter, whatever. From your local club to the ATA itself, all donations help our sport.
Now for a little background context on “estate planning”—the do’s and not-to-do’s.
Garfunkel was a single guy, living at home with his father and working in the family business. Both he and his dad were avid trapshooters. He knew that when his elderly and sickly dad passed, he would inherit more than just his dad’s trap guns. His dad was financially very well off. Garfunkel wanted two things: to learn to invest his inheritance and find a wife to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. He timidly approached her and said, “I may look like just an ordinary man, but in just a few months, my father will die, and I’ll inherit $30 million. Impressed, the woman took his business card. Two weeks later, she became his stepmother. Women are so much better at estate planning than men.
Paul Shaw
ATA Delegate
Pennsylvania
We’re now in full swing of the shooting season, and as you’re reading this, the state shoot is in the books. Before we look ahead to July, I want to recognize some recent shooter accomplishments.
Bob Koefer, president of the Lehigh Valley Trap League, provided me a rundown of their 63rd consecutive league event. There were 437 shooters representing seven clubs in the highly competitive 25-bird league this year. Rural SA was the league team champion by two targets over runnerup North End R&GC. High-over-all winner was Bob Malmstedt, while Bob Roman took high-gun honors for the best 11 of 14 scores. Special awards for parent-child went to Kelley Huber and Kyle Hartzell, and husband-wife winners were Jan and Connie Kern. Category winners were Tammy Van Blargan-Hensel, ladies’; Andy Hensel and Joyce Marsh, veteran; Chuck Paul and Suzanne Mohler, senior veteran; Stephen MacNeal, junior HOA; Tommy Hensel, sub-junior HOA; Braedon Lichtenwalner and Meghan Darrough, junior; and Zachary Missimer, sub-junior.
The Pennsylvania zone shoots were on the first weekend in May, with West Penn SA hosting the western zone and Valley G&CC the eastern zone. Weather did not cooperate, as it was rainy and windy and, in the west, cold enough to see snow in the morning. Western zone winners were Brandon Deal, singles; Timothy Scott, handicap; James Johnston, doubles; and Jeff Fenton, all-around. Total entries were 170. In the east, Jon Zadzora won the singles; Jacob Koons, handicap; Don Feeg, doubles; and Larry Shade, all-around, with entries totaling 329.
Following was the Empire Grand, which had 36 Pennsylvania shooters participating and 19 bringing 61 awards back to the Keystone State. Four event champions and the all-around title were won by Pennsylvania shooters. Winners included Peggy Carney (two), Luke Cowart (12), Frank Pascoe (six), Donald Schaffer Jr. (10, including Event 9 singles and the all-around), John Pettibone, David Darrough (two), Sheldon Hostetter (seven, including Event 6 doubles), Jeffrey Traver (Event 5 handicap), John Manetta, Christian Koerbler (three), Evan Mood (four, including Event 11 doubles), Jean McCord, Richard Baker (two), Stephen MacNeal (three), Cody Davis, Kate Schmidt, Carl Breidegam, Leroy Cook, and Genevieve Davis (two).
We just finished the Keystone Open, which had an increase in shooter attendance we have not seen in several years. Friday set records for the singles and handicap events; total entries were 3,299, highest since 2009, and the 1,457 entries for the championship events were the most since 2010. Championship event winners were Bob Malmstedt, singles; Justin Slater, doubles; Jordan Smith, handicap; Luke Cowart, all-around; and Kie Kababik, HOA. Look for the full report in Trap & Field this issue.
Congratulations to all shooters on your accomplishments so far this season. Hopefully I’ll see everyone at the Pennsylvania Grand, ATA Eastern Zone, and at local club shoots throughout the summer.
Steve Ross Jr.
ATA Alternate Delegate
Southern Zone
Florida
We have a new trap club with three certified ATA trapfields: Indian River Co. Public Shooting Range, 10455 102nd Terrace, Sebastian, FL 32958, phone 772-581-4944. The club is located off Interstate I-95 at Exit 156. The three new fields are combination skeet/trap fields. This is a full shooting range with rifle and pistol, sporting clays and 5-stand. The addition of these combination fields with lighting on all plus all the support buildings, including a new clubhouse, had a budget of over $1 million. As summer cools off, look for many opportunities to shoot trap at this nicely laid-out shooting range.
A few milestones that Florida trapshooters received their pins and certificates for: Greg Holman, 200,000K singles; Patrick Swartz, 100,000K handicap; and yours truly, 75,000K handicap.
Don’t forget our last large tournament at Silver Dollar: the Southern Zone Shoot July 13-16. This is a telephonic shoot, with other clubs throughout the Southern Zone vying for some important Zone trophies. If you have an RV, you may want to check with Silver Dollar for a reservation. The Grand dates are Aug. 2-12. If you are still undecided, don’t wait much longer, as room availability is limited. Another popular alternative is getting a campsite and renting an RV from a local dealer.
Bill Miller, shooting club manager, has informed me that the Silver Dollar will be hosting an ATA tournament set in the time slot that was vacated by the Dixie Grand. At this time, it will be called the Silver Dollar Open. So, if you are making your winter reservations for Florida, keep the last weeks of January open. As we move closer to January, I am sure we will see a shoot program forthcoming.
In closing and always the hardest for me is to let friends and acquaintances know of the passing of our Florida resident trapshooters. I may spend a little longer with this than I normally do, as my friendship and acquaintances with them are my lasting memories. Phil Demena passed away in the April/May timeframe. I have been acquainted with Phil for many years, as he was a great supporter of the FTA and Markham Park. When I first met Phil at Markham, he and I just seemed to hit it off. He was so easy to converse with that we always took the time to catch up on mutual interest items. I would always kid him about his fake ponytail attached to his baseball cap. Phil is now with our Savior, and I wish him eternal peace. Alan Harris passed during the same time period after a prolonged illness. I will always remember Alan for his quick wit. He enjoyed piloting his plane as much as he enjoyed trapshooting. After his flying career ended, trapshooting became his major focus; it wasn’t uncommon to see him attending many Southern state shoots plus the Grand. Alan was a great supporter of the FTA. God be with you, my friend. A person I had to look up to because he was tall was Fred Collins. When folks didn’t know his name, they referred to him as the tall, lanky gentleman. Fred died at the age of 81. He had a gallant fight with cancer and recovered from all those cancer treatments that he had to undergo for some time. I didn’t know Fred for that long, perhaps seven years or so, as we became acquainted at the Volusia Co. S&TC. As we talked, I found a mutual subject, as Fred had been an active supporter of the Remington Lordship club in Connecticut. I attended a few shoots there, and I would search my memory banks for some items he would tell me about that happened there. Then one day at Volusia, Fred handed me an old shoot program for Lordship. I reviewed the aged program and read that it was for a 30-bird sporting clays shoot. Fred explained to me that it was the first sporting clays tournament held at Lordship and perhaps the first program printed for any sporting clays tournament. Fred would later become the president of Sporting Clays of America (SCA), now defunct, as it is now managed by the NSCA. Right up to his passing, you would find Fred on the trapline breaking his 25s or 24s. That tall, lanky gentleman I know has a trap post in heaven with our Lord Savior. God bless each and every one of these gentleman who passed, as they all showed contributions and bestowed their friendship and goodwill to our sport.
Larry Grenevicki
ATA Delegate
Georgia
There is a bunch of information to pass along from the Georgia State Shoot. I would like to start by thanking the great folks out at South River GC for hosting. Mr. Evans, Bill Clay, Boone Butler, Josh and the rest of the staff went above and beyond to make the facilities and grounds in excellent shape.
Special thanks to Boone, Dave Adams and their crew for feeding everyone. Four days of providing grub to a bunch of hungry shooters is quite a chore, and they handled everything. David Adams and his family and friends also did an outstanding job with the barbecue Saturday night. Thanks to Dave’s mom for the cakes, which are always the best. The meal is always one of the highlights of the state shoot. Also a thanks to the target-setting committee, who showed up early every day and after every event.
We had a few issues to work through this year. Fortunately we dodged most of the bad weather on Thursday night, except for the final shootoffs. We did have some minor computer issues, but those were quickly resolved. Thanks for everyone’s patience.
Congrats to Bill Parsons, who came in and shot 100 straight to win Thursday’s preliminary singles. Michael Gooch shot a 97 to win the handicap. J. T. Osborne won doubles with 97. We also shot another doubles event on Thursday night for 53 shooters, with Parsons’ 99 the top score.
Friday started off with the class doubles. Osborne kicked it off by posting a 100 straight. Then it was on to the John Hiter Memorial Handicap. Arkansas shooter Caleb Broeker put up an impressive 96 from the 21-yard line. We had a bunch of good scores for the class singles. Five had 100 straight, and many posted 99s and 98s. Friday night always ends with the money shoot from the number draw in the day’s handicap. Flash targets provided by Mike and Betsy Reed bring out the competitive nature in all shooters. It was a fun way to wrap up a busy day.
Numbers were off a little from Saturday last year, but there were over 200 shooters. Shootoffs were the order of the day for both Georgia and non-residents. We had four shooters post 198s. First up was the shootoff with Mike Bolling and Billy Griffin. Both shot 24s in the first box and then Mike edged past Billy 25-24 on the second box. Out-of-state went to John White over Juston Trimback and Jeff Galloway. John shot a 25, and both Juston and Jeff broke 24s.
Mike Wasieleswki, J. T. Osborne and Bruce Swinsky all posted 95s in Sunday morning’s doubles. In the shootoff, Bruce and Was posted 16s, but they were edged out by J. T., who shot 18. Non-resident doubles went to Gerald Armstrong with 97. Emily Rankin posted a 97 from 19.5 yards over a field of 150 shooters for the handicap title. We did have a shootoff for runnerup and third place with Boone Butler and Mark Mathews. Each shot 94s in the event, with Mark edging past Boone, 23 to 22.
HOA total out of 1,000 targets from Thursday to Sunday went to Osborne, 953. The all-around went to Bob Butler, 382. Congratulations, everyone.
We had a total of 204 shooters for the championship singles on Saturday. Sunday’s handicap had 150, and doubles had 132 shooters. The shoot report was in last month’s T&F, and full scores are available at www.gatrap.com and http://shootscoreboard.com/menu.cfm?shootid=545.
Congratulations to the newly elected Georgia Board of Directors: president, Mike Reed; ex-officio, David Hollingsworth; vice president, David Witt; secretary, Betsy Reed; treasurer, Sam Lamont; ATA Delegate, Rich Griffith; First Alternate Delegate, Skip Varnado; Second Alternate Delegate, Darren Warden; and historian, Martin Henderson.
Mike Reed will be inducted into the Georgia Trapshooters Hall of Fame this fall. I can’t say enough good things about Mike’s dedication to the sport. Please join us in early September at South River GC for the induction ceremony.
It has been an honor and a privilege to be the ATA Georgia Delegate for the past few years. It is quite a responsibility, and I have enjoyed meeting our fellow trapshooters in Georgia and throughout the country and a few from out of the country. I wish our new Delegate Rich Griffith congratulations and good luck in the upcoming year.
I hope to see everyone back out next year for the 95th Georgia State Trapshoot. Be safe, have fun, shoot well, and attend as many registered events as you can in 2017.
Russ Wright
ATA Delegate
Outgoing ATA Delegate Russ Wright passed the torch to new Delegate Rich Griffith.
Mississippi
The Mississippi Trap Association held the 102nd annual Mississippi Trap Championship in Biloxi May 25-28, hosted by Coast R&PC. Beautiful weather was enjoyed by all until Sunday, when we got sporadic showers, but it did not stop a thing!
Once again our generous sponsor, National Aviation Academy (Mac Elliott) treated us and our families to delightful hot breakfasts and delicious lunches each day. We thank Mac and his company for being such great supporters of MTA in Mississippi.
We had 128 registered shooters from many states, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, Louisiana and several others. We had one shooter from Canada. We shot over 105,000 targets on six fields.
The various events and the champions were as follows: Warm-up Singles, Bobby Fowler; Warm-up Handicap, Ruth Flayderman; Warm-up Doubles, Fowler; Prelim Doubles, Chandler Brown; Prelim Singles, Ryan Bowen; Prelim Handicap, Michael Davis; Singles Championship, Thomas Yeager (resident) and Savanna Brock (non-resident); Doubles Championship, Zeke Yeager (resident) and Jake Levin (non-resident); Handicap Championship, Jordan Sloan (resident) and Seth Cooper (non-resident); all-around, Tom Yeager (resident) and Brock (non-resident); and HOA, Levin.
High-over-all winners in each category were Levin, open; Amy Dement, Lady I; Martha Humphrey, Lady II; Seth Cooper, junior; Caleb Clayton, sub-junior; Bobby Fowler, junior gold; Gerald Armstrong, sub-vet; Robert Rimer, veteran; and Larry Sexton, senior vet.
Tennessee, under Bill Hardison’s leadership, beat Mississippi in the informal Singles Championship.
We all would like to thank Brian Harmon for serving as overall chairman and his wonderful staff. We need to thank John Oren and his staff for running the trapline and for doing a beautiful job with our Sunday morning worship.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Charlie Boggs, who has served as our state Delegate for three years and has done a wonderful job. Charlie is also instrumental in the leadership of state and local organizations as well as ATA.
I am so humbled to be elected as Delegate for Mississippi and look forward to working with all the ATA members in Mississippi as well as our ATA national and international members.
The Mississippi Trap Association has votd to again have the state shoot on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Coast R&PC will again be the host club in 2018. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in 2018.
Lenny Sawyer
ATA Delegate
North Carolina
Twelve NC shooters attended the Georgia State Trapshoot. Trophies were won by Jeff Galloway, Greg High and Billy Thigpen. Marty Hill was in a shootoff.
This year 38 NC shooters traveled down to Spartanburg to participate in the 102nd South Carolina State Shoot. Everyone enjoyed nice cool weather and good targets. The following NC shooters shot really well and are known to have won trophies (several won more than one): Brad Barnett, Bill Howe, Patrick Childers, Charlie Brown, Billy Thigpen, Noah Gouge, Michael Petrone, Harold Soutier, Margaret Johnson, Kenneth Flanagan, James Ivey III, Terry Roush, Hunter Galloway III, Fred Redmon, Jeff Galloway, Tom Brown, William Owens, Steve Woods, George Ponton, Dan Johnson, Marty Hill, Dennis Taylor, Bob Schultz, Marty Hill, Wayne Averill, Edward Rabenda, Gary Hicks, Henry McGinnis, George Sudderth, Jimmy Wilson, J. D. Godwin and Wayne Perry. Great shooting, guys! I apologize if I missed anyone.
Plan to attend the Southern Zone Shoot July 13-16. This year there will be three telephonic sites: Central Kentucky GC at Berea, KY; North Carolina Homegrounds at Bostic, NC; and Silver Dollar SC at Odessa, FL. If you have not attended a Zone Shoot, give it a try and attend a site of your choice.
Remember to visit www.nctrap.com and www.tarheeltrap.com for NC shooting information. If you have any information you would like to see in this article, please send it to me at [email protected], or call me at 919-357-6859.
Jeff Galloway
ATA Delegate
South Carolina
South Carolina shooters did a good job of supporting the Georgia State Shoot, with 26 competing. We were spared on Thursday, as all the green and yellow blobs on the weather screen split to go around the gun club. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were near-perfect shooting weather. South Carolina shooters bringing home trophies were Frank Ketron, Gary Olson, Neil Alexander, Peg Crockett, Donnie Pigg and myself.
We just finished our state shoot; it was a good one. We had our great fish fry again, just as good as ever with all-you-could-eat flounder, slaw, hushpuppies and fries. The weather was great Wednesday through Saturday, then on Sunday we finished doubles and got halfway through the handicap before the rain started. Mostly it was light rain that didn’t really bother shooters. Good scores showed that. When shootoffs started, we had some heavy rain but no lightning until the shooting was over. Shoot numbers were up Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; Saturday was down a bit, but the rain forecast for Sunday gave us a big drop. Jack will have a separate write-up with all the winners this issue.
I want to thank all the out-of-state shooters who supported us. We even had one shooter from Quebec. North Carolina had the largest group, but all the other surrounding states were well represented.
I want to give a big shout-out to Tammie and all the Spartanburg crew for providing a great shooting venue. I also thank all the SC board members for running a great shoot; finishing early is a good thing. Drew and his crew of scorers were outstanding. If any of you neighboring states need trap help, here’s your answer. North Carolina, Georgia and we are using them. The only real discussion I heard was whether to shoot 100 targets per field or use multiple fields. I think the proper decision was made on Saturday by going to multiple fields, as we have some pronounced variations between fields.
Thanks again to all who supported us.
Jim Faber
ATA Delegate
Tennessee
The last of the Southern Zone state shoots as well as the Zone Shoot are scheduled for July: Kentucky, June 27-July 2, Central Kentucky GC, Berea; Virginia, June 28-July 2, VA Homegrounds-Winchester GC, Stephenson; West Virginia, July 6-9, Brooke Co S&FA, Wellsburg; and Southern Zone, July 13-16, Central Kentucky GC, Berea, KY; North Carolina Homegrounds, Bostic, NC; and Silver Dollar SC, Odessa, FL.
The AIM National Championships are July 27-Aug. 1, World Shooting & Recreational Complex, Sparta, IL, and the 118th Grand American is Aug. 2-12, WSRC.
Congratulations to my good friend Jimmy Farris, who recently shot at and broke his 250,000th ATA target.
I am sad to report that Tennessee lost a shooter; Richard Collins of Cordova passed away May 16. Shooting from 1989 to 1994, like many others, Dick spent a few years away from the sport pursuing other hobbies. Starting again in 2009, he registered a total 103,425 targets. He and Carla spent the last two winters at the Silver Dollar.
His campsite was right behind ours at Sparta. He enjoyed cooking and entertaining friends. At mealtime there was always a crowd around his camper. He was a good man who will be sorely missed.
Read the ATA Rulebook, please.
Check out our website at Shootatatn.com for more info. For questions or further information, contact me at [email protected] or 731-217-9957.
Billy Cook
ATA Delegate
Southwestern Zone
Louisiana
The 93rd annual Louisiana State Shoot was just completed. For the first time, it was held at the Toby Bancroft Memorial GC (formerly Pine Hills GC) in West Monroe.
And what a wonderful event it was. We were very well supported by our good friends and fellow shooters from all our neighboring states as well as many others; shooters from 11 states were present.
Everyone had wonderful barbecue to eat for breakfast and lunch and complimentary boiled crawfish and suds sponsored by Dr. Marshall Sanson.
The weather interfered for a brief moment during the championship singles on Saturday and returned again for the handicap on Sunday. After a short rain delay, all events were completed, and some excellent scores were posted.
Preliminary Doubles winner was sub-junior Christian Dearman. Christian beat out 51 others with a 95. Leading the Preliminary Singles was David Huber with the lone 100. Young Christian led the Preliminary Handicap with 95.
Championship singles on Saturday had 90 contestants. State singles champion was Mitch Killingsworth with 199, and open honors went to junior gold shooter McCall Groves with 200.
Sunday morning started off with the championship doubles with 73 shooters. Champion was LTA president Matt McPhate, posting a 95. Open winner was once again Groves with a near-perfect 99.
The state handicap contest fielded 78 shooters, with junior Colton Connor being crowned champion after a 95. Open winner was Lady I shooter Mary Huber after a 96 and two rounds of shootoff.
If you were unable to attend this shoot at the Toby Bancroft Memorial GC, please make plans to attend our 2018 event. I promise you there will always be great targets to shoot, good friends to visit with, and great food to eat.
Congratulations go out to Robert Miller on his induction into the Louisiana Trapshooting Hall of Fame. Bob has been a state team member since 1991 and to date has shot over 144,000 registered targets across three disciplines. Thank you, Bob, for all you have done to promote this fine sport.
Louisiana currently has five gun clubs along the I-20 corridor that are capable of throwing excellent targets. From east to west, there are Cottonland S&TC, Mangham; Toby Bancroft Memorial GC, West Monroe; Mill Creek GC, Ruston; Arcadia GC, Arcadia; and Red Chute SSC, Barksdale AFB, Bossier City.
Bridgeview GC, Port Allen (formerly Hunters Run), located in south Louisiana, is once again throwing targets and hosting shoots. For shoot and contact information for any of these fine gun clubs, please visit the Louisiana Trapshooting Association website www.louisianatrapshootingassociation.org/index.htm.
Doyle Brooks
ATA Delegate
Missouri
On behalf of the MTA Board of Directors and management, I would like to thank everyone who attended the 2017 state shoot. Thanks to Lyndle and his staff who had the grounds in prime condition, as usual, for this year’s shoot. During shooting hours Mother Nature cooperated for the most part, with a storm moving through on Friday afternoon just as the last event was ending. The state meeting was called to order at 5:45 Friday evening, and at 5:55 the power went off. As they say, the “show must go on,” and it did. During the meeting the state teams were recognized as well as Missouri shooters who made the ATA All-American team. Congratulations again to Tom Rombach, who was inducted into the MTA Hall of Fame by Randall Crawford. President Randy Buhr was recognized by Marvin Beumer with a plaque for his contributions. I would like to thank everyone for their continued confidence in me as your ATA Delegate for another year.
On Saturday evening there were four shooters tied with 199s who went to the shootoff line. Congratulations to Shaun Mallett, who is the 2017 singles champion. Sunday brought some tough conditions with a strong crosswind out of the west, just in time for the Doubles Championship. Guess who it did not affect too much? That’s right, Samantha Foppe, who seems to have doubles mastered. Congratulations, Sam! In the Handicap Championship, the wind continued to blow, and the scores reflected the tough conditions. Chris Gerber, who added another handicap title to his collection, had the high score. Congratulations, Chris!
The Internet can be a wonderful tool with all of the information available at the touch of a screen. But believe it or not, there is still a need to keep a paper copy of your shoot scores and classification information. Shooters, to avoid mistakes in classification, you still must provide your average card when classifying for a shoot. The yardage must be marked with your current yardage and your scores recorded. There is nothing more frustrating than having to take a trophy away due to a shooter improperly classified. It is still the shooter’s responsibility to make sure they are properly classified. Please make sure your cards are up to date before heading to a shoot. You can print your card from the ATA website, but keep in mind this time of year, with all the shoots going on, that it takes time for the ATA office to enter the shoot reports; therefore, it is still necessary to keep a written record.
I had the opportunity to certify two gun clubs that have been around for a number of years but have never held registered shoots. The southeast part of Missouri has been an area for a long time without a place to shoot registered targets. Welcome, Poplar Bluff GC and Cape Girardeau Co. GC. Watch for more information about shoots at these clubs. If anyone has anything they would like to have reported on, please contact me at [email protected] or 816-863-9003.
Good luck shooting and stay safe!
Stephen Ricketts
ATA Delegate
Oklahoma
April 29-30 saw several inches of snow in the Panhandle again. Rain, storms and 80-mph winds blew through Oklahoma, taking down power lines that closed westbound Interstate 40 for hours. Grand National SC in Enid had to cancel their April 30 shoot. They plan to reschedule for another day. Monday morning was beautiful with sunshine and light winds. It seems we may be in that cycle of bad weekends and beautiful weekdays. Hopefully this will turn around before the state shoots start.
We may have just seen the turnaround. Shawnee Twin Lakes TR’s May 7 shoot had great weather, a great turnout, and great scores. In the doubles, Robert Rimer, Ron Bliss and Woody Barnes broke 97s. Bill Dean’s 99 was high in singles followed by 98s from Mike Grove, Rimer and Terry Johnson. Terry won the handicap with 96, and Lowell Leach was right behind him with 95.
On May 6 Iowa Park GC held a 300-bird doubles and 100-bird handicap event. Pat Stacey broke 100, 100, 97 for a 99% average. Marvin Webb was next with 290. Bridget Bearden broke 97 to win the handicap.
At OTSA’s May 13-14 shoot, not only was there large attendance, but the computer system also locked up, and we had to handwrite all the entry slips. (The imprinters were lost in the tornado.) With 13 squads on Sunday, the last of two handicaps had to be canceled due to time. Since it was Mother’s Day, such a large turnout was not expected. Brian has a contingency plan to handle these problems in the future. In the 500-bird doubles marathon on Saturday, Chance Fleming broke 100, 99, 99, 94 and 97 for the 489 winning score. Rick Bliss was next with 478, and Ken Isenberg was right behind him with 477. Ken won the 200 singles on Sunday with 198, and Mike Grove’s 197 was next. In the handicap, Pat Stacey missed only No. 11 for a winning score of 99. Daniel Shoaf’s 97 was next. Rose and Rick Shaffer both broke 94.
Ada’s May 16 Tuesday evening fun shoot was won by sub-junior Collin Rindall with 48. Collin and Grove broke 25s in singles, and Collin’s 23 in handicap was high. I drew the green target on our round and broke it.
In April OTSA hosted the Oklahoma Parks & Wildlife shoot on a beautiful day. Shay Skaggs was the high junior girls’ winner. Shay’s big sister Shelby won high senior lady and high-over-all senior shooter. Shelby went 25 straight in the individual shooter round and won in a shootoff against two males after two rounds. The high senior and junior teams were from Altus.
The Spring OSU 4-H Shoot was held at the OTSA SP May 20. Good luck prevailed, and the rains stopped Friday night. There was water everywhere, but the day turned out beautiful. Over 250 young shooters competed for awards. I should have the winners for you next month.
Ada S&TC also held a shoot May 20-21. Saturday was three 100-target handicap targets. In the first, Rindall was high with 96, and Preston Lynch was next with 90. On the second handicap, junior Colton Ables was high with 95, and Lynch was next with 93. On the third handicap, Lynch was high with 97, and senior vet Duane Steinly was next with 91. On Sunday John Lowery was high in singles with 99, and junior Zane Arnold was next with 98. In the handicap, Ables was high with 92, and junior Clay Galbreath’s 90 was next. Josh Casteel broke 93 for the winning doubles score, and Jared Marshall was next with 86. Ada has now completed remodeling the traphouse roofs, replaced fence boards, and painted everything in sight. It all looked great. Lowell said they are in good shape, and their next move is to put some gravel in the potholes. Lowell loaned OTSA an extra card stamper he had in case the computer is down again.
Duncan GC and Grand National GC also held shoots on the 21st, so I hope to have information on these next month. From all indications, trapshooting in Oklahoma is on the increase. All clubs are experiencing good shooter turnout, with more and more of them being new shooters. A lot of these are young shooters doing very well and will grow up in the sport. I would suggest to them, and all new shooters, to start a scrapbook of their accomplishments. Begin with when and where you started, how you progressed, first 25, etc., major wins, friends made along the way, and most of all—the pictures! There is no doubt that some of these will be considered for Oklahoma Hall of Fame induction in the future.
The Oklahoma State Shoot is here, and we are ready to host Oklahoma shooters as well as our out-of-state friends. I always look forward to our shoot and the state shoots surrounding us.
Some come home, and others deploy. During May, members of the Oklahoma 45th Division returned from their deployment overseas and were greeted by loved ones. Now they are integrated back into their lives with family and workplace. Thirty members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard from Lexington deployed to Kosovo in support of Operation Joint Guardian. Let’s all support these military members as well as our law enforcement members who risk their lives to keep us safe.
Tim Deister
ATA Delegate
Texas
By the time you read this in the July issue, many of the state shoots will be history. If it’s not too late when you get this, I hope you will consider attending the Texas State Shoot at the Amarillo GC. It will be held July 4-9. The new leadership at the Amarillo GC is working very hard to restore that club to the status it held for many years. Just as last year, there will be in- and out-of-state trophies as well as special category second- and third-place points pins.
I would like to congratulate Bridget Bearden on her first 100 straight. She shot this at the zone IV shoot at the Ft. Worth T&SC. The people at the Ft. Worth club did a great job hosting the zone. Many thanks to everyone there for their hard work.
In the ATA Rulebook on Page 7, Section C, Item 4, it states, “The Average Card is intended to provide classification personnel at registered shoots with current data on a member’s shooting ability. Shooters not having their Average Cards up to date may be put in a higher class or otherwise penalized. The falsification of scores may lead to disciplinary action, including suspension from the ATA.” Please carry an up-to-date average card with you. You can do it by hand (like in the old days), or you can print it from the ATA website. Please remember that if you print it from the website, it is your responsibility to make sure all scores you have shot are included on the printout. If they are not, you need to write them in. Sometimes there can be a two- to three-week lag in the time you shoot at a club and that score getting recorded on the website.
If you pre-squad for a shoot and are unable to attend, please call and release your position so someone else can use it, and the squad does not have to shoot with less than five people. This is just common courtesy.
If you are an 18- or 19-yard handicap shooter and are having trouble squadding, you can call me and ask for a yardage increase. This can usually happen in a day or two. Please remember that if you receive a requested yardage increase, you will not be eligible for a 1,000-target review for a period of two years.
Please study the doubles misfire rule in the Rulebook. This is probably the most misunderstood rule in the book. I always try to have a copy of the simplified version with me. If you need one, please ask.
When you are waiting your turn to shoot or just visiting with friends behind the shooting line, please try not to disrupt shooters who are on the line. Voice calls have made things much better, but too much noise is still a distraction. Also, when you are leaving Post 5 going to Post 1, turn to your right and walk behind the other shooters. If you turn left and the shooter on 4 is headed to 5, it is possible to bang gun barrels together or bump into each other. A little courtesy will go a long way.
I mentioned the Rulebook above, so I won’t mention it again. That’s not true; I will mention it again. Please read the Rulebook.
If you have news, let Princess or me know, and I will get it in the column. You can reach me at 806-679-6889 or at [email protected].
Til next time, y’all shoot well, y’all shoot often, and y’all have a great time.
Jerry O’Connor
ATA Delegate
