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.

Southern Zone

Florida

The Silver Dollar hosted the annual Florida Hall of Fame Shoot Jan. 19-21. Our newest FTA Hall of Fame inductee is Angel Estevez. After shooting was over on Saturday, a formal banquet in the golf-side restaurant was held in his honor. It was a good night of festivities with an excellent catered dinner and an open bar. Angel advised all in attendance that he would be reaching his 86th birthday very shortly. Congratulations and respect to Angel and all his trapshooting achievements.

Tying for the Florida singles were Ray Lee, Alex Riera and Guy Long. After four shootoff rounds, Lee was victorious, Riera was runnerup, and Long won the veteran award. The Florida championship doubles was won by Kay Ohye with 94 and the handicap by Brody Riley with 95. Florida HOA was Riera with 380. Congratulations to all the other Florida winners who shot in this fine FTA tournament.

A shoot that no one wanted to miss was the first Silver Dollar Open Money Shoot Jan. 24-28. The Silver Dollar added $30,000, awarded to overall champions and runnerups, plus class and category winners and runnerups. The added money didn’t stop there, as money was added to a special Lewis class, where you were automatically entered without playing the Lewis purse. The shoot was so well attended that its entries made it a Competition Factor 3. A big thank you to all those hard-working folks at the Dollar for giving us an opportunity to do what we like to do: shoot trap plus win some money while doing it. Here is a list of our trophy winners who took home part of that $30,000: Leslie McNally, Paul Atkinson Jr., William Ohrt (two), Ruth Flayderman, Ray Walden, Guy Long (two), Jack Schumpert (three), Jim Godez, Ronald Kot, C. P. Burke, Jake Jacobs, Lewis LaRoche, Kay Ohye (three), Mark T. Wade (two), Dennis Kennedy, Paula Simon, Dax Demena (two), Larry Grenevicki, James E. Miller, Brody Riley (two), Ryan Ledbetter, Hannah Christian, James Maurer, Diane Foster, Mary Norris, Zachary Taylor and Kate Ann Stone.

Look for this shoot in next year’s tournaments offered by Silver Dollar.

March starts with the non-registered PVA Shoot at Silver Dollar March 1-3. Next up is the Robinson Ranch Marathon March 3-11, always a good shoot to pick up targets to avoid any penalty classifications at future big shoots. March 7-10 will be the annual Bill Jacobson Memorial at Silver Dollar. This shoot will have a great deal of added money, and if it’s as large as last year’s, it will make an ATA Competition Factor 3. The Southern Grand American is hosted by the Dollar March 12-16. Our Florida State Shoot held at Silver Dollar is March 20-25. These are all wonderful shoots, so mark your calendar and support these fine clubs. I hope I get a chance to include your name in this column as a trapshooting champion.

I can be reached at [email protected] or 321-427-6553.

           Larry Grenevicki

           ATA Delegate

Kentucky

From what I hear, many Kentucky trapshooters are getting a severe case of spring fever. Weather has not been conducive to doing much trapshooting. I just noticed that several Kentuckians have gone to Florida to shoot the Silver Dollar Open. Connor Richardson and Tony and Aaron Willoughby are shooting the lights out.

Coaches for the Kentucky High School Trapshooting League are busy registering their teams. The League is experiencing high levels of excitement, and expectations for the spring season are very high.

Blue Grass Traps has been busy making improvements to accommodate the large number of student athletes involved in the League in the Lexington area. Lexington Catholic, Jessamine Co. Schools and Burgin Independent Schools all utilize Blue Grass Traps for practice and competition. The club now has six lighted fields with new LED technology. The club also supports high school 4-H and on Thursdays hosts evening ATA shoots. KTL president John Kerr and his electrical crew did an outstanding job of putting up the new lights. Blue Grass Traps also received an ATA grant, which they used to purchase some new wireless speakers to support high school and ATA shooting. The club has expressed a deep appreciation to the ATA for this support.

Another bright spot for the KHSTL is in western Kentucky. There are new teams in Calloway and McCracken counties. They join Marshall, Hickman and Todd counties. Thanks to grants from the Friends of NRA, the Jackson Purchase GC has upgraded most of the shooting facilities that will be available to all these new student athletes anxious to learn and compete in the great sport of trapshooting. I have also heard good news about increased activity by student athletes at Murray State University as well as Eastern Kentucky University. I noticed today that there were at least two full squads of Kentucky trapshooters already squadded for the Spring Grand American in Tucson.

On a very sad note, we have learned of the passing of a trapshooting legend in Kentucky, Mr. Grizzly Adams. On behalf of the KTL, we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. As well, we recently learned that John Kerr is hospitalized in Florida recovering from a severe injury. All his friends and fellow shooters are praying for a full and speedy recovery.

Everyone, spring is just around the corner. Clean those guns and get ready to break those targets soon. If anyone has news about trapshooting in Kentucky they wish to share, please send me an e-mail at [email protected] or call 270-227-2262.

Vernon R. Anderson

KTL board member

South Carolina

By the time you read this, we’ll have had some decent weather, but South Carolina had a dose of winter in January. The coast got up to six inches of snow that started in Florida and went up to Maine. Then a week later the upstate got two to four inches of snow. This didn’t last more than two days. It was pretty and didn’t have much effect on driving, except for the black ice created by the melt off.

In the achievement department, both Jay and Jennifer Willson have reached the 25,000 16-yard level; congrats.

We had our state shoot meeting at Kenny Inman’s homestead near his trap club. Kenny cooked us a great lunch with all the fixin’s. If Kenny ever invites you to eat with him, make sure you go; the boy can cook. Everything will be like last year, except we will give trophies for only second and third places where All-American points are earned. The other major changes are that Donnie Pigg will not run for president again, and Neil Alexander will relinquish the state Hall of Fame reins.

Our state shoot will be May 16-20, so make your plans. Same great Pat-Traps, Drew’s scorers, and free fish dinner. I hope to see you there. There will be 1,300 targets, so you’ll have a maximum chance to earn All-American points.

I’m happy to report my big buddy Doug Stenback’s back surgery went well. He’ll be ready to smoke some targets by the Georgia State Shoot.

If you have questions or comments, send an e-mail to [email protected].

Jim Faber

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

This month, let us head south for some much-needed warmer weather, Greek food at the sponge docks, and shoot some clay targets at the Silver Dollar.

The 38th annual Southern Grand is March 12-18 at the Silver Dollar SC, Odessa, FL. The following week is the Florida State Shoot March 20-25 at the Silver Dollar.

I’m sorry to report the recent passing of another trapshooter, Robert (Jud) Gaither. He hadn’t shot in several years due to declining health. Jud shot at 7,600 singles, 6,900 handicap and 2,900 doubles. He was a member of Memphis SSA.

It is time to start making plans to attend the 105th Tennessee State Trapshoot—June 12-13, AIM State Shoot, and June 14-17, Tennessee State Shoot—hosted by the Tennessee CTC, Nashville.

Read the rule book, 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

Arkansas

I hope all had a merry Christmas. I also hope everyone remembers what Christmas is really about! At this time of year, just about all the clubs are not throwing many targets, registered or otherwise. This gives everyone time to pause and reflect on last year’s shooting and try to get a game plan for the coming shooting year on their fundamentals, gun fit, vision and gun maintenance. It would also be a good time to have a look at an ATA Rulebook again and get up to speed with any changes that may have gone into effect for the new target year.

The Arkansas Board of Directors met at the Arkansas G&F facility in Jacksonville Jan. 20 to discuss and implement changes that the board would like to see happen in the new target year. The directors are working hard to make a difference each year to better our Arkansas State Shoot and promote trapshooting in the state. When it comes to our state shoot, what is there not to love: a clean, shooter-friendly facility with great targets and great staff willing to help, friendly folks, restaurants and motels nearby and a great program with a generous amount of added money for in- and out-of-state shooters. For those chasing All-American points, the shoot is traditionally a Competition Factor 3.

I don’t want to forget to tell you about the huge jackpot purse sponsored in part by Federal Ammunition that will be up to around $8,400 this year for a handicap shooter breaking 100 straight in the Federal Handicap on the last day. We are one of the biggest added-money small state shoots in America. When you have a facility like we have at Jacksonville, it makes it so much easier to have a great state shoot. Anyone interested in coming to our state shoot or an individual club shoot, just go to our website at Arkansastrapshooting.org for contact information or shoot dates. The state shoot program and pre-squadding should be available around the first of May, when all of the program is completed. If you would like to check out the Jacksonville facility, you can also go to YouTube for videos taken at the facility, and also Facebook. We would encourage shooters all across America to come see Jacksonville. I believe you will be impressed.

I am proud to announce the 2018 Arkansas state team (2017 target year), with five members making the All-American team also. Congratulations go out to the following shooters making the state team (* denotes All-Americans). Great shooting, all!

Men’s first—captain William Brad Hulen, .9516; McCall Groves*, .9465; Caleb Coody, .9444; Alan (Chuck) Sharp*, .9434; Noah White, .9432. Men’s second—Woody Barnes*, .9397; Jesse Williams, .9388; Cale Love, .9384; Steve Mathis, .9288; Dustin Robertson, .9285. Women’s—Wendy Pennock, .8581. Sub-junior—captain Jase Hambrick, .9039; Blake Robertson, .8814; Rhet Baxley, .8753; Ryan Mahoney, .8667; Lane Ward, .8629. Junior—captain Logan Henry*, .9611; Hunter (Chase) Martin*, .9482; Dylan Kirk, .9317; Dylan Watters, .9311; Ryan Bowen, .9277; Parker Hepner, .9245; Cameron Layes, .9242; Cole Woolard, .9174; Weston Adcock, .9124; Hayden Curtis, .9090. Veteran—Tommy Hall, .9062. Senior vet—Sam Weaver, .8686.

Congratulations to Logan Henry and Ryan Bowen for their fine performances in all-around, HOA and doubles, respectively, at the Southwestern Zone several months ago. Also congratulations goes out to Chuck Sharp for his all-around vet trophy at the Missouri Fall Handicap. Way to go, guys!

Jimmy Self has taken the position of AYSSP director for the Arkansas G&FF. The Arkansas Trapshooting Federation is looking forward to working with him to promote trapshooting in the state.

I would also like to give a big shout-out and thank you to the directors and volunteers who make it happen at all our club shoots. Without their willingness to do registered tournaments, our opportunities to shoot would suffer.

We always encourage and need shooter and membership feedback, good or bad, so we can do our job to improve and promote our sport for all shooters. Please feel free to e-mail at [email protected] or call my cell with questions at 479-739-1697.

Woody Barnes

ATA Alternate Delegate

Colorado

By the time you are reading this, I will be Down Under shooting The World Down the Line trap competition. A group of six from Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona are heading out March 17. It all came together with tons of paperwork for our guns to go. We are finally on our way and looking forward to meeting some of our fellow shooters from Australia.

A special CSTA board meeting was held in January, and it was voted to have a satellite zone competition Sept. 14-16 this year. The goal is to promote the zone shoot by having two sites, and participation would be greater if there were sites on both sides of the mountains. Pikes Peak and Grand Junction will be the host clubs. Check with your zone VP, club delegate, or delegate at large for any questions you may have. Let’s get the zone shoot going again. Be sure to check the CSTA website (www.stmgea.com/CSTA/CSAT.html) for more information as well as where your zone qualifier will be held and the date for that qualifier. Clubs having zone qualifiers are Pawnee, March 25; Cactus Flats, May 8; Golden, May 13; Delta, May 20; and Burlington, June 3. Check the website or your club, as they may decide to move their dates to later in the summer; we have until September (not June) for the zone shoot.

Congratulations go out to Stacy and Adam Rehor on the birth of their baby boy on Jan. 18.

I want to acknowledge our VP of the eastern zone, Jeff West, for all his hard work this past year in taking the extra step to get shooting on the eastern slope energized again. Thank you, Jeff.

Congratulations to the Colorado state team for 2017 (* denotes an All American).

Men’s—Scott Obenchain, .9678; Mike Herman, .9444; Marshall McKinney, .9384; Steven DiGesualdo, .9284; Michael Wasserburger, .9182; Russell Zima, .9131; Peter Grimson, .9099; Scott McIntire, .9061; Kendall Kroeger, .9042; Clinton Phipps, .9012. Denis L. Bringelson*. Lady I—Stacy Rehor*, .9575; Janessa Beaman*, .9464; Briana Huff, .9134; Nikki Herman, .9107; Michaela Worley, .8770. Lady II—Marilyn Walker, .8874; Diane Dible, .8688; Kathleen Starr, .8183; Delores Semsack, .8161; Ann Willoughby, .8125. Sub-junior—Brandy Henrickson, .8102. Junior—Riley Stevens, .9219; Sierra Wasserburger, .9116. Junior gold—Brett Campbell, .9289; Gregory Ferguson, .8916. Sub-vet—Terry Findley, .9305; Brett Renck, .9243; Paul Dible, .9204; Dan Treat, .9084; Kelly Stout, .9048; Jim Macaluso, .8976; Gary Fiscus, .8602. Veteran—Mel Hensley, .9450; Glen Zimmerman, .9135; Rick Olsen, .8950; Jeff West, .8692. Senior vet—Jeff Bailey, .8824; Ron Walker, .8571.

Check the website for how to qualify for your state team in 2018.

We had a great list of Rookie of the Year nominees. Six new shooters were up for the award this year, any of whom would represent us well. Congratulations to the six nominees. They are Brandy Henrickson (state team), Peter Grimson (state team), Sean McCammond, Clinton Phipps (state team), Brett Renck (state team) and Dustin Thim. Phipps and Thim received the honors, being named co-rookies. It is great to see so many new up-and-coming ATA shooters right here in our own state.

Upcoming shoots include Burlington, April 1; Golden, April 7-8; Cactus Flats and Delta, April 8; Grand Junction (Big 50), April 14; Aurora and Berthoud, April 15; Grand Junction and Pikes Peak, April 22; and Delta, April 28-29.

I will keep you posted on our adventures in Australia, and again, if you have anything you would like to share or include in this article, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Dan Treat

ATA Delegate

Louisiana

Boy, is it cold in Louisiana. As I am sitting in the warmth of my living room writing this, there is snow on the ground. Snow in Louisiana is about as scarce as me shooting a 100 straight, and this is the second time this winter—for snow, that is, not a 100 straight.

Even though many of our clubs have gone to a winter operating schedule, Toby Bancroft Memorial GC saw nine brave souls out in the frigid temperatures this past Saturday in pursuit of the elusive yet addictive clay targets. Scores were not as high as normal for this group of shooters, but their efforts were rewarded with a huge pot of duck gumbo over rice, French bread and a slice of Mardi Gras king cake. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Meetings are being held and plans being made for the 2018 Louisiana State Shoot. This event will be May 3-6 at Toby Bancroft Memorial GC in West Monroe. More information will be available next month.

If you have ever played a part in putting one of these shoots together, I believe you would agree with me that it is a tremendous amount of work. I would like to offer a special thanks to all of the LTA members, board of directors, TBMGC members, directors, donors, sponsors and other volunteers that make this possible. If you meet one of these hardworking individuals, please let them know how much you appreciate all their efforts.

By the time you are reading this, this shoot will be open for pre-squadding. Due to the limited number of fields and a max of 120 shooters this year, I encourage all who plan to attend to visit Presquad.com and sign up. Please put this on your calendar and make plans to attend.

For additional shoot schedules and contact information for any of the Louisiana gun clubs, please visit the Louisiana Trapshooting Association website www.louisianatrapshootingassociation.org/index.htm.

Just a reminder that tickets are still available for the 2018 Gun Club Raffle for a chance to win a Kolar Prestige Trap LP Combo. Tickets are $20 each, and a limited number are available. To purchase, contact your ATA Delegate, ATA state secretary or the ATA office: [email protected] or 618-449-2224, ext. 104. The raffle ends Aug. 10 at noon, and the drawing will be held that night at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2018 Grand American.

Shoot well and shoot often.

Doyle Brooks

ATA Delegate

Missouri

I was beginning to think this winter was never going to end, and lo and behold we had a warm spell here last weekend—at least, warm enough to shoot without a heavy coat. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for spring!

This is the time of year that most gun clubs are making preparations for the upcoming shooting season. We are making plans for shoots and getting equipment ready for another year at MTA in Linn Creek. A couple of weeks ago we had our yearly day-long board meeting, mostly making plans for the state shoot. If you haven’t heard or seen any of the posters that we have sent out, there is going to be a party all week during the state shoot this year. Thanks to the vision and generosity of Mr. W.F.J. Fienup, we will be celebrating our 50th Anniversary state shoot at the permanent homegrounds in Linn Creek. There are events and giveaways planned for every day. We hope you put the week of May 14-20 on your calendar, circled in red, and make plans to join us. We have several sponsors and vendors that have generously donated items—some will be awarded by drawing and some by shootoff. The programs should be out by early March with all of the details.

I would like to congratulate the following shooters who make up the 2018 Missouri state teams:

Men’s—captain David Deitch, .9476; Marvin Beumer, .9450; David Hull, .9364; Steven J. Fuller, .9262; Randy Buhr, .9235; Michael Brown, .9197; Rick Fuller, .9196; Kent Frost, .9162; David Wommack, .9129; Todd Albers, .9077. Women’s—captain McKenzie Albers, .9100; Beth Teegarden, .8427; Amber Terry, .8421. Sub-junior—captain Cody Crabtree, .9375; James Boswell, .9217; Chase Perry, .9004; Hayden Miller, .8617. Junior—captain Ethan Boyer, .9272; Joseph Leonard, .9271; Mitchell Box, .9237; Hunter Spruill, .9222; Cole Perry, .9160. Veteran—captain Gary Gooch, .9263; Troy Ellis, .9166; Dan Alspach, .9012. Senior vet—captain Tom Rombach, .9112.

On a more somber note, Missouri lost a true ambassador of the sport. Not only was Claude Felix a great shooter, but he was also a gentleman with a big smile and a kind heart. During his career, Claude shot at a total of 621,325 registered targets.

Since most of the gun clubs are preparing for the upcoming season, hopefully you, the shooters, are making preparations as well. One thing I would hope all shooters do in the off-season is to review or even re-read the ATA Rulebook. In order to play by the rules, one must know and understand the rules. Okay, I will get off my soapbox now and ask if anyone has anything they would like to have reported on, or if you have any concerns, please contact me at [email protected] or 816-863-9003.

God bless and be safe!

Stephen Ricketts

ATA Delegate

New Mexico

Here it is January, and shooting is getting ready to start again. We got the new state shoot calendars. Get hold of your club, and they should have them. The NM State Shoot will be May 22-27 at the NRA Whittington Center. I hope y’all can make it. We’re hoping for a great shoot.

If you have any news that you want in this report, let me know at [email protected] or 575-631-9997. Don’t forget the Alamogordo annual shoot March 16-18.

Shoot well and often.

Bob Leibel

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Oklahoma saw some extremely cold weather for the end of 2017 and the first few days of 2018. This played havoc with OTSA’s Dec. 31 club shoot and Shawnee’s New Year’s Day Shoot. When you wake up to 4° and -5° wind chill, your common sense tells you to stay in where it’s warm. This went on for about a week, where the ponds froze over and ice had to be broken for the cattle to drink. It was a good time to clean guns and load shells for the upcoming season.

The 2018 ATA Gun Club Raffle tickets are now available for purchase. Brian Northup and I have these for a chance to win the Kolar Prestige Trap LP Combo. All Oklahoma shooters should buy a ticket. For one reason, I would like to see one of us win the gun. Another reason is, when we were faced with the daunting task of rebuilding after the devastating tornado of 2013, this Gun Club Fund came to us. Let’s all support this worthwhile raffle.

The following Oklahoma shooters qualified for the 2018 state team. Six also made the All-American team, noted by an * (** for first-time All-Americans).

Men’s—Pat Stacey*, .9469; Ken Isenberg, .9333; Mike Whitaker, .9189; Mike Grove, .9076; Jeffrey Trayer, .9043. Lady I—Shelby Skaggs*, .9241; Ashton Huffstutler, .8780; Abagail Colton, .8651; Vickie Farmer, .8558; Shay Skaggs, .8407. Lady II—Rose Shaffer*, .9158; Mikie Hooper, .8133. Sub-junior—Josh Stacey, .8976; Clay Laughlin, .8956; Jared Marshall, .8928; Brayden Bliss, .8878; Klayton McGee, .8551. Junior—Colt Quisenberry, .9076; Colton Ables, .8986; Tyler Barkhimer, .8076. Junior gold—Corbin Grybowski, .9612; Clay Galbreath, .8925; Josh Casteel, .8900; Grant Nanke, .8611; Michelle Wagar, .8429. Sub-vet—Charles LeadingFox, .9225; Rick Bliss, .9199; Ron Bliss**, .9172; Terry Johnson, .9074; Stan Crawford, .9068. Veteran—Robert Rimer**, .9304; Richard Shaffer, .8872; Terry Piguet, .8758. Senior vet—Tom Batt, .9450; Gary Nichols, .9025; Larry Slape, .9009; Verlin (Doc) Koper, .8992; Bob Campbell, .8930. Chair—Tom Richey, .6984.

Lady Rookie of the Year is Abagail Colton, .8651. No one qualified for men’s Rookie of the Year. Some only needed 100 or 200 more targets to qualify. We always list the qualifications in the state shoot program and on the schedule of registered shoots card distributed to all gun clubs in Oklahoma. If you see that you are a few targets short, they can be made up at any club. Several clubs have helped shooters make up targets in past years. Contact me at 405-417-2236 for help to arrange registering the targets needed. According to the numbers I saw, there were 18 new female and 49 new male shooters last year.

Billy Pierce has now attained 25,000 registered handicap targets. A couple more pictures I noted in the December Trap & Field were Clay Laughlin on Page 52, winning junior champion handicap and doubles trophies at the Heartland Grand. On Page 45 Rose Shaffer is shown in the team picture of the Gray team, who won the category challenge of the Grand American Blue-Gray Shootout. Also on Page 45 under Grand Honor Roll, breaking their first 100 straights were Josh Casteel, Jared Marshall, Collin Rindal and Josh Stacey.

This year the Trapshooting Hall of Fame will celebrate its 50th anniversary. It was established in 1968 (operational in 1969) to recognize the many great shooters throughout the sport. It has preserved the history and documented the history of trapshooting and trapshooters. Hilly Sailer was involved in establishing the Hall of Fame. Hilly became ATA President in 1975 then Ex Officio for one year and spent five years on the Hall of Fame Committee, as did Len Burford, ATA President in 1980. It is only fitting that another great Oklahoma shooter, Pat Stacey, will be inducted at the 50th anniversary. He is already a member of the OTA Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year also. Sailer established the OTA Hall of Fame in 1968, and to date, it has inducted 96 shooters, many of these recognized at the all-ATA level as All-Americans. Hilly recommended every state start their own Hall of Fame; he believed there were shooters who should be recognized at the state level for their accomplishments but would not make it to the national level. Some of these are honored every year at the Oklahoma State Shoot. I had the honor of becoming one in 1995.

Shawnee’s Jan. 7 derby shoot had cold weather, but scores were high. Mike Grove won the singles with 49 and doubles with 48. Bennie Livingston and Mike Meeks broke 46s for the high handicap score.

Ada’s Tuesday evening fun shoot was cold and very windy. Steve Blackburn and Don Bowers were high with 40s.

OTSA’s Jan. 14 derby was warm and windy. In the singles, Tim Mount broke 49, and Mike Meeks’ 48 was next. In the handicap, Nathan Lemke’s 46 was high, and 44s were next by Justin Cavett and Bennie Livingston. Mike Grove and Tim Mount headed the doubles with 47s, followed by Meeks’ 45. Shawnee had cool, overcast weather for its Belt Buckle Shoot Jan. 21. Grove won champion with 97; Travis McBride, A, 95; Ron Freeman, B, 94; Bill Nicholson, C, 93; and Cavett, D, 92. In the handicap, Billy Pierce won champion with 92, Steve Satterwhite short-yardage with 91, Freeman mid-yardage with 86, and Terry Johnson long-yardage with 91.

Let’s all keep law enforcement and military personnel in our prayers.

           Tim Deister

           ATA Delegate

Texas

I wonder what is going on in the world of trapshooting. I have heard from only one shooter with any news. Steven Bradbury sent me an e-mail and asked me to mention the Pre-Southwestern Grand that will be held at the Ft. Worth T&SC. The shoot will start on March 30 and run through April 1. I don’t know if you remember what happened at their club last year. The club had already purchased trophies, manicured the grounds, purchased targets, and had all personnel in place for the shoot. Just before the shoot, a tornado hit the club and did extensive damage, so bad they could not hold the shoot. As you can imagine, they suffered quite a loss from all the pre-shoot expenses, besides all the damage to their facility. Any of you who can go to the shoot this year, please do so. It will help them recover some of their losses from last year, and besides that, you’ll have a great time.

While we are on the subject of helping, how many of you volunteer at your local club? Let’s see a show of hands. Oh come on now, don’t be bashful. Now look around at the raised hands. Those of you who didn’t raise your hand should be ashamed of yourself. So many clubs depend on volunteers to keep the doors open. Many people have the perception that you just go unlock the door and you’re ready to have a shoot. I can assure you that is not the case. Many hours of work and preparation have gone into hosting a shoot. Please help if you can, and if you can’t, at least thank the people who do volunteer.

I’ve written all the news that was sent to me. I guess if y’all don’t send news, we’ll have to talk about the Rulebook. I know reading it might be a little boring, but it’s very important that you know the rules yourself and not depend on a member of your squad or a friend to provide that information for you. There is a chance they might be incorrect. But how would you know if they are correct or incorrect? Simple answer: read the Rulebook and know the rules yourself. Now, see how easy that is?

If you have news (and don’t want to hear me preach about the reading the Rulebook), let Princess or me know about it, and I’ll do my best to get it in Trap & Field. You can reach me at 806-679-6889, snail mail to 800 Baltimore Dr., Hereford, TX 79045, or e-mail me at [email protected].

Till next time, y’all shoot well, y’all shoot often, and y’all have a great time.

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Western Zone

Daniel Forbes and Tiger Volz hung a plaque on Casa Grande's Wall of Fame for Forbes' first 100 straight

Daniel Forbes and Tiger Volz hung a plaque on Casa Grande’s Wall of Fame for Forbes’ first 100 straight

Arizona

This issue should reach you right before our state shoot March 12-18. So drop what you are doing, grab your gun and a few boxes of shells, and head on down to Ben Avery. Here is just one reason: over $28,000 in cash and trophies. Karen selected all 70 trophies for Friday, bracelets for the guys, power drills for the gals and gift cards for the juniors, or maybe I got it backwards. That’s typical of all of the days leading up to the championship events. In-state or out-of-state, they are all the same. We take good care of those who haven’t yet pulled up stakes and moved to Arizona.

Last year it was decided to move our Hall of Fame Classic from October to January and combine it with the Arizona Chain. The reasons were simple: to take advantage of the milder January weather and add some of our winter visitors to the shoot. Well, the verdict is in. We achieved all our goals and perhaps a little more. Attendance was up substantially, and maybe with the exception of the first day, you couldn’t have asked for better weather.

Betty Sackett has a nice article on the Hall of Fame portion in this issue, so I will confine myself to the first three days, Jan. 10-12. Despite a cold (for Arizona) and blustery start, an Arizona junior and one of our senior vets led the way in the opening singles. Charlie Wachtel topped everyone with 97, and Jake Gatschet’s 96 tied for runnerup and won the senior veteran crown. Charlie is a given, seeing that he is one of the country’s best juniors, and Jake, with eight decades of shooting, has a habit of sneaking in when you are not looking. Next up was the ’caps, and Jay Alderman was high gun at 94. I shot with him and can tell you that was a good score on a not-so-nice day. John Hardman beat nine others in the 18-21 yard group. The day ended with doubles, and here were Jay and John again. Jay tied for top gun at 94, and John showed his versatility and took C honors.

The weather cleared on Thursday, but we were not at our best in the doubles. Things picked up in the singles, however, and 99s were high: Max Peevyhouse won AA; Greg Tannheimer, B; Greg Holden, veteran; and Jim Sharp, senior vet. Karen Bergman beat four other ladies. Our hot streak continued into the handicap. Mark Harrison and Jim Sharp tied for high gun, with Mark taking the 22-24 title and Jim senior veteran. Jessie Zamora was one of three shooters with a 91 in the 18-21 yard group. Our side was off to a strong start on Friday. Max Peevyhouse repeated his performance with another 99 in singles, taking high gun once more, while Greg Holden and Greg Tannheimer also shot 99s and won veteran and A class, respectively. Steve Haynes, another 99 shooter, was the A runnerup. I should also mention one of our old friends, Tony DeSimone. Tony was C runnerup with a nice 96. The handicap and doubles were a little bit leaner for us Arizona folks. In the ’caps, Bob Mlynarz led all at 22-24 yards, Karen Bergman took ladies’, and Jake Gatschet was high senior vet. The Mlynarzes, Ken and Bob, were one-two in Class A doubles, and Fred Frazier’s 96 topped B.

The entire tournament ran without a hitch and was an excellent dress rehearsal for the state shoot. One of our new transplants from California, John Johnson of Humbolt, summed things up pretty well: “(I) had an absolutely fabulous time at this event. The whole Ben Avery complex is something else! Living within an hour of that place almost makes moving to Arizona worth it all by itself.”

Around the state: Here is a bulletin! Casa Grande’s jackpot is now $30,990. All you need is one lucky day. They held their Kick Cabin Fever Shoot Jan. 16-21, and our honorary Arizonans (winter visitors) were there in force. It was not until Event 5, Wednesday’s singles, that a full-timer entered the winner’s circle. Steve Smoot tied for first in C but lost on a carryover, Jerry Mills took D, and Charles Chapman won veteran. The day finished with Phil Vasquez winning the 25-27 group and Bud Rupe taking senior vet and getting a half-yard punch. Thursday was another tough day for Arizona, but some familiar faces did triumph. Gerry Demulling (WI) won the handicap, and Cliff Haycock (CO) took the doubles. The day was topped off by Judy Bonefield (SD) shooting her 50,000th handicap target, with chocolate cake for all. There were signs of life on Friday, attendance was strong, and William Simons prevailed in D class in both the singles and doubles, while Kenny Mlynarz won 25-27. On Saturday Scott Skaggs was high in A for the singles as was William Simons for C and Gary Franklin for D. In the handicap, Ken Mlynarz stood like Horatius at the bridge, fending off all comers. His 96, from the 27 no less, topped the field by two. Also standing strong was Kyle Dennis at 94, and that took 22-24. Bud Rupe tied for senior vet but lost on a carryover. Ken M. also prevailed in Sunday’s doubles, but it was Daniel Forbes’ day. First Dan won C in the doubles then he shot his first 100 straight in the singles. His is the new name on Casa Grande’s Wall of Fame.

Yes, I know that we have had the Autumn Grand American, most of the Chain, the Hall of Fame Classic, the Spring Grand and now we are in the midst of our state shoot. Nobody tops Arizona when it gets cold up north, but things are not over. Late March and April feature registered shoots at Tucson (two), Tri-State, Casa Grande (two), Mohave (two), Rio Salado (two), Double Adobe and Ben Avery. You’ve gotta love it! See you on the line.

John Bergman

ATA Delegate

Alberta

We are in the depths of winter in Alberta, and the only action in trapshooting is the winter Chain shooters in Arizona. We did have the opportunity of honoring Art Peyton as he shot and hit his 500,000th ATA target. Art is the third Albertan and third Canadian to hit this milestone; Trevor Dawe and Ron McConnell also are members of the ATA’s Half Million Club. Art did it in 24 years of shooting, which is amazing when one works out the time and effort this takes. Tiger and Don hosted a dinner at the Casa Grande club for the celebration. Art and Diane bought steaks for everyone, and a good time was had by all.

Unfortunately we also lost a longtime Alberta shooter and APTA member when John Stoik passed away Dec. 31. John was instrumental in the original relocation of the Edmonton GC. He was a tireless worker at Edmonton and served as director and APTA secretary for over a decade.

For those who would like a chance to win a new Kolar Combo, Trevor Kuhn and I have tickets for this ATA raffle. Cost is $20 U.S., and funds go to support the Gun Club Fund, a worthy cause from which Medicine Hat and Calgary have received grants. I also have a limited number of tickets for the Hall of Fame gun raffle, a custom 50th Anniversary Krieghoff Combo. There will be 400 tickets sold at $100 U.S. each.

If you have questions or wish to have something published in Trap & Field, please let me know.

           Garry Hill

           ATA Delegate

Utah

Debra Johnson (pictured with husband Steve) has retired as club manager of Spanish Fork GC. She worked at the club for more than 10 years. Kiersten Dumas has been hired as manager of Spanish Fork. Having worked at the club for years, Kiersten started as a puller and moved up to head of trap help.

Debra Johnson (pictured with husband Steve) has retired as club manager of Spanish Fork GC. She worked at the club for more than 10 years.
Kiersten Dumas has been hired as manager of Spanish Fork. Having worked at the club for years, Kiersten started as a puller and moved up to head of trap help.

The holidays are over, and we are now in the deep freeze of winter here in Utah. With any luck, some new trapshooting equipment arrived for young and old alike under the Christmas tree. The only ATA action during the month of December was in Utah’s Dixie at Purgatory CS. This was a one-day shoot that had a respectable turnout of about seven squads. Wynn Isom was high in the singles with the lone 100, Kevin Bradford had a field-high 97 in the handicap, and Scott Syme led the doubles. You can check out all the scores on the USTA website.

On an almost somber note: if you have shot at Spanish Fork GC any time in the past 10 or so years, you have been greeted by club manager Debra Johnson. Debra retired Dec. 30. Debra was hired by the city of Spanish Fork to manage the club in March 2006, and according to her husband Steve, she then started drinking heavily in April of 2006. Debra has a huge following of friends, shooters and non-shooters alike. One very good friend of hers is also one of the club directors, John Yorkey (aka Utah York). John said that when he first started shooting trap seven years ago, Debra’s husband Steve was showing him a Perazzi and telling him about all the finer points of owning one. They were sitting in front of the clubhouse, and John told Steve he’d first have to check with his “wife” to see if it would be okay to purchase the gun, and then he left for home. After they left, Debra turned to Steve and said, “Isn’t that so sweet of him to check with his wife before buying anything?” Steve just rolled his eyes and said, “For gosh sakes, he’s not married!” Later on Debra told John how much she laughed at this, and the two have been friends ever since.

Speaking of Steve, he also has had a lot to do with the gun club (both in a paid and volunteer capacity). With Debra retiring, I understand that he may cut back on his time spent at the club as well (time will tell). I for one would like to thank both Debra and Steve for their contributions to the sport we all love so much. If not for people like them, we would not have a place to shoot.

Upon Debra’s retirement, Kiersten Dumas has been hired by the city to be the new club manager. Kiersten has been a familiar face at the club for years, where she first was hired as a puller and then earned her way up to being head of all trap help at shoots. She has done an excellent job in that capacity, and I am sure she will not disappoint in her new role, either. Congratulations, Kiersten!

Seeing as how it is the new year, it is once again time to check how we’re doing with those mostly useless resolutions. I have found that fun resolutions are much easier to keep than the not-so-fun ones (i.e., shoot more, miss less—ha ha ha). Seriously, if you want to improve your shooting, it is best to work on little things and only one or two things at a time. Another thing that can help is to track your averages, but not on a weekly basis. I have found that once every month or two is sufficient. If you track them too often, you can get disappointed (kind of like weighing yourself every day when you are trying to keep one of those other silly resolutions!).

Till next time . . .

           Ed Wehking

           ATA Delegate

Washington

Hello again to shooters in Washington and throughout the ATA world. I hope this finds you wintering well and looking forward to busting some flying clay. By the time this reaches your mailbox, folks in these parts will be packing up for three days at the Camas Prairie Handicap in Walla Walla, and the ATA targets will start being launched more frequently. There’s no better cure for winter cabin fever, in my opinion.

I would like to apologize for a mistake in our state team listings, printed in my January contribution. Due to calculations done with a program using the wrong target minimums, the singles leaders list for 2017 was incorrect. After corrections were made, it shows that John Mullins also led the singles standings, making him the high average shooter in all three disciplines, which is a great accomplishment. Congratulations to John and all of the other high-average shooters. Here are the correct lists:

Singles—John Mullins, .9829; Eric Olson, .9754; T. J. Main, .9752; Brady Gies, .9690; Bob McLendon, .9680. Handicap—Mullins, .9258; Jeff Nostrom, .9227; Andrew Gough, .9181; Zane Clausen, .9159; Main, .9156. Doubles—Mullins, .9814; Main, .9557; Travis Iksic, ,9540; Jacob Myre, .9458; Nathan Teesdale, .9417.

Many of our shooters have been enjoying warmer weather in Arizona, and others have finished their hunting seasons, while a few more have been busy with some of the great winter fishing available in the region. Clubs have been busy with games shoots and telephonic leagues, and these are a fun way to get new shooters started. A lot of our youth are introduced to our game this time of year. We haven’t needed to shovel much snow this winter, which makes spending a Saturday or Sunday at the trap club a little more inviting, and as we all start gathering at registered shoots, there will be a lot of great stories about our hunting, fishing and winter shooting adventures. It’s not uncommon to see an Annie Oakley with up to 50 shooters entered, which in itself can create some pretty tall tales.

I want to mention again that having your dues paid and average cards up to date can save you and management a lot of time when you get to your shooting destination. We tend to have a lot of first-time shooters signing up at spring shoots—which is a great trend that we hope will continue—but processing new shooters takes time, so some of us more seasoned competitors will make it a lot easier if we are ready ahead of time.

If you are needing camping or lodging options for the ATA Western Zone at the Colton GC in July, feel free to contact me, and I’ll be more than happy to help you find helpful information. My e-mail address is [email protected].

I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of you as our shooting season hits full stride. In the meantime, don’t forget about making time to take someone to your club to introduce them to trapshooting. And if you see a stranger in the clubhouse, make him or her feel at home. People are sure to get hooked on ATA shooting once they find out how friendly we are.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.                Sean Lewis

ATA Alternate Delegate

Central Zone

Illinois

Hello, shooters! Hopefully by now you’ve all swept the dust off your gun and have taken advantage of the weather to send a few rounds downrange. Shooting season will be in full swing before you know it!

I’ve had several texts and e-mails asking about dates for state shoots this year. June is a busy month for it! The Illinois State High School Clay Target League has their state shoot June 2-3. They have two days this year because of how fast word is spreading, and the amount of teams has increased drastically. We don’t have a number yet for how many, but from word of mouth, it sounds like it’s going to be boomin’! The AIM State Shoot will be June 9 (200 singles) and 10 (100 doubles, 100 handicap).

The ISTA State Shoot will be June 11-17. We have changed the program a bit this year. Instead of doing 200 singles on Thursday, we are knocking the class singles to 100 targets and adding 100 doubles. Be sure to let me know if you do or don’t like this change in the program.

Something else that will be changing is our website. It isn’t complete yet, but it is getting close. The old website wasn’t mobile friendly, so we have changed that. We also plan on updating more, adding new spotlights and making it more user friendly overall. I will share the link for that as soon as it is complete.

Don’t forget to catch an Illinois zone shoot this year to qualify for the state team. You do have to shoot the 200 singles, 100 doubles and 100 handicap at any of the three zones to qualify as well as the all-around (200 singles, 100 doubles and 100 handicap) at the Illinois State Shoot. There was a big jump in participation from the first year I figured the teams to the second, and I hope to see that continue! Competition is what keeps the sport rollin’.

I hope to see you all soon!

Lauren Mueller

ATA Delegate

Indiana

Greetings, shooters! I hope everyone is as excited as I am about shooting registered ATA targets after a long, cold winter! It has definitely been a rough one for us here in Indiana, but hopefully as you read this in March, the temperatures are warmer and days are definitely getting longer.

I trust everyone has their own zone shoots marked on their calendars and maybe are contemplating hitting the other zones in addition to their own. In May we will start with the central zone at the Fall Creek Valley CC May 12-13, then the northern zone at St. Joe Valley CC May 19-20, and concluding with the southern zone shoot at Columbus GC May 26-27. The 2018 Indiana State Shoot will be July 17-22 at our Indiana GC homegrounds. The ATA Central Zone Shoot will once again be at Evansville GC July 27-29. All of our member clubs have shoots planned through the early spring. Be sure to check out our newly renovated website, www.indianatrap.com, for all registered shoot dates. If you need any information about these shoots, let me know.

Speaking of the Indiana State Shoot, over the past couple of years the ITA Spectator Experience has continued to grow, and I’m pleased to share this message from the person who makes it possible, Roxie Antczak:

“Over the last two years, the ITA Spectator Experience has offered shooters and their families tons of additional Indiana State Shoot activities. With this year’s dates finalized, plans for even more excitement are in the works. From live music and our popular “coffee and crafts” to Ladies’ Day Out and the annual Welcome Party, the Spectator Experience committee is working closely with local artists and Fortville’s small business community to make this our best year yet! Visit our Facebook page to stay on top of all the details.”

The Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/ITASpectatorExperience. Please visit and plan to attend as many events as possible to help this event grow. A big thanks goes out to Roxie for everything she has done to make this possible.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything or would like to have anything included in this article for Indiana. My e-mail is [email protected].

Jason Barnett

ATA Delegate

Nebraska

Congratulations to the Nebraska 2018 state team. Top 10 shooters—Richard Marshall Jr., .9695; Brock Barton, .9519; Dagen Voigtman, .9517; Stan Welte, .9481; Casey Petersen, .9472; Dick Mavis, .9468; Brian Kasuske, .9435; Elizabeth Budin, .9400; Max Christiansen, .9386; Weston Zolck, .9377. Women’s—Karlie Hubbard, .9219; Morgan Mavis, .9164; Payton DeTavernier, .9128. Sub-junior—John Deford, .9267. Junior—Nathan Schulte, .9340; Connor Voigtman, .9324; Bryce McGill, .9239; Blake Greckel, .9189; Josh Mulinix, .9183. Veteran—Randy Bartling, .9345; Walter Kern, .9206; John Burke, .9190; Mike Abbott, .9100; Jerry Roessner, .9072. Senior vet—Steven Elliott, .9165; John Hakola, .9117; Ralph Clark, .9081; James Gelinne, .9040; Marvin Cox, .8849. Remember that applications for the state team are due Dec. 31 of each year.

The Nebraska High-Average Award winners are Randy Bartling, singles, .9843; Dagen Voigtman, handicap, .9384; and Max Christiansen, doubles, .9567. To qualify for these, shooters participated in the championship events at the Nebraska State Shoot and met All-American target requirements during the 2017 shooting year.

The Nebraska State Shoot will be June 20-24 at the Doniphan homegrounds. Please note that our newsletter had the incorrect dates for the state shoot. The NTA will continue to give AAA class trophies for both in-state and out-of-state shooters. This year we are awarding AIM medals for both in-state and out-of-state championship events.

For those of you who have received notices from Joy for annual rentals of RV spaces, those must be back to her before March 15; otherwise they will be rented to people on the waiting list. Renters who have long-term leases must return their postcards before March 15. For people on the waiting list, Joy will not be able to assign open spaces until the long-term renters and leaseholders have replied. If you would like to add your name to the waiting list, please e-mail your RV information to Joy at [email protected].

We will be utilizing presquad.com for pre-squadding this year. It will be opened on April 15. If you want a special squad, this is the best way to ensure you have that squad.

Joy is continuing to update the new NTA website. The address is still www.shootnta.com. If you see something that needs changed or added, contact her.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at [email protected]. Thank you for your continued support.

           John Burke

           ATA Past President

Ohio

Sorry I did not get a letter out for the month of December. My computer was suffering from some kind of virus that had everything blocked.

The OSTA Board and Foundation meeting was canceled for January due to extremely bad weather. I don’t know about up north, but our area was on a Level 3. It is not worth anyone taking a chance on having an accident to attend our OSTA meeting. It has been rescheduled, and even though it throws us a little behind, it is better than someone being hurt, and I am sure we will make up the lost time.

Local clubs are still shooting leagues and having fun shoots. Please support your local clubs. The Southern Grand is coming up in the near future. The Mid-American in April should be a very nice shoot to attend this spring in Ohio. The zone shoots are in May, so please put your respective zone club on your calendar. You may go online to Ohiotrap.com for clubs and dates.

Richard Zombek asked me to remind all Ohio shooters who wish to run for Ohio zone director, please reach out to your respective nominating committee personnel. High school seniors applying for one of the Foundation Scholarships should be reminded that your application must be received by the deadline to be considered for one of the scholarships.

In ATA news, the EC gave Lynn Gipson a new three-year contract, with the language remaining the same. New IT man for the ATA is Ben Bauer. The ATA now has a Death Member Certificate, containing detailed information about the past member, which may be obtained by submitting a request to the ATA office. According to Mr. Hayes, the Central Zone EC member, the new All-American point system seems to be working very well. EC expenditures came in under the budgeted amount of $24,000. The same amount is budgeted for 2018. There will be no reductions allowed below the 19-yard line. The 2018 Grand American dates are Aug. 1-11.

I will leave you with the words of a good friend of mine: keep your head down, follow through, and “bust ’em.”

Roger McNamer

ATA Delegate

Wisconsin

My friend Dennis M. called to say he was heading to Redlands, CA, for their New Year’s Shoot. I said that it’s great to just go to a new place alone and shoot. Sometimes we think we need someone to go with us, but taking a trip by yourself into the unknown is not a bad idea. Maybe make it a goal to go to a new club this year alone or even with a friend. Take a chance to meet new friends this way. E-mail me sometime about this experience.

So here is my experience . . . I shot in Florida at the Silver Dollar for the first time. I left my driver’s license at home but somehow was still able to get on the plane but could not rent a car without my license, and I broke my necklace. Thanks to Dennis M. and Dave O., we almost had to cut rental car seats apart to find the pendants, but we did. Everyone has said it is tough to shoot here, but just try to get here (LOL). Well, I started out well with a 98 in singles and went downhill fast. I did win runnerup in three Lady II events (I would rather not say my scores). Congrats to my fellow trophy winners Thomas Felts, Rich Weisensel and Gary Reynolds. I did say to the Silver Dollar residents as I was leaving that I was glad to go home and shoot in the snow rather than the wind they have.

Keep supporting your winter fun shoots at clubs in your area. Summer shooting will begin soon.

Wisconsin is proud to name these fine shooters to the 2017 all-state team:

Men’s—Gerald Demulling, George Hass, Dwight Fitzsimmons, Jonathon Denman, Dan Haag, Gerald Tenor, Tim Mackey, Mike May, Christian Jensen, Dave Studnicka. Women’s—Cathy Wehinger, Janet Reding, Sandra Jo Jack, Karlie Klas, Carol Keeley. Junior/sub-junior—Hadyn McKeough, Richard Olson, Logan Denman. Veteran—Michael Nawikas, Glen Grabski, Kenneth Beutler, Donald Mittag, Andy Hall. Senior vet—Bruce Wiegmann, Dwight Paulin, Steve Keeley, John Madson.

Congrats to high-average shooters: singles, Cathy Wehinger; handicap, Gerald Demulling; doubles, Dwight Fitzsimmons.

Every year Wisconsin inducts outstanding shooters to its Hall of Fame. They are nominated by fellow shooters who believe they represent our great state with their contributions as shooters and volunteers. This year we are proud to induct two wonderful shooters to the Hall of Fame: Kenneth Beutler and John Madson.

Congratulate your 2017 all-state team, high-average shooters and Hall of Fame members when you see them; they worked hard to get to this point in their careers.

When you see Arlene Otto at a shoot, please thank her for all she is doing to get the books correct from the past. She has a big job to do.

And shake Fritz Thistle’s hand for being our acting president. The WTA is on to a new beginning for 2018. Please also volunteer for the state shoot. I am sure I can find you a spot to help out, so please contact me at [email protected].

Just a reminder, you are awesome, and we value everyone who shoots or volunteers at our clubs or any club in the U.S. I was informed that in January a fellow shooter from Kentucky was shot. John Kerr is also Kentucky TL president and does many great things for the shooters. I know we will keep him and Donna in our prayers, as he has a long road ahead of him. Get well soon, John.

Keep smiling and remember to thank your WTA board for all of the hard work they do for us. Also volunteer at your club; we all can make a difference.

Sandra Jo Jack

for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring

Eastern Zone

Atlantic Provinces

The Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association has a new website, shootatlantic.com. Check it out and let us know what you think. The main reason for the update was a technology upgrade that makes website updates much easier and faster—after all, what’s the sense of having a website if it’s not current? Along with the new streamlined menu, we have included an expanded image gallery and more space for local club content. There’s some missing information with our annual shoot results, so if you have anything you would like to share, please feel free to contact me.

An Atlantic Provinces Hall of Fame is also in the works for 2018. The timeline is to have it in place for our ATA provincial shoot over the Labor Day weekend. One thing I have discovered as a director of the Atlantic Provinces is that we know little about our history, and our local knowledge is closely tied to the current group of active shooters. New shooters coming on the scene have no idea about the contributions shooters such as Kent Brunt, Ian Ross, Don Stevens, Dave Anstey and Dave Williams made to trapshooting in the Atlantic Provinces, and that needs to change. It will be a big task, but I am confident it will be worth the effort. Stay tuned to shootatlantic.com for more information as our Hall of Fame takes shape.

The Highland GC located near Yarmouth, NS, has been busy preparing for the 2018 Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Championships. This will be their first time hosting our annual shoot, and from all accounts, things are shaping up well. The Highland GC was founded in 1958 by a group of local outdoorsmen who were interested in some off-season practice. Using their own resources, they located a suitable property and equipped it with two skeet fields, one trapfield and a small storage building. With continued support from dedicated club members, the club has grown to include a modest clubhouse and covered deck, three trapfields, concrete walkways on all fields and a 5-stand course. Atlantic Provinces secretary-treasurer and the 2014 Canadian handicap and 2017 Canadian open singles champion Doug Blades heads up the club and is one of the main driving forces there. If you’re looking for an excuse to visit eastern Canada this year, attending the 2018 Atlantic Provinces Shoot is as good a reason that I can think of. That and maybe the seafood—lobster being the main fare. You can also explore the Halifax, South Shore, Annapolis Valley and Bay of Fundy regions known for their scenic coastal drives, wineries, whale watching, highest tides in the world, largest number of lighthouses in any Canadian province, and a rich maritime history, including the famous Bluenose fishing schooner and legends of pirates.

When this goes to print, spring in the Atlantic Provinces will be only six to eight weeks away (if we’re lucky). Our contingent of shooters from southwest Nova Scotia will be just coming back from Tucson and the Spring Grand, and the guys from Newfoundland will be eagerly awaiting their trip to the Silver Dollar for the Southern Grand. Updates on their travels will be posted on our webpage under the APTA Abroad section, so stay tuned.

For more information, visit shootatlantic.com. I can be reached at [email protected].

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

New York

I hope everyone has stayed warm during this winter season. It was a very cold and harsh winter in the Northeast. Hopefully, with March arriving, we will start to have some nice weather and a good start to the spring season.

I am pleased to say that three shooters will be inducted into the New York State ATA Hall of Fame on July 14 during the New York State Shoot: Tiffany Decker, Chris Landon and past NYSATA president Doug Duncan. All three are good friends and are very deserving. They have shot for many years and have won numerous trophies and awards. My congratulations to these fine New York shooters.

New York State will be hosting the ATA Eastern Zone this July. There is one small change in the program. We originally advertised that there would be an event held July 18, sponsored by the New York State ATA. However, Wednesday’s event has been canceled, and the Eastern Zone will start July 19 and end on the 22nd. We hope you all plan to attend.

NYSATA president Tim Herbstsommer is planning on having brief postings on the NYSATA webpage, www.nystate.com, to keep shooters up to date with what is happening with our association. Tim stated in his post in January, and I quote, “I have talked with some shooters that have volunteered their help and skills when the weather permits to start some small projects that will significantly improve the appearance of our facility.

“The two biggest issues, as we all well know, are drainage and road improvement. We did a trial drainage project on one field last September that seemed to work out. This spring will be the real test. If successful, we will move forward with other fields. As far as the road, we need to formulate a plan so that our efforts are successful for the long term. Not a bandage fix. Again, anyone who can offer help or constructive ideas or would like to step up and get involved, please let me know. Everyone has something to offer. I’m positive of that. Thank you in advance for your help. Take care.”

The new drainage system on one of our fields was completed after the 2017 Northeastern Grand American and seemed to work very well. Photos of the field are on our webpage. If you have any ideas or want to help, please e-mail Tim at [email protected].

Remember that our first shoot this year at our homegrounds in Cicero is the Empire Grand American May 9-13. I hope to see you all there.

If anyone wants to have an item placed in one of these articles, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] or call 585-519-9543.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Easter holiday season. See you all soon, and good shooting. May God bless.

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada!

Many of our shooters in every state and province are at an age that ready access to a defibrillator is important. It just may save someone’s life.

The Ontario Provincial Trapshooting Association had a portable unit donated to it by Seamus Tynan’s company Ward & Burke Microtunnelling Ltd. This unit is a Canadian Red Cross-approved G3. It comes with spare parts and a four-year battery and is sealed in a water-tight, heavy-duty plastic case.

The OPTA intends on taking this unit by one of its board members (or other designated person) to as many ATA shoots as possible. Some of our Ontario clubs have their own units. Costs vary but appear to range from $1,200 to $1,500 (Canadian).

This is a great, potentially life-saving opportunity that should be considered across all of our ATA clubs from coast to coast.

Spring shooting should be upon us when you read this article. Have a great season.

Paul Shaw

Eastern Zone Vice President

Pennsylvania

Spring is right around the corner, which means we’ll soon be able to shoot in normal clothing again . . . hopefully! Some final thoughts on the 2017 target year: targets thrown. Pennsylvania threw the third most targets in the ATA last year with 4,861,878. Only Illinois, which hosts the Grand American, with 6,307,300 and Ohio with 4,885,575 threw more. Pennsylvania finished only 23,697 behind Ohio.

As for individual clubs, PSSA was also third in the ATA with 2,732,700 behind the WSRC in Illinois and the Cardinal Center in Ohio. The top five clubs in Pennsylvania were Bradford with 258,300 (33rd in the ATA and throwing more targets than more than half of the state/provincial shoots), Bedford with 151,075, North End with 148,750, Valley Gun with 112,075, and Greater Jackson with 94,900. Congratulations to these clubs and to all Pennsylvania shooters who take part in keeping our clubs shooting!

The major shooting season is usually marked in Pennsylvania with the Pennsylvania east and west zone shoots. They are scheduled for May 12-13 at Bradford in the west and South End in the east. Of course, there are many clubs holding regular shoots until then, which will work as a great tune-up.

The PSSA has a new website that is being operated by Jeff Graupp at www.pssashotgunning.org. Also, state team requirements mandate that shooters complete the 400 championship targets at the state shoot, shoot those targets in the category of the team you are wanting to make, and ensure that total target requirements are met. Further details will be posted in the PSSA program. Upcoming improvements at the PSSA includes the installation of new flooring in the Hall of Fame room, which will take place in April and should be completed before the Keystone Open beginning May 18.

Good luck with your post-winter shooting, and I look forward to seeing everyone shortly.

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate

Rhode Island

This month, it is with great pleasure that we recognize all the Rhode Island shooters who make up our 2018 high-average winners, state teams and Hall of Fame inductee, as well as the dedicated shooters volunteering their time to serve on the RITA Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

This year’s banquet was very well attended by not only Rhode Island shooters but also friends from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Our past president, Joyce Morris, called the meeting to order after a fine meal provided by chef David Macera from Macera’s Italian Restaurant in Cranston. Joyce has served on our board for as long as I can remember in one capacity or another and has volunteered her time in so many ways to help make the Rhode Island Trapshooting Association the strong organization it is today. On behalf of all RITA members, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joyce for all she has done and wish her all the best.

Our election of officers came next with the following results: president, Mike Jaye; vice president, Tom Elias; second vice president, Jason Deshaies; treasurer-secretary, Barbara Jaye. The board includes Greg Smith, Dana Greatorex and Mike Jubin. Thanks to all for volunteering your time. If there are any Rhode Island residents who would like to help our organization during the target year, please touch base with any of the folks above. We could always use the help.

Next we recognized our 2017 High-Average Award winners. Leading the way this year is Ron Pedro with an outstanding performance, capturing the men’s singles, .9762; men’s handicap, .9107; and all-around, .9408. Our men’s doubles award went to John Federici with a high average of .9481. Congratulations, guys!

For our ladies’ High-Average Awards, Sue Smith was our winner, taking the singles, .9154; doubles, .9078; and ladies’ al-around, .8862. Our ladies’ handicap High-Average Award went to Linda Peckham, posting an .8570. Great job, ladies!

We then announced our state team for the 2017 shooting season:

First team—captain Ron Pedro, .9408; John Federici, .9407; Greg Smith, .9383; Mike Jubin (sub-vet), .9098; Louis DiPrete, .9041. Second team—Sue Smith, .8862; John Ruggieri, .8798; Richard Riebe, .8745; Joyce Morris, .8481; Ken Hopkins, .8309. Congratulations and good shooting, all.

Finally, it was my honor and privilege to be inducted into the RI state Hall of Fame. My good friend and longtime squadmate John Federici’s induction speech was very special to me, and I couldn’t have been more humbled to be recognized by such a fine group of people. We have a small state, but there are many great people who make up the RITA, and I am proud to represent them as Delegate and to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. My sincere thanks to all.

Please feel free to contact me with shooting news, milestones or acomplishments you would like me to report. Both the Narragansett GC and Wallum Lake GC have registered dates for the 2018 shooting season. Please see www.shootata.com for more info.

I can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or on my cell at 401-474-0142.

Louis K. DiPrete

ATA Delegate

New Jersey

Jack Godwin is being inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this year.

Jack Godwin is being inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this year.

Weather, as you’re all aware, has caused havoc with our gun clubs in the state due to brutally cold temperatures and snow, closing them and cutting off their needed revenue stream. Well, it’s the winter season in New Jersey.

I received a text from Chris Cusumano, who had been shooting out in Arizona, where he broke his first 200. Congrats, Chris.

While down at the Silver Dollar, I managed to lose a soft gun case and a shooting vest off my rented golf cart. I’d like to thank those shooters who found them and brought them to lost and found at the clubhouse. I even found someone’s shooting bag and an empty shell pouch left on the shooting benches and returned them to the lost and found, as I did so, I saw a familiar coat there—it was mine! I guess I forgot it on the back of one of the chairs in the clubhouse. Getting old is an exciting time!

We (Rudy Torlini and I) are happy to announce this year’s New Jersey state teams:

Men’s first—Robert Malmstedt, Thomas Clarke, Michael Morgado, Mark Wade, Gene Moir Jr. Men’s second—Thomas Green Sr., Marc Invidiato, Robert Battista, Justin Malone, Chris Cusumano. Women’s—Susan Emma, Patricia Slimm, Rachel Osterhoudt, Kolleen Adams, Candace Bishop. Junior—Bryan Romanow, Duncan Stevenson, Emily Malone, Nicholas Padovani, Angelina Moir. Veteran—George Wright, Jack Rodgers, John Zultanky. Senior vet—Thomas Wolf, Joe Sissano, Peter Frederiks.

The most targets shot in 2017 by a New Jersey resident was Pete Frederiks with 25,100.

I heard from Ken Hassis that Steve Andiorio won the 2017 New Jersey Flyer Championship at Wing Point in Hamburg, PA, Dec. 30. As usual for this time of year, it was freezing cold with wind and some snow thrown in to make it really interesting.

We’ll be inducting two individuals this June into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. First up is John (Jack) Godwin of Point Pleasant. The following is part of a write-up that is printed in its entirety in the 2018 state program.

“Jack was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1945. He grew up in East Brunswick, attending kindergarten to 11th grade there. His family moved to Point Pleasant Beach in 1963, and that’s where he graduated high school. Jack attended a trade apprenticeship for iron workers and followed in his dad’s footsteps.

“He was an active ironworker through the mid 1990s and became an entrepreneur in 1981, when he established Point Lobster Company in Point Pleasant Beach. The business started as a lobster wholesale distributor with one pickup truck and one employee and now has over 40 employees and supplies lobster and seafood to restaurants and supermarkets from Cape May to Philadelphia and to North Jersey. His business is well known to the locals and summer tourists who enjoy fresh lobster.

“Jack started shooting in 1967, when an ironworker friend introduced him to shooting at the Staten Island GC. He was self-taught but always sought advice and tips from experienced shooters. He attended two Kay Ohye clinics and has been an active trapshooter for over 50 years. His business development has limited shooting time to spring, fall and winter, but he continued to pursue the sport.

“He is an avid outdoorsman, which started in his early childhood years, when he became fascinated with freshwater fishing on Farrington Lake in East Brunswick. He grew up surrounded by farms and woods. He observed hunters, their dogs and the sounds of gunshots, which kindled his desire to start hunting. Although no one in his immediate family had an interest in hunting, Jack got his hunting license the first year he was eligible, at the age of 14.

“Jack is still an avid hunter and enjoys duck hunting with his son, son-in-law and grandsons. He is also a big-game hunter with gun and bow and arrow. He visits Texas to hunt deer, wild boar, turkeys and small game.

“Jack’s other outdoor hobby is deep sea fishing for marlin, tuna and sailfish. He currently runs a 1988 37-foot Bertram out of Point Pleasant Beach and is partners in a sport fishing boat in Costa Rica. He is currently on the board of trustees of the Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club and has won numerous big-game fishing awards. He has fished in Bermuda, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Mexico and Florida.

“Jack has two children and three grandchildren. Son John runs the business, and daughter Allison is a family practice physician. His lifelong partner Laurie has supported his trapshooting career, and he continues to spark her interest in practicing and joining him on the trapline.

“Jack has nursed several injuries over the last few years, and still the trapshooting fire is not out yet. He is encouraged and inspired to continue to shoot ATA targets, teach his grandchildren this sport, and maintain the many, many friendships he has developed over the years.

“To date, Jack has registered over a half-million targets—387,000 singles, 99,675 handicap and 74,450 doubles. He has won the singles, handicap, doubles and all-around championships at the New Jersey State Shoot over the years. Only the HOA has eluded him, since the summer is his busy season at Point Lobster and he can’t attend the entire state shoot. Maybe this year he’ll take some extra days off from work!”

Jack’s induction will take place June 2 at 4 p.m. sharp in the clubhouse at Pine Belt SC in Shamong during the state shoot. All are invited to attend; cake and refreshments will be served.

Our second inductee is Dennis Lott. I’ll be including his biography in the next issue of Trap & Field.

On a sad note, Warren Pasmore, 82, passed away Jan. 7 at RWJ University Hospital in Somerset. Warren was born in Plainfield; he was a lifelong resident of Dunellen and graduated from Dunellen High School in 1953. Warren was an electrical contractor and owner/operator of Pasmore Electrical Service in Dunellen since 1957. He was in the New Jersey National Guard, rising to the rank of lieutenant. Warren had been a member of the Dunellen-Greenbrook Rotary Club, past president of the Watchung Chapter of the Air Stream Club, and on the special police force in Dunellen. Warren was an avid sportsman and enjoyed camping, trapshooting and helping many people unselfishly. At one of the big shoots held at Pine Belt back in the late 1980s or early 1990s, there was an overheating issue with the electrical supply feeder cables in the maintenance shed under the then scoreboard. Warren went to work removing them from the conduit, which allowed them to cool down and the shoot to continue. Surviving are his wife Linda; two boys, Charles and wife Suzanne and Mark and wife Dawn; daughter Charlene and husband Michael; and five grandchildren. Warren had joined the ATA back in 1966, becoming a life member. During his shooting career, he registered 50,650 singles, 29,550 handicap and 38,600 doubles targets.

If you have an idea for an article or if you need to contact me, I can be reached at 732-546-7910 or at [email protected].

Joe Sissano

ATA Delegate