Florida

Hello, shooters! Our 2019 Spring Championship took place May 3-5 at the Silver Dollar SC in Odessa. We had temperatures reaching well into the 90s for our preliminary events on Friday. As if the heat alone wasn’t enough, swarms of love bugs made sure to drive us crazy. Andrew Bryants was our preliminary singles champion after winning a carryover with 99. Dennis Kennedy was our preliminary handicap champion with 96, followed by Bryants’ 95, David Canavan’s 92, and Peter Cukan and Thomas Mann with 91s. With 91, Mike Cieslik was our preliminary doubles champion.

The relentless heat returned for the Singles Championship on Saturday, which saw Lewis LaRoche Sr. win high honors with 199. Dax DeMena captured runnerup with 195. James Cummings won Class A with 194, B went to Torrance Baksh with 193, John Helm won C with 187, and D was won by Phil Berkowitz with 191. Other notables were Delia Sippel, who won lady; Jack Shumpert, who took home senior veteran; and Jake Jacobs, who won veteran.

Sunday’s weather was a little bit cooler but with higher humidity and a brisk wind coming out of the northwest. With rain looming in the future, doubles went off without a hitch. DeMena was our champion with 93, followed by Harry Franklin as runnerup. Our class champions are as follows: A, LaRoche, 93; B, Alex Riera, 91; C, Mike Cieslik, 91; D, James Smith, 83. Other notables are Karen Harrington, who won ladies’; Guy Long, who took home senior veteran; and Dominic Romania, who won veteran.

The fields were transitioned from doubles for the Handicap Championship, which got under way immediately to try to beat the rain. Unfortunately, halfway through, shooters were sent scrambling for cover as the skies opened and lightning crashed its way through the clouds. After an hour-and-a-half delay, shooters were sent back to the line to find a pleasant surprise—calmer, cooler conditions that were perfect to close out the event. After shootoffs, our handicap champion was Kenny Sippel with 96. Runnerup Shumpert shot 94. Third went to DeMena with 94. Franklin captured fourth with 93, and Cummings closed out fifth with 93. Harrington took home ladies’ honors with 94. James Loveless won senior veteran with 96. Veteran was won by William Bezubiak with 93.

I would like to thank the FTA and Silver Dollar for putting together such a nice program. Thank you to all who attended, and congratulations to our winners!

We have also had some target milestones reached in the recent months, so I’d like to recognize those shooters. Dale Rasmussen reached 75K singles, and David Goldblatt reached 25K handicap. Congratulations, and thank you for your continuing support.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. Until then, shoot straight!

Thomas Harrington

ATA Delegate

Kentucky

Hallelujah! Trapshooting is in full swing everywhere you look. The Southwestern Grand saw fewer than normal Kentucky participants. However, Kevin (Tank) Polson made the trip and made the winner’s circle in Event 1. Kevin and Drew Wyatt were both big winners in multiple events, while Troy Crass, Zackary and Thomas Crossland, Aaron Willoughby and Justin Miller won event awards.

Melissa Tracy shot the Georgia State Shoot and won several Lady I awards. Sub-junior Drake Reynolds and Martha Humphrey also shot the Georgia State Shoot.

The South Carolina State Shoot saw John Kerr show out in the sub-veteran category, winning several events and finishing fourth in HOA. Michael Castle was just one target behind John in HOA and was high non-resident HOA. Austin Day was just a few targets behind in the junior gold category. Martha Humphrey followed closely in Lady II. Johnny Caudill and George Kirk also shot some events at South Carolina.

As usual, a Kentuckian finished at the top of the HOA at the Missouri State Shoot. One of the most common names is Keith Ditto, as was the case this year. Keith finished with 1,167. Jack Futch ended close behind with 1,143 and several pieces of hardware in veteran. Polson and Donnie Sherrard finished very close with 1,135 and 1,134, respectively. Cameron Decker, William Newland and Chuck Minyard, along with Tony Thomas, shot some events in the Missouri State.

As I was writing this report today, the Great Lakes Grand was finishing up. Some of the successful Kentucky shooters included Drew Wyatt, runnerup in HOA and HAA in the junior category. Bobby Fowler was winner in junior gold HOA and runnerup in HAA. Charles Priddy, Mike Fowler and newcomer sub-junior Troy Crass all won hardware.

As I write this, the Kentucky High School Trap League just wrapped up their season. Number of teams and number of participants showed some increases. The league will host its state tournament at Central Kentucky GC June 8.

If you have news that you feel should be shared with your friends and fellow trapshooters, please e-mail to [email protected] or call 270-227-2262.

It will be state tournament time before we know it, so shoot every time you get a chance and share your sport with every young person you can. Until next time, this is wishing everyone good health and many smoked targets.

Vernon R. Anderson

KTL Board member

Mississippi

We are well into our shooting year now, and I have been privileged to witness a few stellar accomplishments along the way. At the Mississippi State Shoot, I watched veteran trapper Fred Rogers shoot at his 100,000th ATA handicap target. From our youth ranks, I watched Leeanna Singleton get her first 50 straight in the Singles Championship at the Louisiana State Shoot. She did it again later in the month at the Mississippi State Shoot. It has always been a pleasure to see our Mississippi trappers do well and achieve at high levels. I am sure there are others who I have not mentioned here, so please accept my apologies and my congratulations as well.

It is time for Capitol GC’s flagship trapshoot, the Rebel, quickly followed by the Southern Zone Shoot at Coast R&PC. The Rebel Trapshoot dates back a lot of years and is well known in Mississippi and surrounding states. I am hoping to see a great turnout this year and will gladly welcome you to this proud tradition. Dates are July 13-14 in Jackson at Capitol GC.

Coast R&PC in Biloxi is serving as one of four sites hosting this year’s Southern Zone Shoot. We feel it is a good addition to the other sites and offers those in our southwest corner of the Zone a closer alternative. As for hospitality and accommodations, there are none better. There are plenty of excellent hotels and restaurants. What can be better than the finest seafood anywhere and all the sun and sand you can want? As for shotgun facilities, Coast R&PC offers seven traps, a modern clubhouse, easy access and targets as good or better than anywhere. Come join us for the Southern Zone Shoot July 18-21.

Then it is on to the Grand. I am proud of Mississippi attendance over the last several years and the list of Mississippi champions in the Grand’s record books. I hope to see another good turnout this year and some more Mississippi winners and champions.

As always, happy trappin!

Jerry Tharp

ATA Delegate

North Carolina

I hope everyone enjoys the Fourth of July this year. Writing this in May, the Fourth seems a long way off, but there is so much going on between now and then, it will be here very quickly! The North Carolina State Shoot should be in the books by the time you read this, but the satellite ATA Southern Zone Shoot will be still to come at the Bostic homegrounds July 18-21. We always have good attendance at the Zone and look forward to seeing some new faces competing for titles. The ATA Perazzi gun raffle is on, and you can see me at the Zone for tickets.

North Carolina was represented well at the South Carolina State Shoot. Jeff Galloway was open winner in the Handicap Championship with 97 from the back fence. NC had 29 shooters representing our state. Numerous trophies were won in the open division by NC shooters. Great job, folks! You can see the winners at www.shootscoreboard.com and in this issue.

The Grand American actually starts in late July this year. Mark your calendar and come to Sparta! I look forward to seeing all of you there. lf you need help or answers to ATA questions, please e-mail me at [email protected]. Shoot well!

Bob Schultz

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

If you attended our state shoot, thanks for coming. If you didn’t get there, you missed a great shoot. Weather was great, a little warm on Saturday and Sunday but not a drop of rain. Overall, attendance was up 27%. I want to thank North Carolina shooters; they were the biggest group of out-of-state shooters. Georgia promised us that they would increase their attendance to match South Carolina’s support of their shoot. Thanks, you came through.

Tammie will have the full write-up of the shoot, but we need to mention some shooters. George Powell shot his first 100 straight, and Gary Ferguson reached the 27-yard line. Congrats, guys. Great shooting.

We had a good number of shooters at Georgia’s state shoot. They put on a good tournament. Thanks to all the Georgia shooters who worked so hard. South Carolina trophy winners were Donnie Pigg, Gary Olson, Frank Ketron, Kenny Inman, Neil Alexander, Randy Knight, David Laliberte, Jim Faber, Jan Slough, Teresa Knight, Peg Crockett, Gary Ferguson and Jay Willson. Congrats, SC shooters.

Next month I hope to have a long list of South Carolina shooters’ names as winners at North Carolina. Let’s have a great showing at their shoot, as they supported us.

Keep Wes Basham in your prayers; Wes broke his upper leg near his hip. At this point he’s in Week 2 of in-hospital rehab after surgery. It’s going to be a long recovery, but he’s already planning to shoot from a walker until he’s totally recovered.

Keep shooting.

Jim Faber

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

This month we finish up with the last three state shoots for the Southern Zone: Kentucky, July 2-7, Central Kentucky GC, Berea; Virginia, July 3-7, VA Homegrounds, Winchester GC, Stephenson; and West Virginia, July 10-14, Winchester GC, Stephenson, VA.

The Southern Zone is also this month. Locations are Central Kentucky GC, Berea, KY; Coast R&PC, Biloxi, MS; North Carolina Homegrounds, Bostic, NC; and Silver Dollar SC, Odessa, FL.

The AIM National Championships are July 26-30 at WSRC Sparta, IL. The 120th Grand American World Championships are July 31-Aug. 10, WSRC.

Tennessee shooters have been shooting good scores at state shoots. Those winning trophies at the recent Georgia State Shoot: Caleb Clayton, Chase Kobeck, Gage Jarnagin, Maynard Brooks and Colby Lancaster. Winners at the South Carolina shoot: George Reese, Anthony Browder, Wally Lowery, Jarnagin, Tyler Honnold, Kenneth Detherage, Alex Jackson and Herman Chandley. Winners at the Missouri State Shoot: Seth Cooper, Chandler Brown, Ronald Biggs, Tom Freeman, Chandler Hinson, Brayden Morris and Caleb Tetleton.

Congratulations to all the above winners and to Bill Hardison of Memphis for registering his 250,000th target, becoming the 16th Tennessee shooter to join the Quarter Million Club.

Read the Rulebook, please.

Check out our website at Shoottn.com for more info. For questions or further information, contact me at [email protected] or 731-217-9957.

Billy Cook

ATA Delegate

Colorado

The good old days; Grandpa, tell me about the good old days. I can still remember my brother and I sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of our grandpa, anxiously waiting for him to tell us more stories about the good old days. These usually centered around his coming west as a young man with my grandmother as part of a wagon train, or the years he spent as the sheriff of Delta, CO, chasing rustlers and bank robbers around on horseback. Grandpa, who had no formal education, told us about the joys and smells of riding a horse through miles of purple sage long before I read my first Zane Grey or Louis L’Amour book. There was always a lesson in Grandpa’s stories, usually about good and evil or what it takes to be a man. When Grandpa talked, it was as if the Wild West had come to life. These stories never failed to take us back to yesteryear and would keep us spellbound for hours on end. How I wish I’d had the foresight to write these stories down, but in my defense, I was young and had only just started to read and write. Alas, almost 70 years later, I still have fond memories of my grandpa, but I can only remember bits and pieces of his stories.

Which brings me to the reason I am writing this. As Colorado’s ATA Delegate, I am supposed to promote ATA trapshooting across America as well as Colorado. One way I was trying to do this was by promoting one Colorado trap club each month in the Delegate’s letter. I soon learned that, like my grandpa’s stories, our trap club’s stories are also faded and fragmented. In some cases, even the men and women who founded these clubs are no longer known. This is sad, for the men and women who toiled before us so that we might have a better place to shoot deserve better.

Unfortunately it is already too late for some clubs, for they have already taken their final shot; others are barely hanging on. No doubt there is some correlation between the number of CSTA clubs lost and the decline in CSTA/ATA shooters. If you slow the loss of CSTA clubs, you will by default slow the loss of CSTA/ATA shooters. What to do? No doubt there is no single answer, but I was thinking as I wrote this letter that maybe what was needed was a club Hall Of Fame. I was thinking that if we promoted the CSTA clubs as well as CSTA/ATA shooters, it might help club morale, which in turn might help stave off key personnel burnout.

I believe burnout is one of the major reasons for the decline in CSTA/ATA shooters. Too often these shooters not only leave trap, they leave shooting altogether, which not only hurts CSTA/ATA trap, but shooting in general. The Colorado HOF committee does a fine job of gathering information on the workers and shooters it promotes each year, so why not charge them with gathering information and promoting one club each year as well? This way people and clubs from the past and present would get some much-deserved recognition.

These club articles, stories and facts could be archived by the HOF committee to be used as needed for years to come. While this would not bring back any trap clubs, it might help those shooters who are not involved in the day-to-day, week-to-week grind of running a club better understand what it takes to keep a club open. It might also help us understand why we call the past the good old days. Just food for thought.

I understand after talking to Bob Hardenburger that the Colorado northern zone qualifier was one heck of a shoot, but it was a long day. For the nuts and bolts of the shoot, Bob referred me to Jerry Steigerwald, who was kind enough to e-mail me the names of the northern zone team winners: champ, Scott Obenchain; AA, Michael Wasserburger; A, Raymond Knox; B, Matt Slaugh; C, Leon Rose; D, Carter Slaugh; vet, Mel Hensley; sub-vet, Don Blecha; ladies’, Sharon Boller; and junior, Brexton Slaugh.

Handicap was won by Brett Renck, followed closely by Obenchain. Doubles was won by Greg Kayl and Keven Davis. HOA went to Obenchain. Good job, northern zone.

The results of the Colorado western zone qualifier held at Delta are as follows: while unseasonably cold weather undoubtedly hampered shooter participation, spirits were high for those shooters who did brave the cold and answered the call to the line. Peter Grimson won AA; John Finochio, A; Chris Huffman, B; Jennifer Cartmell, C; Trina Casto, D; Ashley Teal, Lady I; Ryer Roberts, junior. Trina Casto was reelected as western zone delegate-at-large, with Tonya Thomas as alternate. Please take time to congratulate these dedicated shooters.

At this time I would like to thank John Finochio for his dedicated service as western zone past VP. Thanks, John.

We need to congratulate Chris Huffman for stepping up and becoming western zone VP. Chris has been around for some time but quit shooting for a while. Chris is back now and with his ATA/CSTA experience, I have no doubt he will be a welcome addition to the CSTA executive committee. Congratulations, Chris.

Ruby Darling would like to leave you with this, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Irv Effinger

ATA Delegate

Louisiana

The 2019 Louisiana State Trapshooting Championship is now in the record books, and the crew of the Toby Bancroft Memorial GC in West Monroe and the Louisiana TA would like to thank everyone who showed up and passed a good time with us. In spite of the very bleak weather forecast that scared some shooters away, there were still 105 brave souls from 11 states who came and participated, and we thank each and every one of you.

The LA State Shoot also had special guest, Elissa Cronk from Trap & Field Magazine, come down and spend several days at the shoot. Her state shoot story was in the June issue of T&F. Thank you, Elissa, for joining us, and we hope you had an enjoyable visit.

A special congratulations goes out to Monroe shooter Chuck Traylor, who in the championship handicap shot and crushed his 25,000th handicap target and also secured a third-place trophy.

Jim Jenkins just recently shot at his 25,000th singles target, and by the time you read this will have also registered his 25,000th handicap target.

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

Just a reminder that tickets are still available for the 2019 gun club raffle for a chance to win a Perazzi High Tech Trap RS Combo. Tickets are $20 each, and a limited number are available. To purchase tickets, please contact your ATA Delegate, ATA state secretary or the ATA office: [email protected] or 618-449-2224, ext. 104. Raffle ends Aug. 9 at noon, and the drawing will be held that night at the closing ceremonies of the 2019 Grand American.

Shoot well and shoot often.

Doyle Brooks

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Tulsa GC held a registered shoot April 20. Jeff Trayer won the singles and doubles, and Paula Trayer won the handicap. As Jeff said, “Keeping it in the family.”

Duncan GC and Grand National GC held registered shoots April 28. Results should be in this magazine under Gun Club Scores. On April 27 Gene and Betty Sears stopped by the OSTA SP to visit with everyone, as they often do. They are doing well. Gene said they are both 88 now. Gene was sad about the passing of C. E. Barnhart. They were good friends, hunting and fishing together for years. As soon as the day’s events were over at the Missouri State Shoot each year, Gene and Barney would hit the lake fishing. Gene said they sold a Pat-Trap to the Red Dirt GC, which will now give them two traps. Mikie Hooper took Gene and Betty’s picture so she could put it on the new OTSA website she started for us. Check it out. I gave Gene a few state shoot programs for their business. We talked about the nine All-Americans we have this year, possibly the most ever in one year. Tom Batt also came by, shooting some practice and visiting with us. It wasn’t a board meeting, but it could have been with so many of us there: Paul and Mikie Hooper, John Ewing, Kevin Nanke, Nathan Lemke and I. We did visit about volunteer work days needed. As I picked up trash and emptied barrels, it became evident we need barrels. Kevin and Nathan are going to get us some more.

On May 11 my granddaughter Cassie Richardson graduated from ECU with her degree in science. She placed on the President’s Honor Roll with a 4.0 GPA each year. In the commencement brochure, following her name were 3 H’s at the bottom of the page; they stood for “highest academic achievement.” She will be employed at the McAlester Army Ammunitions Plant & Depot. I could not be any more proud of her.

When I received the new Average Book, I noticed we had seven women listed as high average leaders in handicap. Shelby Skaggs was 11th in the ATA. Following her are Emma Tennell, Rose Shaffer, Abagail Colton, Vickie Farmer, Carol Brown and Blakely Barnett. Unter the men’s handicap leaders were Corbin Grybowski, Chance Fleming, Rick Bliss, Robert Rimer, Charles LeadingFox, Josh Stacey, David Bacon and Jared Marshall. This is impressive, considering the number of shooters we have. In 1965 Gene Sears led the ATA in handicap with .9441 and was the first 27-yard shooter to do so.

Oklahoma has lost another shooter; James West of Shawnee passed away May 2. James shot Shawnee and Ada most during his brief career. He had 6,850 singles, 4,550 handicap and 4,450 doubles. Our condolences go out to his family.

Shawnee Twin Lakes GC held the Don Mount Memorial May 4-5, and weather was perfect. There were three guns to be won, and 39 shooters turned out to shoot for them on Sunday’s events. In the singles, Nathan Lemke broke 99 to win champion and the gun. In the handicap Gordon Sebring broke 94 for champion and the gun. In the doubles Tim Mount and Mike Grove tied with 93s. Tim said since he sponsored the event, he declined to shoot off and declared Mike champion and winner of the gun. On Saturday’s 200 singles Nathan and Mike tied with 194s. Mike prevailed as champion and Nathan won A. In Saturday’s doubles, Rose Shaffer started her year off by winning champion with 93. Gary Bristol and Grove set good breakable targets, and the scores showed it. The two-day shoot turned out very well, and plans are being made for next year. Tim appreciates the good turnout of shooters.

Oil Capitol GC of Tulsa also held a May 5 money shoot where $2,000 in purses was awarded. The first 100 singles was won by Mark Hill with 99, and the second hundred was won by Craig Seckington with 99. Craig also won the handicap with 97. Ron Bliss won the doubles with 98. Jeff Trayer topped the HOA with 374. They have a Fall Handicap Shoot set for Sept. 15 with a $2,500 payout.

OTSA held their Spring Fling Shoot May 11-12. Saturday was 500 doubles, and attendance was good in spite of cool weather with water standing everywhere. Pat Stacey won AA with 489, Trent Melton won A with 480, Trayer won B with 472, Kya Funkhouser won C with 470, and Rex Melton won D with 425. Kya was high on the first 100 with 96; for the second 100, Pat had 99; third 100, Trent had 99; fourth, Pat had 99; and on the fifth 100, Trent ran them all, his first century in doubles. On Sunday’s 200 singles, Lemke won champion with 199, and Pat was next with 198. On the first 100 handicap, Pat was champion with 96, and on the second 100 he was champion again with 94. He just had a one-yard reduction to the 26. These two wins earned him a half yard each, putting him right back on the 27. A complete list of winners is under Gun Club Scores.

I visited with Trent Melton of New Mexico and found out he was a young trap-setter at OSTA SP when it was built in 1980. After he started shooting, Marie Ketchum saw him and asked him to join her trap team. A picture of that team, with him in it, survived the 2013 tornado and still hangs in the Hall of Fame section of our clubhouse. Trent’s brother Rex from Texas joined him at this shoot, winning awards also.

Duncan GC held a 4-H regional shoot May 4, and Al Haws reported 131 boys and girls competed for awards. Bailey Kappus won the girls’ trophy with 49. Tyler Conley ran 50 to win the boys’ trophy. He will be going to Connor State University on a scholarship next year.

Duncan GC and Red Dirt GC held shoots on May 19. Look for the results in Gun Club Scores.

Walmart guarantees a job to any honorably discharged veteran—more than 6,000 jobs to veterans in Oklahoma alone. As if we needed another reason to love Smuckers, on May 8 they held their 10th annual Mission Breakfast, serving those who served our country. Quantico Marine Base won a contest to host the breakfast, where more than 3,000 service members were served. Thanks, Smuckers, for honoring our veterans. Let’s all honor those who keep us safe.

Tim Deister

ATA Delegate

Texas

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit! I forgot my writeup for the May issue. At least I know a few people read it because several let me know there was no column from Texas. I have absolutely no excuse. I just forgot, I guess. I’m very sorry, and I’ll try not to let that happen again.

I just got back from the Texas Zone IV shoot at the Waco T&SC. The people there worked their tails off and put on a great shoot. It is so nice to go to a club where the volunteers work so hard to make sure everyone has a good shooting experience. And I might add that the food was very good (there is that fat man thing coming out again). I think I only gained seven pounds. Thanks to all the volunteers. Y’all done good.

I have a couple of “attaboys” I want to pass out in this column. First is for Don Maddox. He has registered 75,000 doubles targets. Also, Matt Nicol reached two milestones in his shooting career. He has registered 25,000 doubles and 50,000 singles targets. Congratulations to these two great guys.

I did the classification at the Zone IV shoot in Waco, and I am amazed at the people who still do not have an average card. They either forgot it or they hand me their phone. I have tried to explain in this column before that your phone is not an up-to-date average card. It could be as much as three weeks behind, depending on how fast the clubs get the information to the ATA. The same is true when you print your average card from the ATA website. You may have shot registered targets that are not included in your printout. It is your responsibility to make sure every registered target for the current year is listed on the paperwork (or phone) you present to the person doing the classification. That person needs to see every score you have shot, not just your current average. When I’m classifying, I don’t want to over-classify anyone, nor do I want to under-classify anyone. I have preached this subject for a long time, and it seems it falls on deaf ears. So here is your warning: “If you do not have an up-to-date card, I plan to make sure you are not under-classified.” You can read into that whatever you want; just be prepared for the outcome. This subject is contained in the Rulebook. I didn’t make it up. There are many other things you should know, also contained in the Rulebook. READ IT, please.

I welcome any news or information you might want to see in this column. You can send it to Princess or me. You can reach me at 806-679-6889, [email protected] or 800 Baltimore Dr., Hereford, TX 79045.

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

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Alberta

It has been a long, cold spring in Alberta; trees are just partly leafed out, and it is the end of May. There were a couple of nice days, and two of them happened to be during the initial Calgary shoot May 11-12. Numerous good scores came in, and it was a good way to start the season for the 25 or so shooters who participated over the two days. Not so nice in Edmonton for the May 4-5 shoot; cold and windy. Many decided to wait for better weather, but the three squads present had fun, and Jack Broadfoot and Ken Kupsch managed 99s in singles on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

We have a new club starting up in Alberta this year. High Prairie will hold their inaugural shoot July 12-14. Rod Smith and the group are putting a lot of work into making this a successful shoot. It will be worth the drive if you can make it and enjoy the long days and fine hospitality of the Peace River country.

For those of you who have travel plans in eastern Canada, the Canadian Championships is in St. Thomas at the end of June, right after the Castor and Athabasca shoot. It would be good to see Albertans bring back a few trophies from that event. Unfortunately, this year the Canadian overlaps with our ATA Western Zone Shoot in Edmonton. We look forward to a good turnout for the Zone this year, with $5,000 U.S. up for grabs in the free entry Lewis class HAA.

For those not attending the Canadian, the Stampede Grand the following week is always a good shoot in Calgary at that time.

Do not forget the provincial in Calgary July 17-21. There will be $10,000 added money from the Brumwells and Martins, a free pig roast sponsored by Bayer, and one of the finest backgrounds in North America to shoot.

If there are questions or events of note, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Garry Hill

ATA Delegate

Arizona

Ben Avery Lives, or as a subtitle, the rumors of the death of registered shooting at BA were greatly exaggerated. Cherel McCracken will take over the Ben Avery shoots for the coming year. Last year Cherel helped out at the Clay Target Center, and she has long experience running contests in California and Nevada. In fact, she will be in charge of the upcoming Nevada State Shoot. I spoke with Cherel and Vickie Craine, who will also be involved, at our scheduling meeting, discussed our concerns and requirements, and left feeling very positive. Even the folks who live a couple hours south of Ben Avery know how important it is to Arizona trapshooting. There is life in the old girl yet.

Shoot dates for the 2020 season were selected May 4. So far Tucson, Casa Grande, Ben Avery, Double Adobe, Tri-State, Lake Havasu, Rio Salado, Pleasant Valley, Flagstaff and Cochise are lined up, with Mohave and possibly even Prescott joining in. The 2020 state shoot will be held March 17-22 at Ben Avery. Tucson will have registered shooting every month, and almost every Monday Casa Grande will hold Big 50s, including the monthly Western Zone Lewis. Speaking of the Zone-wide Lewis, the new fee will be $5, and at least one other club here is considering joining in. Trapshooting is strong in the Grand Canyon State, and it looks to me that we will have more registered shooting than ever.

We are now in our quiet time, with most of the action moving to our northern neighbors. Rehab may be necessary for trap addicts after June with the Western Grand, Colorado and Utah state shoots plus the Western Zone all coming up. Then you can recuperate in July with shoots at Flagstaff, Pleasant Valley and Rio Salado.

A little historical note: the next time you are at Pleasant Valley, know that you are in the place of the bloodiest and longest-running range war in the American West. It lasted a full decade between1882 to 1892, with over 50 deaths, and gave the Arizona Territory a reputation of being too unruly and not ready for statehood. Look it up on Google, it makes for fascinating reading, or better yet, talk to Doug Sims. He can fill you in on the details. See you on the line.

John Bergman

ATA Delegate

Utah

Trap season is in full swing! In an effort to hit a few other states during my stint as ATA Western Zone Vice President, I recently attended shoots in Spokane, WA, and Boise, ID.

Spokane hosts a two-day shoot that they bill as the Northwest Grand. Thanks to the hard work of Washington Delegate George Seubert, his wife Karma, and gun club management, this is a fabulous shoot directed toward the youth of our sport. George rounds up over $20,000 in added money and gold rings. More than half of the added money is targeted for the junior shooters. As a result, there were about nine squads of youngsters. Many of them were not strangers to shooting! Junior shooter Kiley Kemmer broke her first-ever 100 straight in singles and ended with 199. That is fine shooting, Kiley. On Sunday’s handicap, George and Karma had two $1,000 gold rings made for the winners of short and long yardage. The rings were made of $5 gold pieces. The skilled winners were Grant Williams in long yardage and Pam Deinhardt in short yardage.

Besides numerous cash drawings and such, George and Karma gave away two lifetime ATA memberships. George and Karma work very hard to promote the sport, and they have a large following of friends in the northwestern part of the country. I am putting this shoot on my calendar for next year and advise others to do the same. Thanks for showing me a good time!

The following week I made the trek to Boise, ID. This was a one-day shoot on Sunday featuring all three events. For a one-day shoot with marginal weather at best, it was well attended. Granted, I did have an ulterior motive of also going turkey hunting with my brother and Stuart Welton. But alas, just as with the gold ring in Washington, I was not skilled enough to bag my turkey.

Next came another Western Zone Big 50 at Lee Kay. Bobby Street and Doug Devries were perfect in the 50 singles, and then Doug backed his 50 up with another 50 in handicap. To my knowledge, this is the first 50 straight in handicap in the Western Zone Lewis purse.

If you have never met Doug, you really owe it to yourself to do so. Doug is one of the quiet unsung heroes of our sport and has been shooting ATA events since 1983. He is retired from the United States Postal Service, loves to fish as well as shoot trap, and always has a smile and a kind word.

Next came a 500-bird doubles marathon at Lee Kay on Saturday, along with 100 singles and handicap on Sunday. Weather on Saturday was absolutely beautiful, and there were approximately 22 shooters who shot all 250 pair of doubles. The weather on Sunday wasn’t nearly as nice as the day before. Temperatures were at least 20º less, with a steady breeze. Justin Sloan was high doubles shooter (he even broke a 100 straight), and Steve Ottesen was high singles shooter with the only perfect score. I know that’s at least three 100 straights in a row for Steve.

As I have stated before, the Lee Kay shotgun center is run by the state of Utah. Employees at the facility go out of their way to make sure we are able to hold our ATA and league events on the premises. Two of the employees who make it a pleasure to be there are Chester Whiteman and George Sommer. I can’t thank you two enough!

Ed Wehking

ATA Western Zone Vice President

Washington

We are deep into the shooting season here in Washington. Shoots have had good attendance, while we have experienced about every kind of weather one could imagine. As I write, the Inland Empire Handicap has been entered into the books. This year’s shoot at the Spokane GC was shot in rain and sun, and on Sunday wind was the element of choice, but regardless of less-than-ideal conditions, it was a good time. See this issue’s Gun Club Scores for photos and a report of this historic shoot held every year since 1916, except for three years during World War II. There has been a lot of speculation about the future of the Spokane GC recently with the sale of the property. All shooters should know that the club will operate as is until July 2020 in the current location, while purchase of a new location and a move are in the works. The Spokane GC has been and will continue to be a vital part of trapshooting here in Washington and for the Pacific Northwest. In my next installment, I’m sure there will be a report of a great Washington State Shoot held at this still wonderful venue.

The Western Zone will be history when you read this, and we will be anticipating ATA targets at the Malden-Pine City GC. Harvest will see us taking a break from ATA shooting for a bit, then we will have some more fun in the fall. Please check our website at shootwata.com to see where you can visit with your favorite shotgun and experience some Washington hospitality.

Memorial Day weekend was approaching as I share this with you, and I’d like to tell you about a function that happens at the Pomeroy GC. The NAIA holds the World Series for small college baseball in nearby Lewiston, ID, traditionally around Memorial Day. On Sunday of the series for over a decade, one lucky team gets to travel to Pomeroy and try their baseball hand-eye skills at trapshooting. Other teams get to go recreate at various places in the region, thanks to area tournament sponsors. As it turns out, the experience at the Pomeroy GC has been a popular attraction. Returning teams who’ve had the experience all wish to be drawn for the shooting day again. This year the club will get to host the team from Georgia Gwinnet. A few young people will get introduced to our great sport, and some of them will fire a gun for the first time. I applaud this as a way to introduce some folks to who we are and what we do. I plan to attend and look forward to telling you all what a fun time it was.

A Colton shooter, Jim Dahmen, is this year’s inductee into the Washington Trapshooting Hall of Fame. Jim has been a member and dedicated volunteer at the Colton GC nearly since its conception as well as the fire chief, a member on the WSTA Board of Directors, and past president. He’s been a fixture at the Camas Prairie Handicap for over 40 years and has done all of this while operating a successful family farm. Jim is well known from shoots at clubs all over the region. His dedication and service to trapshooting over the years and numerous trophies earned along the way have gained him a spot on the wall along with the others enshrined in our Hall. When you see Jim around the area, be sure to congratulate the gentleman for this great achievement and watch for a report of his ATA history in the state shoot story.

I hope you are enjoying your travels in shooting this summer, and we at the WSTA are looking forward to seeing you soon.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

ATA Alternate Delegate

Indiana

Greetings, Indiana shooters! July is upon us, and this means it’s time for the Indiana State Shoot, July 16-21. Everyone on the ITA Board of Directors, all of our many volunteers, and everyone at Indiana GC has been hard at work preparing. I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Much appreciation goes out to Fulton Co. GC, Kingen GC and Evansville GC, our gracious hosts for this year’s Indiana zone shoots. All three clubs put on great tournaments.

Congrats first to the champions at Fulton Co. in the north zone, including Garl Gresley with 198 in singles, Devon Harris with 98 in doubles, and Larry Lipa with 95 to win the Handicap Championship. Devon also won the all-around belt buckle with 378.

Kingen GC in the central zone saw some very nice weather on Saturday for the singles, and then some rain on Sunday for doubles and handicap. We just can’t seem to put two consecutive dry days together this year in Indiana. The singles championship went to Steve Byrd with 198, besting senior vet winner Michael Stephenson and A class champ Scott Chappell by one bird. Sunday was definitely Brian Ingle’s day, as he took home the doubles champ trophy with 98, then went out and broke a 96 in handicap. His 96 tied with Tom Kleyla, but Brian took home the belt buckle, and he also won the HAA buckle with 381. Nice shooting, Brian!

At the south zone shoot at Evansville GC, junior shooter Noah Rice ran the 200 singles to take the championship trophy, and Michael Grannan put up a 99 in doubles for the victory. In the handicap event as well as the all-around, Bill Tempest added to his belt buckle collection by winning both, with a 95 in ’caps and a 383 HAA.

Make sure you check out the Indiana trap website www.indianatrap.com for a full listing of all of the registered ATA shoots being held this summer at clubs all over Indiana.

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

Minnesota

Greetings from the North Star State! In last month’s column I claimed that winter had given up, and while that may be true, according to the blowdrys (weather people), the 90-day outlook is for cooler and wetter than average. It is consoling to know that most of the time these people have a hard time getting tomorrow’s weather correct, so I am not putting a lot of stock in the 90-day forecast!

When you read this, the state High School Shoot will be in the books as well as all three zone shoots. This year’s state shoot is scheduled for July 2-7 at the Alexandra SP. Tuesday is a warm-up day, with the high-over-all starting on Wednesday. Depending on what the board of directors decides, this should be the earliest our state shoot will be for the next several years. The 2020 Grand is set for Aug. 5-15, which probably will affect the dates of our state shoot. One Central Zone state (Nebraska) already moved their shoot date.

Minnesota will host a Central Zone site at Del-Tone/Luth in St. Cloud July 26-28. The program will be 100 of each on Friday, 200 singles on Saturday, and doubles and handicap on Sunday. Remember, this is a telephonic shoot, and there will be 10 Central Zone sites. You can get program information at the state shoot.

Minnesota was well represented at the Missouri State Shoot, and weather, for the most part, cooperated, although storms did move through the area Saturday night. Trophy winners were Dean Neumann (two), Curt Peterson (two), Scott Messenger (three), Jason Vlasak, Glen Lonneman, Colton Sherman and Troy Haverly (two). As a side note, Troy’s dog, Lexi, was much better behaved this year in Missouri, and, according to my sources, he was not paged at any time to round her up off the trapline!

I hope to see you at the state shoot.

I can be reached at 507-456-2000 or at [email protected].

Paul T. Cyr

for ATA Delegate Dean Walker

Ohio

The zone shoots were held May 18-19. Congratulations to all who made their respective zone teams. I’m looking forward to seeing which zone wins at the state shoot. Thank you to the host clubs for making the zone shoot possible and to the directors and volunteers for all your help.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to get hold of me at 937-416-3979 or [email protected]. Have fun and bust ’em.

Mike Blair

ATA Delegate

Wisconsin

Hopefully you are all ready for the 120th Wisconsin State Shoot. Remember to bring a smile and determination to win. Please thank the board members, volunteers, scorekeepers, sponsors and vendors; a thank you goes a long way.

I went to Missouri Fall Handicap a couple years ago and drove nine hours to find out I left my forend on my cabinet at home. Panic set in real fast, but I was lucky that Merlin with Merlin’s Guns had a spare forend that fit. So remember to bring all of your gun parts and the rest of the important things important to you. Congratulations to all of the trophy winners last year. Wishing you much success again for the 2019 Wisconsin State Shoot.

Congratulations also to our shooters who won at the Missouri State Shoot: Bryan Pierce, two wins in singles; John Halambeck in handicap; Dwight Paulin, singles runnerup and the Pump Doubles champion; Sandra Jo Jack, doubles, handicap and a 200 in singles; and Bryon Fenning, runnerup trophy. At the Buckeye Open, my Lady II winnings included a 100 in singles, two more singles trophies, first in a handicap and the HOA, and runnerup in the doubles and all-around.

Please read your 2019 Wisconsin State Shoot program; there is a lot going on in the evenings after the program events. A new event (added after the program was printed) that will be on Wednesday after shootoffs will be the first Wisconsin All-State Team Annie Oakley Shoot-Out sponsored by Kolar.

If you see anything that needs to be done at the state shoot, please ask to help. Pick up trash if you see some, help keep the main building clean, help keep the campground clean, etc. There are special events in the evenings that could use your help. The Delegates and board members can’t do it all. We are a team.

If you have newsworthy information for me to print in the next article, you can give to me at a shoot or e-mail me at [email protected].

Sandra Jo Jack

for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring