Around The ATA
Information for Around the ATA is provided to Trap & Field by state and provincial ATA Delegates and/or their designated representatives.
Shooters and local officials: Please inform your ATA Delegate of news about shooters and clubs in your area.
Western Zone
Alberta
About 20 shooters from Alberta participated in the Spring Grand this year, similar to previous years’ numbers, but our trophy count was not as high as it usually is. Ron McConnell shot a nice 97 in ’caps to win senior vet in the preliminary handicap of championship week. Yours truly took doubles and all-around in vet. Diane Peyton also took a Lady II trophy and a yard with a 97 to get her back to long yardage.
We also had good Alberta representation at the Arizona State Shoot in mid March, where we got to see Ron Crockford shoot off for champion in doubles against Ray Stafford. Crock took sub-vet, but it was an entertaining shootoff. Ron shot winning doubles scores week after week in Arizona this winter. We have several shooters in the strong running for All-American status; as usual, Art and Diane Peyton, but also McConnell has found his winning ways and will be a strong contender for 2018.
We are sorry to hear the news that Ken McDowell, a longtime Alberta trapshooter, passed away Feb. 23.
We have a great provincial program, which has just been published, and shooters get a bonus this year with the Western Zone being combined with the provincial program. Check the APTA website for updates on the latest Alberta shooting news.
Also, don’t forget the Canadian Championships in Brandon. We know Rob and Pat Lamont will have an excellent program and host a great shoot.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone on the Alberta circuit again this year.
Garry Hill
ATA Delegate
Arizona
For the last three years I have been talking about how our juniors have been killing us more seasoned citizens. Well, Joe Henderson thought he would do something about that. Joe ran his first 200 and became our state’s singles champion, and he did it the hard way. The second 100 had more than its share of trap problems, causing a delay of over one hour. But for Joe it was inkball after inkball. He was seen afterwards giving autographs in the clubhouse. Well done, Joe!
The next championship event was the doubles, and Canyon Ferris, taking a little time off from college, came in with a fine 97. Greg Cobbs, however, saved the day with a title-winning 98. Greg is a great all-around shooter; he was high gun among the 27-yarders in the handicap, but doubles seems to be his specialty, and he won AA in the Prickly Pear Doubles.
Then came the handicap. Canyon and Colton Hartley looked strong, each with a 96. A ray of hope appeared in the person of John Hardman at 97, but Kingman’s Sheldon Privetts was not letting us off so easily. He tied John and forced a shootoff, which I refereed. Sheldon stayed calm, cool and collected, breaking all 25 and becoming our Arizona state handicap champion! Sheldon, by the way, is a sub-junior. Out-of-state champs were Sharred Oaks (UT), singles; Ray Stafford (CO), doubles; and Ray McNeice (TX), handicap.
Speaking of juniors, how about Robert Will Pike and Colton Hartley shooting their first 100 straights, and let’s not forget about Charlie Wachtel and Canyon Ferris. Charlie ran 100 three successive times in singles, broke the back hundred in the Singles Championship, entered a high score of 98 in the class doubles, and was tops for Arizona in the HOA. Wow! That brings us to Canyon again. All he did was to take the all-around championship over the field.
It was not all juniors, however. Steve Johnson and Wayne Thompson both shot 199 in the Singles Championship, winning sub-vet and senior vet, respectively. Prescott’s Milt Kennedy won veteran at 198. Ken Mlynarz was event runnerup, also with 198.
Some other shooters of note were Karen Bergman, who captured four out of five Lady II titles. Tiger Volz was the Lady II doubles champ with a strong 94. Jim Copsey took veteran in the Memorial Singles by breaking them all. Kathy Sullivan was high gun and Lady I winner in the Ben Avery Handicap, Sandy Luchetta had back-to-back Lady II victories in Events 3 and 4 (Mike also had a very strong shoot). Richard Goerlich, coming off his victory in the Ben Avery Doubles, topped Paul Sawrey in a carryover then won the Jumping Cholla Doubles and did not miss a bird in the Saguaro Singles. Neither did Bob Dobbs, who took senior vet. In the Agave Handicap, Gerald Meyers was high at 95, and Sheldon Privetts gave us a preview of things to come with 94. Also at 94 were David Valandra, Danny Treanor, Colton Hartley, Gerry Williams, Jim Sharp and Doug Sims. I have been saving one of the best for last: Kaitlin Quan had a clean sweep, winning the Lady I singles, doubles, handicap and all-around.
The Golden Barrel Singles featured three 100 straights: Charlie Wachtel, Gerry Williams and a refugee from New Jersey and now an Arizona regular, Chris Cusumano. The Ocotillo Handicap was Event 9, and high gun was split between veteran Vince Bianco and junior Robert Mikeworth. Steve Haynes won 22-24 with 95, and Bud Rupe, who has not lost his touch, took senior vet, also with 95. The class singles was highlighted by three 100 straights. Don Jensen won sub-vet outright, but Charlie Wachtel and Robert Will Pike had to carryover for junior. That was Robert’s first hundred, and he then broke 25 in the carryover to become the victor. The last event before the championships was the Arizona Preliminary Handicap. The light was in and out, and it was tough shooting. Ferris was high at 96, followed closely by Tim Landwerlen, Jesse Zamora and Vince Bianco.
State shoot bits and pieces: We always seem to start off with the weather, and it was what I would call okay. No rain, quite windy on the prelim day, but under control after that. Temperatures were on the low side, but I wore shorts a couple of times. The clouds came and went, which made some birds hard to see, but hey, this is an outdoor sport.
We had 366 shooters, and about 40% were residents, which is higher than the past few years. California led the out-of-state contingent, followed by Minnesota, Alberta and Wyoming. Overall attendance was somewhat down, but we will still keep our No. 4 Competition Factor. About 280,000 birds were thrown, and 350 happy gourmets attended the ASTA-sponsored steak dinner Saturday night.
On Sunday prior to the start of shooting, our annual meeting was held. The state team was introduced, Steve Haynes of Payson was awarded Rookie of the Year. (Steve is a retired lieutenant in the Phoenix Police Department and is currently involved in crisis intervention. He sports an impressive average and should be a great addition to Arizona shooting for years to come.) Questions were asked from the floor, primarily for the Delegate, president and treasurer. One item in particular that came up was a request to rotate banks between hundreds at the state shoot. After that, elections were held, and Tiger Volz and I maintained our current positions as Alternate Delegate and Delegate, Marty Benko was reelected as a director from the southern zone, as was Karen Bergman for the northern zone. Tiger joins the board from the central zone. In the Board of Directors meeting that followed, Mark Williams was elected ASTA president, Karen Bergman vice president, Steve Bell takes over as secretary, and Roger Combs will continue as treasurer.
The Axline Award, a life membership in the ATA given to the high junior or sub-junior in the Singles Championship (excluding previous winners), was won by Robert Mikeworth of Globe. It is made possible through the generosity of Bruce Axline.
The Paul Wolf Memorial Award was presented to Colton Hartley of Phoenix. Joyce and Nick Nicholas of Champion Awards donate a custom belt buckle to the junior or sub-junior with the high all-around score in the championship events, again excluding previous winners.
I thank Steve Long for his hard work as president and many years of service; Mary Long, who never left the trophy table during the shoot; Al Matthews for his stint as a director; and the whole gang at Ben Avery. They went to great lengths to give us a most successful state shoot.
Around the state: It ain’t over, folks! Shoots will be held in May at Rio Salado, Tucson, Cochise and Pleasant Valley. See you on the line.
John Bergman
ATA Delegate
Utah
Riverton SC, an affiliate of Youth in Shooting Sports (USAYESS), hosted the first Clay Storm at Lee Kay Shotgun Center Feb. 10. I observed that although this was not an ATA shoot, many of the shooters are members of the ATA. There were a total of 113 youth shooters representing 10 clubs from Utah, Idaho and Nevada. The program consisted of 100 singles targets and 50 wobble targets. The only issue with the shoot was the weather: cold, wind, rain and snow. The wind chill was approximately 20°. Other than that, it was fabulous.
Mike Stuart is the local ringleader of the youth program and the coach of the Riverton SC. Mike also had a lot of help from other coaches as well as many parents.
The local USAYESS program has been a beneficiary of Midway USA grants and should be applauded for the hard work and dedication that all participants and coaches put forth. While I was at the club for 10 hours, I never observed one unsafe act. This says a lot for Mike and all the other coaches.
The Lee Kay Shotgun Center, which is a state-run facility, bent over backwards to make sure this event took place. I cannot say enough about facility manager Blanche Smith’s willingness to accommodate not only this group, but many others as well. One such group is the upcoming Round Robin Tournament. Blanche and her staff, as well as members of Valley Clays, who volunteer as pullers and loaders for these events, all deserve thanks.
The Spring Grand in Tucson, AZ, was once again a very well-run shoot, but as is often the case in February, weather was a little on the cold and breezy side. Most people wore jackets every day. Utah had a good contingent of 27 shooters. If you are interested in checking out how our Utah folks shot, you can see all the results at shootscoreboard.com. Pay special attention to Vernal shooters Sharred Oaks and Sean Hawley. Sharred shot world-class scores during both preliminary and championship week.
At Tucson, a Western Zone meeting was held to discuss Zone business and the Zone Shoot scheduled for July. Spanish Fork will host concurrently with their annual Fiesta Days shoot. Dates are July 20-22. The Zone is a telephonic shoot at approximately nine locations. As far as the trophy package for the Zone, the ATA supplies class and category trophies for all events except for the high-over-all. The HOA club trophies (money clips) will be dropped in favor of adding a $1,000 free entry Lewis purse paid in the all-around. Spanish Fork should be one of the better-attended sites because of the good scores that usually go hand in hand with the “Mountain.”
Vernal will once again be host of the Western Grand June 5-10. Vernal is always a great place to shoot and is also a good destination to take the family for a vacation along with shooting fun. If you arrive early on Monday, June 4, you could get teamed up with a foursome to enter Bullets and Balls, which is a 50-bird slider-type shoot along with 18 holes of golf. For more information, contact the club directly.
The Round Robin Tournament (RR) is being hosted in Salt Lake City by Valley Clays at the Lee Kay Shotgun Center. The RR runs March 11, 18 and 25. It is based on teams of five shooters randomly drawn, with each team having an A through E class shooter. Each team shoots 75 singles targets all three Sundays. The RR has been a long-standing tradition in Utah, with some clubs drawing as many as 40 teams. The Spanish Fork, Tooele, Ogden, Provo and Golden Spike clubs usually always host an RR event as well. This is a great family event and a good way to introduce new shooters to trap. Check with your local club to see if it is participating.
The Utah State Shoot is scheduled for June 20-24. The state association is starting to put the program together right now.
To summarize, this is the time of year to start making plans to attend some very fun shoots. Don’t be afraid to invite new shooters along and show them the fun and camaraderie that go along with competition. Even though there is a blizzard going on outside while I write this, summer will be here before you know it!
Ed Wehking
ATA Delegate
Washington
Hello to everyone in the ATA world. I’m writing tonight from my motel room in Walla Walla on Saturday night after the first two days of the Camas Prairie Handicap. A steady breeze coming off the snow-capped Blue Mountains has made for some chills and challenging targets, but the size of the crowd only goes to show the dedication of shooters in the Northwest to get out and register some birds after a long winter.
After dinner I was getting ready to head back to my room, write this month’s contribution, and test out the hot water tank with a shower when I heard a shootoff announced for the President’s Handicap. Three shooters, Corey Long, Chazz Johnson and a young Colfax High student named James Gilchrist took to the line under the lights to break a tie of 97. After the smoke cleared, James emerged as the winner. James broke his first 50 straight in the event. Mom and dad, David and Sue, were all smiles as the photos were being snapped. The work put into the first big shoot of the year is all worthwhile when scenes like this are the result, creating excitement in young shooters. I ensured James that he won’t even notice the extra three feet in distance he will be competing from the following day.
By the time you read this, the Northwest Grand at Spokane GC will be in the books, and we’ll be packing up for the Inland Empire Handicap. We are now in the heart of the ATA season here, and what a great time of year it is. You are going to read some great reports of shooting exploits here in Washington in Trap & Field in months to come.
The Washington State Shoot program should be hitting your mailbox soon, so make sure to get your camp spots reserved at Spokane GC, as I have a feeling it is filling up fast. We will be holding a silent auction again this year. This has been a hit at the last few shoots. If you have any items to contribute to the auction, please bring them to the shoot prior to its start or contact me at [email protected], and I’ll make sure they get there. This great silent auction was started by WSTA president Roger Clouse and has continued to grow each year. Target rates are reduced for sub-junior and junior shooters, thanks to fundraising by our Delegate George Seubert and wife Karma. Although he is a board of directors retiree, Larry Bunch has put in countless hours of work for the WSTA and Northwest Grand programs. Please be sure to thank these folks for their dedication and hard work on behalf of ATA trapshooting in Washington.
It’s time to hit the hay and rest up for one more day at the Camas. I look forward to sharing with you in next month’s issue, and I hope you are all having a great time wherever your travels are taking you. Are there ever any bad days at a trapshoot?
Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.
Sean Lewis
ATA Alternate Delegate
Central Zone
Indiana
Hello, Indiana shooters! Indiana trapshooting really picks up this month with the Indiana zone shoots. The central zone at Fall Creek Valley CC is May 12-13, then the northern zone at St. Joe Valley CC May 19-20, followed by the southern zone shoot at Columbus GC May 26-27. Please plan to attend these shoots and support the host clubs and the ITA zones.
Reminder: the 2018 Indiana State Shoot will be July 17-22 at our homegrounds, Indiana GC, and Evansville GC will once again be a host site for the ATA Central Zone July 27-29. Be sure to check out our renovated website www.indianatrap.com for registered shoot dates around Indiana.
Speaking of the Indiana State Shoot, here are some announcements from Roxie Antczak, our ITA Spectator Experience coordinator: As plans are finalized for the 2018 ITA Spectator Experience, be sure to like and follow our Spectator Experience Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ITASpectatorExperience) to stay up to date on all details. We’re working closely with Fortville’s business community, and some of the coming year’s events will require pre-registration and/or a participation fee to help offset expenses. New for 2018 is our campsite decorating contest. All state shoot attendees who camp on the grounds are encouraged to participate. Don’t forget the 2018 Spectator Experience theme is “Christmas in July,” so your imagination should go wild with ideas. We hope to see a few campsites that rival the North Pole.
As you may have read in the March 2018 issue of Trap & Field, the ATA EC has created a new form of recognition for ATA members who register at least 20,000 targets during the target year. It is nice to see five of the 48 members of this new Mega Target Member designation for the 2017 target year are from Indiana! Congrats to Charles Graham, Garl Gresley, Dr. R. Scott Norris, Paul Rode Jr. and John Roussel.
It looks like Indiana was well represented at the Silver Dollar in March with 34 in attendance for the Southern Grand, then 27 Indiana shooters participated in the Florida State Shoot the following week. Congrats to Tank Lunsford, Mark Jamison, Gary Bowman, Garl Gresley, Fred Abraham, Michael Gooch, Tim Miller, Bill Tempest and Gene Schneck, who brought trophies back to the Hoosier State from the Southern Grand. At the Florida State Shoot, Gresley, Lunsford, John Roussel, Tempest, Jerry Martin, Frank Craft, Miller, Jeff Webb and Barb Rocheford all won trophies. I hope Tank and Garl were able to bring all of those trophies back home in just one trip, based on the number of times I saw their names.
I’m sorry to report that in late February, Indiana lost one of my favorite trapshooters. John Small of Fairmount passed away at the age of 91. It was always a pleasure to spend time with Uncle John at shoots, and he will certainly be missed by his family and friends. My condolences go out to the Blair, Summitt and Miller families.
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
Minnesota
Phones are ringing and e-mails coming in strong from coaches plus youth and adult ATA shooters wanting to know the dates of various shoots, how to sign up to throw registered targets, or if there is still a spot in the coach training class in Owatonna. Minnesota shooters really have the itch! AIM shoots are from January through July every year.
Youth who are AIM members and shoot at a registered shoot simultaneously have their scores entered in monthly shooting events. They are eligible for trophies from the ATA, so, youth shooters, watch the mailbox!
We have conversations about how those NRA Level 1 class dates are full at that location and no, we cannot run another class besides the ones we are doing already this year. We give them the dates of the other classes and locations we are hosting this spring. Some have signed up from hundreds of miles away; there’s a real need and desire for volunteers to do their best while sharing this sport we love, so quality coach training is highly desired in our state.
We also inform them that Buffalo GC, Minneapolis GC, Del-Tone/Luth GC and Alexandria SP are throwing jackpot shoots. Buffalo GC is open for all Minnesota high school shooters to practice on Thursday nights, which has been extremely popular. Their winter shoots have been well attended, as are the jackpot shoots every Sunday. The 2018 Minnesota Youth Chain dates and locations are posted at www.minnesotashotgun.org under the youth shoot tab at the top, along with other Level 1 NRA Coach training opportunities.
Shooters are eager to get out and blow the cobwebs out of the guns. Youth shooters should be doing between 50 and 100 proper gun lifts every night right now in a mirror (with a parent’s permission and an unloaded gun, of course!). The high school program in Minnesota will be bigger than ever this year. Students should be gearing up, and coaches should be in the final stages of preparation.
Remember, we have raffle tickets for the annual ATA gun giveaway at the Grand this year. I will begin selling them soon and will have plenty on hand at the Minnestoa State Shoot the first week of July.
State shoot programs and registered shoot cards are being printed now and should be out shortly. You can find a registered shoot on the www.minnesotatrap.com site. We want to welcome Shooters GC of Marshall as a registered shooting venue and ask your support. Their first shoot was April 14-15. The club has already demonstrated the ability to draw Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa shooters.
Please keep Archie Hazzard and his wife, patrons of Buffalo GC, in your prayers. They had a roll-over accident a couple of weeks ago, and both were injured. They are recovering in a nursing home in St. Paul. Fellow ATA shooter Charles (Chuck) Eckstein had open heart surgery last month. We wish Chuck and the Hazzards a speedy recovery.
Sally and I are eager to see you on the shooting line in a few weeks. Our schedule is full, but we will be doing more shooting this year. We would sure welcome you onto our squad or for a round of conversation (aka chin wag in Canadian!).
Congratulations to Wally Shelstad of Buffalo and Roger Lorenzen of Winona on being selected for induction into the Minnesota Hall of Fame in July. You deserve the honors!
We could use your donations for the Minnesota State Shoot youth auction. The Minnesota Youth Shotgun Association puts on the auction, is a 501(c)3, and anything donated will receive a donations slip for taxes. All funds raised will be used to support and pay for registered youth shooting half-price targets at our state shoot. We really need your help.
I am always humbled to be your Delegate. Thank you for allowing me to serve. If you have a question or concerns, I would be happy to discuss them with you at [email protected] or 612-703-6155.
Mark Stevens
ATA Delegate
Ohio
Most clubs are holding registered shoots and hoping this cold weather leaves soon. As I write this, the BOD is finalizing the program for the state shoot coming in June. By the time you read this, it should be approved and at the printer for distribution.
The shoots coming up in the near future for Ohio are the Mid-American and OSTA zone shoots. The Mid-American is held at Middletown SC and should have enough shooters again this year to qualify for All-American points. For information, contact Mike Erter at the club or go to the website. For the OSTA zone shoots, you must shoot your respective zone in order to qualify for the all-Ohio team.
I would like to congratulate the following shooters who traveled to the Silver Dollar and participated in the Southern Grand and won trophies: William Baird, Adam Bush, Andrew Bush, Mike Dehabey, Jeff Friedhoff, Tom Linn, Louie Morgan, Mercedes Rodriguez, Jeff Schlichter, Brant Snively, Mary Thompson, George Whyde and William Williams.
There were 21 Ohio shooters who attended the Spring Grand American in Tucson, AZ, but I do not have a winners list. If you were a winner at the Spring Grand, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected], and I will include it in the next article.
I should have more information to report after the next BOD meeting. I will leave you with the words of a good friend: “Keep your head down, follow through and bust ’em.”
Roger McNamer
ATA Delegate
Wisconsin
If you ever go into McDonalds in the morning, you will see retired coffee drinkers enjoying each other’s company. One morning I stopped in to have coffee and heard one of the local guys say, “So I hear you lost one of your friends.” After I asked one of the guys who passed, he said, “We lost Bob.” Let me tell you about Bob. He was a big guy with a laugh that the whole restaurant heard. His laugh made you laugh because it was from his heart, and, yes, Bob was loud when he talked, but he seemed very happy. My message here is that Bob did not show up for three days, then someone decided to check on him. They found Bob had passed three days before alone in his home. If you know of a friend who you enjoy and all of a sudden he/she does not show up, or you have not heard from them, please check on them right away.
By the time you read this, it will be the month of May; winter shoots will be wrapping up, and the snow better be gone!
Those of you who wintered in Florida seemed to have some of our up-north weather . . . cold. But it did not stop shooters from competing at the Silver Dollar. Now it is time for you snowbirds to get back here and shoot with us. These shooters represented Wisconsin proudly:
Bill Jacobsen Memorial: Ed Gehrig, Gary Reynolds, Steve Geiskopf. Southern Grand American: James Moermond, Peter Nygaard (two wins), Devin Doucette (two wins), Robert Dorzok, Thomas Hoppe. Florida State Shoot: Ed Borske (two wins), Andrea Jackson, Paul Becker, Steve Gilbertson, Devin Doucette, Mike Bloesl (two wins), Carla Bloesl, Demaine Milbach, Rich Weisensel. Ben Avery Spring Grand Warm-up: Robert Felick.
I know you hear this from me in almost every article: please ask if your club needs any help. Surely your club can find something for you to do, whether it is a money donation or physical donation; all is welcome. Remember to thank the fine folks who volunteer at the clubs you shoot at.
Check out the WTA website for updates on the building and what is going on at the meetings. I read the last meeting’s minutes, and I would like to thank Jerry Kaszynski for stepping up to the plate on many purchases, and John Coniff for taking charge of the raffle event at our state shoot (contact John if you have a donation). Tate Barwald, thank you for lining up golf carts and a mower; Dennis Taylor donated two shotguns, and Al Prokepek is donating the bathroom fixtures for the new building. Chops, you are doing an awesome (free) job of putting the new building together; we all thank you for your time. Dick Otto, it takes a lot of work to put together the mailing list, thank you. One more big thank you to our great board that is making all of this happen. Please thank them when you see them.
Happy shooting to all, and keep smiling . . . I am.
Any news you have is welcome. You can e-mail me at [email protected].
Sandra Jo Jack
for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring
Eastern Zone
Atlantic Provinces
Hello from the Atlantic Provinces. An update on Sheila’s Brush and the status of spring in Newfoundland: We had a storm March 10 that dumped 25 centimeters (10 inches) of heavy wet snow. I would not classify it as a blizzard, but dangerous road condition warnings and travel advisories were in effect. It also caused flight interruptions that delayed the contingent of Newfoundland shooters on their way to Florida for the Southern Grand. I will go out on a limb here and am calling it Sheila’s Brush. According to local lore, Sheila’s Brush hits before St. Patrick’s Day, so we should have an early spring. I will have to let you know next month if that’s the case.
Atlantic Provinces secretary-treasurer Doug Blades and father-daughter shooting partners Herbie and Janaya Nickerson attended the Spring Grand in Tucson. The trio from Nova Scotia had a great shoot and brought home some nice hardware. Janaya shot a personal best singles score, and Herbie won a preliminary singles C trophy. Doug reports that he had the opportunity to shoot alongside Trapshooting Hall of Famer Kay Ohye—a memorable moment for any ATA trapshooter.
Newfoundland shooters Paul Bailey, brothers John and Peter Tucker and Monty Petipas had a very successful Southern Grand. The boys have been attending this shoot for a number of years now and have come to enjoy their midwinter break. The Nickersons from Nova Scotia also decided to attend, along with fellow Nova Scotian Barry Turner, who includes this shoot in his annual circuit. That makes a total of seven shooters from the Atlantic Provinces attending the Southern Grand.
The Nickerson duo continued their Spring Grand winning streak, with Herbie earning a half yard in a preliminary event moving him back to the 22-yard line and Janaya’s Lady I runnerup win in the Caeser Guerini Handicap earning her one yard and a punch to 21. John Tucker placed third in opening day’s preliminary handicap but did not earn any yardage. Paul Bailey, who turns 85 this year and is the most senior of the group by 25 years or more, was kept busy shooting and writing a daily report for our webpage. Peter Tucker won the Southern Grand Handicap Championship with a personal best score of 99! Peter’s shooting earned him a yard-and-a-half punch to 21.5 and local celebrity status. Congratulations, Peter. Wins for the group also included class, HOA and all-around titles.
Check out the APTA Abroad section on shootatlantic.com for a complete report of our shooters at the Southern and Spring Grands.
ATA registered shooting has started in the Atlantic Provinces with the Highland GC in Yarmouth Co., NS, shoveling snow off the trapfields and holding a 200 singles marathon March 24. Typical maritime weather with overcast skies and strong headwinds prevailed for most of the day, resulting in some challenging targets. Shooters at the Highland GC have also challenged the St. John’s R&GC to an inter-club competition. On the line are bragging rights and a steak dinner.
For more information on the Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association, visit shootatlantic.com. I can be reached at [email protected].
Andrea Bassan
ATA Delegate
New Jersey
After four Nor’easters in March, hopefully the worst of winter is over. Pine Valley held their annual Early Bird Shoot March 10-11. Jamaal Brown of West River, MD, was the big winner on Saturday with 192. On Sunday Doug Bracher took the singles with 99, and George Snyder took the handicap and doubles events. All the class winners can be found on the Pine Valley website (www.pinevalleytrapclub.com).
Seventeen NJ shooters made the trip down to the Silver Dollar in Odessa, FL, for the Southern Grand. Tommy Green Sr. and Dan Brandreth led the trophy wins with three each; Jack Godwin, Angelina Moir, Joe Sissano and Gerry Russo won one apiece. The Florida State Shoot followed, with only 13 New Jersey shooters staying for that tournament. Brandreth and Butch Zeppone each won a trophy. While at the Silver Dollar, I met Danny Branchick of Millersburg, PA; hopefully I’ll run into him at the Keystone in Elysburg.
As promised last month, here’s the rest of the story regarding the North Jersey CTC in Fairfield. After renting the property the club sits on for the last 84 years, the club, led by president Craig Gasparine, sought to buy the property. The original owners had passed away, and their heirs didn’t want to be landowners, so they hired a lawyer to dispose of their property. The two sides were not even close to making a deal. Craig wasn’t getting anywhere with the seller’s attorney, so I told him I’d contact a fellow trapshooter, Joseph Youssouf Esq., who’ve I’ve known since the late 1980s at the Howell TC in Farmingdale. Joe readily agreed to work with Craig and the club to bring the seller’s attorney back to the bargaining table. After months of back and forth with land appraisals and the like, an agreeable price was reached, and in January the North Jersey CTC were the new owners of the property located on Hook Mountain Road in Fairfield. A big thank you goes to Craig, Joe and the entire club board of directors, who stayed with their goal and made it a reality to keep a trapshooting venue in North Jersey.
At the Jan. 15 state association meeting, a lot took place. Our second vice president Tom Wolf moved up to fill the first vice president position vacated with the resignation of Jeffrey Slimm, and the second vice president position, previously filled by Tom, was filled by Paul DiMiglio. The three vacant state director positions were filled by Douglas Bracher, Robert Battista and Sam Osterhoudt. I’d like to thank the departing directors, Dan Cruz, George Hess and Gene Moir Jr. for their contributions.
Shoots this month, prior to our 2018 state shoot starting on May 30: Howell TC’s May 20 starts at 9 a.m. with doubles and practice, then at 10 a.m. singles, followed by handicap. Pine Belt is having a warm-up shoot, also on the 20th, and then starting on the 25th through 28th, the Delaware State Trapshooting Association will be holding their state shoot at Pine Belt again this year.
As mentioned in previous articles, all target requirements need to be met prior to the first day of our state shoot, which is May 30-June 3 at Pine Belt. As you can see in the previous paragraph, there are plenty of opportunities to meet your target requirements, which are 500 singles, 500 handicap and 500 doubles targets in 2018 and 500 of each in 2017; new shooters, 1,000 targets of each in 2018 to meet the requirements.
The 2018 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place June 2 in the clubhouse starting at 4 p.m. sharp. This year we will be honoring John Godwin and Dennis Lott, so please try to attend the ceremony; refreshments will be served.
The state meeting will be held promptly at 8:30 a.m. June 3 under the pavilion. All-state team pins will be presented. This year there will be elections of president, vice presidents, directors, ATA Delegate and Alternate, so please attend and have your vote counted.
If you have an idea for an article or just a question, I can be reached at 732-546-7910 or [email protected].
Joe Sissano
ATA Delegate
New York
Hello from New York. I hope everyone is doing well and starting to shoot registered targets. I plan to do plenty of shooting.
The Southern Grand American took place in March at the Silver Dollar SC in Florida, and some New York shooters took home trophies. During Monday’s preliminary singles, Urban Womer was the AA winner, B runnerup was Jerry Quintal, and Lady I runnerup was Heidi Womer. In Monday’s handicap, Urban was sub-veteran winner and Heidi Lady I runnerup. In Monday’s doubles, Keith Welch was senior veteran winner. In the Harlan Campbell Jr. Singles, Michael Fox Jr. was AAA winner. In the Tuesday handicap, Nick Michailides was runnerup, and Heidi Womer was Lady I runnerup. In the Tuesday doubles, Dave Clary was senior veteran runnerup. During the class singles, Fox was AAA winner, and Urban Womer was sub-veteran winner. In Wednesday’s handicap, Nick Michailides was runnerup. During the Justin T. Slater Doubles, Fox was AA winner, and Tiffany Decker was Lady I winner. In the V. Tank Lunsford Handicap, Jeff Bell took fourth place, and Fox was eighth. In the Doubles Class Championship, Fox was AA winner. During the Caesar Guerini Handicap, Fox was the champion, Jeff Bell took 10th place, and Debbie Bell was Lady I. Fox was the AA runnerup in the Doubles Championship. In the Handicap Championship, Brian Luther took fourth place, and Jack Wilcox was the senior veteran winner. In the all-around, Urban Womer was AA winner, and Richard Boss Sr. was B runnerup there plus B winner in the high-over-all. All trophy winners can be viewed on Bob Stuart’s webpage www.rjstuart.com and in Trap & Field. This was excellent shooting by these fine New York shooters.
Remember, the first shoot at our homegrounds is the Empire Grand American May 9-13. There will be 12 events plus the all-around and high-over-all. We plan on providing a fine tournament for you all. We hope you plan to attend.
If anyone wants information or news placed in one of these articles, please write me at [email protected] or call 585-519-9543. I am always looking for information to place in these articles.
See you all soon, and good shooting. May God bless.
Dave Cichelli
ATA Delegate
Ontario
Greetings from Ontario, Canada! As I write this, the Southern Grand in Florida has just concluded. Ontario had a large contingent who competed in most of the classes and categories. Congratulations to those who earned trophies.
I will single out one Ontario shooter who achieved a phenomenal result. Lloyd Beecraft shot the only 200 straight in the championship singles, besting a field of well over 500 shooters. Lloyd distinguished himself a few years ago in Florida when he won the Dixie handicap championship with the lone 99.
It is gratifying to see our shooters competing at major ATA tournaments outside Ontario. We had about a dozen attend the Spring Grand in February, and many competed in the first Silver Dollar Open in January. I am told we can expect increasing numbers of Ontario shooters in matches south of the border and in other provinces this year.
Ontario shooters—and for that matter, shooters from south of the border—often ask me the best and most economical way to transport firearms across the U.S./Canada border in circumstances where their owners wish to sell them. Doing it legally is paramount. Your ATF form (for Canadians) enables you to temporarily cross the border from Canada to the U.S. with firearms that are on your ATF form, but when you return to Canada, the firearms are to return with you. What is invariably required if you want to leave a firearm in the States is the assistance of an accredited import/export dealer who has all the credentials to ensure things are done correctly.
In that regard, I was approached a couple of years ago by a person who lives in Ontario near the border and who has been working on obtaining licensing to enable Canadians to transfer firearms to recipients in the U.S. and to enable U.S. individuals or businesses to transfer firearms to Canadians. The cost of doing the paperwork and ensuring things are done legally will be very affordable.
I am awaiting formal notification as to when the accreditation is finalized, and I will report to you with all contact information. I am hoping this will occur within the next few months. Watch for it.
For U.S. firearm owners to import their own firearms temporarily into Canada, nothing much has changed from what I explained a few years back. Sometimes it is harder, I am told, for U.S. residents to get their own guns back into the U.S., so make sure you do your homework.
As always, if you have any questions or issues that I can help with, please let me know.
Paul Shaw
ATA Delegate
Southern Zone
Alabama
As I write this, we are at the end of March; I’ve been making motel reservations and planning my shooting trips. We should be in Georgia when this comes out and then on to South Carolina and so on. This is part of a yearly ritual if you’re a trapshooter. It’s also the time of year you need to work on getting your target requirements so you don’t have to shoot penalty. You need to get to the local clubs and shoot up some lead in practice. Local clubs are the backbone of our sport. They provide targets and practice, which, sorry, we all need desperately. Let’s get out of the recliner and get busy and be ready when we arrive at the next shoot.
I want to throw kudos to our top 10 shooters who made the state team for the 2017 target year: First team—captain John White IV, .9561; Bill Parson Jr., .9242; John Hyde, .9042; Dan Jones, .9016; Tim Hall, .8951. Second team—Seth Thompson, .8934; Bill Gregg, .8883; Wayne Sartwell, .8872; Shelby Sockwell, .8832; Ray Collins, .8785. Thanks for the hard work and support to our state association.
The state association is coming down to the wire and getting ready to show you a good time at this year’s state shoot. Lots of work goes into getting everything done for May 31-June 3 at Dixie TC in Mathews. Make your reservations early and don’t miss the 2018 version. We all look forward to seeing you there.
Read the rulebook; we all need to learn it. The next time you are on your computer, check out our website. Bill is doing an awesome job of keeping it updated.
Please keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. Without the men and women of our armed forces protecting this country, we would not be able to enjoy this great sport. When you see a soldier, thank them for their service.
I hope to see you all on the line somewhere soon. If you need my help or have news to report, contact me anytime at 205-410-8201 or [email protected].
Fred Jensen
ATA Delegate
Florida
First up, there has been a change in the FTA shoot schedule. The FTA Spring Championship, originally scheduled at Robinson Ranch May 4-6, has moved to Silver Dollar, same dates. This is our FTA spring meeting where new FTA officers take their elected positions on the board. Newly seated will be Ted Fortune, president; Guy Long, vice president; and Ralph Bennett. Congratulations and good luck to them and all other FTA officers and Delegate(s) returning to serve Florida trapshooters.
A Milestone came in for Ronald Kot; he received his pin and certificate for registering 75,000 doubles targets. In the singles, yours truly received his pin and certificate for registering 100,000 singles.
At this year’s FTA annual meeting, several by-law changes were voted on. Some were just simple corrections due to progress and changes in shooting venues. One new change is to raise the FTA daily fees from $2 per day to $3. This is scheduled to take effect Sept. 1 to coincide with the ATA target year. There is no increase for Big 50 shoots.
Announced at the FTA annual meeting were new inductees into the FTA Hall of Fame. We have two outstanding individuals who have served the FTA well and will be inducted in a ceremony this coming January: Edna Mollahan and Ray Lee. Please, when you see either of them, congratulate them, as we FTA shooters could not bestow a higher trapshooting honor.
Our Florida State Shoot, hosted by the Silver Dollar March 20-25, was a big success. We maintained an ATA Competition Factor 4. Champions are as follows: Mark Zauhar, singles, 199; Matthew DeBord, doubles, 99; Michael Touchton, handicap, 94 (Touchton defeated eight other residents who tied his winning score); and Matthew Trammell, all-around, 389×400, and HOA, 1,219×1,300. Look for all of our champions in this issue of Trap & Field. It was an excellent state shoot with added money and wonderful trophies.
The Pittman Robertson Act released its financial grants and awards to Florida early in March. This federal excise tax money released to Florida amounts to approximately $28 million. It now lies in the financial coffers of Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC). The process of this federal money to state money has had many legal inquiries during the inception of this Act and the disbursements of grant money. With this money, the Palm Beach Shooting Center will have an additional influx of money continuing with its planned recreational shooting facility. For information on this multimillion-dollar center, visit the FWC website for up-to-date construction details and short videos and photos of construction progress.
Please advise me of any news Florida trapshooters might like to hear about. I can be contacted at 321-427-6553 or [email protected].
Larry Grenevicki
ATA Delegate
Georgia
I write this having just returned from the Florida State Shoot at the Silver Dollar SC in Odessa. Since I lived there in the early 1980s, it’s always nice to spend some time at my old stomping grounds. The shoot was excellent in all aspects. If you haven’t shot at the Silver Dollar, you need to make it a priority. I actually shot several events with some gentlemen from England, a real testimony to the event’s diverse demographics.
- T. Osborne continued his exceptional shooting at the Spring Grand in Tucson and at the Southern Grand and Florida State Shoot in Odessa. He entered three doubles events at the Spring Grand and posted scores of 100, 99 and 98. J. T. also collected four trophies each at the Southern Grand and Florida State Shoot.
Congratulations go out to Darren Warden for earning a place on the 27-yard line. Darren fired a 96 in the Southern Grand’s Caesar Guerini Handicap, which got him a two-yard punch. He ended with a third-place finish after the shootoff.
I am told that Boone Butler is responsible for restoring the new car smell to Col. Mike Bolling’s vehicle. This was accomplished via the introduction of the rather large leather shooting bag that he won for Class A singles at Florida State into said automobile. The aroma was said to be pleasing to Boone, but a bit overpowering to Mike.
The next big event on our calendar is the Georgia State Shoot. Preparations are virtually complete, and the South River GC looks great. I hope to see you there.
Richard Griffith
ATA Delegate
Kentucky
Well, Kentucky trapshooters, it appears that spring has finally arrived. Weather has been less than ideal here in Kentucky; however, trapshooting has been going on in Florida and Arizona. Kentucky shooters have attended the Spring Grand in Tucson, and the Southern Grand has just concluded in Odessa, FL.
As I finished the previous article, we had two full squads pre-squadded for the Spring Grand, but when everything was said and done, Kentucky had 23 shooters attend and shoot either all or some of the events. All made a very good accounting of themselves. In Event 1 in prelim week, Donnie Sherrard shot them straight. In the first day ’caps, he shot a 98 and Kevin (Tank) Polson a 97. Donnie was runnerup in the event. Royce White broke 199 in the prelim Singles Championship. In Event 14, the prelim ’caps in Grand Week, Doug Cox won the event with 96, followed by Cameron Decker with 94 to win the junior gold category. In the doubles (Event 17), Drew Cropper was straight to win junior gold. In the handicap (Event 18), Sherrard and Aaron (Steady Eddie) Willoughby broke 97s. In the singles the following day, Polson and Sherrard shot them straight, along with 45 others. Cropper won Event 20 with 100. In the Singles Championship, Nick Kingrey broke 199. In the Handicap Championship, Cropper finished second with 97. Drew also led the Kentucky contingent in HOA with 1,055. Sherrard followed with 1,049, and Willoughby with 1,048. Drew also led the Kentucky contingent in the all-around with 390, followed by Polson and Sherrard with 383s.
The Southern Grand finished up last week with a smaller-than-usual Kentucky group attending. Bradley Jones won trophies in Events 1, 3, 6 and 9. Joe Neyer was the winner of Event 3 AA doubles. Willoughby won trophies in Events 8 and 11. Helton Vaughn came in third in Event 10. Ronnie Black placed in Events 11 and 13. Bobby Bilbrey won his category in Events 13, 14 and 15 as well as the all-around and HOA in chair category. Charles Howard placed well in Events 14 and 15. Teddy Bilbrey was runnerup in his class in Event 14. Colin Howard placed well in junior gold in Event 14.
The Kentucky High School Trap League rosters are complete, and practice has begun. I’m hoping everyone is looking forward to smoking targets as the weather improves. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the line somewhere soon.
Dee Horn of the Pikeville SC advised that on Feb. 22, a beloved member of their club, Mr. Wiley Elliott, passed. Also, Mr. John Kerr is still recovering from a serious injury he incurred in Florida in January. We miss him and his extraordinary leadership of the KTL. Everyone is praying and wishing for his speedy and complete recovery. If anyone has trapshooting news, please contact me at [email protected] or call 270-227-2262. Until we see you on the line, this is wishing everyone good health, many smoked targets and safe travels.
Vernon R. Anderson
KTL board member
Mississippi
Excitement is building as the Mississippi State Shoot will commence May 24 and extend through May 28 at Coast R&PC in Biloxi.
This will be the 104th Mississippi State Shoot. In order to put this in context, please bear with me for a few words about our proud history. The Mississippi Coast was first explored by Hernando de Soto of Spain in 1540. The first permanent settlement in what later became Mississippi was in Biloxi in 1699 by Frenchman Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville. Mississippi became the 20th state to join the United States on Dec. 10, 1817. Therefore, this year’s event will be the first state shoot in our third century of existence!
How to prepare? No problem. Jackson’s Capitol GC will host the Catfish Open May 12-13. Coast R&PC’s monthly shoot will be in Biloxi on May 12.
Vincent Valois, chief mechanic for Pat-Trap, tuned up all six machines (including changing worn parts) at Coast. An extra Pat-Trap is now permanently on hand at the club should one break down. A second field is now furnished with lights. (Two years ago, shootoffs went until 11 p.m. because only one field was lighted.)
The state shoot program consists of 100 singles, handicap and doubles on Thursday and Friday (May 24-25); 200 championship singles on Saturday (May 26); and 100 championship doubles and handicap on Sunday (May 27).
With great appreciation for our generous sponsor, National Aviation Academy, gourmet breakfast and lunch will be complimentary each day of the shoot.
Thankfully, Stephanie Wilson has returned to excellent health and is shooting excellent scores after a three-month illness. Larry Rickman, for the second consecutive year, has been named to the All-American team. He racked up a phenomenal 828 points, finishing fourth in his category. Way to go, Larry! Sam Owens, a lifelong trapshooter, has registered a total of 219,350 targets, exceeded in our state only by forever MTA secretary Fred Rogers, who has registered 324,250.
Mississippi attendees at the recent Spring Grand in Tucson were Charlie Boggs and ex-Mississippian Gene Schneck. Larry Rickman (with his lovely bride Freida), Kim Wilson and daughter Stephanie, as well as Mac Elliot, Brian Harmon, Charlie Boggs, Phil Malegni, Schneck and the undersigned attended the Southern Grand in Odessa, FL. Kim won Class A in doubles, and Mac smashed 100 in the class singles for senior vet after carryover. The rest of us shot well, but no cigar.
AIM shooting is alive and growing at both Capitol and Coast under the tutorship of Randy Dearman and MTA president John Oren, respectively. Randy’s son, Christian, was elected captain of the Mississippi AIM state team, an honor he clearly earned. It pains me to say that when he appears at Coast R&PC, he beats ALL adults and goes home high-over-all!
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks continues to grow its shotgun program, and Capitol provides the venue and training opportunities for it.
The Big 50 continues to be very popular at Capitol, and participation increases as the evenings become longer. Coast R&PC will be jumping into the Big 50 program beginning in June. Dates will be the first Sunday of the month, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
There is a run on new trap guns. Ashlyn Neal, a young lady who shows great potential, just upgraded to a Beretta A400 Multi Target. John Oren added an A400 to his collection, as have Phil Malegni and Jerry Richburg. Stephanie Wilson sports a new custom Wenig stock.
Please join us at the state shoot. Shoot well!
Lenny Sawyer
ATA Delegate
South Carolina
Trapshooting season is here. I just returned from the Southern Grand at the Silver Dollar in Florida. There were nine South Carolina shooters in attendance. Roger Smith, Ed Clarke and I each brought home a trophy. Rain Monday morning was followed by sun the rest of the day, Tuesday cold in the 40s to start and wind. Wednesday was decent, and Thursday had wind. The rest of the week was warmer with less wind.
By the time you read this, the Georgia State Shoot will be history. I hope to have a long list of South Carolina winners in the next column. You may have time to get to our state shoot; hope to see you there. Remember, we’ll have our famous free fish dinner, and you know Teresa always has the best trophies. Spartanburg GC has hired Dennis Taylor to make sure all the Pat-Traps are good to go, and Drew will have his squad of scorers there, so all should go smoothly.
In case you missed it, the final resolution of last year’s state champions was listed on Page 110 in the March issue of Trap & Field, listed as Revisions at the bottom of the page. These changes were necessitated by the disqualification of David Schaeffer due to less than six-month residency in South Carolina prior to our May state shoot.
The really good news is that no new people have asked to be put on our prayer list, so remember to keep up with the people already there and shoot a lot and enjoy.
I can be reached at [email protected].
Jim Faber
ATA Delegate
Tennessee
The month of May has four state shoots in the Southern Zone: May 3-6, Georgia, South River GC, Covington; May 16-20, South Carolina, Spartanburg GC, Pacolet; May 24-27, Mississippi, Coast R&PC, Biloxi; May 31-June 3, Alabama, Dixie T&S, Mathews.
If you want to attend a shoot closer to home, these two annual shoots started in the 1960s: May 19-20 is the Mid-South Open at Memphis. Saturday includes 200 singles, and Sunday has 200 handicap, plus you can shoot 100 doubles whichever day you want. May 19-20 is the Music City Shoot at Nashville. Saturday is 200 singles plus 100 handicap. Sunday will include 100 singles, 100 handicap and 100 doubles.
Thirty-one Tennessee shooters headed south in March for the Southern Grand. The following shooters won trophies: Chase Kobeck, Amy Dement, Hunter Morton, Joe Dement, Mitchel Loveless, Chandler Brown, Brooke Barnett, Herman Chandley, Chandler Hinson and Colter Smith.
Congratulations to Tom Freeman for firing at his 100,000th ATA doubles target during the Southern Grand. Tom is nearing 350,000 total targets.
The following week was the Florida State Shoot, with Hunter Morton, Brooke Barnett, Joe Dement, Chase Kobeck, Landon Meadows, Chandler Hinson, Logan Meadows and Amy Dement. Congratulations to all of the trophy winners.
At our state shoot this year we will have 12 new Pat-Traps and E-Rads. June 12-13 is the AIM State Shoot, and June 14-17 is the state shoot hosted by the Tennessee CTC, Nashville.
Read the rulebook, please.
Check out our website at Shootatatn.com for more info.
For questions or further information, contact me at [email protected] or 731-217-9957.
Billy Cook
ATA Delegate
Southwestern Zone
Colorado
Just a few acknowledgements of our Colorado shooters as it appears in the 2017 Average Book. Registering the most targets for the year was Nick DiGesualdo with 24,100, with his wife Sandy DiGesualdo recording 18,900.
Singles average—Stacy Rehor, .9876 (third in the ATA); Janessa Beaman, .9810 (seventh); Nikki Herman, .9423; Sierra Wasserburger, .9404; Marilyn Walker, .9368. Scott Obenchain, .9947 (second in the ATA), Denis Bringelson, .9870; Ray Stafford, .9855; Paul Dible, .9831; Mike Herman, .9785.
Handicap average—Stacy Rehor, .9372 (second in the ATA); Janessa Beaman, .9139; Sierra Wassenburger., .9080; Micheala Worley, .8964; Sharon Winslow, .8962. Denis Bringelson, .9531 (third); Scott Obenchain, .9448 (10th); Ray Stafford, .8343; Brett Renck, .9324; Stanley Welton, .9316.
Doubles average—Stacy Rehor, .9478 (fourth); Janessa Beaman, .9443 (fifth); Nikki Herman, .9067; Sierra Wasserburger, .8865. Scott Obenchain, .9640; Gregory Kayl, 9607; Adam Rehor, .9554; Stanley Welton, .9534; Scott Clark, .9494.
Upcoming shoots include Craig (Big 50), June 2; Buena Vista, Burlington (ZQ), Craig and Golden, June 3; Grand Junction (Big 50), June 9; Del Monte, June 9-10; Aurora, June 10; Grand Junction (Colorado State Shoot), June 13-16; Pikes Peak, June 24; and Leadville, June 30.
Contact information for the state shoot at Grand Junction GC is 970-245-0780 or John Finochio at 970-241-1159, e-mail [email protected].
Visit Presquad.com for your pre-squad needs.
Check your local shoots, and don’t forget to support the club with your zone qualifier. Zone shoot is at Pikes Peak with sister club Grand Junction Sept. 14-16.
CSTA website is www.shoot-csta.com. Contact David Lian with any information you would like included on the site at [email protected].
We have just returned from our trip to Australia. In future articles, I will share some of our fun moments. Met some wonderful “mates,” and it was definitely a trip of a lifetime.
Feel free to let me know of any concerns or special events you would like me to include in future articles. I can be reached at [email protected].
No worries, mate.
Dan Treat
ATA Delegate
Louisiana
The good old Louisiana weather is finally beginning to cooperate with us. We are finally getting a chance to throw some targets, and thankfully they are orange and not yellow; the pollen is now so bad that yellow targets would be impossible to see.
By the time this article is published, the LA State Shoot will be in the record books, and by all indicators and pre-squad information, it was a great turnout. However, you will have to wait another month before I will be able to provide actual details.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who came together to make this shoot possible. The list would be much too long for this article, but you know who you are: LTA officers, directors and members; Toby Bancroft Memorial GC Board of Directors and members; sponsors; and all the shooters who took the time and traveled the distance to join us.
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 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 tickets, please contact your ATA Delegate, 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
The annual team shoot was held at MTA GC in Linn Creek March 17, with 21 teams competing. The team shoot is the official beginning of the shooting season at MTA with a registered shoot the following day. As usual, weather was less than favorable, but at least it wasn’t snowing or raining like in years past. Everyone had a good time and, as usual, the MTA staff did all they could to make it a good shoot. Congratulations to the following teams that persevered and rose to the occasion. Division I winners were the KC Shooters: Hughie Coleman, Mark Moser, Stephen Ricketts, Kent Frost and Randy Still. Division I runnerup was Fred’s Team: Nels Hanson, Rick Fuller, Fred Naugle, Steven J. Fuller and Randall Crawford. The Division II winners were Alfermann USA: Randy Buhr, Donald Buchheit, Gary Young, Gary Alfermann and Duane Buhr. Division II runnerup was Branson Electric: Tom Rombach, Tim Pittman, Marvin Beumer, Joe Nehrt and Mark Boeker. The winners of Division III was Curtis’ Cluster: Curtis Barker, Douglas Burt, Michael Mueller, Dennis Burt and Richard Craven. Division III runnerup team was Webster Plumbing: Robert Rush, Justin Graham, Teresa Graham, Guy Hawkins and James Webster. The Division IIII winner was the Big Tomatoes: Milton Palasota, Brenda Morehouse, Jimette Palasota, Roland Brooks and David Morehouse. The Division IIII runnerup team was VFW: David Vandenbog, Matt Meyer, Mark Hasken, Roy Boyer and Don Joerling. Thanks to Tom Rombach for putting everything together and recruiting the teams.
Hopefully by now you have gotten that favorite trap gun out of the safe and blown the cobwebs out of the barrel. Even though winter still has a little bit of a grip and is hanging on, shooting season is here! Most of the Missouri clubs that host registered shoots have already held or soon will begin holding registered shoots. I got word that the Sedalia R&GC that has not held registered shoots for a couple years is going to have a few shoots again this year. I hope you will try to make a point to attend one of their shoots as well as any of the other clubs thoughout the state. Whether it’s a large or small club, they all need our support. In my business I visit many gun clubs each year and occasionally visit a club that has been closed. One of the most common denominators of closed clubs is the lack of able-bodied individuals to keep things going. That also seems to be the reason most clubs quit hosting registered shoots. Most of the smaller clubs operate with volunteer staff and don’t see anything more than a thank you for their efforts, and oftentimes all they hear is that they did this or that wrong. Please take a moment of your time and thank all of the personnel that work at the facility you are shooting at; you would be surprised how much difference it will make to them.
In case you haven’t heard, there is going to be a big celebration at MTA the week of May 14-20. We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary state shoot at the permanent homegrounds at Linn Creek. If you don’t receive a program in the mail, you can download one from the motraps.com website. Hopefully by the time you read this, there will still be time to make reservations to attend. If anyone has anything they want reported or has any concerns, please contact me at [email protected] or 816-863-9003. God bless and be safe!
Stephen Ricketts
ATA Delegate
New Mexico
It’s already the end of March—my, the year is just flying by.
Hobbs had its shoot March 3. They had good weather and a good turnout with 33 singles shooters, 29 handicap and 26 doubles. I’m not going to list the winners; they will be in the shoot report.
Alamogordo had a shoot March 16-18. It was a good one, except Sunday afternoon the wind got to blowing with gusts of 45 mph. Thirty-six shooters still shot handicap.
I hope to see y’all at the NM State Shoot May 22-27. Shoot well and often.
Bob Leibel
ATA Delegate
Oklahoma
Duncan GC’s Feb. 18 shoot had cold, windy, overcast weather. Twenty shooters braved the conditions. Gus Bradshaw won the singles with 98, and Colt Quisenberry’s 97 was next. Colt won the handicap with 88, and Justin Cavett’s 87 was second. Gus and Colt broke 93 in doubles followed by Collin Rindal’s and Cavett’s 85s.
Two Oklahoma shooters won trophies at the Missouri Fall Handicap. Kameron Wilson captured two awards, and David Bacon II won three, getting his picture on Page 27 of Trap & Field’s February issue.
The Bartlesville GC shot Big 50s this winter on Wednesday nights. Belt buckles were awarded at their last shoot based on shooters’ best seven scores of the season. The winners in singles were A, David Bacon; B, Ray Galli; C, Jack Long; and D, Rob Martin. In the handicap, long-yardage, Billy Pierce, and short-yardage, Terry Piquet. Doubles winner was Jim Waite. This is their third year to shoot Big 50s, and they have been a big success.
Oil Capital GC started their Big 50s on Thursday evenings March 15 and registered shoots April 8 and May 6. Six Oklahoma clubs have registered shoots scheduled in May that coincide with the AIM program.
Shawnee Twin Lakes TR had a cool, windy, overcast day for their first registered shoot of the year March 11. Seventeen shooters competed. Ryan Moore’s 97 was high in singles, Galli’s 92 won the handicap, and Mike Grove and Colton Ables broke 90s in doubles. Mike won the flip.
Oklahoma shooters did very well at the Spring Grand in Tucson. Quisenberry broke his first 200 in singles and 97 in doubles. Ron Bliss had two 99s, 97, 98 and 96 in doubles. Chance Fleming had 99 and 197 in singles, 97 in handicap, and 98 and two 97s in doubles. Gary Nichols had 198 and 98 in singles plus 98, 96, 97 in doubles. Klayton McGee had two 95s in handicap. Jeff Trayer had 198, 99, 97 in singles and 94 in handicap. Verlin (Doc) Koper had 99 in singles and 96 in doubles. Steve Barnett had 96 in handicap and 194 in singles.
Ron Bliss became a Mega Target member for registering 23,800 targets in 2017. This is a new ATA recognition for those who reach 20,000 targets in a year.
Oklahoma’s Corbin Grybowski, Ron Bliss and Robert Rimer are All-Americans with pictures in the March issue of Trap & Field.
Oklahoma shooter Don Mount died March 10, one day after his wife Anna passed away. Don was 85, and Anna was 76. They were married for 65 years. Don shot registered trap from 1966 until 1971. He took up registered trap again just a few weeks before the 1985 Midwestern Grand at El Reno, whre he broke 97 to win the Coors Handicap. Don shot 128,950 registered targets during his career. My daughter works with their daughter Theresa (Mount) Turner, at Unit Drilling Co. in Oklahoma City. Our prayers and condolences go out to the Mount family and friends.
OTSA held their March Madness Shoot March 10-11. Attendance was great with 56 classified on Saturday, which turned out to be a perfect day with perfect targets, and the high scores reflected it. Junior shooter Abagail Colten broke her first 100 straight in singles to lead the field. She backed that up with another 97 and a 97 in the handicap. In the first 100 singles, there was a 99 in Class C and a 98 in D, which caused some to speculate they had to be classified wrong. This was not the case. On a perfect day and with good targets, you would expect to see shooters get on a roll and break those scores. In the second 100 singles, the person with 99 broke 91, and the 98 broke 93, etc. I give Paul Hooper credit for setting great targets contributing to those scores. He must have liked the targets; he broke 99 to win the handicap. Sunday came along, and everything changed. Our perfect weather turned into high north winds and even higher gusts all day long. Only 13 shooters braved these conditions. Quisenberry broke 98 to win the singles. Rusty Colten, Abagail’s dad, won the handicap with 94, and 84s were next by Rindal and Cavett. Clay Galbreath’s 92 won the doubles.
Another longtime Oklahoma shooter, Karl Tomanka, passed away March 14. Karl began trapshooting in 1972 and became a AA-27-AA shooter. He made the 27-yard line on June 7, 1981, at Kansas TA in Wichita. Karl is No. 304 on the ATA Grand Slam list. He completed his Grand Slam by breaking 100 from the 27 on Sept. 2, 2002. He joined an elite group of nine Oklahoma shooters to complete the Grand Slam. Karl was inducted into the Oklahoma Trapshooters Hall of Fame in 2002. He made the state team from 1984 to 1995 and was a life member of the ATA and OTA. Karl won many trophies at the state shoot, Southwestern Zone and surrounding state shoots. He fired at 229,000 targets during his career. I had the privilege to shoot with Karl on many occasions, and he was good to shoot with. Our condolences go out to his wife Sue and family.
Duncan GC had another cool, overcast, misty day for their March 18 shot. Heavy rains were forecast and kept attendance down. Tim Burke broke 95 and won the singles. Tyler Burke won the handicap with 92. Billy Pierce won the doubles with 92. Al Haws and Mike Cook have worked on traps and adjusted targets to be ready for the summer season. Targets looked great, and everything went well.
On March 16 Oklahoma lost yet another shooter. David Dunn of Meeker passed away. David started shooting in 1968 and last shot in 1996 after heart problems curtailed his shooting. David was a AA, 27-yard shooter, winning trophies in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Kansas. On the first day of the Louisiana State Shoot in Shreveport years ago, David won the singles, I won the handicap, and Tom Batt won the doubles. The Trap & Field picture of us read, “Oklahomans sweep the first day’s events.” David was a very good singles and handicap shooter. He taught his wife Nancy to shoot, and she won trophies also. David shot 60,550 targets during his career. Our prayers and condolences go out to Nancy and family.
I sure hope I have better news for next month. Not only have we lost shooters, but our country has lost law enforcement and military personnel this month. Please keep these protectors of our freedoms in your prayers.
Tim Deister
ATA Delegate
Texas
Just in case anyone sends me news to put in this column, please understand the delay that will occur. Today is March 25, and this column will be in the May issue of Trap & Field. Now this doesn’t mean I think anyone will send news, but just in case you do, that’s how far ahead I write the article.
I didn’t think anyone ever read my column, but I got a very nice e-mail from Dave. Dave lives in Iowa and says he enjoys reading my ramblings. I just wanted to send a big thank you to him.
Texas shooters, don’t forget the two zone shoots left in this target year. Zone IV will be hosted by the Waco T&SC May 18-20. I know many of the shooters there have worked extremely hard to get Waco back into registered trapshooting. Please, if at all possible, go and support their hard work. The Zone I shoot will be hosted by the Amarillo GC June 15-17. There has been a big turnaround at AGC in the last 16 months. You don’t have to take my word for it, just go shoot with the new people running the club, and you will see for yourself. You will have a great time at both of these zone shoots. I hope to see you there.
If you’ve read this far, you are at the part of my column where we talk about the rulebook. The doubles misfire rule is probably the most misunderstood rule in the whole book:
“If the Failure is on the FIRST SHOT and the shooter does not shoot at the second target, nothing is established for either target, shoot the pair over.
“If the Failure is on the FIRST SHOT and the shooter fires at the second target, SECOND TARGET is established as shot. Shoot the pair over to establish first target only.
“If the Failure is on the SECOND SHOT, first target is established as shot. Shoot the pair over to establish the second target only.”
I copied this from the simplified version of the doubles misfire rule that the ATA has on their website. I try to always have a copy of this with me at all the shoots I attend. I’ll be glad to give you one, or you may look it up on the ATA website. If you are computer illiterate, like I am, you can call the ATA office, and they will send you one.
While we are talking rules, another that causes lots of hard feelings and upset shooters is the scoring rule. Page 26, Item 2 clearly explains that any target scored other than clearly with /, X, or O, or which appears to be scored with both an X and O, shall be “LOST”. unless the word “DEAD” is clearly printed beside it. This does not mean that the scorer’s initials or the words “broken” or “hit” or anything else will be sufficient. The word DEAD is the only thing that will work. Even if everyone on your squads swears it was broken, it doesn’t matter; it will still be scored lost. I know that this has happened to many shooters. The way to fix this is to check the scoresheet.
If you don’t send me news, we will continue to have rulebook lessons. Don’t forget to thank the volunteers who work so hard to put shoots on. If we didn’t have those people, we wouldn’t have many places to shoot.
If you have news, please send it to Princess or me at 806-679-6889, [email protected] or 800 Baltimore Dr., Hereford, TX 79045. Thanks! Till next time, y’all shoot well, y’all shoot often, and y’all have a great time.
Jerry O’Connor
ATA Delegate
