Arkansas

The shooting season is in full swing for Arkansas. Camden, Independence Co. and the Jacksonville club have reported good turnouts at their recent shoots. The board of directors is excited about the 2021 state shoot. The handicap jackpot is $9,500 for the person shooting a 100 straight in the championship handicap on Sunday. Be sure to play that jackpot purse! There is more than $40,000 in added money for this year’s shoot, so be sure to put Arkansas on your shooting list. I look forward to seeing you on the trapline soon.

Psalms 55:22 KJV—Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Robby Pennock

ATA Delegate

Kansas

What a weird year it was for trapshooting in 2020. Shoots canceled, locations changed, target requirements reduced for classification, etc. The Grand American had to be moved with only a two-month notice (thanks, Missouri, for hosting). These are a few of the changes made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the United States in March 2020.

Many shooters did make it out to clubs to get targets in, if only in limited numbers. Our Kansas State Shoot, however, had a larger than normal attendance, being one of the first major shoots held in the nation.

With these things in mind, the Kansas Trapshooting Association is proud to announce their state teams for 2021:

Men’s first—captain Caleb Fischer, .9501; Rob Taylor, .9471; Bruce Davis, .9341; Dillon Stum, .9307; Martin Wilbur, .9306. Men’s second—Jesse Secrest, .9244; Shawn Massey, .9172; James Cooper, .9038; Carey McAllister, .9029; Ted Grindstaff, .8817. Women’s—captain Morgan Domme, .9002; Beccy Landgraf, .8247; Jessica Heckel, .8221; Gloria Sims, .8020. Sub-junior—captain Logan Pestock, .8918; Max Wineinger, .8877; Braden Hoskinson, .8186. Junior—captain Cody Eye, .9184; Xander Winchel, .9097; Andrew Hubbell, .9039; Caleb Seacrest, .8950; Scott Owen, .8950. Veteran—captain David Osborn, .9389; Kenneth Johnston, .9061; John Guth, .8831. Senior vet—captain John Golay, .8735; Larry Zerngast, .8685.

The KTA would also like to recognize KTA members of the ATA All-American teams:

Open second—Harlan Campbell Jr., Bruce Davis, Rob M. Taylor, Caleb Fischer. Junior gold second—Samuel Heinerikson. Sub-vet second—Don Budd. Veteran—David Osborn. Senior vet second—Rex Howe.

Recently some gun clubs have started setting targets and then not wanting to adjust them as weather conditions change. What is legal at the 10-yard stake might be totally different with a headwind compared to a tailwind. With this in mind, the KTA Board of Directors will continue to make adjustments per shooter request at all KTA shoots as long as the targets conform to ATA legal rules.

Remember, I cannot get your information into this article unless you let me know. I can still be reached at [email protected] or by cell at 785-565-8282. Now is a great time to support your local gun clubs and read the Rulebook.

David Rhoads

ATA Southwestern Zone Vice President

New Mexico

Hello from the Land of Enchantment. Well, the New Year has started off just as crazy as we ended 2020! We still have no sign of anything changing here in New Mexico when it comes to the COVID-19 virus. We receive reports almost every day that our numbers are up almost everywhere in New Mexico. As I stated in last month’s issue, the COVID-19 will and has changed the way we go about almost everything in our lives. It is my prayer that we all can find the strength each and every day to overcome what we foresee in our future.

This time of year it is pretty slow when it comes to registered shoots here. Almost everyone has stored the old smokesticks for the winter, and I’m sure is trying to keep warm. I do have one item that I want to talk about in this issue, and it is our Scholastic Action Shooting Programs. In New Mexico we have a total of 11 teams that are part of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) and the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). Here in New Mexico the high schools have all been closed due to the COVID-19 virus. This means that all sporting activities for the kids have also been canceled.

With the shooting program being an outdoor sport, most of the kids have been able to take part in events throughout the state. Shoots have been set up as zone shoots, with clubs all over the state hosting. In December we had 97 youth shooters, and in January we had 127. If you know of any kids who are in sixth to 12th grade who would be interested in shooting, please get them in touch with one of the above programs and get them signed up. Here are the websites for both the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (sssfonline.org) and the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (mysasp.com). Look at the Find a Team lookup for more information on all 11 teams.

The following groups took part in the Jan. 9 New Mexico High School Shoot: Aztec Tigers, Bootheel Shotgunners (Silver City), Mesilla Valley (Las Cruces), 4-P Trap Club (Melrose), Long Shots (Logan), Albuquerque Youth Trapshooting, and the Sierra Blanca Shooters (Lincoln County).

Congratulations to the following winners. Intermediate class (sixth to eighth grade): Singles ladies’, Renise Hollaway, 78 (4-P TC). Singles men’s, Lane Helmer, 97 (4-P). Senior class (ninth to 12th grade): Singles ladies’, Chantry Stermer, 96 (Los Alamos Young Guns). Singles men’s, Mason Lockett, 97 (Bootheel Shotgunners).

Intermediate class: Handicap ladies’, Hollaway, 78 (4-P). Handicap men’s, Helmer 86 (4-P). Senior class: Handicap ladies’, Jaylee Bradley, 89 (4-P). Handicap men’s, Matthew Garrison, 96 (Bootheel).

Intermediate class: Doubles ladies’, Madyson McFarland, 59 (Albuquerque Youth Trapshooting). Doubles men’s, Helmer, 80 (4-P). Senior class: Doubles ladies’, Stermer, 80 (Los Alamos). Doubles men’s, Ryon Howell, 87 (4-P).

Just a little more information on the youth shooting programs. Not all scores are registered with the ATA at this time, but I encourage all certified ATA trap clubs to work with the local coaches and try to get the youth scores registered with the AIM program and with the ATA.

Look for the following shoots coming up: Albuquerque, March 6; Hobbs, March 6-7; Alamogordo’s Annual, March 17-18; and Silver City, March 20.

If you have any news to report or need my help, you may contact me at 575-538-1016 or [email protected].

Cory Dalton

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Central Oklahoma was hit with rain, ice and 10 inches of snow on the first of the new year. OTSA SP was digging out from four-foot drifts. Their Jan. 1 shoot was moved to Jan. 9. Shawnee moved their shoot to Jan. 3. They had 16 shooters, and six of them were recent new shooters. Nathan Lemke and Mitchel Wyatt’s 48s led the singles, and Johnny Wilson’s 47 was next. First in the handicap were Robert Rimer and Mike Grove with 40s. Second were Emile Heilland, Mitchel and Nathan with 39s. Third were Randy Hill, Logan Davis and Joe Wells with 38s. Johnny won the doubles with 48, and Mike and Nathan had 46s. Jan was not feeling well, so Gary got to run the whole show with the help of a few of us. Shooters are always willing to help when needed.

Zane Arnold won Ada’s Jan. 5 shoot with 44. They had 15 shooters, so three orange birds were thrown. Only one of the three was broken, by new 13-year-old shooter Noah Heitland, who had just gotten a new shotgun that is as tall as he is. He is already breaking 23s, so that 25 straight is just around the corner. The orange bird paid him $15.

The OTSA SP shoot that was moved to Jan. 9 only had 17 shooters because of cold, damp weather and north winds. Paul Hooper broke 50 straight in the singles. Jeff Barker was high in the handicap with 47. They both tied with 92s on the combined score for the runnerup buckle, and Jeff won the flip. Lemke won the champion buckle with 93.

I had hoped to have better news to report on for the 2021 year, but it is not starting off too well. Oklahoma has lost another good shooter. Craig Alan Wildman of Custer City passed away Dec. 29 at the age of 68. Craig was retired after 30+ years with the Apache Oilfield Co. in Elk City. He held a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. He was on the SWOSU rodeo team and a member of the PRCA Rodeo Association as well as the NRS Team Roping Club.

Craig was a member of the Oklahoma Trapshooters Association, winning trophies in Oklahoma and surrounding states. He started shooting in 2012 and has shot 6,900 singles, 5,100 handicap and 2,400 doubles for a total of 14,400 targets. He will be missed by all of us. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife LaDonna and family.

Richard Coit informed us at the club shoot that Linda Elston and Lisa Grybowski (Corbin’s mom) were involved in a serious accident on I-40 Jan. 7. They were both in the hospital for several days with broken bones, and Linda had to have back surgery. They are both doing better now, but it will take some time for their recovery. Let’s pray for them and wish them well.

Thirteen-year-old Zoe Traylor (2020 Rookie of the Year) won Ada’s Jan. 12 shoot, again!

Shawnee’s Jan. 16 shoot went well, with good weather and 19 shooters. Grove won the singles with 49, and Mitchel Wyatt broke 48. Tim Mount won first place in the handicap with 45, Randy Hill finished second with 42, and Mitchel was third with 41. Johnny Wilson won the doubles with 45, while Mike Meeks and Randy had 42s.

Several Oklahoma shooters excelled at the Autumn Grand in Tucson. Billy Pierce broke 97 in a handicap to make the 27-yard line for the first time. Dakota Sliger’s 97 in doubles won A class, 199 in singles won him sub-junior, and his 385 in the all-around also won sub-junior. Shelby Skaggs had another impressive shoot. She got three 100 straights in singles and a 100 in doubles, winning Lady I in each event. She also had a 99 and a 97 in doubles, winning Lady I runnerup in each event.

Jon Guy and Gary Nichols also claimed trophies in doubles events. In the Pre-Autumn Grand, these same shooters won several trophies, along with Justin Cavett and Ron Bliss. Complete scores were in the Trap & Field write-ups.

Justin and Dakota Sliger are also Mega Target Award winners. Corbin Grybowski won Trap & Field’s junior gold All-Around Average Award with a .9696 average. Klayton McGee and Kya Funkhouser earned their AA-27-AA pins in 2020. Several Oklahoma shooters have reached milestones in their shooting careers: Mount, 50,000 singles; Tex Hollis, 25,000 doubles; and Jim Waite and Grove, 25,000 handicap.

The December and January issues of T&F show 15 new Oklahoma shooters. Larry and Susan Parsons are just recovering from the coronavirus. They were also without power for eight days from the October ice storm.

Steve Blackburn won Ada’s Jan. 19 shoot with 47. He ran 25 handicap.

OTA’s Jan. 24 shoot was overcast with a cold, damp north wind. Grove and Spencer Scotten led the singles with 48s, and Lemke’s 47 was next. Meeks won first place in the handicap with 41, Johnny Wilson’s 40 won second, and Scotten won third with 39. Mount led the doubles with 44, and Meek’s 42 was next.

All clubs and shooters should know that Sept. 1 of each year is the start of a new target year. ATA memberships are due and should be paid. Last year we had seven shooters who did not pay dues at their first shoot, and a couple still owe dues. As they classify, each club should ask if dues are current. It will save a lot of time and effort trying to collect them later.

Let’s keep all the health professionals and all those fighting the coronavirus in our prayers.

Tim Deister

ATA Delegate

Texas

It will be March when you read this (all three of you), and that means spring is not far away. Warm weather can’t get here too soon for this fat man. The older I get, the more the cold hurts. The more the cold hurts, the worse my attitude gets. The worse my attitude gets, well, we probably shouldn’t go there. Pray for warm weather if you are going to be around me.

Please take a moment and say a prayer for everyone who has been affected by this terrible virus called COVID-19.

I want to talk about the Southwestern Grand, but first I want to tell you about the Cowtown Open, also known as the Pre-Southwestern Grand, hosted by the Ft. Worth T&SC. The shoot is scheduled for April 2-4. This will be a great shoot and a good warm-up for the Southwestern Grand. Steve Bradbury will run a great shoot. Please make your plans to go to Ft. Worth and get the cobwebs out of the old smokepole.

Now let’s talk about the Southwestern Grand, hosted by the National SC in San Antonio. Royce Graff runs a fantastic shoot and will do all he can to be sure you enjoy your experience. There have been many improvements made and lots of work done. They have addressed shooters’ concerns and taken the steps necessary for improving target presentation. We need to give them a chance to prove they have listened and fixed the problems. I hope we have shooters from many states attend, and we need all Texas shooters who can possibly attend to make their plans now. The success of the Southwestern Grand is vital for the Texas State Shoot trophy package. Let’s show our support and help make this the best Southwestern Grand ever.

I do have some news this time. I want to thank Marvin Allbright for letting me know that Waco S&TC is installing two new trapfields at their club. At a time when we are losing clubs, I think this is great news. Thanks, Marvin.

Let’s talk Texas State Shoot. This year it will be hosted by the Amarillo GC, and you guessed it, it will be in Amarillo. The dates will be June 29-July 4. Club president Pat Richmond and VP Donald Adams are making plans for an outstanding state shoot. Please mark your calendars now and make plans to attend. I know you won’t be disappointed.

Texas will have three host sites for the ATA Southwestern Zone Shoot this year. The dates are July 9-11: Amarillo GC, El Paso TC and Waco CTC (if any of you need to know the towns these clubs are located in, please let me know).

While we are talking shoot dates, let me give you the Texas zone shoot dates and locations for this target year. The Zone IV shoot will be held at the Ft. Worth T&SC May 14-16. The Zone I shoot will be June 18-20 at the Amarillo GC. These are the only two zone shoots that remain for this target year.

Now let’s get to everyone’s favorite subject. I want to send a special thanks to Billy Hopson. If anyone reads and studies the Rulebook more than me, it’s Billy. I really appreciate him for that. If you are at a shoot and have questions concerning the rules, just ask Billy because he knows them.

Now we have made it to the part of this rambling that I call “the things that really **** me off.” Not that anyone will read this, but I’m going to list them anyway.

Not reading the Rulebook and knowing the rules. Not having an up-to-date average card. Not releasing pre-squadded positions. Not being on time for your squad. Not being courteous to the trap help. Not volunteering when you know something needs to be done. Not contacting the ATA office and refusing a reduction you don’t plan to take.

Stay tuned; there may be more added to this list.

Another list I have that you may or may not be familiar with is my **** list. This contains the names of people who show up with no up-to-date average card. I can tell you with absolute certainty that you ain’t gonna like it when your names get on this list for the third time. Just warning you now, so you won’t be mad at me. The only one you should be mad at is yourself. I have given several warnings. And yes, I will be at the Southwestern Grand doing classification.

Now it’s time for one of those special “fat man attaboys.” This one goes to Alan Arnold, who has now registered 100,000 singles targets. I don’t know if he broke it or not because he (nor anyone else) let me know about this milestone in his shooting career. But anyway, congratulations, Alan.

My fingers are tired, so I will end these ramblings for now. I still ask that if you have news, please let Princess or me know, so I can share it with our trapshooting family. You can call me at 806-679-6889, e-mail at [email protected], or snail-mail it to our new address of 907 S. Main St., Hereford, TX 79045. I do not do Messenger. I repeat, I do not do Messenger. See you in San Antonio.

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

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Arizona

There is no reason to miss the Arizona State Shoot! You still have time, but not much. The dates are March 23-28 at Tucson. And please don’t give me the old COVID-19 excuse. I know trapshooter demographics. You should have gotten your shot by now. Karen and I did lose a friend about my age about two weeks before the shots were available, and he was in good shape prior to COVID. Get one if you have not and come to the shoot.

Why the Arizona State Shoot? It’s at one of the best facilities in the country—Tucson, where the background is measured in miles, not feet. The weather is near perfect in late March, with the average in the mid 70s. There is $30,000 in cash and trophies, equally split between residents and non-residents, and we usually total about 450 shooters. This is your last chance before the fall to enjoy Arizona trapshooting at its finest.

Chips and smoke: Our annual meeting is scheduled for Sunday morning, March 28 at 8 a.m. The state teams will be announced and Arizona All-Americans honored. Elections will be held for state directors, the Delegate and Alternate. The floor will be open for questions and opinions from all, and there will be short presentations from our ASTA president and Delegate. I strongly urge everyone to attend and to speak up if something is on your mind. It is your association. And there just might be a major announcement about the next Western Zone Shoot. If so, it will confirm a new location that has long been requested. Stay tuned!

There is a new club looking to have registered shooting: The Smokin’ Gun in Littlefield. That’s along the small strip of Arizona on I-15 between Nevada and Utah. They are on the grounds of the old Oasis GC.

Around the state: First, a warm welcome to all of our winter visitors. You are an important part of Arizona trapshooting, and it’s great to have you back and to see a lot of old friends. You might even want to consider sticking around; we actually shoot during the summer also. There is a growing colony of trapshooters near Tucson T&SC. They have seen the light, and Arizona is their new home.

Casa Grande held their Christmas Shoot Dec. 26-27, and 56 shooters attended, evenly split between Arizona residents and non-residents. Ed Marsden won Class D in the opening singles, and Alexis Fernan took sub-junior. Next up was the ’caps, and there was a strong Arizona showing. Wayne Thompson won long-yardage; Jeff Rogers, mid-yardage; Greg Spiczka, short-yardage; and Mark Lacey, veteran. Doubles closed out Saturday, and Greg S. triumphed in C, Mark Lacey took D, and the old doubles machine, Ron Schroer, was high gun and senior vet champ. Doubles started off Sunday, and Jackson Link topped all in D class. Singles was the middle event, and let’s start with Ron Schroer. His 100 straight earned the senior veteran trophy. Jeff Rogers was not far behind at 99 and won Class A. Another Link, this time Brian, triumphed in Class D. The handicap finished things up, and Greg Spiczka and Jeff Rogers took short- and mid-yardage, respectively.

Tucson had a nice turnout of 124 competitors for their Fun in the Sun Shoot Jan. 6-10. Out-of-state shooters predominated by nearly a 3-to-1 ratio. The Flagstaff Hundred was first up. Eric Binger and Mark Hopkins tied for C class, and Jeff Mervin was all by himself on top of D. Jeff then took the 19-21 crown in the Casa Grande Handicap. Event 4, the Yuma Doubles, featured Gerry Williams winning the senior vet category, and Fred Frazier took the C class title. In the Prescott Singles, the Williams clan almost made it a dual triumph, but Gerry fell one short in senior vet as did Kristi in ladies’. Event 6 was a handicap, and Arizona’s Fred Frazier and Randy Stiarwalt tied for the 22-24 group. Friday opened with the Preliminary Doubles, and Gerry Williams once more held up Arizona’s honor. His 98 tied for high in A class. Bob Mlynarz tied for the lead in the 22-24 group in Event 9’s handicap. Bruce Hobbs then ran the hundred, tying for high gun and winning Class A in the Singles Championship. Gerry Williams tied for senior vet, Patricia Carter stood alone on top of ladies’, and Jeff Mervin was the Class D champ. Now came Event 11, the Preliminary Handicap, and Will Medlicott beat all others in the 22-24 group. The Doubles Championship was next, and it went very well for our side. Jim Copsey won AA, David Landwerlen took B, and Fred Frazier C. The Tucson Grand Handicap was the last event, and Copsey came through again. He squeaked out a win by one bird in veteran. Stiarwalt and Binger took the HOA crowns in B and C class, respectively, to finish everything out.

The Cash Cow Shoot at Ben Avery Jan. 14-17 was very unusual. The first three days opened with three doubles events, then there were three singles on the next day, followed by three handicaps on Saturday. Sunday was a little more conventional with 100 singles and then 100 handicap targets. The consensus was that it was a lot of fun. For a shoot organized at the last minute—it took the place of the postponed Hall of Fame Classic—the attendance was pretty good. Steve Stella tied for high gun and veteran in the opening doubles, while Karen Bergman won Lady II, and Greg Tannheimer was high in C. In the second doubles, Ken Mlynarz’s 98 topped all and won Class A. Max Peevyhouse beat all sub-vets, Greg Tannheimer was high once more in C, and Steve Smoot took D. Ken M. then repeated in Event 3, winning Class A. Jay Alderman and Joe Henderson tied for the senior vet crown, and Steve Smoot did it again in D.

The wind in Friday’s first singles would have driven a battleship aground, yet Ken Mlynarz shot a remarkable 100 straight to win Class A. Henderson’s 97 was a great score, given the conditions, and bested all other senior vets. Stella was high veteran, Larry Kennon won B, Steve Bell topped C, Nathanial Pizinger beat all other juniors, and his brother Wyatt did the same in sub-junior. Then true to Ben Avery, the wind suddenly died before the second singles, and that was reflected in the five 99s, all shot by Arizonians. Most were seasoned competitors, but none topped 13-year-old Wyatt Pizinger in sub-junior. Henderson and Jim Sharp tied for high senior vet. Mark Matthews topped all sub-vets, as did Ken Mlynarz in Class A. Stella was not far behind with a 98 and bested all veterans. Jim Dremler took B, and George Miller won C. Apparently Matthews was not satisfied with his 99, so in Event 6 he topped that with a 100 and won the sub-vet crown. Nathanial Pizinger’s 98 made him the high junior.

Saturday it was all handicap, and Steve Haynes’ 96 was the high opening score, and it also won him a punch. Stella tied for veteran, Karen Bergman won Lady II, and Allisen Reese won Lady I. Event 8 featured the Mlynarz family. Ken and Bob tied for high gun, with Ken winning the 27-yard title and Bob taking 25-26. Karen Bergman ran out of Lady IIs, so she won the 22-24 group. I was the runnerup, and she sure put me in my place. Kaitlin Quan topped Lady I. Event 9 featured Jim Sharp winning senior vet, Steve Bell taking veteran, Stella on top of 24-26, and Jesse Zamora the 22-24 title.

Sunday was the championship day, starting off with singles. Tom Krolick’s 99 tied for both high gun and the A class title. Karen B., also with a 99, won Lady II. Alderman triumphed in senior vet, Vaughn Hollman won sub-vet, and Greg Holden, shooting with a broken ankle, was high veteran. Quan topped all in Lady I, and Nathanial Pizinger finished on top in Class C. The Handicap Championship ended the shoot, and it was time for a few new names. Jim Kidwell was high senior veteran, and Ray Easler won 19-21. Mark Lacey then took the 22-24 group. It is nice to have him back. Quan and Karen Bergman were tops in Lady I and Lady II. This was a nice, well-run shoot, and I think that you will see the format more and more.

I would like to put in a plug for some of our smaller clubs, such as Tri-State in Mohave Valley, Lake Havasu, Double Adobe in McNeil, Cochise GC in Sierra Vista, and Rio Salado in Mesa. All have a strong following and help make Arizona trapshooting outstanding. Give them a look.

Finally, Arizona shooting does not end after the state shoot. Events scheduled from mid March to mid April are the Arizona State Shoot Warm-Up at Casa Grande, March 17-21; Doubles Marathon, Rio Salado, March 18; Tri-State, March 21; the Arizona State Shoot, Tucson, March 23-28; April Showers Shoot, April 1-4 at Casa Grande; Doubles Marathon, April 15 at Rio Salado; and Ben Avery, April 16-18. See you on the line!

John Bergman

ATA Delegate

California

I have recently received several inquiries as to the requirements and process for nominating someone for consideration for induction into the California Trapshooting Hall of Fame. There are basically two categories which are considered for admission: shooting merit or administrative excellence. Admission is also possible based on a combination of the two.

Shooting merit: For individual collective outstanding shooting achievement over a given period of time. Candidate’s registered shooting record must have begun at least 20 years prior to the year in which they are being considered for nomination. Candidate shall have won a minimum of five major championships (ATA or shoot of an era) 16-yard, handicap, doubles, all-around, high-over-all, high yearly average, or a combination of any five. Major championships are defined as being Grand American, state shoot, ATA Western Zone or Satellite Grand championships or, prior to those, any major shoot of the time or era.

Administrative excellence: For exceptional, outstanding and unselfish work in California trapshooting over a period of many years. Such work must have been undertaken in a volunteer manner and did not occur simultaneously while engaged as a salaried person in the trapshooting field or during the course of earning profits in the trapshooting field.

Residency requirement: Candidates shall also have been a resident of California for not less than 10 years.

I hope this very brief overview of the HOF process is useful. If anyone would like additional information and/or an application, please contact the president of the California Trapshooting Hall of Fame Board, Bob Gioia, at [email protected].

Redlands SP hosted their annual New Year’s event Dec. 26-30. HOA trophies were based on the results of Events 1 through 6 and were as follows: AA, Rich Davis, 572; A, Michael Hunn, 565; B, Michael Silifies, 562; C, Micah Daddona, 527; D, Brody Jaynes, 516; ladies’, Sarah Sherlock, 537; junior, Tristan Diaz, 552; veteran, Joseph Faherty, 548.

Please come out and support the clubs that have continued to host events during the pandemic. Shoot well!

Steve Cloyd

ATA Delegate

Nevada

Snow in Malibu, rain in Las Vegas! Must be winter in the Wild West! By the time this is published, the Spring Grand in Tucson will be in the books. There are at least six Nevadans pre-squadded, so our state will be well represented. I am looking forward to shooting and (ha ha) working the shootoffs.

The NSTA continues with its monthly Big 50 program at Clark Co. Shooting Complex (CCSC), and participation is still growing. They’ve recently added a perpetual purse to the doubles event, and with 40 to 50 shooters each month, the option money, including the Western Zone Lewis option, can be significant. Come out and shoot the Big 50 the third Saturday of every month.

Given that it’s winter, ammo is hard to find and COVID is still lurking, there’s not much going on for Western shooters. Nevada is a big state geographically, and it is sometimes hard for folks to get to a shoot. Registered shoots in Nevada are too few and far between and tend to center around the CCSC in Las Vegas. That kind of leaves the northern and eastern shooters with minimal opportunities to shoot registered targets.

The NSTA has been supportive of the idea of growing local shoots in NV communities, where ATA shooting has been lacking or in some cases nonexistent. The NSTA has indicated its willingness to support new shoots by providing assistance with navigating the paperwork and, if requested, shoot management. In my experience, a little bit of added money can motivate shooters to turn out.

So in a small effort to increase the number of shoots held in Nevada, I make a standing offer of $250 added money to any club that wants to throw a Big 50, weekend or even a one-day registered shoot and who hasn’t thrown ATA targets in the past year. For anyone interested, my e-mail is at the end of this article. If you want help with shoot management, getting the shoot date approved, etc., please contact Greg Pink, the NSTA prez, at [email protected]. Please consider donating to the Friends of the NSTA fund, which helps the board fund shoot costs in Nevada. Let’s shoot!

I am sorry to report the passing of two longtime Nevada shooters: Jalal (Doc) Abtahi, MD passed in January, and Harold Goodrich passed in December. Doc was a shooting machine in his prime and drove his motorhome to shoots all over the U.S. He loved to shoot with his friends in Chicago and loved to regale all of us with tales of his shooting adventures, often while sitting at one of the picnic tables at the old LV Gun Club while peeling an orange (as noted by Steve Carmichael). From 2005 through 2012, Doc rarely shot less than 20,000 targets a year and made the senior vet All-American list a number of times.

Harry Goodrich was a retired LV fireman and ex-Marine Vietnam vet and was a fixture at the old Las Vegas GC. I don’t ever remember Harry having a bad day; he was one of the original good guys. Both Doc and Harry will be missed.

We also have to say “goodbye and good luck” to James Upton Jr., the reigning 2021 Nevada state handicap champ. James is a member of the USAF and was recently transferred to Shaw AFB in South Carolina. We hope he comes back to the next state shoot and shoots for out-of-state honors.

Two final notes: longtime ATA member and Nevada shooter George Marchesi is up walking around and back to shooting. He has spent the past year recovering from a very serious illness, and he’s made a remarkable comeback. Golf is next, George! Also, family matters (new grandkid!) have landed me temporarily in Tampa for the next month or so. There are lots of opportunities for registered shooting at the Silver Dollar SC, but not a whole lot of shooters from west of the Mississippi. (The Dollar is a great place to shoot, though I wish someone would give me the beta on how to break a score there). I was surprised and pleased to recently shoot with Jimmie Ballard, a Reno ex-pat who now resides 20 minutes from the Dollar. His University of Nevada Wolf Pack sweatshirt gave him away. Small world!

Until next time, keep shooting!

I can be reached at [email protected].

Russell Roberts

ATA Delegate

New Zealand

We had our annual 300 Handicap Shoot Jan. 9 at Thames CTC, shot in three separate 100-target events. A big thanks to Dave Cundy from Independent Transport Parts as well as suppliers of Inox and Lanox fine lubricants and cleaners who kindly sponsored the event again this year as well as the NZ ATA for a contribution.

Weather cooperated with a mostly clear day, just a few passing clouds that created some challenging light changes. Typical Thames middle-of-summer weather.

A big thanks is also due to those who helped with set-up and target-setting: John Robinson, Grant Russell and Cundy. Dale Speedy marked the yardage on the lanes. Thanks as well to everyone who helped load traps, referee and score plus almost all helping with clean-up at the end of the day. Also thanks to Wayne Merrie for helping to run the office and still managing to post a couple winning scores.

Nola was away so we realized again how fortunate we are to have her coming in when she does to provide us with her great lunches.

The ATA would like to welcome the following new members: Jane Findlay and John Bennett.

An ongoing thanks to our regular sponsors: NZ ATA, Thames CTC, Independent Transport Parts, Target Products, New Zealand Hunting Adventures, Ron Thomassen Logging and White Flyer.

           Paul Basten

           ATA Delegate

Utah

This is the slowest time of the year. Fun shoots and meat shoots are done for the year. ATA shoots are still on the horizon, the first ones being at Purgatory GC. They had a two-day shoot in late February and then have a three-day shoot in late March. Then we are off to the races.

If life is back to normal and you feel like traveling, there are some large shoots in other states. In mid March there is the Southern Grand in Florida as well as the Florida State Shoot.

The state association officers met in mid January to discuss the upcoming year as well as preparing for the state shoot. This year Vernal R&GC will host the state shoot June 23-27.

Be sure to check out the USTA homepage at utahtrap.com for a list of all scheduled Utah shoots this year. This is a great time to sit down with family and friends and plan a shooting schedule for the year.

Hopefully, by the time we go to some shoots, we can find some ammo to use. For various reasons, ammo is very elusive right now.

Soon I will be heading south to Tucson to shoot the Spring Grand. With any luck, the temps will be up and the COVID will be down. Usually at this shoot the Western Zone Delegates get together and discuss the Zone Shoot scheduled for July 16-18 at various clubs throughout the West to agree on the trophies and discuss any other issues that may arise.

In addition to shooting, I also find time to visit and play cribbage with my squadmates. This is always one of the high points of the shoot, other than the competition itself. My main squadmates are Charlie Bickle, Steve Williamson and Charlie Long. They are an interesting bunch of guys, all as different as night and day.

Bickle is from Illinois and always has the Howdy Doody smile on his face. He used to have the same type of personality as Mr. Doody, but alas, our squad has corrupted him. Charlie has a total of 386,700 lifetime targets.

Steve Williamson has recently moved to the Tucson area after spending about 50 years in California. Approximately 15 years ago Steve got a detached retina in his right eye, thus he was quite blind in that eye. Rather than give up on shooting, he switched to shooting left-handed. Two years later, he found a doctor that could fix the detached retina, and lo and behold, he switched back to shooting right-handed. By the way, he did break several 100 straights in singles while shooting left-handed.

As if that wasn’t enough for one person to go through, about eight years ago while out walking his dog Bam, he was hit by a car. After approximately five months in the hospital and a rehab center, Steve was back on the line firing away with us. The first couple years after the accident, he had to shoot from a stool, and on occasion still does when the wind gets bad. Because of nerve damage to his legs, he has a poor sense of balance. Every year on the anniversary of his accident, his wife Eileen cooks him a special meal that she calls the “Road Kill Special.”

Most people would have quit shooting long ago, but as Steve points out, shooting was always his Plan A, and he never had a Plan B. Steve has a total of 855,900 lifetime targets.

Charlie Long, a longtime Texan after being raised in Chicago, owns the Metro GC outside of Houston. He is very rarely home to shoot his club because he is on the road all the time. Charlie probably has shot in more than 35 states, thus he has more friends than all of us put together. People are always stopping by his motorhome to say hi to him. A couple years ago Charlie was inducted into the Trapshooting Hall Of Fame. He has a total of 1,221,800 lifetime targets and leads the ATA in handicap and doubles targets.

My totals are child’s play compared to Williamson’s and Long’s, a meager 387,150 (almost identical to Bickle’s number).

That gives our main squad members a total of 2,851,550 targets. Boy, that is a lot of money flying out the end of our barrels. Please don’t tell my wife!

           Ed Wehking

           ATA Western Zone Vice President

Washington

Greetings from Washington. I hope this finds you having wintered well and prepared for a great season of ATA trapshooting in our region.

The ball really gets rolling in March with the Camas Prairie Handicap at Walla Walla, and from there are a lot of shoots throughout the spring, getting us in fine shape for summer activities, including the state and Western Zone shoots.

A shortage of target shells on store shelves has been a big topic of conversation lately. What to do? Well, how about dusting off and lubing up that reloading machine and taking some of those stashed components out of storage? I’ve been able to find lead, powder and wads, with primers being the only thin commodity, but I have some on hand. To stretch out that shot supply, one-ounce loads are good in singles, doubles and shorter handicap yardage or for practice if you want to save the premium loads for tournaments. I can remember buying two or three flats of shells and reloading the empties to be ready for the next weekend’s shoot. The scrounging and scrimping instincts were developed in those days because I wanted to be out breaking clay with the rest of you. An hour or two at the bench in the gun room filling up cases can be good therapy, in my mind. Maybe you can help a new young shooter get started the same way.

It sounds like steady progress is being made in regards to relocation efforts of the Spokane GC to their new property. As you may know, this has been the home of the WSTA Hall Of Fame since the first class of legendary shooters were inducted in 1976. Prior to the current facility being vacated and the transition to the new clubhouse, we will move and display the photos and history of the WSTA at the Colton GC. Our history and tradition is important, and it will be preserved. If you have any interesting photos or artifacts, we would be happy to show them off in the Hall of Fame. Remembering how it started will help keep our sport going. Did you know the state shoot was once held at the Endicott GC? Can you imagine shooting over traps pulled by someone with a lever standing behind the line? The evolution of the sport is remarkable, and our predecessors laid a solid foundation for those of us taking part now. They did it for love of the game.

I will be heading up the silent auction held at the WSTA Championships at the Walla Walla GC this year. If you have any contributions, please feel free to contact me or just bring your goods to the shoot, preferably on Wednesday before the competition gets started. This venture has been a good fundraiser for the association in recent years, and we’re glad to keep it going.

For a schedule of shoots happening in the Evergreen State, check out the website shootwsta.com. Our treasurer Brian James has done a good job on redesigning and updating the webpage, and you can check out the photos and careers of the aforementioned Hall of Fame enshrinees as well. Photos of your shooting exploits are welcome to be shared on the Washington State Trapshooters Facebook page as well. We love seeing what our friends are up to. We are also looking forward to seeing how our Washington shooters attending the Spring Grand did here in Trap & Field.

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but please make sure your dues are paid and average cards up to date before heading to the shoots to save time in the clubhouse and to help with COVID restrictions we may still have to deal with. Pre-squad arrangements will be handy in this situation as well. We all need to do whatever we can to keep things running smoothly and get us out in the fresh air shouldering those shotguns. We look forward to seeing you!

Congratulations to the following shooters for earning spots on the high-average teams (target requirements were lowered this year because of the large number of canceled shoots):

Singles—Ron Cram, .9869; Kenneth Evans, .9833; T. J. Main, .9824; Damen Sager, .9820; Alan Schlimmer, .9796. Handicap—T. J. Main, .9350; Jessica Pelissier, .9213; Garrett Schlimmer, .9194; Kenneth Evans, .9150; Carson Schlimmer, .9127. Doubles—T. J. Main, .9721; Garrett Schlimmer, .9454; Carson Schlimmer, .9421; Jeff Nostrom, .9327; Greg Miner, .9300. Lady I—Jessica Pelissier, .9282; Sophie Nostrom, .9179; Tina Sisich, .9108; Gena Nostrom, .8891. Lady II—Deborah Kelly, .9469; Dr. Laura Winkel, .9455; Holly Ledgerwood, .9383; Sandra Smith, .9244; Teresa Kohn, .8997. Sub-junior—Rowdy Main, .9493; Hawker Nostrom, .8286; Charles Rich, .8114. Junior—Aaron Vossen, .9609; Remington Warne, .9537; Cody Kuhl, .9186. Junior gold—Carson Schlimmer, .9753; Rachel Stanley, .9020; Andrea Bergstresser, .8953; Quinn McElvain, .8933. Sub-vet—Robert Greenhalgh, .9582; Doug Reimers, .9567; Paul Carpenter, .9525; Robert Miller, .9500; Lea Hogue, .9453. Veteran—Jon Thompson, .9767; Wallace Hodges, .9620; Eric Olson, .9535; Hubner Rodney, .9522; Mike King, .9520. Senior vet—Ron Cram, .9869; Marion Dukes, .9648; Art Fenton, .9644; Kenneth Presler, .9612; John Glass, .9475.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

ATA Alternate Delegate

Illinois

Last month I told you about the ISTA creating a link to a company that makes decorative bricks with your name on it if you donate money to build our new Hall of Fame. These bricks will create a walkway leading into the Hall of Fame. Bill Huhn, the director in charge of this, and Dan Schocke, our IT guy, have made great progress, and by the time you read this, the link should be up and running on our webpage. There will also be a place where you can donate money if you do not want your name on a brick. I realize money is tight, but I hope you all will consider making a donation. It will be something we, as shooters, all can be proud of in the future.

Illinois has two Mega Target members. These are shooters who registered more than 20,000 targets last year. They are Daniel Meinecke and Leland Hassler. With all the restrictions and cancelations of shoots in Illinois and across the Midwest, it is amazing to me that these two gentlemen could accomplish this feat. Awesome job, guys, and keep up the good work.

I want to give a shout-out to a good friend of mine. Jim Lyons recently retired from the board of directors, and we already miss him. Jim and I have been friends for more years than either one of us want to admit. When I first joined the board many years ago, Jim was the first person to reach out to congratulate me and offer to help me any way he could. Little kindnesses go a long way. They are like ripples that move out across a body of water, touching everything in their path. Jim has many ripples that will affect trapshooting for many years to come in Illinois and across the Midwest. Enjoy your retirement, Jim! Just think, now you have more time to kick Mike W.’s butt.

Little gun clubs really took it on the chin this past shooting season. It was difficult to stage and get attendance at shoots all across the Midwest. Please attend as many of their shoots as possible because they are the backbone of our sport, and we can’t afford to lose them.

Bill Duncan

ATA Delegate

Indiana

Greetings, Indiana shooters! Hopefully this issue of T&F finds you well and looking at the back side of winter. For those escaping to warmer climates and shoots this month down south, I wish everyone good luck and safe travels. Those of you hanging tight in Indiana, rest assured better weather and trap targets are in your near future.

I have a correction to the 2020 Indiana state teams that were listed in last month’s Indiana article. I left a couple of important letters off the end of Gary Richardson’s name on the sub-vet team. My apologies to Gary on this!

Here are the dates and locations for the Indiana zone shoots: southern, May 15-16 at Vincennes GC; northern, St. Joe Valley CC, with preliminary targets on Friday, May 14, and championship targets May 15-16; central, Fall Creek CC the weekend of May 29-30 with a preliminary program on Friday, May 28. Please plan to visit these shoots and support these great host clubs.

Also, of course, make sure your calendars are marked for the 2021 Indiana State Shoot to be held at our Indiana GC homegrounds July 6-11. The ITA Board of Directors, officers and volunteers have been hard at work, like always, to make sure this year’s shoot is enjoyed by all!

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

Iowa

Hello from Iowa! As I write this, I can’t help but wonder if I made the right decision to not take flight to a warmer state for a few months, but oh well—too late now. We are forecast for 12 to 14 inches of snow tonight and 20- to 30-mph winds. State shoot weather sounds really good right now.

I want to congratulate and recognize our state teams:

Elite 12—Breydon Paxson, Terry Palmer, Frank Sick, Raylee Bishop, Christofer Gardner, David Bessine, Ed Schlotfeldt, Marcus Draves, Heath Kasperbauer, Tom Grooms, Shelly Heitner, Chayden Wright. Ladies’—Maddie Prull, Allison Jensen, Morgan Hodge, Mary Stalker, Lexi Henning. Sub-junior—Cole Henning, Cannon Roberson, Jackson Wohlford, Addison McGehearty, Kaden Broders. Junior—Tommy Keeshan, Devan Myers, Levi Mills, Braeden Duwa, Ruben Salinas. Veteran—Tony Sondag, Terry Elder, Randy Grilz, Delbert Skroh, Rex Berkhoff. Senior vet—Dean Bright, Steve Maltzahn, Louis Segebart, Jon Halford, Jerry Pierce. Iowa Rookie of the year is Jeff Lamb. Congratulations to all!

And now congratulations to our Iowa All-Americans: Shelly Heitner, Lady II first; Cannon Roberson and Cole Henning, sub-junior first; Breydon Paxson, junior first; Christofer Gardner and Ben Schlatter, junior second; Kyle Wilkins and Curtis Wilkins, junior gold second; Frank Sick, sub-vet second; David Bessine, veteran second; and Dean Bright, senior vet second.

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

Steve Glasgow

ATA Delegate

Michigan

As I write this in late January, I’ve just today received both my December and January issues of Trap & Field. I got them both on the same day. My letter carrier said the delay was several semi trucks of mail stuck at the Detroit post office with nobody to get them unloaded. Several USPS employees were out with COVID, and the post office had a ban on overtime. The result was very slow delivery of mail. I hope they can get this fixed and keep it fixed.

As of today, the Schedule of Invitational Events booklets are done but not yet printed. Until you get the booklet, please check the MTA website for registered shoots near you. The state programs are not yet final but are reported as quite close.

I’m very sorry to report the passing of William R. Turner. Dick became involved with our sport at the age of nine when he became a target-setter at Bluewater SC. After he got out of the Army, he was first elected to the board of directors at Bluewater in 1956. He was on the MTA Board of Directors from 1980 to 1986 and served two terms as MTA president. He always had a few kind and helpful words for me as I was getting started classifying shooters. Dick was 87.

I’ll see you on the trapline, and I’m sure that this year will be better for shooting than 2020 was.

1. B. Lewis

ATA Delegate

Minnesota

Greetings from the North Star State. As I write this, I am getting ready for a trip to Tucson and the 2021 Spring Grand. I am looking forward to a break from winter. Even though we have had an easy winter so far (by Minnesota standards), a two-week break will be a welcome reprieve. When you read this in the March issue, hopefully we will be on the back side of the worst of the cold.

I lead this month’s column with very sad news from our neighbor to the north. Rod Boll of Fillmore, SK, died earlier this week from an apparent heart attack. Not only was Rod a great shooter (he was a many-time provincial champion and member of several Canadian Olympic and International teams), but he was also one of trapshooting’s great storytellers. He was a great competitor and one of the people you hoped to see after the day’s shooting was complete. Several years ago my hunting partner and I were north of the border chasing “web feet,” as Rod would call them, and stopped in Fillmore for a visit. He had his bags packed for a trip to the Autumn Grand. We were regaled with a few tales before he had to leave for Regina to catch a flight, and we headed back for some more scouting. Our condolences to his wife and family. RIP, Rod Boll.

Thankfully our governor has loosened the reins on activity in Minnesota so that jackpot shooting and high school sports can go on this winter. I have been busy officiating now that wrestling season has resumed. Once again you may want to call ahead to whichever club you are headed for, but with the reasonable weather we are having, it is a good winter to get in a little shooting if you are not able to travel to somewhere warm.

Yesterday (Jan. 30) George Pappas won the singles at the Fiocchi Shell Shoot at the Silver Dollar in Florida with 199. Good job, George. The weather has not been great, but a number of Minnesotans have been competing in Tucson and on the Winter Chain shoot that was held Jan. 27-31.

I look forward to writing about the success of Gopher State shooters at the Spring Grand in next month’s column.

If you haven’t done so already, mark your calendars for the upcoming shoots in Minnesota. The Cabela’s Shoot plans to return to the Owatonna GC June 10-13, the Minnesota State Shoot at the Alexandria SP July 6-11, and the ATA Central Zone in Owatonna July 30-Aug. 1.

Paul T. Cyr

for ATA Delegate Randall Jones

North Dakota

Well, the coronavirus vaccine is finally here. Hopefully people will get vaccinated (and it works), so we can get back to “normal” shooting. Now if we can only find shells and components at an affordable price.

The North Dakota Trapshooting Association has named its 2021 all-state team (based on 2020 accomplishments with their overall average) as follows:

First team—captain Jason Folvag, .9691; Pat Bosh, .9527; Perry Weiner, .9396; Blaine Dukart, .9259; Matt Knutson, .9196. Second team—Wayne Unruh, .9190; Chad Gerloff, .9167; Mark Kaffar, .9119; Brian Larson, .9038; Brian Knutson, .9020. Women’s—Gabby Fischer, .9034; Evie Janousek, .8620; Melissa Woodworth, .8310; JoMarie Knutson, .8178. Sub-junior—Colton Brown, .8347; Kate Janousek, .8306; Rebecca Morstad, .7908; Colton Metzger, .7899; Maddie Fischer, .7868. Junior—Tate Novodvozsky, .9166; Kordell Kraft, .9005; Eric Ingstad, .8962; Ryan Nelson, .8801; Cruz Riegel, .8713. Veteran—Don Ackerson, .9016; Mike Nordback, .9010; Bill Suda, .8991; John Forbes, .8955; Bob Reis, .8922. Congratulations to all the team members!

Jason Folvag was also the high-average winner in each of the three disciplines: singles, .9925; handicap, .9447; and doubles, .9700. Incidentally, Jason also had the fourth-high all-around average in the ATA for 2020.

Make plans to attend the North Dakota State Shoot at the Capital City GC, Bismarck, July 21-25. See you on the line.

Tim Kaffar

ATA Delegate

Ohio

The weather is starting to get better for a great shooting season. Ohio zone shoots will be held May 15-16. The host clubs are Marietta in the southeast, North Lawrence in the northeast, Middletown in the southwest and Newport and Williams County in the northwest. Please check your program for start times.

Clubs around Ohio will be hosting Champions of Champions events; please plan to attend for a chance to compete at the Ohio State Shoot to win some really nice Shamrock bags.

On a sad note, we lost another friend and competitor in the trapshooting community. Even though Donnie Sherrard was from Kentucky, he could be found at clubs throughout Ohio and Indiana and all across the country. Donnie’s smile will be missed by many in the trapshooting community.

Mike Blair

ATA Delegate

South Dakota

I’d like to announce the 2021 South Dakota state team members (based on 2020 performance). These are the shooters who shot the qualifying targets and at least the minimum number of targets to make the team.

Men’s—captain Tim Reed, .9671; Rod Larson, .9293; Troy Balk, .9256; Greg Johnson, .9241; Sam Simons, .9221; Lloyd Johnson, .9210; Aiken Crowley, .9148; Mike Hettinger, .9103; Rick Weber, .9064; Jeff Danielson, .9064. Lady I—Becky Noble, .8620. Junior—Caleb Simons, .9290. Junior second—Tanner Becker, .9230. Sub-veteran—Dana Edwards, .9486. Sub-veteran second—Dennis Johnson, .9205. Veteran—Bob Felber, .9263. Veteran second—Darby Fast, .9132. Senior vet—Chuck Manning, .8995. Senior vet second—Larry Titze, .8613.

Congratulations to all who made the team; 2020 was a strange and trying year, difficult for shooters to even get many targets shot. Hopefully 2021 will be much better!

Registered shooting will restart here in SD in April, with the first shoot date being at Crooks GC in Sioux Falls April 24-25. This shoot will consist of marathon targets both days. Rapid City will be registering targets on May 16, with the rest of the clubs all going by the end of May or early June. Remember that our SD State Shoot will be at Crooks GC in Sioux Falls July 14-18.

If you need info for the shoot, you can e-mail me at [email protected] or call 605-940-4578.

Remember to take someone new to the game with you when you go shooting. Stay safe.

Bob Felber

ATA Delegate

Wisconsin

When you get the call about losing a dear trapshooter, your heart breaks. Donnie Sherrard from Kentucky was a friend to all of us who knew him. I got the opportunity to shoot with him at the Cardinal Classic this past fall. Donnie was one of the best handicap 27-yard line shooters out there. You will be missed by all and mostly by the teammates I always saw you travel with.

The winter this year has been pretty mild, which is a good thing for us weekend jackpot shooters. Every weekend a club hosts a shoot. The 10 to 12 volunteers score, load targets, and keep the shoot organized. The 2021 blizzard shoots even have rules for the Wisconsin vs. Minnesota shooters. The first shoot I went to in January, there were 104 waiting to shoot 50 singles targets. Gary Larson told me that last year there were 78. I think the weather that was in the 20s had something to do with the number increase for this year. Best of all, the winning state gets the prize, the Traveling Crow. Thank you, volunteers and shooters, for helping to support our shoots.

The year 2020 was interesting, but these shooters managed to make the all-state team. Congratulations to the new all-state team members and the past award shooters.

Open—captain George Hass, .9648; Jonathon Denman, .9555; Dan Haag, .9545; Dwight Fitzsimmons, .9438; Shawn Lepple, .9437; Matt Riffe, .9430; Dan Campbell, .9348; Don Wagner, .9335; Pete Rustad, .9318; Tyler Buchanan, .9292. Women’s—captain Sandra Jo Jack, .9217; Samantha Schultz, .9066; Janet Reding, .8982; Carol Keeley, .8887; Kelsey Lorenz , .8862; Karlie Klas, .8835. Sub-junior—captain R. J. Gropp, .9222; Sage McKeough, .9057; Lillian Longworth, .8271. Junior—captain Logan Denman, .9377; Cody Barwick, .9281; Hunter Knotwell, .9206. Veteran—captain Gerald Demulling, .9463; Don LaBarge, .9199; Tim Curtin, .9187; Jim (Chops) Gurkowski, .9176; Rich (YZ) Weisensel, .9127. Senior vet—captain Bruce Wiegmann, .9255; Dwight Paulin, .9184; Don Mittag, .9125; Don Chrapla, .8977; LaVerne Lehmann, .8528.

High singles average, George Hass, .9956; handicap, Jon Denman, .9370; doubles, Hass, .9820.

It was mentioned at the WTA meeting that a shoot did not get printed in my article. Sometimes I don’t get information about a shoot in time to submit for publication. The due dates are at the end of a month then printed a month later. If you would like to e-mail me with information, I would greatly appreciate that. My e-mail is [email protected].

Volunteer at your club, help with opening up the club, clean windows, sweep, wipe down tables, etc. These are just some of the big things that need to be done. Make your dreams come true this 2021 season; shoot awesome. See you all on the shooting line. Keep smiling, because I am.

Sandra Jo Jack

for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring

Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces. The Petitcodiac SC’s winter league started Jan. 9 and runs until May 1. Good luck to the 23 shooters who have signed up for the annual winter league.

Cole Nickerson was recently featured in an Atlantic Provinces Shooter Profile on www.shootatlantic.com. The 13-year-old from Barrington, NS, shoots a BT-99 and likes Federal ammunition. Cole registered his first ATA targets during the 2020 Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot held Labour Day weekend at the Highland GC in Yarmouth, NS. Cole shot 25 straight during the shoot and won the sub-junior titles in the Atlantic Provinces singles and handicap events. Congratulations, Cole. You can read more about him on www.shootatlantic.com.

I still have a few tickets left on the 2021 Gun Club Raffle. This year’s prize is a Kolar Regal Trap Combo. Tickets are only $20 U.S., and all proceeds go to support the ATA Gun Club Fund.

For more information on the Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or visit shootatlantic.com.

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

New Jersey

Hello to all from the Garden State. At this writing on Jan. 25, it is only 11 months to the holidays again. You better start saving; I am sure prices will be higher next year. Hopefully, by the time you read this, more of you and your friends will be vaccinated than have been at this writing. The weather here is typical winter temperatures, with the weather people warning of a possible snowstorm arriving here two days from now.

The end of December marked another milestone for the North Jersey CTC in Fairfield. It all started back six or so years ago, when the original owners of the property that the club has resided on and had paid rent for since 1941 died. Their heirs did not want to be landlords and told the club the property was for sale.

The property that the club resides on is in a flood plain and is not suitable for development. This did not phase the new owners, and they asked for an astronomical amount of money. Like most clubs’ throughout the country, their bank account was nowhere near what was requested. Club president Craig Gasparine saw a possible way out—gazing downrange of the traps, besides broken targets, he saw dollar signs in the club’s future—lead shot!

According to the most senior of the club members, shot reclamation had not been done in four to five decades. Targets thrown over those years measured in the hundreds of thousands, and that is a lot of lead and money lying on the ground. Craig coordinated the reclamation with an experienced shot reclaimer, and the project was started. The club operated on a reduced schedule during the operation of soil being screened and product packaged in huge white pallet-sized nylon bags, which were weighed and loaded on flatbed trailers and transported off site. As the months progressed, the club’s revenue grew.

Our NJSTA attorney, Joseph Youssouf, was asked to help in the negotiations with the attorney representing the heirs to the estate. Finally, after months of back and forth with offers and rejections, a more equitable sale price was reached. A few of the club members felt the agreed-upon sale price was still too much. Powers that be knew we were “over a barrel” and understood the reality of the situation (that there was nowhere else to go for the existing gun club, especially here in New Jersey).

Since the sale price exceeded the revenue from the sale of the lead shot, the club’s treasury was still short money to make the deal happen. To the rescue, the lead contractor we had hired offered the club a three-year loan, which the club agreed to and made their last payment on in December 2020. Mortgage free! Hallelujah!

It has come to my attention that I forgot to list John Tierno on the 2020 veteran team, in so doing, it bumps Ken Hassis off it. Sorry, guys, for my oversight.

The second inductee for the 2021 New Jersey Hall of Fame is Marc Invidiato. The following biography of Marc was written by Steve Roman, a member of the North Jersey CTC in Fairfield. I would like to thank Steve for helping the Hall of Fame.

“For those of us fortunate enough to know Marc Invidiato, two words immediately come to mind, ‘respect’ and ‘inspiration’! We respect Marc’s outstanding trapshooting accomplishments and have been inspired by his overcoming disabilities in pursuit of shooting success.

“Marc was born in Paterson in 1955 and raised in Glenn Rock. Being born deaf and with a speech disability, he attended New Jersey’s Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton for his education. Career-wise, Marc has been a printer at Allstate International for over 35 years. Marc and his wife Debra have been married for over 40 years and have a daughter Tara, who is an adjunct professor teaching American Sign Language, among other college-level courses.

“Marc was introduced to trapshooting by his friend Ralph Constanza in 1982 at the Troy Meadow club in Parsippany. Marc is a self-taught shooter; he carefully observed good shooters and eventually formulated his own style. Fortunately he developed friendships with many shooters, who assisted in his trapshooting growth. Two individuals, Dennis Hart and Craig Gasparine, helped in expediting his skill level.

“Marc’s ATA career has been extraordinary. During his first three years of registering targets, his singles average grew from the 70s into the 90s, with similar progress in both his handicap and doubles averages. In 2020 Marc held a .9750 average in singles, .9133 in doubles and is at 26.5 yards in handicap.

“Marc thrives on competition as evidenced by his numerous championships, including the NJ singles in 1995 (tied in 2000 and 2019) and NJ doubles in 2008 and 2019. Further he has been named to the state team on numerous occasions and won many other awards in the tri-state area.

“Since joining the ATA, Marc has registered over 142,000 singles, 45,000 handicap and 62,000 doubles targets. If not shooting in competition, Marc will usually be found on the weekend concentrating on perfecting his skill at the North Jersey CTC, Pine Valley or Pine Belt clubs. His positive attitude, extraordinary work ethic and desire to constantly improve are evident to everyone watching him break targets.

“Marc shoots a Krieghoff KX5 for his singles and handicap; his doubles gun is a Blaser F3. He is an avid reloader and prefers Winchester hulls, as he says they require less powder and deliver consistent results.

“The selection of Marc Invidiato for the 2021 New Jersey Trapshooting Hall of Fame is very well deserved! Marc has demonstrated that in our sport, a positive attitude, dedication and desire can result in success, thereby overcoming a disability. Marc is an inspiration and deserves our respect as a shooter and a gentleman.”

Marc’s and Abe Suydam’s (posthumous) induction will take place in the clubhouse at Pine Belt at 4 p.m. June 5. Please try to attend; refreshments will be served.

Pine Valley is holding their annual Early Bird Shoot March 20-21. The Quarter Grand Shoot will be April 10-11.

Since the shoot at Pine Belt will be early in the month of April, I am listing it now. Spring Marathon Weekend will be April 3-4 with 500 singles on the third and 300 handicap on the fourth, so try to get your required targets in for the state shoot, which starts June 3.

On a sad note, Patrick Begley died Jan. 18; he was 79 years old. Pat was born and raised in Ramsey and moved to Mahwah as an adult. He is survived by Linda, his wife of 54 years, plus a son, two daughters and seven grandchildren. Pat became an ATA life member back in 1983. His shooting career was abbreviated due to a disease, Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), which weakens the muscles in the body. He had to stop in 1998 because he could not lift the gun. In addition to target shooting, he enjoyed fishing and spending time with his grandchildren.

If you have an idea or just a question, I can be reached at [email protected] or 732-546-7910.

Joe Sissano

ATA Delegate

New York

Greetings from New York, and I hope everyone is doing well. Hopefully this spring and summer will be much better than last year, and we all will be able to compete in many ATA tournaments.

I am very sorry to state that we have lost two more New York shooters, Harold Morgan and Greg Luce. Both of these gentlemen were very good friends of mine who I knew for many years.

Harold W. Morgan of Belfast passed away Dec. 13 at the age of 79. He was a shooter, and as most people know, he was an optician who owned Morgan Optical in Olean. A very familiar sight at shoots as a vendor, he helped everyone with their shooting glasses needs. I personally went to Harold and his sons Wayne and Tom for over 35 years for my shooting glasses. Harold was a member of the NRA and past president of the Olean R&GC. He was also a member of the Genesee Valley CC. Harold was a very kind man who would help anyone. He started registering targets in 1979. During his ATA career he shot 54,400 singles, 38,550 handicap and 31,425 doubles targets. Our deepest sympathies to Harold’s wife Julie and his entire family on his passing. He will be missed.

Revie Gregory Luce of Frewsburg passed away Jan. 1. He was 68 years of age. Greg’s nickname was Tank, as he excelled in football, baseball and wrestling when he was in school. He had a passion for hunting, camping, golfing, shooting and sitting on his back porch watching his grandchildren swim. He liked caring for his three dogs and was a No. 1 fan at all his grandchildren’s sporting events. Greg started registering targets in 1993. During his ATA career he shot 46,100 singles, 24,900 handicap and 27,800 doubles targets. Our deepest sympathies to his wife Brenda and his entire family. Greg will be missed.

The Board of Directors of the New York State ATA are proud to announce that the following three shooters are going to be inducted into the state ATA Hall of Fame: Richard Sauer, Cliff Haaf and Robert (Bob) Hubbard (posthumously). Induction ceremonies will take place during the New York State Shoot on July 10 after the Singles Championship and before shootoffs. Congratulations!

The following shooting etiquette was posted on the ATA webpage and comes from the Nevada State Trapshooting Association. “The game of trap (unlike skeet and sporting clays) is less of a social game and more of a game of concentration and focus. Some of the shooting etiquette guidelines listed below are for safety, and some are simply just common sense. Even though trapshooters uphold themselves with a high level of seriousness during a round, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for fun and games after the round is over or while in the crowd spectating. Trust me, no matter how serious you are, if you make a mistake like dropping the 25th target during a perfect round, you and your fellow shooters will find plenty of time for jokes and laughter after the round is over. Become familiar with the following suggestions and practice them as often as you can.

“Make sure you are in hearing distance from the field you are assigned to so when your squad is called you are there and ready with all of your equipment.

“If you are leading your squad (meaning you are the shooter on Post 1 when the round starts), visually check that everyone is at their post and ready before initiating each round of five shots.

“During the round, if and when you move from Post 5 to Post 1, make sure to look to the leader of your squad and give him a thumbs up that you are ready. They may be waiting for you to be ready and set before continuing with their own shot.

“Remain on your post, standing facing the trap quietly, until the fifth person has fired and then move to the next post.

“At the end of the round remain still on your last post facing the trap until the last person has fired the last shot.

“Do not have a loaded round in your action (regardless if your action is not closed) when walking from one post to another.

“If using a semi-auto action shotgun, make sure your gun is equipped with a shell catcher. No one likes when spent hulls are flung in their face.

“Try not to talk or yell out as you may cause a clay to be thrown outside of your turn if the microphones pick up your voice.

“If using a pump or semi-auto, try not to close or open your action in front of the microphone, as you may cause the machine to throw a target out of turn. Over/under shooters who blow the smoke out of their barrel after shooting could cause the same thing to happen.

“Wait until the end of the round to reach down and pick up empty shells from the ground. Movement from other shooters may distract someone who is lining up for their next shot.

“Be mindful of your barrel. Even though you are working your follow-through in order to be the next Olympic hopeful, it tends to make people nervous when looking down the smoking barrel of a shotgun that was just fired and swung to the left or right too dramatically.

“When closing your action, make sure to have your barrel pointed downrange. A lot of beginner shooters (more specifically pump-action shooters) tend to close their action with the gun facing down toward the ground. If an accident were to happen, not only would you most likely take off your own foot, but you could seriously injure the people around you.

“Keeping the above in mind will make you a better squad shooter and prep you for competition shooting. The end goal is for everyone to share the same common courtesy and in return experience the same level of enjoyment from shooting.”

I would also add one habit that some shooters perform that is very distracting. From the ATA Rulebook, Section IV (ATA Tournaments), Letter H, page 16, Number 14: “A contestant may hold his/her gun in any position. The contestant must in no manner interfere with other shooters by raising his/her gun to point or otherwise create an observable distraction.” Over the years I can’t tell you how many targets I have lost because the shooter to the right of me has mounted their gun or raised their gun while I was shooting and distracted me. It is not a good practice and should not happen. Please be mindful, shooters.

If anyone would like to have something written in one of these articles, please contact me at [email protected] or phone at 585-519-9543. Please stay healthy, safe and in good spirits. Please be strong. May God bless you all.

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada. As I write this article in late January, Ontario is back in almost total lockdown, except for essential businesses. Outdoor shooting is almost nonexistent, and we have had to cancel some of our non-ATA shoots, like our Family Fair team shoot.

Many of us in Ontario are tentatively booking travel and hotels for meetings and competitions south of the border, but we have had many disappointments over the last year. We hope and plan for the best but are prepared for the worst.

For those of you who can get in some winter shooting, enjoy. For those who can’t, you have my sympathy.

Paul Shaw

ATA Delegate

Pennsylvania

The PSSA Hall of Fame has finalized and announced the 2021 Pennsylvania state team members and high-average awards. As with last year, there are five teams: open (includes men, junior gold and sub-vet), ladies’ (includes Lady I and Lady II), junior/sub-junior, veteran and senior veteran.

This year’s open captain is Ian Darroch with a composite average of .9650. Ian also captured the high-average titles in handicap (.9370) and doubles (.9735), while Brandon Deal ended with the high singles average of .9934. Deborah Ohye-Neilson leads the ladies’ team for the eighth time with a .9398 combined average. She also holds the ladies’ high-average titles in singles (.9827) and doubles (.9316), while Sue Dunkle took the handicap with .9127. Wesley Beaver earned captain honors of the junior/sub-junior team with a composite average of .9405 for his fifth overall selection. Joel Etchen earned his 28th selection to the PA state team as captain of this year’s veteran team with a composite average of .9340, and Sheldon Hostetter earned his 26th placement while being named captain of the senior veteran team with a .9183 composite average. Congratulations to all the above shooters for their great shooting throughout the 2020 target year.

Other team members include (with number of state teams attained, based on my limited information at writing):

Open—captain Ian Darroch (11), Chris Vendel (3), Luke Cowart (6), Brandon Deal (9), Donald Schaffer Jr. (14), Ken Darroch (30), John Manetta II (9), Cody Davis (16), James Lechleitner (3), James Hoffman, Steven Miller (7), Jeff Fenton, Matthew Rebuck, Don Neilson Jr. (19), Doug Worrell (5), Brian James, Dennis Cacciola Sr., William Natcher (3), David Darrough (4), Elmer Ebling. Ladies’—captain Deborah Ohye-Neilson (8), Robyn Bird (8), Marcy Plunkett (5), Stephanie Wrisley (4), Kim Bateman (16), Diane Arner (13), Donna Natcher (23), Connie Kern (2), Criona Doorly (3), Genevieve Davis, Celeste Moore, Mary Ann Cacciola, Michelle Shaffer, Carolyn Sukel. Junior/sub-junior—captain Wesley Beaver (5), Nick Wertz (2), Jarod Ossman (2), Kyle Kanuha (2), Clare Schaffer (2), Braden Heckman, Kurt Willman (3), Iver Gustafson II, Austin Unverdorben, Joseph Breck IV (3). Veteran—captain Joel Etchen (28), Jerome Stefkovich (7), Frank Pascoe (29), Larry Shade (14), Richard Stefanacci (4), Randy Krick (3), Thomas Lonczynski (2), Charles Austin (10), Phil Boinske Sr. (13), William Ross, Richard Shaffer, Robert Morgan (3), George Ainsworth Jr. Senior vet—captain Sheldon Hostetter (26), Steve Fitch (12), Clayton Hoffman (4), Richard Long (3), Richard Mills (2), Richard Blatt (2), John Difabio, John Cashman, Joe Mizikowski, Mike Poore (11), Luigi Liberato, James Caldwell Jr., Harlan Gustafson, Wayne Shadel, Niles Oehrli (10).

Congratulations to all of the 2021 Pennsylvania state team members!

It was recently announced that the PSSA was awarded an RACP grant from the state of Pennsylvania for the further development of our facility. The grant is in the amount of $1 million and will be used for upgrades to the current facility as well as allowing the building of a new sporting clays course. As developments unfold, communications will be announced through our website and Facebook page. Certain aspects of our homegrounds are aging and are in need of replacement or upgrades. This funding will help, along with other items that the Executive Committee is working on.

The PSSA Hall of Fame has announced that it is offering a scholarship to a deserving shooter this year who will be starting college next year or is a freshman in college. Applications will be available on the PSSA website, and shooters will have until May 15 to return them.

The past few months have been difficult on our shooting community in many ways, and unfortunately we have lost several of our friends and shooters. Since my last article, I’ve received word of the following shooters’ passing: Robert Fieo, Collegeville; Harold Morgan, Belfast, NY; Earl Hoover, Collier Township; David Sheipe, Maidencreek Township; Jean Mariano, West Grove; Lee Crupi, Reading; and Jan Diefenderfer, Robesonia. Many of these shooters were well known at the PSSA and helped in building trapshooting at local clubs, the PSSA, and at the ATA level. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of all of our shooting colleagues.

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate