Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.

A few reminders for anyone attending the 2023 Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot at the Highland GC in Yarmouth, NS, Aug. 31-Sept. 3. If you need ammo for the shoot, get your order in soon. There’s also a hotel rate available. And good news for anyone wanting to pre-squad. The shoot committee has reconsidered and will be offering pre-squadding services starting July 3. The club will also be hosting the Sponsor’s Challenge Aug. 28, and the registration desk will be open for the shoot. Complete details and updates are available at www.shootatlantic.com.

On the national trapshooting scene, the Brandon GC in Brandon, MB, hosted the 2023 Canadian Trapshooting Championships June 29-July 2. The complete shoot report, pictures, scores and event winners are on the Canadian Trapshooting Association’s webpage (www.shootcanada.ca). You can also see scores and event results on the CTA Scoreboard. You’ll find a link to that on the website also.

The Canadian Trapshooting Association (CTA) held their Hall of Fame induction ceremony during the tournament. Susan Nattrass and Pat Lamont were inducted in the Shooter Category and Harry Humby, past president of the Manitoba Trapshooting Association and Winnipeg T&SC, was inducted in the Contributor Category. You can read their complete bios on the Hall of Fame section of the CTA website. Congratulations to this year’s inductees, and thank you for all you do for our sport.

The 2023 CTA All-Stars were also recognized. All-Star team members can be found under the CTA All-Star section of the CTA webpage. Congratulations to all shooters who made the teams.

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

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

New Jersey

Well, it is June 25 already, and it is only six months until Christmas!

I am just returning from my trip below the Mason-Dixon Line to Thurmont, MD, and the Maryland State Shoot. Although my shooting was poor, I did find two new Maryland crab restaurants, one by myself and the other from “blue claw” connoisseur, Maryland ATA Delegate, Ray Greb. I must say, Ray’s choice was far superior to my find. In the news this week was the implosion of the ocean-going submersible, and bad publicity for carbon fiber as a building material for submersibles. Also, Russia’s mercenary ground troops fighting in Ukraine seem to have had enough with Putin; time will tell how all that goes down.

As mentioned last month, the Delaware State Shoot was just around the corner at the Pine Belt SC in Shamong. One hundred fifteen New Jersey residents attended one or all the four-day shoot. Scott Kalnas led the New Jersey trophy winners with eight, followed by Linda Septak, Ray Padovani, Keith Barton and Tom Clarke with three; Tommy Green Sr., Santo Farro, Bob Jarvis and Fred MacDonald with two; and Barry Ferriolo, Elie Farro, George Wright, Charlie Lehmann Jr., Rangel Queiroz, Mike Chiarella, Gabriel Biarsky, Steve Ligato, Keith Guinn, Chris Eck and Eugene Ferrence with one trophy.

Starting three days later at the same facility, the 126th New Jersey State Shoot started on the first of June at Pine Belt. One hundred forty-four New Jersey residents were in attendance, up 11 from last year. The weather was warm and muggy throughout the tournament. Saturday afternoon we held the induction ceremony for Thomas Green Sr. into the New Jersey Trapshooting Hall of Fame. Bob Battista introduced Tommy and his accomplishments over the years. Peter Frederiks was inducted posthumously. Bruce Paterson from Lansdale PA, was on hand to introduce Pete and his accomplishments. At Sunday morning’s state meeting, Joe Sissano was reelected ATA Delegate, and Tom Clarke was reelected Alternate Delegate for 2023-2024. The big winners for Saturday and Sunday’s events were Thomas Clarke for the Singles Championship, HAA and HOA; Scott Kalnas for the Doubles Championship; and Santo Farro for the Handicap Championship. The complete list of winners may be found later in this issue.

It was then onto Elysburg, PA, and the Colonial Classic, where David Brown Jr., Caitlyn Barton, Joe Sissano, Rick Batesko, Bob Jarvis and George Wright each won one trophy. The Pennsylvania State Shoot started on Monday, June 12 with Event 7. This year 33 New Jersey shooters were in attendance. Mike Stevenson led the trophy winners with three; followed by Rick Batesko and Keith Barton with two; and Bob Jarvis, George Wright, Steve Ligato, Justin Malone, Mike Chiarella and Emily Malone with one award.

Steve Ottrando reported that Mallard TC in Monroe Township held their annual Hot Dog Shoot June 17; 43 shooters competed. Greg Menshoff was club champion with Dan Fishman open champion. Other winners were: A, Rich Pappas; A runnerup, Mike Fishman; B, Matt Warvo after a shootoff with runnerup Tom Hahn; C, after a flip, Sofia Granata; C runnerup, Dima Levyshyy; D, Monte Dujue; D runnerup, Joe Clohessy. Melanie Granata, Sofia Granata’s mother, was the winner of the 50/50, and she donated half of her winnings back to the club.

Pine Belt is holding their Club Championships early this year, Aug. 26-27. As mentioned in the July contribution, the Poor Man’s Grand will take place at Pine Belt Aug. 5-6. Pine Valley’s Club Championship is Sept. 2-3, with the Toots Tindall Lady Bird Shoot on Labor Day, Sept. 4. Ground Swiper’s club picnic is scheduled for Sept. 9. Also the Mallard TC is having the 18th annual John Longo Memorial Shoot Sept. 9.

While I was at the Pennsylvania State Shoot, Andy Hensel told me about the passing of Glenn Hunting this past June, who along with his father, Mel Hunting (who I also just found out, that he, Mel, had passed last year), used to own a gun shop in Whitehouse, NJ. Mel Hunting, back in the early 1980s, was the sole importer of Krieghoff shotguns here in the United States. Mel, his wife, son and daughter Barbara, all had resided at the Silver Dollar shooting facility at one time, when they all had moved down there in the late 1990s or so. Barbara Hunting is the only surviving offspring.

If you have a question or a suggestion for an article, I may be reached at 732-546-7910 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Joe Sissano

ATA Eastern Zone Vice President

New York

Greetings from New York State. I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy.

The New York state eastern zone shoot was held May 27-28. The tournament was a telephonic shoot and held at Whortlekill GC and Peconic River SC. The singles winner was Sal Di Tomasso with 192, and Vincent Barranco was runnerup with 191. In the doubles, the winner was Robert Oswald with 88, and John Preto was runnerup with 85. John Maragliano took the Handicap Championship with 92, and Paul Gaston was runnerup with 92. Finally in the high-all-around, Maragliano was high gun with 362×400, and Vitalino Vaz was runnerup with 357. New York state ATA eastern zone Vice President Robert Oswald said the weather was excellent, and the shoot ran very well. A total of 22,900 targets were thrown. Good going for running a great tournament.

The New York state central zone shoot was held June 10-11 at Toad Harbor GC. The singles winner was Dan Fadden with 197, and Tim Corrente was runnerup with 195. In the Doubles Championship, Cliff Haaf was high gun, and David Corrente was runnerup with 94. In the Handicap Championship, Corrente was the winner with 94, and Brenden Backus was runnerup with 93. Finally, in the high-all-around, Corrente was winner with 383, and Fadden runnerup with 377. A total of 19,200 targets were thrown. New York state ATA central zone Vice President Chris Pollichemi said the weather was beautiful, and the shoot ran very well. Good going for running a great tournament.

Any person wishing to camp at the homegrounds in Cicero during any of the shoots there can contact camping chairman Ken Davis. Ken’s phone number is 585-738-4612. If you wish to contact Ken, he has a new e-mail address: [email protected].

Congratulations to Daniel Fadden for shooting his first 100 straight. Dan ran the 100 at Pompey R&GC on June 4. Great going on this fine shooting.

Some target attainments from New York shooters: Casey Luttrell and Anthony Valvo registered their 25,000th singles targets. Brian Luther has fired at 50,000 doubles targets. Cliff Haaf registered 50,000 handicap birds. A total of 75,000 singles targets were registered by Dave Mosciki. Finally, both William Haman and Joe Regan now have combined totals of 100,000 registered targets. Congratulations, guys, and keep adding to these totals.

The New York state ATA is looking for volunteers to help at the shoots at the homegrounds in Cicero. The association is offering a $20 food voucher or three practice rounds of trap for scorers and loaders. If anyone is interested in getting on the list and finding out the details, you can contact Chris McEwen at 585-507-7589.

The Pennsylvania State Shoot was held in Elysburg, PA, June 10-18. A total of 172 New Yorkers attended. Trophy winners from New York were: Colonial Classic Singles: Keith Miranda, senior veteran, William Wallis, senior veteran runnerup; and Heidi Womer, Lady I runnerup. Chris Vendel Handicap: Jack Mansoura, eighth, Tom Horenburg, veteran; and Heidi Womer, Lady I. Wesley Beaver Doubles: Vincent Barranco, B. Deborah Ohye-Neilson Handicap: Wallis, senior veteran. Deborah Ohye-Neilson Doubles: Joshua Buchiere, AA; Barranco, A; John Preto, D runnerup; Urban Womer, veteran runnerup; and Heidi Womer, Lady I. All-around: Miranda, senior veteran, and Heidi Womer, Lady I. AIM high-over-all: Heidi Womer, Lady I. Trap & Field Handicap: Dom Marando, fifth. PSSA Hall of Fame Handicap: James Flint, winner; Daniel Boisclair, fourth; and Randy Lineman, veteran. Bedford Co. Sportsmen Doubles: Flint, sub-veteran, and Don Alderson, senior veteran. Past Presidents Singles: Barranco, non-resident A, and David Bills, non-resident senior veteran. Attorney General Doubles: John Preto, non-resident D, and Tammy Wildenstein, non-resident Lady II. Elysburg Handicap: Mark Johnson, non-resident fifth; Henry Dawes, non-resident senior veteran; and Becki Logan, non-resident Lady I. Class Singles: Miranda, non-resident senior veteran, and Wildenstein, non-resident Lady II. Elysburg Handicap: Mark Johnson, non-resident fifth, Henry Dawes, non-resident senior veteran; and Logan, non-resident Lady I. Krieghoff Handicap: Kenneth Woodworth, non-resident runnerup, David Corrente, non-resident fourth; Curtis Robbins, non-resident eighth; and Cliff Haaf, non-resident senior veteran. Singles Championship: Chad Landon, non-resident AA runnerup; Edwin Johnson, non-resident C runnerup; Urban Womer, non-resident veteran runnerup; and Wallis, non-resident senior veteran. Doubles Championship: Anthony Valvo, non-resident D runnerup; Urban Womer, non-resident veteran runnerup; and Heidi Womer, non-resident Lady I runnerup. Handicap Championship: Benjamin Stull, non-resident junior gold runnerup, and Thomas Buchiere, non-resident veteran runnerup. High-All-Around: Chris Pollichemi, non-resident C, and Michael Bumpus, non-resident D. High-Over-All: Barranco, non-resident A; Logan, non-resident C; and Wildenstein, non-resident Lady II. All trophy winners can be viewed on Bob Stuart’s webpage www.rjstuart.com and in Trap & Field Magazine. Congratulations to all New York trophy winners.

For all those who are traveling to Sparta, IL, to attend this year’s Grand American, please travel safely and have a great time.

Remember that the 2023 Northeastern Grand American will be held at our homegrounds in Cicero Sept. 6-10. Please attend.

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

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

By the time you read this article in August, the most important part of our shooting year, the Grand American, will be upon us. In Ontario, we have had many of our trapshooters attend major shoots south of the border with some excellent results. I hope this can continue throughout the balance of the target year.

In Ontario, we recognize the accomplishments of our shooters in all three disciplines and in all categories, based on high composite averages. This is used to also recognize our Ontario teams. Most provinces and states do the same thing, and to my knowledge, all have a minimum threshold of targets to be shot and a minimum to be shot in province.

When I first became the Ontario Delegate, I set up a concurrent Delegate Team and Delegate Category Team recognition. This was based, not on composite averages but on victories at all ATA shoots in Ontario—a point for high category winners (all category shooters vie for this each shoot) and a point for all other (non-category shooters). The Ontario clubs track this and submit results to our secretary-treasurer, Beau Douglas, and Beau calculates who make the two Delegate Teams each year (10 category places and five non-category (open) places).

Sometimes the Delegate Teams don’t get the recognition they deserve, but I am sharing the 2023 Delegate Teams (based on 2022 shooting accomplishments). Here are the teams:

Open—Brandon Woltz, 11 points; Shaine Rogers, 10; Peter Tsementzis, 8; Derek Scrimshaw, 7; George Chen, 5. Category—Lloyd Beecraft, 13 points; Bob Morphy, 10; Ed Wilmott, 9; Keith Saunders, 8; Ralph Zadro, 5; Chris Tsementzis, 4; Frank Schneider, 4; Verne Higgs, 4; Vince Ruberto, 4; Willis Yacobucci, 4.

Congratulations to our Delegate Team members and to all other Ontario shooters who have participated throughout the year.

Paul Shaw

ATA Delegate

Pennsylvania

The year is flying by fast, as we have now placed the 2023 Pennsylvania State Shoot into the record books. First of all, congratulations to our state champions: singles, Ian Darroch from Aliquippa; doubles, Evan Mood from Line Lexington; handicap, Donald Schaffer Jr. from Newtown; and HAA/HOA, Chris Vendel from Glen Rock.

Congratulations to our 2023 PSSA Hall of Fame enshrinees Donald Schaffer Jr. and Diane Arner as well as the 2023 Trapshooter of the Year, Joseph Breck IV.

The week was looking promising for an overall increase in attendance of more than 3% until the rains arrived on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Overall, attendance was down 3% (-289) from 9,360 in 2022 to 9,071 this year. Championship events were up 2.9% (+56) from 1,940 in 2022 to 1,996 this year. This led to an All-American points factor of 6, just missing the next level by four shooters.

The Colonial Classic again played host to the Pennsylvania State SCTP and AIM Championships on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with more than 450 participants each day. Friday’s Krieghoff Handicap culminated in the 19th year of the Krieghoff Challenge and a thrilling shootoff for the coveted K-80 Combo. After three rounds of perfect scores, three 27-yard shooters were left, and then there were two: Nicholas Wertz of Wiconisco, PA, and Ian Darroch of Aliquippa, PA, both multi-time state champions. Another perfect round set up the finale in Round 6, with Nicholas finishing with 60 straight to clinch this year’s Krieghoff Challenge. Congratulations, Nicholas, and thank you to Betty and Dieter Krieghoff, Krieghoff International, Allem’s Guncraft and Joel Etchen Guns for sponsoring this prestigious event!

This year’s annual state meeting brought about a change in some of our officers. After several years of service on the Executive Committee, President Ken Darroch and treasurer Bert Schoonover have retired from their respective roles. I personally want to thank both gentlemen for their service over the years and wish them well in their shooting endeavors! Our new officers are: president, Donald Neilson Jr.; vice president, James Hoffman; treasurer; Zach Eshbach; and secretary, Cathy Parson. The ATA Delegates are the same: Delegate, Brian James; First Alternate, Donald Neilson Jr.; and Second Alternate, Steve Ross Jr.

The following week saw Keystone shooters heading south and west to the Maryland and Ohio state championships. Sixty-eight shooters attended Maryland, with 18 of those earning 40 awards after crossing the Mason-Dixon Line. Bethany Breighner (10) led the way in hardware, including Event 4 singles winner and Ben Snyder (three) earned the non-resident Singles Championship. Joseph Breck IV (eight), Dawson Schoffstall (three), Kelly Ramsey (two), and Matt Rebuck (two) were our other multiple place winners in Maryland, while Sheldon Hostetter, Erik Kauffman, John Bechtel, Jacob Bonser, Larry Grabowski, Noah Christ, William Riffle, Brandon Brew, Daniel Vanbeek, Nicholas Wertz, Brian James and Dennis Cacciola also earned trophies during the week. Congratulations to all shooters!

Meanwhile in Ohio, 63 shooters crossed the border, with 15 earning 31 awards. Chris Vendel (five) captured the non-resident HAA title, while Deborah Ohye-Neilson (nine) added non-resident HOA/HAA category titles in the Buckeye State. Ian Darroch (two), Joseph Bowers (two), William Natcher (two), and Marcy Plunkett (two) each added multiple awards to the list. James Neyan, Steve Deal, Bruce Schmidt, Jeff Quinn, Scott Kennedy, Jason Ketchel, Wesley Beaver, Ken Darroch and Richard Long each secured awards throughout the week to round out our Pennsylvania representation. Congratulations on a great showing in Ohio! Before we meet again at the Westy Hogans in August, the PSSA will host the Pennsylvania Grand and the ATA Eastern Zone in July. Good luck to all during these events and all events you attend throughout the state!

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate

Rhode Island

The 107th Rhode Island state championship was held June 2-4 at Minute Man SC in Burlington, MA. Minute Man is a premier clay shooting facility that boasts 12 trapfields, eight skeet fields, bunker trap, 5-stand and a 16-station sporting clays course. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board of directors; president, Sam Covino; facilities manager, Jim; and the kitchen staff. In addition, special thanks to Phil Wright for managing the shoot. He is truly an asset to the sport.

It would not be a Rhode Island State Shoot if we did not have inclement weather, and the weather gods did not disappoint. Friday it was 92º and that included lightning, which delayed the preliminary doubles until Sunday morning. Saturday’s weather consisted of 52º and rain, that’s right, a 40º swing. Sunday, double doubles, handicap and, yes, more rain; however, shoot attendance was up over last year.

Matt Robinson was this year’s honoree. Matt is a sergeant on the East Providence police force and does a great job with the AIM program and making sure you get your trophy at the shoot. Congratulations, Matt!

Barbra Jays’ cashiering service did an excellent job throughout the shoot and figuring out the winners and shootoffs. There are too many winners to list them all (they will be published in Trap & Field); however, the champions of the main events are as follows: Preliminary Singles, Robert Nihtila, 100; Preliminary Handicap, Michael Hebert, 96; Preliminary Doubles, Roman Barrett, 95; Singles Championship, Greg Smith, 197; Doubles Championship, John M. Ruggieri, 94; Handicap Championship, Jameson Smith, 82; HAA, Ruggieri, 365; and HOA, Ruggieri, 647.

I was reelected as Delegate, and John Ruggieri was reelected Alternate. I would like to thank everyone who attended and made this shoot a huge success.

Greg Smith

ATA Delegate

Alabama

The 2023 Alabama State Trapshooting Championships is in the record book. There was a great turnout, and it was good weather for shooting. See the results in a future issue of Trap & Field Magazine.

By the time y’all get this, the 124th Grand American will be happening! I hope, all who attend do well and hopefully collect some trophies.

Joke of the month: In a trial, a Southern small town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked,” Mrs. Jones, do you know me?” She responded,” Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you’ll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper-pusher. Yes, I know you.”

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked,” Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?”

She again replied,” Why, yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention, he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.”

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench, and in a very quiet voice, said, “If either of you idiots ask her if she knows me, I’ll send you both to the electric chair.”

Word of the month: Mess: A quantity of, usually enough for a meal. “That’s a nice mess of fish.”

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 him or her for their service.

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

Wayne Sartwell

ATA Delegate

Florida

Hello all from the most Southern, Northern State!

Florida trapshooting is in full swing, and there are just too many shoots for me to post who did what. Please refer to Gun Club Scores in this issue or shootscoreboard.com.

Recently I have been asked, “How can I make it into the Trap & Field Magazine?” Good question. A few ways come to mind, with the first being you or your gun club representative contacting me about your outstanding achievement! Another is by ATA recognition. For example, shooting your first straight or making AA or AAA and 27-yard line status.

Shout-outs and congratulations

I would like to give a big shout-out and thank you for the tireless work that Billy and Alberta Brooks do for the FTA. They do so much behind the scenes . . . and are just “good people” (They are so good it is sickening! I am looking for any possible dirt on them. If anyone can help, they just can’t be that nice) I would also like to give a big thank you to Jack Heckler up at Jacksonville GC. He does not get enough recognition for the time and devotion he gives to the FTA and ATA. He puts on a good shoot and throws good targets. If you are up that way, go say hi and show your appreciation.

Remember back a year ago I had written about my friend and fellow trapshooter Jimmy P. (Petruzzi) having to quit trapshooting when he was so close to obtaining his 100K singles because of some weird nerve thing in his face? He is back shooting (yeah), and hopefully in September, the beginning of the new shooting year, he will start shooting registered targets again! I forgot to mention that he and Don Kerce are the Flagler GC reps.

Congratulations to Jim Cummings for obtaining his 25K registered single targets. A bigger thanks goes to his wife Priscilla for providing us all with his congratulatory celebration chocolate cake. Not a piece survived. We all have to keep these perfectly calculated trapshooting physiques in peak shape!

For shooters who constantly decline handicap reduction yards, did you know you can ask your Delegate to have a Code D added to your file, which freezes reductions for a year?

Gun club representatives

Please visit shootata.com for general info and club resources, such as supplies and forms. There you also have a toolbox; check it out.

ATA rule for the month

This is frequently asked: When do All-American points start?

ATA STATE/PROVINCIAL TOURNAMENTS & THE U.S. OPEN Events eligible for points as follows: All championship events, including High-All-Around and High-Over-All; plus preliminary events during the last seven days for a maximum of 1,300 targets in both the preliminary events and the championship events. Any preliminary event prior to the final 1,300 targets with 450 or more entries shall also be an All-American points event. In those events where only open (residency) trophies are awarded, points will be earned based on a shooter’s score without regard to the shooter’s residency. In events where any combination of resident, open (residency), or non-resident trophies are awarded, points will be earned based on a shooter’s residency. Table 2 points—Championship events, including All-Around and High-Over-All. Table 3 points—All preliminary events during the last seven days, provided that the preliminary events in conjunction with the championship events do not exceed 1,300 targets.

I will try to keep all of you informed and entertained with what’s going on in Florida. I want to especially recognize shooters and clubs.

My e-mail is [email protected].

Mike Reynolds

ATA Delegate

Kentucky

Shooting season is in full swing, and many shoots have shown increases over the previous year. Shell availability is getting better, and prices are holding. The Kentucky State Shoot (July 5-9) will have been over when this article appears, but I will venture it was a good shoot and well attended. Check shootscoreboard.com for results. Many who read the Around the ATA articles probably don’t realize these articles are written about 35 days prior to printing. If you would like me to put in information about your shoots, please contact me.

The AIM Grand National Trapshooting Championships run July 27-31 at the WSRC followed by the Grand American World Trapshooting Championships Aug. 2-12. Programs have been mailed and already received by most shooters; be sure to check your target requirements.

Pre-squadding is already underway and looks to be up over last year. This year several countries will be represented. Check the ATA website for updates and information.

Shoot well and often.

Dan Ryan

ATA Delegate

Mississippi

At our state association’s annual meeting this past May, I was elected ATA Delegate. Thus, this is my first article for Trap & Field as the Mississippi Delegate. I have written a few articles in the past as an Alternate Delegate while filling in for Gene Schneck, and I must say it is hard to adjust my thinking forward over about a month. In a previous career, I wrote many articles for future publications, but my forte was writing or speaking in real time as developments occurred in cotton production. I generally tried to write in a style similar to how I would speak; hopefully I can adjust to doing this again. And with any luck, I can adjust my thinking; I will try.

I will take a second to thank the previous Delegate, Jerry Tharp, for all the many fine articles and endeavors representing Mississippi trapshooters. While he is granted emeritus status, we will not let him go quietly, as he will still be relied upon. Thank you, Jerry!

The 2023 Mississippi State Shoot was hosted by Capitol GC back on Memorial Day weekend. The results have been reported in the publications already, and I will not go into details. I personally want to thank all the Mississippi shooters and the shooters from surrounding states, like Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, for attending. Thank you; your participation is noted and greatly appreciated.

As part of our annual association meeting, MTA President Kent Lacina formally inducted Larry Rickman into the MTA Hall of Fame. Larry’s wife Freida was inducted into the newly formed MTA Hall of Honor for those who have made significant contributions to the sport of trapshooting in Mississippi. Congratulations, Larry and Freida, an honor well deserved.

The weather turned hot in Mississippi in the mid-summer, nothing new there as I have lived here all my life—it is always hot in Mississippi in the summer. Trapshooting proceeded with monthly shoots at both Coast R&PC and Capitol GC. Mid July brought a satellite location of the 2023 Southern Zone Trapshoot to the Coast R&PC. A special thanks to those shooters who attended, participated in and won trophies and to Coast for hosting. It has indeed been a busy trapshooting summer for our dedicated shooters.

I am proud to say that one of our long-standing clubs, Starkville Gun Club (SGC), has revived their ATA shooting program. Welcome back! SGC is where I started shooting ATA trap, and I served as a member of their board of directors for many years before I moved to central Mississippi. I have many great memories of shooting there and encourage our shooters to support SGC in their efforts to get registered shooting going again. I developed special friendships there, and I am fortunate to have shot alongside some very memorable characters, to include Estel Wilson and Jim Porter, among many others.

As this edition of Trap & Field is released, the Grand American is being contested in Sparta, IL. I hope your state is represented well and your shooters do well. I especially wish good luck and fortune to the Mississippi shooters in attendance. After it is over, we can look at the data, but over the last few years, Mississippi, being a relatively small trapshooting state, has had a very high percentage of out active shooters attend. I hope that is the case again this year.

I will end this last article of the target year mentioning a subject that I will continue to repeat. In the coming target year, I encourage you to get involved. Don’t be afraid to volunteer to help run local shoots and learn the specifics of the what and how of setting targets, filling machines, scoring, preparing shoot paperwork and doing gun club maintenance. If you are not a life member of the ATA, upgrade your membership. We need you, the young and middle age shooters, to get involved with your state associations and not be afraid to volunteer your time to help. I can’t speak for the larger states, but the smaller states desperately need more people involved. For the coming target year, set goals to register more targets and to volunteer to help and learn shoot management.

Thank you and good shooting.

           Will McCarty

           ATA Delegate

North Carolina

Milestones from the 2023 North Carolina State Shoot include: Greg High of North Carolina registered his 250,000th target on Wednesday. Welcome to the Quarter Million Club. John H. White IV of Alabama completed his ATA Grand Slam on Wednesday with 100 in the doubles event. Chuck Woody of North Carolina registered his 25,000th singles target during the Singles Championship. Cason Williams of Georgia shot his first 200 straight Saturday to be named out-of-state victor.

For all the winning scores, pictures and names, check them out at www.nctrap.com.

Congratulations to all of you! I hope to see you all at the Dixie Grand Sept. 26-Oct. 1.

If you have questions regarding shoots or the ATA, e-mail me at [email protected].

Bob Schultz

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

Our achievement report has Roger Smith at 100,000 handicap and Teresa Knight at 75,000 singles. Quite an accomplishment, keep it up.

Bad news, Wes Basham has passed. He was originally a skeet shooter who shot trap at Greenville. Wes ran the Big 50s at Belton GC until it became a pistol club and was a great help at Greenville, scoring and classifying. He and wife Barbara kept the squad board up at our state shoot. Wes was a presence wherever he went. He was a Virginia Tech and Ford fan, both the subject of many good natured discussions. He will be missed greatly.

South Carolina shooters have attended Alabama, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio state shoots. A lot of trophies came to South Carolina.

The North Carolina shoot went well with great weather, except the handicap on Sunday. The first squads finished in rain, as all the later squads did. Quite a lot of trophies came to South Carolina shooters.

I hope everyone is enjoying good weather and shooting well at the Grand.

Jim Faber

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

Well, it is August, and that can mean only one thing. It’s Grand American time. The AIM Grand National Championships were July 27-31. Aug. 1 will be an off day, followed by 11 straight days of shooting up to 2,600 targets. Come to Sparta, IL, to visit with old friends and make new ones.

With the state shoots happening almost every week in the Southern Zone, Tennessee shooters have been bringing home the trophies.

Eleven Tennesseans visited the Mississippi State Shoot, with Issac Sharp, Drew Hoekstra, Case Hardison, Steve Russell and Clint Parson winning trophies.

The following week, seven shooters went to the Alabama State Shoot, with Casen Stewart, Caleb Clayton, Parson, Grant Miller and Richie Bolin winning trophies.

Next up was the North Carolina State Shoot, with Tyler Honnold, Jase Harvey and Gabe Johnson winning trophies. Although he is living in Alabama now, John White is a native Tennessean and shot a 100 in doubles at the North Carolina State Shoot, completing his ATA Grand Slam.

At the Tennessee State Shoot, Clayton won the Singles Championship, Mitchel Loveless II won the doubles, Carson Spurgeon topped the handicap, Seth Ladd won HAA, and Brady Duren won HOA.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

I’ll see you in Sparta.

Read the rulebook, please. For more info, visit our website at shootatatn.com. You can reach me at [email protected].

Billy Cook

ATA Southern Zone Vice President

Southwestern Zone

Kansas

It’s in the books, the 133rd annual Kansas State Shoot!

There were more than 1,200 total entries for the HAA events and more than 2,400 entries in the HOA events. There were 1,300 All-American points awarded to both in- and out-of-state competitors (the most allowed by ATA rule). There was great weather for most of the shoot, and superior marksmanship accounted for many great scores—12 200s in the singles, a 100 straight in the handicap as well as several 100 straights in the doubles. A big thank you to our target-setters as well as our great shooters.

Bruce Davis was inducted into the Kansas Trapshooting Association Hall of Fame Friday night at our annual banquet (180 in attendance), as well as recognizing our state team members and ATA/KTA All-Americans.

We are proud to have hosted the ATA Southwestern Zone shoot this year in July and look forward to the Southwestern Grand coming up in September. If you haven’t made your plans to attend yet, do so. Kansas is a great shooting venue in September, and the KTA will do a wonderful job making you more than happy you attended.

The Grand American is here as you read this; let’s show them Kansas Strong by attending this year.

Good luck and good shooting!

Caleb Fischer

ATA Delegate

Louisiana

The Louisiana Trapshooting Association wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to our previous Delegate, Doyle Brooks, who did an excellent job for six years of service on behalf of our Louisiana shooters and the ATA. Thank you, Doyle, so much. We look forward to continuing to shoot with you for many years to come.

As we start to move into the hot days of summer here in Louisiana, we’ve had a good spring and summer so far. Our state shoot was held at the Toby Bancroft Memorial GC, TBMGC, in West Monroe the first weekend in May, and it was a lot of fun for the 122 shooters who participated. We were blessed with cooler weather than normal and only received a couple of short rain showers. With only four fields available, the LTA and TBMGC state shoot committee really do a nice job of managing the shoot. Louisiana is so grateful for both our in-state and out-of-state shooters who continue to support us. If you like a shoot with an ole time feel and a free catfish/chicken dinner on Saturday night, check us out next year. I think you’ll find it most enjoyable. Don’t wait too long to pre-squad, as we fill up quickly.

Close on the heels of our state shoot, the AIM State Shoot was also held in May at TBMGC. It is so much fun to see our future trapshooters compete and enjoy the camaraderie. The Louisiana AIM program has really increased for us due to the efforts of our state AIM director, Amie Skipper, and her helpers as well as all the parents. We all know how much effort and cost is involved in supporting our youth shooters. We’ll have 16 shooters at the Grand this year.

Louisiana enjoys a very close relationship with both our Arkansas and Mississippi neighbors. So, as they support us, we try to support them in turn. The Mississippi State Shoot was held in Jackson this year, and Louisiana was able to send 16 shooters to participate. In attendance were Donny Sanders; Keith Crissman; Cooper Martin; Avery Dumas; Ed Gunter; Mike Lawler; Luke and Cole Maestrini; Dalton Brooks; Grace and Maddox Gresham; Stephen, Amie and Zach Skipper; Doyle Brooks; and Jim Jenkins. We were blessed with cooler weather for their shoot, and it was certainly a good time. The Arkansas shoot has just finished as this is being written. What a fine facility Arkansas has for their shoot in Jacksonville. Louisiana was only able to send nine shooters. Those in attendance were Donny Sanders, Keith Crissman, Doyle Brooks, Jim Jenkins, Thomas Smith, Luke Maestrini, Kade Childress, Zach Skipper and Andy Waldo IV. There was quite a range of weather from very windy to our normal summertime heat. It was also most enjoyable to shoot and visit with our neighbors.

It’s nice to see our Keith Crissman starting to shoot again after he was out of the sport for a couple of years. We wish our fellow trapshooter, Mitch Killingsworth, a quick recovery after some repair work on a knee.

Come join us for a shoot if you can.

Jim Jenkins

           ATA Delegate

New Mexico

Garth Brooks must have shown up for the New Mexico State Shoot with the “thunder rolls and the lightning strikes.” Despite the lightning delays, it was a wonderful shoot. Here are the champions for the state shoot: singles, Aiden Brogdon; handicap, John Ahlgram; doubles, Luke Bower; and HAA and HOA, Mike Grady.

Yearly during the state shoot, the New Mexico clubs put a team together and have a friendly competition against each other. The 2023 club winners are San Juan; congrats.

Also, I want to recognize Jimmy Kennedy for shooting his first 100 straight in doubles at the Western Grand.

Thanks to all who contributed to our state shoot. Great teamwork makes for a great shoot, thanks. Safe shooting travels, all.

           Samantha Rainsdon

           ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

The 124th Oklahoma State Shoot is in the record book. We had good attendance and great shooting! I believe the numbers were stable compared to last year, and that’s good considering the rising cost of shooting and travel. Everyone seemed to be excited and impressed with all the improvements to the grounds. Rumor has it there are more improvements coming, so plan on attending some OTSA shoots this year and next, and we’ll save a spot for you at next year’s state shoot! The shooting weather was very good with mostly light south winds all week.

There were three perfect scores in the Singles Championship: Pat Stacey, David Hickey and Zoe Traylor. Zoe prevailed after several rounds of shootoff to become this year’s singles champion. There were two top scores in the Doubles Championship: David Bacon II and Corbin Grybowski. David was shootoff victor and claimed the trophy for doubles champion. In Sunday’s Handicap Championship, Corley Steward broke a lone 97, earning the crown for handicap state champion. Clay Laughlin was HOA winner, breaking 97.62% of all targets. Bacon was HAA champion, breaking 388.

Here are a few other highlights of the week: Robert Rimer Jr. turned in a perfect score in the first event of the week. Josh Stacey posted a lone 200 in the class singles. Gavin Harbin posted a 98 in Tuesday’s handicap and then 97 Wednesday. Two shooters broke 98 in Thursday’s handicap, Laughlin and Cambridge Miller. Cambridge prevailed in the shootoff. Klayton McGee broke a walk-off 98 in Friday’s handicap. There were many other good scores. You can see results of all events on shootscoreboard.com and in this issue.

We’re proud of our young shooters in Oklahoma. There were 70 AIM participants in the state championships. Singles winners: Marshal Pryor, 189, pre-sub; Brody Pryor, 195, sub-junior; Traylor, 200, junior; Josh Stacey, 197, junior gold. Handicap winners: Marshall Pryor, 91, pre-sub; Corley Steward, 97, sub-junior; Brody McElhannon, 95, junior; Laughlin, 93, junior gold. Doubles winners: Marshall Pryor, 65, pre-sub; Cash Desbien, 92, sub-junior; Christopher Diller, 94, junior; and Laughlin, 97, junior gold.

Oklahoma was represented by 16 shooters at the Missouri State Shoot. Here are some highlights: Tad Nicholson won a few trophies, including non-resident A in the Event 10 singles and was non-resident A in the class doubles with 95. Bacon was B class singles winner, breaking 99 in Event 10. Layton Freas won his shootoff in Event 11 handicap, claiming junior. Shay Skaggs posted a perfect score in Event 7 singles for Lady I. Laughlin won many trophies throughout the week, including non-resident AA in the HOA and HAA. Shelby Skaggs brought home many trophies as well, including out-state Lady I HOA champion.

Kansas held another awesome state shoot this year; 52 Oklahomans attended and brought home their share of trophies. Laughlin had an amazing week! He completed his ATA Grand Slam, crushing 100 straight in Friday’s handicap event and 200 Saturday. In the Singles Championship, he claimed non-resident winner after prevailing in shootoff. Clay brought home many trophies, including out-of-state junior gold HOA and HAA. Congratulations on that Grand Slam! Robert Rimer Jr. shot well at the South Carolina State Shoot, winning many trophies, including non-resident senior vet HOA.

Congratulations on all these milestones: Mikie Hooper, Gus Bradshaw and Steve Barnett, 25,000 singles; Rose Shaffer, 25,000 doubles; Chance Fleming, 50,000 singles; and Shelby Skaggs, 25,000 handicap. Also, congrats to Rickey McCauley for attaining a combined total of 100,000 targets. The ATA and the OTSA appreciate your dedication to this game.

The OTSA has made it possible for anyone interested in donating to help cover the cost of the new benches and gunracks at the club. Benefactors will have a plaque mounted on a bench of their choice indicating their generosity. Anyone interested, please contact Jeff Trayer, 918-932-4029, or any board member. See you at the next trapshoot!

Jeff Trayer

ATA Delegate

Texas

It seems like I just wrote my article for July, and now it’s time for the one for August. Time doesn’t go this fast when the cold wind is blowing in the Texas panhandle. The short days and less warm temperatures make winter drag on forever.

I hope everyone has/had (depending on when you get your T&F) a great Grand this year. For me, there is no place like the Grand. It’s a shooting experience like no other. And take it from a fat man; it’s an eating experience like no other.

I know y’all have been impatiently waiting to see if you have to read some more of those near special “fatman attaboys.” Well, the answer to that question is absolutely. Alright, here we go, and in no special order, except for the order I have them in. First on the list is Marvin Allbright, who has now fired at 50,000 singles targets. Next on the list of famous people is Drew Fryman. Drew has now fired at 50,000 doubles targets. Next on the list is Drew Fryman (yes, that’s right). Drew has also fired at 50,000 handicap targets. No, I don’t know if they broke them, and you can guess why. Congratulations to these two guys. Keep it up!

You know I am going to mention the rulebook, don’t you. Now is when I’m gonna do it. At the Zone I shoot in Amarillo, a question came up about shooting out of turn. It was Post 3’s turn to shoot, but the people on 4 and 5 also shot, and they each broke the target. The squad stopped, and one person said that 4 and 5 didn’t have to shoot again because they broke the target. Another shooter said they had to reshoot because they shot out of turn. Who was correct? [See Rule VII, E, 4 on Page 30 of the rulebook—Ed.]

Stick a fork in me because I’m done. If you have any news, please let Princess or me know. You can reach me at 806-679-6889 or you can e-mail me at [email protected].

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

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Missouri

One more Missouri State Shoot is in the history book, and what a week we had weather-wise—one of the best that I can remember. Change is inevitable these days; the question usually is will it be for the better or worse. When the MTA Board of Directors moved the state shoot a week later, it brought many positive and negative comments. Do we keep the same week next year or go back to the original time? At this time, the decision hasn’t been made but will certainly be discussed in the near future. On behalf of the MTA BOD, I want to thank everyone who attended the shoot this year. I would also like to thank the MTA membership for their confidence in me as your ATA Delegate. It is a privilege and an honor to represent the MTA members and be your voice to the ATA.

Not only did the MTA BOD change the shoot date for this year, but the decision was also made to include the AIM State Shoot with the state shoot. Special thanks to Dave Hart for his hard work organizing the AIM program and making it work. We would also like to thank Michelle Mueller and Lauren Dunn for their work cashiering the shoot. These days you must be flexible and willing to change. You never know what could happen and should have a back-up plan just in case.

The Singles Championship on Saturday had the grounds closer to capacity than it has been since MTA hosted the Grand in 2020. There were 615 shooters in the event, with Hunter Spruill topping Missouri shooters to claim the champion trophy, Congratulations, Hunter! The Doubles Championship on Sunday morning brought 336 entries to the line, with Zach Nannini, Anna Rawe and Jordan Ziercher tying with 98 and Zach winning the shootoff to claim the champion trophy. Congratulations, Zach! In the Handicap Championship, there were 402 shooters who competed for the top trophy, with David Hull besting the field of Missouri shooters with the lone 98. Congratulations, David! Watch for complete results in Trap & Field, the official magazine of the ATA.

We hope you have had a chance to meet the new MTA manager, Chip Stamper. Chip is a lifelong resident of the area, and he and many family members worked at the MTA in the past. Again, on behalf of the MTA BOD, we want to thank everyone for their patience and continued support of the MTA. We are here for you and look forward to seeing you again in the future. If anyone has any concerns or has anything they would like to have reported on, please contact me at [email protected] or 816-863-9003.

Proverbs 18:24 NKJV—A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Shoot often, shoot well and be safe!

Stephen Ricketts

           ATA Delegate

New Mexico

With great regret, I must write this article. On April 21 Charles Edwin Russell III, age 73, passed away in Alamogordo, NM. He was born June 28, 1949 in Corpus Christi, TX, to the late Edwin and Joyce Russell. Mr. Russell graduated from Texas A&M University Maritime Academy and was a maritime engineer consultant by trade. He thoroughly enjoyed traveling the world for business. Mr. Russell changed many lives through the scholarship he founded for Texas A&M University.

Mr. Russell lived a continually active life. He hiked mountains and skied in Washington State. He was a trapshooter and stepped up to function as the director for Alamogordo’s Roadrunner TC. Charles supported local gun clubs, including those in Texas as well as New Mexico. He was always eager to be accomplished in every task set before him—mariner, trapshooter, historian, club director.

Charles was an accomplished singer and guitarist. He was incredibly proud to have sung Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Russell was a devoted member of the El Paso Symphony Choir as well as the Ruidoso Community Choir.

Mr. Russell is survived by his wife, Denise Shield; brother, Joe Russell; sister, Peggy Weatherford; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

           Samantha Rainsdon

           ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Currently we are in full swing of final preparations for our state shoot as you read this article; however, the Oklahoma State Shoot is in the books. Hopefully many of you attended and shot well. I’m sure you noticed and enjoyed the many improvements made over the past year; 14 semi loads of gravel have been brought in and spread over the drive, RV sites and around the clubhouse. Lights over one trapfield were installed (more to come). The south side of our clubhouse has been beautified with flowers and mulching. Many new trees have been planted down the line. All gun racks and gear shelves have been replaced with new benches with gear shelves and new gun racks. All of these improvements are the fruit of very hard-working volunteers. Also plans are in the works for more lights and two new/added trapfields.

Several Oklahoma shooters went to the Louisiana State Shoot. It looks like we brought home some of the out-of-state trophies. Billy Pierce was long-yardage winner in the preliminary handicap. Steve Barnett was AA victor after prevailing in shootoff in the preliminary singles, and Randy Hill won Class C in the Singles Championship.

One Saturday this month we had the pleasure to attend a shoot at the Clinton GC. I was impressed with the clean and organized appearance of the entire club grounds. They have four traps, all facing north, and a very nice open background. Target presentation was just awesome! Some champions of the day were: Richard Coit, B singles; Kaden Kennedy, C singles; and Paula Trayer, D singles. In the 200-bird handicap event, Kuper Schneberger was short-yardage winner, Kaden Waldrop mid-yardage and overall high gun, breaking 188.

OTSA held their doubles marathon. Nathan Lemke was overall winner, breaking 478. Congratulations to Paula Trayer on attaining 25,000 singles and to Brayden Bliss for attaining 25,000 handicap targets. See you at the next trapshoot!

Jeff Trayer

ATA Delegate

Texas

I hope the summer is going good, and you are breaking great scores. For me, great scores (or any scores) are history, but the friendships and the memories are not. Our trapshooting family is a fantastic and wonderful bunch of people. I’m so glad Princess and I still get to make the shoots and see our friends. If the good Lord is willing, this will be my 47th consecutive Texas State Shoot. I would love to see you there.

Now is the time that none of you have been waiting for. It’s time for those never famous “fatman attagirls and attaboys.” I’m sending an attagirl to Patty Todd. She has now shot at 25,000 singles targets. Up next are the attaboys, so here we go. Steve McBride has registered 25,000 singles. Buddy Huff has reached the 25,000 handicap milestone. Billy Hopson has now registered 50,000 singles. Ronny Beard is at 25,000 doubles and also has registered a combined 100,000 targets. Pat Thomason has registered 75,000 doubles. Tommy Hunter has obtained100,000 singles targets. Out of all these people listed here, only Billy Hopson let me know that he broke his historic target. That’s what I said; only Billy Hopson let me know that he broke his historic target. That being said, each of these shooters deserves a larger than life congratulations. Here it is, congratulations to each of you. Way to go.

I hope this reaches you before the Texas State Shoot. It’s going to be a great shoot this year with more All-American points than ever. There will be in- and out-of-state trophies. There will be All-American points on 1,300 targets this year. Make your way to the Amarillo GC for the Texas State Shoot July 4-9. The program can be viewed at shoottta.org. There are some very good motel deals in the program. I hope to see you there.

The weekend after the Texas State Shoot, Ft. Worth T&SC and the Amarillo GC will be host sites for the ATA Southwestern Zone Shoot. Dates for that shoot are July 14-16. Make your plans now. I hope to see you there.

It just wouldn’t be my article if I didn’t mention to read the rulebook. Every sport has a set of rules, and it is important that you know these rules. Please read the rulebook.

If you have news, please let Princess or me know about it. If you are wanted by the law and don’t want your name published, I will use an alias. As always, please feel free to call me at 806-679-6889 or e-mail [email protected].

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

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Arizona

With summer approaching and temperatures climbing into the triple digits, shooting in Arizona is slowing down. Some clubs are still throwing targets, such as Mohave SC in Kingman, Pleasant Valley in Young, and Big 50s in Casa Grande.

This means traveling for some Arizona residents to chase the elusive orange clays. One of the shoots that saw 11 Arizona shooters in attendance was the Western Satellite Grand in Vernal, UT.

Arizona shooters did well, with several trophies being won. Gerry Williams shot outstanding. He ended up winning the championship handicap senior vet runnerup trophy with 96 and a 25-target shootoff as well as the HOA senior vet trophy. Darrel Goen won the sub-vet runnerup trophy with an impressive 97.

The championship singles saw Sophie Nostrom take the Lady I runnerup trophy with 197. AA runnerup was won by Don Williamson with 198 and a 75-target shootoff.

Doubles awards saw David Landwerlen take A class honors with an impressive 97, and Williamson won the A runnerup trophy with 96. Curtis Bietz claimed the B trophy with 96 and two rounds of shootoff targets.

Currently, four Arizona shooters are in attendance at the Utah State Shoot in Vernal, UT. Good luck to you all there.

           Don Williamson

           ATA Delegate

 

California

Hello, everyone. There are three great shoots that take place in California prior to our state shoot. The shoots take place in the three zones: the northern, central and southern zones. All three are typically two-day events, and they can take place on the same day concurrently, or they can be shot on different weekends. The highlight of these shoots is that the winners are what form our zone teams for our state shoot. The high scores from the different categories is what forms the men’s, women’s, veteran and junior teams. From there, the three zones compete for the high score in the championship singles. This allows for some bragging rights.

The central zone was first at Kingsburg GC May 6-7. Results are as follows:

Men’s team—AAA, Brandon Simonds, 179; AA, Gary Beer, 190; A, Dale Johnson, 198; B, Travis Mathews Sr., 194; C, Kevin Erwin, 182; D, Terry Henry, 126. Women’s team—Lori Clodt, 195; Madison Marquis, 192; Patricia Mullen, 189; Ellie Alvarado, 189; Isabel Mullen, 187. Junior team—Tristen Mathews, 197; Hank Neufeld, 196; Tyson Marquis, 195; T. J. Mathews, 194. Nick Simon, 194. Veteran Team—Larry Bickly, 194; Ronnie Souza, 184; Steve Cloyd, 185; Keith Baker, 185; Ron Chambers, 184.

Northern zone and southern zone took place concurrently with the north at Newman Swamp Rats TC June 3-4, and the south at Redlands SP June 2-4.

Northern zone results:

Men’s Team—AAA, Devin Huguenot, 200; AA, Doug King, 197; A, Adin Doll, 197; B, Don Pilkington, 189; C, Michael Souza, 181; D, David Shriver, 187. Women’s Team—Isle Scheidel, 194; Remini Huguenot, 192; Denise Thompson, 189; Esther Puckett, 187; Lannette Bettinini, 187. Junior Team—Dylan Baptiste, 192; Logan Dashner, 171; Ryan Marshall, 195; Joslyn Cetina, 190; Zack Knorr, 188. Veteran Team—P. T. Havelichek, 197; Joseph Banducci, 194; Jimmie Puckett, 190; Martin Orlowicz, 184; Lee Novich, 194.

Southern zone results:

Men’s Team—AAA, Jules Azzi, 195; AA, Mark Johnson, 196; A, Jorge Ragde, 198; B, Aaron Green, 183; C, Nader Najm, 185; D, George Salloum, 176. Women’s Team—Valerie Jones, 187; Chelsea Taylor, 183; Johanna Sterling, 169; Leslie Dinius, 170; Christine Whitman, 149. Junior Team—Lucas Sanford, 192; Nathan Kosmatka, 178; Cole Cremer, 182; Julian Slay, 174; Cameron Armstrong, 182. Veteran Team—David Winstead, 197; Rich Davis, 185; Al Yapelli, 188; David Malone, 189; Joe Faherty, 185.

Congratulations to everyone who made their respective zone teams. Good luck to all. There were a couple shooters who received patches as well. Sub-junior Ryan Marshall received his 50 straight patch, as well as Joslyn Cetina received her 25 and 50 straight patches.

Chayon Vega

ATA Delegate

 

Idaho

Dear readers and fellow shooters. I know you will be reading this one to two months after the fact, but I had to put pen to paper immediately following the Idaho State Shoot to preserve the real truth. Other people there will have embellished and varnished the facts about my shooting verses theirs until it would be laughable and unprintable by Trap & Field. By now you will have heard many different versions, so here’s my account of the Idaho State Shoot. [Idaho State Shoot was published in July issue of T&F—Ed.]

As you enter the Pocatello GC, you are greeted by a sign that reads, “The Wind Is Your Friend.” Well, I noticed a phenomenon that nobody else noticed. Nearly every time it was my turn to shoot, there would be big gusts of wind plus I would get difficult angle targets. Then it would die down, and when people, like the ATA President (aka, my brother), Grant Williams, Stuart Welton, Jeff Wright or Bruce Bradley, not to mention a few others, would shoot, they’d get gentle straightaways with no wind. Of course they’d get great scores and were at the top of the leader list most of the time. At one point in the shoot, Maggie Blackstead had everyone look at the flag. “Look, no wind at a gun club. You never see that!” We even took a picture. I was excited! Fifteen minutes later I was shooting and could barely stand up in the wind, along with a driving rain. It seemed to last about 30 minutes while I shot. This was the phenomenon that apparently only I noticed, and the wind seemed to be everyone else’s friend, but not mine.

In the end, Jeff Wright ended up as the state champ on the 200 singles with Michael Houser as runnerup. Grant Williams took top honors in the doubles, (Houser, runnerup), handicap, (Tyler Hansen over Kyle Perry, runnerup), HAA (Wright, runnerup) and HOA (Perry, runnerup).

All joking aside, this year’s weather was fantastic compared to last year’s. There were some encounters with windy periods, but what shoot doesn’t get that? Big accolades go to the staff of Pocatello GC, who put on a fantastic shoot! We had shooters from 14 states and 158 on the championship singles event. Great turnout!

On a final note, we elected Kyle Perry and Darin Ames as new directors on the ISTA board, replacing Lloyde Herbst and Rick Erickson. Kent Graham is the new president, with Spud Storey becoming vice president. All other positions remain the same.

P.S. When I mentioned to some of my fellow shooters (all bad company) the phenomenon causing my scores to be lower than theirs, one offered some friendly advice. “Don’t let your shooting skills near a kitty litter box.” What does that mean? I don’t know, but next month I’ll tell you something else I don’t know.

Leonard Wehking

ATA Delegate

Utah

Since my last report, I have been a busy little boy!

If you remember, I visited South Carolina in May. I have visited the Idaho State Shoot, the Western Grand in Vernal, and the Oregon State Shoot in Bend.

Idaho rotates the state shoot between Pocatello and Boise. This year it was slated for Pocatello. This location tends to draw more Utah shooters than Boise does. Pocatello is in the southern part of the state, thus more accessible for Utah shooters to get to. Twenty-one Utah shooters made the trek, and most seemed happy. The Idaho state association did their usual great job of running a shoot. The weather can be dicey in the southern part of Idaho, as you are reminded of this when you drive under the archway that advertises “The Wind Is Your Friend.” This year was an anomaly, little wind for a change.

This shoot ends on Memorial Day, and the Western Grand in Vernal starts the next day. It seems to be a mad scramble to get out of Idaho and head over the mountain to Vernal.

The Western Grand is always a good shoot, with Sean and Stacy Hawley working hard to run a flawless shoot, flawless as far as the things they can control. Mother Nature usually tries to throw a monkey wrench into the cog once or twice during the shoot. This year she hit twice; we experienced a rainstorm during the prelim handicap and a lightning storm during the Singles Championship, causing an hour-and-a-half delay.

Quint Sudbury won the singles title with 200 in the program and 25 in overtime. Congratulations, Quint!

There were a bunch of firsts at the shoot this year. Four first-timers to break 100 straight in doubles, two youngsters made the 27-yard line for the first time, and one young man compled his ATA Grand Slam.

Breaking doubles for the first time were Katie Jones, Sophie Nostrom, Jimmy Kennedy and Aiden Deitering.

Making the fence for the first time were squadmates Deitering and Dillon Hanneman, both juniors.

Gavin Kuck, also a junior shooter and squadmate of Deitering and Hanneman, completed his ATA Grand Slam by breaking 100 in the first day’s handicap.

The youngsters are taking the sport by “storm.”

The Oregon State Shoot also rotates annually between several clubs. This year the host club was Bend GC. The club is 30 miles from Bend and 30 miles from Prineville, basically out in the middle of nowhere.

Beautiful little club with 10 traps with room to grow. I was treated very well and would go back again.

For various reasons, I opted to stay in Prineville instead of Bend. When I called home and told my wife Joy that Prineville was a pretty little town, but probably only a little to do locally. She replied, “You don’t need anything to do when there is a gun club close by!” I replied, “After 30 years, you finally get it!”

Be sure to check out all the scores on the various websites.

Attendance at most shoots seems to be getting better post COVID, possibly because ammunition is becoming more available, with a slight decline in prices. Fuel costs are declining in some areas, not in my area, however.

Here is my monthly useless trivia segment. For the first time in a very long time, the price of diesel in Utah is cheaper than regular gas! I don’t know why, but it is.

           Ed Wehking

           ATA President