Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.

Members of the St. John’s Rod & Gun Club are in full swing preparing for this year’s Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot, being held Aug. 29-Sept. 1. This year’s shoot will be a four-day, 800-target competition with a Big 50 shoot Aug. 28. Shoot preparations at this club always seem to include repairs, upgrades and regular maintenance to the facility—all in an effort to welcome shooters to the best facility possible.

The opening singles event of this year’s Atlantic Provinces shoot is being dedicated in memory of Dianne Wood from London, ON, who recently lost her brief battle with cancer. Dianne and husband Jim regularly attended the Atlantic Provinces shoot and introduced many friends to the tournament over the years. Dianne truly embraced what so many of us enjoy about trapshooting—the camaraderie, the friendships made, the small chats catching up while waiting for your turn to shoot, and just being present and in the moment. It’s truly an honor to do our small part to remember a wonderful person and good friend.

Visit www.shootatlantic.com for complete details on this year’s Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot, a shoot program and information on how to order ammo for the tournament. Please note that the deadline to place your ammo order is July 15. See you at the shoot.

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

Connecticut

Greetings from Connecticut.

By the time you read this, our state shoot will be in the books, but as of now, four Connecticut association clubs have hosted shoots. Kicking off the season, Hamden Fish & Game celebrated scores of 98 in singles with Randy Fairchild in Class A, and Frank Morton taking B class. Michael Truss landed the handicap with 90.

Hartford Gun Club held the 49th President’s Cup, with Antonio Lobo landing AA and John Russo claiming A with 99s. Rhene Roberto Braga won the handicap with 93, and Robert Witter had the event high in doubles with 95. Congratulations to Matt Wahl on winning the cup, breaking 98 in singles and 91 in the ’caps.

Fin Fur & Feather Club held two 97s in singles, with Jim LaFrance taking A and Richard Erdely the B class winner. Scott Lydem and Russell Gann claimed their yardage groups with field high 96s. Robert Witter, Russell Gann and John Russo posted 91 in the doubles.

Andover celebrated National Trapshooting Day, where singles scores of 96 awarded William Van Gilst the B class winner and David Polmy the runnerup. Billie Jo Romano was high gun in the handicap with 90.

Congratulations to all and many thanks to the clubs for hosting great shoots.

The New Haven Raccoon Club hosted the St. Jude’s fundraiser shoot on May 18. The shoot held 50 singles and 50 wobble for competition and lots of raffles. The big green pizza truck and Big Dipper ice cream truck were in attendance, just adding to the fun. All of the proceeds went to this worthy cause. Don’t forget to check www.cttrap.com for all the upcoming shoots in Connecticut.

Shoot well and shoot often!

Cheryll Pittera

ATA Delegate

New York

Hello from the Empire State of New York. I hope everyone is doing well. I hope you are all getting out there and shooting plenty of registered targets.

We are sorry to say that another New York shooter has passed away. Joseph Piczko died May 14. He was the veteran winner in the 2010 state Handicap Championshp. He started registering targets in 2004 and was standing on the 19-yard line. During his career, Joe registered 14,425 singles, 10,100 handicap and 5,900 doubles targets. The board of directors of the New York State ATA wish to express our deepest condolences to his wife Elizabeth and the rest of Joe’s family.

One target attainment to mention. William Wallis has registered 50,000 doubles targets.

The 20th annual Empire Grand American is now history. The tournament was held April 8-12. Attendance was down, with the weather being the main factor. Even though the weather was not great, the shoot was still a Competition Factor 3 for All-American points. Nicole Ann Hood broke her first 200 straight during the Singles Championship and became the champion for the event. Mike Blaisdell broke 100 straight in the Doubles Championship and was doubles champion. Thad Blaisdell carded a 96 and was handicap champion. Justin Slater won the high-all-around with 383×400, and John Farina was high-over-all champion with 936×1,000.

All trophy winners can be viewed on shootscoreboard.com; the New York State ATA webpage, www.nysata.com, and in this issue of Trap & Field Magazine with complete coverage.

The board of directors of the New York State ATA would like to thank all those who volunteered to help during the shoot. It is much appreciated. Thanks.

Please remember that the ATA Eastern Zone ATA Shoot will be held July 18-21 at the homegrounds in Cicero. No programs will be mailed out. The program will be posted online at www.nysata.com. We hope you all plan to attend.

The New York State western zone shoot was held at Allied Sportsmen’s Club May 18-19. The singles winner was Doug Kohn with 196, and Caleb Lindstrom was runnerup with 195. Caleb Lindstrom won the doubles with 94, and Greg Tartick was runnerup. Matthew McNall was the handicap victor with 96, and Tim McMurtree was runnerup with 92. Finally Caleb Lindstrom was high-over-all winner with 374×400, and Matthew McNall was runnerup with 372×400. A total of 17,900 targets were thrown during the weekend.

There will be one change in the program for the Northeastern Grand American being held Sept. 4-8. On Friday, Sept. 6, there will be three events for a total of 300 targets.

The events will be 100 singles, 100 handicap and 50 pair of doubles. Also the high-over-all of 1,000 targets will begin on Thursday, Sept. 5. We all hope you plan to attend.

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

           Dave Cichelli

           ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

As I dictated this article, it is between the Empire Grand and the Great Lakes Grand competitions. New York State does a good job in organizing and running its shoots. It has no control over the weather, however, and it was rainy and muddy for much of the shoot. They tried solid green targets as an experiment. When the sun was out, these targets sat out like beach balls. When the sun was not out, it was sometimes difficult to see these targets, especially when they left green background and went into the sky. I imagine New York will continue to use these, at least for the balance of this target year, and we will see how things work out.

As many, especially in the ATA Eastern Zone, are aware, consideration is being given for our Eastern Zone competition to include a satellite location in Ontario. We continue to explore this opportunity, and it will probably be discussed at great length during our Eastern Zone competition scheduled to be held in New York July 18-21. Currently, and in fact historically, the Eastern Zone is the only Zone that is shot at one single location, alternating between Pennsylvania and New York in recent years. All of the other Zones have satellite locations, which seem to work well for each of these Zones, based upon information that I have received from host clubs. If it is the decision of the Eastern Zone to have an Ontario satellite venue, the first time that this would be held is likely to be in the summer of 2025. We will keep everyone posted on developments.

Paul Shaw

ATA Delegate

Rhode Island

From May 31 through June 2, the 108th Rhode Island State Championship was held at Minute Man Sportsman’s Club in Burlington, MA. Minute Man is a premier clay shooting facility that boasts 12 trap fields, 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.

This year we couldn’t ask for better weather. We had three gorgeous days of competition.

Dana Greatorex was this year’s honoree. Dana serves on the RITA Board of Directors and is a former member of the Wallum Lake Trap Committee. Congratulations, Dana!

Barbra Jays’ cashiering service, along with Kathy Erdely, Joyce Morris and Wayne Morris, 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, Nicholas Gibbs, 99; Preliminary Handicap, Clayton Morrison, 95; Preliminary Doubles, Robert Nihtila Jr., 95; Championship Singles, Louis DiPrete, 195; Championship Doubles, Greg Smith, 94; Championship Handicap, A. J. Larivee, 89; HAA, John Federici, 371; and HOA, Greg Smith, 641.

Special thanks to Matt Robinson for making sure all the winners received their respective trophies.

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

Greg Smith

ATA Delegate

Alabama

As I start this month’s article, I am in Argentina and shooting doves and pigeons. The weather, so far, has been very nice with lows in the mid to high 30s and the highs ranging from the low 60s to the high 60s.

Ten of us made the trip, with some being longtime friends, and new friendships were made with others. This is the end of Day 2, and I just hope the next two days are going to be just as exciting as the first two days.

If you have a trip to Argentina to hunt on your bucket list, you need to go ahead and do it. If you don’t have it on your bucket list, you need to add it. It’s a blast!

The 2024 ATA Southern Zone Shoot will take place July 19-21. The locations will be Berea, KY; the Silver Dollar in Florida; and Coast Rifle & Pistol Club in Biloxi, MS. I hope y’all can make plans to attend.

As always, read your rulebook.

Joke of the month: More signs seen on the road:

Is there life after death? Trespass here and find out.

Guns don’t kill people. Dads with pretty daughters kill people.

I am a secondhand vegetarian. Cows eat grass, and I eat cows.

Welcome to Laredo, TX, where everybody knows everybody, and the weather is bipolar.

Welcome to our ool. Notice there is no P in it, so let’s keep it that way.

Treat your mom to a margarita; you’re probably the reason she drinks.

Word of the month: Papuh—What you write on; also, the colloquial term for newspaper. “Which papuh do you take?”

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 about to begin winding down our shooting season, and by the time you read this, we will probably have two remaining big shoots (ATA Southern Zone and the Grand American). Please continue shooting at your local clubs and help out when you can.

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 contact me about your outstanding achievement. Another is by ATA recognition. For example, shooting your first straight or making AA, AAA or the 27-yard line status.

A new beginning—May 1 was the beginning of the “new” officers of the FTA. On the morning of May 25 at 8:30 a.m., located at the Jacksonville Target Sports facility, FTA Spring Championship, the ceremonial torch was passed from outgoing president Jake Jacobs to incoming Tommy Harrington. Before introducing the new EC, I would like to give a big thanks to Jake Jacobs for his strong leadership and tenacity, secretary-treasurer Sarah Jacobs for her long and dedicated work along with her vision of making it easier for future secretaries and treasurers by writing a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) and to Tommy Harrington for wanting to continue on from vice president to president. It takes special people to sign up for these types of positions. God bless them!

The new FTA executives are: president, Tommy Harrington; vice president, Scot Lauderback; and a returning secretary-treasurer, Scarlett Ehlers. Please give them a big hand! (clap, clap, clap)

A new beginning—The FTA year started off with the Spring Championship at a new location and what a great shoot! Those who didn’t attend missed out (sorry). This shoot almost didn’t happen, but Jacksonville Clay Shooting Sports in Jacksonville came through. Thank you to the following people for making this shoot happen: (club president) Patrick Heatherington, (operations manager) Dave Havelin, (Palatka ATA rep.) Mark Hall and FTA president Tommy Harrington. Mark also, on his own, oversaw all target-setting and operations of the trap machines. The machines threw great targets . . . a matter of fact, 21,000+ great targets! Not bad. Another big thank you to all of the people (shooters and non-shooters alike) for volunteering as scorekeepers, classifiers, people putting squads together and cashiers. I would like to mention names, but I am afraid I might miss somebody. I almost forgot, the man of the hour has to be Mr. Greg Pink, owner of SOS Clays. He and his software ran the logistics of the shoot. See the picture of the people volunteering at the table, and there is Greg right in the middle of it (no charge).

As for the shoot, it was run very well, all things considered. The fields were in really good shape, and the stations were clearly laid out. Each field had benches, a pavilion, an Igloo with ice cold water and was framed by trees with shade. Make no mistake, it was hot! Each field had a tall scorer’s chair and an umbrella. Some of the umbrellas were donated by the Harringtons. The scorers were all volunteers, and shooters even took turns before or after they shot. No one complained! (I know, really.) The clubhouse was very nice. It has two main sections. The common area with all the typical table and chairs (big ice machine in the corner), this is where you could eat, and the social area (see pictures). This area was really nice with its big cushy furniture, high top tables and a monitor viewing the event. It was a great place to sprawl out and soak up the AC. Food was supplied by a food truck vendor, and the food was pretty dang good, I hear. People kept him busy, and all who ate it bragged on it. There were outside rocking chairs under roofs and coverings, vending machines. Just a nice place.

Now for the shooting results. All you need to know is I won veteran singles. That’s it, all you need to know. See ya next month! What do you expect, I’m going to write these things for nothing? I do it to share my glory, my picture and humbleness! Again just seeing if you are paying attention. And it works; readers come up to me and repeat whatever silly thing I put in here just to show they did read it. Below are the event winners. Sorry, I only post the winners, so you readers will have to turn to another page in this mag to see all results! Event 1, Singles Championship: winner, Dax DeMena; A, Matt DeBord; B, Kenny Steveson; C, Scot Lauderback; D, Mark Giampietro; senior vet, Raymond Rogerson; veteran, Mike Reynolds; Lady I, Roselle Gainer; Lady II, Alberta Brooks; junior, Alex Formhals; sub junior, Emily Grinnin; non-resident winner, Laureen Flick. Event 2 Doubles Championship: winner, DeBord, A, Harrington; B, Thomas White; C, Kevin Fleming; D, Ed Medley; senior vet, Don Kerce; veteran, Shane Platt; Lady I, Gainer; Lady II, Charlene Muzzey; junior, James Elliot; sub-junior, Jake Hooper; non-resident winner, Garry Welch. Event 3 Handicap Championship: winner, Jack Schumpert; non-resident winner Welch. HOA: AA, Rick Manning; A, DeBord; B, White; C, Medley; D, Brooks.

Well, that about covers it for this month. I selected the ATA Rule of the Month based on a need for shooters to understand how important keeping with the harmony of the shoot is. Be respectful to others like it was you own mother.

ATA Rule of the Month:

SECTION XII DISCIPLINARY ACTION, DISQUALIFICATION

1. DISQUALIFICATION 1. A shooter may be disqualified for an event or for a whole tournament at any time by Shoot Management, or at any time by the Executive Committee or such person as they shall designate for that purpose, or disciplined by the Executive Committee, whenever the following prohibited conduct is brought to their attention:
2. if in the opinion of Management or the Executive Committee the shooter disrupts the harmony of the shoot, or
3. Contestants not timely reporting for competition, including shootoffs; or
4. if the shooter shoots at any place other than the regular firing line; or
5. if the shooter fails to shoot at his/her correct yardage in any sub-event except as permitted in Section VII. Par. A., 9.; or
6. if the shooter has failed to have his/her Average Card punched for earned yardage at a prior shoot, and fails to report earned yardage at the time of any subsequent registration; or
7. If the shooter behaves in an other than sportsman-like manner, such as physical abuse, verbal abuse or threats of any type directed to shoot personnel, other competitors, or any other person, whether on or off the shooting line, if such conduct occurs on gun club grounds and during any day when ATA registered trapshooting takes place, but only up until the time that all ATA responsibilities have expired, i.e. from the end of the last event and/or shootoffs for the day, until the next event starts the following day. Any un-sportsman like activities that occur during said times will be the responsibility of the state/provincial association, gun club or local law enforcement; or
8. if the shooter interferes with the Management’s procedures in conducting the shoot; or
9. if the shooter does not respond and report to the firing line in a timely manner when his/her squad is called to shoot; or
10. if the shooter does not abide by the Rules of the ATA, by the Rules set out by Management, and/or in the official program (read on shootata.com).

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 email is [email protected].

Thanks for the opportunity to serve.

Mike Reynolds

ATA Delegate

Georgia

The 101st Georgia State Shoot is in the books. Great weather and good attendance made this one a hit. Our 2023 BOD was elected again by acclamation: Russ Wright, president; Ginger Golden, VP; Phil Graves, secretary; and Henry Birdsong will serve again as treasurer. First Alternate Delegate is Sam Lamont, and Al Kent is Second Alternate. So the planning for next year’s shoot is already underway.

Our singles champion was John Davis, who topped the field of 200 with 199, while shooting a 1931 Parker single barrel trap gun. It was older than everyone who shot the event. Handicap champion was Rory Lee. Doubles was won by Jeff Holguin. During our association meeting, the Hall of Fame Committee announced this year’s inductees, Betsy Reed and Ginger Golden. They will be inducted in September. Congratulations to both for their years of faithful service. We’d also like to thank all the volunteers who stepped up when any need arose. You know who you are.

Hope to see you all on the range soon.

Dave Hollingsworth

           ATA Delegate

Kentucky

The trapshooting season is in full swing, with many state shoots behind us and many more in the coming weeks. The Kentucky State Shoot is July 2-7 at the Central Kentucky Gun Club in Berea. The full program starts July 3, with July 2 being reserved for the Kentucky State AIM Championships. Pre-squadding is highly encouraged due to squadding limits on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I encourage you to consult the program for more information on the shoot, such as a summary of events, host hotel and much more. If you do not have a physical copy, the program can be found on kytrap.com. After the state shoot, be sure to make plans to attend the ATA Southern Zone, which will be held telephonically at Central Kentucky Gun Club July 19-21.

Since the last publication deadline, Kentucky shooters have continued to represent the state at various shoots. Kevin Polson and Martha Humphrey attended the Georgia State Shoot, both bringing hardware back to the Bluegrass State. To keep up to date on results from current shoots, check out shootscoreboard.com. Good luck to everyone competing in the coming weeks!

Jack Holland

           For ATA Delegate Dan Ryan

Mississippi

A lot of things can happen between the time words are placed on paper and the time they are read. In my former profession I worked with farmers, all farmers, but more specifically cotton farmers. I dealt with a lot of issues in real time, which to me was always easier than writing about things to come, or to prepare for in the near (or distant) future. I wrote articles for the weekly Delta Farm Press, generally five to seven days ahead of printing. I wrote articles for a couple monthly magazines and newsletters, about a month lead time. But what I really enjoyed was during the growing season, I had a radio spot distributed on many radio stations around the state. The spot was recorded about an hour before distribution to the stations for airing. Before cell phones I recorded off a landline—somewhere. After the advent and use of cell phones, I could literally be standing in problem field and record a spot, discussing it for airing within the hour. Or standing in or near a flood rain or hailstorm, describing it . . . real time to help real problems. It was, and is, very hard for me to write meaningful information well in advance of being read. When I was in grad school, a professor told me, “Will, writing is hard work.” I did not know what he meant at the time, but I found out. I have great respect for “good” writers. It is not easy to do. If you don’t believe me, try writing something meaningful, on demand and do it again and again. It may have been that same professor who told me, “Paper will lay there and let you write anything you want to on it.” That is something you probably are beginning to believe if you read anything I write.

As I write, we are just coming off our state shoot. The weather was great, even though it was beginning to deliver a small example of what Mississippi heat and humidity can feel like. Shoot attendance was good, considering we had numerous shooters who have attended in the past either have family conflicts or attend a different shoot, thus numbers were down a little from last year. The Mississippi State Shoot has been contested over Memorial Day weekend for well over 40 years and will continue to be so. Thank you to all those who attended, and we hope to see you again next year.

Congratulations to all our state and non-resident champions and winners! Complete results can be found at https://shootscoreboard.com/menu.cfm?shootid=1674.

The next large shoot for our Mississippi shooters will be the ATA Southern Zone. The Southern Zone will be contested July 19-21. Coast Rifle & Pistol Club, Biloxi, will again be a satellite host site. Let’s get ready to support the good people and outstanding facilities there.

These dates do not conflict with the Arkansas State Shoot, which I had previously thought.

The 2024 Grand American will be July 31-Aug. 10. I hope to see you there! Mississippi has had great participation from our registered shooters, and I am in hope we will this year as well.

I will repeat some of my summertime heat advisory—if the Mississippi State Shoot was any indication of weather to come—it may be another hot-humid Mississippi summer (I hope not, but I have lived here all my life, and it always is hot and humid in summer). As you are getting out to shoot in the heat, remember to stay hydrated. Proper hydration does not begin the morning of a shoot, but a couple days ahead of the shoot. Drink plenty of water and utilize liquids that will restore and supply electrolytes to your body. Do a little research, and you will find several alternatives that are high in electrolytes and low sugar. Regardless of what you choose, drink plenty of liquids, wear sunscreen and proper attire for the conditions. Keep your eyes on yourself and fellow shooters for signs of heat exhaustion to include headache or nausea; weakness or dizziness; heavy sweating or hot, dry skin; elevated body temperature; thirst; and decreased urine output. If you experience such signs: give cool water to drink; remove unnecessary clothing; move to the shade or a cooler area; cool with water, ice or a fan; do not leave alone; and seek medical care (if needed). Let’s take care of ourselves and each other.

Upcoming Mississippi shoots: Follow this link https://shootata.com/Shoots-Clubs-States-Zones/stateID/MS to look at upcoming Mississippi shoots. Capitol Gun Club, Coast Rifle & Pistol Club and Starkville Gun Club have monthly shoots set, as usual. Whitetail Ridge is getting back into hosting shoots, so keep your eyes open for that. Let’s all try to get out and support these clubs.

Remember, “it’s just a trapshoot.” Don’t overanalyze and overthink it, just enjoy our sport. Everyone be safe, and I look forward to seeing you on the trapline.

Will McCarty

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

Hello from the Palmetto State!

It is an honor to be able to recognize one of our South Carolina shooters who has achieved a milestone in trapshooting by shooting 250,000 combined targets in singles, handicap and doubles—Richard (Dickey) Pigg. He achieved this milestone at the 2024 South Carolina State Shoot at the North Carolina Homegrounds. Dickey began trapshooting in 1989, along with his twin brother Donnie, and continues to support the SCTA and trapshooting. He is not only a South Carolina shooter but has given of his time to the SCTA board, beginning in 1993 as a lowstate director and his last position on the board in 2017 as our ATA Alternate Delegate. Dickey had the honor of being congratulated by Billy Cook, ATA President, for his terrific shooting achievement. We are all proud of Dickey and his accomplishment!

South Carolina shooters have been on the move, and 20 shooters attended the Georgia State Shoot April 25-28 at the South River Gun Club. South Carolina shooters earning trophies include Neil Alexander, Phil Bagwell, Terri Campbell, Thomas Campbell, Steve Conley, Kenny Inman, John Pendergast and Shawn Speakman. Justin Royal of Georgia won this year’s GA/SC Handicap Challenge belt buckle with a combined score of 190. Shooters from SC and GA must shoot both state Handicap Championships to be eligible. The belt buckle was donated by Delegates Jim Faber (SC) and Dave Hollingsworth (GA). Watch out Georgia shooters; our South Carolina shooters are going to be looking to take the buckle back in 2025.

This summer, if you are traveling to the upstate of South Carolina and would like to shoot trap, please consider these clubs: Greenville Gun Club and Spartanburg Gun Club. If you are traveling to the lowstate of South Carolina, please consider Mid Carolina Gun Club (Orangeburg), Palmetto Shooting Complex (Edgefield) and Partridge Creek Gun Club (Ridgeville, near Charleston). These clubs are private, but they throw registered ATA shoots. Upcoming ATA shoots can be found in Trap & Field Magazine or on their websites.

Hope you are all getting ready for a busy summer shooting trap. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Hope to see you soon at a trapshoot.

Teresa Knight

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

The last three state shoots and the ATA Southern Zone Shoot are in July, plus the Grand American begins in July.

The Kentucky AIM shoot is Tuesday, July 2 followed by the state shoot July 3-7 at Central Kentucky Gun Club, Berea.

Virginia State Shoot is July 3-7 at Winchester Gun Club, Stephenson.

West Virginia State Shoot is July 10-14 at Winchester Gun Club, Stephenson, VA.

The ATA Southern Zone is July 19-21 at Central Ketncuky Gun Club, Berea; Coast Rifle & Pistol Club, Biloxi, MS; and Silver Dollar SC, Odessa, FL.

AIM National Championship is July 25-29 at WSRC, Sparta, IL, followed by the 125th Grand American Trapshoot July 31-Aug. 10 at World Shooting & Recreational Complex, Sparta, IL.

Thirteen Tennessee shooters attended the recent Georgia State Shoot at Conyers. Those winning trophies were Clint Parson, Robert Morton, Tyler Honnold, Gabe Johnson, Kaylee Dubois and Grant Miller.

Read the rulebook, please.

For more info, check out our website at shootatatn.com. You can reach me at [email protected].

Billy Cook

ATA President

Louisiana

Our Louisiana State Shoot was held May 2-5 at the Toby Bancroft Memorial Gun Club in West Monroe, LA. It was the 100th Anniversary of our state shoot. The ATA provided a very nice plaque commemorating this milestone.

Based upon the shooters who pre-squadded, we were anticipating a record number of participants. But Mother Nature intervened, as it often does here, with a good supply of rain, which reduced our numbers somewhat. Our Thursday open day started off with our first event, singles, in a heavy rain. It never ceases to amaze me how the shot pattern can be seen in a heavy rain like this. It’s fun to explain what is happening to shooters who haven’t experienced it before. As the day moved on, the rain stopped, the open handicap was shot under cloudy skies, and the open doubles was shot under a sunny sky. It’s not unusual for us to get a rainy day during our state shoot. But we were treated to a second rainy event on Friday morning. Our preliminary doubles event was shot in a steadily increasing rain until we had to stop for a lightning delay. The doubles was resumed, but the LTA board had to meet and decide to shorten the two other preliminary events—handicap and singles—from 100 targets to 50 targets each in order to complete those events during daylight hours. As the day before, the ’caps and singles were shot in pretty weather. Thankfully, the weather cooperated, and the championship singles event was shot in the dry. On Sunday the rain lightly returned for the championship doubles with the championship handicap shot in nice weather. All the participants enjoyed a catfish/chicken dinner Saturday evening provided by the LTA/TBMGC.

To celebrate our 100th Anniversary, the LTA provided engraved Henry “Golden Boy” rifles to both the resident and non-resident winners in the three championship events. For the Singles Championship, the resident champion was Thomas Smith IV, who is one of our outstanding junior gold shooters and from a long line of Louisiana trapshooters, with a 199. The non-resident singles winner was Tex Hollis of Mississippi with a perfect 200, which was his very first 200 straight. Resident championship doubles was won by Eli Norman, junior gold, with 91. Eli hasn’t been shooting much recently and just swooped in and knocked off the crowd. Non-resident doubles was won by Caleb Coody of Arkansas, who is one of our regular shooters and was shooting well in all events but had to win a three-way shootoff with Billy Pierce and Tex Hollis, all with 96s. Championship handicap was won by resident Ed Gunter with 94 in a win that was an outstanding performance by this senior vet. Non-resident handicap victor was Brett Blackburn of Arkansas with 95. Resident HOA and HAA were worn by Thomas Smith IV with 827×900 and 373×400, respectively. Non-resident HOA and HAA were won by Jordan Ziercher, junior gold, of Missouri with 857 and Grayson Stout, sub-junior, of Arkansas with 383, respectively. See all scores and winners at www.latrap.org. Click on the State Shoot tab.

Several firsts were shot during the shoot as follows: Tex Hollis, 200 straight; Gus McAnelly, 75 straight; Cole Maestrini, 50 straight; Kevin Fuller, 25 straight; and Brooks Barnett, 25 straight.

The LTA is very appreciative of all our Louisiana shooters who participate as well as those from out of state who provide about 50% of our shooters. The out-of-state shooters range from far and wide from Nevada to North Dakota to Illinois to Georgia and Florida. Of course we have our regulars who attend from Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Moving to the next Saturday, May 11, Mill Creek Gun Club had their first shoot in 2024 with 21 participants. The weather could not have been nicer, and lunch was a very good chicken spaghetti. The singles winner was Eli Saucer. Can you believe this? Eli had his first 50, 75 and 100 straight in the same event. Way to go, Eli!

He was followed by Thomas Smith IV with 98. Handicap was won by Cole Maestrini with 97, netting him a one-yard punch, followed by James Nivens and Caleb Ezernack with 92s. Doubles was won by Thomas Smith IV with 94 followed by Dave Crawford with 93. HOA was Smith with 280 followed by Caleb Ezernack with 273.

The Louisiana AIM State Shoot was held May 18 at TBMGC. Twenty-four of our young shooters participated. In singles Smith continued his good shooting and was junior gold champ with 100. Luke Maestrini was junior champ with 97. Maddox Schulte was sub-junior champ with 89, and Brooks Barnett was pre-sub champ with 90. In handicap Smith was junior gold champ with 94, Martin Cooper was junior champ with 95 and received a half-yard punch. Maddox Schulte was sub-junior champ with 85, and Coran Richmond was pre-sub champ with 85. In doubles Smith continued his winning ways and was junior gold champ with 93, Luke Maestrini was junior champ with 88, Maddox Schulte also continued his winning ways as sub-junior champ with 78, and Brooks Barnett was pre-sub champ with 83. HOA champ was Smith with 287, junior gold champ was Eli Norman with 264, junior champ was Luke Maestrini with 278, sub-junior champ was Maddox Schulte with 252, and pre-sub champ was Brooks Barnett with 251. Congratulations to all the participants and winners! See all winners and scores at www.latrap.org/_files/ugd/fef9ab_c323850699664d788f9714e13f6768a3.pdf. A nice touch was the celebratory hat shooting for all the recent firsts obtained. Also thank you to the Dumas family for providing a delicious jambalaya lunch to all the AIM parents who helped load and score, and to Amie and Steven Skipper for leading the AIM program.

As this is printed, the Grand is just around the corner. I hope you are as excited as I; my heart beats a little faster as I think about the memories and the memories to be made. I haven’t quite started checking my list, but it won’t be long. Louisiana generally has a large AIM participation and a small but dedicated group of ATA shooters for the preliminary and Grand weeks. I look forward to seeing you there.

Check out our website www.latrap.org. There’s information on registered shoots of interest to our shooters, the scores/winners of our LA shoots, and information on all the gun clubs in Louisiana that host registered shoots. Feel free to drop me a note to [email protected] if you have any news or comments that you would like highlighted.

Jim Jenkins

ATA Delegate

Missouri

Well, another Missouri State Shoot is in the history books. On behalf of the MTA management, staff and BOD, I would like to thank each and everyone who attended our shoot this year. I would also like to thank all those who played a part in making this shoot a success. The weather threatened off and on all week with only a couple of interruptions in shooting due to lightning in the area. We were wrapping up the shootoffs on Sunday afternoon when the sky finally opened.

Saturday was a very busy day with 653 entries in the Singles Championship. Three Missouri shooters tied with 199 and took the line for shootoffs. After the dust settled, Hunter Spruill defended his title from last year. Congratulations, Hunter! On Sunday 364 shooters competed in the Doubles Championship, with Hunter Spruill posting the lone 99 in-state and claiming the doubles champ trophy. Congratulations again, Hunter! The final event of the shoot, the Missouri Handicap Championship, had 425 entries competing for the title, with Alexander Hill posting the lone 99 to take the main trophy. Congratulations, Alexander.

MTA is blessed to have our homegrounds that is set up in a foundation for youth shooting, I must believe Mr. Fienup would be proud of the work that has been done by the MTA staff and BOD to promote youth shooting. The MO AIM State Shoot was held in conjunction with the ATA state shoot again this year. A special thanks to Dave Hart (Missouri youth director) for all his work making this happen. Speaking of youth shooters, I had the distinct pleasure of punching 13-year-old Coltyn Schutte’s card to the 27-yard line after shooting a 97 from the 26-yard line during the Missouri Handicap Championship. Congrats, Colton!

I am honored once again by the members of MTA in your confidence in me to continue as your ATA Delegate. I have some new goals to obtain and have a lot of work to complete them. As I have said in the past, I am your voice to the ATA. If anyone has any concerns or anything they would like to have reported, please contact me at [email protected] or 816-863-9003.

Shoot often, shoot well and be safe!

Stephen Ricketts

           ATA Delegate

Texas

Howdy from Texas!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and doing a lot of shooting. I would like to invite everyone to the Texas State Shoot in San Antonio. Our HAA schedule has changed, and we will be shooting the championship doubles on Sunday morning instead of Friday, like we have done in the past. I hope to see you there.

A big congratulations to Joe Altom. He shot at and broke his 100,000th singles target at the Texas TTA Zone 4 shoot in Ft. Worth. He is also on the edge of reaching milestones in handicap and doubles, so stay tuned.

I guess that’s all for now; my squad is being called to the line. Be sure to visit the TTA website (shoottta.org) and see other news and upcoming events. As always, I would like to encourage you to volunteer at your local club and support youth shooters. Should you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me or one of the current TTA officers. We will be glad to help.

Thanks again for your support, and I will see you at the next one! I can be reached at [email protected].

Billy Hopson

ATA Delegate

Arizona

Last minute article here being written at the Western Satellite Grand at Vernal, UT. It looks like several Arizona shooters have made their way here to shoot at this lovely club. In attendance is Gerry Williams, Greg Spizca, Dave Landwerlen, Richard Grandinetti, Clayton Merson, Randy Storr and myself on preliminary day with several others anticipated to arrive through the week. I hope all do well! Good luck to all you Arizona shooters, and we’ll keep an eye on you guys!

Final reminder, Casa Grande Trap & Skeet will be hosting the ATA Western Zone Shoot July 19-21. This shoot will be shot in conjunction with other clubs throughout the Western Zone states and will have a Zone-wide HOA Lewis with $6,000 added money with no cost to the shooter to participate. The only requirement will be for the shooter to shoot all the HOA events to qualify. The program will be available on the ASTA website, www.arizonatraps.com, by the time of this article posting.

Those wanting RV spots, please contact Tiger Volz at the Casa Grande Trap & Skeet Club at 520-836-9926.

Good shooting, all!

Don Williamson

ATA Delegate

California

Hello, shooters. I hope the shooting season is finding all of you doing well. There have been a lot of terrific shoots taking place here on the West Coast. The shoots in Tucson, such as theAutumn Grand and the Spring Grand, have had some nice attendance from our California shooters, who have also been putting out some great scores.

Recently California had the Golden West Grand at the Livermore-Pleasanton Rod & Gun Club that takes place over five days. The shoot had some great weather, along with the club being a great facility to shoot at. I am including the HAA and HOA winners. Additional scores for the shoot can be found at ScoresR.com and in this issue.

High-all-around—winner, Chayton Vega, 385; AAA, Kyle Seever, 381; AA, Bradley Benedict, 375; A, Homer Hansen III, 369; B, Michael Ramser, 365; C, Duke Lamb, 355; D, Jacob Sappp, 341; Lady I, Brooklyn Avila, 339; Lady II, Jane Kennedy, 347; sub-junior, Tyson Marquis, 370; junior, Cory Walker, 375; junior gold, Colton Tucker, 380; veteran, Jimmy Heller, 382; senior vet, Rich Davis, 367. High-over-all—winner, Colton Tucker, 841; AAA, Brian Alquist, 829; AA, Wade Stanfill, 807; A, Brian Wills, 799; B, Ramser, 796; C, James Hopman, 743; D, Lamb, 752; Lady I, Lannette Bettanini, 692; Lady II, Kerrie Largent, 740; sub-junior, Alice Wiebe, 760; junior, Ty Harrison, 612; junior gold, Ethan Prescott, 819; veteran, Heller, 807; senior vet, Davis, 786.

This shoot has grown over the previous years and continues to be a great shoot to help grow the sport with the youth trapshooters.

The SCTP, in conjunction with the ATA, promotes and has about 75 kids per event in the championship rounds. The kids pay full price for their targets and pay all their ATA fees to get registered targets on the books for them. They bring gift baskets and have a terrific raffle that helps garner funds for the California SCTP program.

We have some great shoots still to come with the southern, central and northern zones, along with the California State Shoot in Kingsburg. This is followed up by the ATA Western Zone and the Grand American in Sparta, IL.

I hope to see you all over the state. Keep shooting and please send me information and scores for all of your shoots.

Chayton Vega

ATA Delegate

Idaho

I hope this article makes it into Trap & Field in time for publication. I’m a day or two late on submission, but I had to wait for the Idaho State Shoot to end, as usually there is always something exciting or unusual to report.

The shoot was held at the Boise Gun Club and hosted 157 shooters over the four-day tournament. Of particular note, we were privileged to have two Hall of Fame shooters, Jimmy Heller and Stuart Welton, demonstrate some of their skills. On top of that, we had three Idaho shooters who had earned honors as All-Americans last year. That was Grant Williams, Scott Abo and Bruce Bradley.

The weather (wind-wise) roared in like a lion and went out like a lamb on the last day, last event right after I finished shooting! The flag hung limp for the shootoffs, and the temperatures were very pleasant. Up until then, the winds were a little tricky this year. Generally they can be strong and obnoxious, but this year they seemed extra squirrelly, changing and swirly between every shot. Also the sun seemed to come and go with the light changing constantly. At least it didn’t rain or snow! Scores seemed a little on the low side, but the camaraderie of old friends and new friends still made the shoot fun.

The big report is about the championship winners. On the Singles Championship, only one perfect score was posted. Kelsey Wickham, 16-year-old junior out of Hagerman, smashed all 200 and is the first female to take the Idaho state Singles Championship, let alone with a perfect score. Ever. And that’s 114 years of recorded history. Having posted multiple 199 scores, this was her first 200 straight. When I asked her if she got nervous, she told me she’s had three, 199s this year, and she always missed on her third box, second hundred. “When I got past that point, I started to get a little nervous and then the last 15 shots I was really nervous.” When you watch her shoot, you’d never guess that she gets nervous. Heck, I got nervous hearing her story! Also, to her credit, she is one of the youngest females to reach the 27-yard line in ATA, accomplishing that feat at 13 years old.

Joe Pestarino of Hayden, ID, took the Doubles Championship with the lone 99. Joe’s only been shooting doubles for a couple of years, and it looks like he may be a natural!

Sean Gubbels, a junior gold, took the field with another lone 99 in the Handicap Championship. Sean is also a fairly new shooter, and we expect to see more great scores from him. Congratulation, Sean, on winning the premier event of trapshooting!

The HAA was captured by Bruce Bradley (junior) with 385×400, and Grant Williams took the HOA with 949×1,000.

The thing to note here is that three of the five big trophies were won by two juniors and a junior gold!

I guess it would be rude if I didn’t mention our visitors from other states. We had 46 shooters from out of state with the bulk being from Washington. The farthest traveled were three from Georgia and one from Wisconsin. John Duwe, senior vet from Wisconsin, has been coming to the Idaho State Shoot for years, and I enjoyed shooting with him last year at Pocatello and seeing him at the Grand American. From the Georgia group, of special note, was another notable junior. Rory Lee captured the out-of-state handicap with 95, besting 118 shooters. I’m telling you, with the way some of the juniors are shooting, it doesn’t leave a lot of hope for guys like me. Other details for out of state are as follows: Carson Schlimmer of Washington tied with Riley Rigby of Montana for the non-resident singles. I am not sure who won that one. John Mullins, also of Washington, got the doubles. Carson captured both the HAA and HOA

T&f will have the full shoot report,  or you can look up scores on SOS Clays. We’ll probably have something on the ISTA Facebook page also.

In other news in Idaho, Coeur d’ Alene had their first ATA tournament April 28 and attracted more than 50 shooters! They had shooters from Idaho, Washington and Colorado. It was windy and cool, but when isn’t it in springtime in Idaho? You can find more of the shoot results on ISTA Facebook.

There’s a lot more to talk about, but it can wait.

Best of luck shooting (especially against the juniors).

Leonard Wehking

ATA Delegate

New Zealand

The ATA Singles Cup was May 11. This shoot was our annual 200-target Singles Cup shot in two rounds of 100 with added prize money, courtesy of the NZ ATA. We ran three classes: A, B and C on two fields, 50 targets per field.

We moved the date for the shoot in May to the second Saturday to avoid conflict with the opening of duck shooting season, which is the first weekend in May. Unfortunately we still had a few members away duck shooting as well as attending other events. They missed a good shoot with outstanding weather.

We had a great day of weather after a chilly early morning with completely clear skies all day and just a very light breeze during the afternoon. The conditions really showcased the great Thames background and White Flyer targets.

Thanks again to the Thames crew for providing the grounds in their usual manicured condition. A big thanks to Grant Preston for coming in early and helping set up the fields as well as helping with target-setting. Thanks to Grant Russell and Richard Everitt for also helping with target-setting. Everyone helped with trap loading as well as clean-up at the end of the day, much appreciated.

Winners included: high gun, Grant Russell, 189; A, Grant Preston, 187; B, Rob Anderson, 183; C, Richard Everitt, 168.

The ATA would like to welcome John Ralph as a new member.

A big thanks to our sponsors: the ATA; the NZ ATA; Reloaders Supplies; Thames Clay Target Club; Target Products Falcon Ammunition; Ron Thomassen Logging; Independent Transport Parts, suppliers of the Inox & Lanox fine cleaners and lubricants; www.newzealandhuntingadventures.com; and White Flyer Targets.

Good shooting.

Paul Basten

           ATA Delegate

Utah

Sadly we have lost two more of our trapshooting friends. Jerry Batley passed away unexpectedly April 30. Jerry was a longtime member of the Spanish Fork Gun Club and served on the board several times. He also served on the state association. Jerry made many contributions to our sport. Many of us will miss his presence and contributions very much. During his shooting career, Jerry amassed just over 186,000 targets. He shot up until approximately one week before his passing.

Mark Scholes also passed away April 30. He shot 8,100 targets. The last time he shot was 2008. For those of you who didn’t know Mark, he pioneered the Utah State Trapshooting Association’s home webpage. He built an excellent foundation for the association to keep our shooters informed on what is happening in the Utah trapshooting world.

We will miss these two fine gentlemen.

Nephi Gun Club held its annual one-day shoot and had an excellent turnout. Mark Greenhalgh and his crew ran a good shoot. The flag was limp when I arrived at the club on May 4, Star Wars day (May the Fourth [Force] be with you). By noon, that flag was sticking straight out in the wind. A lovely sight, nonetheless. It could have been worse; two days later, as I looked out on my front yard, it had snowed three inches and was cold and windy. Mickey Mouse was not happy.

Helper Gun Club had a one-day shoot May 11. There was also a nice turnout here, with a little better weather. Helper received one of the Kolar raffle Gun Club Grants. Club manager Gene Wilson, Bill Fox, Kooper Pierce, John Gianini and Clayton Rasmussen helped pour a new concrete front porch and construct an awning above the new porch. It was money well spent. I am glad they put the grant to good use.

My wife Joy and I were talking about her not attending shoots. She asked, “Do people wonder why I don’t go to shoots?” I told her, “No.” Many clubs are fun to hang around at, but only if you are a shooter. She talked about the good old days and fun clubs, such as Salt Lake Gun Club, Kingsburg Gun Club in California, and a few others that made going to shoots fun for the whole family.

Some clubs still try to have fun with extracurricular activities. Sean and Stacy Hawley at Vernal Rod & Gun Club provide activities after hours. Jenny McGowan at Spanish Fork also promotes other activities. You may ask, “Why is this important?” The more “fun” a club can offer to a family, the more the family will let the shooter in the family go to shoots. Thus, we would put more targets in the air and help the local clubs and our association. The only way a club can do these activities is to have at least a two-day shoot. No one will hang around in the evening on a one-day program. Here is an example of days gone by festivities. Helper Gun Club is in the heart of coal country (my useless trivia for the month); the area has a sizable ethnic contingency of Greek and Italian shooters. These groups would sponsor pig and sheep roasts on Saturday nights. The food and camaraderie were great. Most people would stay and shoot the next day. Only some clubs try to do activities like this, but those do an excellent job attracting more shooters.

           Ed Wehking

           Past ATA President

Washington

Greetings from Washington. I just returned home from the 83rd WSTA Championships. As I was greeted by ATA Ex-Officio Ed Wehking on Wednesday afternoon, he asked if it was usually this breezy in Walla Walla. I replied, “Welcome to eastern Washington in spring!”

We had contestants from as far away as Georgia to complement the Washington contingent as well as a lot of familiar faces from Idaho and Oregon. Even though conditions were tough, everyone gave it a good go, and competition was pretty good. Wins are wins, even if the score needed to win isn’t as high as we would like. My point is, as long as targets are flying from the house and lead is in the air, there is hope.

We thank Will Johnson and Paul Downs for their service to the WSTA, as they have ended their terms as directors. Will spent two years as president and was always one of the first to rise and shine for those early morning duties on the target-setting committee. Paul has done a first-class job as secretary and has been the lead for the silent auction and is usually one of the last board members to get a rest, as he has always been out in front of the clubhouse working shootoffs. Will and Paul, you both deserve praise for your dedication and service to the sport.

Ron Moeller from Harrington and Shara Green, hailing from Wapato, have been elected as directors. They are both avid shotgunners and shoot for the love of the sport. The love of the sport has led them into positions in service to it, and it is much appreciated. Rod Hubner, Erin Bauer and Jim Pelissier added their names to the ballot and were chosen for another three-year term. Erin has spent countless hours the last few years putting the program together as well as helping anchor the trophy committee. Jim was rewarded for his choice to run again by being selected as president for 2025. He will be kept in line by his wife, Jessica, the new vice president. While we hope this arrangement doesn’t test a marriage, we know a lot of ideas will be tossed around at the dinner table. We are glad to have all you on board for 2025.

As we thank program sponsors, host club management and those who pitch in to help wherever they can during our four-day shoot, let us not forget some very important folks. We need to give a standing ovation to you, the shooters. Trapshooters are what this is all about. You “suit up and show up” even when conditions are less than ideal. You spend time reloading, practicing and working extra hours to get some time off, in order to make it to the Washington State Shoot. You are who this is for. You give it your very best. Sometimes averages get busted, but you always call for the next bird and take a crack at it. No matter what the results are, camaraderie prevails, new friendships are made, and the spirit of competition remains. You encourage and congratulate the new shooter for first-time accomplishments and applaud those next to you. Thank you for your attendance and support of trapshooting.

Lastly we were recently saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of Bill and Nyla Johnson. A few of us heard the news of their passing as we were arriving at the Spangle Gun Club for their April registered shoot. Somber is the only word to describe the atmosphere in the clubhouse on the morning of April 27. Bill and Nyla are WSTA Hall of Fame members and were stalwart supporters of our game. There aren’t many of us who haven’t stood at the rear of the Best Buy Shooting Supply truck at an event having them supply us with shells and components to keep us going for the next tournament on our schedule. Personally I can’t find enough words to express my gratitude for their advice and knowledge over the last 26 years. They will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to their sons, Will and Tim, formidable trapshooters as well. The family is in our thoughts at this difficult time.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

WSTA Director