Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.

To all gun club managers, if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to start planning for the upcoming trapshooting season. To register your ATA shoot dates, submit an ATA Registered Shoot Application to the Atlantic Provinces secretary, Janaya Nickerson, for approval. The application is available on www.shootata.com.

If you’re considering attending a regional Canadian or the national shoot, here are some shoots to consider.

The Canadian Trapshooting Championships will be held at the Hamilton Gun Club located near Stoney Creek, ON, June 26-29. A warm-up shoot is tentatively planned for June 25. Visit shootcanada.ca for complete shoot details.

The Ontario ATA Provincial Shoot starts two days after the Canadian Championships on July 1 and runs to July 6 at the St. Thomas Gun Club, located near London, ON. Hamilton and London are about 150km apart so not much extra travel is needed to attend both if you have the time and are interested in shooting at two of the top facilities in Canada.

The St. Thomas Gun Club will also be one of the venues for the ATA Eastern Zone Shoot, which is being held in a satellite shoot format this year July 17-20. The other host club is the PSSA Homegrounds in Elysburg, PA. Visit the Ontario Provincial Trapshooting Association webpage (ontariotrap.com) for more information on their shoots.

The Québec ATA Provincial Shoot is scheduled for July 25-27 at the Club de Tir de Valleyfield located near Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, QU. Visit the Québec Provincial Trapshooting Association at atvq.com for shoot details.

And to wrap up the 2025 target year, our Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot returns to the Highland Gun Club near Yarmouth, NS, Aug. 28-31. A warm-up shoot will also be held Aug. 27. Stay tuned to the Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association webpage for more details.

Dates for the ATA Grand, the Satellite Grands, and the Zone Shoots are available on www.shootata.com and in Shoot Directory. Those shoots have been some of my most memorable stateside—especially the 2013 Grand. Unfortunately the current exchange rate of 40% makes it much more expensive for Canadians to attend shoots in the U.S. However, if you are able to attend a shoot stateside, you need to apply for your ATF Form 6 NIA. The form has been updated, so make sure you submit the latest version.

Good luck in 2025.

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

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

New York

Hello from New York. I hope everyone is doing well. I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and a happy New Year. I know that I did.

I am sorry to say that New York has lost another shooter, and I have lost a good friend. Joe Benoit of Rome passed away Oct. 21 at the age of 79. Joe began registering targets in 1974. During his career, he registered 253,700 singles, 175,500 handicap and 158,850 doubles targets. Joe was a member of the prestigious 500,000 registered target club of the ATA. He was standing on the 25-yard line. He was also a past member of the board of directors of the New York State ATA. Joe always had a smile on his face and loved to kid everyone. I shot many times with him at the Grand American when it was held in Vandalia, OH. Joe’s wife Nancy is also a good friend, and she is a member of the New York State ATA Hall of Fame. The board of directors of the New York State ATA wish to express our deepest sympathies to Nancy and Joe’s entire family on his passing. He will be missed by all of us.

Congratulations to New York State ATA eastern zone Vice President Sal Schiavo for running his first 100 straight in singles on Oct. 13 at Mt. Pleasant Sportsman’s Club. Good going, Sal, and nice shooting.

The high averages and the New York State Teams were announced for the 2024 target year. Dan Fadden was the high singles shooter with a .9844 average. Jenna Euscher was the high ladies’ singles shooter with .9718. Andrew Goodwin was the high handicap shooter with .9038. Finally Josh Buchiere was the high doubles shooter with .9257. Congratulations, everyone, and well done.

The High Average Teams include: Men’s first—Dan Fadden, .9262; James Flint, .9169; Chad Landon, .9070; Josh Buchiere, .9005; Gary Hoysradt, .8985. Men’s second—Edwin Johnson, .8952; David McMasters, .8946; Thomas Walter Jr., .8938; Mark Johnson, .8935; Vincent Barranco, .8902. Men’s third (honorable mention)—Dennis Bobbette, .8889; Martin Gawron, .8840; Brian Luther, .8828; Joe Regan, .8684; Kenneth Woodworth, .8656. Women’s—Heidi Womer, .9020; Jenna Euscher, .8850; Tammy Wildenstein, .8519; Becki Reitz, .8412; Debbie Lineman, .8274. Sub-junior/junior—Andrew Goodwin, .8840; Alex Tucker, .8755. Veteran/senior veteran first—Bob Edwards, .9257; Urban Womer, .9219; Dave Cichelli, .8960; Don Alderson, .8937; Keith Miranda, .8918. Veteran/senior veteran second—William Wallis, .8778; Michael Waschitz, .8834; Joe Morsch, .8501; Randy Lineman, .8467; Jim Woodhams, .8447.

Congratulations to all team members on a job well done. Continued success with your fine shooting.

Please stay safe and warm during the winter season. Please drive carefully when driving on the winter roads.

If you are traveling down south or out west for the winter season, please proceed carefully and safely. Enjoy yourself.

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

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

When this article appears in Trap & Field Magazine, it will be a new calendar year (the target year started on Sept. 1, 2024). Winter leagues are midseason, and I want to remind our shooters and clubs that for a one-time fee, all league targets can be registered at the end of the league. These targets don’t impact on your average but only on adding to your overall target attainment. I estimate that only 10 to 15% of league shooters shoot ATA registered targets. It would be nice to get more target shooters engaged.

When I take a cross-section of our Ontario shooters, the vast majority are category shooters, and there are predominantly senior vets, vets and sub-vets followed by ladies (I and II) and finally a few are in one of the junior categories (junior gold, junior, sub-junior). There are an increasing number of our shooters who are retired from their jobs/careers. Trapshooting is a large part of their lives, and this keeps them active, mentally alert and focused—especially those who have a competitive spirit. These recreational trapshooters enjoy the sport but resist registering their targets because they see no personal benefit. We continue to welcome them into the ranks of registered trapshooting, but they need personal motivation.

And now I come to the challenge of exercise. Everybody, especially retirees, need regular exercise. It is amazing how muscle atrophy can set in when muscles are not regularly used. During the intensive shooting season when you shoot several times a week and especially when you shoot tournaments of 200 to 300 targets per day, the muscle tone eventually comes back, but it may take a while, and scores suffer in the interim. That is why many trapshooters, especially older ones, join exercise clubs, gyms, walk dogs, etc. Even walking helps a lot.

Personally I used to be very active in sports—soccer, hockey, baseball, fishing, hunting, and the list goes on. COVID changed things for many, including myself. It became difficult to play sports because of distance separation, etc. so I spent almost all of my time working (as a lawyer). A sedentary lifestyle became a problem and makes it increasingly difficult to re-engage in active exercise.

So I am trying to walk several times a week, and my Australian Sheppard, Lexie, is my eager trail companion. The walking trails in and around Collingwood are spectacular. For me, it helps if I have an understanding of the amazing things that nature has provided, which most (including me) would simply take for granted or not pay any attention to. I have included two photographs that I recently took while walking on one of the trails. The first photograph is what looks like a large boulder, which meant very little to me until a nearby sign explained what it was all about. I never knew much about glacial debris, but this boulder is what is called a “glacial erratic”. Eighty thousand years ago, glacial ice covered what we now know as Canada and as far down as New York City and Boston. Then it started to melt and left large quantities of boulders, sand, rock and cobble (glacial till). The melting water formed the basis of the Great Lakes. Many of you in Ontario, other provinces and in the northern states may already be aware of this phenomenon. I sent this information to my son Drew, who lives in Calgary, AB. He regularly practices trap at the Calgary Gun Club, which is minutes away from Okotoks, AB, where there is a huge glacial erratic “Big Rock”. Garry Hill, longtime member of our ATA Central Handicap Committee, lives in Okotoks.

In trapshooting one fundamental principle is to stay focused and be cognizant of surroundings (direction of wind, distractions, etc.). I guess the same principle can be applied to walking, running and bicycling as well.

Get lots of off-season exercise, so you can be better prepared for the start of the competitive trapshooting season.

Paul Shaw

ATA Delegate

Pennsylvania

Happy New Year! Even though we are at the beginning of the 2025 calendar year, the target year is already a third of the way completed. I’d like to start the year off with recognizing our 22 members of the ATA All-American Team. Leading our Pennsylvania shotgunners were Deborah Ohye-Neilson, captain of the Lady II team (26th time as a team captain) and Ian Darroch, finishing third overall on the open team. Our first team members include Nicole Hood, Lady I; Marcy Plunkett, Lady II; Tucker Nystrom, sub-junior; Joseph Breck IV, junior; and Sheldon Hostetter, senior vet. Second team members are Chris Vendel and Brandon Deal, open; Bethany Breighner, Katelynn Decker, Caitline Bonser and Clare Schaffer, Lady I; Donna Natcher, Lady II; Leonidas Neifert, sub-junior; Brandon Hood, junior; Eugene Leoni Jr., sub-veteran; and Kenneth Darroch, Frank Pascoe, Richard Milbert, William Natcher and Steven Miller, senior vet. Congratulations to all for an outstanding and consistent year.

Our Pennsylvania State Teams have been finalized as well, with Ian Darroch holding down the high combined average in the state with a .9703 composite average, leading to his being named captain of the open team. Ian also had the high men’s averages in handicap with .9514 and doubles with .9678. Singles machine, Brandon Deal, led the state with a .9928 singles average. Ladies’ high average winners were Deborah Ohye-Neilson with .9809 in singles, Katelynn Decker with .8926 in handicap, and Nicole Hood with .9419 in doubles. Deborah also had the high composite average of .9307 to claim the ladies’ team captain title. Captains of our other teams were Joseph Breck IV, .9272, junior/sub-junior; Ken Darroch, .9318, veteran; and Sheldon Hostetter, .9169, senior vet. Congratulations to all of our high average leaders, team captains and team members. To see the full list of State Team members, visit the PSSA website at www.pssashotgunning.org.

Target numbers have been released by the ATA for all clubs for the 2024 target year. There were 721 clubs in the U.S. that registered targets during 2024, and the PSSA finished with the third highest total with 1,943,400 registered targets thrown. Only the World Shooting and Recreational Complex and the Cardinal Center threw more targets. As a state, Pennsylvania had 54 clubs registering targets with a total of 3,439,375. Only three states had more than three million targets, with the other two being Illinois and Ohio. Of our 54 clubs, we had eight clubs throwing more than 50,000 targets and two more than 100,000. Leading the number of targets thrown was Bradford Gun Club with 165,450, while North End Rod & Gun Club ended with 110,425. The other clubs with over 50,000 were Valley Gun & Country Club, 83,700; North Side Sportsmens Association, 80,300; Greater Jackson Township Sportsmens Association, 77,900; Bedford County Sportsmens Club, 72,300; Ruffsdale Gun Club, 54,600; and Glen Rock Shooting Club, 52,200. Congratulations to all of the above clubs as well as all of the clubs and volunteers who turn out every week to support our target shooting at all of our clubs in the state. I’ve been to several clubs in the state this past year, and the teamwork from all of the members and volunteers has been a tremendous attribute in making all of our clubs successful. The endeavors of these volunteers stretch much farther than just the shoots themselves, as they range from ground and building maintenance, non-registered shoots, leagues, practice, social activities, kitchens and so much more. I personally appreciate all of the efforts put forth from so many and the welcoming atmospheres at all of the clubs I had the opportunity to visit this past year. Hopefully I’ll be able to visit even more in 2025.

Some changes will be taking place at the PSSA this coming year in regards to shoot dates. This will be the lineup for PSSA shoots in 2025: Keystone Open, May 16-18; Colonial Classic/Pennsylvania State Shoot, June 7-15; Pennsylvania Grand, July 4-6; ATA Eastern Zone, July 17-20; PSSA Summer Championships, Aug. 15-17; and Westy Hogans, Sept. 19-21.

The Westy Hogans will be a trial shoot in September, as everyone is aware of the labor situation that is present after the beginning of the school year. We have had several shooters indicate that they are willing to score a few rounds and/or load traps in order to have the Westy back in September. We will be relying on that willingness to have the shoot in September. If we have enough willingness, the idea is that help should not be required for more than three to five rounds per event. Again, this will be a trial as to whether we keep it in September for future years. More details will be posted on the PSSA website.

There are several other activities that will be taking place during the shoots and prior to shoots that are still in development. As those items come to fruition, updates will also be posted on the PSSA website.

Finally I would like to recognize Brian Zick of Hallstead on two milestone accomplishments. At the end of September, Brian made the 27-yard line while shooting at Silver Lake. The following week, while shooting at his home club of Hallstead-Great Bend, Brian attained his 25,000th registered handicap target. Congratulations, Brian, and best of luck on your next 25,000.

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate

Alabama

Happy New Year!

In the South, trapshooting has slowed down for the winter months. There are still shoots going on at some of the local clubs, so if you can, please support them. Also now is a good time to do some maintenance work, if needed, on your shotgun, shooting bag, glasses, etc.

Mark your calendar for the Southern Grand at the Silver Dollar March 9-16.

Joke of the month: A man was sitting on a bench outside a department store waiting for his wife. As he sat there, he was looking at a picture of a car on his phone, and he was crying.

When his wife came out of the store, she walked up to him, looked at him and asked, “Why are you crying?”

He showed her the phone and asked, “Do you remember this car?” She replied, “Yes, I do.”

He then asked her, “Do you remember the night your father, the judge, caught us in the backseat of the car?”

With a slight grin, she replied, “Yes.”

He then asked, ”Do you remember when he stuck that double barrel shotgun in the back window and pressed it against my head and said, “Boy, you’ve got two choices, you can marry my daughter, or you can go to prison for 20 years!”

Confused, she looked at him and said, “Yes, I do, but why are you crying?”

He replied, “I would have gotten out of prison today!”

Word of the month: Everwhichaways: To be scattered in all directions. “You should have been there when the train hit that chicken truck. Them chickens flew everywhichaways.”

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!

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 27-yard line status. If you achieve any of these feats, please let me know. I can’t give you proper props if I don’t know.

The shooting season is upon us. We just completed National Trapshooting Day (and month), Cancer shoots (Shoot for the Cure and Cancer fundraiser for the Advent Health Care Foundation) and the FTA Fall Championship (see shootscoreboard.com for results). And survived two major hurricanes! All of the above shoots outperformed last year’s shoots in attendance and money raised. I have never seen such unity between fellow shooters. The FTA completed their summer singles league and has started a fall handicap league. See FloridaTrap.com for winners. On that same line, Chuluota, Flagler, NAS Jax, Palatka and Volusia Gun Clubs squared off with a Gun Club League. It appears that NAS Jax is leading with five points with Volusia in second with two points. I’ll keep you posted on this one.

ATA attainment awards and honorable mentions: 27-yard recognition, Larry Crismond and Lew Carns; 100K singles, Jake Jacobs; 25K handicap, Lorrie Bumsted Valois; first 25 straight, Charlie Nelson, Victor Fluxa, Luke Garvey and Jack Scudder (Jack’s 25 was in handicap); and 100 straight, Dax DeMena, Jake Hooper and Lew Carns.

A special shout-out goes to Jack Krouskroup and Don Kerce for their recruiting efforts. Jack, among other things, is responsible for team “Flagler Fillies” (Pamela Adams, Eileen McNamee, Marian Stone, Sandy Hunsuckle and Nina Loper). Don Kerce for all of the new AIM shooters. With efforts like theirs, the future of trapshooting looks bright.

ATA Rule of the Month:

Section IV, J. 18. While not prohibited, the practice of resting the muzzle of a shotgun on a shooter’s toe is not advised and discouraged. At no time shall the muzzle of a gun be rested on a shooter’s toe or ground while the action is closed.

Mike Reynolds

ATA Delegate

Kentucky

Kentucky shooters have continued to perform well at various shoots across the country over the last month. At the Nevada State Shoot, Dwayne Wilson and Herbert Lewis shot well, winning several trophies. In the Singles Championship, Herbert Lewis carded a perfect 200, giving him non-resident AAA honors, while Dwayne Wilson’s 199 landed him the non-resident sub-veteran trophy. At the Autumn Grand, Aaron Willoughby capped off a strong week with a 96 in the Handicap Championship that earned him runnerup honors.

The dead of winter is the perfect time to plan out shoots for the upcoming target year. Once again the 2025 Kentucky State Shoot will be held July 2-6 at Central Kentucky Gun Club in Berea. More information about the state shoot can be found at kytrap.com. The 2025 Southern Zone Shoot will be July 18-20 with telephonic sites, including Central Kentucky Gun Club, Coast Rifle & Pistol Club and Silver Dollar Shooters Club. We hope to see everyone at these tournaments and many others in the coming months.

Good luck and safe travels to all in the coming weeks.

Jack Holland

ATA Delegate

Mississippi

If you look for it hard enough, there is a moral to every story. I am not a psychologist, never had a lesson, but I think you can see at least a couple of profound lessons in the following story:

There I was, sitting at the bar staring at my drink, when a large, trouble-making biker stepped up next to me. He grabbed my drink and gulped it down in one swig. “Well, whatcha gonna do about it?” he said menacingly. I burst into tears. “Come on, man,” the biker said. “I didn’t think you’d cry. I can’t stand to see a man crying.” “This is the worst day of my life,” I said. “I’m a complete failure. I was late to a meeting, and my boss fired me. When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen—and I don’t even have insurance. I left my wallet in the cab I took home. I found my wife with another man, and then my dog bit me. So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all. I bought a drink, dropped a poison capsule in it, and was sitting here watching the poison dissolve. Then you show up and drink the whole thing! But enough about me,” I said, wiping my tears. “How’s your day going?”

Look at that again, both from the biker’s standpoint and the drinker’s standpoint. I will leave you with it.

The calendar has cranked over to a new year. Wow, how fast time flies these days. It seems only a few days ago we were finishing up our state shoot, and then “pop” and we were off to the Grand and “snap, crackle” and it was Christmas. Time stands still for no one, but, boy, I sure wish it would slow down a little. We have been in the 2025 target year for four months, and now we are rolling into the 2025 calendar year. I hope everyone is staying well and registering targets as you can.

The winter months are difficult on our Mississippi shooters, the same is true for other mid-south states. While the weather may be snowier and colder in other regions, it is not wetter or wetter/colder/wetter/windier/wetter than here.

Don’t wait until the last minute to try to build targets to avoid penalty. I know the Mississippi State Shoot target count to avoid penalty will be the same as last year: 1,000 singles, 500 doubles or 1,000 handicap targets in the current and previous target years combined. We are very lenient for target numbers, and thus all shooters should make it if they get out and hustle a little. Get on out there and support your local clubs and build your target counts in the process. If you look around, there are several excellent places to shoot ATA targets in Mississippi. Capitol Gun Club in central Mississippi, Starkville Gun Club and Whitetail Ridge in northeast Mississippi and Coast Rifle and Pistol Club in south Mississippi all have monthly trapshoots set on the ATA calendar. Visit the ATA site for dates and programs.

Again I am going to remind you about equipment maintenance. Do not put off any needed adjustments, additions, repairs and/or cleaning your guns and equipment may need. Do not wait until just before important shooting events to catch up on preventative maintenance, cleaning and lubrication. Having things ready will generally result in a more harmonious outcome.

The 2025 Mississippi State Trapshoot will be May 22-25 at Capitol Gun Club, located between Jackson and Clinton. Preparation of the program has started, and shoot plans are being made. Please make plans to attend and support the shoot and the efforts of those working to put this all together.

Everyone, be safe, and I look forward to seeing you on the trapline.

Will McCarty

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

Hello from the Palmetto State!

I am once again excited to recognize shooting achievements in our South Carolina information. The first is for William (Bill) Patterson, 25,000 singles targets shot. Bill began shooting in 2016, and his home club is Horry Chapter Wildlife Action Gun Club in Galivants Ferry. Our second shooter is Trinity Morris for her shooting recognition on the 2025 AIM All-State South Carolina Junior Team High Singles Averages. Trinity’s singles average for 2024 was .9240. Trinity began shooting in 2020 and shoots primarily out of Mid-Carolina Gun Club in Orangeburg and Partridge Creek Gun Club outside of Charleston. Congratulations, Bill and Trinity, on these achievements.

Another shooter I would like to recognize for a personal achievement is Dave Vosseller, who also shoots out of Partridge Creek Gun Club. On Nov. 16, while competing at Mid-Carolina Gun Club, Dave shot his first registered 25 straight in the singles event. He then followed that accomplishment up with his first registered 25 straight in the handicap event. Congratulations, Dave, on a day of great shooting and one to certainly remember.

We had two South Carolina shooters, Garry Welch and John Pendergast, who traveled to the Dixie Trap & Gun Club in Mathews, AL, for the 2024 Fred Jensen Rebel Yell Oct. 26-27. Both shooters came back to the Palmetto State with trophies: Garry won veteran trophies for Event 2 Preliminary Handicap and events 4 and 5, combined 200 handicap targets, and John won Class C doubles in Event 3.

The South Carolina Trapshooters’ Association has announced the dates for our Hall of Fame Shoot, April 5-6 at the Greenville Gun Club, and our state shoot, April 30-May 4 at the North Carolina Homegrounds. We hope you will consider these two shoots for your shooting season, and we look forward to seeing you there.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2024-2025 shooting season, and thank you all for your support of our sport.

Hope to see you shooting soon.

Teresa Knight

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

Welcome to 2025. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

I’m proud to announce the 2025 Tennessee All State Team, based on 2024 composite averages: Robert Smith, .9631; Mitchel Loveless, .9623; Caleb Clayton, .9601; Colby Lancaster, .9535; Brady Duren, .9486; Jacob Duren, .9410; Hallie Jacobs, .9341; Richie Bolin, .9300; Clint Parson, .9241; Hunter McCoy, .9241. Categories: open, Benjamin Bradley .8580; Lady I, Mikayla Dickson, .9115; Lady II, Kathryn Cooper, .7813; sub-junior, Alexander Gannon, .9271; junior first, Drew Hoekstra, .9162; junior second, Trevor Lance, .9073; junior third, Casen Stewart, .8907; junior gold first, Colton Phillips, .9395; junior gold second, Heath Whitney, .9267; sub-vet, Rick Sweeney, .9237; veteran, Mike Burnette, .9227; senior vet, Walter Kern, .9079.

Read the rulebook, please.

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

Billy Cook

ATA Ex-Officio

Louisiana

There’s not much to report on, shooting-wise, due to very small crowds and shoot rainouts.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Happy New Year to all! It’s time to start looking forward to this new year’s shoots. They’ll be starting in earnest before we know it. Get your equipment cleaned up, tuned up and ready to go.

Check out our website www.latrap.org. There’s information on registered shoots of interest to our shooters, the scores/winners of our Louisiana 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 you would like highlighted.

Jim Jenkins

ATA Delegate

Missouri

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to everyone. I hope you met or exceeded at least some of the goals you set in 2024 and now on to 2025. As I write this report, Thanksgiving is still in the rearview mirror. While we all may not agree on political issues as citizens of the United States, we have so much to be thankful for. For instance, how many countries around the world can enjoy shooting sports and hunting as we do here in the U.S.? I am also thankful for all the friends I have made around the country because of my travels related to clay target shooting, as I am sure that a lot of you have as well. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the gun club management and staff for all the hours you put in so that we, the shooters, can enjoy the sport of clay target shooting. So many of the smaller clubs are all volunteer help and receive no compensation for their hard work. Please give them a kind thank you for all they do the next time you see them.

Since I missed my report last month, I am now playing catch up. It’s that time of the year to recognize shooters who have attained some of their goals, such as making All-American Teams, the best of the best in the ATA. On behalf of the MTA Board of Directors, I want to congratulate the following Missouri shooters who were selected for the ATA All-American Teams: open first, Zachari Nannini; open second, Patrick Hopson; Lady I first, Anna Rawe; Lady I second, Hanna Hopson; sub-junior second, Grady Fallert; junior first, Andrew Herbig; junior second, Charlie Stone; junior gold first, Jordan Ziercher; junior gold second, Wyatt Newby and Ian Kutilek; sub-veteran first, David Deitch; sub-veteran second, Marvin Beumer; veteran second, Steven J. Fuller and James K. Frost; senior vet first, Gary Gooch; chairshooter, Ziggy Tkaczenko, captain.

On the state level, the results are in for the 2025 Missouri state teams. Again, on behalf of the MTA BOD, I would like to congratulate the following shooters who made the teams:

Men’s—captain Zachari Nannini, Patrick Hopson, Curtis Biggerstaff, Justin Ballantyne, Habe Darr. Ladies’—captain Hannah Hopson, Marin McKinney, Anna Rawe, Millicent LaBoube, McKenzie Albers. Sub-junior—captain Grady Fallert, Grayson Bradshaw, Levi Carden, Adrec Keeteman, Keeton Johnson. Junior—captain Thomas Burton, Andrew Herbig, Charlie Stone, Derick Gerding, Braden Elbert. Junior gold—captain Jordan Ziercher, Wyatt Newby, Ian Kutilek. Sub-vet—captain David Deitch, Marvin Beumer, Michael Brown, Richard Thompson, Steven Charles. Veteran—captain David Hull, James Frost, Steven J. Fuller, Rick Fuller, Bob Glatz. Senior vet—captain Gary Gooch, G. Runyon, Jack Morris, David Smith, Troy Ellis. Chairshooter—captain Ziggy Tkaczenko.

While registered shooting is pretty much over until next spring, there are still clubs around the state that host fun shoots, derbies or just plain old practice shooting. Now more than ever, all of these clubs need your support. Most of the clubs are throwing fewer targets each year. Let’s face it, targets in the air are what keep the doors open at these facilities. You don’t miss what you have until it’s gone. While KCTA is not gone, just shut down from the tornado damage, this year has been very difficult to get in some shooting between the registered shoots; that’s my excuse for this year, lol. While it looks like most of the hurdles may be behind KCTA, it still may be a while before the clubhouse is rebuilt and the facility once again has targets in the air. If you have not been thanked for the donations that have been made to aid in the rebuilding of the clubhouse, I personally want to extend a thank you for doing so. As I said earlier, most all gun clubs rely on the support of the shooters to stay afloat.

NKJV 1 Thessalonians 4:16—Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

If anyone has anything they would like to have reported or has any concerns, 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 had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

I want to start off by recognizing Tim Nester, who made a monetary donation to the Amarillo Gun Club. Mr. Nester has been shooting for more than 20 years and has recently begun taking lessons from Trapshooting Hall of Famer Britt Robinson. He is retired and wanted to contribute to the Amarillo Gun Club to improve the trap program and the state and zone shoots. The gun club was formed in 1905 and is now in its third location. The current location was acquired in 1954 and needs several updates. I mention him in this article because I want him to know how much everyone appreciates his donation. I also understand that he is a veteran, so thank him for his service.

I want to mention Percy Caraballo from New York. He came down to Texas and attended several shoots, including Old San Antonio Gun Club, Ft. Worth Trap and Skeet, and El Paso Trap and Skeet. From there I believe he attended the Autumn Grand, so he has been on the go. We really appreciate him coming to Texas and shooting with us, and I really enjoyed visiting with him at El Paso.

The Texas Zone II shoot held in El Paso went off smoothly. The targets were good, and the food there is some of the best you will find. Thanks to Richard Leos and everyone else at El Paso Trap and Skeet for their hard work; they never disappoint.

Texas was also well represented at the 2024 Autumn Grand with the third most attendance of any state behind Arizona and California. Congratulations to all the winners and especially to the 2024 Autumn Grand handicap champion, J. R. Long, with a 96 and also to Jake Hamm, who had his first 100 in doubles. Several other Texas shooters had strong showings. For a complete list of the winners, please visit our website listed below. Yaani-Mai Gaddy has been doing a fantastic job of keeping the website updated and recognizing everyone who won trophies.

If you have anything you would like me to mention in this article, please email me with the details, and I will do my best to include it in the next one. Be sure to visit the TTA website (shoottta.org) to 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.

Again, thanks for your support, and I will see you at the next one.

Billy Hopson

ATA Delegate

Arizona

Happy Autumn in Arizona, shooters!

November is coming to a close, and with that, we wrap up the Autumn Satellite Grand American.

As said in previous articles, the targets were changed back to the “New York” or 3/4 orange dome targets, and the scores reflected this change.

Several Arizona shooters shot great scores to include Dave Landwerlen with a 200 straight in the Preliminary Week championship singles. He was involved in a three-way tie and ended up taking sub-vet. Great shooting, Dave.

The Preliminary Week Doubles Championship had five 100 straights with seven 99s. The high Arizona shooter was Dick Goerlich with 97.

The Preliminary Handicap Championship saw Ray Stafford walk off the line with a stellar 98. Don Williamson was the high Arizona shooter with 94.

On to Championship Week. Championship week saw an average of 295.91 entries per event with 1,053 total entries for the HAA events.

The championship doubles saw Jimmy Heller high for Arizona shooters with 97, Dave Landwerlen with 96 and Alexis Fernan with 95.

Championship singles had Tim Robb winning the senior vet award with 199 and Gerry Williams a close second with 198. Goerlich and Bruce Hobbs ended up with 197s.

The championship handicap saw the wind decide to show up, and a 96 was high. Steve Stella was the top Arizona shooter with 91.

All in all, scores were up.

Some notes of accomplishments by shooters at the Autumn Grand.

First, Dan Vogel of Montana broke his 500,000th registered target at this shoot. Congratulations, Dan.

Additionally Paisley Kaiser broke her very first 25 straight. I’m sure there will be several more in her future.

I’d like to give special thanks to Bill and LeeAnn Martin for their contributions to the Autumn and Spring Grand and to trapshooting in general. Thank you, both.

Upcoming in Arizona shooting will be the Arizona Trapshooting Association Hall of Fame Shoot being held Jan. 8-12 at Ben Avery Clay Target Center. This year’s inductee will be Joe Henderson. Please come out and join us all in honoring Joe (and shoot some Arizona targets as well!)

Best wishes to all and good shooting.

Don Williamson

 ATA Delegate

Idaho

I just received a notice from the ATA. There were 59 or 60 shooters in ATA that shot more than 20,000 targets in the 2024 season. Idaho’s Scott Abo was one of them with 22,400 targets to be exact. Scott had the same accomplishment the last several years, and I believe this is his sixth time. Wow! Way to go, Scott.

Bruce Bradley hit a personal milestone also. He broke his 25,000th handicap while at the Autumn Grand in Tucson this November. Idaho had seven shooters at that tournament, with Bruce, Scott and Kent Sakamoto shooting the entire 1,100 targets for HOA qualifications. (You can see why Scott continues to pile up big numbers, as he does this at a lot of the big shoots). Butch Watson from northern Idaho only missed one event for an even 1,000 targets.

While there, Bruce also won the HAA and HOA for the junior category. Way to go, Bruce.

Well, right now it is flat cold outside. Here in Idaho, there is still a lot of shooting going on, mostly meat shoots, leagues and just having fun. But the number should really be ramping up. You should be reading this in January, and that means the Camas Prairie league is underway. There are usually more than 800 participants every weekend for 10 weeks. When the league ends, the official season begins.

Since it’s a slow part of the season, let’s talk about some rule comparisons again. Many shooters in Idaho shoot both ATA and PITA. While both organizations are nearly identical in how the sport is played, there are some slight variances in rules that can cause confusion or miscalls.

While at our state shoot in Boise, I was shooting with Waylon Klundt and several members of the Idaho ATA board. Waylon had a target that flew fine but had half of the orange paint missing. It was clearly a good target, and Waylon instinctively shot it (he broke it). He then asked what the rule was, did he have to shoot it? The ATA rule is that he didn’t have to shoot at it, but if he did, the results would be scored. We then had two more targets show up with missing paint, and the other shooters turned them down and called for a new target. In PITA it doesn’t matter what the results were. An off-colored target is deemed a “no target,” and the shooter shoots again.

Just another little nuance to pay attention to.

Stay warm for now.

Leonard Wehking

ATA Delegate

Nevada

The trapshooting season is in full swing in Nevada. As shooters in many parts of the country are putting their guns away for the winter, Nevada shooters are deep into an active shooting season.

The Nevada State Shoot just finished up. The shoot will be remembered as the largest state shoot in Nevada history, at least so far. More than 950 shooters competed in the championship days.

Over 400 trophies and 500 ounces of silver were given to winning shooters who came from 31 states and three Canadian provinces.

The Nevada State Shoot was 10 days filled with shooting events and nighttime festivities.

After shooting each day concluded, visitors enjoyed free dinners, cosmic trapshooting, charity bingo and poker tournaments, and shotgun games under the lights. Everybody seemed to be having a great time from morning until they called it a day.

More complete scores are covered in the Trap & Field article, but the HAA category winners were Richard Bullard Jr., open, 383; Antonio Casimiro, sub-junior, 343; Orion Cooper, junior, 372; Leticia Slinker, Lady I, 361; Deb Main, Lady II, 319; Merle D. Acampora, sub-vet, 358; Eli Walker, veteran, 376; Danny Talbot, senior vet, 364.

Fast on the heels of the state shoot, the November First Sunday Social Shoot provided a great way to jump back into shooting after the state shoot the previous week. Almost 30 shooters braved high winds and chilly temps to participate in the First Sunday Social Shoot on Nov. 3.

Brayden Okubo won the handicap with 43 and was punched to 25.5 yards. The winds didn’t bother veteran shooter Ken James, who let just one slip away in the singles for a 49. The weather picked up for the doubles event, but Las Vegas resident Jack Wang still banged 46 to secure the top doubles prize.

The First Sunday Social Shoot is a monthly 50-target singles, doubles and handicap event that is designed to be a low-key atmosphere where new and experienced competitors alike compete in a relaxed yet challenging environment.

The shoot has grown from 10 to 12 shooters a couple of years ago to 30 or 40 shooters competing in the first Sunday of each month at Clark County Shooting Complex. The shoot only looks to grow as more people are introduced to the event.

At this writing, several Nevada shooters are busting clays at the Autumn Grand in Tucson. Through the Preliminary Week, several Nevada shooters made their presence known.

George Carey tied for Class B singles in Event 4. Don Huston is shooting well in handicap, tying with 92 in the 19-21-yard group for Event 9, and again for senior vet with 94 in Event 12.

Always tough junior shooter, Orion Cooper, didn’t miss a beat, breaking all 100 singles while winning the junior trophy outright in Event 13.

Well-known Nevada shooter Rich Bullard won the sub-vet trophy in the Event 14 handicap with 96.

As the Autumn Grand continues, I am sure Nevada shooters will continue to collect the hardware.

The “Hero Behind the Scenes” highlighted this month is good shooter and great young man, Cameron Pink.

Cameron got his start trapshooting as a young teenager in the Silver State Clay Breakers program in Las Vegas. After success there, Cam moved on to ATA competitions, where he did well.

A four-year stint at the University of Utah, where he earned a degree in engineering, reduced his competitions somewhat, but not his enthusiasm for the shooting sports and guns in general. While shooting for the University of Utah pistol team, Cameron won first place in air pistol and sport pistol, which propelled him into the U.S. Junior Olympics.

During his university time in Salt Lake City, Cam worked practically full time at a large gun store, where he furthered his knowledge of firearm function and design. Recently Cam has combined his extensive firearms knowledge with his engineering and computer skills to design potential improvements to rifles, pistols and shotguns. His role model is the great John M. Browning. Cam can often be found studying Browning’s designs and methods. He just graduated from a certified gunsmithing course, with the goal someday designing his own line of firearms.

Cam has stayed closely in touch with Nevada trapshooting. He can often be found at shoots helping with sign-ups and cashiering and shooting at the Boulder City Gun Club. Always upbeat, shooters are glad to see him at the registration table or on the line. Ever one to jump in and help, Cam could be found at the recent Nevada State Shoot doing everything from cooking hot dogs for shooters’ lunches to helping with scoresheets and answering shooters’ questions.

A big shout-out of thanks to a fine young man and friend, Cameron Pink.

Until next time, let’s all remember, it’s a game. Have fun!

 Danny Talbot

 ATA Delegate

New Zealand

This is the shoot report for the Taupo club’s two-day shoot Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Ron Thomassen’s annual doubles shoot was on Day 1 with 100 singles and 100 handicap on Day 2.

Saturday dawned an overcast morning with no wind. The day’s sponsor was Ron Thomassen, and the program consisted of 150 pair of doubles.

The day’s winners were as follows: high gun, Roger Bidois; A, Grant Preston; A runnerup, Paul Basten; B, Ron Thomassen; B runnerup, Ben Thomassen; C, Grant Russell; C runnerup, Chris Hurring.

On Day 2, light drizzle welcomed shooters at the trap club early in the morning, but once shooting commenced the weather cleared.

Singles winners included: A, Grant Preston; A runnerup, Bidois; A third, Ron Thomassen; B, Greame Williams; B runnerup, Todd Jacobs; B third, Grant Russell; C, Yvonne Ker; C runnerup, Ollie Gair, C third, Alastair Gair; junior, Ollie Gair; ladies’, Ker.

Handicap winners were: high gun, Peter Shuttleworth; runnerup, John Harkness; third, Williams, Doug Turner, Bidois, Ben Thomassen, Ker.

A big thanks to the sponsors for the weekend: Ron Thomassen Logging, Target Products Falcon Ammunition, Laporte Targets, and Jaytod for Pilla Glasses and shooting products.

Report and photos courtesy of Ron Thomassen

Jan. 17-19 will see the New Zealand ATA Provinical Championships being held at the Taupo Trap Club with 700 targets over three days and approximately $10,000 in prizes and added money on offer.

Ron Thomassen and Roger Bidois, with their generosity and hard work regaining the participation of the ATA membership as well as encouraging new members, have done an outstanding job reviving the ATA shoots at the Taupo club, which were just about flat on their back. The shoots they are running for a small population base would make any state proud.

Paul Basten

ATA Delegate

Utah

It’s hard to believe another year is coming to a close. The good part is that Santa will soon be here and hopefully bring some helpful trapshooting accessories, such as clothes, shells, guns and other paraphernalia.

I just returned home from Tucson after attending the Autumn Grand. Attendance was down a little; the weather was pleasant for the most part. A little breezy at times. By my count, Utah had 23 shooters in attendance. Of those attending from Utah, several did quite well, earning trophies. Sean Hawley brought home the most. During the Preliminary Week, he won back-to-back singles events, long-yardage events, and a couple of doubles events, leading to winning the preliminary high-all-around and high-over-all.

During the primary week, he also finished runnerup in doubles and AAA in singles and won the high-all-around. Excellent job, Sean.

Other notable winners included Grayson Stuart, Kooper Freston, Randy Freston, Pam Wright, Britt Dalton, Jerri Harwell and Scott Syme. I’m sorry if I missed anyone.

I would now like to focus on my experience switching guns and having one custom-built for me. Although I have been a Perazzi man for the bulk of my career, I did start off with a Browning BT-99, as so many people do.

My shooting has tanked recently. I am sure it has nothing to do with my age and changing vision. Like many shooters, I felt that if I made a change, I would miraculously get off of top-dead-center, so to speak, and start shooting better.

To begin my quest, I called Jeff Mainland, owner of Kolar Arms, in late June. I asked him if he would like to build me a custom gun. He said, “Of course.” I told him I liked the pistol grip on my Perazzi and asked if he could copy it. He told me he could copy the stock if I shipped him my gun. I told him I could do one better: I’d fly to Wisconsin and bring my Perazzi for him to copy. The following week, after the Utah State Shoot, I booked a flight to Milwaukee, WI. Racine, home of Kolar, is about 30 miles away. Jeff offered to pick me up at the airport, but I opted to get a rental car, so he wouldn’t be chauffeuring me to the plant and the hotel. The first stop in the plant, after a quick tour (more on this later), was the blank stock rooms. We went to four rooms; I wonder if there were more rooms. The point was that each successive room had nicer wood. After settling on a beautiful blank from room No. 4, we went to the stock-making room, and he took some measurements of my Perazzi stock. It took about 20 minutes to program the CNC machine. A CNC router or Computer Numerical Control, is a computerized router. Once all programming was complete and the blank was attached to the router, he gave me the honor of pushing the start button. The cutting bits on the router spin at a speedy speed, anywhere from 13,000 to 24,000 revolutions per minute (RPM).

While the machine was doing its thing, Jeff handed me off to Tom Hahn, one of his head guys, for a tour of the plant. I was taken to an area with a pallet full of blank receivers, which looked like metal bricks. Each brick weighed about 20 pounds. This is when I realized how much “waste” material is involved in making a gun. By the time the blank is machined into a receiver (using a metal mill), it probably only weighs five pounds. However, they can recycle the shavings from the process. Another waste area is in making the titanium choke tubes made from a solid round bar.

Then comes all the tedious work of polishing parts, fitting, bluing, and so on.

While on the tour, Jeff was sanding out the rough spots on the stock after it came off the CNC machine. He then fitted the stock to an old receiver, drilled the stock bolt hole, and added a temporary recoil pad. Here is the neat part: having a spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol and spraying the wood shows the grain of the wood and how it will look as a finished product. Water will do the same, but the alcohol evaporates quickly, thus not soaking the wood.

That evening we enjoyed dinner and talked to family and friends.

The following day we returned to the shop and spent at least two hours getting the pistol grip the way I wanted. I firmly believe that we “drive” with the hand on the pistol grip, so you had better get it the way you want. One of the tricks we used was to spray alcohol on my hand. Then I would grip the stock, remove my hand, and determine where the high and low spots were. Wet would be a high spot, and dry would be low. The goal was to get a solid wet handprint, fingers included. While in the stock-making room, Jeff introduced me to Dave Johnson, his main stock finishing guru.

We then finished up the paperwork, and for some reason, I settled on an un-single barrel combo set, as opposed to my previous top-single guns. This was me thinking that a change would be good. We decided on chokes, trigger configuration, rib height, etc. We discussed delivery dates and determined that having it around the Autumn Grand would be good. After lunch at an excellent fish sandwich place, it was off to the airport and back home.

That summer at the Grand American, Kolar Arms (Jeff and his late father, Don) was inducted into the Trapshooting Hall of Fame.

I received the gun via my local FFL on Oct. 25. The gun is gorgeous. They did a superb job on the entire gun. Dave’s stock work is top shelf. Right out of the box, I shot the gun very well (two perfect scores), but then, of course, I had to make adjustments to shoot even better. We all know what happens then.

Whether I shoot better this year or not, the way the company treated me and seeing the process was a great experience. I recommend that anyone who gets a “high-dollar gun” at least have the stock custom-built to fit them. Most guns are built for one-size-fits-all for the average person. The next time you are out and about, try to pick out an average person.

Ed Wehking

 ATA Delegate

Washington

Happy New Year! Am I the only one wondering how the last year flew by so fast? Hopefully you found shells, components or other shooting related accessories under your tree to help start off the shooting season. I should have mentioned this before the holidays, but one gift idea that I have utilized is a Trap & Field subscription for a trapshooting friend or two. Now you have an idea for next Christmas.

Twelve Washingtonians, including myself, participated in all or part of the Autumn Grand. Art Fenton, John Mullins, Betty Phipps, Paul Porter, Robert Davis, Shawn O’Connell, Barrett Snell, Joe Snell, Don Davies, Eric Sweet and Bob McLendon all represented our state at Tucson, and a trophy or two were brought home. Betty’s daughter Sara made the trip from Kansas to join us in all the fun as well. There were some complaints about it being “cold” the last couple of days with high temperatures in the low 60s. I supposed after some days in the 80s, that it did seem cold, but upon arriving back to the airport in Spokane, 60s didn’t seem that bad.

The WSTA Board of Directors had the annual fall meeting Dec. 7 in Ritzville. I am writing this a few days ahead of the meeting. We did, however, have some discussion leading up to the meeting and made the decision to move the state championships back to the traditional June dates, just after Father’s Day. A decline in youth participation while kids are still in school finishing up spring sports seasons, and lack of available labor for the host club in May were two of the deciding factors. Please look for the exact dates on the schedule at shootwsta.com and in the Official ATA Shoot Directory in every issue of T&F. Stay tuned for an announcement of the location.

Lastly, one more thing we can think about is friends we have made over the years and recently while engaged in trapshooting. In times where everyone is glued to an app on their device or making sure not to miss out on the latest on social media, it is nice to be sitting in the clubhouse between events over a meal or coffee, having a good conversation. It’s just another great thing about our sport.

After shoveling snow, don’t forget to take someone to the club for some shooting.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

WSTA Director