Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.

June and July were busy months for ATA shooters in the Atlantic Provinces. There was plenty of local ATA registered shooting, and abroad we had the Canadian Trapshooting Championships held at the Hamilton Gun Club, plus the Ontario ATA Provincial Shoot and ATA Eastern Zone Satellite Shoot at the St. Thomas Gun Club.

I somehow have found myself being involved at various levels of the organizational side of trapshooting. One of these is serving as president of the Canadian Trapshooting Association (CTA). I do enjoy my part in helping to organize Canada’s national trapshoot, but it can be overwhelming and hectic at times. Fortunately, everything was in place for this year’s shoot, and the Hamilton Gun Club ran a great tournament, thanks to the efforts of shoot chairman Dan Gris, office manager Sabina Lawson, and the club’s staff and volunteers. The CTA board of directors and provincial Delegates were also in attendance and did their part to contribute. The shoot ran June 26-29, and complete results can be found on www.shootcanada.ca.

The Ontario ATA Provincial Shoot was held at the St. Thomas Gun Club in nearby St. Thomas, ON, the week after the Canadian Championships July 2-6. It’s becoming rare for me to just be a shoot participant, and I welcomed the change of pace. I also enjoyed the relaxed 200-target days and the time spent catching up with friends. The St. Thomas Gun Club and Ontario Provincial Trapshooting Association ran an excellent shoot. It was well organized and a pleasure to attend. Winning a couple of open doubles class trophies was icing on the cake for me. Complete results are on www.ontariotrap.com and will be in Trap & Field.

Atlantic Provinces shooters represented well at both shoots. Congratulations to Troy Coldwell, 2025 Canadian singles champion, doubles open champion and HAA open champion. Janaya Nickerson won several Lady I trophies at both shoots, and Gary Nickerson and Jim Hannah shot some good handicap to place in several events at both shoots. Jim also shot his 100,000th ATA singles target at the Ontario Provincial Shoot. Congratulations, everyone.

The CTA Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held during the Canadian Trapshooting Championships. Peter Tsementzis of Ontario was inducted in the shooter category, and I had the honor of being inducted in the contributor category. It was an emotional evening for both Peter and me as we accepted the awards. Peter’s children and squadmates, Ana and Chris, did an excellent job of introducing Peter and highlighted his many wins and accomplishments both on and off the trap field. My good friend and shooting buddy, Troy Coldwell, introduced me and read from the notes that CTA Hall of Famer Dianne Wood left for him before passing away after a brief battle with cancer in December 2023. It was Dianne’s wish that I be nominated for the CTA Hall of Fame, but unfortunately Dianne was not able to complete the nomination process. Apparently, I am not known for showing my emotional side very well, but I did thank Dianne for thinking I was worthy of such an honor. I do believe she was there in spirit. Inductee bios are available in the CTA Hall of Fame section on www.shootcanada.ca.

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

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

Connecticut

Hello to all!

The summer season is at the halfway point and sure has been hot. Nonetheless, I am so pleased that you have all been getting out and hitting the line. As of Hartford this past weekend, the middle 50 is growing, growing, growing. Next shoot will be the M.D. Clark/Hat Shoot at Pahquioque, and I wonder who might win the pot. Many congratulations for so many shooting here in Connecticut locally and beyond in the Eastern Zone. You can follow the excitement with www.cttrap.com, www.shootscoreboard.com, the PSSA website and SOS Clays.

The ATA Eastern Zone took place July 17-20 and was held telephonically at the Pennsylvania State Shotgunning Association, Elysburg, PA, and St. Thomas Gun Club, St. Thomas, ON. This was the first year the Eastern Zone was shot simultaneously in two locations. To follow scores, one needed to go to ScoresR website to follow St. Thomas and the PSSA website for Pennsylvania. It went well, and I can appreciate the coordination that went into this new venture for the Eastern Zone. There was some lag time, and to be sure of your standing, it was wise to visit the main building in Pennsylvania for posted information. This was the first year, and I’m sure it will get smoother with each year. The annual Eastern Zone meeting of the Delegates took place with discussion on the possible category change in veteran. Currently, veteran is ages 65 to 70, and senior veteran is 70 and beyond. The proposal is to increase the veteran category from to 65 to 74. As of press time, this was to be voted on at the Grand American. Discussion as to where the Eastern Zone is to be held next year was tabled to the Eastern Zone Grand American meeting. Other topics included how to give back to the shooters and increase attendance.

I enjoyed attending the Grand and representing all of you. It is an honor, and I thank you for electing me as your Connecticut ATA Delegate.

Shoot well and shoot often.

Cheryll Pittera

ATA Delegate

New York

Hello from New York. I hope everyone is doing well and shooting plenty of registered targets.

I am sorry to say that New York has lost a great person, and I have lost a friend. Joshua (Josh) White passed away July 1 at the age of 38. Even though he was a Pennsylvania resident, Josh started his career in New York and just recently started shooting registered targets again. Josh started registering targets in 2001. During his career, Josh fired at 16,050 singles, 12,000 handicap and 6,100 handicap targets. He was standing on the 27-yard line. The board of directors of the New York State ATA would like to express our deepest sympathies to his wife Missy, his dad Steve, and all his family members.

The 2025 New York State Shoot is now history. A total 585 shooters participated during the championship events, making the shoot a Competition Factor 3 for All-American points. Junior Andrew Goodwin logged his first 200 straight and won the Singles Championship. Daniel Fadden posted a 98 and won the Doubles Championship in a shootoff with David Corrente. Sub-junior Allison Ackerman posted a 96 and won the Handicap Championship in a shootoff with Louis Kobielski. Daniel Fadden was the high-all-around champion with 383×400, and Michael Fox Jr. was the high-over-all winner with 954×1,000. All trophy winners can be viewed on the New York State ATA website www.nysata.com and in Trap & Field Magazine.

During the three silver bar shootoffs, provided by Greg Pink of SOS Clays, the winners were Jonathan Hannahoe, John Kirksey and Todd Hosbach. Paul Rapoli won the Pilla Glasses shootoff. Thank you to Greg Pink for providing the silver bars.

During ceremonies after the Singles Championship, Andrew Goodwin was awarded the scholarship for the Christopher Vendel Memorial Scholarship. The high average shooters, State Team members and the New York state All-Americans were introduced.

In the New York state Hall of Fame ceremony, Jim Wright and Larry Daigler were inducted.

Todd Hosbach and Dennis Bobbette remain as ATA Alternate Delegates, and I remain as Delegate.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the tournament a success.

Don’t forget the 2025 Northeastern Grand American will be held at the New York State ATA Homegrounds Sept. 3-8. All of us from the New York state ATA hope you plan to attend.

Anyone who 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 Trapshooterdavec@yahoo.com. Please stay healthy, safe and in good spirits. May God bless you all.

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

There are lots of things happening in Ontario (and elsewhere).

I begin with the first-ever satellite Zone Shoot held at the St. Thomas Gun Club in Ontario and the Pennsylvania Homegrounds in Elysburg. Alternate Delegate Lloyd Beecraft went to Pennsylvania to coordinate with people there and communicate with me in Ontario, and he also attended the Eastern Zone Delegates’ meeting. I am pleased to report that personnel at both locations coordinated things quickly, accurately and efficiently. I can’t say enough about the competent people at St. Thomas. They were a delight to work with. Christine was a computer whiz; Rachel is a chartered accountant, who works in the public sector. Billy quickly and accurately checked and logged all Ontario shoot results. The trapline moved quickly and was well organized. The shootoffs were run on a timely basis, and when compared to results in Pennsylvania, some shooters had to shoot several rounds until resolved.

We had Ken and Ian Darroch from Pennsylvania competing for the first time in Ontario, and Justin Slaters’ parents from New York also attended for the first time in Ontario.

As for entrants, I will give you the gross numbers, but if Ontario wasn’t hosting a satellite, some of our shooters and some from Quebec may have attended Pennsylvania. I estimate a discount of about 12 shooters, but there are a significant number of additional entries that helped bolster the combined participation between the two venues. Here are the Ontario participation numbers per event: Thursday singles, 59; Thursday handicap, 57; Thursday doubles, 47; Friday singles, 65; Friday handicap, 69; Friday doubles, 56; Saturday Singles Championship, 96; Sunday Doubles Championship, 72; Sunday Handicap Championship, 88.

I expect we will have an after-action report and discussion at the Grand, but from my perspective, this was an unmitigated success.

On other points, many people may remember Thomas Murphy Jr., a very talented southpaw shooter that my son Drew competed with when both were sub-juniors and beyond. Thomas is married now, I believe with a young family, and has an occupation that demands strength and hard work. I talked to his dad recently and enquired about Thomas but was told that he had had an accident. He was lighting firecrackers, the small stubby ones that you throw. He lit the fuse at the remote end, but apparently it was a fast fuse and exploded immediately. It blew his left hand off in the process. He now has no hand. I have cautioned my kids and grandkids not to play with firecrackers. I have heard recently about horrible accidents and even one fatality. Readers may want to caution your young folk as well.

I also want to caution readers about something you may already know—but I didn’t. We have a cat who is about 20 years old, skinny as a rake but with a voracious appetite. Her fur is badly matted, and my wife and I figured we would give her a warm bath with mild shampoo. The matting remained. I got some scissors to cut off the matted part. I didn’t realize that I was cutting her skin. We patched her up that night and the next day the vet stitched her up. Her skin was very thin and fragile. Our friend and fellow shooter, Bert Blackburn (a retired vet), told me to never use scissors as this problem occurs regularly. Just a heads up to readers.

Finally, after many years as Ontario Delegate, I told our OPTA (Ontario Provincial Trapshooting Association) shooters that this current year would be my last. For me, being a Delegate has been quite a journey, leading to the Eastern Zone Vice President position and the ATA Presidency (I was the COVID President). I explained to the membership that being a Delegate can be a lot of work and responsibility. I try to put an article in Trap & Field Magazine every month and try to include topics of interest, sprinkled with a little humor here and there. Hence this is the last year you will be able to read my articles. My replacement Delegate will deal with things as he or she determines appropriate.

I hope your shooting season has gone well for you.

Paul Shaw

ATA Delegate

Florida

Hello all from the most Southern, Northern state!

Florida trapshooting is about to begin winding down our shooting season. 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 contacting 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.

Last year we saw Jim Petruzzi finally get his 100,000th target, and this year Scot Lauderback crushed his 100,000th target. Good going, Scot! But those are nothing compared to Mark Zauhar getting his 200K singles. Now that’s something! Other target milestones: Jerry Bryant, 75K doubles; Criona Doorly, 25K doubles; Alberto Lopez, 25K singles; Robert Leonik, 25K doubles; Thomas Harrington, 25K handicap; Jimmie Ballard, 50K singles; Kimberly McKinney, 50K singles; Mike Cieslik, 75K singles.

The Southern Zone Shoot was July18-20, and Florida had 25 Zone trophies compared to 19 last year. Not too shabby! The women were the big winners, with Nancy Patterson and Emily Gribbin taking HOA and HAA in their categories. Below is how Florida fare in the Zone: Class Singles: AA, Mark Wade, 99; B, Alejandro Castillo, 99; Lady II, Nancy Patterson, 100. Dixie Handicap: Lady I, Roselle Gainer, 95; veteran, Charles Yero, 96; junior, Jake Hooper, 97; sub-junior, Emily Gribbin, 97. Class Doubles: D, Roselle Gainer, 91; sub-junior, Lee Royal, 90. Singles Championship: C, Pierre Gracia, 197; Lady II, Nancy Patterson, 196; sub-vet, Dan Brandreath, 200; sub-junior, Emily Gribbin, 194. Doubles Championship: Lady II, Nancy Patterson, 91; sub-junior, Lee Royal, 96. Handical Championship: sixth, Mike Reynolds, 96; Lady II, Nancy Patterson, 93; junior gold, McKenzie Bacot, 95; sub-junior, Emily Gribbin, 94. High-all-around: Lady II, Nancy Patterson, 380; sub-junior, Emily Gribbin, 377. High-over-all: Lady II, Nancy Patterson, 652; sub-junior, Emily Gribbin, 659.

Florida had 108 onsite shooters, with a couple shooting in Biloxi, MS. See the Southern Zone story in an upcoming issue for a complete list of the Florida site winners.

By the time you read this, the Grand American will all be over except for the crying. If you did not go this year or have never been, you’ve got to go. It is a spectacle. You can see all of the vendors and celebrities you have seen in magazines and be a part of it.

I have to cut the article short now. Dee Dee and I have to go pack and hit the road to Sparta. I hope you were able to say hello to Dee Dee at the Trap & Field desk.

FTA By Law: Committees

ARTICLE XIV. STANDING COMMITTEES: At the Spring meeting of the Board of Directors, the President will appoint the members for all standing committees and request volunteers to fill positions that may be open. The Secretary shall maintain a list of all members, who are appointed to each committee and will provide a copy of this list to all F.T.A. Gun Clubs for information. The following standing committees shall be appointed: (12)(24).

Section 1. Program Committee. This committee will consist of at least four (4) members and a Chairman.

This committee will assist Gun Clubs in writing and arranging their programs. The Gun Clubs in the Chain of Shoots may voluntarily present their programs to this committee for review and assistance. They will prepare the Official Program for the Florida State Trapshoot and retain at least two (2) members, who served on the Program Committee during the previous year.

Section 2. Classification Committee. This committee shall consist of the Alternate Delegate(s) and Zone.

Directors. The A.T.A. Delegate will be the Chairman, who will coordinate and manage the classification of shooters during the Florida State Trapshoot and all F.T.A. sponsored tournaments. All committee members attending these shoots must assist the A.T.A. Delegate and vote on all decisions pertaining to an appeal made by the individual shooters. The Official A.T.A. Rules and the Official Program for each shoot shall be used in making decisions that pertain to membership, residency, classification, known ability, target requirements, handicapping, penalty yardage or classes and special categories, which must be determined prior to entry into registered A.T.A. tournaments. The ruling of these F.T.A. Officials shall be final. (7)(8)

Section 3. Historian. A Historian will be appointed to keep the official record books for this Association. Records shall be kept of all Florida State Champions, Runners-up, Class and Yardage Group Champions, Special Category Champions, High Overall and High All Around Champions. The records will include the election of all Officers, Zone Directors and Delegates with their term of office. The dates and location of the Florida State Trapshoot must be part of the record with any noteworthy news clippings for the scrapbook. The names of all committee members and general information may also be part of the record.

Section 4. Contract Committee. This committee will be composed of all F.T.A. Officers. The representatives of the Gun Club in contention for a F.T.A. sponsored tournament will be encouraged to participate in the preparation of the contract, which shall be managed by this committee. If a contract is rejected by the qualified Gun Club, then the same contract will be offered to the next qualified Gun Club in rotation for the tournament. if the contract is rejected by all the Gun Clubs, then it must be revised and offered again through the same process until it is accepted by a qualified F.T.A. Gun Club. (2)(8)

Section 5. Audit Committee. The President will appoint three (3) qualified members who must be approved by the Board of Directors to audit the books of the Corporation. This committee will furnish an audit report with a financial statement, profit and loss statement and recommend any changes that could improve the financial position of the F.T.A. This audit report must be presented at the Spring meeting of the Board of Directors. (12)

Section 6. By-laws Committee. This committee will be composed of at least two (2) members and a Chairman, who will review all amendments to the F.T.A. By-laws. The F.T.A. Secretary will present the proposed amendments to the membership during the annual meeting. This committee will coordinate all reviews and revisions of the Bylaws, which must include the incorporation of amendments that are accepted by the F.T.A. Members. (8)

Mike Reynolds

ATA Delegate

Kentucky

It has been a busy month of shooting for the state of Kentucky, with both the Kentucky State and Southern Zone shoots taking place at Central Kentucky Gun Club, as well as many other tournaments in surrounding states. With the Grand American coming up in a few short days at the time of this writing, I look forward to seeing many Kentuckians atop the leaderboard in the weeks to come.

At the Kentucky State Shoot, 359 Kentuckians took the line for at least one event. In the Singles Championship, Andrew Tilford, Herbert Lewis, James Bush, Kurtis Swift, Preston Philpot and Richard Langdon all broke 200 straight, with Bush coming out on top in the shootoff. In the Doubles Championship, Preston Philpot and Jack Holland finished with 100s, with Philpot winning the shootoff. In the Handicap Championship, Ian Woods broke 99 from the back fence to earn the top spot. Preston Philpot also claimed the top HAA prize with 396, while Keith Ditto topped the HOA with 1,183.

At the Southern Zone, Kentucky shooters continued their excellent shooting. In the Singles Championship, Dan Ryan, Andrew Tilford and Robert Dyer all had perfect 200s, with Tilford winning after shootoff. In the Doubles Championship, Dan Ryan and Henry Winn both had 100s, with Winn claiming the top spot after shootoff. In the Handicap Championship, Gerard Hoots, Aiden Nace and Ryan Powell each broke 98, with Powell winning the shootoff. Robert Dyer took the top spot in HAA with 394, and Aiden Nace claimed the top spot in HOA with 683.

There has been a lot of great shooting by Kentuckians over the last month, and listing each individual would take up many pages. I would like to congratulate all who have won over the last month, especially at some of our most important tournaments. I look forward to seeing many familiar names on top at the Grand. Good luck and safe travels!

Jack Holland

For ATA Southern Zone Vice President Dan Ryan

Mississippi

Making a friend at the Grand American. The young man looked to be 12 or 13 and comfortable as we walked out to shoot our first targets of the day, 16-yard singles. He was on Post 2, ready to shoot. I was on Post 3 watching his targets, not many misses as we clocked around our posts. Next trap, he ran through 10 targets, but on his third post, a target came out broken. He shot, but “no bird” had been called. He looked toward me and said he was unsure of what to do. I told him he would have to shoot again, and as he reached into his shell pouch, his facial expression changed to an even more uncertain look. Looking at me one more time, I nodded at him in a way to say to shoot again. Afterwards, glancing his way while changing posts and noticing he had no extra shells, I knew at once what was causing his worry. Before our last post, I handed him one of my extra shells. The look of immediate relief and thanks appeared on his face, making me feel I had certainly performed my good deed for the day (old Boy Scout here).

And now for the rest of the story. Moving to the third trap, everyone was loading up with new shells, drinking water, discussing trapshooting happily or frustrated, the young shooter approached me looking up with big eyes and his hand out with a shell in it. I could have said, “Oh, I don’t need it,” but the way he was looking at me told me I needed to acknowledge his heartfelt need to reciprocate.

From then on, to the end of our event, we walked out to our posts and back side by side. When finished, he took me to meet his grandfather. We joked that the boy had made a good shot, breaking the biggest piece of the broken target. It was good knowing this grandfather and boy had a great relationship. One thing was now clear; we were friends, this young man and me.

Many good things happen on and off trap fields at the Grand and other shoots, which have nothing to do with breaking targets. Old friends met, new acquaintances made, someone helps another with a gun problem, congratulations and handshakes given, and at the end of the day, we eat ice cream and sit and talk as friends with people we don’t even know.

The Grand American has passed, and a new trap year has started. Hopefully, good memories linger about your shooting and a new trophy is sitting on your mantel.

Many thanks to the Coast Rifle and Pistol Club for hosting the Mississippi part of the Southern Zone Shoot July 18-20. They put on a great, very enjoyable shoot. I must say it was questionable for a while, as the weatherman was predicting possible tropical storm development. After working through a few rain showers Friday, the rest of the shoot was in good weather.

Fall is near, and pleasant days make for good trapshooting. The Coast Rifle and Pistol Club in Biloxi will host its Fall Classic Oct. 16-19. The Mississippi Gulf Coast offers something for everyone: beaches, many very good restaurants, casinos, history and much more. Watch for pre-squadding to open in August. Come see us; it will be another opportunity for another good shoot. More shooting opportunities are available at Capitol Gun Club in Jackson, Starkville Gun Club and White Tail Ridge in Blue Ridge. We would love to have you shoot with us.

Bill Burke

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

Hello from the Palmetto State!

The summer heat is certainly putting a damper on shooting this summer in South Carolina. I hope you are all staying hydrated as you get out and shoot in this weather.

South Carolina had three shooters attend the Kentucky State Shoot July 2-6. The shoot started off on Day 1 with a singles event with 333 shooters and 31 100s recorded. Shooter participation kept pace for all five days of the state shoot. Numbers for the championship events were: singles, 445; doubles, 307; and handicap, 367. There were 15 200s in Saturday’s singles and eight 100s in the Doubles Championship. Thanks to the Kentucky Trapshooters League, John Kern, Mike Castle, Dan Ryan and all of their directors for a great tournament. South Carolina trophy winners were Randy Knight and Teresa Knight. Randy ran his first 100 straight in doubles and followed up with two 99s in the remaining doubles events. Great shooting, Randy!

Three South Carolina shooters, Frank Ketron, Randy Knight and Teresa Knight, attended the ATA Southern Zone Shoot July 17-20, held at the Central Kentucky Gun Club. Additional sites for the Zone were Silver Dollar Shooters Club (FL) and Coast Rifle and Pistol Club (MS). Teresa Knight was a Zone champion in Lady II for doubles with a score of 95.

South Carolina clubs are continuing to host Big 50s and 300-bird events and would love for you to participate. I hope you all are enjoying the 2025 shooting season and thank you for your support of our sport.

I hope to see you shooting soon.

Teresa Knight

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

It’s trap time in Tennessee with lots of local shoots and several state shoots to attend. Our Tennessee State Shoot is behind us, but a lot of Tennessee shooters have been traveling about to shoot registered targets. The Kentucky and Indiana state shoots and the Southern Zone were all held in July, and we had many shooters from our state who traveled to each, and with some great results.

The Kentucky State Shoot started off the month, taking place July 2-6. Lots of trophies were corralled by Tennessee shooters, and we extend congrats to all who shot well enough to harvest a trophy. Here are some non-resident highlights captured by Tennessee contestants: singles, junior gold, Caleb Clayton, 200; singles, senior vet, Walter Kern, 200; doubles, non-resident winner, Tyler Honnold, 100; doubles, sub-junior, Channing Garrett, 98; doubles, junior gold, Caleb Clayton, 100; handicap, junior, Jacob Anderson, 98; handicap, junior gold, Honnold, 99; handicap, sub-vet, Richie Bolin, 97; HAA, non-resident winner, Honnold, 397.

Let’s give a shout-out to Caleb Clayton, who was non-resident HAA runnerup at the Indiana State Shoot with 393. Several other Tennesseans brought home the bacon with class and category honors . . . great job!

The ATA Southern Zone Shoot is also in the books, and a lot of Zone trophies went home with Tennessee shooters. Congratulations to all who secured a title. Here are some of the high points: singles, Lady I, Hallie Jacobs, 198; singles, veteran, Mike Burnette, 198; handicap, veteran, Matt Smelser, 98; doubles, sub-vet, Richie Bolin, 100; HOA, Lady I, Jacobs; HOA and HAA, sub-vet, Bolin.

Several other class trophies were garnered by Tennessee trapshooters. Congrats to all!

Remember, the rulebook is your friend. Please read it.

Mark Cantrell

ATA Delegate

Louisiana

Red Chute

Red Chute had three shooters show up for its June monthly on the 28th. Ed Gunter, Mike Lawler and Jim Jenkins braved the heat for singles. Lack of enthusiasm resulted in the cancellation of handicap and doubles, though.

SAU

A few of our Louisiana shooters went to Southern Arkansas University’s gun club for a one-day shoot. Those in attendance were Amie Skipper, Steven Skipper, Thomas Smith, Cole Maestrini, Luke Maestrini, Avery Dumas, Coran (Squishy) Richmond and Natalie Brooks. Thomas Smith took top honors in singles with 99. Avery Dumas crushed the field with a 97 in doubles. I haven’t had the pleasure of shooting at their club yet, but I hear it’s very nice. Hopefully, I can get there soon.

Kentucky

Thomas Smith and Steven Skipper attended the Kentucky State Shoot July 2-6.

Thomas won non-resident junior gold in the Event 1 singles with a perfect 100 after losing the carryover against 10 others for event winner. He also won out-of-state junior gold with 97 in the Event 2 handicap. He lost out-of-state junior gold, unfortunately, in a carryover with a 99 in the Doubles Class Championship. He also lost non-resident junior gold in a carryover with another perfect 100 in the Singles Class Championship.

Steven tied for non-resident C runnerup in the Event 10 Hebert D. Lewis Doubles Championship with 95 but lost in a carryover. Steven also earned his 75 straight patch while there.

Thanks, Thomas and Steven, for representing Louisiana so well against some very tough competition.

Southwestern Zone

Cole Maestrini and Thomas Smith attended the Southwestern Zone Shoot in Jacksonville, AR, competing against 479 shooters in the eight states of the Southwestern Zone.

Thomas picked up junior gold champion in the Event 5 Southwestern Zone Doubles Championship with 98.

Thomas had the second-highest HOA score in Jacksonville with 647×700, and Cole had the fifth highest with 628.

TBMGC

Toby Bancroft Memorial Gun Club held its last registered shoot of the target year July 12. Twenty-two shooters participated in TBMGC’s last shoot for this year. For singles, Caleb Coody took top honors with 99 and a coin flip with Webb Phelps. They were chased closely by Brooks Barnett with 96 and Donny Sanders with 95. Donny came out on top in handicap with 95. He was chased by Luke Maestrini and Dalton Brooks with 93s and Brooks Barnett with 92. In doubles action, Coody left the rest in the dust with 93. HOA honors went to Caleb also.

MCGC

July 19 was the date for the annual Tommy Smith Memorial 200-singles shoot in honor of Thomas Smith Jr., who was a longtime Louisiana trapshooter and the grandfather of Thomas Smith IV. Twenty shooters turned out to honor Tommy. It was nice to see several of our Arkansas and east Texas shooters join us. First event singles winner was Cole Maestrini after a three-way tie of 99s and a coin flip over Thomas Smith and Brooks Barnett. Caleb Ezernack was right behind them with 98. Second event singles winner was Thomas Smith in a two-way tie of 100s and a coin flip over Caleb Ezernack. Cole was right behind them with 98. HOA honors went to Thomas Smith with 199 followed by Ezernack with 198. There were so many firsts it was hard to get all the celebratory pictures made. These included: Caleb Ezernack, first 100; Brooks Barnett, first 50; and Stanley Ezernack, Daniel Moore and Coran (Squishy) Richmond, first 25.

July 20 saw a second shoot at MCGC with 200 doubles and 100 handicap events. For a very hot day, the turnout was pretty good with 17 shooters. Avery Dumas and Thomas Smith tied with 95s in the first doubles event, with Avery winning a coin flip. Thomas persevered in the second doubles and won with another 95 followed by Jim Jenkins with 94 and Caleb Ezernack with 91. Handicap saw a lot of good scores. Cole Maestrini shot lights out with a 98 and earned a punch. Caleb Ezernack shot a 97 and got a punch also. Right behind were Dalton Brooks and Brooks Barnett with 95s.

Well, it’s September now, and the start of a brand-new shoot year. It’s time to get all the gear needing maintenance fixed up. Don’t forget about making those gun adjustments to improve your scores. Are you ready to start planning all your trips for the year? I know I start looking ahead to which ones I wish to attend. If you’re a reloader, it’s a good time to start building up the shell inventory. For me, it’s a time to put the previous years “what was and what could have been” behind me and start looking forward to what this year can be. We’re fortunate here in Louisiana in that the weather, for the most part, allows us to shoot all winter long. That’s good and bad really. I love getting to enjoy the cooler weather, see my friends, shoot some birds together, talk football and who’s been successful in their hunting. But I really struggle with the change in the light, as it flattens as the year progresses, and I seem to dig myself a hole, average-wise, too early in the year. I have it on my list to double down and work through the light changes to keep those scores up, so I can enter the spring with good averages. Best wishes to you on your new shoot year and may you accomplish all the goals you set. Look forward to the shoots you plan to attend and really appreciate the anticipation of those coming. I enjoy the anticipation as much as the actual shoot, I think.

During our Louisiana State Shoot, someone accidentally backed into a parked pickup truck. The owner of the truck has asked if anyone has information about the incident to please contact him, as he’d like to get the driver’s insurance information. So, if you have any knowledge, please contact Warren Cardeneaux at 318-557-8849.

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 the state that host registered shoots.

Jim Jenkins

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Hopefully everyone has had a good shooting summer and are ready for the Grand. Paula and I went up to the South Dakota State Shoot this year. This was the first time for us, and we really had a good time. All of the shooters there were very friendly, and the shoot staff and management were outstanding. If you haven’t shot there, you need to put it on your bucket list. Of course Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse were just a few hours farther, so we enjoyed plenty of beautiful scenery, and the cooler temperatures were nice too.

The ATA Southwestern Zone was recently completed. Ron Bliss shot well from the very start, winning the vet trophy in the Event 1 class singles. Bliss was also vet champion in the Singles Championship. Kaden Kennedy posted a 95 to win junior in Friday’s handicap. Kennedy shot doubles very well, breaking 98 Friday and 97 in the championship event, winning junior in both. He was also A class HAA. Gavin Harbin broke 98 in the Handicap Championship for junior honors, and Billy Pierce was senior vet winner with 94. Tom Richey was chair champion in all events, including HAA. Pat Stacey had a good shoot, winning sub-vet in singles, doubles and HAA. Stacey was also HOA of the Southwestern Zone. Michael Gates attended the Colorado State Shoot and shot well, winning non-resident junior HOA and HAA. Gates and Stanley Crawford both attended the Utah State Shoot and shot very well. Clay Laughlin showed up at the Minnesota State Shoot and won out-of-state HOA and HAA. Randy Hill had a good shoot at the the Arkansas state tournament. He was non-resident sub-vet HOA and HAA. From scrolling through the winners list, he apparently brought home a trunk full of trophies. Good shooting, Randy. Corley Steward also shot well, winning B class in the Singles Championship. Bliss and Pierce were trophy winners as well.

Thirty-eight Oklahoma shooters attended the Texas State Shoot. In the Event 4 singles, Jayden and Addison Darling were both out-of-state winners of their class. Dason Harman and Corbin Grybowski posted 98s in the Event 5 handicap. Jeff McVey broke 98 for B class winner in the Lone Star Singles. In Saturday’s Singles Championship, Stacey was non-resident sub-vet with 199. Carol Brown shot well, taking home Lady II. Other Oklahomans brought home trophies in their class or category: Bliss, Cam Miller, Crawford and Shelby Skaggs. Grybowski was out-of-state runnerup with his 98 in the Doubles Championship. Rod Oyler posted the winning score for visiting senior vet, and Rickey McCauley broke the non-resident sub-vet high gun score. Other winners of class or category in the Doubles Championship were Skaggs, Hill and Stacey. Gates broke 97 in the Handicap Championship, winning third place. Shannon Sawyer was sub-junior victor. Other trophy winners in the handicap were: Rusty Colton, Miller, A. Darling, Kennedy, Hill and Crawford. Grybowski was runnerup HOA. Class or category HOA winners were Dakota Andrews, Skaggs, Stacey, and J. Darling. HAA trophy winners were: Skaggs, Stacey, Miller, Gates, Hill and Crawford. Good shooting, Oklahoma!

Congratulations to Pat Stacey on attaining 100,000 targets in both handicap and doubles. The ATA and OTSA appreciate your dedication to this sport.

Jeff Trayer

ATA Delegate

Texas

Howdy from Texas!

I hope everyone has been shooting well. As some of you noticed, there was not a July report of Texas in Trap & Field. I did submit it in time (barely), but it got lost in the shuffle and did not make it to print. There were some things in there that I wanted to report on, so the first part of this month’s article will cover those highlights.

The 2025 Multi-State Challenge took place during the last weekend in April, bringing together shooters from four states for an exciting and competitive event. Venues included Waco Skeet and Trap, Amarillo Gun Club, San Antonio Trap and Skeet, and several out-of-state locations. Congratulations to Mike Whitaker (Waco) for taking the Singles Championship with the lone 200 as well as HAA. Billy Hopson (Waco) took doubles champion with the lone 100. Cline Mangum (San Antonio) took handicap champion with 97. Wyatt Williams (Brittany Shooting Park) took HOA honors. Thanks to all who participated. I hope everyone can attend the next one. It will be held on a new date (Oct. 17-19) for the 2026 target year and will include several new participating clubs.

Ft. Worth Trap and Skeet hosted the Zone 4 Shoot in May. Attendance was good despite the windy conditions. As usual, the shoot ran smoothly, and the targets were great. Ft. Worth did an outstanding job under some difficult circumstances.

Congratulations to Ron Penix, who shot at and broke his 200,000th singles target at the Amarillo Gun Club.

Now, on to this month’s report.

We just completed our state shoot in Amarillo, and the weather was pretty mild for the Texas panhandle.

Dalton Jennings took the singles title with one of three 199s and 50 in shootoff, which caused Brady Brogdin to take runnerup and Mike Whitaker sub-vet. Out-of-state honors went to Jared Pedri (CO) after one round of shootoff, and Pat Stacey (OK) took sub-vet. Kahne Packer (NE) was runnerup.

The championship doubles title went to Cooper Jennings, who had one of the two perfect 100s. He then had a perfect shootoff round against Billy Hopson, who took sub-vet champion. The runnerup was Jake Hamm. Out-of-state doubles winner was Justin Weber of New Mexico, who posted a 98, along with Bryce Merrill (NM), Corbin Grybowski (OK) and Pat Stacey. After the shootoff, Bryce took junior gold, Corbin earned runnerup and Pat Stacey won sub-vet.

Hagen Weber was our handicap champion after posting the lone 99 from the 23-yard line. Charles Lemons took runnerup with 97. Out-of-state winner was Cooper Adair (NM) with the lone non-resident 99. Patrick Hopson (MO) earned runnerup with 97 and one round of shootoff.

Eduardo Barrera took both in-state HOA and HAA. Jennings was runnerup HOA, and Hamm was runnerup HAA. Pat Hopson claimed both out-of-state HOA and HAA, with Corbin Grybowski as HOA runnerup and Aidan Riley (NM) as runnerup HAA.

Again, congratulations to all of these shooters and to everyone else who attended. A complete list of winners can be found on our website.

Some shooting milestones that need recognition include Bridget Bearden for shooting at and breaking her 100,000th registered target at the Texas State Shoot and Billy McFarlen for shooting (and breaking) his 75,000 singles target.

Congratulations to our newly elected officers: president, J.J. Caswell; first VP, Trent Melton; second VP, Jason Johnson; and secretary, Drew Fryman. Many thanks to our outgoing officers Jeff Renegar and Clif Altom and to Randy Boeding, our outgoing secretary. They all stepped up and did a great job supporting and promoting trapshooting in Texas. Randy did a lot the last few years to greatly improve our state shoot program. Our Delegate election remained unchanged, with Billy Hopson staying as ATA Delegate, Jerry O’Connor as First Alternate Delegate and Gino Prado as Second Alternate. Thank you to everyone for your service and dedication. I’m also truly honored and grateful to have been reelected as your ATA Delegate. Your continued support means a great deal to me, and I will do my very best to represent you and fulfill my responsibilities with integrity and commitment.

Congratulations to Ron Cunning and Drew Fryman on their induction into the TTA Hall of Fame. Both individuals are incredibly deserving of this honor, and we were proud to recognize them during our awards ceremony on Friday evening. Special thanks to Amarillo Gun Club and the TTA for sponsoring such a nice event.

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 share 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’re always glad to help.

Again, thanks for your support, and I will see you at the next one. I can be reached at texasatadelegate@gmail.com.

Billy Hopson

ATA Delegate

Arizona

Happy summer, Arizona shooters!

Summertime in Arizona means either traveling to points north or to the Arizona High Country. Many Arizonans have done a bit of both.

The Western Grand held in Vernal, UT, saw several Arizona shooters in attendance. The shoot started off with Alexis Fernan and Gerry Williams both shooting 98s in the first singles. Dave Landwerlen started off taking out a “true pair” of floppy-eared venison units but did follow up with an amazing score on several doubles contests and even brought home an event win. Tim Robb, true to form, won the senior veteran HOA trophy.

The Utah State Shoot followed up a couple of weeks later with a bunch of the same folks braving the more moderate temperatures. Dave Landwerlen continued to shoot great with a 98 in the Trace Huber Handicap. Tim Robb won the non-resident senior vet trophy, and Gerry Williams took runnerup. Robb also won the HOA non-resident award.

The California State Shoot saw Alexis Fernan win the non-resident junior trophy for all three of the championship events and Jimmy Heller the non-resident HAA and HOA. One item of note was sub-junior Tavia Crum shooting her first 50 straight.

And finally, a shoot from Arizona. The Western Zone Shoot Arizona site was held at the Northern Arizona Shooting Range. In preparation for this tournament, several members of the Arizona shooting community put in a bunch of time and effort to get the equipment and the fields ready for this shoot. Thanks to Steve Bell, Scott Skaggs and the Skaggs family, Greg Spiczka, Greg Holden and others for the effort. It paid off. Targets were great, and shoot management put on a great shoot.

The Arizona stand-out shooters Zone-wide were Luke Bowers and Ryan Swayzee.

Luke took junior gold for the class singles, championship singles (with a shootoff), championship handicap, HAA and HOA. Great shooting, Luke.

Ryan Swayzee won sub-junior for the class singles, class day handicap and championship singles runnerup. Fantastic shooting, Ryan!

One item of note. Over the past few years, the Arizona Hall of Fame Shoot has been held in January. The Arizona board has decided to move this shoot to October. This means better light and better weather. Shoot dates are Oct. 1-5, and this year’s inductee is Darvin Thomas. We hope to see everyone there to honor Darvin with this award.

Don Williamson

ATA Delegate

California

The months of June and July have allowed for some great shooting in the state of California. The 112th California State Shoot took place June 25-29 at the Kingsburg Gun Club. There were 1,100 registered targets being thrown and $13,000+ in trophies. The Kingsburg Gun Club sits in the heart of the Central Valley among the fruit orchards. The Kings River runs alongside the club with tons of jet boats going up and down. There is a swim lagoon, playground and lots of bicycles riding up and down the trapline. The gun club has made numerous improvements this past year. The shot screen has been replaced and improved upon, and concrete at the trapline removed and replaced. Pathway down the trapline has been graded and paved as well as numerous other areas graded and gophers being eradicated. Kingsburg volunteers have an amazing breakfast cafeteria and lunch bar with very reasonable pricing. This year’s shoot started with some unseasonably cooler weather for the end of June. It warmed up quite a bit the last couple of days. The CGSTA plans fun events every night. There were black light fun events on two of the nights, an oscillating doubles night with fruit salad colored targets from the 25-yard line with buckles being awarded and a movie night projected on a screen outside. There was an SOS Clays Silver Shootout on Friday night after the Doubles Championship shootoff. Jimmy Heller completed a milestone 200,000 singles targets while attending this year’s state shoot. Kevin Erwin of the CGSTA board celebrated 30 years on the board and completed his second term as the CGSTA president.

Winners of the championship events included Brian Alquist, doubles; Bryan Weeks, singles; Jaxon Brennan, handicap; and Chayton Vega, HAA and HOA. [See the California State Shoot story in this issue for complete results—Ed.]

California is often looked upon as a completely non-gun state. Don’t be fooled; ATA and trapshooting are alive and well in California. The shoot is by far one of the most fun around. The weather, while warm, is a lot of fun, with the river running past. The gun club is beautiful, and everyone is very friendly. The campgrounds are shaded, and green grass abounds throughout.

The state shoot was quickly followed up with another great shoot, the Western Zone Shoot being held July 18-21. This tournament was held in two locations in California, Redlands and the Golden State Shooting Center. There are numerous other locations hosting as well in western United States. This shoot is what is known as a satellite shoot, where competitors from numerous states compete against one another, with scores being compared electronically. When there are ties, the shooters then bank targets as if they were shooting off. Those are compared electronically against the other states to determine the champion. There are generally local club awards as well. The states that participated are California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Canada and Montana.

California clubs did extremely well, picking up some Zone trophies. Golden State Shooting Center won third highest trophy count with 20 followed by Butte, MT, with 24 and Spanish Fork, UT, with 30. What is impressive about this is that GSSC had a third of the shooters compared to Butte and half the shooters compared to Spanish Fork. (You can go to shootatazone.com for a breakdown of all the winners.) This made for some great shooting and some fantastic scores.

Chayton Vega

ATA Delegate

 

Idaho

Well, as I write this, the bags are packed, the guns are cleaned, and a bunch of Idahoans are leaving for the Grand American. I’m not sure how many are going, but I’ll have the answer in my next article.

Meanwhile Idaho has been quite busy with trapshooting in general between leagues and registered shoots. Troy Deary had their annual Fourth of July Shoot, which was a three-day tournament. I did not get a report on that shoot, but they usually have a good turnout.

Boise Gun Club had a two-day shoot July 12-13. The turnout was not as good as hoped for. Heat had something to do with it, I’m sure. The maximum number of shooters was 34 entries on the last handicap. But there were a couple of neat things that happened at that shoot. Bridger Hill shot his first registered targets as a junior and shot some great scores, beating many of the experienced shooters. Kyle Arnzen shot his first ATA 100 straight in singles. He started shooting 30 years ago, then took a 24-year break. He’s now back at it and going strong. I hope he stays with it now for 24 years. He’s been a great addition supporting our sport.

I do have the results of this shoot since I was there. They are as follows: Event 1 singles: A, Kyle Arnzen, 100; B, Lahoma Turner, 97; C, Mike Strong, 86; D, Jeff Riedesel, 98; women’s, Emily Hayden, 88; veteran, Chester Carter, 97; junior, Blake McCutcheon, 96. Event 2 handicap: 19-21, Bridger Hill, 91; 22-25, Arnzen, 89; 26-27, Kelsey Wickham, 95; women’s, Turner, 87; veteran, Curtis Ohlsen, 91; junior, McCutcheon, 80. Event 3 doubles: A, Russell Pierce, 96; B, Wickham, 94; C, Strong, 90; women’s, Turner, 96; veteran, Clay Brown, 92; junior, Hill, 90. Event 4 doubles: A, Tony Shuyler, 97; B, Wickham, 94; C, Arnzen, 90; women’s, Turner, 84; veteran, Carter, 90; junior, Hill, 86. Event 5 singles: A, Carter, 96; B, Turner, 98; C, Mike Strong/Mike Dickens, 94; D, Riedesel, 98; veteran, Leonard Wehking, 96; junior, Hill, 94. Event 6 handicap: 19-21, Hill, 93; 22-25, Kent Harris, 89; 26-27, Wickham, 95; women’s, Turner, 84; veteran, Leonard Wehking, 93; junior, Nolan Romero, 76.

Okay, so a little disappointment for the Boise turnout, but as I finish this article, Coeur d’Alene Gun Club just held their second shoot of the year and fourth ATA shoot ever. They had 86 shooters. Outside of the state shoot or the Pocatello Gun Shoot, that’s one of the biggest club-hosted ATA shoots in Idaho in recent history. Way to go, Coeur d’Alene! Speaking of the Pocatello Gun Shoot, it occurred at the same time we were at the Grand. This was their 42nd annual shoot.

On a final note, here’s some target attainments for our shooters. Marvin Heimgartner is at or near 25,000 singles. Joe Hollifield is at or near 50,000 doubles, and his better half, Amy Hollifield, is near 25,000 singles. Lahoma Turner just broke her 25,000th singles target, and yours truly shot at my 50,000th handicap target while at the Grand American.

Leonard Wehking

ATA Delegate

Washington

The dog days of summer have arrived here in Washington. Grain is being harvested as I write, and one wants to keep a water jug within reach at all times. Trapshooting gets pretty slow here in the summer after the Western Zone. When this hits your mailbox in September, we will be getting ready for shoots at the Colton and Spangle gun clubs. A new target year is here already, and they seem to go by fast.

We had good weather for the state shoot. It didn’t get unbearably hot, but we did have wind pushing targets up during handicap events. Jim Pelissier did so well as president that he was rewarded the vice president’s office for the coming year. Jessica Pelissier is stepping into the presidential seat. We welcome Mike Bise, Chad Clausen and Brett Iksic to the board of directors and are delighted to have their help. A big thank you goes to Bill Whitman, Brian James and Roger Clouse for their years of service as WSTA directors. We had a lot of compliments this year, and the machines at Walla Walla ran well. Planning will start again this fall, and we will see what ideas we can come up with to improve even more.

Colton had a good turnout for the Western Zone. It was great to have Evergreen Sportsman’s Club as a host site on the other side of Washington as well. An idea inspired by the WSU and University of Washington rivalry was a handicap “Apple Cup.” Both clubs held a handicap on Saturday afternoon after the championship singles was over, and they competed as East versus West with the highest average that day as the competition. Evergreen edged out Colton in the inaugural event. I’m sure this will give each club some incentive to bear down next year. Evergreen will surely want to repeat, and shooters patronizing Colton will wish for less wind.

I hope to hear great reports about Washington’s shooters at the Grand American. We’ve had some residents do well there the last few years and are confident that this Grand will be no exception.

As we enter the fall and winter months, it will be a good time to take someone out and introduce them to trapshooting at your club. Let’s create some future champions and directors.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

WSTA Director

Wyoming

Another state shoot is in the books. Congratulations to all who attended .The three big winners were: singles, Darrell Jones; handicap, Jeremy Terhune; and doubles, T.C. Berry. One of the big awards went to the three generations of Berrys all making the State Team in 2025. Congratulations. Also a big thank you to the trap help. You all don’t realize how important you are to the harmony of the shoot. One last big thank you to Bob McLendon for saving the shoot with his Starlink system when our internet went down.

Ron Miller

ATA Delegate