Alberta

We had five shooters at the Western Grand in June. Our traveling ambassadors from Alberta, Art and Diane Peyton, both won several trophies and continued on to Colorado, Utah and Montana, picking up All-American points all the way. No wonder both these shooters have two of the highest registered target counts in the ATA on an annual basis!

Athabasca hosted their annual spring shoot with a good local and Edmonton turnout. It was good to see Gerry Gau come out of his slump and shoot some mid 90s handicap.

Calgary FC hosted a successful Stampede Grand again this year. Skies were sunny for the most part, and we saw some good scores. Both Gary Tebb and David Wark shot their first 100. David’s was exceptional because he did it in handicap. Congratulations to you both.

We had 15 shooters from Alberta at the Canadian, hosted by the Brandon GC in Manitoba. The Lamonts and their crew put on a great shoot that was enjoyed by all. We managed to bring home a few trophies, but none could stop the Pat Lamont steamroller. He won all events he entered with the exception of the two preliminary handicaps.

Our provincial championships just concluded at the Edmonton GC. This year, because of conflicting dates, the Western Zone was run in conjunction with this shoot.

A separate report will be forthcoming in Trap & Field, but congratulations to the major winners: Brad Johnson, singles (again!); Bob Gruszecki, doubles; Lynn Smith, handicap; Shane Vaughan, all-around; and Shawn McNeil, HOA.

Saturday was nice, but weather worked against us for winning Zone trophies with high wind and low-light conditions Sunday. Gerry Houchin did pick up our lone Zone trophy, winning C class singles outright in the championship with a strong 196.

A highlight of the provincial was Allan Day being inducted into the Alberta Trapshooting Hall of Fame. Allan has been on something like 16 Alberta all-star teams and is one of the few who hold the “Grand Slam” of Alberta provincial championships. He is co-holder of the highest all-around score shot in the province with 399. His life has been dedicated to shooting, and through his shooting supplies business has supplied almost every shooter with ammo at some time or another through the years. Congratulations, Allan; well deserved and overdue for this prestigious award.

Many thanks to Jack Broadfoot and Gerry Gau and their crew who worked nonstop to make this a well-run event. The Checkels, Don and Donna, did their usual fine and efficient job and even had checks printed before many participants left the shoot. Thanks as well to Heather and Bert Brumwell for their $10K support and to Bayer for $5K for the banquet.

At our annual meeting on Friday evening, we had several changes. Brian Chudoba and Neil Burbidge chose not to run, as their terms expired this year. Thanks to both for their contributions over the years. Brad Johnson is our new president, replacing Trevor Kuhn, who has served us so well over the last number of years. Trevor has worked tirelessly on APTA business and left us in a solid financial position that is better than when he took over. He has also developed the APTA website to a world-class level. From soliciting donations from local businesses to the time and energy spent refurbishing our Hall of Fame and its history, we all appreciate how much he has done in a few short years. We will miss him a lot, though he has promised to help us out as needed over the next while. Thank you, Trevor, from everyone.

I am headed to the Grand on Saturday. We will have about 11 shooters from Alberta this year, including a whole family of Tebbs. Should be fun!

Please let me know if there are things you would like to see printed in this column.

Garry Hill

ATA Delegate

Arizona

Let’s start off with some great news: the situation at Ben Avery has been settled, and they will have a full slate of registered shoots for the 2019 season, including the Hall of Fame Classic. Vickie Craine and Arizona Game and Fish have reached an agreement to that end. Vickie is a new and welcome addition to Arizona and brings many years of experience in running shoots in California, which have been described as a well-oiled machine.

Nine clubs participated in the ATA Western Zone, including Anaconda (MT), Cheyenne (WY), Colton (WA), Edmonton (AB), Kingsburg (CA), Maui (HI), Medford (OR), Spanish Fork (UT) and of course Tucson. We more than held our own, with 63 shooters braving southern Arizona in July. Yes, it was hot, especially Friday, the only three-event day, but then again the entire Southwest was in the middle of a record heat wave.

We had no winners in the opening singles, but Doug Sims, Lindy Albright (nice to have him back), Colton Hartley and Robert Will Pike all finished with 99s. Colton is a junior and Will a sub-junior, so I think we will be seeing their names for a while. Things did pick up in the handicap. Rick Durkee’s 97 earned him a punch and fourth place, and Greg Holden took veteran, also with a 97, so we will forgive him for getting that at Spanish Fork. Helen Kisthardt, who is only in her second full year of shooting trap, started on what became a terrific shoot, winning Lady II, and Canyon Ferris topped all in junior gold. Brent Epperson won the veteran crown in doubles. Brent was listed as a Utah shooter, but he told me he had just changed his residence to AZ, so we will count him in. Joe Henderson tied in senior veteran but lost on a carryover, and Sheldon Privetts was the sub-junior champion. You may remember Sheldon for his performance at our state shoot.

High gun for Arizona in Saturday’s Singles Championship was Brent at 198, followed closely by Joe Henderson, Jim Sharp, Al Matthews (who tied for B champ) and Charlie Wachtel. One other Wachtel made some headlines. Andy’s 196 was high in D.

Sunday started with Ron Schroer’s 98 in doubles topping all senior vets. Then things really got cooking in the ’caps. Charlie Wachtel shot the only 100 straight, from the 27 no less. Charlie keeps getting better and better. Kenny Mlynarz was runnerup at 99. Our own Tiger Volz put all of the other ladies to shame with an outstanding 98. Also at 98 was Epperson topping vets and Bob Mlynarz for high senior vet. Ferris won junior gold and then added the all-around. Epperson took the all-around and HOA crowns in veteran, and Wachtel was the junior all-around champ.

Some others who deserve an honorable mention were Al Matthews, Jim Sharp, Joe Henderson and Jay Alderman. I refereed a number of shootoffs, and every time I turned around, there was Jay. Thanks to all at Tucson T&SC for your usual terrific job.

Around the state: The new shooting year starts with a doubles marathon at Rio Salado on Sept. 3 and then Tucson on the 9th. That is followed by Big 50s at Tri-State on the 16th, a singles marathon at Rio Salado on the 17th and finally Flagstaff Sept. 22-23. See you on the line.

John Bergman

ATA Delegate

Utah

If you were not able to get out and shoot this month, you must have had other commitments because there was a shoot somewhere in the state virtually every weekend. The month started off with Ogden GC hosting a very nice two-day shoot. Weather was ideal, the type that we dream about all winter long.

Next came the Western Grand at Vernal R&GC. The festivities started on Monday with a “Bullets and Balls” tournament. This was a four-man team event, with each team shooting 25 singles and 25 handicap and then playing 18 holes of golf. Handicaps in both trap and golf were calculated, so even the worst of golfers still had a chance to win. There were a total of five teams, and I assure you, fun was had by all. I would recommend other clubs looking into having fun activities such as this to break up the week (even at the beginning of the shoot).

The Western Grand was very well run, with shooters from 21 states as well as Canada. The temperatures were very high, as was the wind! Those winning championship events truly earned their titles. The singles winner was Stuart Welton of Idaho with the lone 200. The ladies’ title was won by Karen Bergman of Arizona with 192. Doubles title was won by Hunter Howe of Wyoming with 98 plus extras, and Bergman won the ladies’ once again, with 94. Handicap was won by Scott Obenchain, Colorado, with 94 and extras. The high lady was Lynette Tuttle in Lady I, and Diane Peyton of Canada won the shootoff over Pam Wright for Lady II. All the scores are at http://shootscoreboard.com/reports.cfm. One of the highlights I always enjoy is awarding a 27-yard pin to someone. Junior shooter Dalton Van reached the back fence during Wednesday’s handicap with 97. Dalton has had a good year so far by earning at least 2.5 yards over a three-shoot span. Congratulations, Dalton!

Attending the Western Grand (as well as the Utah State Shoot) were longtime squadmates Charles Long from Texas and Steve Williamson from California. These two have a combined 92 years of shooting experience and a combined target count of 1,981,800 targets! I guess one could surmise that these two like to shoot clay pigeons.

Next came the long-awaited Utah State Shoot at Spanish Fork GC. There were shooters from 18 states and Canada. Weather was gorgeous all week long, with only an occasional breeze. Spanish Fork is well known by many for the high scores that are usually posted there. On the first day’s handicap, Bob Clement broke 100 from the fence as did John Kelly. Not only did this complete John’s ATA Grand Slam, but he repeated the feat Friday. Congratulations to both Bob and John.

On to the championship events. The singles crown was won by Justin Sloan over Joe Sudbury, Sean Hawley and Roger Stitt, all with 200 straight (Roger’s first). The ladies’ crowns were won by Tuttle and LeeAnn Martin.

The doubles was won by Hawley over Sharred Oaks with scores of 99. The Lady I winner was Kami Singleton, and Pam Wright got the Lady II title.

The Handicap Championship went to Hawley with the lone 99. Tuttle once again won Lady I, and Jackie Love garnered Lady II. All-around and high-over-all awards were clean sweeps by Hawley for the main title, and Lynette and Pam in Lady I and Lady II. Check out the scores on the same website as the Western Grand scores.

Junior gold shooter Austin Kinder smashed a 96 in the final handicap to earn the last half-yard he needed to make the 27-yard line.

As in any business, very little would get done if not for the front office. Jan Cook, Delana Leshko and Stacy Hawley could be found behind the counter every day with smiles on their faces and making sure everything ran smoothly. I cannot express my appreciation enough for the well-trained help (both paid and volunteer) who truly made this shoot something special.

           Ed Wehking

           ATA Delegate

Washington

We had the ATA Western Zone at Colton GC last weekend, and it was a success. Being the first time for that club, they surpassed expectations, and the turnout was pretty good. This shoot had a few shotgunners who hadn’t competed there before, which was good to see, and everyone had a good time.

A few lucky Washington shooters went to the Grand American. I’m really looking forward to hearing about the exploits of Remington Warne and Deanna Kienbaum, who went to shoot the Champion of Champions, representing Washington as sub-junior and junior singles winners at our state shoot. Look for these two fine youngsters in the results of the Grand as well as other folks from our state.

The annual directors meeting, usually held the first week in December, will be at the end of October this year. The WSTA board wanted a little extra time to get the 2019 planning under way, and some of us would like to spend time in warmer winter weather to break some more ATA targets. Those clubs wishing to schedule shoots in the new year can reach our secretary Bruce Skelton. Shoots can be added later also. There are weekends open, and sometimes early spring and fall shoots can be very popular. Clubs who haven’t hosted ATA shoots recently or are wanting to for the first time are encouraged to do so. I have set a goal to try to get to some clubs I haven’t been to before. As I mentioned before, in the case of Colton, something new and different at your club can bring new faces and gives you a chance to show off your facility and all the work you do to make it feel like a home away from home for shooters.

Harvest is happening now, and many of us will be busy in those endeavors for the next few weeks. For sure, we will be eager to get our trap guns out of the safe and break some clay once the crops are in the bin. Some of our ATA shooters will be gearing up for the great hunting season coming up and some fall and winter fishing. We are so lucky to live in a state and region that offers so much trapshooting action as well as all the other outdoor activities the diversity of our terrain offers. I’ve got plans under way to meet some more ATA members at Tucson this fall. Making new friends is another great thing about our sport. Until next time, shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

ATA Alternate Delegate

Illinois

Hello, shooters! The new target year is just beginning. Don’t put your guns away too soon; we still have a few big events. Labor Day weekend (Sept. 1-3), the Illini Indians Pow Wow is held at Brittany SP. The northern zone shoot is Sept. 8-9 at Downer’s Grove SC. Weather is beautiful, and it’s a great club to start out the target year. It will also count as your zone shoot to meet the requirements for the state team.

I saw several of you out traveling to different state shoots the past few weeks, and I enjoyed seeing your names on the trophy lists. A big congratuations to Mike Obert for breaking his 100,000th doubles target in Minnesota. I helped put on the Kentucky, Wisconsin and Indiana state shoots. A few notable mentions: in Kentucky, Alex York broke his third and fourth 100 straights in doubles (after breaking his first ever a month prior at our state shoot). In Wisconsin Chase Horton left with nine trophies. In two of the events he had the high non-resident score. In Indiana Ian Lawrence took home eight trophies, and in one event he had the non-resident high score.

I look forward to writing in the next article about the big winners from the Grand. Happy shooting!

Lauren Mueller

ATA Delegate

Indiana

Greetings, Indiana shooters! When you’re reading this in September, things will be winding down, but when I’m writing this in late July, we just finished up the Indiana State Shoot and then went straight to the ATA Central Zone shoot in Evansville. I’m packing up for the Grand now while writing this article. Hopefully everyone had a good time and shot some good scores at all these shoots.

I’m pleased to report that this year’s Indiana State Shoot was a complete success. We got a little rain, of course, but I think the weatherman/weatherwoman hurt attendance more than the actual weather did, although I’m pretty sure everyone got at least a little (if not A LOT) wet during Saturday’s championship singles. Just once I’d like to have six days at the Indiana State Shoot with weather like we had on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but clearly that is just too much to ask.

There are many people to thank for making the Indiana State Shoot possible that there is no way I could list everyone here. Just please know that if you volunteer to help out, you are greatly appreciated! We are very fortunate in Indiana to have a great group of volunteers always willing to lend a hand, as well as some great financial sponsors. I am happy to report that zero wreckers and/or tow straps were required to get any campers out and on their way home this year. Thanks to all our resident and non-resident shooters!

Congrats go out to Tank Lunsford for pretty much dominating almost all the championship events. Tank took home the singles championship with the lone resident 200, with his son Curt being runnerup at 198. Tank’s 98 in the Handicap Championship bested the resident field by two birds, and he also won the high-over-all and the all-around. Congrats also to Garl Gresley for winning the windy Doubles Championship with 98 and outlasting Devon Harris and Michael Grannan in a shootoff.

The ITA Spectator Experience was bigger and better again this year, and I want to thank Roxie Antczak for everything she does to make this event possible. The “Christmas in July” campsite decorating contest was a lot of fun, and I am excited to hear what she has in mind for next year.

Thanks to those who made it to the ATA Central Zone Shoot at Evansville GC. We enjoyed incredibly mild weather and very good birds, plus got to experience the Hoosier hospitality that our gracious hosts at EGC are known for. Big-time congrats go out to Noah Rice, who ran the 200 16s on Saturday, his first deuce, and just happened to do it on his 15th birthday.

Be sure to check out our newly renovated website, www.indianatrap.com, for all the registered shoot dates around Indiana. This is a great time of year to take advantage of nice autumn temperatures and get the new target year off to a solid start. After so many “big” shoots during the summer, it’s also a fantastic time to visit your local clubs and show them the support they richly deserve.

I do have some sad information to pass along. While at the Central Zone shoot in Evansville, we received word that Edgar Kuhlenschmidt had passed. Edgar will certainly be missed, and his contributions to trapshooting in Indiana will forever be appreciated. In addition to being president of the ITA in 1968, he was also an Indiana Trapshooting Hall of Fame inductee and the 1967 Indiana doubles champion. While I never saw it personally, I have heard stories about his expert skill level of pumping Model 12s at doubles. Edgar was co-founder of the new Evansville GC when they relocated many years ago and will be dearly missed by his many friends at the club.

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

Jason Barnett

ATA Delegate

Michigan

July is always a busy month for the Michigan Trapshooting Association. This July was much busier than most. During the state shoot, which ended July 1, Darryl Hayes was reelected as ATA Delegate, with Jeff Russell and Don Hoffman as Alternate Delegates. Our MTA by-laws require that Board of Directors members and new officers take on their roles at the end of the state shoot. Jeff Russell was reelected to a three-year term on the board, and Larry Telfer, who was president in 2017-2018, left after nine years of service. Michigan Trapshooting Hall of Fame member Jim Doolittle accepted an appointment to a one-year term on the board. Board members Jerry DeHondt and Steve Olvitt were not up for reelection, as their terms have not expired. MTA officers for 2018-2019 are J. B. Lewis, president; Ryan Ewing, VP; and Jeff Russell, secretary-treasurer.

Andy Suda and his family came all the way back to Michigan from his job assignment in Germany to be celebrated and inducted into the Michigan Trapshooting Hall of Fame.

The MTA Homegrounds hosted the first ever National High School Championship Shoot July 12-15. From Wednesday through Saturday (there was no practice allowed on Sunday), 109,500 practice targets were thrown. On Thursday it was great to see 21 practice traps in use and a line waiting their turn. For Friday’s team event, 172 teams shot 86,000 targets. On Saturday, the first 100 of the individual event, 1,273 youth shooters participated. On Sunday the field was pared down to the top 40 teams and the top 402 singles shooters, who shot the second hundred of the individual event. With an even 403,000 targets thrown, not counting the shootoff, this event was bigger than our Michigan State Shoot or the Great Lakes Grand American. Thanks to our many volunteers who scored, loaded traphouses, set targets, and were range safety officers, shoot directors, parking attendants, and did just about everything else needed to bring off a shoot this size. Certainly having young people shoot is the future of our sport.

By the time you read this, the 44th annual Fall Team Shoot will likely be history, and the Mason homegrounds will be quiet until the 28th annual Spring Team Shoot in early May 2019. More about that later.

1. B. Lewis

MTA President

Minnesota

I just returned from the state shoot, and this is my first report for Trap & Field as ATA Delegate. The first order of business is to thank Mark Stevens, who served the shooters of Minnesota very well during his term. We look forward to seeing Mark and Sally at shoots around the state in the future. I also want to thank Mark for all his help in making the transition as smooth as possible following the state shoot.

Although I know many of you, a bit about me. I retired in 2013 after 31 years in education and coaching. I have been involved in ATA shooting since 1976. I have a hard time doing very little, so my new jobs are substitute teaching, officiating wrestling and umpiring baseball and softball, and hunting and shooting trap.

This year at our state shoot held at the Shooting Park in Alexandria, we had four first-time champions. Steve Schmidt won the singles after a four-way shootoff of 199s. He is the second Alexandria native to win the singles (joining Scott Green, who won in 2004). Kyler Berens, a junior from Stacy, won the doubles with 99 plus shootoff. Sub-junior Nick Witt, also of Alexandria, topped the handicap field with 99, defeating three others in a shootoff. Ben Dietz, a junior gold shooter from Elko, capped a great week by winning the all-around with 396. Dietz had tied for the doubles and singles, being relegated to the junior gold awards in both those events.

Rain did plague the shoot on Tuesday and Wednesday, forcing postponement of Wednesday’s doubles to Friday morning.

The 2018 auctions generated $7,119 for youth trapshooting. This comes from a combination of live and silent auctions. Thanks again to Mark and Sally Stevens for their efforts on behalf of youth shooters.

At the state shoot banquet, we inducted two new members into the MTA Hall of Fame: Wally Shelstad, the driving force at the Buffalo GC for many years, and Roger Lorenzen, one of the outstanding handicap shooters of his generation. Unfortunately the extended shootoffs ran into the banquet a bit, but congratulations once again, Wally and Roger.

Paul T. Cyr

 ATA Delegate

Ohio

The SCTP Nationals were held at the Cardinal Shooting Center July 14-21. Over 1,900 athletes competed in singles, doubles, handicap, bunker, sporting clays, and American and doubles skeet. Congratulations to all the winners! A big thank you goes to the sponsors, coaches, parents and grandparents who help and support these young people, who are the future of the ATA.

By the time you’re reading this, we will be in a new target year. Please remember to support your local gun clubs. Have fun and break ’em all!

Mike Blair

ATA Delegate

Saskatchewan

Greetings, fellow trapshooters. I have recently been given the opportunity to represent Saskatchewan trapshooters after being elected as the ATA Delegate—this happened at our annual meeting at the SATA championships in Swift Current. It was decided that since I attend the Grand American every year, that Jim Brown would assume the Alternate duties, and I would step into the big chair, so to speak. Jim has done a fantastic job for many, many years and has worked tirelessly for the shooters of Saskatchewan as Delegate and a director of the SATA. I know I will be consulting with him lots over rules and ATA business in the time to come.

Spring came late to the prairies this year, with winter hanging on well into May, which made for some interesting early-season shoots with wind and cold. Shooters braved the conditions and shot nonetheless. Lots of us absorbed some scores that we would rather not have, but such is the game we play.

The Canadian Trapshooting Championships were held on Canada Day weekend in Brandon, MB, with shooters from all Canadian provinces represented. The Brandon GC was in fine form, and weather, for the most part, cooperated. I had the pleasure of shooting with both my sons; Schon and Kahl, on a squad, along with lifelong friends Garry Hill and John Nuttall. Brandon is the home of the famous Lamont family, Pat and Rob, so one can expect to have to shoot great scores to win. Pat did not disappoint, as he took home the singles, doubles, handicap, all-around and HOA championships. I believe this sweep is the first one ever at the CTA Championships. Kahl was second in the singles, doubles, all-around and HOA, so we are seeing youth taking over from the old guard, which in my opinion is a great thing to have happening. Other Saskatchewan shooters who fared well were Randy Hunt, Ed Kuzak, Logan King, John Nuttall and myself, along with Tiger Williams of Toronto Maple Leaf hockey fame. The Saskatchewan shooters Friday night soiree/potluck supper was again a great success. Brandon GC put on a wonderful supper on Saturday evening, so we were treated to two great meals and camaraderie, just what a major shoot should have.

The SATA Championships were held at the Swift Current GC in the middle of July with the grounds and clubhouse just receiving major upgrades to electrical hook-ups for camping and a sun shelter built onto the clubhouse as well as other improvements. Attendance was the highest we have had in several years and would have been even higher, except that we lost several Alberta shooters to the Montana State Shoot, which is another great tournament to attend. We have to thank Score Ammunition of Prairie Shot Ltd., of Carberra, MB, for their continued support of our provincial championships. I am not going to list the winners in this report, as T&F does this in detail.

As I write this, I am getting ready to head to Sparta for the Grand American, along with John, Garry and Kahl. The camper is ready to go and packed with ammo, guns, shooting bags and hopes of a win under the lights at the biggest shoot on the planet. Until next time, shoot well, be safe, and above all, HAVE FUN.

Rod Boll

           ATA Delegate

Wisconsin

Greg Regalia and Larry Heinrichs, along with many trapshooters, have high regards for John Muir, who has been running the Gateway Fall Classic, which is marking its 80th annual this fall. John retired from Winchester then returned to Land O’ Lakes and proceeded to reopen the first official ATA registered target club in the North, Gateway GC. Muir, a five-time all-state team member, won the high singles average award in 1994 with .9912 and 1999 with .9914. I did experience one of the fall shoots and won one of the silver coins he is famous for giving as a trophy. You shoot on Trap 1 then you need to carry your gear and gun through the hotel lobby, down a hall and out the doors to get to Traps 2, 3 and 4. On one of the traps, the 27-yard line backs right up to the hotel, and Traps 2 and 3 you shoot into a pond. Then the lounge welcomes everyone for food and cocktails at the end of the day. Wow, what a unique place. But what I understand is this will be the last shoot, as John is retiring. If you have time, please go to the September Fall Classic.

According to Duran Davis, he shot his first legit 100 straight at the High School Clay Target League’s state shoot. Nice shooting any time you get 100.

Ken Sue shot his 50,000th singles target at Iowa State; I guess I missed the cake party, bummer. He told me he was very happy that his son Tyrel Sue was there for the milestone. Congrats, Ken.

I am sad to say that one of Eau Claire R&GC’s members, Jeff Smith, has passed. I will always remember him carrying his five-gallon bucket with his ammo and as a chair.

The fifth Wisconsin State Shoot at Nekoosa went great. We have a building up, thanks to all of the board members, non-board members, volunteers etc., who made this happen, and the donations we received over the past year helped to build this.

We had some new event sponsors: Fritz and Esther Thistle, YZ’s Body Shop, Ocean Spray Cranberries and Jim Coniff joined returning event sponsors Red Wing Kennels, Elite Shotguns, Eau Claire R&GC, Federal Ammunition, MEC Shooting Sports, White Flyer, Ho-Chunk Gaming, Kolar Arms, Recob’s Target Shot and Erbert and Gerberts Sandwich Shop to help pay for events, so we could have a great trophy selection. Dennis, Sandra Jo and David worked many long hours before and during the shoot to hand out the winners’ trophies. Unfortunately, there were 27 trophies that did not get picked up. Please remember to always check at the end of the day if you won an event so you can get your trophy.

Congratulations to all the winners at our shoot. Scores were high and competition was stiff. Many shooters were there from all over the U.S. We are also proud to say we made a 6 Competition Factor for All-American points. Please book your reservations for next year, hotel or camping, soon. I hope to see all of you next year.

Congrats to Randy Bolton for winning the first 100 straight buckle shoot, again. Thank you Fritz and Esther for sponsoring this event in Ray and Wy Moser’s name. Championship doubles winner was Bruce Wagner with the lone 100. Championship singles winner was Dan Hauge with 200 and shootoff. Championship handicap winner was Brent Howland with the only 99. George Hass shot the best all week to win the HOA and all-around trophies. I bet Reba was happy for you. There were so many winners and too many to list here, so please look at the ATA report page.

Many shooters from Wisconsin attended the Minnesota State Shoot. Congratulations to winners Tom Lewis, Tim Mackey, Larry Heinrichs, Sandra Jo Jack, Richard Champeau, Dennis Minks, Gerald Demulling, Cheryl Demulling, Mark Sacia, Dan Campbell and Kevin Kastenschmidt.

Iowa State was attended by Wisconsin shooters who won in many events. Congratulations to Dan Haag, Steven Keeley, Donald Labarge, Marcel Kulas, Marilen Sydow, Mark Sacia, John Reeb, Laverne Lehmann, Carol Keeley, Robert Gropp, Cathy Wehinger, Michael Thomas, Janet Reding, Kenneth Sue, Jay Nigbor, Kevin Doerring, Matt Riffe, Douglas Eilks, Dwight Paulin, Steven Vogt and Bill Knotwell.

I have not shot the ATA Central Zone in years and decided to shoot at the Janesville CC. This was also my first time shooting there—very nice club and wonderful volunteers. With the most trophy count winners, 17, and the second-most shooters attending, here are the impressive winners: Congratulations to George Hass for the only 200 in the championship singles at Janesville and winning AAA. The hero from Wisconsin was Tim Mackey, winning the Singles Championship with 200 and 16 extra rounds. Congratulations to all trophy winners: Prelim singles, Gene Iturbide, B; Cathy Wehinger, Lady II. Prelim handicap, Daniel Tenor, third; James Gurkowski, vet. Prelim doubles, Janet Reding, Lady II. Championship singles, Mackey, champion; Hass, AAA; Steve Wolf, C; Wehinger, Lady II. Championship doubles, Dan Haag, runnerup; Dwight Fitzsimmons, AAA; Wehinger, Lady II. Championship handicap, Andy Hall shot the only 99 to win champion; Craig Bennett, sub-vet; Loren Rippentrop, vet; and Dale Miller, senior vet. All-around, Wehinger, Lady II.

Now I would like to congratulate Karlie Klas for her first ATA registered 100 straight in singles. I was watching Karlie and Dwight Fitzsimmons doing some coaching before shooting on Saturday, and it sure paid off.

Please keep smiling and welcome new shooters with that smile also. We are coming to the end of our season up here, so remember to help at your local club to close and clean up for winter.

Sandra Jo Jack

for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring

Atlantic Provinces

Interest in the Atlantic Provinces ATA Shoot has been fantastic, with the shoot committee at the Highland GC in Yarmouth, NS, expecting record attendance as they host for the first time. Pre-squadding has been busy, and I am happy to report that a full squad of new ATA shooters from the Petitcodiac SC has pre-squadded.

Our Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot promotion efforts appear to be working, as we regularly attract shooters from across Canada and occasionally shooters south of the border. This year we can add British Columbia to the list of provinces represented here. Our “come from away” shooters often tell us they not only come for the shoot but also for the atmosphere, camaraderie and “time” that host clubs in the Atlantic Provinces are known for showing. We certainly do our best to make visiting shooters feel welcome and at home.

On the national trapshooting scene, the Brandon GC in Brandon, MB, hosted a very successful Canadian Championships June 28-July 1. Pat and Rob Lamont and their group of volunteers did a great job running the shoot. Shooters were welcomed and treated to great targets, friendly club staff and great shooting conditions with only a brief delay during the main handicap as a thunderstorm passed through. Six shooters from the Atlantic Provinces attended and represented us very well, with our shooters winning several championships, class titles and handicap places.

Nova Scotia shooter Ken D’Eon was on target, winning the Pat Lamont Singles C trophy with 99 and then proceeding to place in all three handicap events—fourth in the Charles Boggis Handicap, preliminary handicap champion (98) and Canadian open handicap champion with another 98 in the main handicap. Ken earned 2.5 yards and advanced to 24.5 yards. Fellow Nova Scotia shooter Reynold D’Entremont also did well in the Handicap Championship and claimed the veteran trophy with 97, taking him to 22.5 yards. Reynold also claimed all-around B class honors.

Nova Scotia father-daughter shooters Herbie and Janaya Nickerson were also on the winner’s list. Janaya earned a half-yard punch for her 96 in the Preliminary Handicap and won C class in the Singles Championship. Dad Herbie claimed the Preliminary Doubles B award.

Newfoundland shooter Troy Coldwell claimed AA honors in the Singles Championship after a three-way tie with Kahl Boll (Saskatchewan) and Paulo Sampaio (Ontario). All three scored 197, triggering a shootoff for runnerup (Boll), open champ (Sampaio) and AA (Coldwell). Coldwell also claimed Canadian doubles runnerup and AA honors in the all-around.

Brandon GC president Pat Lamont was clearly top shooter, winning titles in all but two events. Pat won the Canadian singles, doubles, handicap, all-around and HOA titles outright—all while playing a key role in keeping the shoot running smoothly. Well done, Pat; great shooting. Complete shoot results can be found on shootcanada.ca—the Canadian Trapshooting Association’s homepage—and in this issue of T&F.

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

Andrea Bassan

 ATA Delegate

New Jersey

We just completed the ATA Eastern Zone at Cicero, NY, this past weekend. Weather was great for this time of year, up until Sunday. A weather front came in early Sunday morning, with rain stopping by daybreak; however, the wind played havoc with the targets for the championship doubles and handicap later in the day. Back with the results later in this report.

First off, are the results from the New Jersey State Shoot North/South Trophy. At the completion of the Singles Championship on Saturday, I tabulated the scores from those shooters who attended their respective zone’s host club; this was the standard procedure. This year was the first time there was a tie on the total score, and the winning team had to be determined by the two teams’ reverse run from the last sub-event. The results were read at the state meeting on Sunday morning. Following the meeting, a shooter came up to me and indicated that he shot the southern zone, not at the host club but at the satellite shoot held in Fairfield. At our NJSTA meeting on July 24, it was determined that since he shot at the satellite shoot, his score should count, and with that, the team from the south retained possession of the coveted trophy by one target. The winning team members are Rick Batesko, 198; Carlos Gomes, 196; Dan Brandreth, 195; Jeff Whalen, 195; and Keith Guinn, 194.

The 19th Garden State Grand was held the first weekend in July. As usual, the weather forecast was iffy, and a lot of shooters stayed home. Friday’s winners were Phil Kosci in singles, George Snyder in handicap and Rick Batesko in doubles. Saturday’s main singles saw a tie between Greg Menshoff and Doug Bracher at 196, with Greg prevailing 25 to 24 in shootoff. The handicap that followed was won by Chris Burns. Sunday’s singles was won by Batesko and the main handicap by Ray Dirisio with 98. The HOA leader was David E. Brown Jr., who led the field by 10 targets.

The second weekend was the New York State Shoot, where 15 of our shooters attended. Gene Moir Jr. led the way with four awards, and next were George Wright with three, Bob Malmstedt with two and Angelina Moir, Sue Emma, Chris Cusumano, Justin Malone, Tom Green Sr., Bob Battista and Steve Burick with one each.

Steve Ottrando reported that the Mallard TC held their annual Memorial Handicap on July 14. Forty shooters were present to break some targets. Ottrando was the club champion, and the open champ was Rich Pappas. Rich Leone was the 18-21 winner with Tim Duffy runnerup, 22-24 winner was Fred MacDonald and the runnerup was Steve Siegert, the 25-27 winner was Carlos Gomes with Doug Bracher runnerup. Steve thanked all club members who volunteered to help during the shoot. Without them, things won’t happen.

The third weekend was the ATA Eastern Zone in Cicero, NY; 27 NJ shooters made the long trek up to the Finger Lakes region. Nick Padovani, Justin Malone and Bob Malmstedt led the way with two trophies. Neil Downing, Bob Battista, Duncan Stevenson, Joe Clarke and David E. Brown Jr. won one. All the winners can be found on the nysata.com website.

Joe Sissano shot at and broke (thank God) his 300,000th ATA singles target during the Stars & Stripes Shoot at the North Jersey CTC back in late June. Ironically, 50 years ago Joe registered his first registered targets at the then North Jersey GC. It seems like only yesterday!

During the NJSTA meeting on July 24, Dan Brandreth was elected to the board of directors. Dan is also the 2019 state trophy chairman.

Shoots in September are the Club Shoot at Pine Belt on the 15th and 16th, Howell TC in Farmingdale starts their fall program on the 16th, and the New Jersey northern zone at the NJCTC in Fairfield is the 21st through 23rd, with a satellite shoot at the Pine Valley club in Berlin, only on the 22nd and 23rd. The relocated ATA Dixie Grand at Bostic, NC, will be Oct. 2-7.

On a sad note, Robert Shappell of Runnemede passed away June 3; he was 70 years old. Bob had stopped by during the southern zone on May 5 to see everyone. He was born in Pottsville, PA. He was a Vietnam War veteran, serving in the Army. He worked as a construction superintendent for Spencer Maussner Inc., in Cherry Hill. Bob enjoyed raising money for charities in his adopted hometown. He was a member of Pine Valley GC. Bob joined the ATA in 2009; during his career he shot at 13,100 singles and 9,700 handicap targets. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Judith Ann; sons Robert Jr. and Brian and daughters-in-law Bridget and Misty Dawn, respectively; three grandchildren; and sister Joan Brennan.

If you have a question or an idea for the column, I can be reached at 732-546-7910 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Joe Sissano

ATA Delegate

New York

Greetings to everyone from New York State. I wish for everyone that they are shooting well and have had a great time and an enjoyable summer.

I am sorry to say that we have lost two New York State ATA shooters. John (Jack) Nichols passed away May 22. Jack was 80 years of age and lived in Hilton, NY. He started registering targets in 1966, ending with 95,350 singles, 20,100 handicap and 6,624 doubles targets during his career. He was a member of the Holley R&GC. Our deepest sympathies to Jack’s family.

Daniel (Ray) Slater of Skaneateles passed away June 30. Ray was 78 years of age and a life member of the Skaneateles R&GC. He had been an ATA member since 2002 and shot a total of 6,300 singles, 8,150 handicap and 2,850 doubles. In 2017 Ray traveled to the Grand American, and after a shootoff, won the senior veteran runnerup in prelim Friday’s handicap. Our deepest sympathies to Ray’s family on his passing.

The 2018 New York State Shoot is now history. The shoot was up close to 1% over 2017, and 332,000 targets were thrown. The state shoot was a Competition Factor 4 for All-American points.

Robert Rockwood had his first 200 straight in the Singles Championship and took the champion trophy. Michael Fox Jr. won the doubles with 99, and Dennis Bobbette was handicap champion with 98. In the high-over-all, Justin Slater was the winner with 971×1,000, and in the all-around, after two rounds, Michael Fox Jr. and Bradley Heath were declared co-champions with 390×400.

Very high scores were posted throughout the tournament. You can view trophy winners on the New York State ATA webpage www.nysata.com and in Trap & Field.

In ceremonies after the singles on Saturday, a check of over $4,000 was donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Syracuse from proceeds during the Ronald McDonald Singles on Friday. Eastern zone vice president Dennis Hart and Alternate Delegate Susan Gullotta, chair and co-chair of the event, presented the check. The high-average shooters, state teams and New York All-Americans were introduced. Also introduced were the officers and directors of the New York State ATA. Susan Gullotta and Travis Dann were reelected as New York State Alternate Delegates, and I remain as the ATA Delegate.

Final introductions were the three new members of the New York State ATA Hall of Fame: Tiffany Decker, Doug Duncan and Chris Landon. These three fine New York State shooters are very deserving of their induction.

Milestones during the 2018 state shoot: Mark McCumber shot at and broke his 25,000th singles registered target. Sarah Benson from North Carolina broke her first 25 straight in registered shooting. Posting their first 100 straights were Deb Bell, Tammy Wildenstein, Chris McEwen, and William Compton. Great going!

My thanks to all the setters; scorers; Dale Dupre, who is in charge of the trap help; kitchen help; squadding and cashering personnel; and the officers and directors of the New York State ATA for all their hard work in making the shoot a success. A special thanks to ATA Past President Wayne Morris and his wife Joyce, former Rhode Island ATA president, for all their help and guidance. I would really like to thank Larry and Joann Grenevicki for all their hard work heading up the cashiering. Larry and Joann retired from cashiering here at NYSATA after the Eastern Zone Shoot. They have been in charge of the cashiering since 2007. They have always done an outstanding job and will be missed, especially by me.

The New York State central zone shoot was held June 30-July 1 at Toad Harbor GC. It was a great shoot with a large number of targets thrown and many excellent scores posted. In the Singles Championship, George Panarisi was the champion with 195, and Scott Hotaling was runnerup with 193. Dennis Bobbette was the handicap winner with 96, and runnerup was Travis Dann. Doubles champion was Cliff Haff with 96, and Urban Womer took runnerup honors with 95. All-around winner was Urban Womer with 375, and Travis Dann was runnerup.

If you want anything written in Trap & Field in these articles, please e-mail me at [email protected] or phone at 585-519-9543. See you all soon, and good shooting. May God bless.

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada. By the time you read this article, the Grand will be in the rearview mirror, and a new target year started Sept. 1. Don’t put your shotguns away just yet.

In the Eastern Zone we have the Northeastern Grand at Cicero, NY (Sept. 11-16), and the Southern Zone has the Dixie Grand at Bostic, NC (Oct. 2-7). There are lots of other shoots across the ATA. I hope you can attend as many as possible.

During the target year Sept. 1, 2017 through Aug. 31, 2018, I chaired the ATA All-American Committee and spent time explaining the new points system to shooters. Once I have all the stats for the target year end, I will report my findings and what I believe to be the impact on shooters, clubs, and our association. Thus far, the feedback has been predominantly positive. Points are no longer tied to trophies, although the top place trophy is always worth more points. I invite your comments, positive or negative.

On a lighter note, you probably heard of the trapshooter who always seemed to operate on the edge of permissible tolerances—not bad enough to be disciplined but one that often had to be watched. Ethics were questionable.

This trapshooter had major surgery and was “put under” during the operation. When he awoke, he asked, “Why are all the blinds drawn?”

The nurse replied, “Oh, there was a fire across the street, and we didn’t want you to think you had died.”

Have a great new (shooting) year.

Paul Shaw

ATA Eastern Zone Vice President

Pennsylvania

This past month proved to be a whirlwind of activity. We just finished up the Pennsylvania Grand, and congratulations to Justin Slater for winning the singles and doubles championships, Mark Murray for winning the handicap, and Deborah Ohye-Neilson for capturing the HOA and all-around titles. Look for the full writeup in Trap & Field this month. The shoot was down 216 shooters overall and 154 in the championship events. Total event participation was 2,429 and 1,074, respectively, allowing the PA Grand to have an All-American Competition Factor of 4.

We had a number of shooters travel to New York for their state shoot. Chris Vendel and Donald Schaffer Jr. were trading big blows at the end of the week, with Chris winning the non-resident singles and Don the doubles. They finished one-two in the HOA, and Chris pulled off the all-around, while Don took the AAA prize. Nineteen other PA shooters brought home hardware, led by category shooters Luke Cowart (12), Deborah Ohye-Neilson (10), Clare Schaffer (seven), Ian Recla (nine), Kyle Kanuha (four), Stephen MacNeal (five), Aaron Hower IV (four) and Joe Mizikowski (four). Other PA shooters winning in NY were Bert Schoonover (two), Zeke Raub, Crist Palmer, Genevieve Davis (three), Christopher MacNeal, John White, Brian Snyder, Don Neilson Jr, Joseph Woosman (two), Lisa Long (three), and Cody Davis (three). Congratulations to all.

Since everyone loved the consistent weather in Cicero, many shooters returned the following week for the ATA Eastern Zone. Twenty-two shooters earned wins during the week, with Ian Darroch claiming the biggest. Ian won two handicap events, including the championship, plus the HOA title, and teamed with father Ken to win the parent-child trophy during the Singles Championship. Category shooters were well represented at the end of the week, with Vendel (five) winning sub-vet HOA; Wesley Beaver (nine), junior HOA; Aaron Hower IV (seven), junior gold HOA; Deborah Ohye-Neilson (eight), Lady II all-around and HOA; Joseph Breck IV (six), sub-junior all-around/HOA; Sheldon Hostetter (five), senior vet all-around/HOA; and Bethany Breighner (four), Lady I all-around. Ohye-Neilson teamed with Don Neilson to win the husband-wife title during the singles, and Schaffer finished as all-around runnerup. Other PA winners included Kate Schmidt, Ken Darroch (four), Kyle Kanuha (four), Don Neilson, Jared Hanna (two), William Ross (four), Donald Feeg (two), Susan Owens, Tony Nunes, Richard Baker, Curtis Paul, Tyler Nunes and Genevieve Davis. Nice showing by all, and congratulations.

Labor Day may have marked the unofficial end of summer, but not the shooting season. The final hurrah in Elysburg will be the Westy Hogans Sept. 7-9. I know many will be traveling to nearby states, and yet many others will be signing up for league shoots in the fall. We are lucky in Pennsylvania to have so many clubs that throw targets throughout the year, so make sure you get to the local club to show your support.

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate

Florida

The Southern Zone tournament was a telephonic shoot at three clubs. Silver Dollar is always gracious to host one leg of the tournament for our Florida residents along with many non-residents. The other two legs were held in Kentucky and North Carolina. With this arrangement, very good coverage of our Southern Zone Shoot is achieved. This year, with some personal commitments, I was unable to attend. Not being there physically, I was able to view our Florida trapshooters’ scores via the Internet.

This year our Zone trophy champions were Ken Sippel, Delia Sippel, Jack Schumpert, Alex Riera, Alberta Brooks and Lewis LaRoche. Congratulations go out to our champions plus all the other trapshooters who attended this great event. Look for their scores in a future issue of Trap & Field plus all the winners of the site trophies that were won by your trapshooting friends.

A few updates: the Florida State Shoot cards should be at your local club. Pick up one for yourself and a few of your trapshooting friends. Remember to introduce a new trapshooter to our great sport. If they never have shot ATA trap, ask the club where you intend to shoot for a free ATA membership card. As in the past, each Florida club that throws registered targets receives five free membership cards each year.

Southern Grand dates are March 11-17, and the Florida State Shoot is March 19-24.

My next month’s report will have all the names of our Florida champions who won a trophy at this year’s Grand American. If you have any items of interest for our Florida trapshooters, please call or e-mail me at 321-427-6553 or [email protected].

Larry Grenevicki

ATA Delegate

Kentucky

There has been so much trapshooting going on that I hardly know where to begin.

The U.S. Open^® at Sparta is the first I remember where several Kentucky shooters attended. In Event 1, Lance Steinfeldt won AAA and Bob Carver B, both with 98s. Event 2 saw Kevin (Tank) Polson and Drew Wyatt emerge winners. Several others, as well as the ones mentioned, continued their winning ways until the Event 8 ’caps, where Clayborn Hunter won outright with 99. Bobby and Mike Fowler were winners in multiple events. In the championship singles, Bobby Fowler broke 200, Hunter Plewke 198, and Marty Crafton 197. In the championship handicap Elijah Wilson broke 93 for sub-junior runnerup, Plewke 96 for junior runnerup, and Bobby Fowler 95 to take junior gold. In the Doubles Championship Polson was AAA winner with 98, Daniel A. Everett was sub-junior runnerup with 96, Bobby Fowler took junior gold with 94, and Connor Richardson was junior runnerup with 94. In the championship ’caps, Gage Mathis was event runnerup. Chuck Minyard came in fourth, Don Cottrell was vet runnerup, while Vernon Anderson was senior vet champ. In the all-around, Polson, Richardson and Bobby Fowler won their respective classes or categories. In HOA, Bobby Fowler was the champion, while dad Mike was C champ.

There were several Kentuckians shooting the Illinois and Tennessee state shoots, which coincided. With so much to mention, I will just report HOA and all-around winners in remaining shoots, except the Kentucky State Shoot. In the Illinois State Shoot, eight Kentuckians participated. Keith Ditto was all-around runnerup with 394, with Chuck Minyard taking sub-vet with 396. In the HOA, Ditto was again runnerup by only one target with 1,172. There were 59 Kentucky shooters at Tennessee with non-resident all-around winners as follows: Bobby Fowler, high gun; Everett, sub-junior; Melissa Tracy, Lady I; Martha Humphrey, Lady II; Robert Dyer, vet; and Anderson, senior vet. In non-resident HOA, Everett took sub-junior, Richardson junior, Bobby Fowler junior gold, Tracy Lady I, Martha Humphrey Lady II, and Robert Dyer veteran.

The Kentucky State Shoot followed at the Central Kentucky GC, beginning on the Fourth of July. Attendance was up substantially with 645 total shooters. There were 393 in-state and 252 out-of-state. Gerard Hoots won Event 1 and continued his winning ways several times over during the shoot. Brice Matney won the All-American Handicap on Independence Day with 98. Hoots won the doubles on Day 1 with 100. The class doubles the following morning saw Hoots repeat with 99. Event 5, John Kerr Handicap, saw Ditto win outright with 99. Event 6 saw Hoots do it again. Event 7, the Memorial Handicap, saw Alvin Skaggs Jr. win with 99. Event 8 saw Hoots do it again after a lengthy shootoff. Event 9, the Hall Of Fame Handicap, saw Aaron Willoughby emerge the champion. Then in Event 10, the championship singles, saw Hoots do it again and emerge champion. The championship doubles saw Drew Cropper win the championship after shootoff with Polson, who finished runnerup. In the championship ’caps, Briley Cox was the winner, with Michael Munday taking runnerup.

In the end, Cropper finished champion in all-around with 395; Hoots was runnerup with 394; Keith Parrott and Ditto both finished with 392s to take AA winner and runnerup; Henry Winn won A with 387, and Leslie Sawyers was runnerup with 386; Lukas Cissell took B with 379, with Logan Perry taking runnerup with 377; Nolan Hardesty won C with 375, and Richard Nevels runnerup with 367; D class was won by Steven Byrd and Aaron Insko taking runnerup with 365 and 364, respectively. Melissa Tracy took Lady I with 384, Diana Crawford was Lady II with 375, Drew Wyatt won sub-junior with 385, Nathan Hartsell won junior with 386, Bobby Fowler won junior gold with 391, tying Donnie Sherrard, who also had a 391 to win sub-vet. Robert Dyer won veteran with 390, while Clayborn Hunter won senior vet after 387 and flip with Royce White. In HOA, Hoots took champ; Ditto runnerup; Aaron Willoughby AA; Polson AA runnerup; Wayne Hale A; Reid Winn A runnerup; Dawson Horton took B with Logan Perry runnerup; Garrett Tucker took C with Drake Reynolds C runnerup; Robert Foster was D winner; Hannah Simpson won Lady I; Deanna Horn, Lady II; sub-junior Daniel Everett; junior winner Connor Richardson; junior gold champ was Bobby Fowler; sub-vet winner was Donnie Sherrard; Robert Dyer took vet honors, while Royce White won senior vet.

For the first time, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife hosted the Kentucky High School Challenge, where 15 high school teams competed in the championship singles on Saturday. It was a huge success, giving many of the shooters their first taste of ATA head-to-head competitive shooting. Green Co. emerged winner and took home the Challenge Trophy for a year. Drew Wyatt, from Calloway County, won the high-male award, while Sara Williams won the high-female award. Earlier in June the Central Kentucky GC hosted the state tournament for the Kentucky High School Clay Target League. The tournament attracted a record number of high school teams as well as a record number of athletes.

Between hundreds of the championship singles during the KTL awards ceremony, two outstanding trapshooters were inducted into the Kentucky Trapshooting Hall of Fame: Robert Dyer and Linda Cox.

Several shot in the Wisconsin and Indiana state shoots. Bobby Fowler went to Wisconsin and won several junior gold trophies and the non-resident HOA with 978. At the Indiana State Shoot, Ditto won several events, while non-resident all-around and HOA. Martha Humphrey won both all-around and HOA in Lady II, with Wyatt doing likewise in sub-junior and Joe Neyer in sub-vet.

In ATA Southern Zone competition, Caleb McVey won the Handicap Championship at the Berea site. Clayborn Hunter and Tony Willoughby were both runnerups in the all-around. Hoots led the Kentucky contingent in the HOA and was third in the Zone. Many other Kentucky shooters did very well, but in the interest of time and space, we will let you look up the results.

As always, if you have news you need to share with the other trapshooters in Kentucky, please e-mail me at [email protected] or call me at 270-227-2262. Until next month, post Grand, we wish everyone good health and great times trapshooting.

Vernon R. Anderson

KTL board member

Georgia

There are just a few days before I hitch up the camper, load up the wife and dogs and take off on the 10-hour drive to Sparta. It looks like weather is going to be good, and I shot fairly well at the Zone in Bostic, so I am stoked. It is my wife Debra’s first trip to the Grand, and I’m excited for her. It is truly the best time of the trapshooting year.

Georgia is currently blessed to have two of the better junior category shooters that we have ever had. J. T. Osborne III is currently leading the junior category in All-American points going into the Grand. I think it is safe to say he has more 100s in doubles than any Georgia shooter in history, and he is pretty darned solid in singles and ’caps as well. Max Owen is also having a stellar year, having just taken HOA and all-around for juniors at the Montana State Shoot. Max took a total of nine trophies at that shoot.

Dan Jones from Alabama pretty much ran the table at the Crystal Bolling Memorial at South River GC. Dan fired a 99 in singles, a 96 in ’caps and a 97 in doubles for a 292 and the HOA trophy. Dan won the singles and handicap events outright and bested John Harris in a doubles shootoff in windy conditions.

Georgia participation at the Southern Zone was a little off this year. I’m sure we will pick up our game next year. The shoot at Bostic was a total pleasure. Marty Hill, Bob Schultz and their guys always put on a great shoot. Also, congratulations go out to North Carolina on winning both Zone team events. It is pretty unusual when Kentucky doesn’t win.

Shoot well!

Rich Griffith

ATA Delegate

Mississippi

The big news in Mississipi is how the 2018 Mississippi AIM Championships unfolded in July. The shoot was held at Jackson on the Capitol GC grounds in conjunction with the club’s Rebel Trapshoot. The setting was ripe for one of the hottest and most humid weekends of the year. It was brutal, but nevertheless our youngsters gathered themselves and showed their trapshooting skills. Sub-junior Chris Dearman was the big winner, taking the HOA with 349×400. In the Singles Championship, it was Michael Brungardt with 188 for the juniors and Dearman with 190 for sub-junior. The Doubles Championship went to Kimberly Hillhouse with 76 for junior and to Tyler Smith with 75 for sub-junior. In the championship handicap, winners were junior Noah Smith with 91 from 19.5 and sub-junior Chris Dearman with 97 from 25.5. Junior high lady was Kimberly Hillhouse with 87 from 19. For complete results, please check the AIM NEWS section. Congratulations to all our Mississippi AIM shooters. We are proud of all these young men and women who will someday take our place as we older trappers step aside. Sharing the billing with our Mississippi AIM Championships, Capitol’s flagship Rebel Trapshoot was likewise a scorcher. Despite the heat, Monty McGee rose to the occasion and showed off his championship form with 562×600 for the HOA. In the singles, it was Chad Huber with 198 for the win. Capitol’s own Dearman led the Preliminary Handicap with 96 from the 25, and that moved him back a notch to 25.5. Perennial doubles winner McGee gathered another win with 185 in the championship doubles. The Rebel championship handicap win went to Dearman with 97 from 25.5—he’ll get to try again from 26.5 next time. As we move forward into those hazy, lazy, crazy days of summer, trapshooting in Mississippi, the sport we love, will be right there with us. Check our schedules for Mississippi and come see us. We offer excellent trapshooting, real Southern hospitality and some of the best Southern fried heat anywhere in the South.

On a sad note, Missisippi lost our only Grand American Handicap champion on July 18. He was Wayne Hegwood, who won the title in 1975. The story goes that Wayne had only shot a high of 88 in handicap before the Grand that year and only entered because some friends encouraged him to do so. When the smoke had settled, it was Wayne and Kentucky’s heavily favored Carter Black with the lone 99s. We’re proud of Wayne and his contribution to trapshooting lore and to the great American sport that we all love.

Jerry Tharp

ATA Delegate

North Carolina

The telephonic Southern Zone Shoot was a success this year. Roughly the same number of shooters came to Bostic to enjoy the great targets, nice campground and wonderful weather. We almost got some rain on Saturday morning, but the storm went just south of us, and clear weather prevailed. Thanks again to our youth shooters, their coaches and parents for turning out.

With mixed emotions, our good friends Bob and Carolyn Keever are retiring from their duties at our Bostic homegrounds. They were instrumental in founding the site, and both have worked tirelessly to make it one of the premier shooting facilities in the eastern United States. Bob and Carolyn were the driving force in getting the ATA to move the Dixie Grand to NC. The presentation to the ATA was so well organized and compelling, the Executive Committee could hardly do anything but say yes. The good news is, the Keevers are not leaving us . . . they are planning on enjoying their retirement and coming to shoots to relax and hang out with family and friends.

Congratulations to NC for winning the Southern Zone team race: Noah Gouge, Johnathan Miller, Jim Wilson, Charlie Brown and Buddy Jensen. It’s been a long dry spell but worth the wait!

Noah Gouge won the Southern Zone singles with a lone 200. Johnathan Miller took runnerup with 199. Emily Rankin captured Class C honors with 195. Brandon Cantrell took D class with 197. Well done, NC shooters!

We’d love to see all of you at the Dixie Grand this October. Last year’s was a great success, and this year should even be better; great targets and a wonderful time to visit the Blue Ridge Mountains. Check the program for hotel accommodations. Our campground is full, but there are some camping facilities in nearby communities. Pre-squadding is highly recommended.

I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Dixie Grand!

Bob Schultz

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

South Carolina shooters have been doing some traveling; we had three shooters at the Virginia State Shoot, but no trophy winners. We had five shooters at the Kentucky State Shoot, with Teresa Knight and Doug Stenback winning trophies. At the Southern Zone Shoot we had 43 shooters. Trophy winners were Gary Campbell, Frank Ketron, Donnie Pigg, John Mouzon, Teresa Knight, Doug Stenback, Jay Willson, Randy Knight and Carl Schultz.

In the achievement department, Randy Knight has reached 50,000 singles.

Mid Carolina has kept their Big 50 program going all year. Belton and Greenville are restarting their programs in September, so be ready to get some registered shooting in without spending the entire day.

If there are any rule changes from the ATA meeting at the Grand, next month’s column will have them listed.

Jim Faber

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

“Trap has definitely taught me patience; if you practice something, you will eventually become good at it.”—Matthew Swift, a senior at Middle Tennessee Christian School. He has participated in trap for eight years. When asked what shooters could learn from participating in trap, he said, “It’s not something you can just pick up and be incredible at; you have to put the time and work into it. It teaches you patience.”

On June 12-13, the Tennessee State AIM Shoot was held at the Tennessee CTC in Nashville. The shoot experienced the highest attendance in state shoot history, with 271 total shooters (257 in-state and 14 out-of-state). There were 113 who participated in the handicap competition and 90 in doubles.

In the high-over-all, the resident junior gold champion was James Donald Kelly (359), and the junior champion was a tie between Michael Sisk and Savannah L. Brock (380). Sub-junior winner was Gage Jarnigan (383), while Gunnar R. McGowan (346) took pre-sub, and the ladies’ champion was Mercie Ashmore (381). The non-resident victor was Travis Coursey (371) of Kentucky.

In the singles, resident junior gold champion was Cody Harris (195), and the runnerup was Neil Slone (190). This year’s junior champion was Dale Anthony (198), runnerup was Hayden Jacobs (197), and third was Austin Schaller (197). The junior ladies’ champion was Savanna Brock (193). Junior AA winner was Caleb Clayton (195), A was a tie between Parker Hinson and Seth Cooper (196). The B champion was Evan Goke (194), C was Case Beatty (191), and D was a tie between Katelyn Cothron and Blaine Bushnell (178).

The resident sub-junior champion was Gage Jarnigan (197), runnerup was Dakota Duke (196), while Tucker Carlton (194) and Mercie Ashmore (194) tied for third. Sub-junior ladies’ champion was Ashmore (194), and AA went to Samuel Nowlin (193). Class A champion was a tie between Landon Meadows and Colby Glen Lancaster (193). The B champion was Kelsey Goke (184), C was Hunter McCoy (187), and D winner was Joal Nathanial Doak (167).

In the pre-sub division, champion was Ryder Bassham (184), the runnerup was Gunnar McGowan (182), and third was Cason Dement (174). The pre-sub ladies’ winner was Maryjenning Bushnell (113). The Class A champion was Connor Garret Doak (166), while B was Troy Williams (171), and Dyson Weaver (163) took C.

The non-resident junior champion was Taylor Alexan Knight (193), pre-sub was Drake Reynolds (176), and sub-junior was Daniel A. Everett (192).

The resident junior gold champion squad was Hardin Co. HS #1. The junior champion squad was Coffee Co. Jr., runnerup was Macon Co. A, and third was MTCS Juniors J1. The squad that claimed the sub-junior champion position was Tennessee Smoke, while runnerup was Coffee Co., and third was Dyer Co. The pre-sub champion squad was MTCS; runnerup was Manchester Trap. The open champion squad was CBHS Brothers In Arms, with students from both in- and out-of-state.

In the handicap, resident junior gold champion was James Donald Kelly (89), and the runnerup was Jennie Kate Conlley (85). The junior champion was Michael Sisk (97), while runnerup was Case Beatty (96). Brantley Whitwell (96) claimed third. Zachary J. Tyler (98) was the sub-junior champion; runnerup was Robert C. Lewis (97), and third was Ashmore (96).

The pre-sub champion was Connor Garrett Doak (87), while Gunnar McGowan (86) took runnerup and Josiah Goke (74) third. All of this year’s non-resident champions hail from Kentucky: the junior champion was Davis L. Smith (96), sub-junior was Stephen Leonard Jr. (95), and pre-sub was Drake Reynolds (81).

In the doubles, James Donald Kelly (82) was resident junior gold champion. Junior champion was Caleb Clayton (98), while runnerup was Brooke Barnett (95). Third was Zack Bonee (95). Taking sub-junior was Gage Jarnigan (94). The runnerup was Ashmore (91), and third was Hunter Wood Wilhelm (90).

The pre-sub champion was Gunnar McGowan (78), with Dyson Weaver (67) taking runnerup and Connor Garrett Doak (65) third. Travis Coursey (89) of Kentucky claimed non-resident junior champion; the sub-junior champion was Ty Moore (93) of Kentucky, and pre-sub was Drake Reynolds (75).

Congratulations to all winners! Like Swift said, being successful is a long process of patient practice. Congratulations also to all who participated—win or lose, shooting is an opportunity for students to learn and grow. Matthew was happy with his performance this year, but he had struggled just the week prior. He had this to say about the experience, “You’re not going to shoot well every time. You just have to keep a good head on you and continue to be patient.” No matter how a shooter did, the Tennessee AIM State Shoot is a wonderful opportunity for young people to grow.

Sarah Mathis, another graduating senior, put it well. “Starting trap at a young age matures you. Competing, especially with firearms, has definitely matured me.” Shooting is so much more than the scores on any given day, and its impact will be felt by the shooters for the rest of their lives. This year’s shoot was a wonderful success, if for no other reason than the positive impact it has on all the shooters who participated.

 Billy Cook

ATA Delegate

Virginia

Our 2018 state shoot is now in the books. I hope you had a chance to join us and shoot all or part of the tournament. We had near-capacity crowds almost every day and, thankfully, not too much weather drama. Our normal July afternoon thundershowers held off, mostly. We did have to close the line once for lightning and because of that, ended up having to cancel one event entirely. Attendance was helped by the West Virginia State Shoot being at our homegrounds the week after. Quite a few shooters came, camped and stayed for the second week.

Congratulations to everyone who took home a trophy, got a punch, or just beat their averages during the shoot. Our singles champion this year is Glen Funkhouser with a perfect 200, Danny Sirk took the doubles championship with 100, and Rance Boyd took the handicap championship. Rance also won the all-around, while Funkhouser took the high-over-all. Also notable are other perfect scores turned in by Cameron Bailey, Adam Busch, Patrick McCarthy, Allan Armacost, Kay Ohye and Michael Wengerd. All of our trophy winners are listed on the VTA website at vatrap.com.

My thanks to everyone who helped with the shoot. While we don’t express it enough, without your help, the shoot would not be possible.

George Hafkemeyer

ATA Delegate