Arkansas

The 2019 Arkansas State Shoot had 298 entries in the state championship. We had over $40,000 added money, trophies and prizes, with $13,400 added money in-state and $4,100 out-of-state plus a handicap jackpot of $9,500. So many good reasons to put the Arkansas State Shoot on your calendar for next year. We want to thank all the sponsors who contributed this year. You are what helps make our shoot great.

Congratulations to our Arkansas state singles winners: J. C. Tune, champion; Jon Langenfield, runnerup; Dylan Watters, AA; Dalton Lamons, A; Noah Bowerman, B; Clayton Smith, C; Gilbert Palmer, D; Wendy Pennock, Lady I; Logan Applegate, sub-junior; Cameron Cox, junior; Cale Love, junior gold; Woody Barnes, sub-vet; Alan Sharp, vet; Larry Hicks, senior vet.

A big thanks to all of our out-of-state friends who joined us this week. We love seeing old friends and making new ones.

Three weeks later we were a host site for the Southwestern Zone. We would like to thank all the shooters who came out for the Southwestern Zone. Congratulations to all the winners!

We want to give a special congratulations to Haley Miller for breaking her first 100 straight during the Arkansas State AIM competition and to Katie Pryor for breaking her first 100 straight during the Nebraska State Shoot. Katie went on to take the Lady I out-of-state singles champion with 200 straight after shooting off for the non-resident top trophy. We have some awesome lady shooters in Arkansas!

Congratulations to Clayton Walters, who took junior HAA runnerup and A class singles champ out-of-state for the Nebraska State Shoot.

To our Arkansas shooters, if you know of anyone who accomplishes a milestone in his/her shooting career, let us know. We want to be able to share!

The Blue Rock Sportsmans Club is under reconstruction from flood damage that was done in May this year. You can keep up with their progress and ways to donate on their Facebook page.

We encourage you to grab a friend and take them shooting. Be sure to check out the www.arkansastrapshooting.org calendar for shoots coming up.

Romans 12:18—If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceable with all men.

I can be reached at [email protected]. God bless.

Robby Pennock

ATA Delegate

Colorado

Trapper and Reddot, continued . . .

Intent on reading the statistics that the centuries-old computer was regurgitating, Reddot hadn’t noticed the rather large spider that was now crawling up her left leg. When she first noticed the tickling of the spider, Reddot involuntarily shrieked and jumped backwards. Looking down, Reddot relaxed when she realized the arachnid crawling up her leg was only a harmless non-poisonous yellow and black garden spider. Placing her hand just below the hem of her red shorts Reddot let the brightly colored spider crawl onto her hand. Sensing movement, the spider stopped crawling as Reddot excitedly brought the spider up in front of her face for a better look. Reddot was excited because she knew that this once-common garden spider, along with many others arachnids, was thought to be long-extinct. They were thought to have been wiped out by the overuse of pesticides back in the 21st century. Reddot had no fear of creepy-crawly things, including snakes and spiders. In the year 2525 children weren’t born the way they were back in the 21st century. In 2525, when you wanted a child, you turned in an application. If you qualified and more children were needed, one would be picked and shipped to you by special courier. It was a lot like ordering from Amazon back in the 21st century. Your child came fully schooled and trained in the career deemed appropriate by the officials. The only thing you got to decide was if you wanted a daughter or a son. That is why Reddot had no fear of bugs; she had been fully schooled on spiders and snakes as part of her training to be a reporter.

In the grand entryway, Trapper was looking at what must have been very old pictures of past top trap competitors. They were holding their trophies with large smiles on their faces. Like Reddot, Trapper had also been trained to be a reporter so had no concept of what it felt like to compete in or win or lose at anything. It saddened him. In Trapper and Reddot’s world, no one competed for anything. The Party either gave it to you, or it didn’t. asked him, “What you thinking?” He said, “I was just wondering what it would feel like to compete at trap. I would like to know what it feels like to win or lose by one’s own ability.” With a sorrowful tone, Reddot said, “We will never know, for that era has long passed.” She added, “All the information we came for has been passed over the air; our work here is done.” Turning slowly from the pictures, Reddot said, “I wish something could have been done centuries ago to save trap and competitive shooting. Then we too could have enjoyed what must have been the thrill of competitive trapshooting the way our ancestors enjoyed it.”

—The End—

Southwestern Zone Shoot, or the big little shoot—Before I get started with the Colorado winners, I would like to say I hadn’t participated in a Southwestern Zone Shoot for many years and then only as a shooter, never as an official. One of the first things I noticed was the number of first-time Southwestern Zone shooters we had in Colorado. Hopefully the other seven states experienced the same. I was talking to Mike Herman (ATA Southwestern Zone VP) about the good but somewhat low Zone attendance experienced by Colorado and some of the other states. I asked Mike what he thought could be done to help participation. Without hesitation, Mike said it might help if we split the Colorado shoot east and west. He then added if done right, the split shouldn’t hurt the existing shoot but should bring in some additional shooters from the western half of the state. I’m sure there are some other states that could benefit from this as well. Remember, the trick is to help, not hurt. I think split is the wrong word for it can bring up the wrong idea. I think “dual shoot” sites or “sister club” shoots is more the idea. Two or even three clubs could combine via the phone or the Internet to complement each other and bring in more ATA shooters without hurting each other. Case in point: Amarillo, TX, 46 shooters; El Paso, TX, 53 shooters; and Ft Worth, TX, 87 shooters. Total Texas shooters was 186. Total for the Zone was 547. As you can see, the multiple sites can help. With most sites having less than a hundred shooters, you can see why I call it the big little shoot.

Event 1 zone class singles: Mike Herman won sub-vet by shooting 100 straight then won shootoff.

Event 4 Zone Singles Championship: Dale Lebsock, 199, AA; Scott McIntire, 192, D; Terry Findley, 198, sub-vet; Mel Hensley, 198, vet; Colton Arrigo, 198, junior.

Event 5 Zone Doubles Championship: Kevin Davis, 98, runnerup; Shane Gillespie, 96, A; Scott Murphy, 93, C; Garrett Murphy, 92, D; Mel Hensley, 97, vet.

Event 6 Zone Handicap Championship: Garrett Murphy, 96, fifth; Stephen Yellstrom, 92, vet; Adrian Schmauch, 96, junior gold.

All-around: Colton Arrigo, A, 385; Garrett Murphy, C, 375; Terry Findley, sub-vet, 385; Mel Hensley, vet, 385.

We had 18 trophies from 70 shooters, not bad. Way to go, Colorado.

Congratulations to Stacy Rehor on your Southwestern Zone Singles Championship win—200 straight then 449 in the shootoff to take the win; wow! Stacy, you put on a shooting clinic that not only Colorado but the entire Southwestern Zone should appreciate. You go, girl.

Ruby Darling would like to leave you with this: you shoot 100 straights by concentrating on one bird at a time. You build a successful shooting career by concentrating on one shoot at a time.

Irv Effinger

ATA Delegate

Louisiana

With the exception of Hurricane Barry, which dumped huge amounts of rain, it has been very hot, with several NWS heat advisories being issued. This weather is really making me look forward to next week’s trip to Sparta for the Grand American. Hopefully Illinois will be a bit cooler than the swamp that I call home.

Despite the heat, 19 shooters showed up for the July monthly shoot held this past weekend at the Toby Bancroft Memorial GC in West Monroe. Temperatures forced us to quit and not have a doubles event, and we had one very experienced shooter suffer from heat exhaustion immediately after the singles. I am saying all of this to encourage everyone to pay close attention to the heat and start hydrating early and often if you plan to be out in excessive temps.

I would also like to offer congratulations to sub-junior Nicklaus Hicks and junior Jessie Spillers for participating in the singles event and blasting their first-ever 25 straights in registered competition. Way to go, guys.

I am going to keep this short because I have to start getting prepared for my journey to Sparta next week. Hopefully I will get a chance to see many old friends and fellow shooters, and I pray that all will have safe travels.

For Louisiana shoot schedules and contact information for Louisiana gun clubs, please visit the LTA website www.louisianatrapshootingassociation.org/index.htm.

Just a reminder that tickets are still available for the 2019 Gun Club Raffle for a chance to win a Perazzi High Tech Trap RS Combo. Tickets are $20 each, and a limited number are available. To purchase, please contact your ATA Delegate, ATA state secretary or the ATA office: [email protected] or 618-449-2224, ext. 104.

Raffle ends Aug. 9 at noon, and the drawing will be held that night at the closing ceremonies of the 2019 Grand American.

Shoot well and shoot often.

Doyle Brooks

ATA Delegate

Missouri

The Missouri Summer Handicap at Linn Creek July 5-7 had both high temps and scores! Rick McGaughey was the singles champ with the lone 199 over the field of 92 shooters. During the Singles Championship on Saturday, the SCTP state shoot was held, with 140 shooters competing. In the Doubles Championship, Grant Boswell took the champ trophy with a lone 99. The handicap trophy went to Jeff Gunn with 97. Congratulations to all winners! Thanks again to the MTA management and staff for all your work putting on the shoots. If you have not had a chance to spend the Fourth of July near Lake of the Ozarks, in the right location it can be a real treat watching the fireworks over the water.

My travels took me to Jacksonville, AR, the same week as the Southwestern Zone Shoot. You will have to look hard to find a facility that tries harder to put on a good shoot than the folks at the Arkansas Game & Fish Foundation SSC. The place always looks immaculate, and they work hard to make everyone feel welcome. It seems that a big black cloud has hovered over them this year (literally). As I followed a lot of the shoots this year, several have had bad-weather issues, beginning with the Spring Grand. Hey, it’s an outdoor sport, and anything can and will happen. What makes the difference is how it is managed. It’s not an easy job making decisions that can affect the outcome of a shoot when weather plays a big factor, as I know firsthand. All you can do is try to do what is best for the majority of the shooters, while following the rulebook, and go on. As most of you know, weather caused a delay in finishing the Arkansas Handicap Championship, and it extended into the Southwestern Zone. Hats off to the Arkansas association, the management at the complex, and the ATA for coming up with a plan and making it happen.

As I write this report, I am at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, IL, helping with the AIM Grand and getting ready for the Grand American. By the time you read this, we will all know who the big winners are. In the meantime, I hope and pray that everyone has safe travels and shoots well wherever you are.

Stephen Ricketts

ATA Delegate

New Mexico

We had a good ATA Southwestern Zone Shoot this year. I was at the El Paso, TX, site. Weather was a little hot, but otherwise they had a good shoot.

I would like to congratulate Gerald Jones for shooting 24,700 singles targets. By the time you read this, I hope it’s over 25,000.

Roswell, NM, had a good shoot July 27. They had a breeze, good food and nice people to shoot with.

I hope to see y’all down the road. Shoot well and often.

Bob Leibel

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Ada’s June 15-16 shoot had good attendance both days. They shot three 100-bird handicap events on Saturday, when the wind was a factor. New shooters Wyatt Krittenbrink won the first event with 89, Derek Wilson won the second with 89, and Robert Ernsting won the third with 91. On Sunday’s singles, Zane Arnold broke 99 to win, and with 98s were Josh Casteel and Wyatt. In the handicap, Robert, Wyatt and Josh all had 91s, and Randy Farmer had 90. The doubles was won by Josh with 95, and Clay Laughlin had 94. Tyler Rindal has a very strong contingent of AIM shooters competing at Sparta this year. A lot of them traveled to the surrounding state shoots, winning non-resident trophies.

Approximately 12 from Oklahoma attended the Nebraska State Shoot. Weather was great—the only state shoot around here so far not affected by bad weather. Scores were very high in every event, a testament to good targets. Klayton McGee, Jacob Diller and Kenyon Bert won non-resident awards in the AIM events. They also won other events with very high scores. Klayton had 100 and 197 in the singles, while Jacob had 100 and 198 in the singles and 97 in the doubles. Corbin Grybowski had 100 and 199 in singles and 96 in handicap. These are just a few of the scores I noticed. Look for a complete list of winners in this copy of Trap & Field.

John Burke decided it was time to retire after many years as Delegate as well as President of the ATA. Jim Kerr was voted in as the new Nebraska Delegate and will do a great job. One thing I noted was the scorers and trap loaders were almost all girls. They all seemed to work together and get the job done helping each other. Hulls were picked up and fields kept clean. Just another testament to girl power.

Shawnee’s July 7 shoot turned out well. Mike Grove won the singles with 98 and the doubles with 84. Emma Tennell won the handicap with 91.

At Ada, Mark Medlock broke 47 to win the Tuesday shoot.

The Texas State Shoot in Amarillo was one more affected by the weather. It was nice until Friday, when it rained all night. We awoke Saturday morning to thunder, lightning and more rain. The singles were to start at 8 a.m. but were delayed until 9:30 to avert the rain. Like our state shoot, there was water and mud everywhere. I counted 54 of us from Oklahoma, and I think about the same number of Texas shooters attended our shoot. Like each state shoot I have attended this year, there were a lot of young shooters, and 26 from Oklahoma. Pat Stacey broke the only 200 in singles, 97 in Event 11 handicap and 99 in doubles. Nathan Lemke’s 198 won him non-resident runnerup in the singles. Out of 15 non-resident all-around awards, 11 were won by Oklahoma shooters, and out of 15 non-resident HOA awards, eight were won by Oklahoma shooters. A complete list of winners is online and coming up in T&F.

Duane Steinly told me two shooters in his area have undergone open heart surgery in the last few weeks. Phil Webb and Richard Coit both are on the road to recovery now. Vickie Farmer’s seven-year-old granddaughter Harleigh Hook was bitten on the foot by a pygmy rattler a couple weeks ago. After 16 vials of anti-serum and a hospital stay, she is doing okay now, but not how a young girl expects to spend her summer.

A week after the Texas State Shoot, we were back at Amarillo for the Southwestern Zone. Weather was perfect, with flags hanging straight down all three days. Targets were great, and scores were very high.

Congratulations to Stacy Rehor on winning the championship singles after a marathon shootoff with Dalton Jennings. Stacy and Denis Bringelson kept it in the family by winning the all-around and HOA honors.

Logan Henry’s 199 at Amarillo tied Patrick Hopson’s 199 at Ft. Worth. Don Adams and I refereed the eight-round shootoff between them. Patrick outlasted Logan for the win. Don broke 96 in Sunday’s handicap for the win at Amarillo. I was fortunate to break 95 right behind him for the senior vet win. Zachary Piancino continues to shoot great scores. It looked like Oklahoma shooters did very well.

Bud Milner came by and visited with us. He is doing well, and he’s thought about shooting some more. Larry Cornelson was also there and told me the Ashland GC has been able to update their club. He said they have poured solid trapfield pads and put in two new Pat-Traps. Their plans are for more improvements. This is Abagail Colton’s home club, only 40 miles from her house. She is secretary of the board and wrote a grant for the club to make it handicap accessible.

Ada’s Tuesday shoot was won by Dakota Sliger with 49, and the one target he missed was from the 16. He shared the singles quarters with other 24s but won all 15 handicap quarters for his 25 straight.

The Canadian County FFA held a fund-raising shoot at the OTSA SP on July 20. It was a big success, with 55 shooters participating in spite of the hot weather. The many prizes to be won were donated by a lot of local businesses. A Model 12 shotgun was auctioned off, which brought $750. Erick and other members did a great job putting the shoot together, and it went very well. They also spent a lot of time mowing, weed-eating and putting the grounds in tip-top shape.

Ada held an AIM shoot July 20, where attendance was light, probably due to the extreme heat. Clay Laughlin was high in singles with 94 and doubles with 86. Zane Arnold won the handicap with 86. On July 21, 22 shooters braved the heat to compete. Clay won the singles with 97. Austin Palmer won the handicap with 99 and earned one yard, a 50s pot and super purse. Ashton Huffstutlar broke 96 for a half yard and the Lady I win. Colton Ables won the doubles with 87. Again our young shooters prevailed. Complete results are in Trap & Field Gun Club Scores.

Remember to thank those who protect our freedom.

Tim Deister

 ATA Delegate

 

Texas

Well, it’s the day before we leave for another Grand American. I’m always excited to go see our “once a year” friends. I don’t like the drive, but I love the many places that serve good, old-fashioned home cooking. My goal this year is not to gain more than 10 pounds. I may have to change that to “per week.” Not sure yet.

Another Texas State Shoot is in the books, and for the most part, all went well. Weather was a problem on Saturday morning, but we got through the singles before it got late. I know that lots of people at the Amarillo GC worked their tails off. The board of directors did a great job hosting the shoot. Thanks to Scott Steinkruger and his crew for all their hard work. Also, a special thanks to the officers of the Texas TA for the work they did. You can’t ever thank the volunteers enough. Two people who worked their tails off and get no thanks are the two fantastic people that set our targets: Billy Hopson and Billy McFarlen did a wonderful job. I don’t think there is a more important job than setting targets. Thank both of you very much, and thanks to all of you who made our state shoot the success it was.

This year’s state shoot had competitors from 10 states: Arizona, one; Arkansas, three; Colorado, four; Illinois, three; Kansas, three; Nebraska, one; New Mexico, 29; Oklahoma, 55; South Carolina, two; and Texas, 168. Thanks to everyone who came and helped make the state shoot a great event. Just in case you have problems with addition, that comes to 101 out-of-state shooters at our state shootI will leave the job of listing winners to Trap & Field. If you don’t subscribe to this magazine, shame on you. It’s a great magazine that covers trapshooting from coast to coast and border to border and beyond. Try it, I promise you will like it. (If not, just mail your issues to me.)

I would like to send congratulations to Billy McFarlen. Billy shot at his 50,000th ATA doubles target (I was told he broke it, but I was not a witness.) That’s a great accomplishment. Keep it up, Billy.

Courtesy, courtesy, courtesy. If you have pre-squadded and are not going to shoot all the events you squadded for, please release the position(s) so a squad will not have to shoot with less than five people. It doesn’t necessarily have to be on pre-squad. If you are at the shoot and squad and for some reason are not going to fill that position, please release it. It’s just the right thing to do. Also, if you are on the sidewalk behind people who are shooting or just waiting to shoot, please be considerate of the people on the firing line and keep noise to a minimum. I know you would appreciate that when you on the firing line. Again, it’s just the right thing to do.

Rules, rules, rules. You knew we would get to this. Just because a momma cat has kittens in the oven, that don’t make them biscuits. That’s also true on the firing line. The loudest person there quoting the rules may not know anything about the rules. It’s your job to know the rules and apply them fairly. If you ever have a rules question on the line that you are not sure about, please stop and ask for a referee. Do not continue shooting, because many things cannot be changed after the fact. It’s your responsibility to know the rules.

Average card, average card, average card. The rulebook also covers this topic but because so many of you don’t, won’t, or can’t read the rulebook, I thought this might need its own paragraph. On Page 6 of the Average Book under Section II, Item C, No. 4, it clearly states that each person making entry at any registered shoot shall provide classification personnel with the current data on his or her shooting ability. It does not say, “Tell me what class you should be in”; it does not say, “Hand me your phone.” It says current data. Your phone or even a printed average card could be two weeks or more behind because of time involved with clubs getting the info to the ATA office and them getting it processed. I will say that the ATA office posts the information they receive very quickly, and I appreciate that. Still, you may have shot one or two shoots that are not in the system, and that makes your average card (or your phone) not up to date. It takes very little effort to keep an up-to-date card. The ATA has made it so easy to print your average card. All you have to do is add a shoot or two that is not posted. Please do this, so the underpaid and under-appreciated person doing the classifying can do their job correctly.

I would like to thank the shooters of Texas for allowing me to serve as their Delegate for another year. I promise I will always represent the views and express the thoughts of the shooters from Texas.

The sermon for September has come to an end. (I know what you are thinking, that it could have ended three paragraphs ago.) If you have news, ideas, concerns, thoughts, convulsions, fits of anger, tantrums, impossible spouses, garden problems or structural damage to your home, just let me know, and I’ll get it in my column. If it’s the last six items, please refer those to Princess. For the first four, you can contact me at 806-679-6889, [email protected] or even snail mail to 800 Baltimore Dr., Hereford, TX 79045.

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

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Alberta

July was busy for trapshooters, starting at Western Zone host site Edmonton GC. Despite the forecast for steady rain, it turned out quite nice for all three days, with many good scores shot over the weekend. In the end, only Larry Ivany and yours truly picked up Zone trophies—Larry the class doubles vet and myself for vet Doubles Championship. The Canadian Championships in St Thomas, ON, overlapped this year with the zone, but we still represented well with five shooters attending from AB. Bringing back trophies were Shawn McNeil plus Lynn and Jesse Smith.

The Stampede Grand was held in Calgary July 5-8 and as always was a fun time. The first official day of the event overlapped with the Celebration of Life for Ron Crockford held at Edmonton. Over 200 shooters, friends, fellow workers and and family paid final respects to Ron, a great person and a great shooter. He will be missed.

The Alberta Provincials are now complete for 2019. Congratulations to Brad Johnson, who again won the singles; Shawn McNeil, doubles, HAA and HOA; and Niklas Tebb, handicap. There may be some dynasties being built, as Brad Johnson has won the singles three years in a row, the Tebb family has won the handicap three of the last five years, and Shawn McNeil dominating HOA. We got a bit of rain during Saturday’s singles, but overall, weather was acceptable for all other days. Calgary Firearms Centre hosted a fine shoot, as well as provided participants and spouses a pig roast on Friday evening. A big thank you to Bill and LeeAnn Martin, Heather and Bert Brumwell, and Bayer, whose contributions helped make the shoot a great success.

The four trapshooters who passed away in 2019—Ron Crockford, Arnold Norgard, Jack De Cook and Ed Dutka—were honored in a Saturday morning ceremony with a moment of silence followed by four flash targets shot by a squad made up of friends and family members of the fallen. Condolences to all the families.

During the AGM and the following BOD meeting, Brad Johnson was again named president, Bob Gruszecki vice president and treasurer, and Jim Thomson ATA Delegate and secretary. Following the AGM, Harold Schwandt was inducted into the Alberta Trapshooting Hall of Fame. Harold has been both a builder and shooter in his career. His tireless efforts and clever business skills have been instrumental in building the Medicine Hat GC into a thriving success. Harold has won many provincial championships and just to show he is not finished, he shot a 197 and took home the veteran trophy in this year’s provincial Singles Championship.

This will be my last T&F report. If there are questions, give Jim a call.

Off to the Grand tomorrow. We will have about 10 shooters from AB this year, so we should bring back some hardware!

Garry Hill

for ATA Delegate Jim Thomson

Arizona

It looks as if we are starting the 2020 target year (Sept. 1) with a new club in Arizona. Actually it’s a new, old club. The Smokin’ Gun in Littlefield is operating on the grounds that once belonged to the Oasis GC. They have two traps, skeet, sporting clays, 5-stand and a pistol range—sounds like a pretty good lineup. Littlefield is up in the far northwestern corner of the state along I-15. The nearest major towns are Las Vegas and Mesquite in Nevada and St. George in Utah. We are currently in the process of getting them certified for ATA shooting.

The Grand: This is the first year in a long, long time when neither Karen nor I will be shooting at the Grand. Our youngest daughter is expecting her first child right in the middle of things. I do not understand it; we gave them our shooting schedule over a year ago, but apparently no notice was taken. That would not have happened in my day. Grandmother-hood has triumphed over the Grand American for Karen, but I will be there for the Western Zone and Board of Directors meetings, and possibly a meeting with the Executive Committee to discuss the Autumn and Spring Grands. Details will follow next month.

The Arizona contingent is never huge (it’s 1,500 miles each way), but we always send some terrific shooters. This year our state team has an average around 97.5 in singles. Hopefully I will be able to report great things. A victory parade has been tentatively scheduled during the Autumn Grand.

Speaking of the Autumn Grand, now is the time to line up RV spots and hotel rooms. The Casino Del Sol has special rates for trapshooters, but the rooms go fast. Otherwise try some of the hotels around the Tucson airport. What does the Autumn Grand offer? Try 11 full days of shooting, including the Pre-Grand starting Oct. 31 at what is considered by many to be the best facility in the country: comfortable weather, usually shorts and T-shirts; vendors, including first-class gunsmithing from Karl McKnight; good food; old friends; and you have got to have some of Lanny’s ice cream. It’s a little more relaxed than the Spring Grand and has always been one of my favorites. If you have never shot at Tucson, do yourself a favor and come on down.

Around the state: September features shoots at Rio Salado, Casa Grande, Lake Havasu, Tri-State, Flagstaff, Pleasant Valley and Tucson. We have all points of the compass covered. Complete details can be found at aztraps.com. See you on the line.

John Bergman

ATA Delegate

Hawaii

This year we all returned to the Maui CTA range for the state shoot. For those unfamiliar with this range, it is located in an area called Ukumehame. Yes, that is a lot of vowels. Oo-ku-may-haw-may. This year it seemed to be hot all over the state and earlier in the year. The state at this site has always been known for strong winds and heat. Subtract the wind and turn up the heat, and you have the 2019 Hawaii State Shoot.

The MCTA crew did a great job keeping things flowing over the two traps. I don’t recall any breakdowns, and the shooters helped by being ready and on time. Before I go any further, let me thank all the shooters who pitched in and helped with the scoring so the trap help could rest, cool off and hydrate. Carryovers on the singles also helped a great deal, as there were lots of ties during the Joe Perez class singles. Three Maui shooters finished with 98s. Nic Corbat turned in a nice 98 in AA. The surprise came in Class C, where Don Saito Jr. and state shoot rookie Leonard Yu both also finished with 98s.

Three shooters made the trans-Pacific trek to join us this year. Corwin Cockey from Michigan and Kenneth Lobo from Idaho joined non-resident regular Grant Lau from Washington this year. Ken’s 196 in the main singles was good for non-resident champion. Corwin captured the non-resident handicap and doubles trophies.

Nine ATA rookies from Hawaii shot this shoot and collected trophies along the way. Congratulations to Chris Corpuz, Tish Brook, Leonard Yu and Todd Winn. The hook is set, and I wish them continued success in the future. In only his second state shoot, Loren Goto of Kaneohe shot an awesome 97 to claim the handicap title. Jay Nakamura, shooting on his home turf, was one behind Loren with a 96. In the end, to Loren’s surprise, he was called for the HAA shootoff with Jay. It would be Jay’s day, as he defeated Loren in a close shootoff to repeat as all-around champion.

This shoot had a bittersweet edge for many of us, as earlier this year we lost two friends. Dale Moriguchi will be remembered as a regular at Sage Hill for the Golden West Grand and for his work as the shotgun activity director for the Schofield R&GC. Dale was also a longtime fixture behind the computer at our state shoot. We’ll remember Thomas (Tommy) Kushima as a great guy who was always pleasant to be around. His humble demeanor belied the fact that he was a fierce competitor who had the second most major championship wins at our state shoot, (13, second only to Hawaii legend Michael Baldwin, who has 19). I’ll sadly miss both of them, as they came into our sport long after I did and made their mark along the way.

This year the Hawaii TA rolled out the Hawaii Trapshooting Hall of Fame. This has been a pet project of mine for a long time now, and this year I decided I could not put it off any longer. We ended up officially inducting only two this year: Tommy Kushima posthumously and Howard (Slick) Komatsu. Among Howard’s notable accomplishments is he is the only resident who has recorded a 100 straight in doubles. In my almost 40 years of trapshooting, I don’t ever recall anyone else in Hawaii shooting a 100 straight in ATA or practice doubles. We had several others nominated but were not able to confirm their induction with them or their family. We’ll keep trying because those folks are noteworthy in the annals of Hawaii ATA shooting. The Michael Baldwin family, Alden (Al) Katsutani and Dennis (DO) Okimoto have been nominated. Next year for sure we will induct Tina Shigemura and her late husband Carl. Tina and Michael Baldwin are the only two on record to have won all the HAA events at the same state shoot. Wow.

Now for this year’s shoot trivia. 1) Where was Joe Perez this year? 2) How many state shoot rookies from Maui were there this year? 3) From which state were the non-residents from this year? 4) Who forgot his gun at the range on Saturday? 5) Who beat her husband in the doubles? 6) How many shooters came over from the Big Island, aka, Hawaii Island? Bonus question for those at the dinner Saturday night: Where in upcountry Maui was it rumored that an ancient sand mine existed?

Trivia answers: 1) Joe is in the U.S. Army and has transferred to California. It looks like Suzanne Warner is now Mrs. Joe Perez. Congratulations to them. 2) Nine. 3) Grant, Washington; Ken, Idaho; Corwin, Michigan. 4) Corwin (Sorry Corwin, I just had to put that in.) 5) “Del” 84, “Les” 83 (Sorry, Les.) 6) Two: Earl and Ron. Bonus answer: Haiku, next to Don’s house. Correct answers: 0, 2 yards penalty. 1-2, you had too much sweat in your eyes. 3-4, not bad, you were not sleeping in the car with the air on. 5, you’re writing this article next year. See Elton for more details. All six right? Holy cannoli, you’re next year’s Hawaii ATA Delegate!

Thank you for sticking with me through this lengthy report, and have a great day. Aloha!

Elton Miyagawa

ATA Delegate

Utah

It is that time of year when a shoot is taking place almost every weekend. June was filled with shoots every week. Ogden held a one-day shoot; Vernal hosted the Western Grand and two weeks later the state shoot. Between the Western Grand and state shoot, Tooele held its first registered tournament in more than 30 years. The last weekend of June, Spanish Fork GC was one of the 11 Western Zone sites.

The Western Grand in Vernal had a very good turnout, even if the weather wasn’t great. Junior Hayden VanDam achieved several milestones at this shoot. He made the 27-yard line for the first time by breaking back-to-back 98s. He also shot a career-high 99 in doubles, which included his first 50 straight in the twin-bird race. Congratulations, Hayden!

USTA president Justin Sloan broke the lone 100 in doubles on Tuesday and also had the high handicap score of 98 on Wednesday.

Jayme Anderson and Sharred Oaks both took home several trophies on the championship weekend.

Check all the scores on www.shootscoreboard.com and the report in this issue.

Tooele GC had a very good turnout for its return to the ATA. Approximately 40 shooters attended and reported good things about the club. Results can be found on the USTA webpage.

The state shoot was held in Vernal this year, and as was the case at the Western Grand, Sean and Stacy Hawley did an excellent job of running the shoot. I never witnessed a broken-down trap, nor did I ever see a trap run out of targets, and very rarely did I see anyone asking for targets to be adjusted. This says a lot about the hard work and dedication the Hawleys give to the sport.

Lady I Emilee Wolverton, sub-junior Mitchell Pierson and junior Rafe Ramos all shot their first 100 straight in singles. Good shooting, everyone!

The state singles champ is Bobby Street. Bobby changed guns approximately three months ago, and the dividends are paying off big time!

Doubles and all-around champ is Sharred Oaks. Handicap winner is Kyson Muhlestein, and high-over-all is Sean Hawley.

The Western Zone was about three weeks early this year due to a number of reasons. There were 11 host sites this year, with Spanish Fork being one of them. As usual there were a lot of good scores in all of the events. Spanish Fork shooters did very well the first two days, with good weather and great targets. Some of the other sites’ weather was less than desirable. However, when Sunday morning arrived, the tables turned. Spanish Fork shooters had to deal with wind and rain.

On Friday’s handicap, Steve Stewart broke a 97 and made the 27-yard line for the first time.

Zone singles championship was won by Ian Stodart, shooting at Spanish Fork; doubles by Grant Williams at Anaconda; and handicap by Stuart Welton, also at Anaconda.

Ed Wehking

ATA Western Zone Vice President

Washington

I hope you have all had a great summer and a lot of fun shooting ATA targets in Washington as well as clubs throughout the Northwest. Several Washington residents attended the Montana State Shoot and brought home trophies from Big Sky Country.

The Malden-Pine City offered a registered shoot in July, and Spokane GC offered a two-day shoot the first weekend in August. Spokane is also offering Big 50 targets and has joined in the fun by offering Western Zone Big 50 shoots the third week of each month. If your club would like to partake in the Western Zone Big 50 shoots, please contact WSTA secretary Bruce Skelton at [email protected].

Several shooters attended the Grand American also, and we are looking forward to reading about their exploits here in Trap & Field. As you retrieve this issue from your mailbox, the Colton GC will be preparing for their Sept. 15 shoot. With harvest about over or completed in mid September, we hope a few folks will be itching to get out and shoot some more targets. The Spokane GC will be offering great shoots in October and early November as well.

We would like to thank all of the clubs and contestants who supported the WSTA in the 2019 target year, and we appreciate the continued participation as we start the new target year this fall. Our annual WSTA Board of Directors meeting will be in October again this year. We will be planning another great state shoot for 2019 and working on the schedule for registered shoots throughout the state for the upcoming year. Please contact Bruce to submit shoot dates. I for one am really looking forward to visiting more Washington gun clubs in 2020 to shoot some ATA targets. As always, you can check our shoot schedule on shootwsta.com and follow us on the Washington State Trapshooter’s Facebook page.

As we move into fall, many of our clubs will be holding turkey or games shoots, and these are always a lot of fun. Grab a new shooter or a youth shotgunner as a buddy backer partner, and you may get yourself a new ATA prospect while you bring home some turkeys, ham or sausage for your holiday celebrations. Many of us will hit the field for some birds and big game this fall, and those hunting stories always make for good clubhouse conversation.

Lastly, I and the rest of the WSTA would like to thank Andrea Bergstresser for her service and hard work on behalf of the shooters in our state. Andrea is forgoing the last year in her term to concentrate on her college studies, but her efforts during the year on the trophy committee and tireless efforts during the state shoot are much appreciated. I’m sure we will see Andrea at many shoots, so give her a pat on the back for all she has done on our game’s behalf.

Shoot straight and keep your powder dry.

Sean Lewis

ATA Alternate Delegate

Wyoming

Hello from Wyoming! I hope everyone has had a good summer and shot well.

We have had some good shooting across the state. The Western Zone was held the end of June, and 54 Wyoming shooters participated. I shot at the Spanish Fork GC in Utah but was closely watching the scores come in from the Rocky Mountain GC in Casper. Wyoming shooters winning trophies were Garrett Steele, Joe Charron, Hunter Howe, Callahan Healy and myself.

The following week, the Wyoming State Shoot was held in Laramie. Weather was decent, with some windy spells and a little rain. A total of 289 shooters attended, with 122 in-state. Thomas Rezanina was the Wyoming singles champion. Hunter Howe, a very impressive junior shooter, was the doubles, handicap, HOA and HAA champion. He has now accomplished winning every state championship event, with last year’s singles championship added to this year’s accomplishments. For the full details, see the Wyoming State Shoot article in a future issue.

After the state shoot, Evanston, Farson, Wheatland and Casper held local shoots. On July 13-14, Overthrust GC in Evanston held their annual buckle shoot. Overthrust is proud to offer buckles with the winners’ names engraved on them. The club hosted a pig roast Saturday evening. Everyone had a good time, and there were some very impressive scores as well. Congratulations to Kimberly Ideen on her first 100 straight. There were seven shooters who earned punches in Sunday’s handicap events, including Bob Tomlin, who reached the 27-yard line for the first time during the first handicap. Brody Drury and I earned punches in each of the two events. I may be biased as the director of the Overthrust GC, but I think you should all plan to attend this shoot next year!

At Farson’s Summer Shoot, Chad Frericks Jr., shot his first 25 straight—congratulations!

Be sure to check the usual websites for full scores.

Nico Elardi

WSTA Director

Illinois

Hello, shooters! I write to you after the completion of the ATA Central Zone Shoot. There were 10 locations across the Midwest. Brittany was the “winning-est” club, taking 24 of the 96 trophies offered for the weekend. Good job, shooters!

The Illinois northern zone shoot is going to be in Downer’s Grove Sept. 7-8. If you are wanting to qualify for the state team, this will be one of your zone requirements. You can get it in early or catch the central and southern zones in May. They will be throwing 200 singles on the Saturday and 100 doubles and 100 handicap on Sunday. See you there.

While I was up in Wisconsin, a scoresheet came in with a 100 straight from the 27-yard line. I cannot tell you how excited I was to see that it was our very own Ian Lawrence! He completed his ATA Grand Slam in Friday’s handicap event. What a huge accomplishment. Randy Miller broke his 75,000th handicap target at the ATA Central Zone shoot at Brittany in July. Tim Marucco broke his 50,000th handicap target in July at Rend Lake, on top of winning the 400-bird handicap.

We are still looking for donations to break ground on building the new ISTA HOF building. We can’t do it without your help!

With it being a new target year, don’t forget to renew your ISTA membership. You can go to any gun club in the state for one of their registered shoots and purchase one. Now is also the time to set goals for the new target year. Decide on short-term goals for yourself and revisit your long-term goals to see how they are coming along.

Please don’t hesitate to keep me updated on accomplishments at your club! I’d love to hear about peoples’ firsts and their big wins at [email protected].

Good luck, and see you on the line!

Lauren Mueller

ATA Delegate

Indiana

Greetings, Indiana shooters! I hope each of you found success on the trapline this past year and were able to complete your shooting goals. I wish each and every Indiana shooter good luck for the next target year!

I want to take a moment to thank each and every person who helped make the 2019 Indiana State Shoot possible. No way could I list everyone individually here and never would want to run the risk of forgetting to mention someone. Without our countless volunteers, this shoot would never exist. From the guys who show up a week before the shoot to get everything ready, to the guys and gals still there late on Monday evening after the shoot is over, putting everything away and cleaning up, please know everything you do is greatly appreciated.

We had a great shoot this year, even though we had to deal with some weather, like always. However, this year it wasn’t rain; it was severe heat and humidity. If you listened to the TV weatherperson, you would have thought we would have caught on fire just walking outside. I’m happy to report no one did, no one completely melted into a pile of sweat on the last post, and we had some great scores shot. A major congrats to our 2019 Indiana champions! These include Kenneth Heathcoate, taking home the singles championship after shooting off 199s with Devon Harris, and Ronnie Pitcock is our new handicap champion for this year. David Winn won the doubles after a shootoff with Brian Ingle and Scott Cochran, and Devon Harris took home the HAA crown. I know these are the first state titles for Ken and Ronnie, and much deserved. Looking through the doubles champ history, David has title wins in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2019. I didn’t make that connection during the shoot that he has put 20 years between championships; very cool to see that! Speaking of state titles, when it comes to HAA, this was Devon’s fifth. That puts him on the heels of Tank Lunsford’s six career Indiana titles (just wanted to mention that for a little friendly motivation for both of these gentlemen). Former Indiana resident and Indiana Hall of Fame member George Snellenberger has six HAA titles, and H. L. Creek has the record with eight in the 1940s and 1950s, at least as of the records I see starting in 1942. Speaking of George, it was good to see him at the shoot. He won his first Indiana championships (singles and all-around) in 1959, so this year was the 60th anniversary of those feats.

Make sure you check out the Indiana trap website www.indianatrap.com for a full listing of all the registered ATA shoots being held this fall at clubs all over Indiana. Please never forget that without all of these clubs, this sport wouldn’t exist; get out and support them!

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

Iowa

On behalf of the officers and directors, thank you for making the 143rd Iowa State Shoot another success. We know the weather was challenging, to say the least, but we really appreciate those who fought through it!

Congratulations to all the winners and especially the young guns who won all the championship events.

Junior Chayden Wright started it off by winning the Doubles Championship on Friday with 99. Junior gold shooter Taylor Nelson followed on Saturday with the lone 200 to win the Singles Championship. On Sunday sub-junior Cannon Roberson broke 99 to win the Handicap Championship. In the same event, junior Dagen Voigtman from Nebraska broke the lone 100 from the back fence to win out-of-state honors and complete his ATA Grand Slam.

The annual meeting was held on Sunday at 8 a.m. There were no contested races for officers, and Steve Glasgow was elected president and also state ATA Delegate. Denny Dozark was elected First Alternate ATA Delegate, and Dan Wood was elected Second Alternate.

At the awards ceremony held on Saturday, Wendy Delagardelle, longtime trapline manager, was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The state teams were recognized as well as those who are on the All-American teams. Plaques were handed out to those who had reached target milestones: Rex Berkhoff, 25,000 doubles; Tom Grooms, 75,000 singles; Robert Olsen II, 25,000 handicap; Louis Segebart, 75,000 doubles; Gary Smith, 75,000 each of singles and handicap plus 50,000 doubles.

Family and friends surprised Dean Shanahan with a party to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his Grand American Handicap victory in 1979.

We were sad to learn of the passing of longtime Iowa shooter Laurin Stanek of Ft. Dodge. Laurin was Iowa life member No. 47. He was 94 when he passed away on May 29. Our condolences go out to his family.

Dan Wood

ATA Alternate Delegate

Michigan

July was one busy month at the Michigan TA in Mason. The state shoot concluded on July 7. During the shoot, Jim Creighton and Ken Sims were inducted into the MTA Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame college scholarships were awarded to Jonathan Stockwell and Zachary Jobe. It’s great to see these two young shooters getting set to start their academic adventures. Wednesday was Shooter Appreciation Night with free pulled pork and side dishes, drawings for 50 giveaways, and a bonfire with a mortgage burning. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this possible!

In the state Singles Championship, 449 shooters participated. Ken Sims prevailed in shootoff against Brian Leaym after 199s. Part of this event is the annual state zone team event. This year it was won by the team from Zone 1, the Upper Peninsula. In doubles senior vet Ken Smith took the top trophy with 98. The state Handicap Championship featured a shootoff between all-state team captain Carl Chadwell and All-American Jacque Snellenberger after 98s. Carl took the title and Jacque the Lady I trophy. The all-around champ was Skylar Clark, and high-over-all winner was Keith Heeg.

Jim Doolittle stepped down from his seat on the board of directors and was replaced by Doug Trierweiler. The board reelected J. B. Lewis as president, Ryan Ewing as VP, and Jeff Russell as secretary-treasurer. With Darryl Hayes on the ATA Executive Committee, J. B. Lewis was elected ATA Delegate, with Doug Trierweiler and Jim Creighton as Alternate Delegates.

On July 10, just after the state shoot, the USA Clay Target League National High School Shoot got under way. With 1,686 individual competitors from 20 states shooting Wednesday through Sunday, it was another really busy week at the MTA. For the second year in a row, Woodrow Glazer from New Prague High School in Minnesota was the individual champion. Counting last year’s shootoff, he is 425 straight at these events. Young Michigan shooters did very well, with second place Larry Holmes, third place Kyle Uppleger, fifth place Elliot Alberda, and eighth place going to Jonathan Calabrese. The team championship went to Roseau High School from Minnesota.

Just how busy it was is best viewed by these two statistics: counting shooters, parents, siblings, grandparents and coaches, we had more than 6,000 people on the grounds on Saturday, and between noon on Wednesday and Sunday afternoon, we threw 505,000 targets.

1. B. Lewis

ATA Delegate

Minnesota

Greetings from the North Star State! When you read this column, the Grand will be history, and some of you will be at the Heartland Grand.

Before we talk about the 2019 Minnesota State Shoot, we want to congratulate Scott Gens on breaking 300×300 at the Nebraska State Shoot in Doniphan. Scott broke them all on Thursday. Way to go, Scott!

Youth was certainly served at the Minnesota State Shoot beginning with the Doubles Championship, where 16-year-old Jack Knaus was the winner with 98 plus shootoff over junior gold standout Ben Dietz. In the singles on Saturday, there were two in-state 200s, one by Dietz and the other by veteran Randy Cook. After a six-round shootoff, Dietz was victorious. Chalk up another win for the young guys. Not to be outdone, junior Jake Mader broke the lone 99 from 24.5 to win the handicap title Sunday. Dietz also was the HAA victor. The only “old timer” with a major victory was Eric Munson (who topped all shooters) to win the HOA with a 1,075. Congratulations to all!

Matt Bickell will continue as MTA president, Eric Munson (following in Mom’s footsteps) was elected VP, Shawn King will be the new secretary, and Randy Jones was elected ATA Delegate. Peter Walker will continue as the First Alternate, and Paul T. Cyr Second Alternate. A big thank you to Tammy Baloun for her years of service as MTA secretary and to Dean Walker for his work as Delegate after being named to the post as an interim last November. We also want to wish Dean the best as he continues treatment for cancer. Dean assures us that he will be healthy and ready to head for Arizona in the late fall.

Attendance was down a bit at our state shoot. Shooting over the Fourth of July is always an issue in Minnesota, and we had a nearly all-day rain on Friday, so some shooters chose to stay home and dry. Otherwise we were blessed with very good weather for the remainder of the shoot.

As you may have heard, we lost former ATA President Neil Winston July 9. Neil was a very interesting man, having built racing motorcycles before turning to trapshooting. You can read his entire obituary on the MTA website and in the Completed Careers section of Trap & Field.

Minnesota was well represented at the Iowa State Shoot, with 45 from the Gopher State participating.

When you read this in the September issue, the Grand will be history, and Minnesota shooters will be headed for the Steer and Calf shoot at Del-Tone Luth the week after Labor Day.

I will try to have a summary of our Minnesota shooters’ successes at the Grand in next month’s column. I have been writing these columns for the past year, and I have offered to continue to write them for Randy now that he is our Delegate. If you would prefer to hear from Randy directly, you can let him know at 612-990-1252 or [email protected]. Otherwise, as always, I can be reached at 507-456-2000 or at [email protected].

Paul T. Cyr

for ATA Delegate Randy Jones

Wisconsin

This morning I shared a Facebook quote: “In a world where you can be anything [in the middle there was a drawing of Dr. Suess’ Grinch holding an umbrella over a dog in the rain], be kind.” As the morning went on, I was not happy with myself. I was not kind the other evening, and at a recent shoot there were a couple unkind words exchanged. (These were not words from me, but from someone else.) I really have been thinking about this and what a perfect post someone made to remind me of how important it is to be kind.

I was walking down the sidewalk in front of the grocery store and noticed an elderly woman picking up cigarette butts and putting them in her pocket. I was in shock that anyone would do that, to be that in need of something. I said to her, “Did you really just put those cigarette butts in your pocket?” The woman said “No, I am picking them up off the ground.” I said, “No, you are putting them in your pocket. Wow, they are so dirty.” Then I walked into the store, still in shock. I should have or could have said, “Wow, that is great to be cleaning up the ground. Thank you for doing that.” I do not know her situation, and I was not correct to say unkind words. This goes without saying that you and I can make a difference and be kind!

The Wisconsin State Shoot was one for the record books, as it was also our 120th year. When you classified, you were handed a cloth to clean your glasses that is a souvenir donated by Hodgdon Powder and Recob’s Target Shop. Thank you so much for the donation, Kent and Jeff.

Fritz Thistle, you are a good president and kept everyone under control throughout the state shoot. With 856 shooters attending from 23 states, we are so pleased to have the shoot and no mishaps. I would like to thank the volunteers and staff who helped make this shoot possible. Whether you donated your time with helping or donated money, we could not have done it without both.

Tuesday we had a pork feed after shooting. Wednesday after shootoffs we held the first all-state team Annie Oakley sponsored by Kolar and Jeff Mainland. Thursday evening was filled with 2018 all-state team and high-average awards. Also the first-time Keith and LaVerne Lehmann basket raffle was a big success, along with the hot dog feed donated by Bob Schultz and Target Shotguns. Friday night’s fish fry once again was organized by Paul Becker and Glenn and Connie. John Coniff, you did a great job putting on the silent and live auction (thank you, Dave Dressler, for your auctioneering). Mark Zauhar, Amy Jenkins and I walked around with the items, bringing in over $7,000. Keith Lehmann and band TKO played live music for the closing of the evening. This all could not be possible without the support in the audience spending their hard-earned money on items. Go Wisconsin shooters!

Saturday evening’s Hall of Fame Banquet and entertainment honored James (Chops) Gurkowski. Our beverage bar was set up and run by Don Wagner. Raffles and shirts were sold by the ladies all day long, keeping shooters busy shopping in between shooting. Glenn Grabski was the greeter in the corner working hard at his desk, along with John Atkielski running shootoffs. Thank you to the crew who classified and took our money. Michelle and Lauren Mueller kept the trophy winners in order. Wow, I am hoping I am not missing anyone. If I did, please e-mail me with information for next month at [email protected].

Arlene Otto, Tari Wojicechowski and David Stanonik helped Dennis Minks and me hand out trophies. We could not have done it without their helping us while we were shooting. Yes, you all have a job again for next year (wink!).

We are also blessed to have the sponsors that keep coming back with their support and vendors selling products to the shooters.

Thank you, thank you and hundreds of more thank yous to everyone.

Now on to winners in the championships. Ho-Chunk Gaming Doubles champion was Chad Blanke with the lone 99, and George Hass was right behind him with a 98. Kolar Arms Singles champion John Reeb shot the only 200 for the event, and runnerup was Tim Mackey. Recob’s Target Shop Handicap champion Jason John collected the honors after a shootoff with Andrew Keen, both shooting 99s. Greg Arneson posted a great score of 98 for runnerup. HAA champion to win a glass diamond was Mackey, and Blanke took runnerup. HOA trophies went to champion Blanke and runnerup Brent Heikkinen.

I do have to mention that the first 100 straight buckle was won by a repeat perpetual plaque name winner . . . ta-da, Randy Bolton for the third year in a row. Great shooting, Randy.

I also want to congratulate all winners at the Minnesota and Iowa state shoots. Wisconsin shooters sure do represent the WTA well.

Please look at the ATA reports for the complete list of winners.

Remember to attend the 81st annual Fall Trapshooting Championship Sept. 12-15 at the Gateway Lodge, Land O’ Lakes, WI, www.gateway-lodge.com.

Please help at your local gun club. I am sure you will be rewarded with a smile and a thank you. Keep smiling; I am!

It was nice to have met you, Loyal, and thank you for the kind, encouraging words.

Sandra Jo Jack

for ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring

Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces. The 2019 Canadian Trapshooting Championships held June 26-30 at the St. Thomas GC in southern Ontario was a terrific shoot. Representation was strong from across Canada, and the Atlantic Provinces had a great showing.

Dan Pollock, Terry LeBlanc and Paul Devereaux from New Brunswick’s Petitcodiac SC attended their first national championship and report they had a great time. Paul did especially well and brought home a couple of class awards.

Shooters from Nova Scotia’s Highland GC were also in attendance and on top of their game. Reynold d’Entremont shot his first 100 straight in singles and won a couple of trophies. Rejean and Steven d’Entremont also shot well and had a great showing in the handicap events. All three d’Entremonts earned yardage, with Steve’s coming from winning the Canadian open handicap award. This was also Shawn d’Entremont’s first shoot outside of the Atlantic Provinces.

Fellow Newfoundland shooters Troy Coldwell and Paul Bailey joined me for the shoot. Old Man Bailey is 40 years our senior, but he’s “one of the boys” to us. Paul is always eager to join us and does a fine job keeping us in line. Troy won a preliminary doubles event with 99 and took home the all-around open championship. My 199 was good enough to win the Canadian Singles Championship.

A complete Atlantic Provinces wrap-up from the Canadian Championships can be found on shootatlantic.com under the APTA Abroad section. The Ontario Provincial Trapshooting Association and Canadian Trapshooting Association Facebook pages also have plenty of posts and pictures from our national trapshooting competition.

Final preparations for the Atlantic Provinces ATA Provincial Shoot continue at the St. John’s R&GC. It’s shaping up to be a well-attended shoot with strong interest from outside of the Atlantic Provinces.

Steve d’Entremont is a recent Shooter Profile subject on shootatlantic.com. Steve hails from Lower West Pubnico, NS, and is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet on the trapline. He’s also not a bad trapshooter.

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

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

New Jersey

The New Jersey State Trapshooting Association met on July 15, and the 2020 New Jersey State Shoot’s historical date of ending on the first Sunday of June will not be the case next year. If you look at the 2020 calendar, you’ll see there are four Mondays and five Sundays in May, with Memorial Day being May 24. There will be an extra weekend between the Delaware State Shoot and the New Jersey State Shoot, so it was decided that the NJ shoot would move back a week and end on May 31. It was also decided that the New Jersey shoot would return to four days, starting on Thursday, May 28 to May 31. Please mark your calendars for next year.

It was also decided to restore the satellite shoots at the non-zone clubs during New Jersey zone shoots in the future. So this month, during the northern zone shoot at Fairfield, which is being held Sept. 20-22, satellite shoots will be held Saturday and Sunday only at Pine Valley and Howell TC in Farmingdale. So get on out and shoot a couple of days at Pine Valley and Howell, start meeting your target requirements for the 2020 target year, and win some fabulous prizes.

Also at the meeting, Robert Malmstedt was voted in to fill the vacant Alternate Delegate position for the remainder of the year.

Patricia Slimm just reached her 50,000th registered singles target. Congratulations, Patty.

The 2020 ATA Eastern Zone dates were decided at the Delegates’ Zone meeting in Elysburg July 20. The 2020 ATA Eastern Zone will be held in Cicero, NY, next year, July 23-26. The 2020 Grand American will be Aug. 5-15.

Thirty-eight shooters from New Jersey ventured up to Elysburg for the Pennsylvania Grand July 5-8. Isaac Mansoura, George Wright and Robert Long each returned home with a trophy.

The following week was the New York State Shoot in Cicero July 9-14. Twelve shooters from the Garden State attended. Nickolas Padovani led the winners with three trophies; his father Ray won two; also winning two was Steve Burick; while Joe Sissano and Angelina Moir each won one.

Fifty-five shooters from New Jersey attended the Eastern Zone tournament. George Wright shot a 200 during the Singles Championship, winning the veteran trophy in addition to two more. Ray Padovani and Tom Wolf won two trophies, and Robert Bishop, George Stevenson, Robert Malmstedt, Fred McDonald, John Homan, Marc Invidiato, Gene Moir Jr., Isaac Mansoura and Jim Lavelle each won one.

On a sad note, Al (Umberto) Potocco of the Villages, FL, passed away July 1; he was 89 years old. Although Al and wife Roni had moved to Florida full time over a decade ago, he still found time to phone many of his trapshooting friends weekly over all those years. Each winter, I and others ventured, either from New Jersey or from the Silver Dollar, to attend one of Al’s gourmet meals up at the Villages. Al was born in Italy and immigrated to the United States, and when I first met Al in 1966, he resided in Scotch Plains and then moved to Cliffwood Beach, NJ, in 1988. He was a master custom cabinet maker and owner of Potocco’s Wood Shop in Linden. Al’s hobbies were endless. As a boy, he started out hunting then skeet shooting, trapshooting, fishing, gardening, CO2 pistols and rifles, photography, RVing, and cooking. Al joined the ATA in 1976, registering 39,900 singles, 17,700 handicap and 700 doubles targets over the years. Al enjoyed going to various clubs throughout the Middle Atlantic States and Florida and meeting new people along the way. He enjoyed going to a club, shooting a few rounds of practice and talking about guns, targets and shooting. He is survived by his wife Roni and former wife Celia of Scotch Plains, with whom he has three daughters: Lisa of Scotch Plains, Vicki and husband Mark of Scotch Plains, and Sonia and husband Brad of Lake Mary, FL, along with six grandchildren. Donations may be made in memory of Al to the Arnold Palmer Hospital-Pediatric Oncology Unit, 92 West Miller St., Orlando, FL 32806.

If you have an idea for an article or just a question, I can be reached at 732-546-7910 or [email protected].

Joe Sissano

ATA Delegate

New York

Hello and greetings from New York State. I hope everyone has had an enjoyable summer and is doing well.

I am sorry to say that New York has lost another ATA shooter. Kathleen M. Hart passed away on June 25. Kathy was 70 years of age. She was a graduate of Hudson Valley Community College, Plattsburg State College and Syracuse University and received a master’s degree from Cornell University in social work. Kathy began registering targets in 1989. During her career, she fired at 83,800 singles, 51,125 handicap and 38,950 doubles targets. Kathy was standing on the 19-yard line. Kathy’s husband George is also an ATA shooter. Our deepest sympathies to George and the entire family on Kathy’s passing.

The 158th New York State Shoot was held at the homegrounds in Cicero July 9-14. Over 311,000 targets were thrown the six days of the event, and weather was very good. History was made when Heidi Womer became the first woman to win the Singles Championship, with 199 and a shootoff of 150 targets. Heidi was tied with Justin Slater, Brian Luther and William Wallis. After the first round, Luther and Wallis dropped out. Heidi and Justin continued on for five more rounds until Justin dropped a target during the sixth inning. The watching crowd exploded in excitement on what they’d just witnessed and in happiness for Heidi.

Justin was doubles champion with 97, and Michael Ryan took the handicap championship with 94. Slater took both the high-over-all and all-around crowns.

Ceremonies were held after the singles concluded on Saturday. Our eastern zone vice president Dennis Hart gave the representative of the Ronald McDonald house a check of $3,800 collected during the Ronald McDonald event Friday. Tyler Bell received a check from the Christopher J. Vendel Jr. Memorial Scholarship from chairman Todd Hosbach. High average shooters, New York state teams and New York All-Americans were introduced and recognized, along with the officers and directors of the New York State ATA.

Dr. Robert (Bob) Skoczylas was inducted into the New York State ATA Hall of Fame and introduced by Hall of Fame Committee chairman Larry Quirk. Travis Dann and Todd Hosbach were elected ATA Alternate Delegates, and I remain as Delegate.

Thanks must be given for all the hard work of the officers and directors of the New York State ATA. Also, thanks to Don Rada and the cashiering staff, kitchen staff, line supervisor Dale Dupre, the setters and scorers, Ken Davis, Bridgeport R&GC, Brian and Jenna Euscher for handling the trophy case, past ATA President Wayne Morris, Joyce Morris, Evelyn Kazen and all the volunteers who helped. If I missed anyone, I apologize. Thanks to everyone for attending the shoot.

The New York State central zone shoot was held at the Bridgeport R&GC July 6-7. Robert Green took the singles championship with 198. Dave Clary was the doubles champion with 96, and Len Riedl took the handicap crown with 93. Dave Clary was all-around winner with 380×400, and Cliff Haaf was runnerup with a 377. Good shooting, everyone.

Congratulations must be given to Jim Woodhams for shooting at and breaking his 50,000th ATA singles target. The Milestone target was shot at Allied SC July 7. Good going, Jim.

Next up for the New York State ATA is the 2019 Northeastern Grand American. The shoot will be held at the homegrounds in Cicero Sept. 10-15. We hope you all plan to attend.

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, the Grand will have concluded, and a new target year will have barely started. As I travel from state to state (and province), I am reminded of the level of devotion trapshooters have to their pets. Dogs are being walked and cared for. Most are friendly and looking to be petted.

As trapshooters, we are a microcosm of our society, where our pets mean the world to us. They are pampered, cared for, and kept cool with air conditioning, even in blistering heat. For many trapshooters, their dogs are constant companions, and when the master (or mistress) pulls the shotgun out to go to a trapshoot, the canine cannot wait to jump in the vehicle for another clay target adventure. Almost everyone loves pets, whether their own or someone else’s. As Dave Cichelli frequently says, “Dogs are great companions, but there is one major problem—you get so attached emotionally to them, and they never live long enough.” Sad, but true.

How did humans luck out and get such loyal and loving canine buddies? Here is a story I recently saw that you may enjoy and which may explain the genesis of our human/canine relationship, perhaps going back to Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve said, “Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you any more. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.”

And God said, “I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.”

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal, and God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve, and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, “Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom, and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.”

And God said, “I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.”

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.

And they were comforted.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, “Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks, and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.”

And God said, “I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.”

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat’s eyes, they were reminded that they were not the Supreme Beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.

And they were greatly improved.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was happy.

And Cat . . . didn’t care one way or the other.

Enjoy the new trapshooting year and remember that trapshooting is like life—there will be ups and downs. The moment you get too full of yourself, a target will humiliate you. Dog may sympathize with your pain. And Cat, well . . .

Paul Shaw

ATA Eastern Zone Vice President

Pennsylvania

July was a busy month for Pennsylvania shooters. The Pennsylvania Grand in Elysburg over the Fourth of July weekend started off with the sixth annual Save-a-Pair Shoot, which helps raise funds for breast cancer. This event, along with a Mr. Pink pageant, silent auctions and monetary donations, helped raise $43,000 for the Susan G Komen Pennsylvania affiliates. Carlette and Spear Proukou have organized these events since 2012, and shooters and guests have raised over $190,000 for breast cancer awareness. Congratulations to all involved, and thank you to those who continue to make these events successful.

The three days of the PA Grand saw attendance drop by 75 shooters for the championship events and 136 shooters over all events. We had 2,293 entries over those three days, which saw Justin Slater take home the singles title over Donald Schaffer Jr, Michael Poe and Dennis Cacciola, all with 200 in the main event. Justin continued his target-smashing prowess to also earn the HAA (391) and HOA (777) titles. Diane Arner won the Handicap Championship with the lone 98 from 27 yards, and Luke Cowart took the doubles title after tying Donald Neilson Jr. at 99. In Saturday’s handicap Zach Missimer annihilated 100 straight targets from 23.5. Congratulations to all shooters and look for the full write-up in this issue of Trap & Field.

Next up we had 16 shooters earn 60 trophies at the New York State Shoot in Cicero. Chris Vendel won six awards, including non-resident champion in the Handicap Championship, non-resident HOA and category HAA, while Frank Pascoe added five, including the non-resident Doubles Championship, category HOA and class HAA. Zeke Raub (nine) won category HOA. Deborah Ohye-Neilson (13) won category HOA and HAA. Donald Schaffer Jr. (five) took class HOA. Clare Schaffer (six) won class HOA and category HAA, and Stephen MacNeal (three) earned category HAA. Other winners from New York were Phyllis Rought, Mary Schaffer (two), Timothy Burnett, William Dixon, Bert Schoonover, Brian Snyder (three), Sheldon Cope, Genevieve Davis and Richard Baker. Congratulations, everyone!

Rounding out July was the ATA Eastern Zone at the PSSA Homegrounds in Elysburg. Event champions were as follows: singles, Dave Bicknell (CT); doubles, Ian Fleming (PA); handicap, John Kirksey (MD); and HAA and HOA, Chris Vendel (PA). Congratulations to all four.

On Friday the handicap featured the Elite-Kolar Shootout, which was won by Barry Walker of Perkiomenville, PA, over 114 eligible shooters. Congratulations, Barry, on your new Kolar combo! Attendance for the EZ was down compared to 2017, the last time it was held in PA. Hot, humid days helped to contribute to a decrease of 472 entries overall and 379 in the championship events. However, the shoot was still able to pull out an All-American Competition Factor of five.

Some milestones were reached during the Eastern Zone Shoot, which include first-time 100 straights by Clare Schaffer and Diana Kuestner in the Singles Championship and Cathy Parson in the Preliminary Singles. Phyllis Rought is now making her debut at the 27-yard line, thanks to her 96 from 25.5 in the Elite-Kolar Handicap, earning her one-and-a-half yards. Congratulations to all four on attaining these personal bests!

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate