Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Trapshooting Championships were held Aug. 14 at the St. John’s R&GC and the Stephenville SC. Shoot organizers chose a satellite shoot format again this year, as they felt it gave more shooters an opportunity to participate who otherwise would not have, considering the high cost of travel. Eighteen shooters participated in the one-day, 300-target shoot, including new ATA members Christian Winter and Glenn Perfect.

Troy Coldwell had the high score in the Newfoundland Sportsman Singles and the Dave Anstey Champion of Champions events. In the singles categories, Holly Pike won ladies’, and Peter Tucker won the senior category awards. This was Peter’s first year competing as a senior category shooter.

In the doubles competition, Joe Rosa outshot Coldwell by one target to claim the championship. Coldwell won AA, and John Tucker, Roger Butler and Al Skinner won B, C and D classes, respectively. There was no entry in A class.

Tucker won the Pat Wall Handicap for the second year in a row, outshooting runnerup Dave Batstone by one target. Coldwell and Rosa finished third and fourth.

Shooters in Nova Scotia held their provincial championships Aug. 20-21 at the Highland GC in Yarmouth, NS. Nineteen shooters competed in the two-day, 400-target competition.

Jim Hannah claimed the Singles Championship, and in the categories, Janaya Nickerson won ladies’, and Lloyd Litwin won senior. Doug Blades, Rejean d’Entremont and Steven d’Entremont claimed A through C , respectively. Visiting Ontario shooter Jennifer Arnold won D.

In the Doubles Championship, Jim Hannah, Herbie Nickerson and Brian MacLeod tied for top spot. After a one-round shootoff, Hannah claimed high gun, Nickerson A class and MacLeod B. Reynold d’Entremont won C, and Clyde d’Entremont won D.

Davis Atwood shot a 97 to win the Handicap Championship and also earned a one-yard punch to the 21. Reynold d’Entremont won runnerup, and Steven d’Entremont took third. Lloyd Litwin finished fourth, and Blades finished in fifth place.

Complete shoot results for the NL and NS shoots can be found on www.shootatalantic.com.

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

Well, if I told you the weather at the Grand this year was cool, I’d be lying through my teeth! I must say during the second hundred on Monday of Grand Week, I was relieved that they called us off the line, due to lightning in the area. I was exhausted from shooting in the heat that day, and we still had 25 targets to go. Fortunately we shot them the next day at 8 a.m., when it was cooler. The rest of the shoot was tolerable, heat-wise, since there was a breeze either from the north or the south each day. As usual scores were through the roof each day, including handicap, where a 100 is the new normal!

Due to several reasons, there were only 11 shooters from New Jersey this year attending the Grand. I must say, seven of the 11 brought home a trophy. Leading the victors was Justin Malone with seven trophies, Dave Brown Sr. and David Brown Jr. each won two, and Joe Sissano, Bob Jarvis, Joe Clarke and Brian Skeuse each won one. The Browns each had a first at the Grand; Senior broke his first 100 in singles, and junior was punched back to the 27-yard line for the first time. Congratulations to them both. A full write-up of the Grand will be appearing in the next few issues of Trap & Field.

New Jersey’s version of the Grand in Sparta is the Poor Man’s Grand first held at the Ground Swiper’s club on Lacey Road in Forked River and held again this year at Pine Belt SC in Shamong Aug. 6-7. Three were tied for champion with 196 in the singles on Saturday. Following the carryover, Carlos Gomes was the winner, Rangel Queiroz took A class, Michael Chiarella claimed B, Ernie Onesti won C and Ellie Farro earned D. Jack Godwin took senior veteran, Marc Invidiato won veteran, and Iver Gustafson II landed junior. Sunday’s doubles were won by Scott Kalnas, Tony Pietrofitta took Class A, Zac Cucunato B, Sal Barone C and Fred Septak D. Zac Wojnar was high in the handicap Sunday, Rangel Queiroz was second, Santo Farro third, Michael Stevenson fourth, Edward Naulty fifth, Gustafson junior, Annemarie Pepitone ladies’, Raymond Dirisio veteran and Robert Bishop senior vet. The 16-yard event on Sunday was won by Kalnas, followed by Greg Menshoff A, Stevenson B, Barry Ferriolo C, Septak D, Gustafson junior, Pepitone ladies’, Dirisio veteran, and Jack Godwin senior vet.

Following the Grand, was the Cardinal Classic in Marengo, OH. Eight shooters from New Jersey attended, and only Robert Battista was able to secure a trophy—another venue with high scores and stiff competition.

The Westy Hogans at the PSSA Homegrounds had been moved from September to August this year, in order to avoid scorer and loader issues. Sixty Garden Staters attended, with 12 winning a prize. Caitlyn Barton led the winners with four; her dad Keith Barton and Rick Batesko each won three; Steve Ottrando and Michael Stevenson each won two, and Gil Dinallo, Steve Burick, Bob Jarvis, Diniz Cordeiro, Michael Chiarella, Barry Ferriolo and Tom Clarke each won one.

Milestone accomplishments are: Bud Lawton reached 100,000 doubles targets, Tony Pietrofitta reached 25,000 doubles targets, and I was talking with Bob Jarvis at the Grand, and he told me he just reached 20,000 registered targets in the 2022 target year, and there were still a few weeks left to add to that total. Congratulations, guys!

On a sad note, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the passing of Ray Secreti of Woodside, NY; he was 80 years old. Ray was a big supporter of NJSTA shoots over the last four decades. A life member of the ATA, he registered 116,600 singles, 55,600 handicap and 46,850 doubles targets.

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

Joe Sissano

ATA Eastern Zone Vice President

New York

Hello from New York State. I hope everyone is doing well and starting to enjoy the cooler autumn weather. The colors of the leaves are always beautiful during the season before they fall to the ground.

I am very sorry to report that we have lost another New York shooter. Ray Secreti passed away Aug. 6. He was 80 years of age. Ray was a longtime member and past president of the Staten Island SC. Ray started registering targets in 1978. During his career, he fired at 116,600 singles, 55,600 handicap and 46,850 targets. Ray was standing on the 23-yard line. His last targets were shot at during the 2022 New Jersey State Shoot. The officers and directors of the New York State ATA offer our deepest sympathies to Ray’s family on his passing. He will be missed.

Some achievements for New York shooters for target attainment must be recognized. Thomas Gersitz and Richard Stone have registered their 25,000th singles target, and Douglas Carroll has registered his 50,000th singles target. Jon Reitz has registered his 50,000th handicap target. Finally, Joshua Buchiere has registered his 25,000th doubles bird. Excellent work and keep it up.

The New York state central zone shoot was held July 2-3 at Pathfinder F&GC. The singles champion was Curtis Robbins with 197. Cliff Haaf took the Doubles Championship with 92, and Jeffrey Frasier was the hndicap winner with 96. High-over-all winner was Urban Womer with 373×400, and Ransom Schrom was runnerup with 370×400. A total of 17,000 targets were thrown. All three of the New York zone shoots have been completed. Next year’s locations for the New York state zone shoots was determined at the annual meeting of the New York state ATA during the Northeastern Grand American in September.

The ATA Eastern Zone Shoot was hosted by the New York state ATA at our homegrounds in Cicero, NY, July 21-24. In the Singles Championship, Robert Nihtila was the winner with 199 and a shootoff over runnerup Dave Bicknell. Joseph Breck IV took the Doubles Championship with 99, and Brian James was the handicap champion with 97. Peter Tsementzis was the all-around champion with 389×400, and Chris Vendel won the high-over-all with 956×1,000. Event entries were less than what we had hoped for, but with 619 shooters in the championship events, the tournament was still a Factor 4 competition level for All-American points.

The officers and directors of the New York state ATA would like to thank all of those who worked so hard to make the shoot a success.

A number of New Yorkers attended the 2022 Grand American in Sparta, IL, in August. The weather was quite hot the first week, but it cooled the second week. Targets were excellent, and there was plenty of ammunition to be purchased for each event. It was nice to see old friends who you only get to see once a year when attending the Grand American. The 2023 Grand American will be Aug. 2-12. We all hope you plan to attend.

If you look on the ATA webpage www.shootata.com and click on the link for rule changes, you will find the rule changes that will be incorporated into the ATA rulebook effective Sept. 1, 2022. I highly recommend that you order an ATA rulebook online if you do not have one. It is very important that registered shooters know the ATA rules and follow them when shooting registered targets. Please remember, the ATA rulebook is a book of rules; it is not a book of suggestions.

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

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Ontario

Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

As I write this article, the 2022 shooting year is winding up. This has been a good year for many Ontario shooters who have competed outside Ontario and within. I will have more to report on this when the year-end results are known.

Ammunition availability still poses a problem for all of us. The high price of gas and diesel fuel is also making our sport expensive. I’m not sure when we will get a reprieve, if ever, but try to stay optimistic.

As always, if you have an issue that I can help you with, please contact me, and I will try to help.

Paul Shaw

ATA President

Pennsylvania

Heading into the homestretch of the 2022 target year started with the Summer Championships in Elysburg. Overall attendance for the shoot was down 31% with 2,103 entries compared to 3,044 in 2021. Championship entries were also down by 27.2% with 761 shooters this year compared to 1,046 last year. Unfortunately it is a reflection of the struggles that Americans are dealing with currently. Congratulations to Brandon Deal of Petrolia, PA, for his title wins in the Singles Championship (199) as well as the HAA (386) and HOA (1,052). The Doubles Championship was won by Scott Kalnas of Mullica Hill, NJ, with a perfect century, and the Handicap Championship went to Kenneth Dunkle of Knox, PA, with his lone 98. Congratulations to all titlists!

From there, we had 92 Pennsylvanians attend the Grand American in Sparta, IL. Twenty-five of those shooters earned 81 trophies, with Deborah Ohye-Neilson (21) earning a sweep in all the category HOAs and HAAs. Chris Vendel and William Ross added 12 additional trophies each, as both captured multiple cumulative trophies, topped off with Chris taking third place overall in the 2,600 HOA. Deal (four) and Robyn Bird (two) earned class HAA trophies, while Wayne Kreisl Jr., and Dexter Pratt earned Preliminary HAA class titles, and Mary Schaffer (four) earned a preliminary HOA class award. Our other PA winners in Sparta include Ian Recla, Don Neilson Jr. (two), Cody Davis, Joseph Breck IV, William Natcher (three), Clare Schaffer, Ian Darroch (two), Ryan Trugan (two), Christina Byrd, Wesley Beaver (two), Robert Koefer, Evan Wirth, Kim Bateman, Justin Slater, Ken Darroch, Tim Tarbuck and Richard Milbert. Congratulations on your wins at the Grand American!

We also had two special event wins during the team events at the Grand American this year. Our state team ended up tied with the Ohio team with scores of 996 before settling in as the runnerups. Members of this year’s team were Vendel, Ian Darroch, Deal, Beaver and Neilson. The team of Ohye-Neilson, Donna Natcher and Genevieve Davis earned the Lady II category title in the team race this year. Congratulations on representing Pennsylvania well in the team races.

Following the Grand, we had 110 shooters swing by the Cardinal Center in Ohio for the Cardinal Classic. Twenty-four shooters earned 45 trophies while there, including the mother-and-son duo of Connie Kern (seven) and Justin Kern (two), who swept category and class HAA and HOA titles, respectively. Beaver (five) and Luke Dudash earned category HAA wins, while Dawson Schoffstall (three) earned class HAA, and Lucas Miko (two) earned class HOA titles. Other winners include Joseph Sipos (two), Jon Zadzora (three), Brian Kerlin (two), Colton Brown, Marty Kolek, Vendel (three), Wilbur Von Steuben, Nicholas Oyler (two), James Neyman, Chris Cohoon, Kelly Ramsey, Jeffrey Love, Chris Wallace, Raymond Gourley, Paul King, Cody Davis, Chris Hipwell and Nicholas Wertz. Congratulations to all shooters during your time in Ohio!

Also at the same time, the Westy Hogans event took place in Elysburg. A first for the new dates of this event saw attendance down 18.8% overall and down 30.6% in the championship events. Total entries were 1,865 compared to 2,296 last year, and championship entries were 918 as compared to 1,322. Congratulations to Westy title winners: singles, Chet Karpyn of Germansville, PA (199); doubles, Ben Snyder of Middleburg, PA (98); handicap, Diana Kuestner of Bethlehem (97); HAA and HOA, Ohye-Neilson of Audobon, PA (388 and 963); Lady of America, Sue Dunkle of Spring Glen, PA (190); and Westy Hogans Challenge Cup winner, Adam Kast of Nazareth, PA (193). Fine shooting by all!

Some personal achievements at this year’s Westy Hogans include Brian Snyder accumulating 25,000 singles targets, Jim Koons recording 100,000 ATA registered targets, and Chad Whitman breaking his first registered 100 straight ATA singles targets. Congratulations on your milestones!

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate

Alabama

As expected, the 123rd Grand American was an overall great shoot and is now in the history books. Alabama had 23 shooters attend this year and had the following winning one or more awards: John White IV, Dan Jones and Jackson Thomas. Jackson also earned 2.5 yards. Congrats to these shooters and thanks to all of the Alabama shooters who attended.

The 2022 target year has come to an end. It’s a good time to get out and register some targets at Alabama clubs this fall/winter.

Please read the rulebook.

The Rebel Yell Shoot will be here before you know it, Oct. 22-23 at Dixie TC in Mathews. Bill Parson works hard to ensure this is always a great shoot. If you have any questions, call Bill at 334-399-7996.

Joke of the month: A Navy seaman apprentice (we’ll just call him Jake) goes to heaven, and at the pearly gates Saint Peter asks him if he has ever done anything in his life that he believes makes him worthy of admittance to heaven. Jake replied, “Yes, I once went into a bar with five of my Navy buddies and saw a couple of Air Force airmen harassing a young girl at the bar. So, being a gentleman, I went up to the biggest one and told him to leave the young lady alone. When he refused, I told him again, more forcefully. This time I slapped him across the face and told the airman to stand down.” Saint Peter said this was a very good thing to do and asked Jake when he did this great act. Jake replied,” About five minutes ago! My friends should be here shortly!”

Word of the month: Dayum: A cuss word Rhett Bulter used in Gone With the Wind. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a dayum.” (I’ve heard this a lot up and down the trapline!)

Please keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. Without the men and women of our armed forces protecting this country, we would not be able to enjoy this great sport. When you see a soldier, thank him or her for their service.

If you need my help or have any news to report, contact me at [email protected].

Wayne Sartwell

ATA Delegate

Florida

Hello all from the most Southern, Northern state!

The Grand American “through my eyes”—What an awesome event! It is called the Grand American, but in reality it is a worldwide competition! The event had shooters from all over the world . . . and Brazil looked like they were having the most fun! Mexico will be added to the list this coming year.

This was my first time at the Grand, and my first impression is that it is massive. For example, there are 27 banks of trapfields at four traps per bank, linking together in a line that stretches three-and-a-half miles long! (Incredible) There are two sets of practice traps (east and west, eight traps). There are dedicated fields for shootoffs. There is stadium seating under the lights, and most nights there was shooting under those lights. Many nights they had free food! My gawd! There was also plenty of ammo, and every afternoon you could purchase five flats above and beyond what you had signed up for! There were vendors galore—all of the gun reps were there, and you could try whatever gun you wanted right outside their door. They had food vendors, lemonade stands, gun cleaners, gunsmiths. You could get new earplugs, shooting glasses, shirts, caps, coffee mugs, pictures, photos and on and on.

The main Event Center (see picture with Scott Somero and Charles Bunch in front of HOA trophies) was huge and nicely laid out. When you walked in, you could immediately view where to classify, squad and cashier (and get a drink). The Florida group photo was taken on the front lawn of the main building.

The Hall of Fame building is another impressive building. You can feel the history when you walk in. From John Philip Sousa to Annie Oakley. You can view a lot of the old guns, traps and targets. There is a Winchester Model 1897 that was used by “Pop” Heikes to win the 1900 Grand American (first year of clay targets). A side note, I swear some of the old goats I shoot with at Flagler use that same gun, and they purchased it new! They have Leo Harrison’s Berretta. They have Tom Seitz’s original Seitz. They have all kinds of important memorabilia. Some of the old pictures of Vandalia were pretty cool.

Camping is part of the experience of the Grand. Dee and I were fortunate enough to be able to stay in an RV on the grounds. You can, of course, stay in a hotel off the grounds, but you miss out. There were modest tents to the most extravagant Class A motorhomes. You could see folks visiting and interacting with each other’s camps all the day and night. We had a site that had electric and no hookups, meaning you had to be careful on how much grey and black water you used. To cut down on water and sewer usage, Dee would use the RV’s bath, and I used the camp facilities. Every morning I’d get up around 5 a.m. or so, grab a cup of coffee and head outside and wait. We were camped close to the bath and showers, so I would wait until I saw the cleaning lady (Rhonda) clean a couple of stalls and then haul over there to get cleaned up. I told her she was an angel, and I really appreciated her being there.

Shootoffs ended each night around 11 p.m., so it was nice not having to leave the grounds.

Dee and I got to the Grand on Saturday, Aug. 6, and my shooting squad came in on Sunday. My squad was made up of Jim Cummings, Patrick Larsen, Scot (Got My MOJO Back) Lauderback and Dax DeMena. Jim had put a schedule together, and our shooting would not start until Monday. Jim scheduled us where we shot entirely on Banks 7 and 8. This made it nice for setting up a base camp every morning for all of us to meet and hang out. Scot and I would back our trucks up in front of Trapfield 8B every morning, and we would set up our pop-up tent canopies with chairs, coolers, gun racks and golf carts. Other Florida shooters and members would stop by and hang out a bit.

As far as shooting went, Florida had 54 classified shooters. That put us at about 15th most shooters. Representing Florida in the Champion of Champions was Dax, and he shot a 97 against the other chamions. Dan Brandreth was our sub-vet representative, and he scored a 99, and Lew Knack, our vet representative, scored a 98. All of these are good scores but not quite good enough to bring home the trophy. Our state team consisted of Matt Trammell (199), DeMena (198), Paul Becker (197), Knack (197) and Jim (190) for a total score of 981. This put Florida in about 20th place. As a comparison, first place was won by Ohio with 996.

In the category team race, Florida sub-vet shooters Brendan Doorly (286), Brandreth (284) and Somero (280) shot a total score of 850 and was good enough for 13th place. In the vet category, Knack (297), Becker (275) and Jim Godez (268) shot a total score of 842, good enough for fifth place. Good job!

Jimmy P update: Jimmy is going to have a procedure where they laser a nerve in the brain that will give him relief to shoot right-handed. He assures me the next article I write about him will be how well he is shooting. I hope so. I think he is starting to milk this thing to keep his name in the article (not really). The condition that Jimmy has is called Trigeminal Neuralgia and is also known as the Suicide Disease. I didn’t know it was that bad. Look it up. He is still stuck on 98,850 single targets. Maybe next month (see May 2022 issue for back story).

Skyway T&S is cleared to start throwing registered targets again. Call Joe Fett for details, 727-501-4702.

Imperial Polk GC: Imperial GC threw their first Big 50 this week (Aug. 20) and had a good turnout. If you like shooting with good, friendly folks, this is the place to go. Call Rebel Kidd for more info, 863-661-1653.

I will try to keep all of you informed and entertained with what’s going on in Florida. I want to especially recognize shooters and clubs.

My e-mail is [email protected].

Thanks for the opportunity to serve.

Mike Reynolds

ATA Delegate

Kentucky

Kentucky trapshooters were numerous and active at the 2022 Grand American in Sparta. There is so much good news I hardly know where to begin. The AIM Championships had a robust attendance. James Malin (junior gold) leading the Kentucky contingent in the HAA with 385×400 followed by Aaron Lee (junior) with 384, and Brennen Ross (junior gold) with 383. In the singles event, there were numerous young shooters participating in their first ATA events, and many scored in the 190s. Malin was again high Kentucky athlete with 197.

The Grand was again a grand experience, with everyone renewing friendships from all over the country and the world. Considering all the challenges facing shooters in the world today, participation was down only 3% for Grand Week.

In the 2,600 White Flyer HOA our own Keith Ditto was runnerup with 2,557 followed by Drake Reynolds, runnerup in the sub-junior category with 2,521, followed closely by Bobby Fowler with 2,516. Kentucky shooters won numerous events in yardage, category and class. Some of the big winners were Richard Wilson in Event 3, Henry Winn in Event 4 and Ditto in Event 10. Herbert Lewis and Thomas Farris were winners in Event 11. Caroline Hope and Reynolds won in Event 13, Trey Wilburn in Event 14 and Elijah Wilson and Tucker Miles in Event 15. Aaron Willoughby was champion in the Event 16 ’caps with 99, with Ditto, Miles, Jack Holland, Martha Humphrey, Kenny Wyatt and Larry Woosley winning or placing in their categories. In Event 17, Reynolds was a winner and in the Champion of Champions event, Wilson and Robert Dyer won their categories. In event 19, junior Jack Holland was champion with Ditto, Charles Castle, David Elder, Rylan Hardesty and Aaron Lee also winning or placing in their categories. Event 21, the World Clay Target Championship, saw our own Mitch Morris winning the Class A title with 200 and Nick Jessie taking fourth in A with 199. Tracy Hardesty claimed C third with 197. In Event 22, Reynolds was the third-place winner with 99. In Event 23, Ditto claimed ninth place, with Fowler taking 11th. Mason Johnson, Miles and Leslie Sawyers all won or placed in their categories. In Event 24, the Grand American Handicap, Ditto placed again, with Richard Nevels, Roddy Harper, Darrell McKeehan, Humphrey, Miles and Reynolds all winning or placing in their respective category.

The Grand had 2,984 classified shooters this year, with 202 shooters from Kentucky. That was the third highest state total.

Immediately following the Grand American, the Cardinal Classic convened at the Cardinal Center, with 60 Kentucky trapshooters attending, which was the third highest state contingent there. Several won individual events, with Willoughby placing third in the HOA, James Platske taking Class C HOA honors and Reynolds winning the sub-junior HOA.

The weather is still great for trapshooting, so every time you can, get out and support your local clubs and take a young person with you. The fall high school season begins in late September. If you get a chance and are so inclined, encourage the high schools in your county to establish a team, so young athletes can experience the great sport of trapshooting!

Vernon R Anderson

KTL Board Member

Mississippi

October is here, and we are well into the new shooting year. Yes, the 2022 Grand is just a memory with all its winners, trophies, triumphs and failures. There is one failure, though, that should not be overlooked. I made an error, not on purpose, but still an error. My Mississippi submission for the State Team Race, held concurrently with the ATA World Clay Target Championship presented by Browning, left off Jonathan Baker. Jonathan is one of our young and upcoming superstars who had rightfully won a place on our team. To you, Jonathan, I sincerely apologize. The good news; however, is that Jonathan is an excellent trapshooter, a winner and one who will be heard from again in the years to come. Again, though, I apologize for my error.

On a happier note, and also from the 2022 Grand, I stopped by the T&F office in the Events Center and was pleased to meet Terry Heeg and Elissa Harding, editor-in-chief and senior editor of our Trap & Field Magazine. These two ladies are the backbone of the publication and do a fantastic job of providing us the latest ATA news every month. Thank you, Terry and Elissa.

On the homefront here in Mississippi, Coast R&PC pulled off another excellent rendition of their Fall Classic Trapshoot back in September. If you missed it, you missed a good one. Coast R&PC also offers trapshoots on the third Saturday of each month and league shooting weekly. It is no wonder why Coast R&PC is hosting a site for the 2023 ATA Southern Zone Shoot July 21-23. Where else can you get some mighty fine trapshooting, excellent seafood cuisine, and good old Southern hospitality, all at one venue?

Moving to central Mississippi, Jackson’s Capitol GC is looking forward to hosting the Mississippi State Trapshoot May 25-28, 2023, for the second year in a row. You can bet that Capitol’s trappers are hard at work trying to make the 2023 edition even better than that of 2022. Keep in mind that Capitol also offers first Saturday trapshoots each month and weekly Big 50s on Thursdays. Rounding out the 2023 Capitol GC trapshooting program are two old familiar trapshoots that have been held at Capitol over the years. One is the Catfish that will be held in April, and the other is the flagship Rebel Trapshoot to be held later in July. Exact dates for these shoots will be forthcoming.

On a final note, I am entering my plea to all our Mississippi trappers. Do you have trapshooting news that I need to include in this article? How about club news and AIM news? Just let me know at my e-mail address, [email protected]. I will be happy to include items of trapshooter interest that you want included. Thanks and as always, happy trappin’!

Jerry Tharp

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

The Grand was good this year. I only shot eight days instead of the entire program. The 300-target days in the heat wears you down. We missed the big storm during the first week that tore up a bunch of tent vendors. Our first days were typical hot and humid then one day of light rain followed by absolutely beautiful weather.

Our state singles champion, Garry Ferguson, did us proud in the Champion of Champions event. It was his first trip to the Sparta Grand, and during his first registered targets there, he ran 100 straight. This got him into a carryover. Good shooting, Gary.

In the achievement department; Frank Ketron reached 75,000 handicap targets, and Milan Campbell reached 75,000 singles targets.

In the bad news department, I have received word that Jerry Tuten has some serious health problems. Please put Jerry on your prayer list.

The Dixie Grand is around the corner at the North Carolina Homegrounds in Bostic, NC, during the end of September through the first of October. The weather usually is very nice, and the North Carolina folks always put on a great shoot. I hope you can attend.

The ATA rule changes have been e-mailed to all members. They were minor. The only thing that resulted in a good bit of discussion during the Delegate’s meeting was a motion to not raise shooting fees during the 2023 shooting year. After much discussion, the motion passed. So fees remain the same as this year.

You may have noticed that this year’s Zone program was e-mailed rather than printed and sent by USPS. This resulted in a savings of about $2,400. Give your thoughts on e-mailing our state shoot program to your area representative, so we can discuss it at our state shoot planning meeting.

Keep supporting your local club and enjoy the bantering with your friends.

Jim Faber

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

Oct. 1-2 are the final two days of the Dixie Grand at Bostic, NC.

Hog Heaven is hosting their annual Mountain Days Shoot Oct. 12-16 at White Pine, TN.

I’m sorry to announce the recent passing of one of Tennessee’s longtime shooters. Eddie Sutton, 75, of Lafayette died Aug. 9. He registered targets from 1977 to 2019 with totals of 107,900 singles, 78,625 handicap and 25,000 doubles.

Also Wayne Sinclair, 79, of Spruce Pine, AL, passed away Aug. 23. Wayne served as Alabama Delegate for several years and shot at several clubs in Tennessee. He began registering targets in 1998. His target totals were 83,000 singles, 65,175 handicap and 30,100 doubles. My condolences to both their families and many friends.

To continue this month with the many gun clubs throughout the state: In the early 1880s, the Knoxville Gun Club shot at Trotting Park. By 1891 KGC was at the Lake Ottosee streetcar line near Elmwood Park. The first Tennessee State Shoot sanctioned by the Interstate Association, the forerunner of the ATA, took place at the Fountain City streetcar line in 1913. The Knoxville Rod & Gun Club organized in 1922. It first chose a lot near Whittle Springs. About a year later it moved to Kingston Pike near the aviation fields. When this was no longer available, KR & GC sponsored the 1933 and 1934 state shoots at Blount Beach Gun Club. In 1935 the club moved three miles outside Knoxville on the Old Maryville Pike and stayed for 23 years. Twelve state shoots were here between 1935 and 1956.Then in 1958 the club changed its name back to Knoxville Gun Club, the same year the club set up its last location on the farm of Dr. Kenneth Christenberry. This arrangement lasted for 34 years. State shoots in 1959 and every three years were on his farm. The KGC continued holding its popular April and October shoots for several more years. The heirs of Dr. Christenberry closed the club in 1992. Houses adjacent to Bays Mountain Country Club occupy part of the farm now. To be continued next month.

Read the rulebook, please.

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

Billy Cook

ATA Southern Zone Vice President

Arkansas

Congratulations to our Arkansas 2020 All-Americans: Logan Applegate, sub-junior; Rhet Baxley, junior; Logan Henry, junior gold; and Alan Sharp, veteran. Great shooting, guys; you’ve represented Arkansas well.

I would like to share a story about a little gun club in southern Arkansas doing big things:

The Camden GC was built in 1947 by the Army Corps of Engineers. At that time, the armed forces thought if the gunners practiced on shooting moving targets, they would become better at their job. In the 1960s, the Shoemaker Facility was bought by Lady Bird Johnson, and the airport and surrounding buildings came under the control of the city of Camden. There was a time when the gun club sat empty until a few shooters leased the property and opened it back up to trapshooting.

The club has had many owners over the years but continued to throw ATA targets a few times a year. Ben Forte started managing the Camden GC in 2001 after moving to Arkansas in 2000. In 2002 Ray Bearden bought the gun club from the previous owners, and although we have had two owners since, we throw ATA targets every Saturday from March until October.

Our state has been blessed with our Arkansas G&F Youth Shooting Sports Program. They started the program (AYSSP) for all schools in the state to participate. They give each school enough targets and shells for five rounds to get started each February. Most schools raise funds to shoot as often as they can. In May there are four regional shoots. The top 16 from each region make it to state. Sixty-four teams from the juniors (sixth through eighth grade), and 64 teams from the seniors (ninth through 12th grade) shoot for the state championship. Camden has been blessed to be the home range for Camden/Fairview, Harmony Grove and Smackover. We also have Magnolia and Columbia Christian using our facility a few times a year. All told, we have over 200 young shooters coming to Camden for practice and instruction. Other than our ATA shoots, we have two AYSSP tournaments a year. We host 60 teams (300 shooters from all across the state). Each shooter fires at 50 targets. Teams consist of five shooters, with most schools having multiple teams. The top three teams receive trophies in each of the junior and senior divisions. It is a very busy day for us, as we shoot 15,000 targets on three traps. Nora Martin Ross just gave a clinic Sept. 12-15 at the club. Our young shooters had nothing but great things to say about Nora and had a great time learning.

The Camden GC has three traps. The fourth has the posts poured and will be up and running in the next two years. We have a completely remodeled clubhouse with a brand-new front porch (12×32), an 800-square-foot pavilion with picnic tables, and a grill for entertaining. There are two covered table areas behind the trapfields and three large shade trees for those hot Arkansas days. Camden has one of the best backgrounds in the state, combined with throwing the straightest targets with the most spin. The club has a few campsites, and if you’re traveling through south Arkansas, they would love to have you stay and break some clays.

A special thanks to Ben Forte for taking the time to give us this information. I definitely encourage you to check out this club when you get a chance.

Be sure to check out the ASTF website for a list of shoots to get your 2020 target year started. There are several going on around the state.

Galatians 5:25—If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

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

Robby Pennock

ATA Delegate

Colorado

This Old Gun

I was at one of the local sporting goods stores, just killing time, browsing slowly along one of the many racks of new and used shotguns on display. I stopped when I heard a female voice say, “Dear, you know we can’t afford a shotgun that costs this much, not even at the sale price.”

Looking to my left, I saw a young man and woman standing at the end of the rack. The man was of average height and weight, and the woman was attractive. When she turned sideways, I could see at a glance she was in a family way (or as the young people like to say, she had a baby bump).

As soon as the couple left, curiosity got the best of me, so I hurried to where they had been to see which gun they had been looking at. To my surprise, the gun in question was a very nice old Winchester Model 12. Picking the gun up, I realized it was almost the same as the one I had at home in my gun safe. It had the same Winchester duckbill three pin rib that mine had. They both had American walnut stocks and forearms. While both guns looked to have been made about the same time, this gun hadn’t been used nearly as much as mine, for the original bluing was still about 85 to 90%. Opening the action, I could see no pitting and no primer cupping around the firing pin hole, and the bolt face looked new and unfired. In short, this gun looked to have spent its life hidden away in someone’s closet. I looked at the sales tag and saw the gun had been marked down from $700 to $500, and still no one had bought it. I thought the price of Model 12s must have come down, for I had paid more than $500 for my Model 12 over 30 years ago.

When I got home, the first thing I did was open up my gun safe. I took out my Model 12 and put it to my shoulder then looked down the rib. The feel on my shoulder and the look off the end of the barrel, along with the balance of the gun, made me wonder why I had ever stopped shooting this gun. I thought, “If this old gun could talk, what stories it could tell.” I looked at the scratches in the stock and forearm it had received after falling out of faulty gun racks at more than one ATA shoot. I could see the dent in the rib it had gotten when it had been stolen, only to turn up at the bottom of a drained irrigation canal almost a year later. It would tell of the many ATA tournaments it had won and lost over the years. It would tell of the many happy hours its owner had spent taking it apart, cleaning every part, then carefully reassembling it. It would talk about the happy hours hunting rabbits, doves and pheasants in the farm fields of Colorado and the hundreds of hours it had spent in the cold duck and goose blinds of the western part of the state. Yes, this old gun loved to hunt, but the thing it liked to do best was break clay targets.

I bet a lot of you are just like me, that is, you probably still have some of your favorite old guns hidden away in a closet or locked up in a gun safe. Why not get them out and take them to the Grand American this year? Then if your old gun qualifies, you can shoot it against other guns of yesteryear in the Nostalgia Shoot. You will be shooting against other old guns, just like yours. There may be a few younger shooters who inherited the love of these old guns from their fathers or grandfathers, but they will be shooting old guns as well. Sounds like a hoot to me, so come join the fun.

As I looked at my old gun, I couldn’t help but see myself as a young man with little money. I hoped the young couple at the gun store could somehow manage to buy the gun they had looked at, then take it to the field or the trap range were it and all other guns truly belong, along with their owners.

Labor Day Shoot

I got an e-mail from our northeastern Colorado friend Tim Brough about the Labor Day Shoot out at the Pawnee GC.

The day dawned bright and sunny over the northeastern plains of Colorado for the 11th annual Pawnee Harvest Handicap. The good weather, along with some mighty generous sponsors and volunteers, helped bring out 47 competitors for the shoot.

As we all know, sponsors, along with volunteers, are the backbone of any club and deserve much more recognition than they get. Many times sponsors have opened up their purses so everyone will have a little something extra to shoot for. As we all know, money is just part of what it takes to have a successful shoot. It also takes many volunteers, most of them working behind the scenes. Tim readily admits that this wouldn’t have grown into the successful shoot it is today without the help of sponsors like Don and Barb Blanch of Don’s Diesel; Tappy Oil, Kevin and Kimberly Davis; and NE Irrigation, Gary Fiscus. I’m sure the $1,200 added money helped entice more shooters to the tournament. Tim asks that you join with him in thanking these sponsors and the many volunteers who pitched in to help make this a successful shoot. A big thanks to a great bunch of folks.

Jack Brackett shot his first 100 straight in singles; congratulations, Jack. It is shooters like you who give the rest of us hope.

Winner of the 200 singles was Shane Gillespie; AA, Dale Lebsock; A, Brett Renck; B, Daryl Kindvall; C, Jack Brackett; D, John Buchanan; women’s, Stacy Rehor; junior, Brennan Bringelson; veteran, Thomas Rezanina. Saturday’s handicap, 21-23, Lori Linderman; 24-26, Tom Thomas; 27, Renck. Doubles Championship, winner, Adam Rehor; A, Denis Bringelson; B, Leon Rose; C, Raymond Knox. Sunday’s handicap, 19-21, Jeff West; 21-23, Jim Curtis; 24-26, Scott McIntire; 27, Denis Bringelson. High handicap for the 200 was Bringelson, who also won HOA. Thanks to all the shooters who supported Pawnee and ATA.

Colorado split zone shoot

Once again Colorado had a split east-west zone shoot with four zones on the east side and one on the west. What the shoot lacked in participation, it made up for in camaraderie and determination. This shoot has become what can only be called a friendly rivalry among the five Colorado zones, with southern zone coming out on top this year.

This year’s winning team: AA, Clinton Phipps; A, Dave Petrouske; B, Phillip Schmauch; C, Garrett Murphy; D, Jeremiah Steines. Be sure to congratulate these shooters. Go team go.

Other shooters to be congratulated are ladies’ winner Ashley Teal, junior winner Derek Knutzen and veteran winner Lynn Greenlee. I understand Tammye Macaluso shot her second-ever 100 straight, and Harvey Martinez posted his first ever 200 straight. Congratulations go out to all these fine shooters. Southern zone will have little time to bask in the glory of this year’s triumph, for I know Kyle Vickers, manager of Golden GC, and Delta’s new president Tim Arrasmith are already hard at work preparing to host next year’s east-west zone shoot-out.

A big thanks goes out to incoming ATA President Mike Herman and Jennifer Cartmell for their part in keeping both clubs lined out and running smoothly, and to Carla Lindley, who did a bang-up job with the zone trophies.

I would also like to give a personal thanks to ATA Alternate Delegate Bob Semsack, southern zone VP Dolores Semsack, Pikes Peak’s new trap manager Jerimiah Steines and Carla Lindley for all the e-mails they sent me on this year’s Colorado zone shoot.

The 2020 Colorado State Shoot is not far off. So make your plans now to join me and Steines at the Pikes Peak GC June 17-21. I understand RV spots are going fast, so don’t wait. Call 719-683-4420 or e-mail [email protected]. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Irv Effinger

ATA Delegate

New Mexico

Fall is in the air—cool nights, hot days. I would like to congratulate Mike Grady on shooting 74,675 handicap targets. I’m sure it is more by the time you read this. The Southwestern Championship was Oct. 3-6. I hope it will be a yearly event. I hope to see y’all down the road. Shoot well and often.

Bob Leibel

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

Iowa Park’s shoot Aug. 24 had 35 shooters, and 11 from Oklahoma attended. Pat Stacey won the doubles with 98 and the singles with 100. Chance Fleming’s 96 won AA in doubles, and Dennis Patrick took C. Nathan Lemke’s 99 won AA in the singles. Vickie Farmer’s 96 topped C, and Kya Funkhouser claimed sub-junior. Kelly Thacker and Don Rackley had 99s in A singles. Randy Farmer and Fleming along with others broke 95s for the high handicap score. Randy won champion after several coin flips. My 92, along with four others, was the second-high handicap score. It was hot; we had a southeast wind to keep us cool, but it made the targets difficult. The next day, severe storms rolled through central Oklahoma, leaving destruction and flooding everywhere. There were 96,587 left without power, shutting down entire school districts and affecting some hospitals, police stations and many businesses. Winds were reported at 87 to 90 mph, and one tornado hit north of Edmond. On Tuesday trucks and teams from surrounding states arrived to help restore power. By Wednesday they had the number down to about 38,000, but it took some time due to some sub-stations that were damaged.

Shawnee Twin Lakes TR had a light turnout for their Sept. 1 shoot, probably due to the holiday weekend. Justin Cavett’s 99 won the singles, Johnny Wilson’s 91 won the handicap, and Brian Stoa’s 93 won the doubles. Jeannine Stevens won lady in all three events.

OTSA held the annual Red Earth Handicap Sept. 7-8. Weather was beautiful with bright sunshine, warm temperatures and light south winds. Oklahoma City averages more than 300 days of sunshine each year. The Saturday 500 doubles event had good attendance and great scores. Pat Stacey won champion with 487. He led the third and fourth 100s with 99s. Pat and Nathan Lemke tied on Sunday’s 200 singles with 197s, winner decided by long run. Nathan won champion, missing his eighth target, and Pat missed his first target. Kenyon Bert ran them all on the second 100. In the handicap, Colt Quisenberry and Lyndon Shumaker tied with 96s, again decided by long run. Colt won champion when he missed his 21st target, and Lyndon missed his first target. Look for a complete list of all winners under Gun Club Scores in this issue of T&F.

On Sept. 11, I made a trip to inspect three trap ranges in northwest Oklahoma. My first stop was just west of Hennessey, where I met Rose and Rick Shaffer, Melvin Pospisil and Delbert Torrey. A trapfield has been there since 1978, and recently they built another very nice new field. They have a past schoolhouse and one all-metal pavilion, and they plan to build a second pavilion. They have a large parking area. The traps face northeast and have a clear background. We then met at the restaurant in Hennessey, where Rick bought lunch for everyone. We looked at a packet I brought for them and discussed future plans for the club.

The second stop was just west of Nash, where I met with Troy Skaggs at his farm to inspect his trap range. It faces northeast with an open background. It is a very nice layout with concrete walkways and gravel fill in between.

The third stop was on the east side of Jet, where I met with Roger Diller for the Alfalfa County TR. They had just installed a traphouse acquired from the Hank Davis estate. The house is all metal and faces northeast with a clear, open background. I took pictures and measurements so they can be ATA certified. I left them information packets to help them get started. This gives the area 4-H boys and girls three more places to practice and shoot targets.

Duncan GC and Oil Capital GC held shoots Sept. 15, and weather was beautiful. Duncan is operating on a volunteer basis, so I offered to assist Mike Cook on the classification and anywhere needed. When I arrived at 7:30 a.m., Mike was loading targets on Field 1. We loaded the traps, put out voice pulls, set targets, and set up classification. They had smoked brisket sandwiches for lunch. After only two shooters had signed up by 9:30, Mike had no choice but to call off the shoot. It was decided to cancel the October shoot also. They have some improvements planned over the winter and may schedule more shoots next year. They have a person with a bulldozer coming to clean out the trees and improve the background for shooters. Shooting slows down this time of year, but it does not stop. There was talk that they may have to cancel the last two shoots, but they did get the shoot on the ATA e-mail notification a week before. It went out to 280 shooters in our area. Also the state fair was going on, and a lot of 4-H’ers show animals during the fair. Another factor was the Oil Capital shoot with $2,500 in purses on the same date. It turned out only two shooters from our area attended, but it kept the Tulsa area shooters from coming to the Duncan shoot.

The Oil Capital shoot had been advertised for  more than three months. Jeff did a good job of getting the word out, but for some reason, attendance was very low. They had 10 on Saturday and 17 on Sunday. There are more shooters than that in the Tulsa area alone. Oil Capital is a great place to shoot, and it is hard to understand why a two-day shoot with $2,500 in purses would draw only a handful of shooters on Saturday’s singles. Jack Murphy and Pete Wedelin’s 96s were high. Jim Cooper, Jack and Jeff were high in the handicap with 90s. Jeff won the doubles with 95. In Sunday’s singles Nathan Lemke was high with 198, and Jeff was runnerup with 196. Woody Barnes and George Wise led the handicap with 96s, and Pete and Jim were next with 94s. Justin Cavett’s 97 led the doubles, and Woody’s 96 was second. Woody was HAA with 385 and Jim HOA with 649. All scores and pictures are on the website.

Randy and Vickie Farmer shot at Monk Palmer’s gun club in Texas, where they won his special belt buckles. Vickie won two and Randy one.

Mark Medlock won Ada’s Tuesday evening shoot with 49. That target he missed was a 16-yard bird.

I read where an off-duty policeman was denied admittance to the Frontier City amusement park here in Oklahoma because he was wearing his service weapon. A policeman is not going to shoot up an amusement park, but he just might stop someone who would. In the last month we have lost more policemen and military members protecting our freedom. Keep them in your prayers.

Tim Deister

ATA Delegate

Texas

Yahoo! It’s nearly my birthday. I know that many of you will have already purchased my birthday gift. Please don’t waste extra money shipping it to me; I’ll just get it next time I see you. Thanks for thinking of me.

Twelve Texas shooters were named to the 2020 ATA All-American team: open first, Dalton Jennings; open second, Randy Foster (Randy finally became a Texan, and we are glad to have him); Lady I first, Jennifer Wilburn; Lady I second, Bridget Bearden; Lady II first, Joneel Harris; junior gold second, Patrick Hopson; sub-vet second, Jeff Webb; senior vet first, Larry Tagtmeyer and Joe Altom Sr.; senior vet second, Gary Sherrod, Charlie W. Long and Marvin Allbright. Congratulation to a wonderful group of people.

I doubt many of you who read this (yes, I’m talking about my three dedicated fans) have ever refereed shootoffs at the Grand. It is lots of waiting and very little refereeing. It takes away a large part of your evening. It’s necessary, but it ain’t much fun. I would like to both thank and congratulate Billy Hopson. He gave up his evening five times at the Grand to referee. There were some who did more, but there were a heck of a lot who did less. Thanks, Billy, for going above and beyond.

I would like to send my congratulations to Dale Clayton. Dale has now registered over 100,000 targets. Way to go, Dale. Keep it up.

I did the classification for a shoot not long ago, and I am still amazed how inconsiderate some people are. There were people who pre-squadded and for one reason or another were unable to attend. I understand that an emergency can happen, or plans can change. What I can’t understand is why you don’t call or send a message to remove yourself from the squad. It is inconsiderate on your part. It also causes people with no control over it to have to shoot short-squadded. It may also cause someone who made a long drive to attend the shoot have to shoot much later than necessary. Please, please, please be considerate of your fellow shooters.

Read the Rulebook. Have an up-to-date average card. Read the Rulebook. Have an up-to-date average card. Read the Rulebook. Have an up-to-date average card. (I bet I wasted time and ink on this paragraph.)

If I forgot something, just let me know, and maybe I will remember it next month. If you have news (or gossip, for that matter) let me or Princess know, and if I remember it, I’ll include it in my column. You can reach me at 806-679-6889 or e-mail [email protected].

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

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Arizona

The Autumn Grand American is Nov. 2-13. Here are some of the reasons to be there:

1. Ideal size—around 600 shooters. Competition Factor 5 and 12 days of shooting
2. Tucson weather average 75°to 80°.
3. Super background.
4. Plenty of parking.
5. A professionally run shoot.
6. Great vendors, including Karl McKnight, Gunsmith.
7. Plenty of ammo available at reasonable prices.
8. Tucson has some of the best Mexican food anywhere.
9. Minutes away from the Pima Air and Space Museum and the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.
10. Always a great welcome in the most gun-friendly state in the USA with beautiful women and manly men.
11. Tucson weather average 75° to 80°.

The Autumn Grand is the perfect shoot, and it’s not only my opinion. Come on down!

The Grand American: This is just an observation, but I do not remember such high scores. Singles, doubles or handicap, it did not seem to make a difference. In one singles event alone, 14% of the scores were 100, wow! When they say that the Grand features the world’s best shooters, they aren’t kidding. They came from 56 states and provinces and six countries, (seven if you throw in California), including 47 competitors from Brazil. It’s nice to see them return.

The trip to Sparta illustrates the beauty and changing landscape of our country. First, there is the high desert of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas with maybe a few mountains in the background. Then when you cross over to Oklahoma farmland, hills start to appear with green replacing brown. You go through two mid-size cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and then on to Missouri. Now it’s farms, factories and towns on through the rolling hills. Just south of St. Louis, there is the Mississippi, and it is as grand as advertised. Illinois is just as flat as a billiard table with corn everywhere, mixed with some soybean fields and the towns personify mid-America. Then you behold the Promised Land: Sparta with 130 trapfields calling out like the famed rocks, Charybdis and Scylla, tempting all. The journey is three to four days of pure America.

Twenty-four Arizona shooters made the journey. I was not one, but Tiger Volz ably filled in. How did we do? It was kind of a mixed bag, but don’t forget, the Grand features the best of the best. Sophie Nostrom got off to a flying start with a 100 straight in Event 1, the Hodgdon Powder Singles. Unfortunately she lost out on a carryover and finished as runnerup in Lady I. The same fate befell Jim Copsey in the Event 3 doubles. His fine 98 earned runnerup in veteran. Our first outright winner was Gerry Williams. Gerry’s 99 was high by two for the senior vet crown in the Gipson-Ricketts Handicap. You just knew that Gerry’s name would start showing up. Steve Haynes finished third in sub-veteran. It was Williams again in Event 13, the Blaser Handicap. He was the senior veteran runnerup. Darvin Thomas, who is looking more and more like his old self, was third in the President Darryl Hayes Handicap. Then it was two more trophies for Gerry. He finished third among the senior vets in the ATA HOA 1,000 and was runnerup in the Millennium Coaches Super 500 Handicap. While not winning scores, Nostrom’s 199 in the NRA Singles, Canyon Ferris’ 99 in the Indiana Gun Club Doubles and Tim Robb’s 97 in the Darryl Hayes Handicap certainly deserve mentioning.

Around the state: The Mohave SC, aka Kingman, is back in action. With the help of 2 Lazy 2, they have revived their trapshooting program and already held one shoot, with more in the works. There is also a strong rumor that another club north of Phoenix is planning on holding two registered shoots this fall; stay tuned. Casa Grande will celebrate National Trapshooting Day Oct. 8 with three registered events.

Things are starting to pick up as we head into our fall and winter season. Tucson holds a two-day shoot Oct. 15-16; Ben Avery goes on Oct. 29-30, and there might just be a Halloween surprise. The Pre-Autumn Grand will take place Nov. 2-6, and the Autumn Grand American is set for Nov. 7-13. Lake Havasu has Big 50s Nov. 5; Double Adobe has a two-day shoot Nov. 5-6; and Tri-State continues their Big 50s program Nov. 6.

See you on the line.

John Bergman

ATA Delegate

California

The ATA Western Zone was hosted in two locations in California this year: Livermore in northern California as well as Redlands in southern California. Both locations are wonderful facilities and come with their fair share of obstacles for all.

The weather is warm this time of year at both locations, and wind can be the devil at both facilities. The sky was blue, and targets were flying.

The Western Zone in total had 634 shooters, and California had 148 of those. Livermore had 71 shooters and 13 trophies, while Redlands accounted for 77 shooters and seven trophies.

In the Event 1 class singles, Livermore got the trophy for AA, with Wyatt Esch winning the carryover. Ellie Alvarado brought home the Lady I prize to Livermore, winning her trophy outright. Michael Silfies, out of Redlands, won junior in a carryover.

In the Event 2 Class Handicap, Alvarado, out of Livermore, won the Lady I trophy outright. David Womack from California shot at Spanish Fork and won the vet trophy.

Event 3 class doubles: AAA goes to Chayton Vega, shooting out of Livermore for the win. Class A goes to Esch, out of Livermore. Sub-junior Travis Mathews won his age-group trophy shooting at Livermore.

During the Event 4 Singles Championship, Ethan Prescott won the Western Zone title, shooting at Livermore. He broke 200 straight and then backed it up with an additional 250 straight to seal the deal. Mark Johnson took the sub-vet win after shootoff in Redlands. The junior champion goes to Tristen Mathews, shooting out of Livermore.

In the Event 5 Doubles Championship, Class B goes to Homer Hansen III, shooting out of Redlands. Jimmy Heller took vet, also shooting in Redlands. Sub-junior champion, out of Livermore, goes to Travis Mathews.

Event 6 Handicap Championship: Jaiden Kim is the lone trophy for California, coming from Redlands, for sub-junior champion.

All-around: Sub-vet Gary Bonnetti won, shooting out of Livermore. Silfies took junior, shooting in Redlands. Richard Moore, shooting out of Livermore, won the chair category.

High-over-all: Junior champion Silfies, shooting from Livermore, followed up by Moore, wininng chair out of Livermore.

Chayon Vega

ATA Delegate

Idaho

Well, the Grand American is over. It was my first time attending, and for me, it was extremely fun and impressive. As the Idaho representative, I attended several meetings and got to view firsthand how many wheels are in motion that allow the regular shooters across the nation and several countries to compete on a fair basis. On that note, we voted to have Mexico enter the ATA. So now we have Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Mexico. Pretty cool. Also during the Board of Directors meeting, the famous Phil Kiner (Wyoming Delegate) nominated my brother as 2023 ATA President. The vote was unanimous. Congratulations, Ed!

On the shooting front, Idaho had a total of eight shooters at the Grand, including myself. In the championship singles, Scott Abo from south central Idaho had a perfect 200 and was in the championship shootoff with sixty-two other 200 straights. Incredible!

Grant Williams was the all-star of Idaho, winning the HAA with 398×400, shooting 199 in the singles, 99 in the handicap and a perfect 100 in the doubles. He also took third in the HOA with 985×1,000.

Stuart Welton shot with some of our Washington State friends, and on a preliminary 200 singles event, the squad shot 998×1000! The last half was a perfect 500. Heck, I missed more shots on just one post in an event like that.

Other shooters from Idaho, besides Scott, Stuart, Grant and myself, were Russ Pierce, Kent Graham, Bruce Bradley and Butch Watson.

On the homefront, while we were sweating in Sparta, Pocatello held their famous Gun Shoot, where they give away guns. This is their 39th year of this shoot, and it is very popular. They had at least one representative from 10 states, with Idaho, Utah and Wyoming providing the most shooters. This shoot usually mirrors Idaho’s state shoot in numbers, but this year it was down with 95 maximum shooters. I think it’s because ammo, while it’s getting easier to get, is still expensive. Components for those who reload are equally rare and quite a bit more expensive. Hopefully as the season winds down, things will become more available and a little less expensive. Nonetheless we still have about half a dozen shoots before it gets cold. Let’s keep the prices down, so we can keep shooting!

Oh, a final note. Wallace-Kellogg GC (Grant Williams’ home club) just got re-certified for ATA shoots and had their first registered shoot in many years on the last weekend of August. They are a small club but produce big champions. We wish them luck, and we’ll try to report on them.

Leonard Wehking

ATA Delegate

Utah

August has come and gone. So has the 123rd Grand American. Utah had a contingent of 22 shooters making the trek to Sparta, IL. We had seven shooters participate in the Champion of Champions. Chance Carter and Grayson Stuart represented Utah well by breaking the 100.

Most of our shooters fared well. Those who put up some good numbers were Sharred Oaks, Scott Syme, Brett Despain, Pam Wright, Grayson Stuart, Chance Carter and Sean Hawley.

The weather conditions at Sparta were, for the most part, typical. Hot, humid, rainy, sunny, cloudy. There was also a good dose of sweat bees. Opening ceremonies were canceled due to rain, and the Winchester class singles were interrupted by rain and lightning and had to be completed early Tuesday morning.

Attendance was almost back to normal, which is great considering the price of fuel and ammo. The borders were back open this year, which was nice. We had competitors from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa and Brazil. Scores were extremely high, which was indicative of the good weather.

COVID seemed to rear its ugly head, as several shooters and workers tested positive and had to leave the grounds.

There is so much more to discuss, but only a little time to do so. I encourage you to check out the scores on the ATA homepage and in T&F coverage to see how your friends and family fared.

Back home in Utah, Helper GC held its dedicated shoot and had a fair turnout. The timing of this shoot coincides with the Grand, thus not as good a turnout as one would expect.

I don’t know if I have mentioned this in the past, but Utah Hall of Fame shooter Dale Amos is back shooting. Dale holds the three all-time high handicap averages for the nation. Dale had given up shooting years ago because of back pain. He told me he recently looked into his accomplishments and saw he was about 2,500 singles targets short of 50,000. He decided to make a comeback and try to hit the milestone mark before he hangs it up again. Hopefully he will make it next year. I would be honored to give him his 50,000 attainment pin. All he is shooting (for now) is singles. I must say he hasn’t missed a beat. For those of you who don’t know him, it would behoove you to meet him. He is a legend of the game.

Ed Wehking

ATA Delegate