Hi everyone. I have finally recovered from the Grand and it was great! Wonderful scores and people all 10 days. Illinois shooters scored regularly in all the categories, yardage groups and classes throughout the shoot. There are so many I can't mention them all so look at the shoot reports in Trap and Field magazine. There are some notable events that I do want to talk about. In the team races, the Veteran, Senior Veteran and Junior Gold teams all won first place. The Junior, Sub Junior and Lady 2 teams won second place. Good shooting everyone. Ricky Merriman came out of nowhere and won the Grand American Handicap with a 100 straight. This is one of those Cinderella stories that the Grand is famous for through the years. Congratulations, Ricky, on a job well done! Finally, Landon Sievers continued his scorched Earth summer by winning the HOA of the Grand. Landon has won wherever he has gone this year. It is fitting that he wins the award that shows continued excellence through the entire shoot. Congratulations, Landon, you continue to amaze me.
Because of all the shooting that has gone on the last month, I have a boat load of milestones that have been reached. At the 25,000 plateau, David Buker, Thomas Clarke, Stacie Segebart and Debbie Hale have reached this in Handicap. Stanley Crowe and David Masko reached this in Singles. At the 50,000 plateau, Ian Lawrence, Norman Lemay, Dennis Baker and Rick Arkebauer have all done this in Handicap. At the 75,000 plateau, Marvin Kuebler did it in Doubles and Lynn Hamlin did it in Handicap. At the 100,000 plateau, Frank Payne did it in Handicap and Kent Temple, Mark Johnson, Garrett Helms and Ron Wolf did it in Combined Targets. Finally, Leland Hassler has shot 200,000 Doubles. If you add all these targets up, this is one hell of a lot of shooting. I am in awe of all this shooting.
Sadly, I have to report the passing of two Illinois trap shooters. Eldon Trent was a very colorful individual. When he showed up at a trap club you knew you were in for a laugh or two. He was also a really good shot in his day. I know his friends miss him terribly. Mike Miller was a fixture at Southern Zone clubs and clubs across the Midwest for years. He was a good man, a better friend and a damn good shooter. It is hard for me to think of going to shoots knowing they will not be there. Rest well gentlemen.
I want to tell you about a gun club that everyone should go and shoot at some time in their shooting career. The Chillicothe Sportsmen's Club is located a few miles north of Chillicothe, Illinois on Route 29. It is affectionally called Chilli by everyone who shoots there. It has 4 trap fields and a nice club house with some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. The club is unusual in that you shoot into a levee that holds back the Illinois river. Because of the brown, green background, they shoot white targets day and night. I know this sounds strange, but they stand out well and are easy to break. It is a great place to go, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good place to shoot.
Shoot well, have fun and support your local clubs
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate