Hi everyone. I have to begin with some sad news. Three Illinois shooters have passed in the last few weeks. Steve Camaron, Gary Bridgewater and Murl Peradotti are no longer with us. All three were good men and great shots, Gary and Steve won State Championships back in the day. It bothers me when we lose guys like this. If my shooting career is a mosaic picture, these gentlemen are stones that have fallen off the picture and start to diminish it. 

    I'm excited to tell you about a club I shot at for the first time a few weeks ago. Round Grove Sportsman Club has been at its location since 1950. It is just a few miles off of Route 70 at the Martinsville exit. It has two fields that are clean and well run by volunteer labor. The whole place, if this is important to you, is handicap accessible. You shoot into a pine tree background over a slough of a lake. I really enjoyed myself there because of the friendly, relaxing atmosphere at the club. If you are looking for somewhere to shoot, check them out, you will not regret it.

The reason I was invited to shoot at Round Grove was that two shooters, Avery Curry and Marc Granrath, two good friends, both shot their 100,000 Singles target on the same squad. I was thrilled to be there and congratulate them. The following shooters are close to milestones and I'm sure will have reached them by the time you read this; Richard Epley 25,000 Handicap targets, Marc Granrath 25,000 Doubles targets and Sue Staker 50,000 Handicap targets.

How about we bring a little fun back into trapshooting. Most ATA shooters do not shoot all three events at a trap shoot. There is a lot of down time that they could be shooting if there was something fun to shoot. At a large shoot, take the bank that no one wants to shoot and have fun side events. Throw a 50 bird, non-registered pump gun, SxS or sub gauge event. Have a Lewis class or a purse of some variety. A small club could throw a 50-bird derby on Saturday with purses and a potluck. Sporting clays did this, and it became so popular, that these events are now being registered. I think you would find a lot of shooters doing this if it was available.

I want to give you an update on the HOF. I naively thought that putting together a legal contract, so we could build, would be a simple, quick process. Boy was I wrong. Surveyors and lawyers move glacially slow in Macoupin County. I just got the contract signed two days ago as I write this. This has shorted construction time so we will not have a building up by the State shoot. We will have the concrete pad poured so you can see the dimensions of the building. Construction of the building will take place after the State Shoot. I'm sorry about this, but it's the best we could get done.

I need to take a moment to thank the Mohr family for their generosity to the ISTA with the terms of the contract. We are leasing the land for 99 years at $1 per year. If they ever sell the land, we get our full construction costs back after the sale. When you see the Mohrs, be sure to thank them.

By the time you read this, the Illinois State shoot will be upon us. I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the shoot. Good luck there and any other shoots you compete at this season.

Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate

Hi everyone. I want to start today with a milestone. Last month I told you that Tom Fester had shot 25,000 Doubles. This month he has shot 100,000 combined targets. Tom has quietly and efficiently become one of the best Veteran shooters in this state. It's amazing what a release trigger can do for a guy. Well done!

I have been talking about the plight of small clubs across the country. I am going to throw out some ideas over the next few months that might help them attract shooters. Last fall I was at a small club and was talking to the manager of the club. As we talked about big clubs vs. small clubs he said to me, "why don't we give points at small clubs too?" The more I thought about it, the more I thought he had a point. There would be no competition factor because they are small. We don't need to reinvent the wheel here; use the table we already have for earned yardage in the rule book. For example, if 15 to 39 shooters show up, 1 point would be awarded for an event win; 40 to 69 shooters would be 2 points and so on up the yardage table. I know many of you are thinking that a point or two doesn't mean anything. I would say to you, now a small club is at equal footing with a large club. Also, don't think a point or two doesn't make a difference. I have a good friend that missed being an All-American by 1 point a few years ago. Just think about it.

At the Southern Grand, Illinois is well represented. No big wins but many competitive scores are being shot by our shooters. A late update, Andrew Feig won the Southern Handicap with a score of 95. Nice shooting Andrew!

By the time you read this, shooting will be in full swing across the country. Have fun, shoot well and support your local, small clubs.

Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate

Hi everyone. First off, I want to congratulate two Illinois shooters that have reached milestones. Tom Fester has shot 25,000 Doubles and John Nord has broken 100,000 combined targets. Well done gentlemen! 

The Illinois Board of Directors met in early February and made a couple of changes that you need to be aware of:  1) they changed the target minimums for three categories for the All-State Team. Open and Sub-Vet will need to shoot 2000 Singles, 1500 Handicap and 1000 Doubles targets. The Sub-Juniors need to shoot 1500 Singles, 1500 Handicap and 1000 Doubles targets. These changes were made to make the minimums more equitable for everyone. 2) If you want to rent a golf cart for the state shoot, you will need to directly contact Midwest Golf Cart & Equipment Company at either 618-797-2278 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Your cart will be delivered to BSP the same time the carts ISTA has rented are delivered.

I told you a few months ago that Dave Dressler and Jim Lyons are being inducted into the Illinois Hall of Fame. An anonymous friend of these two gentlemen would like to have a reception before the induction ceremony. It will begin at 4:30 with adult beverages and a meat and cheese tray. The cake and ice cream will still be after the induction. I hope you can come and honor these two guys.

I am planning to go to small clubs in Illinois this year so I can write about them in my column. If you would like me to visit and write about your club, either call me at 217-854-2280 or e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let me know your shoot dates and shoot program. 

By the time you read this, trapshooting will be going full speed across the country. Remember, set goals, have fun and support your local clubs.

Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate

Hi everyone. I need to correct a mistake I made when figuring out the Illinois all-state team. The program I was using did not sort the shooters properly in the Sub-Veteran category and I did not catch it. The corrected list is. John Upcraft 93.36, Ron Fearheiley 92.95, Brian Cox 92.75, Mark Fielder 92.19, and Ken Mitchell 92.07. My apologies to anyone affected by my mistake. 

I was very saddened by the news of John McFadden passing. I first got to know John when he would stop by the classification window at the Illinois state shoot and chat with me. John was an interesting and friendly person who always made me smile and think. I always appreciate anyone who can do that for me. My condolences to all John's family and friends.

Illinois has three shooters who are at the top of the high average lists in their respective categories. Chase Horton is fourth in the Open category. Steve Margherio is second in the Junior category and Ian Lawrence is second in the Junior Gold category. Nice job guys.

I was reading my January issue of Trap and Field magazine and on pages 70 and 71, I saw the AIM All-Star Team. If you read the criteria to make the team, you realize these kids are excellent, dedicated, and competitive shooters. There are 80 shooters listed from across the country. As I looked at them, I noticed a lot of them are from Illinois. I started to count and found 34 out of 80 are from Illinois. That means 42.5% of these kids are from Illinois. WOW!!!! I knew I was having more and more of a problem competing. I chalked it up to old age. I had no idea there was this much talent nipping at my heels. Congratulations to all of you. Please take pity on an old, bald man.

I'm excited to tell you we have a new club that is starting to throw registered birds. Winchester Trap and Skeet Facility located in Alton, IL., plans on having Big 50 events this year. If things go well, they will also have some 300 bird days. Steve Dinkleman is a registered shooter and the new manager of the club. He wants to expand the operation and not only have leagues. Steve wants me to tell you about a corporate policy at the club. When you sign up to shoot you must buy and use Winchester ammo. They only sell premium AA ammo for you to use. They sell the ammo at a discount, so it is no more expensive than if you went to a store to buy shells. It's a good club and I hope you will go there and support them. Steve's contact info is 618-340-6860, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Avery Curry has reached the 100,000 Singles plateau. I've known Avery for a long time, and you will never meet a nicer guy. I am really happy and proud of him.

Spring is just around the corner. Get out and support your local clubs.

Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate