Hi everyone. The heat has broken here in Illinois and shooters are coming out to shoot some birds in the new target year. The only problem is anymore it seems to rain every weekend. Oh well, it's always something.
Ian Lawrence has shot 50,000 Singles targets. This is quite an accomplishment for this young man. You can see where his great scores come from. Brian Frost has shot 25,000 Handicap targets.
The Illinois Northern Zone shoot was held at Downers Grove Sportsmen's Club on September 10 and 11. Saturday the weather was great and Sunday it rained off and on with clouds. The shooters still came out and shot their usual great scores. Steve Johnson won the In-Zone Singles title and Mike Westjohn won Out-of-Zone. The In-Zone Handicap title was won by Jake Diliberto and Mike Westjohn struck again with the Out-of-Zone title. Dan Staker won the In-Zone Doubles title and Dave Dressler won Out-of-Zone. To finish it out, Dan Staker won the In-Zone HAA and, not surprisingly, Mike Westjohn won Out-of-Zone. Good shooting everyone and thanks to the Downers Grove staff for putting on a great shoot.
The one thing I dislike about writing a monthly column is talking about someone who has passed. It always makes me sad. When that person was a good friend it is particularly tough to do. Jerry Graham died right before the start of the Grand. Jerry was a great guy and an even better shot. I first met him years ago when he was one of the few people still shooting a Model 12 in competition. He later switched to a Ljutic and between those two guns he shot himself into the ISTA Hall of Fame in 2012. Jerry never shot off for an award. He was content to shoot his score and go home. It was refreshing to be around a guy who shot for the love of the game and not trophies and points. Poor health limited his shooting of late, but he kept trying to shoot a round or two to be with his friends. My sincerest condolences go out to all of Jerry's family and friends. Rest in peace!
Support your local clubs! They need you.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
Hi, everyone. You can tell Illinois shooters were active at the Grand American by the number of milestones that were reached. As before, the number is the milestone reached and the s, h, d, and c after their name stand for singles, handicap, doubles and combined respectively.
25,000
Thomas McCue S; Greg Aitken S; John Morgan H; Ted Mueller S; Robert Randell S
50,000
Lauren Dunn D; Marvin Cremer H; Lawrence Nemec H; David Peace S; Ken Knearem S; Tony Jones H
100,000
Ron Fearheiley C; Mark Chiodini C; Norman Lemay C; Ken Rigler S; Mark Fielder D; Ronald Roesslein S
Quite an impressive list. It makes me proud to be an Illinois shooter when you see the dedication that is going into our sport. The word for the Grand American this year was HOT, both in scores and temperature. It was miserable shooting on occasion, but I know of no one who required medical attention during the shoot. Illinois shooters displayed their usual excellence by all sorts of class, category and yardage group wins. See the Trap and Field magazine Grand issue for detailed results. I want to talk about one Illinoian who came ever so close in the big one. Junior shooter Steve Margherio broke 100 straight from the 27 yard line and tied for the Grand American Championship. Sadly, he lost the shoot off, but he won the Junior Championship. He also completed his Grand Slam while still in High School. I talked to Steve after the shoot off and I know he was really disappointed. I told him, and I truly believe, that if he keeps shooting as he has been, one day he will be holding one of those big trophies. Steve is a great shot, a keen competitor and a great young man. He is an asset to Illinois trapshooting.
I was saddened to learn that long time Director Ned Meyer has resigned from the ISTA board. Ned has been with the organization for so long and done so many great things for Illinois trapshooting it is difficult to imagine going on without him. I understand that personal problems have caused this and want to wish him the very best in the future. I also want to congratulate Lauren Dunn who has agreed to replace Ned on the board. Thanks Lauren for stepping up, I know you will do a great job.
As I write this, the new shooting season is about to start. I want to wish everyone good shooting in the coming year and encourage everyone to support their local, small clubs. Without your support, we will lose them.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
Hi everyone. Have I got a list for you! You can tell shooting is going strong by the number of shooters who have reached milestones this month. The number at the top of each column is the milestone they have reached. The S, H, D, or C, after their name stands for singles, handicap, doubles, or combined targets respectively--
25,000 -- Milton Hilton S; Garrett Helms D; Kevin Morrison S
50,000 -- Lawrence Gillum S; Bruce Bennett H; Dale Schlueter H; Jack Reeves S; Paul Rogers D; Sue Staker S
100,000 -- Tony Deangelis H; Gary Crowe C; Kenneth Wubben D; Lynn Gibson S; Dale Schlueter C; Pat Hermes H
Illinois shooters have been doing well at shoots across the Midwest. No major championships, but lot of Categories, Classes and Yardage group wins. I want to mention two shooters who have shot with great consistency. Chase Horton and Ian Lawrence just keep shooting great scores. When you shoot like that, the wins have to follow.
As I have traveled around to small clubs, I have noticed what I talked about last year in one of my columns. The clubs are basically running on volunteer labor. I want to encourage all shooters who go to one of these small shoots to jump in and help. These clubs are being squeezed from all directions and if we don't help them, they will not be there anymore. Please do what you can.
Last month I told you I missed the weekend at the Illinois State Shoot because I came down with Covid. It has been 5 weeks as I write this, and I finally feel that I am getting over it. I am telling you this because I don't want anyone else to go through this. Do not let your guard down! You do not want to get this!
Thanks to incredible generosity on the part of Illinois shooters at the State Shoot, we now have about $43,000 dollars for the new Hall of Fame. Thanks to everyone who gave! It means so much to me that you stepped up like you did. We are going to draw up some plans and break ground as soon as possible. Stay tuned for updates.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
Hi everyone. I have different news items I need to take care of this month. First, I want to congratulate Ian Lawrence for winning the out of state Singles Championship at the Missouri State Shoot. Ian sets a high standard for those of us in Illinois. We have to work like heck just to try and keep up with him. Good shooting Ian! We are proud of you!
Sadly, I have to mention the sudden passing of an Illinois shooter. Robert Grieves unexpectedly passed a few days ago as I write this. Robert was a good friend and a good shooter in this state for years. He was the type of guy you looked forward to seeing every time you went to shoot. He will be missed by all who knew him. My condolences to all his family and friends.
Now, I want to talk about an unsung hero of trapshooting here in Illinois. The Secretary of the Illinois Board of Directors is Joan Maiden. She is married to Bill Maiden, one of the Directors on the Board. Joan is a very brave woman! She decided to put up with 12 crabby old men, instead of just one. She has done a wonderful job dealing with all of us and organizing all aspects of shooting in Illinois so that everything runs smoothly in the State. She is a real asset, and I don't know what we would do without her.
I'll see you on the Trapline.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
Hi everyone. I have a lot to talk about this month, so I am going to dive right in.
I want to recognize some shooters that have reached milestones this month. Mike Hathaway has shot 50,000 Handicap targets. Jack Miller has shot 75,000 Singles targets. Last but not least, Frank Payne and Randy Miller have shot 75,000 Doubles targets. Way to go guys!
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Central Zone and the Southern Zone shoots were held here in Illinois at Peoria and Sparta respectively. They ended up being a tale of two age groups. At the Central Zone, Perennial Senior Vet All-American Mike Westjohn showed everyone how to shoot. Mike won the Singles, Doubles and High All Around. Doug Valerio won the Handicap to keep Mike from making a clean sweep of it. At the Southern Zone, youth was served as the crack Junior shooters took over the shoot. Landon Sievers won the Singles, Steve Margherio won the Doubles and Wyatt Williams won the High All Around. Only Vet Donn Thetford prevented them from making a sweep of it.
By the time you read this the new High Average awards will have been handed out at the Illinois State Shoot. As a reminder, this is a new award for shooters who are not All-Americans or All-Staters but have carried a high average in one or more of the disciplines. The winners are as follows.
SINGLES HANDICAP DOUBLES
1. Justin Dewitt 1. Randy Miller 1. Brady Cox
2. Randy Miller 2. Wyatt Williams 2. Tim Marucco
3. Brady Cox 3. Jarryn Smith 3. Ken Mitchell
4. Ronnie Fearheiley 4. Joshua Taylor 4. Chris Deterding
5. Hayden Hemrich 5. Derek Beckman 5. Justin Dewitt
6. Wyatt Williams 6. Ty Deterding 6. Cole Gordon
7. Cole Gordon 7. Tyler Gordon 7. Matthew Byrns
8. Tal Segar 8. Chris Deterding 8. Tal Segar
9. Chloe Turasky 9. Matthew Byrns 9. Lynn Hamlin
10. Tim Marucco 10. Jim Lyons 10. Randy Miller
It is now time to talk about the Illinois State Shoot. The AIM part of the shoot was on June 11 and 12 and let me tell you the kids showed up to shoot. I, and other workers, were handing out 100 straight patches and 27 yard pins like they were jelly beans. It is amazing the quality of young shooters we have in Illinois. If I tried to list you all I would forget people and I don't want to do that. So I am giving a blanket congratulations to all who achieved milestones during the shoot. The winners are as follows, in Singles, Brady Cox is the Men's winner and Jayce Wellen is the Women's winner. Landon Dent won the Men's Doubles and Ashleigh Painter won the Women's Doubles. Garrett Jackson won the Men's Handicap and Olivia Rainey won the Women's Handicap. Finally, Steve Margherio won the Men's HAA and Ashleigh Painter won the Women's HAA.
Now for the State Shoot. The word for the week was HOT, both in scores and temperatures. The shooters and the workers did a fantastic job dealing with the extreme heat and to my knowledge no one ended up getting sick on the line. A storm blew through Friday and knocked power out for a few hours. The power company quickly got us back on line and we only lost an hour of shooting time. The storm also lowered the temperatures and the Championship targets were very pleasant to shoot. The winners were Chase Horton - Singles, Cole Gordon - Doubles, Leroy Jording Jr - Handicap, Chase Horton HAA and Terry O'Brien HOA. Good shooting all of you. Mike Walker and Mike Westjohn were inducted into the Illinois Hall of Fame. This is a well deserved honor for both these men. Congratulations to both of you. Last, but not least, Leland Hassler received his 500,000 combined targets certificate from the ATA. If you have ever watched Leland pound away at Doubles targets you would know how he reached this incredible milestone.
Finally, I want to give a big thank you to the Mohr family and the Illinois Board of Directors. I missed the weekend because I tested positive for Covid and was sheltering at home. The fact that no one missed me shows what a good job they did. When you work with good people it shows at all the right times. I'll see you on the firing line.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate