We are in a new target year and shooting is picking up in Illinois again. Over the Labor Day weekend, Brittany Shooting Park held the Illini Indian/Silver Dollar shoot. On Saturday, Steven Margherio won Doubles. Logan Hawkins won Singles and Stephen Chen won Handicap. On Sunday, Landon Sievers won Doubles, Leland Hassler won Singles, and Logan Hawkins won Handicap. On Monday, Brandy Cox won Doubles, Randy Miller won Singles and Ty Leach won Handicap.
The following weekend Downers Grove hosted the Illinois Northern Zone shoot. On Saturday, in miserable weather, Chase Horton won the In-Zone Singles and Mike Westjohn won the Out-of-Zone award. In much better weather on Sunday, Frank Bentley Jr. won the In-Zone Doubles and Brad Bomkamp won the Handicap. Randy Miller won the Out-of-Zone Doubles and Steve Carver won the Handicap. Frank Bentley Jr. won the In-Zone HAA and Randy Miller won the Out-of-Zone HAA. Good shooting all of you! Keep it up to show the quality of Illinois shooting.
I want to mention a couple of noteworthy milestones reached by Illinois shooters. Brenda Dennis, wife of All American and ISTA Board member, Mike Dennis, has shot 25,000 Handicap targets. Keep it up, Brenda and kick Mike's butt in the future. Chase Horton achieved his Grand Slam at the Kentucky State Shoot with a 100 in Handicap. Chase never fails to impress any more! Great shooting!
One thing I hate to do is talk about shooters who have passed and sadly Illinois has lost three lately. Karen Vanderveen was a long time trap shooter and was a long time Secretary of the Illini Indians. Alan Portzen was a fixture at the Illinois State shoot for years and a wonderful woodworker. You have a treasure if you have a stock he worked on. I did not know Jim Fish but I'm sorry he has passed. Condolences to the family and friends of these three people. Your passing has diminished us all.
Finally, I want to give a shoutout to two random acts of kindness I have seen lately. Judy Wegner, Illinois ATA Hall of Famer, graciously gave a leather bag she won to a young lady who came in second to her and Landon Sievers gave money he won to the Illinois Hall of Fame. These two acts show the character of both these individuals. Thanks, Judy and Landon. People like you are the reason I enjoy this sport so much.
Let's get out and shoot nice fall weather targets before winter sets in.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
What an interesting Grand it was. The first Grand not in Vandalia or Sparta in about 100 years and the first Grand shot in the middle of a pandemic in 100 years. First, I want to again thank the ATA and the MTA for putting together the shoot on such short notice. We had some machine and trap help issues here and there, but all in all, it was a great shoot.
Illinois All American and All State Shooters continued to shoot well and placed in the events of the Grand. No big winners, just continued excellence. Other Illinois shooters shot really good scores above their averages and had a good time.
I want to highlight two sub-junior shooters who had a tremendous Grand. Ty Leach and Boedy Baker both shot lights out and placed in several events. They are both from my home town too. I feel like a proud Grandpa as I have watched these two young men develop as shooters and persons. The sky is the limit for them and I am looking forward to watching them in the future. Finally, a big shout out to Dagen Voigtman for his 400 x 400 in the HAA. What incredible shooting! It is amazing how many great young shooters we have in the sport anymore. I know I feel older by the minute watching them all.
Several Illinois shooters are about ready to reach milestones in target numbers. Bill Huhn, Richard Drennen and Ian Lawrence have almost reached 100,000 total targets. Todd Whitaker almost has 50,000 Handicap targets. Thomas Clark has 25,000 Single targets. Dan Schocke has 25,000 Handicap targets. Finally, Lawrence Gillum, Glenn Simpson and Kenneth Mitchell have shot 25,000 Doubles targets. As I have said in the past, the first step to excellence is commitment. These guys are showing us the way.
I was asked to drive down and certify the Cumberland County Sportsman Club so they could start to shoot registered birds. My wife and I drove down there in early July and man, was I impressed. As I came up to the club, it reminded me of some little clubs I shot at with my Dad years ago when I first started to shoot trap. A nice clubhouse, a lake, nice shade trees and two brand new trap fields, one of which is also set up for skeet. I also met several club members who were eager to make my wife and I feel at home. These are the clubs that are the backbone of our sport and we need to support. If you find yourself in Greenup, IL, give Kelly Sutherland a call at 217-728-8388, Extension 303 and check out Cumberland County. You will not be disappointed.
A new target year has started. Let's get out as much as we can and shoot and put the 2020 target year in the past.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
As you read this, you already know we were forced to cancel the Illinois State Trap Shoot. I want to personally apologize for that decision to our shooters both in Illinois and across the mid-west. It was agonizing for the Board of Directors to do this but we felt we had no other choice. Let's hope for a vaccine so we can come back bigger and better next year.
On a happier note, Illinois shooters have been shooting very well at state shoots across the mid-west. There are so many shoots I can't talk about them all so please refer to shoot reports in Trap & Field magazine. I do want to mention a few shooters that have been shooting extremely well. Chase Horton, Ian Lawrence, Frank Haynes, Mike Dennis and Frank Payne have been shooting lights out wherever they have shown up. Good shooting guys. I am looking forward to watching you and all other Illinois shooters at the Grand.
While I'm on the subject of the Grand, I want to really thank the Missouri Trapshooting Association for hosting it this year. It is a monumental thing to host a shoot like this and the fact they took this on speaks volumes for their commitment to trapshooting.
I want to recognize some Illinois shooters that are reaching some milestones. Consuelo Aguilera will soon reach 100,000 combined targets. Richard Anderson will soon have 50,000 Singles targets. Harvey Schultz and Garrett Helms are reaching 25,000 Singles targets. David Coles and Ian Lawrence are homing in on 25,000 Doubles targets. You can't win if you don't show up and shoot. Good job all of you for your commitment to our sport.
On a sad note, Carl Havens, husband of Betty Havens, of Embroidery by Betty, recently passed away. Carl was a fixture in Betty's tent at any shoot they were at across the mid-west. Carl was a great guy and will be missed by the trapshooting community. Our condolences go out to Betty and her family.
One of the duties of a Delegate is to certify a new club that wants to start to shoot ATA targets. I recently went to the The Diamond Indoor Trap Range in Diamond, Illinois, to do this. I have been shooting trap for more than 50 years and have never seen an indoor range. Not knowing what to expect, I pulled up to the facility and was completely impressed. Leon and Christy Baine have built a well thought out, first class experience for shooters. Everything about it screamed to me their commitment to registered shooting and I am looking forward to going back to shoot there.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
As I write this, the Illinois State Shoot should have just finished and I would have great stories about the event. Sadly we are still wrestling with trying to have the shoot. Public health concerns, insurance issues and common sense are making this decision really tough. When you read this we will have made the decision. Just know the Board of Directors made the best decision we possibly could.
Shooting is finally picking up and Illinois shooters are doing well. At the Nebraska State Shoot: Ian Lawrence won six trophies, Chase Horton won four, Mike Dennis won three and Hannah Martin also cracked the trophy list. At the Tennessee State Shoot: Charlie Bickle and Harvey Schultz won 3 trophies, Joan Davis and Kyle Fabisiak both won two and Donald Kalsch, Tom Hoffman, Chloe Turasky, Jeremiah Schultz, Adam Fabisiak and Mike Gill all won a trophy. Chloe almost won the open Out of State Singles Championship. Good shooting one and all.
I recently learned a shooter from Florida, who grew up in Illinois, was killed in a tragic car accident. My condolences go out to the family and friends of Brant Williams. Rest in peace, Brant. I'll see you on the other side some day.
I have been advised that Anthony Fortino is closing in on 120,000 combined targets. Anthony is a great shot who won both the Singles and Doubles Championship at the Grand in 2013. Life has gotten in the way lately and he has not shot as much as he had in the past. Good job, Anthony. I hope you will be able to return to your previous form in the future.
Finally, the Illinois Board of Directors is working on a new idea to raise money for the Hall of Fame. Stay turned for future developments.
Stay safe and shoot well!
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate
As I am sure you have heard by now, the Board of Directors have voted to move the Illinois State Shoot to the last weekend of July. Due to both political and health concerns, the Board saw no way forward other than to move the shoot later into the shooting season. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our shooters.
I need to correct a mistake of mine. I incorrectly recognized Denise Dressler's Singles milestone by her maiden name of Stultz. I apologize to Denise, Dave and anyone else who was confused by my mistake.
I was deeply saddened to recently read that Joe Spradley had passed. I first met Joe at the Illinois State Shoot years ago when we both wanted to buy an old Remington trap gun. (Joe liked Remington's as much as I do.) I ended up with the gun, but much more importantly, I got to know Joe. If there is a dictionary of phrases, all you would need to do is put a picture of Joe next to the phrase "Class Act" and you've said it all. We will miss you, Joe. When I join you some day, we will find two high grade Remington's and shoot 50 bird derbies forever.
The country is starting to open up now and the shooting season is ramping up. Due to Illinois' plan to open, small clubs are going to be the way to go to shoot. Please support our small clubs as much as you can. We need them to survive this pandemic for our sport to grow.
Everyone stay safe.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate