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