By Kevin Sabo For the Advance
The Castor Trap Club played host to their 30th annual trap tournament from Aug. 3 to 5.
About 30 shooters from across Alberta descended on Castor for the Alberta Provincial Trapshooting Association (APTA) sanctioned event.
“It was a good turnout,” said Don Checkel, one of the organizers of the event.
The three-day tournament is one of two APTA events held in Castor on an annual basis, with the second being in late September.
Trap shooting is a sport where four and a quarter inch clay pigeons are fired out of a “trap-house” at a speed approaching 42/mph, with the goal of hitting the target with a shotgun before the pigeon hits the ground. Competitors participate in one, two, or all three separate types of challenge, which vary in difficulty.
In the “single” challenge one clay pigeon is fired from the trap house when the competitor yells “pull” into the microphone, activating the voice-activated launcher. In the “double” challenge, two pigeons are launched at the same time, with the goal being to hit them both before landing.
In the final challenge known as “handicap,” the shooters are moved one to several yards back on the trap range, increasing the difficulty. The better the shooter, the further back he is moved.
The participants compete for a mix of a trophies and cash prizes. The winners of this year’s event are:
Day one: No trophies
Day Two: Singles champ - Kit Paterson; Singles A - Allan Day; Singles B - Joe Vasek; Singles C - Ken Reid; Singles D - Adam Fuller; Singles ladies - Lynn Smith; Veteran - Jack Broadfoot; Singles Senior Veteran - Trevor Dawe; Handicap champ - Kit Paterson; Handicap Long - Trevor Dawe; Handicap Mid-Jack Broadfoot; Handicap Short - Lynn Smith; Doubles Champ – Jesse Smith; Doubles A - Trevor Dawe; Doubles B - Fred Goodman; Doubles C - Ross Brown; Doubles D - Adam Fuller.
Day Three: Singles Champ - Brad Johnson; Singles A - Ron Crockford; Singles B - Doug Hays; Singles C - Ken Reid; Singles D - Adam Fuller; Singles Ladies - Lynn Smith; Veteran - Lawrence Muhlbach; Singles Senior Veteran - Rod Huffman; Handicap Champ - Ron Crockford; Handicap Long - Brad Johnson; Handicap Mid - Ian Tilley; Handicap Short - Joe Vasek.
The highest overall shooter of the weekend was Lynn Smith of High Prairie who hit 434 of 500 possible pigeons. The Castor Trap Club member with the highest overall was Kit Paterson who hit 425 of a possible 500.
The Castor Trap Club is active on Wednesday evenings during the summer at their range just off of Castor airport. For more information the Castor Trap Club can be reached at (403) 882-3238.
