Throughout the Trap Shooting Season, many APTA shooters travel all over Canada and the U.S. to represent the Atlantic Provinces at many of the largest organized Trap Shoots.
The 2019 ATA Registered trapshooting season is underway. Here are some of the shoots our shooters will be attending. Good luck shooters. Stay tuned for updates!
Scroll down to see most recent articles.
January 23 - 27, 2019
Silver Dollar Shooters Club, Odessa, Florida
Nova Scotia's Barry Turner attended the Silver Dollar Open hosted by the Silver Dollar Shooters Club in Odessa, Florida. Barry reports that t was cold and windy at the Dollar and scores were generally quite low particularly in handicap. Sounds like just another day shooting in the Atlantic Provinces.
Despite the less than ideal shooting conditions - Barry shot well and his tournamnet wins include:
Well done Barry. Good shooting.
February 13-24, 2019
Tucson Trap and Skeet Club, Tucson, Arizona
Herbie and Janaya Nickerson attended the Spring Grand at the Tucson Trap & Skeet Club in Tucson, Arizona. The pair have been making this shoot a part of their mid-winter break from lobstering for several years now.
As most Canadians know, travelling in mid winter can be difficult at times and weather delays are a common inconvenience. After a 2-day travel delay caused by bad weather in Halifax and then having to be rebooked on the “milk run”, Herbie and Janaya finally made it to Tucson, all ready for shooting.
Upon arriving at the Tucson club, Herbie and Janaya were greeted by Ontario shooting friends Jim and Joanne Pollock (both regulars at our Atlantic Provinces shoot) and took part in what they could of the Pre-Spring Grand events. Later in the week, Ontario’s Jim and Dianne Wood, also regulars at our Atlantic Provinces shoot, joined the group for the Spring Grand main events.
Herbie and Janaya both shot well despite not having shot much since Labour Day weekend during our annual ATA Provincial Championships held at the Highland Gun Club. After an event or 2, both Nickersons were back on their game. Janaya declared Lady I category and was very competitive within that category. Janaya finished in the top 5 in all events entered and during the Monday, February 18 Preliminary Handicap, Janaya won the Lady I trophy. Herbie won B Class in the Tucson Doubles on February 17 and during the Yuma Doubles on Wednesday, February 20, Herbie reached a personal best milestone and shot his first 50 straight in Doubles. Congrats Herbie and Janaya. Good shooting.
Most shooters head to Tucson for a mid winter break – or so they think. To the surprise of most, snow caused headaches for shoot organizers, shooters and staff. I guess it goes without saying – be prepared. One question for Fly Jim. That 'vette have winter tires?
Photo credits: Jim Pollock
March 11-17, 2019
Silver Dollar Shooters Club, Odessa, Florida
Newfoundland shooters John Tucker, Monty Petipas and Peter Tucker along with Nova Scotia’s Barry Turner attended this year’s Southern Grand at the Silver Dollar Shooter’s Club in Odessa, Florida.
The Southern Grand is an annual trip for the Newfoundland trio and are normally escorted by Old Man Bailey who decided to skip this year’s shoot. The Newfoundlanders were also joined by long time Maryland shooting buddy Jim Price. The guys met several years ago and make it a point to squad together and catch up during the Southern Grand.
The Southern Grand is also a regular stop on Barry’s ATA shooting calendar. Barry reports that the weather was great and the shoot was very well managed. Attendance was excellent with 21 Canadian participants. Our group of APTA shooters took time out for a quick picture.
(left to right: Barry Turner, Peter Tucker, John Tucker and Monty Petipas)
Our shooters represented the Atlantic Provinces well and won several awards for their efforts. Well done fellas.
(left to right: John Tucker, Monty Petipas, Jim Price and Peter Tucker.)
A personal highlight for Peter was shooting in Peter Tucker Handicap - the event named after him for winning the 2018 Southern Grand Handicap. That’s quite an honour that not many can claim. Well done Peter.
Barry also shared a couple of pictures of the Silver Dollar clubhouse and one of their 24 trap fields. The Silver Dollar is a beautiful club and a great place to shoot. And for those that like to golf, they offer 3 - 9 hole courses and a golf pro shop. And if you're looking to relocate they offer year round living also.
May 21 - 26, 2019
Michigan State Homegrounds, Lansing, Michigan
Report by: Barry Turner
The Great Lakes Grand is located at the Michigan State`s Home Grounds located about 15 miles south of Lansing, Michigan (80 miles west of Detroit). The facility features 40 trap fields on one line. The background is excellent and all of the fields are equal in terms of layout and target visibility. Located between 2 Great Lakes can lead to some turbulent weather. This year proved the point. Rain, high winds, cold, flat glary light and a warm afternoon or 2 confronted the 200 or so participants who shot the full 1300 target program from Tuesday through Sunday`s final handicap. Having shot this location 15 times, I knew that I should bring rain wear, shorts and golf shirts, a couple of heavy turtle necks, boots for muddy conditions, extra pants etc. By the time the shoot was over, I had occasion to use almost everything that I brought. This is one shoot where packing heavy pays off.
Crossing the border via air presents uncertainties and Customs delays are not uncommon. If you are flying and making a connection I like to allow at least 2 hours for the customs clearance process. This applies to both clearing US Customs going and clearing Canadian Customs returning. I am happy to report that I cleared US Customs in Montreal and Canadian Customs in Toronto on return without incident and without much delay.
The shoot was very well managed and target setting was right on the recommended ATA spec`s. Machine or voice mike breakdowns were handled quickly and trap help did a good job of keeping machines filled and getting the calls right. The shoot was a good one for me. I won High Vet in 2 handicaps with 94 in each from the 25 yd. line. I also won High Vet in the MTA Singles with 96 (20-30 mph winds depressed scores) and took Vet Runner up in the Championship Handicap with a 95.
Barry
2019 Canadian Trapshooting Association Championship
St. Thomas Gun Club, St. Thomas, Ontario
June 26 – 30, 2019
Report by: Andrea Bassan. Photo Credits: Andrea Bassan, Emily Brown, Doug Blades
The St. Thomas Gun Club hosted the 2019 Canadian Trapshooting Association Championship June 26 – 29, 2019. The southern Ontario club treated shooters to a well-run shoot and a friendly atmosphere.
Representation was strong from all Canadian Provinces and included 17 shooters from the Atlantic Provinces. In attendance from New Brunswick was Jack Nicolle, Gerrit van Raalte, Dan Pollock, Terry LeBlanc and Paul Devereaux. From Nova Scotia was Jim Hannah, Doug Blades, Aubrey Spinney, Shawn d’Entremont, Reynold d’Entremont, Rejean d’Entremont, Steve d’Entremont, Herbie Nickerson and Ken d’Eon. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrea Bassan, Troy Coldwell and Paul Bailey rounded out the group.
This wasn’t Paul Bailey’s first time in St. Thomas. 69 years ago, a 17 year old Paul arrived in St. Thomas by train for his basic training and start of his long career in the Canadian Air Force. During the shoot, Paul met up with his long time air force buddy, Roy McGee, who still lives in London, Ontario for a few laughs and memories during our time in St. Thomas.
The 200 target days was a great tournament program. Shooting finished early enough in the day that shooters had time to enjoy the sites. Here the NL and NS group have supper on the shores of Lake Erie.
The well groomed grounds and overall great trapshooting venue makes St. Thomas a nice place to shoot. Here are our shooters on the line throughout the shoot.
Nova Scotia’s Reynold d’Entremont started off the Atlantic Provinces winner’s list by shooting his first career 100 straight to claim A Class in Event 1 Singles. New Brunswick’s Jack Nicolle claimed B Class with a respectable 97/100.
In Event 4, Newfoundland shooter Troy claimed AA Class in the 50 pair Doubles event with a 99. Quebec shooter Serge Pelletier, who regularly attends our provincial shoot, reached a milestone during Event 4 and recorded his 50 000th registered Doubles. Congratulations Serge.
Scores remained strong for Event 5 – the Pat Lamont Doubles and the tournament’s second Doubles event. Reynold d’Entremont’s 97 took A Class. New Brunswick shooter Paul Devereaux, competing in his first national championship, won D Class for his shooting and took home his first win at the national level.
Reynold and Rejean d’Entremont tied Ontario Veteran shooter John Iliopoulos with 97s in Event 6 – the Pat Lamont Handicap. Reynold edged Rejean 23 – 22 in the shootoff while Iliopoulos took 3rd place,
The 200 target Canadian Singles Championship had 239 shooters compete for the national titles. Five perfect scores were recorded during the 1st 100 targets with Newfoundland shooter Andrea Bassan having one of those perfect scores. Numerous 99s and 98s kept the competition close. Breezy conditions for the afternoon’s 2nd 100 targets made for some challenging targets. Bassan dropped 1 target in the 2nd half of the event for a personal best of 199/200 to claim the Canadian Singles Championship. New Brunswick’s Paul Devereaux earned his 2nd trophy of the tournament winning D Class Open with a 182/200.
In Event 8, the Canadian Doubles Championship, Troy Coldwell was the lone winning Atlantic Provinces shooter, taking AA Class Closed with a 95/100.
The wind was definitely a factor in Event 9, the Canadian Handicap Championship, and shooters needed to be on their game to make the winner’s circle. Nova Scotia shooter Steve d’Entremont’s 93 took the Open Champion. Reynold d’Entremont joined Steve in the event’s winner circle claiming Veteran Champion with a 91.Coldwell’s 91 got him into a 5 way shoot off for 5th and 6th place. Troy exited the shoot off in the 1st round while the rest continued for several more rounds.
In the High All Around Championship, Coldwell took the Open Runner-up title with a 381/400.
The Canadian Trapshooting Association (CTA) also held its annual meeting during the shoot. Elected to the board were Andrea Bassan who’s taking on the role of Vice President in addition to being the Atlantic Provinces Delegate. Janaya Nickerson was also elected and will serve as a Delegate at Large. The 2020 Canadian Trapshooting Championships will be held in Edmonton, Alberta at the Edmonton Gun Club.
2019 Canadian Trapshooting Championships - Complete Results
Pictures and more information available on: https://www.facebook.com/shootcanada/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/OntarioTrap/