Trap and Field's Around the ATA article from the Atlantic Provinces ATA Delegate
April, 2018
Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.
Spring should be around the corner for those of us in the more northerly climates – we hope. In our neck of the woods, winter can linger on a little longer than wanted. At this time of year, Newfoundlanders have to be wary of “Sheila’s Brush” – the name locals give a winter storm that occurs on or just after St. Patrick’s Day. Lore has it that Sheila’s Brush usually follows a spell of good weather around this holiday. If the storm occurs after St. Patrick’s Day, it signals a good spring and is a sign of sweeping away the old season. We don’t like to consider what it means if the storm comes earlier than St. Patrick’s Day – a longer winter.
The 2018 ATA Registered Shoot schedule for the Atlantic Provinces has been finalized and is available on shootatlantic.com. It will be another busy year for ATA registered shooting in the Atlantic Provinces. This year NS, NB and PEI are following suit with NL and have added their own Provincial Championships to their schedules. This is a good sign that trapshooting continues to grow in the Atlantic Provinces. With this year’s expanded schedule, there’s no excuse for local shooters not meeting your minimum target requirements for this year’s AP shoot – get out and get your game in top shape. If your club doesn’t have any registered shoots scheduled there’s still time to do so. All the information required to start registered shooting is available on shootatlantic.com and shootata.com. The ATA’s Registered Shoot Handbook is a great source of information for both shoot organizers and ATA shooters alike. If you need help feel free to contact me.
In New Brunswick, the Petitcodiac Sportsman’s Club is having a very successful winter trap league. The one trap club is a busy place on Saturdays with 21 shooters registering targets in their ATA league plus another 10-12 shooters that just shoot recreationally. By our standards that’s a great turnout. Club director, Ron Whitehead, told me that it’s getting so busy that they have added a Wednesday afternoon shoot to their weekly schedule and that another trap field would be a welcomed addition to the small club.
The St. John’s Rod and Gun Club, located on the island of Newfoundland, is the largest gun club in the Atlantic Provinces and offers trap, sporting clays, rifle, pistol and archery. Situated on 1000 acres of land about 40 km west of the capital city, St. John’s, the club has been in existence since 1959 and I’ve been on the on the board of directors and the trap chairman since 1998. We are a 4 trap club and currently equipped with Pat Traps and Canterbury voice release systems. It wasn’t always like that. Back in 1998 we had one automatic GMV trap plus a number of Winchester Western handset traps. I think all trapshooters need to spend time in a traphouse loading targets on those old handsets or pulling for a squad – it certainly makes you pay attention and appreciate the modern equipment. We have about 15 dedicated ATA shooters with about the same number of recreational shooters. If you’re planning to be in our area this season, checkout our shoot schedule and feel free to drop by for our weekly Sunday shoots and numerous competitions during our trap season, which normally runs from April to December.
For more information on the Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association visit shootatlantic.com.
Regards,
Andrea
Andrea Bassan
ATA Delegate - Atlantic Provinces
shootatlantic.com