Trapshooting and Concealed Carry

 
The recently passed concealed carry bill was definitely a great achievement for our state as far as personal protection goes. I had my eye on a few items which could have potentially benefited trapshooters that were being discussed at one point or another, but they were unfortunately left out of the version that was signed into law.

The first one was a proposed item related to the type of training needed to obtain a permit. There was talk of allowing proof of participation in shooting competitions over a period of time being allowed as one of the methods for certification. While it doesn't affect me because I am a Hunter Safety alum, it does affect those trapshooters who were old enough to be exempt from those courses at the time of their inception. There are other methods of training that are acceptable (NRA training, ATA training, etc.), but it would have been nice to see that shooting competition option make it in. Not a huge issue I guess.

The second item that was being tossed around in the early stages was removal of the requirement for all guns to have to be cased and unloaded in a vehicle. This was an item that was part of the constitutional carry version of the bill (which really had no chance of being passed), but I was really hoping it would make it into the one that eventually became law. In the DOJ's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the new law, they state that "The law has been changed regarding hand guns but the requirements for transporting long guns still remains." The laws regarding transportation of long guns are the same laws that empower the DNR and other law enforcement agencies to cruise through shooting events and issue tickets to unsuspecting competitors whose unloaded, uncased guns are in contact with their vehicle.

With concealed carry going into effect in November, it would seem that the laws for long guns are outdated. Maybe eventually they will change to favor the trapshooter who loves to lean his unloaded shotgun against his car, or lay it in the back of his pickup truck between the singles and handicap.

Just wanted to vent. If you want to see the FAQ, visit this link: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/cib/Con ... stions.pdf

2011 Wisconsin Southeast Zone Shoot Recap

I apologize for the late posting of these results, but I had to leave the Zone Shoot on Sunday around noon in order to get to the airport for a week in Florida with Melissa...

The 2011 Wisconsin Southeast Zone Shoot was held at Boxhorn Sportsman's Club on the weekend of June 11th and 12th.  With the poor attendance at most registered shoots across the state, we were unsure what type of turnout we were going to have.  In the end, the attendance was right around what it was last year when Waukesha Gun Club hosted the shoot, so we were very happy!

No shoot ever runs perfectly smooth, so let's talk about the issues we had before highlighting the good.  The traps were all in top-top shape for the start of the shoot, save for the machine in Trap 8 which Rick and his crew were able to swap out fairly quickly for a more reliable trap.  There was also an issue with cross-calls on Trap 2, which is due to the fact that Trap 1 is angled in towards Trap 2.  Nothing a few styrofoam coffee cups couldn't fix.  Then there was the AJ's Bar employee that thought it was a good idea to use the leaf blower immediately behind traps 6 through 8 during the Singles Championship, but we finally scared him off.  There was an issue with an incorrect score which was the fault of the trap help, but there was nothing that could be done about it at the time because the issue wasn't fixed on the line in time.  To top it off, we had a batch of targets which were very brittle and broke so easily that it caused us some issues on a couple of traps in the Doubles Championship.  Once we cleared the turrets, the issues pretty much went away.

You never want to have issues, but as far as issues go, these were pretty minor and didn't have much impact considering the size of the shoot.

Now on to the good.  We registered 38,000 targets, and they were all set pretty well considering there was a tricky breeze all weekend (nice job, Rick!).  The sign-up and shoot administrative tasks were all handled through the 3S shooting software, and it worked flawlessly thanks to all the volunteer help Dick and Arlene Otto gave us...thanks Ottos!  Brad Patterson gave a lot of his time to help run the shoot as well, which we really appreciated.  Most of the shooters that experienced the previously mentioned problems were very patient and showed great sportsmanship.  A big thank you to all of you!  Everyone seemed to have a good time, and the scores were pretty good.

The big winner that weekend was Steve Wolf, who won the Southeast Zone Singles, Doubles, and All-Around championships!  Nice shooting Steve!  Nick Thanos also performed well, considering he was recently laid up after many surgeries following his roofing accident.  He and Mary each won three trophies!  Paul Traxler won 4 out-of-zone trophies and also won a share of the open High Overall trophy (which he split with his friend Shannon Dempsey)!

The full shoot results are on the WTA website and were also posted in the Journal-Sentinel and the Waukesha Freeman, but in case you missed them, they can be seen at this link: http://www.boxhorngunclub.com/PDF/2011SoutheastZoneTrophies.pdf

In other news, Brad didn't run for reelection, and no one stepped up to run.  This likely means that the WTA Board will appoint someone to fill his post.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and made this shoot such a success.  We look forward to hosting it again in 2013!  Our next and final registered shoot of the 2011 season is on Saturday, July 23rd.  To see our regular ATA program, visit this link: http://www.boxhorngunclub.com/PDF/ATA-Schedule.pdf

Check me out on TrapshootingOnline.com!

I have recently started contributing articles to a new trapshooting site called Trapshooting Online.  The segment is called Ask The All-Americans and is similar in format to the Trap & Field Magazine article of the same name.  It's meant to give people insight into what it takes to be an All-American, and I hope it will be entertaining as much as it is informative.  The other contributors are Dean Spiridon, founder of Trapshooting Online and an All-American trapshooter, and Joe Pascoe, another All-American trapshooter.

The first submission from me was posted today, so head on over to TrapshootingOnline.com to see the article.  While you are there, create an account, navigate to my profile and add me as a friend!  You can also head over to Facebook and click the Like button on the Trapshooting Online Facebook page in order to see all of the latest updates in your Facebook feed.

The articles from Dean, Joe, and myself will post multiple times per week, so be sure to see how the other guys respond to the questions!

Another beautiful day at the club... (Boxhorn ATA recap for 5/22/2011)

As you can tell by the photo below, the weather was beautiful for Sunday's ATA event at Boxhorn.

The turnout was okay, but it seemed a lot of people might have opted to stay home due to the potential threat of severe weather hitting the area that afternoon.  Thankfully, that severe weather held off until close to dusk, so the weather was favorable for shooting.  The high temperature for the day was somewhere in the mid to upper 70s, with partial clouds and a steady 10-15 mph breeze from the south.

As is typical with Boxhorn ATA events recently, there weren't many people signed up to shoot when the singles got under way at 10:15 AM, but by the time it was all said and done, there were 15 shooters on 4 singles squads, 13 shooters on 4 handicap squads, and 6 shooters on 2 doubles squads.

Carl Bauer had the top singles score with a 96, followed by Randy Tersen and Bob Hittle with 95s.  In the handicap, junior Alex Peterson led the way with a 92 followed by Randy Tersen with a 91 and Bob Hittle with a 90.  Randy Tersen was the top dog in the doubles with a 91, followed by Alex Peterson with an 88 and Ron Wahl with an 86.

Randy Tersen was high overall with a 277 out of the combined 300 targets.

This was the first shoot that was run using version 11 of the 3S shoot software, and no problems were seen.  This software will be used for the upcoming Southeast Zone Championships, so it was good to get an actual shoot run through the system. 

A special thank you to Dick Otto for all of his tireless efforts to educate the gun clubs of Wisconsin about the ins and outs of 3S.  And Dick helps more than just Wisconsin clubs...as he was on the line shooting on Sunday at Boxhorn, a woman from a gun club in California called the club to get Dick's assistance with an issue she was having!  If you see Dick around at shoots this summer, please be sure to thank him for his continued dedication to improving our sport.  He is a true Hall of Famer.

Final Score: Wind 1, Trapshooters 0 (Boxhorn ATA Shoot Recap for May 1st, 2011)

This guy made an unwelcome appearance at Boxhorn today...

Boxhorn held its first ATA shoot of the year today, and I think most can agree that they are glad it's over. As I write this recap, the winds in Muskego are blowing at 17 MPH out of the west, and gusting up to 30 MPH. I only wish the winds were that tame during our event. I didn't check to see what the numbers were during the day, but they were definitely higher, and it was blowing from the south.

As one might guess, the scores and attendance were down.  A bunch of people showed up to shoot, but only 8 people were brave enough to step up to the challenge.  No one was brave enough to attempt the handicap or doubles, however.  The top three singles scores from today were:

• Paul Dombeck - 90
• Jordan Hintz - 88
• Richard Kruck - 85

Eight entries is surely disappointing from the gun club's perspective, but it was still good to have the shoot and work some of the early season kinks out of our system.  Things ran really smooth, and we remembered what we were doing! Kudos to everyone who braved the wind and shot, and thanks to all the others who came out to socialize and shoot the breeze.

Proof that Wisconsin is Inching Closer to Concealed Carry

It feels like concealed carry is closer than ever...

Today it was announced that the Milwaukee County DA’s office wouldn’t level any charges against a tow truck driver who shot two men as they robbed him. You can read more about this story here: http://bit.ly/fLCKvQ

Kudos to the Milwaukee County DA’s office for recognizing the public’s right to defend themselves. This is proof that the existing laws regarding self-defense with a firearm are out of date and need to be updated to allow citizens to better protect themselves against thugs. I am a strong believer that concealed carry laws deter crime simply because an armed public is not appealing to those who make a living victimizing others. For someone like this man, who is routinely at risk in his day-to-day duties, concealed carry laws will help make his daily tasks less dangerous.

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2011 Boxhorn ATA Shoot Programs

The 2011 ATA season at Boxhorn Sportsman's Club is almost upon us! The first event is scheduled for Sunday, May 1st, and the other regular shoot dates are Sunday May 22nd, Saturday June 18th, and Saturday July 23rd.  In addition, we are hosting the 2011 Wisconsin Southeast Zone Championships, where we are awarding more than $2,350 in trophy cash!  See the two links below for the official programs for all of our ATA events:

• 2011 Boxhorn ATA Shoot Program 
• 2011 Wisconsin Southeast Zone Shoot Program

If there are any questions about the ATA shoots at Boxhorn, please feel free to e-mail me at deadpair@gmail.com.

Planned Improvements At Boxhorn

Many people are probably wondering what types of improvements can be expected at the club. A few things have already been done or are in progress, and many more are planned.  Here's a comprehensive list of all current and future planned improvements (NOTE: all of the future improvements are subject to change, and the below list may not be all-inclusive):

Changes made to date:

• Seating - The old leather bench that took up the entire upper half of the club has been removed and replaced with temporary tables and chairs...see below for the future state of the seating
• TV in the Bar - The flat screen monitor behind the bar now has the ability to display the television programming
• External Paint - The outside of the club is having the old surface prepped to get a fresh paint job

Planned changes (by Memorial Day):

• New Seating Throughout - New upper level tables and chairs as well as new barstools in the bar are ordered...they are being custom made (in Wisconsin).  To see examples, visit this website.
•  A Deck - A new deck will be built on the east side of the clubhouse to allow for more outdoor space to kick back
• Windows in the Bar - New windows are going to be installed facing the lake to brighten up the bar area enhance the view
• Lights on the Line - New lighting will be installed along the whole trap line
• Mic Tune-up - All microphones are being tuned up and will be back in service by the second week of summer leagues

As you can see, there are some drastic changes on the horizon. It looks like they will be complete by the time of the Wisconsin Southeast Zone Championships on the weekend of June 11th and 12th!

Boxhorn Sportsman's Club Grand Opening This Weekend!

As most of you know, as of March 14th, Boxhorn Gun Club has been under new ownership.  It has reopened as Boxhorn Sportsman's Club, and they are having an open house this weekend.  On Saturday, April 9th, everyone will get a chance to meet the new owner, Art Dumke, and one of the other new faces, Paul Jonas, should be there as well.  Plus, you can shoot trap for $5.00 per round and sporties for $15.00 per round!

While the club is going through major changes, many things are staying the same.  For instance, Rick and Debbie Schim will still be involved with the day-to-day club operations.  Also, as of now, I will still be running the ATA events for the club.

There's much more I want to talk about (like ALL of the changes at Boxhorn that are planned), but I'll address that stuff in upcoming posts.

I hope you are all dusting off the shotgun and getting back out there again.  I hope to shoot some at Boxhorn tomorrow (maybe even some doubles with Wisconsin Sub-Junior All-State Team Captain Jordan Hintz!)...hopefully I'll see some of you out there!