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US Open Trapshoot - Sparta

4K views 38 replies 24 participants last post by  RLC323 
#1 ·
Want to take this opportunity on behalf of all the sponsors involved in this weekend's US Open Trap Championship to thank the shooters and their families for participating- we sincerely appreciate your attendance and hope that you found it to be a good shoot. Many thanks to the IDNR Staff; Southern Promotions and the ATA for all their assistance and help - without you folks there would have not been a great shoot. Lessons were learned throughout and hopefully the 2008 US Open will be even better next year.

On a down note, I want to take this opportunity to apologize personally to all the shooters that won trophies in the Browning Handicap; Browning All Around; White Flyer Doubles and White Flyer High Over All - trophies were ordered month's ago, but somehow never arrived. THis issue is totally inexcusable on our part and I will take that responsibility alone. I know when you shoot well and win how important getting that trophy is and I'm very sorry that many of you were not able to experience this great moment and achievement. I will personally see that any awards that you won from Browning and White Flyer will be shipped directly to the address you supplied to the WSRC Trophy ladies as quickly as possible.

Again, as a shooter myself I know how important it is to get that trophy - and we'll get it to you ASAP.

THanks again for your participation and on behalf of our sponsors and all involved in the 2007 US OPen, we appreciated your attendance. Already looking forward to the 2008 US Open ......


Phil Murray
White Flyer Targets
 
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#4 ·
For being the first shoot that Southern Promotions has ever run, not too bad Phil. Most events went off pretty smoothly. It's difficult to predict how many shooters your going to have and make traps available accordingly. I hope everyone realizes that you can't have twelve or fifteen banks of help sitting around and hoping that shooters show up. Not financially realistic.

What you can do is CHANGE THE TRAP SETTINNG HELP!!! Not sure who is in charge of coordinating those folks who set targets at the WSRC but they still don't get it. Last years Open, Bad, Grand, Rough, Team Shoot, who knows. 07 Open, still need better direction. Target presentation is still critical.

Thanks for saving this event, keep up the good work. Thanks to all the vendors who showed up and those that supported it.....
 
#5 ·
Phil -

I was there for all four days, and while it was a little frustrating at times I try very hard to see the big picture and remove my individual wants/needs from it. By that I mean . . . sure I'd like to shoot three events a day and be finished by 3 pm. And with 120 traps there's no reason that couldn't happen - except that the people that run the shoot wouldn't make any money and then there wouldn't be another one.

I'm sure you know that it could have been run better, but honestly outside of the first event on Thursday I didn't experience any issues with trap help or equipment after that. I thought the targets were very good, even with the breeze that kicked up on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I didn't shoot with one person that complained about the targets, although I'm sure there were some that did.

I think any event, except the Grand, that is held at WSRC is starting in an almost no-win situation. No matter how well it runs, there's all that extra capacity just sitting there, so some will ask why it wasn't used. It seems to me to be a total crapshoot to figure out the appropriate number of banks to use when you have no way to know how many are coming. This year was especially tough since there was nothing from prior years to base it on (remember the US Open was during a different time last year). I'm sure as time goes by it will be easier to know how many are going to show up each day.

I'd like to see the events turn a little quicker. People should know that they can't squad late/early and expect everyone to sit around waiting for them to finish. Places like LVGC put it right in the program that late/early should not be done as events will turn quickly. We spent a lot of time waiting for events to finish which contributed to some long days.

Everyone in the ATA should appreciate that someone stepped up to put this shoot on (and that goes for any shoot, period). I'd rather attend a few shoots that could be better and give them a chance to work the kinks out than just attend it once and say "I'm not coming back" just because it wasn't perfect.

Scott Thompson, Sunday's handicap winner, is from my area and I shot singles with him during this shoot. It's worth noting that he put up 97 today with his trusty Remington 870 field-grade. It's also worth noting that one of the reasons he attended the shoot was to buy a new gun, a Browning XT Combo that he picked up on Friday afternoon. I couldn't talk him into shooting it on Saturday and Sunday, he wanted to stick with the 870 until he had a chance to practice with his "trap" gun.


Scott Calhoun
 
#6 ·
I heard a few complaint's on Saturday about the squads moving very slow ok this wasn't a problem caused by the shoot management it was caused by some of the coaches of the S.C.T.P. teams ok before anyone jumps on me I want to say I appreciate the kids shooting and the coaches for making it happen for them but Saturday was a little bit over board im sure the team was used to a relaxed atmosphere after shooting 1 round then going back and discussion and checking out the score sheet and while an empty trap awaits them but they still took between 5 to 7 minutes before they would take the line on the next trap.

I know that they paid for their targets and should be able to shoot them as they please but I would only like to ask the coaches to remember that there are a lot of shooters waiting to shoot the next trap also it was always another squad in front of us also waiting to shoot so it seemed to be a hurry up and wait game all day long so it did make it a tiring one also.

Maybe this was the first big registered shoot they had been to and might not had knowed the difference but using common sense then one should relize when there is a empty trap waiting on you and you got 2 squads waiting to shoot on that trap also then just maybe it would be better to kick back and discuss the things after the 100 birds is done.

Ok im not stretching the story either about the time wait between the traps.

Flame away

Foghorn
 
#7 ·
Phil,

Hey man, stuff happens. There is no way I am going to be upset with any of you for a little delay in getting my trophy. If it were not for you and the folks at Browning, Winchester, and Remington, this shoot would not have happened at all.

I am grateful for the chance to come out and compete so thanks to all of you. I thought the targets were great and for all the complaining about the trap help I saw them getting a lot of things right. I own every target I lost this week.

We all need to remember that this was essentially a new shoot that was put together in a very short time frame by a few very dedicated and much appreciated sponsors and the IDNR. Good job folks. I too am looking forward to the 2008 U.S. Open.

Scott Thompson

P.S. For those of you wondering, sorry, the 870 is not for sale... :)
 
#8 ·
I liked my first experience seeing the WSC. Unless you see it, it can not be discribed! The shoot was good and bad. No way am I going to flame the people who ran it. It is a tough job and thankless also. If the people responsible for the shoot learn from this experience, GREAT. If there is no improvement, it will not succeed in the future. The long waits for the time between squads in the bright sunshine was very exhausting. The targets were very tough. The scores showed this. There were all americans there who did not shoot. The motel I stayed at, the new Holiday Inn, had many cancelations. You could have showed up and got a room. Resquadding after you paid for Pre Squad.com was not great.

The people at the grounds and in Sparta were very friendly. The help was mostly good. Too bad they sent home some of them the first day instead of opening more fields. Nice shooting to those who won awards. You earned them! Gary
 
#10 ·
Gary -

I'm curious what you thought made the targets tough? I thought on the first two days they were great targets. There was some wind on Saturday afternoon that made them a little sporty but overall they were still quite good, at least where I shot. As I posted earlier I personally heard no complaints about the targets - and in fact heard a lot of people commenting on how good they were.

Scott
 
#11 ·
Thought the targets were the best I'd seen on those grounds. Whoever made the decision to reduce the number of traps used made a serious error in judgement. Many shot their third event targets in "sundown" lighting on the first three days.

There was a serious lack of good sense and squad hustling as it related to time management.

Some good - some bad.
 
#13 ·
Gary, I just can't imagine why "The scores showed this. There were all americans there who did not shoot." I certainly never heard that; I must have talked to a dozen or more.

Everyone here wants "legal targets" and at the US Open they got them. Legal speed, legal distance, legal height centered about 9-and-a-half feet. Look, we know it was more velocity than many are used to, but that's not the US Open's fault. And expect no different at the 2007 Grand. If you want to do business there, you might as well start shooting them at home.

I was shooting (lead-off) with two guys on the first day who seemed friendly enough standing around the water cooler waiting our turn, but as we moved from trap to trap they became more and more reticent, even withdrawn. None of the opening banter and so forth - just "race face" and all business.

I wondered "Is it something I'm doing? Not waiting 'til they have settled on post one and are ready? Is my fly open? What's going on"?

All that changed after the last shot when they were all smiles again. It turned out that the 99 shot by one, the 98 shot by the other were both personal bests and they were totally jazzed once it was over.

If the All-Americans were avoiding _those_ targets I'd like to see what they usually shoot . . .

Everyone there owes a "Thank You" to the sponsors who made this shoot possible: (Alphabetically) AA ammunition, Browning, Remington, & White Flyer Targets.

Neil
 
#23 ·
Mr. Winston,

Please talk to us about why shoot personel was sent home early and left us with too few traps to run a 300 target program.......and why didn't management go to two trap banks and 50/50 to speed things up? It was certainly a shift in gears for the benefit of the shooters.

What say you?
 
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