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Hi guys I have a few questions that I hope you can help me out with . I am a member at Tulsa Gun Club and have been for a few years . I had some buddies of mine that were into shooting trap . They talked me into joining up and giving the game a try . So I did and became a little obsessed with it . The club I belong to is mainly skeet orientated . There are 5 skeet fields and one trap field . Lately we have been lobbying for another pat trap with the wobble feature . We are having trouble getting the board to go with it . We hardly ever have enough trap shooters to warrant another field . The idea of having another one would open up a lot of possibilities for club growth and convenience for our trap shooters . Some of us like to shoot handicap , skrap , wobble . Having new shooters come out is kind of a pita when serious guys are trying to improve their game . Sometimes the new shooters feel as though they have done something wrong or irritated somebody . Another field would give the more serious shooters a place to go w/o having to deal with the inexperienced shooters .

So what can we do to raise interest in trap and promote the game amongst the club members ?

Why not overlay a trap field on one of the existing skeet fields? Unless they keep 5 skeet fields busy at all times, they shouldn't object to sharing one of the skeet fields when it's not in use.

If you have no one shooting trap, it's going to be a very hard sell to get the board to agree to a second field... the first field isn't getting used! Best bet, as for a new trap machine that is capable of wobble... if that's a success, then you can think about asking for a second trap field.

Well, I am pretty sure you won't grow trap shooting at your club. Perhaps you should take up skeet.

Yeah, I think Jim hit the nail on the head. What is the problem with the 'inexperienced' shooters? I mean it's not like they get in your way. Why not educate them and then they won't be inexperienced anymore?

Then there's another way. Y'all could get together and put up the money. It can't be more than about $5K, right? Tell the club that you will front the money and do the labor to install the house and machine. Then the club can pay you back over time. You'll get the range you want and the club will have more capacity. Works for all.

At one of the clubs I shoot, all the skeet fields (8) are overlaid with trap fields and they have one dedicated trap field and one dedicated wobbel trap field.
Sounds like you trap shooters are out numbered.Maybe you all should try and start your own trap club and get some new membership and bring in some new shooters and teach them the game.

Hi

Rastoff has a good suggestion. 10 trap shooters $500ea $5,000. Should get their attention that you are serious.

Regards

W&W

Bruno2,

In these tough times, I recommend that you set up an economic model as a persuasive tool in your lobbying efforts. Document the trap targets thrown on each day of the week. A well coordinated trap field operating at 60% should throw an average of 2,500 to 3,000 targets per day. If your single field is throwing an average of 2,000 or less targets per day, a second field is not economically justified.

Consider, coordinating a calendar and daily time schedule that would fit the needs of all shooters and shooting skills.

An example for Saturday and Sunday would look something like this:
Open Shooting 16yd. singles … 8:00AM to Noon
ATA Shooters or Handicap & Doubles … Noon to 4:00 PM
Trap Games / Scrap / Annie Oakleys … 4:00 PM to Closing

Talk with all the trap shooters, not just your click. Get everyone's input and I would bet that you can come up with something that will unify trap participation. Then continue documenting the target count, and when it starts pushing 3,000 targets per day, you have a solid case for requesting capital investment.

LOL. For a Pat Trap or GMV you're looking at $8000 for the trap alone, and then leveling everything and pouring concrete, you're probably looking at $15,000 (or more) to put in a properly done, complete trap field.

To the OP, you're a member at a skeet club. Join a trap club.

~Michael

Yeah, I had no idea of the actual cost. My point is, if you're serious, show it with your pocket book. A lot of policy can be changed in a hurry if you're dedicated enough to give something of your own. The difficulty arrises because we aren't willing to give anything.

It's not always easy to go somewhere else. There may not be another club within a reasonable distance.

We wanted new machines at our club. So we agreed to raise the price of targets until it was paid off. Worked for us.

I just looked it up and you can get a Pat Trap for around $7,600. If you get out and dig the house, lay the bricks, form the lanes etc. yourself, you might be surprised how inexpensively you can do it for. I'll bet you can install a new field for around $10K if the work is porvided by the members. You can also look for a used machine.

I don't know about your area, but in my area $10,000 is still a lot of money for a club. We just did a little cement laying at my club, and even with members working I think it was close to $2000. Trap fields ain't cheap.

~Michael

This story is about a club in Iowa call the New Pioneer Gun Club in Walkee Ia. An old established gun club with members required to buy stock and annual membership of at least $150.00 per year. I still have the stock as it was the nicest gun club in the southern half of Iowa and just a few miles outside Des Moines our capital.

A combination skeet, sporting, and trap club, at one time with great facilities. Board of Directors and employed manager operated. This club has gone from 50% trapshooter - 50% skeet shooter as elected officials to all skeet shooting board members. Went from both venues doing well in the '70s, 80's and early 90's, profitable, huge crowds for all organized events, state skeet shoot, SW zone trap shoot, midwest ATA zone shoot. To now, financially in trouble, high cost target fees even to members, endless changes in management, priority, and rules.

It was the loss of diversity of having both the trap and skeet shooters entertained. Trapshooters break 10 times the targets that skeeters do, and gun clubs only make money with targets are in the air. Always having arguement among the ranks for money to be spent on their interests. Skeet shooters won the debate and lost the trap shooters. Now begging for them to return to poor equipment and programs. Over the years the shooters developed other relationships with other clubs and it will be difficult to get them back without lots of promo and shooter return. NPGC must loose money to get the shooters back. Offer programs that have better return than what other area clubs offer.

In your case or club, if they want to expand sales and operations they will not only need to invest in equipment, but also in promoting trapshooting. A committment by elected officials with the clubs best interest in mind, not just one shooting discipline. If your club is having financial issues the possibilities are even more limiting.

To prove the point of trap vs skeet, consider the total targets bought and shot in the US. The organized skeet venue is the smallest target count, sporting next, and trap shooters pay for more targets than both disciplines by many times. Is investing in the trap financially wise? Just project the numbers. Is it easy to get trapshooters to your club? Intially no, but it is an investment and development in attracting new members and the public to organized events.

You are faced with visionary board members or short sighted arrogance as the criteria in decision making.

Maltzie

Trap fields aren't cheap. There's no denying that. I have a hard time believing that there is a smaller club than mine and even we could come up with $10k if we had to. We only have two Trap fields, a pistol range and a rifle range.

I would like to add a Skeet range which would cost more than a Trap range. I would be willing to put up $200-$500 of my own money to make it happen. That's the level of commitment I have. Unfortunately, we don't have the room.

What I'm getting at is that if you really want something, raise the funds, donate your own money, raise the cost of targets a little for a while. Wouldn't you be willing to pay $1 or $2 more for a round for a while to get what you want? Have some fund raisers. Wash some cars, sell some hotdogs, rake some leaves. What is your level of desire and what are you willing to do to get it? This is the USA. If you want it bad enough, you can make it happen. It only takes effort.

Maltzie- I was with you right up to the targets point... there's more trap targets shot because there are more trap fields. There are more trap fields because:

1) You only need one machine, not two... finances are so tight at some places that this becomes a consideration

2) Skeet requires the building of both high and low houses, as well as blast fences. Trap requires a small house... I'm no builder, but there's exponentially more material, and exponentially more labor to build a skeet field.

3) You can build a trap field on 15 acres... a skeet field takes almost 3x as much (41.32 acres is the absolute minimum the NSSA recommends).

In short, it's a lot cheaper and easier to build trap fields... and hence there are more of them.

Sporting is the cheapest by far to build, but requires more land... I think that's the main reason that there aren't more sporting courses.

I am a trapshooter entering my 40th year in the game and I take it pretty seriously but IMHO, there is an issue here.



Thats what we do.

We have an instruction routine we go through and members are prepared to stay with the new shooters for their first 2 or 3 rounds, as required. It is no big deal and actually enjoyable.

Once we're done, they may not be high scoring shooters but they know how to function quite well on a range and then everyone has a good time, we get another shooter.

IMHO, if you really love the game, you will teach it.

ALL of us were inexperienced shooters at one time, somebody took the time to teach us, pass it on.

This is taken from our program we use with new shooters.

We use this to make sure we cover the basics and don't miss anything. It was written to try to take care of the typical errors new shooters make, not on purpose, but because they just don't know.

We can get new shooters so they fit in on the line in a very short time.

CANADIAN SPORTSMANS CLUB
NEW SHOOTER INSTRUCTION/MENTORING

GENERAL EXPLAINATION
· OBJECTIVE; we want everyone to be safe, feel safe and have a good time shooting

· SAFETY; is the ONLY goal during Instruction/Mentoring, do not be concerned about what you will score; we will not judge you on your score, only by your conduct with regards to safety

· ETIQUETTE; we will go over some basic etiquette, which goes hand in hand with safety and helps you fit in and be more comfortable

· EVERYONE in the sport was a new shooter, at one time someone taught them, it is our turn to pass it on

· If you have any questions or are unsure of something, ASK

- RANGE RULES REVIEW & Introduction
Review Canadian Sportsmans Club Range Rules sheet
Offer them a copy of the Trapshooting Brochure

OBSERVE AN EXPERIENCED SQUAD SHOOTING A ROUND
Explain general procedures observed (without disturbing shooting)

EQUIPMENT CHECK
- Gun suitable for use on the range? (does not have to be a trap gun)
- Gun in good, safe operating condition?
- Ammunition, shot size 7 ½ or smaller, no more than 1 1/8 oz, 3 ¼ Dram?
- Eyewear and hearing protection? Manditory
- Shooter has means of carrying and handling ammunition? (if they don't, we loan them something)

PROCEDURE INSTRUCTION ON THE RANGE, WHEN RANGE IS NOT IN USE AND TRAPHOUSE IS NOT OCCUPIED

- Eyewear and Hearing Protection MUST be worn when shooting
- Shooting positions, explain the five shooting positions, five shots per position
- Explain shooter rotation with muzzle control, shooter moving from No. 5 to No. 1 always walks behind the other shooters, never in front, muzzle pointed straight up, not at the ground
- Explain that “Dead (or Lost) And” means; “don’t load your gun, the squad is going to rotate positions. Explain “open and empty” command.
- Talking and distractions are not acceptable from shooters or spectators for both safety and etiquette reasons
- Never walk with a gun that has a shell in it and/or closed action
- Explain No. 1 shooter always leads off, after changing shooting positions
- Gun must be empty until you are on a shooting position and shooting begins
- Gun must always be pointed forward, down-range, not raised above waist height until it is your turn to shoot, NEVER turn around and “sweep” anyone with your muzzle
- Load one shell at a time, close the gun only when it is your turn to shoot
- Do not pick up empty shells until the shooting is done
- Explain the meaning of the Traphouse orange flag
- Explain the hazard of walking in front of the Traphouse, when the range is not in use, i.e. the trap arm is cocked

MENTORING
- You will definitely be accompanied by one of our experienced shooters for your first round of trap
- It is very likely we will have someone with you for several other rounds, as well
- When we are satisfied that you have sufficient experience, we will then have you shoot, unaccompanied.

Claydust,
I would love to shoot at your range.

It would be a bit of a "commute", but thanks, you'd be welcome anytime.

Seeing your location, Dec., Jan. & Feb. would be a change, winter trapshooting in our climate can be a bit of an adventure

I think you got the better deal there on a climate for year round shooting

Ontario is kind of a big place, where exactly are you? I'll be in Ohio for Christmas. That's closer, but not close enough. Honestly, one day I would like to travel across the country and just stop in at different ranges to meet a lot of you guys and shoot with y'all.

Hey bruno2,
We've given you a lot of responses here. What are you going to do?

We are 10 minutes drive from the Peace Bridge that links us to Buffalo, NY

Our club is a small operation, one automatic trap, we do have a nice clubhouse on 45 acres of bush (its a lot smaller than the club I belonged to in London, Ontario).

In regards to the topic; How to promote Trap shooting at my club ?

I am serious in my previous comments with opinions based on 40 years of trapshooting.

Promoting the sport is multifaceted.

One cannot focus soley on attraching the more serious olde pharts (like me).

Part of promoting the sport is to take some time and effort to attract, teach, encourage and mentor new people. IMHO, to ignore this is short sighted.