Colfax Scholastic Trap Team competes at State shoot
ALL-STATE — Kyle Weller of the Colfax Sportsmen’s Club Scholastic Action Shooting Team was named to the Scholastic Action Shooting Program’s Wisconsin All State Team. Weller posted the fastest pistol caliber carbine time at the recent Wisconsin State Match. He had a total 36.11 seconds for four runs on a series of five steel plates, in four different scenarios. That’s a total of 80 plates, at a rate of 0.45 seconds per plate. —photo submitted
Colfax Scholastic Trap Team took part in the Scholastic Clay Target Program’s (SCTP) State Trap Shoot, June 24 at Nekoosa.
Because the top five shooter’s scores from each team are used to come up with the team’s score, Colfax’ small team doesn’t have much of a chance of getting into the top three slots, noted Jim Nosker, head coach. He explained that with only five athletes, of mixed ages and abilities, going to state they have to use everyone’s score. A team with with 30-100 athletes can pick and choose.
But since the purpose of the SCTP is introduce students to the shooting sports, while providing them with a safe and fun learning environment, taking part in large tournaments is more important than winning them, he said.
Colfax Sportsmen’s Club organizes the trap team, which shoots 16-yard American trap. That means the athletes stand 16 yards behind the trap house and shoot at targets thrown at random angles. The birds all are thrown at the same height and at the same speed.
There are other clay target games under the SCTP, which Colfax Sportsmen’s Club doesn’t have the facilities, or staff to handle, Nosker said.
COLFAX Scholastic Trap Team’s Matthew King-Berg smashes a clay pigeon during the June 24 SCTP State Trap Shoot at Nekoosa. —photo submitted
Handicap traps means standing further behind the trap house, back as far as 27 yards behind it for the very good shooters. There’s doubles, where two birds are thrown at once. One goes left, the other right. In bunker, or international trap, the birds fly at much wider angles, as well as higher and lower, and 20 mph faster than in American trap. There are five traps sequestered in the bunker in front of the shooter. The shooter is allowed two shots at each target.
There’s also skeet, where a shooter attempts to break clay birds coming from two different locations.
In five stand, there are six to eighteen different throwers and five shooting stations, or stands. At each stand the shooter is presented five targets: a single and then two doubles.
Sporting clays features 10 to 15 shooting stations, laid out over natural terrain, with a varying number of target throwers at each station. Targets come in six different sizes to simulate various game animals and birds. Target speed, angle and distance can vary and the targets may be thrown as singles or doubles.
There were 2,875 registrations for this year’s state trap shoot. In the singles event that Colfax competed in, there were 2,036 athletes. Out of that total, 13 athletes shot 100 straight, requiring a shoot off to determine the top gun. When it was over, the Grand Champion had broken 350 birds straight.
Colfax’ Scholastic Trap Team practices Sunday afternoons February through mid-July and sporadically during other months. New athletes are always welcome.
Currently, some of the Colfax team members are in Ohio for the SCTP National Shoot.
More information on the Colfax team is available from the Colfax Sportsmen’s Club, or from Nosker at azen.outdoorbum@gmail.com.
COLFAX Scholastic Trap Team members attending the SCTP State Trap Shoot at Nekoosa were (from left to right) Rob Unruh, assistant coach; Nevan Nosker, Matthew King-Berg, Nathaniel Nosker, Beaumont Zelm, Lane Unruh, and Jim Nosker, head coach. —photo submitted