The University of Wyoming Shotgun Team placed sixth overall and brought back a batch of third place medals for American Trap from the ACUI Clay Targets National Championships competition last week in San Antonio, Texas. These are just some of the awards that the skilled team has collected during its shooting season.
“We ended up finishing sixth as a school at Nationals, which speaks a lot for us because we are a club sport,” said Dr. Paul Ludden, shotgun team coach. “There are other schools across the country where shotgun sports are a varsity sport. They have paid coaches, they recruit, they give scholarships and they do things just like they do things in varsity football or basketball. Me, I am just a volunteer coach and we are just a bunch of people with similar interests that like to go out and shoot.”
In addition to placing sixth as a school, one of the squads claimed third place out of over sixty schools in attendance in the Trap category.
In the Trap category, the automated thrower, located in front of the shooter, projects all the clay targets away from the shooting station. The shooter rotates between the five stations, completing the pattern at each one, until all stations have been used. It is one of the six events that comprise the National competition.
“I like to shoot Trap the best,” said team member Victoria Creager. “I picked it up quickly and it just came naturally to me.” Creager placed 25th overall in women’s.
Another category, skeet, sports two throwers. Located between the two throwers is an arch that holds various shooting positions for the participants. Depending on the location of the shooter, targets will be thrown towards or away from the shooter. Crossers, when the clay targets are thrown across the field from the left to right or vice versa, are seen in this category as well.
In the National competition, both American and International Trap and Skeet are shot. The Olympics use international standards, which involves a faster moving target and lighter pellet loads.
Animal Science senior, Cody Szallar, also claimed high honors at the competition. Szallar shot a perfect hundred straight in American Trap; only nine competitors achieved this out of 387 shooters. Szaller claimed sixth in the shootout that decided first place.
Sporting Clays, as Ludden describes, is like “golf with a shotgun.” Shooters gather their equipment once they finish a station and move to the next one, like holes on a golf course.
Each position on the sporting course simulates a different hunting situation. Clays can either be aerial or low to the ground to mimic grouse or rabbit movements. A specialized clay, called a battue, is sometimes used in this event. This clay is thrown on an angle and, because of its shape, hangs momentarily in the air before plummeting to the ground.
5-stand, the last category, is a spin-off of sporting clays. All targets are found on one course so shooters do not walk to different “holes.” This allows competitors to have a course that does not require the expansive land area or large number of throwers needed in sporting clays.
5-stand was the only category in which the team did not bring home a trophy this fall.
“We have had a really successful year. We have had some really good shooters and there is a lot of interest in the team right now,” Ludden said. Prospective UW students have contacted Ludden interested in shooting for the team.
“I joined because the rifle team only shot .22 and I wanted something with a little more firepower,” Creager said. “I had never picked up a shotgun before this. You don’t have to have any prior experience coming on to the team.”
The team is excited to see a 5-stand course installed at the Laramie Trap Club. The project is partially funded by a National Rifle Association Foundation grant, and will hopefully start construction this summer. This will help the team improve in that category as Laramie has no readily accessible course.
The team is also funded by the passionate students during most of the season.
“What we do, especially now with the ammo shortages, is not a cheap sport,” Ludden said. “You have not just the entry fees to pay for targets but for the ammunition as well. Last week at nationals, each shooter shot 550 rounds, not counting practice rounds. We go through a tremendous amount of ammunition.”
A grant from the NRA Foundation has made competing at Nationals feasible for the team. Aside from meals, the grant covers all costs for the team to attend Nationals. In return, the shotgun team volunteers at Friends of NRA banquets throughout the State, the proceeds of which are used to award such grants. This year’s local Laramie Friends of NRA banquet will be held April 13 at the Albany County Fairgrounds.
