TIM'S CORNER
Tim’s Corner March 26, 2020 Oklahoma Shooting Update
Ada has had some cold windy nights for their Tues. shoots. The Feb. 11th shoot was won by Vickie Farmer with 44, 1 target ahead of husband Randy. The Feb. 18th shoot Randy, Don Bowers, and Colton Ables all had 45's. On March 1st Shawnee Twin Lakes TR held the 1st registered shoot of the summer shooting season. Attendance was good with 73 degrees, and strong greeting 34 shooters. Collin Rendel won the Singles with 99. The Handicap was won by Johnny Wilson with 94, receiving his 1st punch as a new shooter. Woody Barnes from AR won the Doubles with 92. Vickie won Lady in all 3 events. I was finally able to give Woody a buckle he won at the Grand in 2018.
I am sad to report that after a long illness, Roger Finkle passed away on March 1st. He was at a Weatherford, OK care center, with Carol Brown by his side. I am sure everyone in the Trapshooting community knows Roger. Trapshooting was his way of life. He not only shot trap, but bought & sold guns, and equipment. Years ago he was even involved in the operation of a trap range in Stillwater, OK. Roger also promoted Downrange Wads. In 2009 Roger was elected President of the Oklahoma Trapshooters Assoc., and inducted into the OTA Hall of Fame. When the 2013 tornado leveled the OTA Home grounds Roger was instrumental in the rebuilding process. Brian has a good picture of him leaning against a wall "Load testing it" [see picture]. As construction Mgr he spent almost every day onsite for months, to put it all back together, just in time for the 2014 OK State Shoot. We all owe Roger a debt of gratitude, for all he has done for our sport. He will be missed by all of us. Our sincere condolences go out to his family.
OTSA'S March 7-8th shoot had good attendance of 38 shooters, 1 from WI, 1 from MO, and 1 from TX. Sunshine and strong winds greeted shooters. Ron Bliss won Champion in the Singles with 98, and right behind him with 97s were Rod Olyer, Zachary Pianicno, and Brayden Bliss. Nathan Lemke's 94 won Champion in the Handicap. Jordan Harrold won SY with 93, Robert Campbell won MY with 89, and Brayden won LY with 91. On Sunday Justin Cavett won the Singles with 98. Gregory Michael Such won the Handicap with 94. Tim Mount won SY with 93, Lyndon Schumaker won MY with 87, and Clay Laughlin won LY with 91. Clay also won the Doubles with 91. Mikie will have a complete list of all winners posted on our website. At the same time OTSA was holding the Sum. 8th shoot , Ada GC was having to run all 4 of their traps to keep up with kids practice shooting. Between Vanoss, Paoli, and the 4-H shooters all 4 traps were full all day long. This confirms a strong start to the summer shooting season. We will be ready for the Oklahoma State Shoot June 2nd thru June 7th. In our Board meeting we decided to keep target costs the same as last years, even though our target costs have increased. In one of my past articles, I recommended shooters consider traveling to our surrounding State Shoots. They are excellent shoots, all run very well. It appears some of our shooters are doing this, and it produced 12 Oklahoma ALL-Americans last year, the most we have ever had in 1 year. Ada's Tues. March 3rd shoot was won by Steve Blackburn with 47. The March 10th shoot was won by young shooter Austin Palmer with 49, missing only 1, 16yd target. They had 5 squads competing. Red Dirt GC had to cancel their March 14th shoot due to the rains. Having just completing their new 2nd trap field, it created mud everywhere. After several inches of much need rain, and more on the way, they had no choice. Ada GC was able to fit their March shoot in between the rains, but a cold damp wind made it a trying day. A attendance of 29 was good for the weather. Josh Casteel won the Singles with 98, and won the Doubles with 96. Randy Farmer, and Bennie Livingston 89's were high in the Handicap, where Randy prevailed for Champion. Good attendance at these early shoots is encouraging jn light of all the corona virus news on TV.
None of us could have for seen such a thing as the corona virus effecting everything we do on a daily basis. There is no doubt it is having a negative effect on our sport of trapshooting. A lot of March, and April shoots have already been canceled. This was before the group limit of 50 people, and now down to 10 people. The 4-H leaders have canceled their Spring, and Fall shoots [average 250-300 kids]. They have also canceled all practicing in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation High School shoot has been canceled also [300 kids]. This effects every shoot, large, and small. It will be a hard time for some of our clubs to survive, because fixed expenses such as utilities, insurance, property taxes, mowing, and upkeep go on , revenue, or not. Each of us can help the small clubs survive by shooting extra practice rounds, and volunteering to help. We must all do our part to curb this pandemic. We will all get thru this together in time. A 28 year old Staff Sargent Mason Roberts, of the Oklahoma Air National Guard, lost his life in a rocket attack overseas. We should all pray for our fellow Americans, and hope for the best.
Tim Deister
Oklahoma ATA Delegate