“Pull!!!”
With more than 35 athletes and a team average of 22.3 clay’s per round. The Winona Trap shooting isn’t just growing, it’s schooling the conference.
Trap shooting is a fairly new sport in Minnesota and around the country so many people don’t know about it or how it works. Here is a quick rundown.
The goal of Trap shooting is to hit a moving clay target and break it in the air. The clay target is around 5 inches in diameter. Shooters line up in a semi circle behind the Trap House. The Trap House is where the clay target is launched from. There are five stations in total and each shooter gets 5 shots per station equaling 25 shots per round. The target shooter says “pull” and the Trap shooters get one shot at the target if they hit it they get a point if they miss they move on to the next target.
Normally shooters use 12 gauges but some use 20 gauges instead. Trap guns have a special choke at the end like birdshot.
Shooters have no idea where the clay target is going or how fast it will go. Sometimes speeds can get up to 50 mph. The angle, direction, and speed of the target is pre-determined in the Trap House and it’s a house so the shooters can’t see where the machine is aiming. Trap Shooting is meant to mimic real bird hunting that’s why the target is undetermined in where it goes, just like birds.
The Winona Trap Shooting team started 10 years ago in 2015-2016.The Winona Trap shooting team has been first in their conference two out of the last three years.
Bradley Ellings, the coach of the Winona Team, says he has sent numerous athletes to the state competition, including last year. Ellings says the Winona team gets together every Sunday for a practice session.
With new technology advancements Bradley says the scoring is all done virtually at our local range and by entering in your scores you compete with teams around the section, so there are no actual meets.
Barrett Schmidt, a current shooter for the Winona team, says his favorite thing about Trap shooting is having fun with his friends and shooting the targets because they are pretty difficult to hit. He has also learned how to shoot clay and to properly shoot.
Adrian, another member of the team, says he finds the sport fun and enjoyable. Being able to have fun with his friends and do something he enjoys. Adrian has learned how to not get upset when he misses and the importance of mental resilience when doing a sport like trap.
The Winona Trap team is currently in season so go online to their website in order to find a time and place where you can watch. Usually on Sunday’s from 12 to 4.
