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iTrapshooter.com: How did you ever become a trapshooter?
Don: I sort of backed into the sport. I am a very competitive person and I have always competed in some sport. I played organized softball in the Detroit Suburban leagues, several leagues at the same time, until I was 45. Anyway my son, whom I had taken hunting since he was 6 or 7, showed an ability for firearms and a friend took him to a trap club and he came home and said “Dad you have to try this”. So I tagged along the next week, tried it and have been pouring lead down shotgun barrels ever since. So the reverse of most my son got me into trap shooting. My son went on and became very proficient in trap and skeet but today is limited to a few rounds of sporting clays as his work career has made him into an excellent golfer. My career started with club shoots and leagues and then into registered shoots. It is my relaxation from work and the stress that goes along with it; I still work 10 hour days. I find that now I and my very patient wife make more time to travel to more and more shoots.
iTrapshooter.com: You bring a lot to the game, what has trapshooting brought to you?
Don: It has brought me friendships all over this great country. We, my wife & I, try to go someplace new each year and we have yet to be disappointed and have made many new friends. We also have some interesting stories of these trips and we still try to get back and revisit these clubs, but it is getting harder and harder to do. It has brought me hours of enjoyment and also sorrows as some of these neat people I have met have passed on, some quickly and some long and tragically. Trapshooters are a community in and of themselves, it’s a community that many shooters don’t ever experience just because they are in too big of a hurry to shoot and go home.
iTrapshooter.com: As a veteran shooter, what can be done to attract more young people? What are your thoughts on how to keep interest in trap growing? Can programs like the “Grudge Match” help?
Don: Attracting and keeping the youth in our sport today is the $64 question. We are competing against so many other interests that didn’t exist a few years ago and we are not losing but we aren’t gaining like some would like us to. Too many want a magic answer and there is none. Do away with girls, cars, video games and other sports demands and you would have more kids in the game. Bring the middle-aged fathers and the kids will come. At the same time, look at the costs of the sport and it is outside of many families range that used to participate.
The one main problem of why our sport is shrinking is economics, plain and simple. People don’t have the disposable income like they had before the recession hit. If you are unemployed or underemployed, which many are in this state, then how can you justify to your family the expense of shooting trap like you used to or at all. You can try and trick the game with various options, but the bottom line is how much money can you afford to spend. I have seen adults that have stopped shooting just so they could afford to have their kids shoot. I see the impact of the economy everyday on my clients and I have studied Economics, I have a degree in Economics, so I think I know a little bit about what I speak. No one will be able to analyze the growth or loss of our sport until we come out of this recession. It will take us years to recover even after it is over.
iTrapshooter.com: Let’s talk about a bit about your equipment. What will you be taking to the “Grudge Match”?
Don: I will be taking my K80 but many are urging me to shoot my Model 12, kind of as a throwback and a in your face to G and his super gun. I might not decide until the “Big Day”. Shells are going to be provided so certain parties can’t use their special reloads.
I hope that this is just the first in many “Grudge Matches”. Meaning, I hope they could change the contestants and raise money annually by making this an annual charity day event at their state shoot.
iTrapshooter.com: Congratulations on your commitment to a great event. Any words to your competitor?
Don: You have to realize I don’t like him and don’t plan on changing my mind. Yes, he is entitled to his opinion about the troubles of the ATA, but they are wrong. Therefore the only good that will come out of this is the money that will be raised for the youth shooters.
iTrapshooter.com: Thanks for talking trap with us, Big Don and congratulations again on stepping up to help raise money for important causes, through the great sport of trapshooting!
iTrapshooter.com: How did you ever become a trapshooter?
Don: I sort of backed into the sport. I am a very competitive person and I have always competed in some sport. I played organized softball in the Detroit Suburban leagues, several leagues at the same time, until I was 45. Anyway my son, whom I had taken hunting since he was 6 or 7, showed an ability for firearms and a friend took him to a trap club and he came home and said “Dad you have to try this”. So I tagged along the next week, tried it and have been pouring lead down shotgun barrels ever since. So the reverse of most my son got me into trap shooting. My son went on and became very proficient in trap and skeet but today is limited to a few rounds of sporting clays as his work career has made him into an excellent golfer. My career started with club shoots and leagues and then into registered shoots. It is my relaxation from work and the stress that goes along with it; I still work 10 hour days. I find that now I and my very patient wife make more time to travel to more and more shoots.
iTrapshooter.com: You bring a lot to the game, what has trapshooting brought to you?
Don: It has brought me friendships all over this great country. We, my wife & I, try to go someplace new each year and we have yet to be disappointed and have made many new friends. We also have some interesting stories of these trips and we still try to get back and revisit these clubs, but it is getting harder and harder to do. It has brought me hours of enjoyment and also sorrows as some of these neat people I have met have passed on, some quickly and some long and tragically. Trapshooters are a community in and of themselves, it’s a community that many shooters don’t ever experience just because they are in too big of a hurry to shoot and go home.
iTrapshooter.com: As a veteran shooter, what can be done to attract more young people? What are your thoughts on how to keep interest in trap growing? Can programs like the “Grudge Match” help?
Don: Attracting and keeping the youth in our sport today is the $64 question. We are competing against so many other interests that didn’t exist a few years ago and we are not losing but we aren’t gaining like some would like us to. Too many want a magic answer and there is none. Do away with girls, cars, video games and other sports demands and you would have more kids in the game. Bring the middle-
The one main problem of why our sport is shrinking is economics, plain and simple. People don’t have the disposable income like they had before the recession hit. If you are unemployed or underemployed, which many are in this state, then how can you justify to your family the expense of shooting trap like you used to or at all. You can try and trick the game with various options, but the bottom line is how much money can you afford to spend. I have seen adults that have stopped shooting just so they could afford to have their kids shoot. I see the impact of the economy everyday on my clients and I have studied Economics, I have a degree in Economics, so I think I know a little bit about what I speak. No one will be able to analyze the growth or loss of our sport until we come out of this recession. It will take us years to recover even after it is over.
iTrapshooter.com: Let’s talk about a bit about your equipment. What will you be taking to the “Grudge Match”?
Don: I will be taking my K80 but many are urging me to shoot my Model 12, kind of as a throwback and a in your face to G and his super gun. I might not decide until the “Big Day”. Shells are going to be provided so certain parties can’t use their special reloads.
I hope that this is just the first in many “Grudge Matches”. Meaning, I hope they could change the contestants and raise money annually by making this an annual charity day event at their state shoot.
iTrapshooter.com: Congratulations on your commitment to a great event. Any words to your competitor?
Don: You have to realize I don’t like him and don’t plan on changing my mind. Yes, he is entitled to his opinion about the troubles of the ATA, but they are wrong. Therefore the only good that will come out of this is the money that will be raised for the youth shooters.
iTrapshooter.com: Thanks for talking trap with us, Big Don and congratulations again on stepping up to help raise money for important causes, through the great sport of trapshooting!
“Trapshooters are a community in and of themselves, it’s a community that many shooters don’t ever experience just because they are in too big of a hurry to shoot and go home.”
