Plains Trap Club hosts shooting event

PLAINS - Despite the rain Saturday morning, the Plains Trap Club held its annual Turkey Shoot event at 10am.

The event saw old-timers and beginners squaring off and one individual in particular who astounded everyone with his beginning skills.

Inside the Trap Club’s meeting hall, the wood stove was burning and coffee was in the corner to help wake everyone up. The day’s contestants assembled their shotguns and milled about as they filled out the sign up rosters.

Helen Durgin, who was running the sign up station said, “We like to keep it simple for the trap shooters,” as she laughed, explaining the day’s event.

The Turkey shoot consisted of multiple individual competitions. Five shooters would buy into a shoot, where they stood on a line and rotated through each of the five positions of the line, and shot from each one.

A shooter would shoot once from each position. Whoever made the most of the shots was the winner. If there was a tie at the end of the five position rotation, then a shoot off would commence.

The winner of each mini-competition would then have his or her choice of either a ham, or a couple of packs of bacon or turkey.

Someone who astonished everyone with his skill was beginner AJ Jermyn. Out of four mini-competitions, Jermyn, who is not yet in middle school, was in two shoot offs and won one against adults many times his age.

“I come here every Tuesday, sometimes on Sundays,” said Jermyn, who shoots with his dad every week. The two hunt together for duck and turkey. He then explained that he shoots a 12 gauge shotgun his father used to shoot with.

“I started using it in the beginning of winter. My dad had it when he first started shooting trap,” said Jermyn, proudly.

At one point during the morning’s competitions, there was one shoot off called the “Annie Oakley Shoot.”

All but a few shooters all lined up in a long line. Each shooter shot from his or her position, and if they missed a shot they were eliminated from the line.

The last four people standing had their choice of either the ham, bacon or turkey.

Mary Gehl, who was one of the last four shooters in the Annie Oakley Shoot, decided to get a ham.

She said, “I did ok. I was in a shoot off in the first event I was in, but didn’t win it,” lightheartedly explaining how she did during the event. She then said, “AJ is phenomenal. I mean, he is just starting and he’s learned so much in such a quick time,” explaining how impressed she was with how he was giving the adults a run for their money.

After the Annie Oakley Shoot, the mini-competitions continued until people ran out of money to buy into each one.

People milled about, talked about why they missed a shot or who did well.

Despite the rain that poured down during parts of the event, the shooters continued to shoot well into midday and continued their friendly competition for meat.