Trap shooting participation down but shooting still fun

Point. Don't aim. Head down and eyes pre-focused. Then simply say the word, any word, loud enough, and the bird will take flight and a shot will ring out.

Point, focus and shoot, and hope the spray of BBs can at least take a chip out of the small clay disc.

That, in a shell casing, is trap shooting. Point, focus, shoot.

For some it's easy. For others it's nearly impossible, despite as many as 150 or more BBs out there looking for a 41/4-inch target.

But that's what makes trap shooting a sport. That's what draws shooters back to the trap line time and again. And, what brings out new, first-time shooters.

Fewer new shooters, however, are racing to the trap line these days. And, some longtime veterans are giving up the sport for now.

Trap, like some other shooting sports, is staggering. Participation is down.

Brent Epperson, assistant manager of the shotgun facilities at the state-run Lee Kay Center in West Valley, feels part of the reason for fewer shooters is the economy.

"Things simply cost more … gas, shells, equipment. Also, like other shooting sports, we struggle because some people have a tough time with guns. They equate shooting with killing, when it's not true," he said.

"There's a huge number of people who shoot recreationally. But there are those who think because you own a gun that there's something wrong. That's not the case. Shooting trap is like so many other sports in that it's fun and competitive, and that's the message we'd like to get across."

But money is tight and costs have risen. A box of 12-gauge shells that cost around $5 today would likely have been between $2.75 and $3 two and a half years ago. Higher-end shells can cost upwards of $10 for a box of 25 shells. The cost of the clay pigeons is also up, as are maintenance costs.

There is still a strong following of avid shooters and some new shooters, though not trickling into the sport as fast as they were a few years back. In the late 1990s, for example, trap was one of the fastest growing shooting sports in the country.

Last week, five boys — Shawn Salazar, Max Warner, Josh Barlow, Bryce Bollinger and Conner Grass — and advisers — James Warner, Jeff Clark and Shawn Salazar — went for Scouting's shotgun merit badge at the center. To pass, each needed to break 7 of 25 targets.

With the help of Russell Sapsford, instructor and assistant manager at the center, all newcomers dusted targets. Some hit more than others. Some were more consistent. Advisers did only slightly better. Consensus was trap was more difficult than good shooters made it look. But, it was fun and most wanted to try again.

The group was typical of most young shooters in that some took shooting more seriously than others.