Gold Buckles, Big Shoots & A Full Summer Trapshooting Schedule - EP180

Summary

Trap Talk From The Back Fence — Episode 180

“Gold Buckles, Big Shoots & A Full Summer Trapshooting Schedule”

Host: Zach Denini & Richard Marshall Jr.
Date: June 19, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In Season 4, Episode 180, Zach Denini and Richard Marshall Jr. recap the recent Golden West Grand, share stories from the road, and discuss their jam-packed summer trapshooting schedule. The discussion is rich with event insights, nostalgic anecdotes, and practical tips for shooters — plus banter, lighthearted competition, and plenty of shout-outs to the sport’s movers and shakers.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Travel Tales & Shooting Schedules

• Zach and Ricky’s recent adventures: From teaching clinics on the East Coast to competing at shoots in Michigan and North Dakota (01:26).
• The summer schedule is packed (06:00):
  • Richard’s upcoming stops: Vernal, Janesville, Toronto (for a Yankees game!), Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Alexandria (MN), Sparta (AIM & Grand American), Heartland Grand, and Pine Valley’s Silver Shoot.
  • Zach’s circuit: Missouri State Shoot, US Open in Sparta, Vernal’s Western Grand, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and maybe even Canadian Provincials, Nevada, and more.

Memorable quote:

“Three weeks to four weeks is the max. Anything more, it’s… yeah.”
—Richard Marshall Jr (19:56)

2. Special Club Shoots & Building Tradition

• Importance of local clubs hosting one special shoot a year: It keeps local shooters engaged, builds excitement, and supports community (10:00).
• Example—Pine Valley Gun Club’s Silver Shoot: Limited to 80 shooters, with a unique format (100 singles, 100 handicap, 100 doubles), a gourmet dinner, cigars, and big prizes—a Chevy pickup if someone runs all 300, and $10,000 in silver split 50/30/20 (11:00-13:00).

Notable exchange:

Zach: “It sounds like I need a plane ticket.”
Richard: “If you break all 300, you win a Chevy pickup.”
(11:46)

3. The Golden West Grand Recap

• Historic and nostalgic event—one of the West Coast’s marquee shoots, now at Livermore after its origins in Reno (38:26).
• Livermore throws classic green targets, runs efficient banks/rotation, and hosts a lively, family-style atmosphere (43:39).
• Innovations:
  • This year every event champion received a beautiful gold coin buckle—even on weekdays, not just for the main championships—which boosted attendance by 20% (47:39).

Notable exchange:

“It was a tenth ounce [gold coin] all the way through. They were absolutely beautiful buckles.”
—Zach Denini (48:10)

---

4. Event Results and Standouts (Golden West Grand)

Wednesday:

• Doubles: Chayton Vega champ (46:41)
• Singles: 100’s by Gary Bonetti (champ after shoot-off), Don Curtin Jr., and Carson Steely; “shoot-offs for every event champion this year” (47:57)

Thursday-Sunday Highlights:

• Handicap: Colton Tucker consistent high scores; Jared Steely wins 22-yard line (52:11)
• Class Doubles: Shelby Skaggs champ (wins 3-way shoot-off), Colton Tucker/JP (58:00)
• Handicap (Dan Benias event): John Thomas (sub-junior) wins with 99, Zach with 98 (missed 10 & 11 early, ran last 75) (63:13)
  • “When I got done with that Hill with that 23, I could just kind of hear in the back of my head Benias saying, you know, time to run the back 75.” —Zach (64:19)
• Jim Wiley Singles Championship:
  • Only 2 200s—Shelby Skaggs (champion by forfeit from Zach; post-shoot banter!) (68:49)

“This was the first time we both broke two hundreds on the same squad, which was really cool.”
—Zach Denini (70:20)

• Handicap Championship: Won by junior Heath Wu (96); bunch of 95s in the mix (72:07)
• All-Around & HOA:
  • Ethan Prescott wins HOA (390), beating the field by two. Runner-up shoot-off between Zach and Colton Tucker; Colton wins after extra rounds (75:08).

Standouts:

• Shelby Skaggs: Trophies in nearly every event—dominant Lady shooter (79:35)
• Gary Bonetti: Dominated vet category
• Ethan Prescott and Jackson Westlake: Huge showings in Junior/Junior Gold

---

5. Trapshoot Attendance & Shoot Ratings

• In-depth look at shoot attendance numbers, comp factor requirements, and what it takes to be a “7” shoot—all American points chase (26:10-34:00).
• Ohio State “the biggest state shoot by a lot” (29:49)
• Detailed breakdowns of jump in numbers at Nevada State, advice for shooters chasing points (31:59, 33:04, 34:18).

Notable quote:

“If you’re doing anything all American, download this shoot attendance sheet. It gives you all the comp factors of all the shoots around the country.”
—Zach Denini (33:30)

---

6. Club Innovations & Giving Back

• Livermore club praised for:

  • Spreading events across the facility for fairness
  • Running shoot-offs for every event winner
  • Providing high-value trophies/buckles in every event (48:53)

• The power of sponsorship:

  • Call to encourage C-suite shooters to invest back into shoots, like the good ol’ days with casino sponsorships (55:35).
  • Clubs highlighted for feeding shooters, creative added money, and caring for the community.

---

7. Upcoming Events and Shooter Community

• Both hosts planning appearances at major shoots in the Midwest and West through the summer.
• Special mention of the Cardinal Center’s three big shoots in Ohio—Buckeye Open, Ohio State Shoot, Cardinal Classic—with $20k in gold/silver, big added purses, junior incentives, and the Back Fence Shootout (84:38-89:26).

“If you haven’t gone to Ohio, you need to seriously reconsider your lives. Like get it together folks!”
—Zach Denini (87:41)

---

8. Memorable Banter and Inside Jokes

• On club traditions: “I think Hawaii might have to go on my shoot calendar because I think I can get past 17 people.” —Zach (36:04)
• On shoot-off nerves: “She was ready for you. And then you came out there and said, I'm not shooting. What the heck, Zach?” —Richard (69:55)
• On never knowing who will win: “Everybody wants to win, but that doesn't mean it’s going to happen or it can be controlled every single time.” —Zach (77:23)

---

Notable Segment Timestamps

• Trapshooting travel & summer schedule: 01:26–09:27
• Special club events and the value of local tradition: 10:00–14:30
• Detailed break-down of Golden West Grand: 38:26–83:15
• Golden West Grand results & event analysis: 45:34–75:08
• State/national shoot attendance & tips: 26:10–36:00
• Cardinal Center/Ohio State promo: 84:38–89:26

---

Tone & Style

Throughout, Zach and Ricky balance expert analysis with candid, relatable humor; they share both high-level tips for serious shooters and stories that highlight the camaraderie and culture of the sport. The episode moves fast but is grounded in their love for trapshooting and community.

---

Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen (or must-read!) for anyone chasing targets across the summer circuit. It’s equal parts helpful scheduling guide, event review, and lively conversation between two of trapshooting’s friendliest voices — with plenty of advice (and motivation) for shooters at every level. If you’re planning your shoots, seeking inspiration, or just love hearing the inside scoop on major events, this one’s for you.

---

Hosts sign off:

“Don’t be afraid to come up and say hi or ask questions… We really appreciate you and thank you for tuning in today.”
—Zach Denini (83:58)

---

For more, follow Trap Talk on your favorite podcast platform and check out Traption USA magazine for additional coverage and deals (49:26).

Transcript

[Zach Denini]

Welcome to season four of trap talk

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

brought to you by Craig off the choice of champions.

[Zach Denini]

You know Rick, when you're riding around your air conditioning and your nice can am and I'm walking, I'm thinking to myself where do I get one of these things?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

At Big red motorsports, that's where you get one. George or Jason Lee, they'll take care of you, Zach.

[Zach Denini]

I mean I need one. I'm tired of riding on the back of that cooler. I want to sit inside that cab and roll around in style. I mean my face is on the back but help me out.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Listen, I'm going to move your face to the bumper is where it's going to get moved for the new one, okay? All you need is a little quiche and, and we can take care of you. But listen, Big RedMotorsports.com thanks Jason and George Lee and big red motorsports for all the support. They'll take care of you folks and it's free delivery.

[Zach Denini]

Hello trap talk listeners. I'm your host Zach Denini and I'm here with my co host Richard Marshall Jr. The one and only. We are, we are in the thick of shooting season folks. It is, it is happening. We are feeling it. Ricky, where have you been lately? Where, where have you been? Traveling all over.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I've been teaching. Let's see, I was out in Jersey teaching for I guess I was out there four days and then I was in Virginia teaching at Fairfax Rod and gun club courtesy of Cole Cushman gun and trophy insurance. Shameless plug. Get your insurance folks. Get your insurance. So there and then flew home and then I was in, let's see, Geez, I've been everywhere. I was in Michigan. I shot the various Frank woods memorial shoot up there. Did a lesson there and then I just got back from four wonderful days in Bismarck, North Dakota. Great North Dakota, great class but a great place to shoot. Now when I landed was snowing a little bit so I'm like this, take me back home, you know.

[Zach Denini]

But yeah, how, how cold was it over there this time of year, Rick?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

You know it was when I got there it was in the 40s, 50s but it warmed up nice. I mean it was in the, got up to the 70s a couple days but yeah, it had two, two day classes and great groups. Learned a lot. They did well, had a few youth shooters in it but I just, I love Bismarck gun club. It's, it's the capital city gun club in Bismarck and that's where Tyler brook his first hundred in singles.

[Zach Denini]

Well, there you go yeah, yeah, I remember. I remember you told me about that when it happened. I remember, uh, the story. And, you know, it's, it's. It's funny how when you drive into a gun club, there's this rush of old feelings and memories that come in. In certain ones, you know, you go like, I was just in California and I went to Sunnyvale, and I was driving up the hill, the Sunnyvale. And I could remember, like, it flashed back to my childhood because it was all the nights that I'd go up there and I'd shoot practice and, you know, doubles practice and all the guys. And then, you know, we. What. What's a little funny and crazy too, though, is when I got to the top of the hill and I look at it and it looks completely different than it did 20 years ago, because the memory of that I have of the gun club is completely different than, Than how it is now. Not that, you know, it's obviously a lot better, but. But you have to deal with like, oh, this is different, right? This isn't where it used to be, or that's new. Or, you know, this is an improvement one way or the other. But, but yeah, I mean, that's just like a blast from the past or going into a time machine when you roll into these, these old clubs that you haven't seen in a long time.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, it is, It's. You know, and it been. I mean, a couple years I was up there. I've been up there several times teaching and. And, you know, they got a great board of directors. They do a lot of great stuff up there. I mean, it's, it's. It's up up there a little ways, you know.

[Zach Denini]

Do they have big shoots there?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

They have their state shoot. North Dakota State shoots there. You know, a couple years ago, they gave away a Can Am. If you broke a hundred straight in the handicap, you know, if there was multiples, they would shoot off for it. But then after the event was over, you know, no one broke a hundred that day. After the event was over, they drew a name. People that shot the handicap, and whoever's name they drew, they want a brand new Can Am.

[Zach Denini]

I mean, well, that's a pretty damn good deal.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, so, I mean, there's not a lot of clubs doing stuff like that.

[Zach Denini]

You know, I'd be sitting. Sitting there with that ticket in my pocket all week, waiting, hoping nobody broke a hundred.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, yeah, that is true. So. But yeah, no, it's. It was a good time, but yeah, I've been busy and I'M I'm getting ready to leave and head up to Grand Rapids, Michigan and teach a two day class. So I'll be up there and then then once I get home from there everything slows down a little bit. And we are going to love the Western grand come up. You know you guys got Missouri State shoot.

[Zach Denini]

Yep, yep.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Next week. So.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. And then you know today the purpose of the show we wanted to recap the Golden west grand, talk about what they've done but we also wanted to talk a little bit about our travel schedule and kind of where we're going and what we're doing. So that kind of leads into where we're going and what we're doing right now. You know your, your first shoot is going to be vernal, correct?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yes.

[Zach Denini]

And then, and then how does your summer look all the way up into the grand and after the grand in your mind

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

like that Busy. You know we're doing some, a lot of different stuff. Tyler and I, you know we're gonna hit of course vernal. Then I, I get home from there, rush home. I'm doing a one day class up in Janesville, Wisconsin for a group of 10 up there and then get home and then Tyler and I are, are heading up to Toronto, Canada going to a Yankees game. So he's always wanted to you know, hit some of these other stadiums as have I. And yeah, so there's a game and there, there's nothing going on that weekend and I was like me got, got the ability to do it. So we're gonna go up there for the weekend and Yankees game and, and they're playing the, the Blue Jays and hang out and then we'll come back and then we'll head to Illinois State shoot and then head to Ohio State shoot and then it's, we'll have a few days I think and then I'll head up to Wisconsin. Oh Lord. And then right from Wisconsin, Iowa. Well yeah, and I'll, I'll probably do a one day lesson at Wisconsin usually on Monday up there. So. Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

And after that is there anything between Iowa and the grand for you or do you just shut it down and try to gather your, your mind and get ready?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

No, I'll be heading up to the Shotgun Fest up in Alexandria, Minnesota and I'm doing two days worth of clinics up there. Half days, nine to one, nine to noon and then one to four. I'm doing singles and then doubles each day which is a Friday, Saturday and then I'll jump on a plane and head back to St. Louis, and that'll be the AIM weekend. So that Saturday.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So I'll fly, I'll drive down, drop the rig off.

[Zach Denini]

So you'll be. You'll be at Sparta per the AIM weekend before the grand starts. That whole weekend.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

Okay.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, yeah. And then. God, what do we have after the grand? There's the Heartland Grand.

[Zach Denini]

Yep. There's the Ohio shoot right after. But yeah. Might or might not go.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Right. Classic, which. I don't know that.

[Zach Denini]

I mean, you never know.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, that. That's a possibility. It's just, you know, you go there and then right to the Heartland. And so we'll see if I can hit both and then come home after, you know, Dale shoot the Heartland grand, which. That's, you know, the Cardinal Classic's an awesome shoot. And then you got, you know, right after that, the Heartland grand, which.

[Zach Denini]

Stockdales. Yeah, Stockdale. Fantastic shoot.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, fantastic shoot also. So. And then after that, on August 29, is the silver shoot at Pine Valley Gun Club in Berlin, New Jersey.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, I remember you telling me about that. That's a really cool opportunity, too. I mean, it's. It's nice. There's these little clubs are throwing, you know, something to make it special, you know, and I think that, you know, if. If you have a club, you know, once a year, I think at minimum, should be the standard for trying to throw whatever special shoot it is at that local gun club. Because, I mean, some gun clubs have two or three or four ATA shoots a year, and it's very hard to do, you know, a dinner or an event or special trophies for that many shoots when you're a small gun club. But. But if you get your, you know, if you get your board of directors together and you get your people together and you say, okay, every year this week, we're going to do our, you know, our grand finale shoot. You know, you can get people to donate for it. You can get people to. To help out with that type of situation and. And keep it something that's exciting so that people that are local can look forward to that one big local shoot a year. Because a lot of people don't travel and shoot at a. At a main stage level. They just shoot locally. And. And I remember when I started, you know, you know, different shoots. Like, there was these winter change shoots that we had in California, or we had, you know, a shoot that I remember always wanting to go to was the John Everett Memorial. I mean, memorials of shooters or certain shoots where you'd be like, yeah, that Shoot that week once a year at that gun club. They really do a good job and it's a fun place and you want to look forward to it. It sounds like they've got a very good package up there for, for that weekend also. So.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, there, that shoot, folks, is 100 singles, 100 handicap and 100 doubles. Everything's compulsory, which is allowed since it's not ata added money or ata trophies. It's going to cost you. I think it's like 300 and

[Zach Denini]

I

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

think it's like 350 bucks maybe. But they have a, basically a catered five star dinner.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, I see Italian food.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, they got lobster, they got, you know, I think filet or prime rib. And I mean it, it's, it's a great, they're gonna have cigars, you know.

[Zach Denini]

It looks. Sounds like I need a plane ticket.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, here's the deal. So if you break all 300, you win a Chevy pickup. I mean, I heard singles, 100 handicap, 100 doubles.

[Zach Denini]

I've never been to the gun club, Rick. Can it be done there? Yeah, they throw good targets. It ain't like Martinez, is it?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

No, no, no, no. Well, you broke 100. Martinez didn't play the money. But here, Zach, you won't have that opportunity. You have to play the money here.

[Zach Denini]

And that's a good secret for me. I appreciate that. I need that cash.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But the biggest part of this is so the overall, they're giving away basically 10,000 in silver and it's 50, 30, 20 in the overall. Okay. So. But the money part of it, in the handicap, the payout is identical to the back fence shootout.

[Zach Denini]

Okay. So it's the first places and then a modified.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

You're going to have your great eastern purse, so first through sixth and then the modified Lewis kicks in at seventh. So. And, and they're only allowing 80 shooters. It's going to be capped at 80 shooters, so.

[Zach Denini]

Well, that's a small little shoot.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, but well, 80 shooters, I mean, isn't a, a, a bad size shoot. And it'll be a good time, you know, there, the board of directors there, you know, is wonderful.

[Zach Denini]

Well, I'm sure they'll get to capacity then.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It, it should. I mean, you know, you got Bob Hoffman, Scott Clinus, you know Paul Dimiglio, you know them guys. The whole crew there though is just great.

[Zach Denini]

And it's a good group.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, so I told him we'd probably have a squad there which would consist of, you know, me, you, Joey, Herbie Lewis and then who knows we might have to fill that with somebody else.

[Zach Denini]

Filler material. Yeah. I'm usually the filler material, but I'm okay with that. I mean, you know, it's. It's. It's becoming easier and easier to be filler material nowadays, so it is.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Trust me. Been there. But, yeah, so that. That'll be a good time. And then, you know, we're bang into the new target year.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. And it starts. And then, you know, then right off the bat, I mean, I'm already thinking about Nevada in October, and it's only, like, realistically September. You get one month to breathe, shoot some dove, if you're a dove hunter, and then, bam, you're in Las Vegas. Right.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So, yeah, Nevada's doing some sweet things for the 78th. I mean, I like it.

[Zach Denini]

They're giving gold. They're. They're doing some other stuff. We're, you know, we're trying to figure out what we're going to do for the Trap Talk event and get that all ironed out right now. But we're gonna. We're going to. We're definitely going to be there because it's a great shoot, and I'm excited about it.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I go every year. I have been every year for the last, you know, four years. How about you, Zach?

[Zach Denini]

Oh, only once. But it was a good hit, though, so I was happy about it. I can't complain.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But

[Zach Denini]

the one thing that we kind of bypass, that I want to circle back on is the grand party this year at our store. So right now, folks, what we're planning on doing is August 4th, which is Tuesday of grand week. And we're going to, you know, have some. Some hot dogs grilled again. We're going to have some cold beverages for everyone that. That attends, and we're. We're going to do some more free raffles. And these will be, you know, raffles that you don't need to pay to get into. They're just going to be sponsored merchant gear. We're going to be giving away, you know, hat shirts, you know, various other stuff from our sponsors. We're still trying to confirm what we're getting, so I don't want to say too much, but. But we're gonna do a heck of a giveaway and a little feed and just a little bit of appreciation. The things that I'm really excited about this year is we've got new shirts coming, new designs. The one that I really, really think that people asked a lot for last year were the. The. The Make Trap Great Again shirt The, the classic Oz.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

The red one.

[Zach Denini]

OG Reds coming back. We've got a new towel. Tell them about the towel, Ricky.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

We do have a new towel that'll be coming it. It's gonna be a make trap. Great again towel. So red towel. We'll still have the blue towel and we got some different hats too. John has, has come up with. And then we will have a grand exclusive.

[Zach Denini]

It will be grand exclusive as asked. People want the Mei Target Mishu target. I gotta deliver. It's it, it's actually. We did the design on it. You guys are gonna like this. This is funny. And, and, and, and this will be a limited run grand only shirt. So if you're not at the grand, you won't be able to get it at the store at, at our online store. So you gotta show up and come by and get it. I think people are gonna love it actually. So I'm, I'm really, really excited about it and I'm excited to see everybody. For the people that are wondering, you know, what's going on at our store, we are going to be shooting a lot of episodes that, that first week. But if you want to, you know, come by and see us at any time, feel free. But we're, we're going to try to get a little bit more selective with the hours that were physically open every day so that we can both be there at the same time. Because I, I think it's hard with the shooting schedule of the grand. You know, I'm going out and shooting, you're going out and shooting. We're going back and forth. John's there and a lot of times people come by to see us and we're, we're either running in or running out of the store. So we'll, we'll try to do our best to keep you guys updated. So if you want to come by and say hi and you know, grab a picture or, or get something, we'll be available for you and, and, and have some window. So, so it's, it's going to be, it's going to be a good one for sure.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Now Zach, explain. What shoots are you going to be heading to?

[Zach Denini]

So right now I'm heading to Missouri this weekend. I'm going to go down there for the, for the state shoot. Immediately from the state shoot, I'm going to head over to the US Open in Sparta, Illinois. Okay. And I.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Okay.

[Zach Denini]

We don't have a ton of merchandise at the store right now because we're ordering everything. If there is anything there, I'll definitely open up the store, you know, whoever. Nothing's there. Yeah, I, I don't, I don't think everything Slinker has. I don't think there's anything there. I think we cleaned it all out honestly folks. So, you know, if you want to come by and say hi, you know, definitely do that. But other than that, I don't think there's a whole lot that we have at the US Open this year and then from there. My plan is right now is to get done with the US Open and then to hop on a plane and fly to Vernal the next day and come out and shoot the, the, the Western Grand. From the Western Grand. I'm supposed to shoot with Mr. Dawn Bud in, in Kansas, but you know, Kansas, I love it there. They've got a great target. But something tells me that I'm gonna need a break somewhere in the middle of this instead of going back to back to back to back. Because the way it's looking right now is if I just play through everywhere that I'm supposed to shoot, it'll be Missouri State shoot, the Western Grand, Missouri State Shoot, US Open, Western Grand, Kansas State shoot, then Illinois, then Ohio, all in a row. And you know, you've done that kind of all in a row run before Rick obviously.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And three weeks to four weeks is the max. Anything more, it's, yeah.

[Zach Denini]

Wears you out. So I need, I, I'm, I'm going to figure out where I'm going to take a break and, and, and I'm going to need something, you know, just a seven day turn where I'm not picking up the shotgun. But right now that's what I've got on the calendar. The other thing that I for sure got on the calendar is the Iowa State Shoot, the Grand and then I will definitely go to the Heartland and I will definitely go to, to the Nevada State shoot. The ones that are a little in the air is I've really, really curious about that Canadian provincial shoot that's coming in July. You know, they've, they've asked me to come up there and, and it looks like a really good program. I'd like to come up there and do that. I just, it's just going to depend on how, how I'm catching up with, with, with work because you know, thankfully I'll be able to work in the fifth wheel and you know, check on some things because you know, of the Internet and the power of technology. But at some point in time, you know, getting back into the office and doing Some in persons is necessary for some of my clients. You know, Rick, the only thing looks better than these hats we're wearing right now is a bunch of gold and silver from Ron Prescott at Midstate Precious Metal. Show them the goods.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Listen, all I got silver right now. I won't bring the gold out for

[Zach Denini]

Zach, but you know I always want to get that.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Gold shotgun shells, 10 ounce bars. Folks, he could do anything for you. For all your shoot needs, give Ron Prescott a call. Midstate Precious Metals dot com.

[Zach Denini]

He's a great guy. Support him. He supports all the shoots. He supports trap. Talk. If you're thinking gold or silver, you need to be thinking Ron Prescott at Midstate Precious Metals. Thank you, Ron.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's right. Thanks for all the support.

[Zach Denini]

You know Ricky, I know you used it on your barrels, but you even know what RGS stands for?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

No, Zach, what does it stand for?

[Zach Denini]

Really good.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

True. It is good stuff, folks. I use it to clean my barrels and it does make them shine.

[Zach Denini]

Only problem is I wear white T shirts when I clean my barrels and I get them all messy. So I got to be better at that. But it gets all the plastic, all the gunk out. Give them a try, folks. They're great.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's right. Give RGS a try. We appreciate all the support.

[Zach Denini]

You know, Rick, I just love having the peace of mind and knowing that if I'm traveling or I'm flying, something happens, I can get my winig and my craig off replaced quickly and easily without costing me a bunch of money.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, exactly. The gun and trophy insurance, it's the best out there to ensure your guns, sure. Your trophy, animals, everything.

[Zach Denini]

Thank you to the whole Cushman family for supporting the show and everything they do for trap shooting.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Absolutely. Get a hold of Cole Kushman and he'll get you set up. Hey Zach, have you been out to 73 Pointers Ranch lately?

[Zach Denini]

You know I have. Rick and Carla Burke have been great. I normally hunt pheasants and chucker down there, but now they got a brand new sporting clays facility and it is top notch. I shot it the other day, absolutely loved it. And if you guys haven't, you need to go give it a check out.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, I'll have to come out and do a little hunting and we'll shoot

[Zach Denini]

some sporty clays then 45 minutes from St. Louis Airport, come see it. If you haven't, guys, check them out. And you know there's got to be a break somewhere. And if you go, if you go end of Ohio, basically that Next week you're driving up to Canada, right? Because, yeah, the end of Ohio is the end of June and then, and then that next shoot is the first, the week of July, which is the fourth, basically. And then if you get done with that shoot, then there's a small, little, tiny little break before you go to Iowa, which.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, you got a week. But it's. And that's why I, I'm probably not going to be able to make it up there because it's over the fourth and we do stuff here at home over the fourth and that'd be, I

[Zach Denini]

mean, if we did that, you know, you're shooting, you never stop.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, you got vernal and then boom, you know, Illinois, then Ohio, and then you'd have to drive up there and they don't. The, the downside is I can't. I'm not going to take the fifth wheel.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, yeah. It's not, it's not a fifth wheel shoot that many hours. I mean, if I win, I just, I either fly in or drive up and then, and then get a hotel. But, you know, honestly, it looks like a fabulous time.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

And they've got a great shoot. And if, if somebody's in a position where they're like, they don't have a stacked shoot schedule the way that we've got one right now, I think, yeah, that would be a great shoot. The other one, that looks like a fantastic shoot. But I just, it's. Again, how many weeks in a row are you going to shoot before you go to the Grand. Is the Grand Pacific? I mean, we just did. We just interviewed those guys that talked about what they've got going on at the Grand Pacific this year. And you know, that would be right after Iowa, literally that next week starts it, and they've got a ton of stuff there. So if you're, you know, on the west side of the country and you can't make it out to the grand this year, I think the Grand Pacific is a really good option. You know, a lot of people are giving away $100,000. So there's going to be more added money and more trophies, valuable trophies and added money at the Grand Pacific, in my opinion, than there will be at the Grand American. So it's just, you know, and I, I think that that will shift over time. I think there'll be.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Listen, you can't put a price on that.

[Zach Denini]

You can't put a price on a ring. And, and I will say that, but I understand where people are with today's economy. I Understand, they only have so much time. They can only travel so far. And if it's like they're not going to go anywhere because of it, and they're already on the west coast, then that's a really good place to head up to to check it out. If you haven't been to Evergreen, you know, I got to give them a shameless plug and let them know where they're at and, and. But, you know, I guess the highlight of our summer right now in my mind is other than the grand would be the Ohio State shoot because we've got the back fence shootout. You know, they've got great camping there, great facilities there. You know, it's. It's just a really fun, good shoot. And I like. I don't know exactly the names of all the sponsors that donated, so I don't want to leave anybody out. But I really like that overall handicap silver purse that they're doing at Ohio this year.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yes.

[Zach Denini]

That they're adding. Just added silver to, you know, you know, these various places of the handicap and the yardage groups. You know, that's really cool. And it looks like they got a lot of people together to do that. And I think that's going to be something that really boosts the attendance. I know it's normally a six, right, Rick?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It'll be a. It's you. It'll be a six. I mean, how far.

[Zach Denini]

How far could it get to a seven? Do you think that's ever possible or do you think. You think that's out of reach?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, you would have to. I'm gonna guess, Zach, it's gonna need a. I don't. I was trying to pull it up here.

[Zach Denini]

It's not like close.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, I don't.

[Zach Denini]

Let's see.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So last year. Let me pull up because everything used to be ran on R.J. stewart and, and Bob since. Yeah. Bob has since retired and he's shutting his. His stuff down. But I don't know why RJ Stewart's not popping up now.

[Zach Denini]

Well, maybe because he's retired. Shutting down.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

No, he. He was shutting down July 1st.

[Zach Denini]

Oh, damn.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Dead by date is when he was shut down. It's not. Huh. That's weird. It's not popping up. So that's okay. But let me see here. I'll tell you on Shoot. Atx, they just released all the. They did another update deal as far as all American team requirements.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, I seen that came out. Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So for the qualifying shoot numbers we're looking at, you got to be over 20. You got to be 2201 and over to be a seven is what you got to be.

[John]

So

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

last year for Ohio, which I can pull that up in a second here. I don't know how many. The exact. There's Illinois State. I thought usually. Yeah, it's not even. It wasn't transferred over to shoot scoreboard. It was just on.

[Zach Denini]

Well, I met. I met. I met Shoot attendance.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's right. You got to look at. Shoot scoreboard shows the attendance of them.

[Zach Denini]

Last year, the 2025 Ohio State shoot had 2108.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Is that what it was?

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. 21894 single shooters, 663 in the. In the handicap and 551 in the doubles. Okay, so what's it got to be at?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

2201.

[Zach Denini]

So, I mean, 90 shooters, guys.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I mean, that's technically 30 some shooters an event.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, 30 some shooters in the van. I mean, that's. That's really doable. I mean, honestly, that's not. That's not far off.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

No.

[Zach Denini]

So, I mean, pull that up at.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Where'd you get that at?

[Zach Denini]

Just right on the ATA website, there's a tab that says shoot attendance.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Oh, that's right. They got.

[Zach Denini]

It's got all the different states shoots, so I. I got it there. But I mean, you could see by far it's the biggest state shoot by a lot. And I mean, it looks.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Is that on the main page, Zach?

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, just right on the main page. If you scroll down. Yep, there it is.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So, yeah, and these are good things to. For everybody out there to go and look and you can see, like, okay. For people chasing the all American points, you know.

[Zach Denini]

Absolutely.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I mean.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And I don't know why Pennsylvania dropped down drastically last year.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, I. I mean, I think. I can't say because I haven't been there, but. But I know that people that I've heard say it's just a tougher place to shoot. And that's the only thing I've heard.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It's not a tougher place to shoot. It's. It's. It's just a long ways to get there for us. I mean, you know, I used to go, but. Yeah, because look at. I mean, Illinois. Illinois was a 5:12.85.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, it's a solid five.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah. Wisconsin and. And Ohio were the other two big dogs, you know. And then, you know, Nevada was a 4 and 25. But for this year, how many more did we jump up on the attendance this year for Nevada? It was quite a bit.

[Zach Denini]

Well, it was a jump. I could look at nine. 952 was the year before. Right. So we're. This is this 952 number last year or the year before?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Because that's, that's last year. We've already shot this year's.

[Zach Denini]

Exactly.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It's in October.

[John]

That's.

[Zach Denini]

It's. Yeah, that's the thing that messes with

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

like, wait, we were. So I pull it up right here.

[Zach Denini]

Well, it made a five.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It made a five. But let's, let's check out the entries, compare them. So it was at the 408 in the singles.

[Zach Denini]

So the singles had 338. I'll give you the old ones.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

We went up 70 shooters.

[Zach Denini]

It had 311 in the handicap in the.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Okay. And then the, the handicap. Well, the. Wait, 408 was in the double. Zach.

[Zach Denini]

Oh, okay.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, that was the doubles.303. So we went up 105 shooters.

[Zach Denini]

Yep. In the doubles alone.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Okay, and then what was the singles?

[Zach Denini]

338.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

466.

[Zach Denini]

Wow. Okay.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

128 shooters.

[Zach Denini]

Okay. Okay. And then how about the handicap? What was last year's 311?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

447.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

36.

[Zach Denini]

So I mean, that's like 25, 13,

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

21 was the number. So.

[Zach Denini]

952.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. So. And it's huge. And, and I, I suspect that the numbers will be even bigger this year. I mean, that's my, my estimate. We'll see. I mean, you never know with what's going on. But, but 1600.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So we would have to.

[Zach Denini]

Thirteen.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, you'd have to get another 200 some shooters.

[Zach Denini]

I don't know. It's going to be hard. It's going to be hard to make

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

that the five for sure.

[Zach Denini]

Oh, it's a solid five. And for anybody that like the one thing I would tell you to do, if you are doing anything all American, go to this and download this shoot attendance sheet. And it gives you all the comp factors of all the shoots all around the country. So you know what you're getting into. And a lot of these shoots, whatever they were, you know, they have know, guaranteed locked in at that position, you know, the following year for these state shoots at least. And for the, the satellites, you know, whatever was it, it continues to be. And then, and then if they, they drop that attendance, then the next year it'll re. Revert back and kind of go. But, but it's, it's kind of cool to know what you're walking into before you get there, regardless of what's going on.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, you can look and see it all the, you know, the high number shoots, you know, and you can see who's shooting what in the same. I mean, you look at some of these shoots and. And it's like, wow. Some of them, the singles, I mean, like, I'm looking here at Michigan State shoot, And it shows 684 shooters in the singles, but then they got 181 and 172 in the handicap of doubles. It's like. I think they. They must have a youth program.

[Zach Denini]

It's a lot of youth programs, and I think that. Yeah, you know, I think there needs to be something done to carry the youth programs through the weekend. I mean, yeah, if you're going to have youth shooters and they're shooting singles, not that that's, you know, bad. I say I support that, but there's got to be a way to add some incentive to keep those kids there on Sunday to shoot and compete, you know, maybe an overall trophy within the youth, you know, something along those lines, you know, weekend all around for the youth that's, you know, in their divisions or whatever. But. But I think these kids will shoot when there's an opportunity for a medal or for a trophy or for whatever it is. And all of that stuff that's added on top is usually in the singles championship. And then there's nothing done in the handicap and nothing done in the doubles. Well, if you've got the base here, like, you could see 600, you know, 84 people and it drops down 500 people. I mean, that's. That. That tells you something, folks, you know, and.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, there. There's something to that. And that's why I was just looking at the numbers here, you know, for the. The states. I mean, you know, Ohio's one and then, you know, Wisconsin number two and that. Wisconsin's a great shoot, great facility. They're adding more traps in. They're gonna, I think, eventually put some more camping in, too.

[Zach Denini]

So I'm thinking, looking at this, though, for me, I'm thinking Hawaii might have to go on my shoot calendar because I think I can get past 17 people, but I don't know. We'll see.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Listen, that you would come up with that. Oh, I might be able to win the championships.

[Zach Denini]

I might be able to win something.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I don't think you can.

[Zach Denini]

Oh, that's, you know, that's bull. You know, you.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I've shot Hawaii State. Shoot, son, we shot 100 singles there the one year. And let me Tell you, in Maui, it was a. It was cool, but they had these freaking mountains there and the targets went way up. It was. I broke 97 and I was like, whoo. I felt like I broke 107, but it was a good time. I mean, they. They were awesome to us. And. And yeah, I mean, looking at these numbers, that's the thing. It's. It's kind of crazy at some of the shoots. I mean, they just. Some get some attendance and, you know, and I'd like to hit some of these shoots, you know, especially, you know, I mean, Mississippi only gets 68 shooters in the same.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. Yeah. The only other one that I could. The only other one that I could target as a. As a good hit instead of Hawaii would be Vermont. And then I'd have to see our maple syrup loving friend that. That lives over there, so, you know, that you could hit Alaska.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Alaska only had 29. I don't know if you can get by them.

[Zach Denini]

I gotta be. I gotta be. Kostani's up there.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He's.

[Zach Denini]

He's tough in them singles. I don't know, but we'll have to figure it out. Well, moving on. I. I think this is worth something to check out, folks. I know we kind of diverted for a second, but that's what me and Ricky do. We. We get distracted. We go squirrel and boom. We lock onto something. But. But, you know, looking back at the Gold west grand, you know, I just want to spend some time and talk about, you know, what the club is doing and what, you know, what type of shoot they're throwing and the quality of people that, you know, that showed up for this. And, you know, Ricky, before I get started, for the people that know nothing about the Gold west grand, could you talk a little bit about the nostalgia of it and kind of the history? I mean, I know you don't know a lot, but you've been before years

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

and years and years and years ago. But it. It originally when I was trying to get out and shoot it as a kid in the late 80s and. And all through the 90s, it was always the first weekend of May, and it was always over the Nebraska state high school shoot. And so I never got to make it. And it used to be held at Reno.

[Zach Denini]

Yep.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Sage Hill Gun club.

[Zach Denini]

Was it always at Sage Hill or did they say it was at Harold's first and then.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Or we'd have to ask Rich Bullard that.

[Zach Denini]

Okay.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

You know, he would know. Or Dave Kelly, because Dave been going for 50 years. Yeah. You know, and. But Sage Hill is kind of where, you know, the. What. I remember that. And I mean, they used to give away gold coins and all kinds of stuff, but. And then it. It kind of. When Darlene Rich's mom sold the club, everything kind of. It went away. And then Livermore has had it now, what, 12 years, I think 10 years.

[Zach Denini]

I. I don't know how long, but. But it's been a while. I mean, it's been since that shift from Nevada, you know, Certainly over five years in my mind, you know.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And this was the 74th annual Golden West Grand, Correct? Okay. Correct. So, yeah, Livermore Pleasant Rod and Gun and, you know, great club. You know, I've been out there and, And I remember going there years ago with Dave Kelly. I didn't shoot. We were up a little late. Dave shot, but I did. I said, I'm sleeping. Anyways, uh, that's when Dan Venias, we pulled up next to him and rolled the window down, and he looked and he said, what the heck are you doing here? And I said, I took a wrong turn out of Nebraska, and you went the wrong way.

[Zach Denini]

I did.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And we all hung out that day. They shot and stuff, and. And I was out there teaching lessons at. At Martinez, and we were shooting. It was either the Firecracker 400 or

[Zach Denini]

the Easter grand or something. You know, something.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

One of those two shoots I always went to, and they were fun times and stuff, and then. But the golden west, they throw green targets, which I love green targets. And I wish I could have came out. I was doing lessons. I had to work. I wasn't unlike Zach and got to go out there and play, you know? You know, they're doing a great thing out there, you know, we just got to get Brian switched over to using SOS software, you know, and, and it'd be fine. Shameless plug for S.O.S.

[Zach Denini]

yeah. No, I, I, I, I. I gave you.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Perhaps we got it on the phone

[Zach Denini]

because we talk about that.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I don't know if, If a lot of you saw on one of the posts, you know, Brian was doing the hey, Shoot fans.

[Zach Denini]

No, I seen. He wrote me into those videos. He pulled me out front. He says, hey, we're gonna do a video. And I said, all right, Jerry Farr, Dave Kelly.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And then someone commented on it, and I got on there and I said, oh, yeah, that gentleman on the, on the left. The right. But the left on the screen, Dave Kelly. My phone rang it like, 12:20 at night, and it was. I got a call from Brian Weeks. I got a call From Cynthia, Dave's wife. And then I got a call from Jeff Cook, old frack dog. And I'm like, I was asleep, I woke up and I. Yeah, no. And so in the morning I text everyone. I was nice, I didn't call them. And I should have at 5:45 when I woke up in North Dakota and I was going to call every one of them at 3:45 yalls time in California, I said, no, I just text everyone. And the best response I got was Brian Weeks. He put. I said, I got three calls, blah, blah. And he goes, Dave Kelly, Dave Kelly and Dave Kelly.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, that might have happened, I don't know.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Oh yeah.

[Zach Denini]

But yeah, there was, there's a lot of fun. I mean, the Livermore crew knows how to have a good time. And it was nostalgic and you know, talking about it to give people a lay of the land. The gun club, the way it's laid out is you have the main line that's down, you know, in front of the clubhouse and then you have a little east. Correct. And then you have a little bit of a turn, like a horseshoe, if you will. Similar to Vernal. Yes, very similar to Vernal, where you have the first three traps on top of the hill. You're A bank, B bank and C bank. The starting traps are on the hill that are facing north. So in the morning, technically you have better light up there. I will say the, the only thing that people have a little bit of issue with on that hill is it's on, it's on a hill steeping. So when you get to the A trap, like if you're shooting hard rights on the A trap, you know, sometimes the visual appearance of that target is that it's a little bit of a different spot than where it is because the ground is coming up on the hill closing.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, just like trap three on Vernal.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. But, but you shoot you, everybody, it's, it's even in fair because everybody shoots the whole gun club. So it's not like you shoot a four, you know, four trap bank where you're just walking next to each other. You do a slide. So if you're on a one, well then a two is, is three traps or four traps over, if you will. It's. Yeah, it's, you know, you walk down the line and you're basically, you're gonna walk the whole course of the gun club to shoot your hundred shells. But nobody's getting an advantage that way because if you did, you know, bank sections well, then, you know, these people could do their whole day on the hill, and then these people would be out in front of the clubhouse. And I, I think that's not a realistic way to throw the shoot. You have to, you know, kind of spread them around and make it fair and even for. For everybody, which, you know, hats off for Brian for doing that. Yeah. And I like, I like that they throw doubles every morning except Saturday for the singles, because the machines are already set. And then when they go to that next event, it's a little bit quicker to flip it over to singles than it is to flip it to double. So, you know, their, their turn there is very, very, very efficient. They don't, you know, they don't waste any time, if you will. It's, it's. It's a, It's a good group of people. And.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, and it's that. That's the one thing a lot of these clubs are. Are doing, is they're finally realizing that if they leave him set, it does save a little bit of time. Or you see a lot of Club Vernal's kind of the ones that, that started this. Of you shoot doubles. Doubles.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And that's.

[Zach Denini]

It would be a Sean Hawley that would invent something like that.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah. Well, Iowa State shoots doing that. Wisconsin State shoot, doing that. So these are things that really speed up the. The shoots and.

[Zach Denini]

Absolutely, Absolutely. Absolutely.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, let's get into the. The thick of the shoot. You know, it was a shoot ran Wednesday to Sunday, you know, and, and I went through and. And, you know, looked at some scores. I was following you guys. You know, I was teaching, but I was still following along to, to see how you're doing. You know, it'd been much easier on SOS because it comes up quicker, but that's okay.

[Zach Denini]

And

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

you know, that first event, though, event one, you know, you shot doubles, you know, a couple 98 high. You know, Chayton Vega, Jackson Westlake, you know, we, we. I had to call and give my buddy Rich Bowler a little crap. He struggled a little bit, had the struggle bus with the doubles. I gave him a little pep talk. He didn't ever respond, which is normal for Bullard. But Chayton, he won the. The champion of that. Then you guys went into singles.

[Zach Denini]

Yep.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And there was several hundreds in the singles.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Okay. And by several. There's more than one. There was three. Gary Bonetti, which. We've had Gary on the show. Great guy. Don Curtin Jr. Now, Don Curtin Jr. Is a senior vet. I remember Don Kern Jr. When he was no category because that's who I shot with at a tascadero at the mudslide 400.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And I have not seen him or his father hadn't seen him forever. And it's crazy is Don broke 100 and then Carson Steely. Who? Him and Jared steely, which is 12 gauge leather. They're students of mine also, so shameless plug for them. But it looks like Gary, from what I saw here, won the carry one.

[Zach Denini]

Champion. Champion. It was a shoot off. So.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So it was a shoot off.

[John]

Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

So. So I'm gonna take a little break here just to let everybody know. The thing that was different about the Golden west grand is every single champion for every event got a gold coin buckle. And the gold coin buckle was a 10 ounce. So from one all the way through.

[John]

Oh, really?

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. They decided that they were going to do shoot offs even in singles and doubles every day because you know that day because of the coin. So, you know, so.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And what was it? It was a tenth ounce.

[Zach Denini]

A tenth. It's a tenth. It was a tenth ounce all the way through.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

R. Up to a quarter ounce.

[John]

Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

I, I, I think they were absolutely beautiful buckles.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I saw the buckles. I listen, I, I saw Shelby's class doubles buckle. I saw your doubles championship buckle. I saw Shelby's championship singles buckle. Awesome. We're expecting you guys to be wearing those buckles this summer.

[Zach Denini]

You know, they're pretty, they're pretty buckles. But, but like, the, the reason why it was a big deal and people showed up and they had about 20% increase in attendance this year for the overall is because he started giving those event one and people were like, well, I can win a gold coin on Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Sunday.

[Zach Denini]

Where normally they would do gold coins and just the championship events and they would go deeper with it where, you know, the classes would get something or the categories would get something. But this year they said, you know, we're gonna do all buckles. I just love the way they're covering all the shoots across the country. The content, the pictures, what they're doing online, what they're doing on Facebook, Instagram. What do you think?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah. Traption usa, it's a great magazine. They are the official magazine of our podcast and we are the official podcast of Traption usa. So we really appreciate it.

[Zach Denini]

That's really cool. And what they got is a deal right now. If you put Trap Talk P in for the print version and Trap Talk D for the digital version, it's 19.99 for the print and 9.99 for the digital for one year. You're not going to find a better deal. So subscribe today. You won't regret it.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Absolutely. Thank you for all the support.

[Zach Denini]

Hey, Rick, we got to take a second. We got to thank Outlaw Engineering and the Fren family for supporting trap shooting and supporting Trap Talk podcast. They've been here for us. They're great people, you know. You know them real well, Rick.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, I, I've known Randy since 1988. R2 and. And the family, they're great supporter of the show. Coupe just won the Autumn grand handicap championship with a 97.

[Zach Denini]

I know, I was there. I got to interview him. It was great. I was so proud of him. He's doing job a great, great job. Hashtag, where's Coop? He's somewhere with that big buckle. He's having fun. So you need anything engineering related, get a hold of Outlaw. They'll take great care of you. Great folks.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Thanks for all the support.

[Zach Denini]

Outlaw. You know, Rick, I. I know you had a lot of involvement with them since the beginning, since they started. But I really love the way that the shot tracker, you know, catches the doubles from shot to shot with the looping. You know, tell the folks what they need to know about that system.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It's the best system out there. It's like having a coach on the end of your barrel, like we say, but going especially in doubles from first shot to second shot. You can see it on the graph, you can see it on video.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. I mean, if you talk about that J Hook with Sean, Holly and all them, I mean, it'll literally show that loop and I think that's really powerful if you're doing it. They've supported the show since the beginning. They love trap shooting. They're great people. Give them a shot, folks. They make a great product.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Take Aim Technologies.

[Zach Denini]

You know, Rick, I was at the Autumn grand and the Nevada State shoot and I was just really impressed with how I could see where my squad was when I was up. Just the technology, the ability to be able to see what options I've played if the events paid or not. What's your experience with, with the app?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Listen, SOS Clay's app, it's the best thing out there, folks. You see everything. It's great. You see your option payouts. You can see when you're up, you can see who's paid on your squad. Sometimes Zach doesn't pay on time, but it's.

[Zach Denini]

I get out there. But what I really Think is is for gun clubs, it's free. Call Greg, get a hold of him. He'll set you up, he'll get you running.

[John]

Right.

[Zach Denini]

And if you pay the, the premium once a year, you get free pre squatting in all the shoots. And that's the best value in trap shoot.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Absolutely.

[Zach Denini]

SOS clays.com which they did beautiful buckles from Wednesday on. It didn't matter. It didn't matter, you know what day it was. They were all, all beautiful buckles. The same buckles all the way through and coins in the buckles for the champion, so.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

For the champion.

[Zach Denini]

So, so everything was a shoot off. Chayton won the shoot off the first day like you said. Yeah. And then Gary won that next shoot off. And you know, I gotta give a shout out to Carson. You know, he is shooting fantastic. For the amount of time that he's been shooting, it isn't, it isn't a very long time. A couple years when I did the,

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

the clinic out there with him and his dad, which shout out to his dad, his dad broke his back. And you know, so he's getting around though, and he's shooting a little bit, which is awesome. But man, you got to take it easy on that, you know. But Carson in the class, I think he broke 75 straight. I don't think he broke a 100, but he could have. I can't remember it, you know, but yeah, I'm. Carson's been shooting awesome. And, and then, then event three, the handicap Colton Tucker won that with a 96.

[Zach Denini]

And looking at the week, I would say Colton Tucker shot better handicap in general than probably anyone there. I mean, he was in that, in that, you know, 94 to 96 zone on every handicap. He was very consistent. You know, you give him a shout out. Jared Steely, we just mentioned, he broke a 92 and one one 19 to 22 yard line on that event three, which was fantastic. Brian Weeks broke a 95 and one the long. So, you know, these are some names we, we, we're definitely familiar with. And you know, that was.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So that was the Russ McLennan Handicap, folks. So correct for, for you guys that don't know, and there's probably a lot of you out there that don't. Russ was best friends with Richard Marisola and, and Dick Mariscola was on the Central Handicap Committee for years. And Mr. Russ McLennan I got to know.

[Zach Denini]

Russ was a short guy and just

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

a ball of energy. I mean, great guy. Yeah, I met him literally when I was like 14 in Vandalia at the Grand. And he helped out on the Central Handicap Committee a little bit.

[Zach Denini]

And

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Russ was actually. And I don't know his official title when he passed away, but he. I think it was senior vice president of Harris Gaming. And he was the. One of the big wigs at Lake Tahoe, Harris. He took all the big whales, you know, high rollers, to hunts and fishing trips and all that. And he had invited my wife and I, Jody, up there several times to come up and we'll put you. And we never did and never did. We were always everything. You're always too busy.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Until, boom, he passed away. And a few years ago, Jody had to go see a customer in Reno, and she's from Winnemucca, so we. She wanted to go back there and see the town. She hadn't seen it years, so went back, saw that, and then we went and spent two days up at Lake Tahoe and we stayed at Harris and. And they had the Russ McLennan Sports Book Bar deal. And so I took a picture of it with me and the. And the. This security guys, like, kept looking at me and. And finally he come over. He's like, why are you taking a picture of the. The sign deal? I said I knew him. And he said, you did? So did I. And it was, like, weird. He was just like, yeah, he was a great. I said, I. I said, I never got here. And I said, so this is just kind of a memory. But Rush used to give out cards, remember all the Harris cards, to everybody.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. And he was. He was key in orchestrating a lot of the sponsorship dollars and the blocks for those shoots at the time. So, you know, and. And that's really what it takes. I mean, if you're listening to the show and you're in upper management positions at these companies and you love to shoot, I mean, I think that's what it's going to take at some level to get some, you know, sponsorship in from that C level suite position. Yeah, because. Because that used to be trap shooting. I mean, you used to have, you know, like a big company like Harris say, oh, we're going to sponsor the handicap or we're gonna, you know.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Oh, the Rio used to. Remember the Rio used to sponsor all the shoots in Vegas. That Carmichael's old club.

[Zach Denini]

I remember. I still got trophies that say Rio doubles on them, know, And I still have blinders.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Shoot. Blinder. That's what Jody used to always wear was the Rio blinders. And it's so funny, I just saw trap field the other day I was moving some stuff around, and it's the trap field with Leo Harrison on the COVID wearing a Rio T shirt.

[Zach Denini]

I remember that reason why was, I

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

think if he got on the COVID with the Rio T shirt, he'd get like a free week stay or two weeks stay. It was crazy.

[Zach Denini]

Oh, he's working on it.

[John]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And that's a cool deal, you know, but. Yeah, there you are, right, Zach, with the C suite stuff. That's what it's going to take is for, for people in our organization to be like, hey, yeah, we've got, we got some budget dollars that we could, you know, it could be the, you know, you know, Chevy doubles, the Ford singles, whatever.

[Zach Denini]

Right. But, but you have to, you have to think about it nowadays. You know, these companies will donate and put it someplace, but you got to ask yourselves, where are they putting that money and what are they putting into it? And is it the group of people that, that really appreciate it? And I think, you know, money's tight for everyone at every level, but they do have budgets and if, you know, if there's a connection that you could make to help, you know, give an opportunity, I think it'd be cool to go back and I think it'd be really cool to have a shoot for a vehicle again someday. Kind of like they're doing, you know, they're doing it at some places, right. If you run them all and everything like that. But, but I think we used to

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

have the Chevy truck deal and, and

[Zach Denini]

absolutely a lot of different stuff.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But now back, back to event four, the Golden West Grand Class doubles.

[Zach Denini]

Yep.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So there was a shoot off.

[Zach Denini]

There was, it was, it was, it was Shelby, it was Colton Tucker, and it was our good friend Jerry Par, which we got to shoot with Jerry Par all week. And that was so much fun because as you guys know, Jerry was one of the top guys when he was in his, his prime. Traveled the whole country and shot everywhere. So I got to give a shout out to Jerry and J.P. and he,

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

he's, you know, he's, he flies. You know, he's a, he's a private pilot. And so he's got that ability to, you know, take off and, and he's got to drive over. I don't think they let him jump in the plane. We can talk to him about that maybe. Hey, we put a trap talk sticker on the airplane.

[Zach Denini]

You know, hey, if they, if they're willing to, I'd be willing, but, you know, we'll see.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, that might cost us Dozens of dollars.

[Zach Denini]

That, that's. That there might be a weight limit on that plane. We got to make a call.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, but it looks like in the shoot off, JP broke 17, Colton broke 18, and Shelby broke 19. And Shelby was a champion. So, Colton, you might be the first recipient of our new trap talk. I got beat by a girl pin.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, it was, it was windy. I will say that. I watched off. It was really windy. The pairs were kind of low and you know, the ones that they were missed were kind of those ones where you break the first one and then you gotta go on the second one. You make that little, that little ones. We kind of like the ones we put that show on in Florida with me and you show. Yeah, yeah, they were.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Oh, I did one. I broke 40 straight in.

[Zach Denini]

Hey, I broke 39. I was impressed. Anyone else in the world I would have beat but you, but, you know,

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I just did not want. You wanted that shoot off to last forever, folks. Just as a side note, Zach did offer to pay me to miss.

[Zach Denini]

He said, let's keep this going. I said, I'll give you a dollar.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's. That's payment. That's bribery at his finest.

[Zach Denini]

No, but I was just, I was just happy to get, to get past Jack, you know, he. He wanted that trophy so bad. And I said, you know, we normally don't shoot off or runner up, but we'll make an exception for you. And we can't digress. But that's a whole other story for another time when, when me and Ricky are walking out for runner up shoot offs and doubles. That tells you. That tells you something.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, it was. It's always fun shooting in and I just got to shoot 300 and something. The dang single shoot off too, so.

[Zach Denini]

Oh, you were, you were not.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I was not too tired to shoot against Zach.

[Zach Denini]

Never, Never. Like I, like I said, it was like that single shoot off the other day where you missed in the first box. I said, if I'd have been in it, you'd have went 600 straight. It's just the pure hatred, folks.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It's no hatred. Hate's a strong word I like. So moving on to event five, the Golden West Grand Prelim handicap. Bang again. Chayton Vega with a 96. Him and Michael Gray, you know, tied and they both broke 25. And then Chayton broke 24 and Michael broke 23. So Chayton was a champion there. So like I say, Chayton's slinging winning handicap. So how many buckles did Chayton Win then.

[Zach Denini]

I don't know, he probably got like five or six. I mean, he shot good. I mean, he definitely.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So.

[Zach Denini]

Well, he got, he got a champ on Monday. A champ. A champ on the doubles on Monday.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Monday. Then he then won the prelim handicap.

[Zach Denini]

So that's two.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Now we go on to event six. Oh, here we go. This is the, this is the Golden West Grand Doubles Championship. So there's a few of you tied and there was. How many was tied with you in that?

[Zach Denini]

There was four. It was, it was myself, Chaitan Vega, Jackson Westlake, and then Ethan Prescott.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Okay.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. And he shot well.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, oh, yeah.

[Zach Denini]

Well.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And Zach, you broke 20 in that shoot off.

[Zach Denini]

It was windy again. It was down again and it was

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

blowing 80 mile an hour if it's Zach winning. So, you know, barely five mile an hour wind and just, you know, sunlight wasn't right. But now that's awesome. So you got a, you know, the, the champion buckle there.

[Zach Denini]

And then that was exciting for me. I mean, I, I, I wanted to, to, to do something down there so I could say, hey, I at least won one trophy while I was in California. And that was, that was a fun one to win. But it was a cool shoot off because I like, and just me, I like that they shoot off every event because of that. For champion at least. It was kind of cool to see everybody around the clubhouse to watch the shooter shoot and kind of, you know, move forward now.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So, and then we, we move into the old Dan Bonas handicap and that event, I mean, you broke a stellar 98. You shot early, you know, broken eight, missed two in a row is what I heard.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And then ran the last 75.

[Zach Denini]

Okay, I missed, I missed number 10 and I missed number 11 on the hill. But, you know, circling this back, you know, Dan just passed away this, this last year. And, you know, I had known him for the most part of my life and, you know, there was, you know, we'll get into this, but, you know, this was one of the first times I was able to shoot an event with his name on it. And going into this handicap, I wanted to do the best that I could. And when I, when I got done with that Hill with that 23, you know, a lot of the times you break a 23 on the first house and you're like, okay, it's another one of those days where you're, you know, you're digging out and I could just kind of hear in the back of my head beneath saying, you know, time to run the back 75. Like I could. Like, it was, it was something Benillas would, you know, I've seen him so many times, break 21s and end up with 96 because he's like, I gotta get back 50 and back 75 money. Because the, he was always so focused on that and.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, I was back when the heyday we, we had a lot of money into.

[Zach Denini]

Exactly. So, yeah, so I just kind of just started working as hard as I could and, and doing it. And I, I was. My goal for the day was to win something with his name on it and.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well. And you. So you had 98 now, John Thomas, a sub junior. Yeah, he slung a lone 99. Missed on the last box.

[Zach Denini]

He missed number 91. So he, he, he shot. He was, he's, he's no longer 20 yards. He is now 21 yards.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So he should have got a yard and a half.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, I think he, I think he was on a half, so I think he moved two because he already had a half.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

No, he was 21 flat. I'm looking at it. So he should be 22 and a half or 23. But you and Carson, Steely Carson jumped right on your option money. I saw. I mean, he just.

[Zach Denini]

Right there, he just been right on me.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He just got in there and did. Took a little cash from you.

[Zach Denini]

Everybody's chopping old Zach, you know, it just.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It, it looks like he forfeited the shoot. He didn't want to shoot off.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Bad for you.

[Zach Denini]

It. The trophies. The trophies. If you weren't shooting off for champion, the trophies were the same. So whether I said runner up or whether it said your yardage champion, they were basically exactly the same. There was no.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I'd rather have the one that said 27 than Rue.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, I mean, looking, looking back at it, but, you know, he, he came up and he says, hey, he says, we don't need to shoot off. And I said, well, thank you for that. That's really, that's really.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

You should have said, yeah, let's just flip. But you didn't. You said, I'll take runner up. I know you. I know you.

[Zach Denini]

I did not.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

You can't deny it.

[Zach Denini]

I did not. I did not say that. It was. It was.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But you were thinking it. I know.

[Zach Denini]

I didn't say nothing.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It was.

[Zach Denini]

He, he told me forfeit before I even got to talk to him, so.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And you could have said, no, you don't need to do that.

[Zach Denini]

We'll just flip a coin.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Moving on.

[Zach Denini]

Moving on.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But the cool thing was, Big Daddy Was in a shoot off that day.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, no, he won. He got the sub vet, which was really, really cool. So, you know, he broke a 93 and. And he ended up with a trophy for. For the Benia's handicap.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yep. So you won a trophy together. Now we get into the championship events, folks.

[Zach Denini]

All right, folks, we got to talk about Johnson's furniture, appliance and mattress. Jason Johnson, he's a great guy. I just seen him in the shoot off the other day. He's helping shooters out with their mattresses all across the country. Tell them about it.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Rick. Johnson's furniture applies appliance and mattress in Wichita Falls, Texas. They will do a white glove service on tempur pedic mattresses right to your door or to your gun club. It don't matter. It'll help you out.

[Zach Denini]

See, I need it because one of those RVs, they come with them little flimsy little mattresses. My neck's all hurt. I need something good to sleep on. We gotta feel good, we gotta shoot good. So give them a try, folks. If you're looking for the best RV bed in the industry.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yep, that's right. You gotta get a good mattress if you want to shoot well. We appreciate everything you do for us, Jason.

[Zach Denini]

Hey, folks, we got to talk about 12 gauge leather works out of St. George, Utah. I just got my package in the mail. I got a brand new trap talk pouch with a holder and shelves. I got all kinds of stuff. What kind of stuff you got, Ricky?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I got the same. Got the initials on there. Nice four box holder. But the best thing is the buckle holder, folks. That is cool. Got it stamped with initials. It's awesome.

[Zach Denini]

I love that buckle holder. We can. I'm going to hang that right behind me. When we do podcasts, that's a great gift for Christmas. I mean, think about everybody hanging their buckles up. And you know these guys pretty well, right, Rick?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, I actually did lessons at Livermore with them here at the beginning of the year with his Jared and his son Carson. There's a nice little pick of of us there. And as you can see, it was a little cold in California, but great folks. They support trap shooting, they support trap talk.

[Zach Denini]

If you need some leather stuff, give them a try and we'll see them at a shoot near you soon. Hey, folks, I got to give a quick thank you to integrated companies out of Utah. They're a great company. They support trap shooting and they support trap talk. Ricky, tell them what they do.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

They do about anything you can imagine for all businesses. Of all size, but they do insurance, hr, payroll taxes, accounting. But we would like to thank Terry and Flynn Paulson for supporting us. We really appreciate it.

[Zach Denini]

Absolutely. If you're a business owner in the trap shooting community and you like supporting brands to support trap support integrated companies out of Utah. Yep.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And the championship singles, there was two. Two hundreds broke.

[Zach Denini]

There was.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And it was the Jim Wiley singles, which I knew. Jim. And there was what, three 199s?

[Zach Denini]

Yes.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Ethan Prescott, Chuck Redding. That's a name from the past. Big I used to shoot against. I think Chuck's a year older than me. He might be 52. And then Brian Weeks. Now Brian Weeks, Squad 1, Post 1 slings a 199 right out the gate and makes you all chase it.

[Zach Denini]

And he look and he. And he missed early. From what I hear, he missed on

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

the third box early. But you and Shelby broke the only two hundreds. And I heard her last target she chipped did not hit it very hard. Shelby.

[Zach Denini]

Hey, you know what? It counts.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And, you know, but the most important part of this is it says champion Shelby Skaggs, but it says one by forfeit. But forfeit. What?

[John]

You.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

You knew she was going to beat you in the shoot off.

[Zach Denini]

I was. I was shaking my boots. I didn't. She was dialed in on them singles, and I.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

She was ready for you. And then you came out there and said, I'm not shooting. You know, it was ready. You're so rude. You made her get her gun ready and everything. What the heck, Zach?

[Zach Denini]

Hey, it's. It's psychological warfare. You have to do it sometimes. But, you know, looking back at it, you know, this was the first time I believe. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's the first time we both broke two hundreds on the same squad, which was really cool. You know, she was on post one, I was on post four. And, you know, she.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

She.

[Zach Denini]

She put a couple pellets on that last one and broke it. I. I put a few more pellets on mine because I didn't. I didn't want to look bad, but, you know, I looked at it, and I'm like, you know, if I win, I lose, and if I lose, I really lose. So I just. So I just said, you know, this

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

is one the easy way out.

[Zach Denini]

I took the easy way out. I said, you know what? I said, I'm just gonna let this one fly, and she's gonna win this, and I'm gonna save myself for tomorrow. Which ended up not being the best decision. But.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But really?

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. I mean, but. But hey, it is what it is.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, so. So you, you ended it that way. You know, it's. It's fine. You know, you were scared. It's cool.

[Zach Denini]

And you know, no denying I didn't want to get that beat by a pin girl like. Oh yeah, I don't need.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, you're getting one. Yours is going to be especially autographed. I'm going to get Shelby's autograph on there for you.

[Zach Denini]

It's going to be all over the back of my shirt.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, but then on Sunday you guys have a 50 bird race that you correct.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, it's. It's non registered and unregistered.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

50 birder. You know, so that was cool. I see big daddy broke 48 in that baby. Didn't play the option. Big dad, we need to talk about that.

[Zach Denini]

He's not, he's not a sandbagger. He doesn't understand the concept of he

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

let the pony run. He did get some added money, so that was cool for him. But then you jumped in and shot the handicap championship.

[John]

Correct.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And there was one lone 96 on the last squad.

[Zach Denini]

So we won, Heath. Yeah, I think that's. I think that's how you.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Junior shooter broke a 96. But then you had what you got. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 95s. There was five category but Bodhi was exactly.

[Zach Denini]

Bodhi Brooke, a five. Cody Schlossinger, I think. Is that how you say his name? 95.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Shlager. Sh.

[Zach Denini]

Shlager, yeah.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Ethan Prescott and.

[Zach Denini]

And yeah. White Hart, Prescott and Shelby. And they all broke. You know, those fives were standing on the board all day.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Now listen, Ethan was the only one. He missed two in the last box.

[Zach Denini]

He did.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He did Ethan. But so that is how that ended with, you know, Heath winning. Bodhi was runner up. And then, you know, all the other fives had to fall back because they were all category.

[Zach Denini]

Absolutely.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's how that would. That shook out. They didn't have to shoot off any of that.

[Zach Denini]

No, no. The only one that had to be shot off was the handicap. 27 yard line. Yeah. 19 to 22. And, and that was, you know, that was cool. But. But moving into it, you know, the haa. I was so happy for Ethan because, you know, he shot so good. He broke a 96 in the doubles. He was right there in, you know, he shot a 90, a 99, 199 in the singles, which he was right there. And then the 95 in the handicap ended up putting him in a 390 for the over, for the all around. And he beat the field, which was.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He beat you guys by two. It was you, Shelby, and Chayton with 388s, you know, and, and Shelby right away text me and said, I tied

[Zach Denini]

Zach in the all around.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And I started laughing.

[Zach Denini]

I said, oh, yeah, no, I, I, I, I had a 91 in handicap on Sunday, which was my worst handicap for the week. And I can't blame it to anything other than I got to the third trap and I had one of those, you know, kind of don't know what's going on situations where I took a bunch of four posts and shot a 21. And the three traps were good, but there was something about that trap that I just never locked on to. It was either a little faster, a little slower or something, but I never figured it out. I broke the last five out and I was like, man, that, that I'm glad to get off of that house. You know, when you, when you're going into the last post and you're down four and you're like, just give me a five so I could have a 21. Like, that's, you know, you've been there, I've been there. We've all been there before. And it's just one of those things that I couldn't avoid it. But I didn't end up shooting with Chayton for runner up because the buckles were the same and I had a shoot off for the high overall with Tucker.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah. So you guys, listen, let me, let me finish the story here.

[Zach Denini]

Let me hear it.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I'm, you know, Ethan won. Chayton was runner up because you forfeited. You took, you know, aaa, you know, and then we move into the HOA where you and.

[Zach Denini]

Hold on, Colton, Colton, Tucker.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah, but hold on, my, my computer just blinked on me for some. That was weird. Okay, back it up. You, Zach, John can edit that. He's going to have to. It's okay. But you and Colton were tied to. And you want. You guys tied, but you were high by three over Chayton. And then Shelby was next and then Ethan was right under her. Correct. So what did you guys do in the shoot off, Zach?

[Zach Denini]

Well, we shot, we shot 20 singles, 20 doubles, 20 handicap.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Why would you shoot 20 singles, 20 doubles and 20 handicap? Who sets the shoot off up? Was this Brian Weeks.

[Zach Denini]

It's fine, Brian.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

We gotta tell you how to do the overall shoot off, son.

[Zach Denini]

So, So I ended up missing, I ended up missing a single singles right at the first box. Right on the end. I ended on post one and I got this hard left and I just threw at it because it came out the side of my eye and I missed that. Then I ran the handicap and then I ended up missing like the first or the second bird out dead. Lost on a pair of doubles for a 58 out of 60. And he ran the singles, missed one in the, the handicap, and then missed one really late in the doubles and came back to me. So we ended up going out again. Then I'm like, okay, you know, let's hang in there and do this. I did the same exact thing in the next shoot off where I missed one in the singles. And then if I could have run the handicap, it would have still been close. But then I missed one in the handicap and he had a two bird lead on me going to the double. So when I knew he had a two bird lead on me going to the doubles, I knew I was in trouble. I ran the doubles for another 58 and he only missed one double and he missed it early, but once he missed it, he started being really patient. Yeah, he just paid attention. He wasn't gonna, you know, miss two and do that alone.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He wanted that HOA buckle.

[Zach Denini]

Hell, yeah. And it was a, it was a beautiful buckle. You know, anybody that shot for it would want it, obviously, but it. What I've learned about the whole experience, and I'm learning this everywhere I go, is you never know every. You never know who's going to win. I mean, you never know how it's going to shake out. You never know, like everybody wants to win, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen or it can be controlled every single time. And you just have to be happy with the results. I mean, you have to be happy with how it worked out. I was, I ended up getting, you know, runner up for the, for the shoot, but I was just excited to be in that shoot off. And, and he shot very, he shot very, very well. You know, he.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Good. And, and, you know, here's the thing, you know, to be in that shoot off or be close to the top, you know, I always say at the HOA is, you know, shows who's the best shooter there all week. And, you know, that, that's, you know, it says it for itself, but, you know, looking at the scores all week, it looks like you guys had pretty good weather. I know there was some wind here and there, you know, early on. Yeah, you know, with some stuff. But, you know, it looks like it was a very successful shoot for Brian and the Livermore president Rod and Gun Club for everybody there. Seemed like. They seemed happy from my understanding, so.

[Zach Denini]

Absolutely, Absolutely. The shoot was up about 20%. You know, big things that I want to highlight because we didn't go through every single category and every single person, the people that were there that were definitely, you know, more famous. You know, Gary Benetti had a great showing all the way through the shoot. Not only did he win one champion, but he basically dominated the veteran class throughout. You know, he, Jimmy Heller was the senior vet there, and he, he was pretty dominant in the senior veteran category trophies all week long. He ended up winning the high overall there. You know, Shelby. Shelby won a trophy in every single event except two handicaps, so. Two handicaps. She didn't play. Okay. But I mean, she had a freaking. A boatload of trophies that she ended up coming out with in the, in the.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

A lot of champion gold coin buckles. That's cool.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, she did. And, and, you know, Chayton shot well. Jason Jackson Westlake shot well. Ethan Prescott had a fantastic showing. He basically completely dominated the Junior Gold.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Junior.

[Zach Denini]

I don't, I don't know if he lost a trophy. I mean, I think he, he might have won through it.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

It did look like. Yeah, he dominated everything.

[Zach Denini]

Well, Jackson, Jackson, Jack Jackson. Westlake took him out in one event, I think, but other than that, I, I, he. And in that event, he won his class. Yeah, but he was, he was pretty, you know, pretty dialed in, you know, most of the way through.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

And Wyatt Hart won the Junior hoa. Cameron Keperani.

[Zach Denini]

Yep, exactly.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He won the sub Junior, of course, then Patricia Todd, Lady 2, you know, David Alkali, he won the sub vet. You know, he did talk about Benetti with the veteran, Jimmy Heller with the senior veteran, and then Richard Moore with the, you know, chair shooter.

[Zach Denini]

So, yeah, Bullard won Sub vet high all around, and he got mostly in the doubles.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

He made a comeback, folks.

[Zach Denini]

He, he got most improved in the doubles championship by winning Sub Vet. Sub Vet, A doubles champion from, from his Monday appearance. He got it together. I mean, I will, I will, I will say that.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

So Monday appearance was not. Or Wednesday appearance?

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, Wednesday appearance. Yeah, I think Wednesday appearance for Bullard.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

We. They took away his shoelaces and all sharp objects is what I was.

[Zach Denini]

We put corks on all forks.

[John]

So.

[Zach Denini]

So all in all, what I can say is, is if you're on the west coast, you must put the Golden west grand on your calendar. If you're not on the west coast. You need to really consider putting the golden west grant on your calendar because it's a great time. It's a great shoot. There was a lot of, you know, great people there. You know, you got to hang out with Dave Kelly. I got to hang out with Jeff Pasquetti. I got to hang out with Jerry Parr. I got to hang out with Jeff Cook.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Frack dog.

[John]

Yeah.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah, Frack dog was there. I mean the bar was. Was happening and you know, Brian throws a great shoot. The dinner on. On. On Saturday night. The tri tip. The famous tri tip was fantastic as always. Tony Betnini did a great job slicing and helping and cooking that which was. I mean it's unreal if you know how to cook a tri tip properly, how good it tastes like filet mignon the way they do it.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Well, his tried sandwiches for lunch when I was out there teaching.

[Zach Denini]

It's unreal in the Caesar salad. It's. And that's what they did. They did that classic feed. They had a, you know, a. A chalkboard event. But was. It was live on Saturday night, which was really cool. And you know, I just. It's nostalgic. It's nostalgic. Livermore, you know, one on one and. And it's a great shooting is growing and. And they give really quality stuff for the size of shoot that it is and. And for what it is. A lot of donators step up to the plate and help with that. I know Ron Prescott helped a lot with the gold that was given there. So shout out to him Mid State Precious Metals for, you know, supporting the golden west grand and keeping it going and. And doing the right thing. But all in all, it was. It was fun time, man. It was.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's awesome.

[Zach Denini]

It was a lot of. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the heck out of our squad. I enjoyed the heck out of the terrain, the targets, the sets, the. I mean it's just good old fashioned trap shooting fun. I mean this one will go down in the record books as one. One of the. One of the famous shoots in the country. So I'm. I'm already looking forward to going again next year. It'll be. It'll be a good time.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Sweet. Well folks, put it on your calendar. Hopefully Brian can step up the game. You know, give some quarter ounces away. Just saying.

[Zach Denini]

Or. Or. Or sos. Either or would be. I mean I. I'd say SOS over quarter ounces. That's my vote. But.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

But gold baby. Will I go?

[Zach Denini]

Exactly. But. Well, for everyone listening in Today. I, I appreciate your guys's support. I appreciate the love. Like I said, we're getting ready to see y' all pretty much all summer long. Don't be afraid to, don't be afraid to come up and say hi or, or ask questions. Send your questions into us like share, subscribe, wear your Trap Talk hats proud and, and we're going to keep you guys updated on all the special stuff we're going to do this year. But this is going to be a big year for, for, for, for giving stuff away and, and giving back to the shooter and, and doing what we can. So we, we really appreciate you and thank you for tuning in today.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Good luck, everyone.

[Zach Denini]

Hey, folks, before we get into this episode, I got to give a huge shout out to the Cardinal Center. They're doing a fabulous job and they've got some fantastic shoots coming up with some great prizes. John, tell the folks what they got coming up.

[John]

Well, they've got their three big shoots, so they've got the Buckeye Open, they've got the Ohio State shoot and they've got the Cardinal Classic. The Buckeye is May 27 through June 1. The Cardinal Classic is, is actually after the grand, so that's August 11th through the 16th. And the Ohio State shoot this year is June 22nd through June 28th. Also going to have the Backfin Shootout during the Ohio State shoot also. So, yeah, they're really kicking it up this year, Rick. They're doing a big giveaway, $20,000 Lewis

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

at the Cardinal Classic. So you guys don't want to miss that. So I might have to pencil that back in on the schedule. They're giving away a bunch of gold and silver for that. We got the, the silver and the gold. Everything given away at the Ohio State shoot with the Back Vent Shootout. There's another event too going on in Ohio State shoot. So, folks, you don't want to miss the Cardinals three big shoots. Put them all on your calendar.

[John]

Yeah, I think in the Buckeye Open, they've added a bunch of stuff too. So they're giving away. I'm just kind of looking at the list here. Seven, eight flats of ammo. They're going to give away. They're. They're giving away L and M lenses. They're doing a Browning CSX gun giveaway at the Buckeye also. And then, yeah, like you were saying, Rick, the Cardinal Classic, they've just started adding stuff. They've got the $20,000 in gold and silver for the HOA. Yeah, they're doing some added stuff I heard for the juniors, you know, they're doing like a $3,000 purse for some juniors. Juniors, I think. Yeah, yeah. So they're doing that too. And then the Ohio State shoot this year, they're kicking it up also. So the Cardinal center and the Ohio State shoot together. I think this is the year to make sure you make it out to Ohio.

[Zach Denini]

Well, Ohio State's got 160 ounces of added silver in that combined handicap event. I mean that's a huge deal. Champion runner up and then yardage groups are all going to get some silver. And I mean that is completely free to enter. All you've got to do is shoot all the handicaps in the overall. I mean it's a no brainer. Just, just show up and shoot the handicaps. Get in on 160 ounces of silver. Where the heck can you do that? Other than like Nevada? Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. And, and double plug.

[John]

A double Shameless.

[Zach Denini]

The Double Shameless. That's like their version of the twofer, but a little different. We just stick to different.

[John]

Yeah. Oh, and here, here's a breaking news for everybody. The Cardinal center has also switched over to SOS Clays. Yep. So now the app is going to work. You can, you can see how much you're winning. You can check your squads, all that good stuff. SOS is at the Cardinal center now.

[Zach Denini]

Three fur.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Three fur.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah.

[John]

Oh, and all the gold and silver came from Ron Prescott at Midstate Precious Metals.

[Zach Denini]

Is that a for plug on? Plugs on plugs. We love plugs.

[John]

I, I think the main story here guys is this is a year to. If you haven't gone to Ohio, it should definitely already been on your bucket list.

[Zach Denini]

Not going to Ohio. Haven't gone to Ohio. You need to seriously reconsider your lives. Like get it together folks. Go to the Cardinal Classic. Shoot targets at the greatest place in Ohio to shoot targets and win silver and gold with the likeness of the greats like Joey Charnigo. Slow Joe, baby. It's, it's a real deal. Come on out and see us.

[John]

That's very true. And it's a beautiful facility. I mean it, it is one of those kind of marquee facilities for trap shooting. So I would definitely. Yeah. Say go there and trap talk's gonna be there.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

That's right. We'll have everything.

[Zach Denini]

Yeah. My, my little shout out to. It is. What I love best about it is the camping because they've got so many camping spots there that everyone can stay on the grounds with their trailer and They've got a swimming pool. They've got like, cool little trails and stuff. You could walk out. I mean, it's just a beautiful facility and it makes you feel like you're at a resort at a gun club. And that's like. That doesn't happen, guys. Like, it's, it's very, very beautiful.

[John]

Rick, you've had some, some pretty big stuff happen at Ohio. I, I'm trying to remember back. Weren't you the first to do something at Ohio?

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

I was the first to break a hundred and handicap from the 27 there. And, and I sit right now with the tide with Mr. Leo Harrison for the most hundreds broke there with four. We each broke four so far. That's awesome. Yeah, that's.

[John]

That's very. That's really cool.

[Richard Marshall Jr.]

Yeah. If you, if you haven't been there, put it on the list. All three shoots, especially the Ohio State shoot and the Cardinal Classic.

[Zach Denini]

Those two for sure.

[John]

Yeah. And this year they are going above and beyond. So we love, we love to see states kicking it up. We love to see gun clubs kicking it up and giving back to the shooters. I think there's a lot of value in the shooters heading out to Ohio. And again, these guys are going to be there. So I mean, what other reasons?

[Zach Denini]

And, and they got the backfin shootout fifer. We're rolling. It's all plugged up today.