C (2:15)

Yeah, Secretary. Treasurer.

B (2:16)

Secretary treasurer of the opta. BJ Jackman's the president. We didn't want BJ On. He's too busy. Says he's farming. Who knows what he's doing, really.

C (2:27)

No, you can. Sure.

B (2:29)

Exactly. Well, you can. BJ is a good guy. So, you know, we're here, discuss stuff about the provincial shoot coming up in July and then just pretty much trap shooting. Up north. You know, a lot of people talked about going up there. You know, I've been up and shot the Calgary Stampede before. Great place to shoot. Background was awesome. But I've never been up to Ontario and shot and going to try to come up for the July shoot. We'll see. Still waiting on my wife to decide if she can get off work to do it or not, so.

A (3:00)

But, well, yeah, well, it's great to have you on the show to start. I think we're definitely going to talk about the shoot later, as Ricky said, but. But let's talk a little bit about traveling to Canada, because I know a lot of the listeners here in the United States, you know, they've probably never, never been to Canada, let alone went to Canada to shoot. So, you know, just walk us through. Like, if they were to fly, if they were to drive, what's the situation with the guns? What's the situation with the ammunition? Like, you know, how does all that work, you know, going from border to border?

C (3:33)

Yeah, it's not that really. It's not that complicated, really. You know, like, there is a form you got to fill out when you get to the border, much like we. When we go to the States, we have a form we fill out with the atf and you submit it every year and they approve it or they don't. You have to list all your guns, all your ammo, all that kind of stuff, and tell them where you're going. And it kind of parallels that. So it's a form you find online. You just fill it out. The big thing is you don't sign it until you get to the bridge or to the. To the border. If you're flying, you declare your guns like you guys would on a domestic flight. When you get here, you know, when you clear customs, you have to do all that with them. It's. It's really not that complicated. One of the. We're not here to talk politics at all, but you can't bring handguns across the bridge. So, you know, whatever Americans have going on in that way, you'd want to make sure you clean your truck out or clean your car before you come.

A (4:26)

Yeah, no, no.

C (4:29)

Yeah. Random bullets and whatever else you have going on.

A (4:31)

But is ammunition an issue, too, if you're driving, or different types of handgun ammunition, specifically?

C (4:37)

No, you can bring. You can bring shotgun shells with you if you're using them over here. Sure. Yeah. But you wouldn't want to be bringing handgun stuff across at all.

A (4:46)

Don't bring the.357 yeah.

B (4:48)

Is there, is there a limit on the number of, you know, cases you can bring into Canada or.

C (4:55)

I think, I think the wording, Rick, is reasonable is how they say it. You know, you're going to a shoot that's a thousand targets. It would be reasonable to have, you know, 1500 or 2000 or whatever. But yeah, I would. You can't be coming with 50,000.

A (5:12)

Don't, don't roll in there with a palace shells, just trying to get them in. But, but I would think if you are going to issue, you're probably going to have the program. And so you could probably say, hey, this is the program of the shooting and this is what I'm bringing in. And that would be a reasonable way of getting that through. Correct. I mean, would you recommend making sure you have a program with you when you're bringing shells in from the United States?

C (5:34)

Yeah, 100%.

A (5:35)

Okay.

C (5:35)

Whether you have the shoot program, you can, you can also request a letter from me. I could, I'm more than happy to write like a generic kind of invitation.

A (5:43)

That might give us a pallet.

C (5:45)

Yeah, sure. And that's something too. Like, you know, it sounds to a lot of people, but that's something too, that we have to do. Coming down to shooting the States, we're.

A (5:53)

Definitely not selling shells. We're just bringing them up to shoot them. It's got to say that in the thing, right?

C (5:58)

Yeah, just a website. Just a shameless plug. Lost Target.com is a good website that kind of has a step by step. If you're doing this, then do this. If you're flying, then do this.

B (6:11)

Who owns that website?

C (6:13)

Joe Petoskey is who owns.

B (6:15)

Okay, because that's been around for a long time. I remember the, the first time when I flew up to Calgary.

A (6:20)

Oh, this is cool.

B (6:21)

I'm on here right now. Yeah. To shoot it. You know, I, I looked, I was like, oh, okay. And I, of course, at that time I was working for Kohler and I had had my form and headed off, but when I got there, they knew more about me than I knew about myself.

C (6:36)

Yeah. You know, but yeah, you, their website, you know, it's got step by step and, and he updates the links so that they're, you know, relatively current. And it's like anything, right? You know, you, you got to do your own research, but it's, it's not really a complicated process.

A (6:51)

Says it says up to 1500 rounds duty free for use at recognized competitions.

C (6:58)

Okay.

A (6:58)

I'm sure you could probably get more too, if you you know.

B (7:01)

Well, that's per person too, I'm sure.

A (7:03)

Yeah, so that's not bad. And there's videos. I'm looking at this website right now. There's videos traveling to Canada with a shotgun. Watch this video. These are the rules. These are the regulations. These are the paperwork. I mean, this is actually, we'll have.

B (7:15)

To, we'll, we'll tag it below or above and, and lost the lost target.

A (7:21)

That's, that's really, really helpful. I've never seen that before. Thank you for that.

C (7:24)

Yeah, no, it's good.

A (7:26)

So, so for you guys transitioning to your shoots, how many big shoots a year do you guys have up there? And what are the main clubs?

C (7:36)

So in Ontario we have our provincials. Every year there's the Canadian championships that rotates east, west, we had it as a satellite. After Covid, it comes to Ontario every three or four years. And then last year was out in British Columbia and then it'll be in Brandon or Calgary, Edmonton. And then up until this year, really, that, that's it. You know, we have our, your Sunday shoots. There's a couple holiday weekend shoots with 75, 100, 150 people. And then our provincials is about, about 200 maybe or so.

B (8:08)

Okay.

C (8:10)

But other. And then this year for the first time we've got. The eastern zone has transitioned to a satellite for the first time. So we're having a satellite eastern zone over here as well.

B (8:20)

Oh, really?

C (8:22)

Yeah. So July will be, July will be pretty busy. Three weekends out of four, we'll have pretty big shoots, you know, high caliber shoots that are hopefully well attended. And it's good to just. The biggest thing is giving people the opportunity. Right? Like.

B (8:35)

Yeah.

A (8:35)

Is the provincial the biggest shoot that you have or which one's the biggest one?

C (8:39)

Yeah, it would be the. Usually it's the biggest. When the Canadians come to Ontario, it's comparable size, sometimes a little bit bigger. But our provincial shoot is definitely, definitely.

B (8:49)

And how many do you think will be attending that shoot this year?

C (8:53)

Yeah, two, you know, our singles, hopefully we have about 200. Usually we have about 170, 180 back. Just like everything, guys. You know, years ago there was 300, 325. And that's just kind of just like everything, you know, the grand's not what it was. No shoots really what it was. No, we all know that.

A (9:12)

But yeah, yeah, you know, I agree with you. I think that there's hope for the future. I see, I see some people getting excited about the sport. I know There's a lot of people that listen to our show that are dusting off their shotguns for the first time in 10, 20, 30 years. And so that's exciting, you know, but it's going to take some time. And, you know, it has to do with the economy. It has to do with, you know, people taking their time away from their family or, you know, where they're going to spend money. I mean, there's a lot of things. I mean, I've shot trap for a long time and I've never made a trip up to Canada. And now it's like on my list of things to do because Pat's always bugging me, saying, hey, when are you going to come up here and shoot in Canada? And I say, oh, well, you know, I. Yeah, I mean, I don't even really know about any of the shoots. So it's. It's really fun to get to know the information with, with, you know, what's going on there and, and looking at your program, it looks like you guys are giving a heck a lot of good stuff. I mean, what, what are the highlights of what's. What's being given away?

C (10:08)

If you, if, you know, yeah, that's been something. That's been a, you know, maybe the last three or four or five years. It's been a focus of our board to, to turn it into something. Right. We all know that you can go to a shoot and shoot targets anywhere you want. It'd be, you know, I went to Dale's for the first time three years ago, and you kind of get it. You get really aware or woken up of a shoot. Is that more than just go shoot your targets and go home? Right. And that's an evolution in trap shooting that's happening at a lot of places. And we're kind of trying to do the same thing. You know, you have your extra events, you have giveaways for this and dinners or meals when you can, you know, special events, whatever you want to call them. Yeah, yeah, whatever you can do to. To attract people to come and when they're there, give them as much value for their money as. As you can, you know. So. So this year we're. And we. We started with, you know, try to get more added money. And this year we've kind of added. Because at St. Thomas, where the shoot is this year we're doing. They do 200 targets a day. There's. They have 10 traps, so we turn that into five banks and, and they do 200 targets a day. But people want to Keep shooting. So we've added an extra event to each day.

B (11:22)

So you shoot three a day then.

C (11:24)

Well, just like we'll have our 200 targets and then something on top of that.

B (11:28)

On top. Okay.

C (11:29)

Yeah. Like the one that one night we're going to do buddy backup doubles from the 27 yard line. And I'm looking for a partner, Rick. Just so you know, everybody's always looking.

A (11:40)

For Rick as a partner. You know, that's what it is. But one time I was shooting off with a partner, with him in the Iowa thing, and he didn't even have his gun loaded all the way. Like, I ain't ready.

B (11:49)

And I'm like, what the heck that calls. It don't come out. I put my gun down. It comes out. He shoots, misses both of them. And then I shoot and hit one.

A (12:00)

And he goes, no, I, I hit one and I missed one. Let's get the story right.

B (12:04)

Okay, you missed one, but you did.

A (12:05)

You did get one from like the hip. You did. It wasn't like, it was, it was impressive. And I said, aren't you going to shoot the damn thing as I shoot?

B (12:13)

Boom.

A (12:13)

And he had it. So, you know, it, it was a lot of fun, honestly. But it's exciting to hear that you guys are trying your best to, you know, incentivize people to come up there and check out the shoot. I guess. Tell, tell me a little bit more about the gun club. I mean, what's the background like? You know, how many traps do you have? You know, what's the food situation? Do you guys have like a, you know, a diner in the clubhouse or, you know, food trucks or, you know, just give people kind of a visual of what they're walking into if they come to the shoot.

C (12:42)

Yeah. So our provincials, we traditionally, the last 10 or 15 years, we've rotated between two clubs. St Thomas, where it is this year, they have for a visual, it's a 10 trap club in the middle of a city park in the middle of St. Thomas. It's kind of, it's one of the more unique places I've been that you have 10 traps, you know, west to east and 20ft beside the furthest trap to the, to the west. There's two or three soccer fields.

A (13:12)

Wow.

C (13:12)

You know, and while the shoot's going on, there's 7 year olds, 12 year olds playing soccer, parents using the clubhouse as a, you know, if it's raining or the washroom, it's actually, it's pretty cool. From a community point of view, it's it's unique for sure. Obviously it's very safe. Right. It's all.

B (13:27)

Yeah.

C (13:28)

Measured out whatever. But yeah. So they run 10 traps there. There will be food trucks there for that. There's for the first time ever this year they've got 30amp campsites as well which is a, a big improvement over years past. And kudos to the. The new president and his team there. He took over a year ago and it's just been night and day in terms of the improvements that they've. They focus on and tried to make. Nice background, good targets, good clubhouse. That's. That's about it. It's a good, it's a great place to shoot and then the other go.

A (14:06)

Sorry, you said the other club is Ontario.

C (14:09)

The other club is the Hamilton Gun Club and it's in Stoney Creek up, up on the mountain. The Niagara Escarpment for you geography buffs in Nebraska. No doubt. Nice targets. They have 12 traps there. It's one of the oldest gun clubs in Canada for sure. If not the oldest great club. Great shooters have always come out of both clubs which just a little bit of history or context of St. Thomas is, you know, the home of Terry Jordan.

B (14:39)

Yep. Wall chart.

C (14:41)

Yeah. Vern Higgs's home club and then. And many other people. And Hamilton has got the. I don't know if you guys have met them. The census family is just right up the road from that gun club. And. And Peter, Peter's a legend in Ontario. He's got 40 or 45 Opta titles in Eastern Zone. Titles. And.

B (15:00)

And you son, Right.

C (15:02)

Yes. Chris is, Chris has been an all American the last couple years and.

B (15:06)

Yep.

C (15:06)

And I always say the best shooter in the family is his daughter. She just doesn't, doesn't shoot a ton but when she does, she goes out and whacks a 98 just as easy as anybody else.

B (15:15)

So how do you pronounce her last name?

C (15:18)

Cementis.

B (15:19)

Cementis.

C (15:20)

Don't look like it any way you want. But yeah, Cementis is ok and yeah, great people at both clubs and we're just trying to grow. To grow the shoot to turn it into something that, that people want to come to.

A (15:34)

All right folks, we got to take a real quick break and acknowledge the official target of the ATA White Flyer. They've been sponsoring us since the beginning and they make a great target. What do you think, Rick?

B (15:44)

It's the best target in the ata. Shout out to everybody there, all the reps, you know, Bill Daniels, Josh Taylor, Nick Arnold, Robert Crow, everything they do for the sport and all the shoots. Really appreciate it.

A (15:56)

They're always there. They're always trying to make a better target, and they're always supporting the game that we love so much. All right, trap talk listeners, let's take a couple seconds and thank a couple more sponsors. First of all, Remington's been with us since day one. I've been shooting these shells since 2007. I shoot the Nitro 27 from 27 yard line, ounce and eight, seven and a half. And STS, ounce and eighth eights for singles and doubles. They've worked great for me as they do a lot of top shooters all around the country. Give them a try. Don't forget the gun club line when you're playing, practicing and you're wanting to save a little bit of money.

B (16:33)

We'd also like to thank another sponsor, Outlaw engineering. Randy Freston. R2. I've known Randy since 1988. They do engineering, surveying, drafting, GIS, civil structural, land development, wetland permitting. They do.

A (16:50)

And they're friends of trap shooters. I mean, they're trap shooting family. They've been in the ATA forever. His dad's been involved. They're involved. They're beautiful family. They're great people. And we just love that they listen to the show and we love that they support trap talk.

B (17:02)

Yeah, his dad was past president 1989. So I really want to thank those guys for the support.

C (17:08)

It. Really appreciate it.

B (17:10)

All right, folks, we need to take a quick second and get to a new show sponsor, Big Red Motorsports. Big Red, they're personal friends of mine, Jason and George Lee, and they're also a personal sponsor of mine.

A (17:21)

Now, I'll say this, Ricky looked great driving around in that side by side. I got some free three rides down at Tucson, the Autumn Grand. I think it's awesome that they deliver all across the country. And obviously they love trap shooters. They love trap shooting and they're doing a great job.

B (17:34)

Listen, they got Can Am, Kawasaki cf, Moto, Triton trailers. Hit them up.

A (17:40)

All right, trap doc listeners, we got to take a real quick break. And I've got something that I'm so excited to announce. Trap Shooting USA has now become the official magazine of the trap talk podcast.

B (17:50)

No, it's not only Traption usa, now it's Wing and Clay Life, Lady Outdoor lifestyles and Clay Shooting usa.

A (17:58)

I'm just really excited because they make such a high quality magazine. I mean, if you guys haven't had these magazines and you actually get to touch them in your hands, they've got really thick paper, they're really glossy and they keep it really cool. I mean, I just love it.

B (18:10)

The Traveling Gunsmith. And then in this newest episode, we have.

A (18:14)

Oh, man, look at, look at those. Look at those handsome guys. I love this. I love it. I love it. So also on top of that, Outdoor Pursuits Media, Matt, he's decided that he's going to give away a shotgun at the Grand American this year at our live podcast studio. If you weren't there last year, you missed out. You need to be there this year. It's going to be great. The only thing you have to do is either renew or subscribe to any one of these magazines, and you're going to be in for the drawing for the gun. And we're going to have all that information in the future. Just look out for it and we'll keep you updated for sure.

B (18:45)

With that, let's get back to the show. Well, especially over the 4th of July with the. Now, are you guys always going to have a shoot at that time frame?

C (18:54)

Yeah, we moved the provincials two or three years ago. I think maybe more than. Maybe five years ago, we moved it. It used to be right before the Grand.

B (19:02)

Yeah.

C (19:03)

So we would have. You'd shoot on the Sunday or the Monday, and then, you know, you're going to the grand and you're. You're going from there. And the eastern zone was a weekend before. Yep.

A (19:12)

Yeah, that's kind of was on top of the. The Grand Pacific then. No. Or.

B (19:17)

Yeah, that'd be close.

C (19:18)

Yeah.

A (19:19)

Yeah.

C (19:20)

For people that were going to shoot that you're saying you're going to, you know, take three and a half, four weeks off in the middle of the summer and go shoot now. And that was hard for people, so we kind of moved it around, of course.

A (19:31)

And, and. But the other thing you don't have to worry about, it's not like you're drawing people from, you know, other shoots in the country. Like, if the Grand Pacific is in Washington, I doubt a bunch of people aren't going to your shoot because of that. I mean, they're just so far away. I mean, you're either going to one or the other generally. I mean, maybe one or two people, but not, you know, big crowds. Like, if we were throwing a state shoot in Missouri and then throwing another state shoot in Kansas on the same week, I mean, that would be, you know, devastating because you've got so many people that get split and divided where. I think the farther you are away, the less that's an issue, you know.

C (20:04)

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

A (20:07)

So I want to talk a little about the food. I mean, I haven't heard about fine Canadian cuisine. Like, you know, other than poutine, you know, what do you guys got up there? That's. That, that's going to bring me up because me and Ricky, we like to eat.

C (20:21)

That's it. Just poutine. That's all we're going to have. And if you don't like it, then that's your fault. That's your problem. Well, the, the food. The food's great, whatever it is.

A (20:31)

Is there poutine at the clubhouse every day? Is that something I can get? Is that like a regular? Like, is that what they start you guys on, or.

C (20:39)

Well, we. You drink maple syrup for breakfast and then you'll have. No, the food truck. The food truck this year is actually a new thing. So I'm not sure what. What the menu will be, but they'll have. The food will be good, you know, and. And St Thomas is right near London, which is a 400,000 people. It's a big city, so there'll be any and everything you could imagine in terms of food 15 minutes away.

A (21:03)

So flying in, they fly into St. Thomas.

C (21:06)

I would probably think most people would fly into Toronto and then that would be maybe an hour and a half.

A (21:13)

Okay, so fly into Toronto, hour and a half drive, you're in St. Thomas. Lots of accommodation, lots of hotels, lots of Airbnbs and things like that. Or do you guys got like a different. Like, is it. Is it Canadian Airbnb or something up there? I don't even know.

C (21:27)

Well, the. Most of the igloos will be melted by the summer, so you got to figure out a different way. But no, there'll be tons of hotels in London. St Thomas has got their fair share as well.

A (21:37)

Now, how about value? One thing I want to discuss, I mean, and I know a little bit about it, but as far as, if we're coming over with American dollars and we're converting, do we have to convert to Canadian or do we just use our American currency and it's all good over there? And then buying power. Does it. Does it feel cheaper when we're coming over there to Canada, or does it feel more expensive because you've been back and forth, what's your take on it?

C (22:00)

Yeah, no, I think that's a. That's a huge part of where we're at now that, you know, an American dollar is worth. Worth a $42, $45 Canadian. Right. So you're getting way better value for your Money prices of the targets, like this year they're going to be 46, $47, which sounds like a lot of. But that's 30. 30. Yeah. That's 32, $33American. Right. That's given. We're rolling.

A (22:27)

All right, trap talk listeners, we got to take a quick break and we got to welcome a new sponsor to the show. RGS bore stripper. It's a great product. Ricky, tell them how they can find it.

B (22:35)

Go to their website, rgsguncleaner.com you can get the 18 ounce bottle, free shipping, 28 ounce bottle and you get the 2 ounce ounce travel bottle and it's free shipping also. Or just get the little two ounce bottle for travel.

A (22:50)

Yeah, they sent me some of this product and I used it on my craig off choke tubes the other day and it got the plastic out like in a minute and it was super cool and super good. So if you like cleaning your gun, you like eliminating plastic and you like shiny bores, give them a try for sure. Thank you so much for supporting the show.

B (23:04)

Yeah, we'd really like to thank John Weber, the owner for the support. He's doing an awesome job.

A (23:08)

Yeah, we really want to thank John. We, we appreciate the support of the show. Anybody that supports trap talk, you guys need to support them and get this stuff because it's awesome.

B (23:16)

And with that, let's get back to the show.

C (23:19)

And that's a, that is hopefully a selling point for a few people that. Yeah, you're getting 40, 45% on your dollars.

A (23:25)

And I've never even vacationed over there. I mean, is, is, is a hotel like the standard kind of 100 bucks a night Canadian over there as it is over here.

B (23:34)

Same.

C (23:34)

Yeah, yeah. Prices, I would say. Zach, like you said, I live, I live 300 yards from the American border and going back and forth. Prices are. Yeah, they're the same. Okay. More or less.

A (23:45)

That's good to know because I know a lot of people, if they're going to put this on their bucket list or their trip to do, you know, they're going to ask these questions. We get emails all the time. You know, what's it cost? Where do we stay, you know, what's it like, what do we do? And I think if we're going to get some people to come up there, these are the kind of questions that people need answered. I mean, trap shooters love to plan everything and they love to have a budget and I think they're a little frugal. If I've noticed anything Correctly, but I mean, sometimes, but yeah, but I guess. Is there anything else that we're missing about this shoot that people need to know? Other announcements, other special things?

C (24:15)

Oh, there's a laundry list of things we're throwing out there. One of the things we decided to do, we're going to, we're going to award $5,000 if you break 100 in handicap and if you, and if no one does, rather than just have it be, you know, this gimmick that hangs there, and if no one breaks it, the money's gone. We're going to add that money into the HOA Lewis, which already has $4,000 in it. So then that Lewis will have 9,000 bucks added to it. And then we've got a Lewis for the high high all around with a couple thousand bucks in it. Lewis is for each of the three disciplines. You know, your singles handicap, doubles, they've got fifteen hundred dollars added to those.

A (24:57)

There's quite a bit of money.

C (24:58)

Yeah. And another thing which we started doing last year, which I, because I believe, you know, the money, you have to spread the money out. That's a fact of the current landscape for sure. But you go to a championship shoot and you win, you, you deserve something for winning as well. So. Of course, so we've, we created last year we had like a high score pool. So you take the high handicap score of the week and that person wins a thousand bucks. You take the high double score of the week and that person, you know, if you tie, you split it, whatever, but, but if you break a good score, you deserve something for that.

A (25:34)

Now, I, I do have a question in this. I, I don't know the answer to this or, forgive me for asking, but does Pat go to a lot of these shoots and just kick everybody's butt? Or is it, or is he like stay at home and say, okay, you guys can get the maple syrup this weekend?

C (25:47)

Well, Pat's his own man, you know, he can do what he wants. He, he's come to the, he's come to the Canadians in, in Hamilton for sure. But he's never coming this year. I am not sure. I haven't talked to him.

B (26:00)

I didn't think he was when, when we had talked to him, Zach. I mean, you might want to come. You got a chance.

A (26:05)

I might, yeah. I might say, hey, Pat's not going. I'm in. Now, do you guys have out of state trophies, like, you know, all non residents? Well, non resident is usa or is it, is it just like all, all Canadian stuff?

C (26:18)

Well, what we are. All our trophies are open except for our championship events. And then we have money for the non residents in the singles, handicap, doubles and then all around in the overall. Yeah, there's non resident. A couple non resident trophies.

B (26:34)

Now is it, is the money, is that USD currency or what are we getting paid?

C (26:41)

I wish. Not yet. But. But yeah. Nope. You know Pat, he's 30, 35 hours away.

B (26:49)

So is that how far he is?

C (26:51)

Oh man. Yeah, it's not. Nothing's close in Canada as you guys know when you look at the map.

A (26:57)

He don't even want to drive.

C (27:00)

No, I hope he drives. Actually if he comes, I hope he drives.

A (27:03)

Drive.

C (27:04)

I hope he's nice and tired when he got here.

A (27:06)

Oh man, that's horrible. 35 hours, that's like only 13 hours.

B (27:11)

For me over there.

A (27:12)

That's like California to New York. Almost like that's.

C (27:16)

Oh, it's a long way.

B (27:17)

Where's Pat live at?

A (27:20)

Manitoba. Right.

C (27:21)

I'm wearing Manitoba. Yeah. And he's a hall.

B (27:27)

Yeah.

C (27:28)

Like you're, you're 30 hours to win to.

A (27:30)

We're learning geography day on trap talk.

C (27:32)

Yeah, we don't, we don't need to talk about this. It's a long way closer though.

B (27:37)

Wouldn't it be better to fly into Detroit?

C (27:40)

Yeah, that's what I was going to say earlier. If like an American easily just fly into Detroit and you're, you're two and a half hours driving here from, from.

B (27:50)

There I'm gonna look.

A (27:52)

Okay, so. So Detroit, rent a car and then cross the border.

C (27:57)

Yeah, you could do that. It'd be two hours driving.

B (28:00)

Yeah. Two hour, two hour drive. Going through. Was it Chatham?

C (28:06)

Windsor? Probably.

B (28:07)

Yeah. Yeah. You're going south a little bit. Yeah. Tecumseh. Instead of going north, they. You can go through Port Huron. Yeah, but that's about 40, 30 minutes further.

C (28:20)

Right.

B (28:21)

So. But yeah, either way. But honestly it might be better to fly into Canada with your gun into Toronto and then drive because it's easier doing that way I think then crossing the border.

C (28:37)

Yeah, I think it be about the same, but it's just whatever you're comfortable with. Whatever you want to do.

A (28:42)

All right folks, we got to take a quick second and give a shout out to the Cardinal center in Morango, Ohio. They hold the Cardinal Classic and they also hold the Ohio State shoot which is home of the first back fence shootout. Ricky, what do you think about Ohio?

B (28:56)

Listen, I, I love the Cardinals center. I, I actually broke the first Hunter from the 27 there at their very first shootout ever. Great place. Jake Spangler and their whole clan there. They do an awesome job at running the shoots. The Ohio State shoots, ran by the Ohio State association, the Cardinal classics right after the grand. So if you're looking for some. Some more points right after the grand, hit that up so you can get a little more points than old Zach here. But listen, it's a great shoot, great facility.

A (29:23)

It really is. I. I personally love the RVs. They've got great camping there. They've got a great time, good shoot, good target presentation. Go check it out. It's worth putting on your list. With that being said, let's get back to the show. So here's a question I have for you, Bo. You're obviously on the board. You obviously care about trap shooting. You love listening to the show, so thank you for the support. What made you decide to become a guy that helps out? Because I know one of the biggest things that we deal with in the United States, from state to state or even nationwide, is not a lot of people volunteer, Not a lot of people help. Not a lot of people, you know, give back to the sport and put their time and energy. And I know as the treasurer, that's a huge position that probably takes up a ton of time, and I know, you know, those positions are generally not compensated positions. So, you know, what makes. What made you decide, hey, I want to do this and kind of, what's your journey in serving the community?

C (30:17)

Well, I got roped into it, to be honest. But, no, just kidding. I think we all hit a point. Much like what you guys are doing right with this podcast, it takes. It takes time and effort, and you hit a point where you just think you have to find a way to contribute. If you want trap shooting or your local gun club, if you want it to be a certain way, you have to put the time in and you have to. You have to commit to that. So I think that myself, personally, I just saw the. See the opportunity, jump in there, get to it, and while you're there, you might as well try to do the best job you can. You know, if that's trying to grow the chute, trying to get better trophies, throw better targets, make a better program, you know, whatever you're focusing, just. Just jump in and have at it and then try to.

A (31:07)

How long have you been shooting?

C (31:09)

Oh, for June.

B (31:11)

Since the 90s. Early 90s.

C (31:13)

Yeah. I started when I was 11, 12 years old. Shooting at J. Quays was the first place I went.

B (31:20)

Finley.

C (31:21)

Yeah. First time I saw Factory Double A'S was at that shoot. Broke a big 67. I remember that. But yeah, I know I always shot a little bit and then.

A (31:30)

Never forget 67s.

C (31:32)

No, no, I always shot a little bit and then probably spent about 10 years just shooting handicap because that's what I could afford to do. That's what I like to shoot. I like that, you know, like that it's difficult. And you. And that's what I did. And then the last four or five years, I started shooting a little bit more just because. Just like everybody, right, you hit a point, you can afford to do it or you want to do it more. So that's what you do. Yeah, yeah. The big thing is just finding a way to give back or contribute and. And do your best while you're doing it.

B (32:03)

Yeah, well. And I think what you're doing with this shoot and you guys put a lot of ad money. I know there's been a lot of thought into to doing this, you know, to try to grow the shoot. Because like you said, you know, doing the extra events is really important. And that's for all the, you know, clubs out there that if you want to gain some shooters, you know, throwing a couple dinners or just even some drinks and hors d' oeuvres to show appreciation for the people coming to your shoot, it really does make a difference with shooters out there. And I've seen that from clubs coast to coast, you know, from shooting at or even going to teach at here in the states. You know, guys, you know, they're like, ah, hey, you know, we're gonna have an hors d' oeuvre hour and a couple hours free drinks. You know, they did it at Tucson this year at the. At the spring grand. You know, there was. I think it was two hours or something. And. And, you know, free drinks at the bar.

C (32:59)

And those two hours, you made sure you were there.

B (33:02)

You know what, I only got in on it for like 15 minutes the last time. And I was like, you know, the free hours at Tucson were like noon to 2. Everybody shooting.

A (33:16)

I'm all about some free poutine.

C (33:18)

Absolutely.

A (33:19)

You get that stuff rolling, the cheese curds, the gravy little fries. I mean, we're. I mean, I'm about it, but I think any little thing you can do to echo what Ricky's saying just to show people that you care and you're trying to build the community, because at the end of the day, what are we going to shoot for? Yes, you're going to shoot for targets, but it's. It's the people that you're hanging around with and it's the relationships that you're forming that make those shoots really important. And I know for me, the shoots that I go to every year, I pick them based on who's there, you know, oh, these are my friends that I get to see. That's why I go to that shoot. And you go every year, you know, it's just, it's just part of it.

B (33:54)

And you start picking some different shoots.

A (33:56)

Yeah, I know. I would love to. Trust me, it would be, it would be a lot of fun to.

B (34:02)

Is right there though. We, we go to the shoots to have a good time, you know, you want to win stuff and every little extra thing helps, you know, and that's what helps with like Tucson going back to that, you know, Bill, Bill, Liam Martin do the Martin Lewis there and donate. I think it's around $30,000, you know, added money, that stuff. And it makes a difference, you know, it can get you out of a shoot or the trip, you know, by just winning an event, you know, so that helps.

A (34:31)

All right, folks, we got to take another quick break and thank one of our show sponsors. 73 Pointers Ranch Jonesburg, Missouri Rick and Carla Burke. Best place in the area to go shoot chuckers and pheasants and have a great time. Rick, we got to get you down there.

B (34:44)

Yeah, I need to come in. Hopefully I can do some hunting with you guys and come to your the annual clay shoot in August right after the grand.

A (34:52)

It's a lot of fun. It's the Optimist Club charity shoot. They through a charity shoot, they put it on and it's wonderful. I think last year they had over 100, 100 entries into it and it's just a good time. With that being said, let's get back.

B (35:04)

To the show now. Coming up to the shoot. What is. It's July 2, right? It's the first day. Is it the second through the seventh?

C (35:13)

I think to the sixth or to the sixth.

B (35:17)

Okay.

C (35:18)

That's the official shoot. And then on the Tuesday because we have the. The Canadiens is in Hamilton the weekend before. Okay, maybe, you know, maybe an hour, hour and 20 minutes between the two. So people will travel. Hopefully Monday, Tuesday, the gun club's going to have a warm up day as they're going to call it. And actually that day the. I was actually couldn't believe this. They're giving away Craig off is giving away two annual services to, you know, however they're choosing to give it away.

A (35:45)

There you go.

C (35:46)

They're shooting off for it. You know, pick a number. So you come and shoot that warm up day, you could win a. Win a service on a Craig off, which is great. And then. Yeah, our provincial starts on the second.

B (35:55)

Now is that, is that annual service giveaway? Is that Craig Off International that's doing that in the States or. Okay, yeah, okay, because who is the Craig off dealer up in your area?

C (36:07)

I know they sell Craig Offs at, at Lowry and then I think there's a place up on Niagara Falls, But I'm not 100 sure, to be honest with you. All right, well, there isn't one close for sure. Like, I know.

B (36:19)

Call me. We can get them imported. Yeah, there's an importer right in Ohio that does it.

C (36:24)

We've done it before. Yeah, no, I know. You know, I've had heard stories. Guys just drive to Otsville to get the gun fixed, which is seven, eight, nine hours and that. But that's what you do, right? That's what you got to do. That's what you do.

B (36:36)

Yeah, I noticed that when I was up at Calgary shooting that time.

C (36:39)

It.

B (36:39)

Was it because a wood stock is considered part of the gun or is the gun correct? You can't like just bring stocks over.

C (36:49)

I think that's right, Rick.

B (36:50)

Yeah, yeah, it was really, because I was. There was a lady that I was up there in that shoot and her gun like the stock cracked or something and. And I said, oh, you know, you just call and get a stock and she's like, no, we've tried. And I was like, really?

C (37:04)

So, yeah, no, that's definitely a challenge for us for sure. And that's why I think what you guys can recognize when, when we go down to the States, you go down to the Cardinal center or whatever, that's when you're, you know, like clockwork. You got to get your gun service because this is your, this is your chance.

B (37:18)

Yeah, and I do notice that a lot in, especially in Krieg off there at the Cardinal Center. You know, there'll be a lot of Canadians that are in there getting their serv. And it was funny one time one of the guys in there's like, why are we getting all these Canadian people in here? I'm like, well, they don't have just gunsmiths like we do everywhere. You know, don't have the opportunity to ship it because they can't ship it to Ottsville.

C (37:40)

You know, it's. It's a process for sure. We've got like, we have a couple good gunsmiths in, in Ontario, for sure. Like, there's a younger guy, Dan Best is his name. He's a good gunsmith and a lot of people go to him. But yeah, if you want your like official, official official service and stuff like that, then. And that's the same as, you know, other companies too. You got to go to the states and get the parts and get it done there.

A (38:01)

But get it done.

C (38:02)

It is what it is.

B (38:03)

Yeah, no, absolutely. You do what you do for shooting, that's for sure.

C (38:06)

Yeah.

A (38:06)

You know, 100. No, I, I love it. I'm excited that you guys are having the shoot. I'm still contemplating if I can make the trip up there. Ricky's still thinking about it too, so we're kind of mulling it over.

B (38:16)

My wife can't come. I mean, Zach, you could, you know, we could go up there.

A (38:22)

We could. It'd be like Dubai all over again. Yeah, another international trip. I wonder if we can get emirates air from St. Louis.

B (38:31)

I mean, man, they treat you good.

A (38:32)

It'd be a short flight, but it's, it's fun.

B (38:34)

But it wouldn't be a good flight for sure.

A (38:37)

You know, A little bumpy, but what.

B (38:39)

What other shoots do you have coming up besides the, the provincials?

C (38:44)

Those are Canadians. A weekend before. And then St. Thomas also does a Victoria Day shoot. So it's the weekend before Memorial Day, so we call it Victoria Day. Two, four, if you want the informal term for it. They have a three day shoot that weekend, which back. It's a great shoot. It always has been. That was the one for us back in the day. It was used to be called the shell shoot. And they'd be 2, 300 flats of shells as prizes, you know, back 10, 15, 20 years ago.

B (39:16)

And federal sponsor that.

C (39:19)

Yeah, federal.

B (39:19)

Yeah, that's right. I remember that.

A (39:21)

Those are actual flats. They don't come with the conversion where you lose something.

C (39:24)

Right. Yeah, right. And like that was, it was good because you could load up for the year. Right. Like there was a ton of people in Ontario you shot federals because you could buy 50 flats of them in the spring and then you didn't have to worry about it in terms of chasing shells down. So that's, that's a three day shoot there. And then we have, you know, every weekend There's a, there's two, three clubs. Throwing, throwing 300 targets and doing their best to keep. Keep the game going. And, and that's the thing. We talk about all these big shoots, as you guys know. But. Yeah, but the lifeblood of The. Of the ATA is that Thursday night big 50 and the Sunday shoots at the. With seven people at it and you know, 10 people shooting in the. In the snow or the pouring rain just because they love it. So.

B (40:08)

And that's. I really think that the ATA needs to. To do some stuff to help out and get that back to really promoting the. The small shoots instead of just promoting the big shoots, you know, is helping out with the smaller clubs because that's where it all starts.

C (40:25)

Yeah.

A (40:26)

If you get people to come to the weekend shoots and you get them to kind of get hungry, then they're going to go to the bigger shoots. And at the end of the day, you've got to kind of. It's kind of like the farm team, right? It's triple A ball and then it's pro ball. Like they're going to go and they're going to shoot the little shoots and kind of win a trophy here and there. And then they're like, okay, it's time for a state shoot. It's time for a satellite grand. I mean, that's what I'd seen more. I mean, that's how I started. I know Ricky probably started small too. Leagues and stuff. It's just absolutely. It's just a natural progression of the game, I guess. Hey, trap talk listeners, we got to take a real quick break and we got to thank Ron Prescott from Mid state precious metals for everything they do for the trap shooting community coast to coast for all. All your gold and silver buying needs. And on top of that new announcement, they're a sponsor of the 126 grand American.

B (41:08)

Finally he said it right, folks. Grand American. Yeah. Ron is a great guy. He's a sponsor of the back fence shootout at Nevada State Shoot and Ohio State shoot. And also we got our gold for our trap talk event at Nevada State shoot and the 77th annual Nevada State shoot. They bought all theirs from it. 680 ounces of silver to be exact. Folks, you're missing out if you're not there.

A (41:31)

That's a lot of silver. And honestly, if you're not buying from Ron, you're probably overpaying. So whether you're buying it for your gun clubs or your shoots or for your personal use, you got to give them a try because they're big supporters of the trap shooting nation. So it's awesome. With that being said, let's get back to the show. Bo, is there anything else that we're missing today that we didn't really touch on that you want to make sure we smoke out before we get out of here.

C (41:55)

Yeah. I mean the big thing with, with our landscape now over here is that I've been surprised that impressed with. Happy. Happy with whatever we want to call it is I've been blown away with. We have all this added money and all these prizes and all this stuff and, and that's money coming from other people. Right. Like the amount of donors that have stepped up, sponsors that have said we're in, you know, mind blowing to me. And, and there's. It's been four or five years of really pushing that. But so the people that are listening to this, hopefully that, that did help our shooter are continuing to help us. It's. It's unbelievable. And, and the big thing with coming up here is just come and do it. You know, the shoots are well run, the targets are good, their prizes are great, the people are great. Just come and come and have a shoot. Keep all that. You know, we all try our best to keep the riff raff out of our discussions and our interact, you know, just, yeah, just come and shoot. It's just as fun, just as fun as any shoot that I've gone to in the States. Our shoots are, are the same.

B (42:58)

Yeah, well, we'll have to look at it and see because I've only, like I said, I've shot the Calgary Stampede once. I am supposed to go to British Columbia for the Labor Day shoot with Gore Fowler and Lisa Salt or do some stuff with that club over there and I think it's Vernon way up north and. But I'd like to come up because I've never shot in Ontario, so you.

C (43:24)

Should definitely do that.

B (43:25)

That's. We'll have to. Zach and I have to discuss this.

A (43:30)

We'll get on the horn and figure it out. But you know, Bo, you're. You're a great guy. We appreciate everything you're doing for trap shooting. We appreciate the OPTA and the fact that they're throwing a great shoot and putting a lot of added money. And to echo your thoughts, you know, thank you to everyone that supports trap shooting through your donations, through giving your time, through being on a board, through taking a new shooter out for the first time. I think that's what it's going to take. Every one of us needs to pick up just a little bit of slack and that's what's going to keep the sport moving in a forward direction. So, you know, I would ask you all to just think about that when you're going out there. How can you give back. How can you bring somebody in? How can we make things better if everybody pulls the weight together, it'll be light. If, you know, the same old people have to do it every time. It gets tiring and it's, it's, it's hard, you know. So we really appreciate you doing that job and, and we really appreciate having you on the show.

C (44:21)

Yeah. And like you said, just to echo that, that's been the thing that a lot of people doing something is, is a lot easier than a couple people, you know, doing 90% of the work. And our, a lot. Our, our association is, is good. Our board is great. And like I said, all those, those Sunday shoots that are the volunteers get older and older and older, as we know. And we're shooting in the rain. Well, they're sitting in a chair score keeping and it's pouring rain and you know, 3 degrees or whatever you guys would say 35 Fahrenheit out and, and, and they're given that time. So that is awesome and much appreciated for sure.

A (44:58)

Yeah.

B (44:59)

Well, one thing that we didn't ask is in July, what is the weather like up there?

C (45:03)

Beautiful.

B (45:04)

Is it? So what are we talking, like Celsius? What are we looking at, like 75, 60 or hotter?

C (45:11)

Yeah.

A (45:11)

80.

C (45:12)

Sunny 80. Shorts.

A (45:13)

Shorts and T shirts, huh?

C (45:14)

Absolutely. You got. Yeah, we're not that far north. Like, we're not. I'm not in the Arctic. I can see the United States from my window.

A (45:20)

We're not in palamont land.

C (45:23)

No. What? July. The weather is beautiful.

B (45:26)

Is it okay?

C (45:27)

Oh, beautiful. Yeah. It'd be sunny in 80 degrees every day if not 90. Really?

A (45:32)

I love it.

C (45:32)

It might be 60, but.

B (45:34)

Yeah, well, that's fine. I. Listen, you know, I live in Nebraska, so one day it's 80, the next day it's 30 and snowing.

C (45:40)

So I mean, it's no July. The weather's beautiful. It's a, it's a great time of year to shoot. Hopefully as many people as we can get up here.

B (45:47)

Okay.

C (45:48)

Come and shoot. And as many of our own members too. Right? That's our, yeah, our target market is our own shooters. But the more people we can drag.

B (45:54)

Up here, you're close to Buffalo, you know, you're, you're close to Detroit. There's a lot of shooters in that area. So, yeah, we'll definitely have to, have to look into that and, and I'll, I'll let you know asap. I'm going to talk to my wife when we get off here and, and see what her Thoughts are and if she's going to be able to get off and do it because she won't be able to work remotely from Canada. But.

C (46:18)

So we do have Internet up here though.

B (46:19)

Well, I know you do.

C (46:20)

We, you know. Yeah, but yeah, I know. I appreciate what you guys are doing too. It's this history stuff has been great for especially the new shooters. Like, it's great for them to learn the stories about Brit Robinson and Phil Kiner and Carmichael and all those people. I think it's awesome.

A (46:38)

So, yeah, absolutely. Thank you for that and we really appreciate everyone listening today on this Friday. Keep, stay tuned in like share, subscribe, make a trip up to Canada and get some poutine, shoot some targets and, and have some fun. And Bo, we appreciate you being on the show. We'll catch you all next week. Thanks for tuning in.

B (46:56)

Thanks, Bo. We appreciate it.

C (46:58)

Thanks guys.

A (46:59)

Hey, Trop Talk listeners, let's take a quick second to thank a couple more amazing sponsors. Sos, Clay Shoot Management, they're doing a fantastic job. I love the app. I love being able to see everything on my phone instantaneously. It's freaking awesome. Rick, what do you think?

B (47:13)

Yeah, Greg Pink and his group over there, I mean they've got majority of the satellite grands, majority of the state shoots. I think it's 40 plus state shoots they're doing. But the app, honestly, we were doing a little beta testing with that at the spring grand. It's awesome. You can see your squad if they paid. You know, you can see your options, your payouts, the whole works at your fingertips. Great deal.

A (47:34)

They're just how much money he made before he even got off the line. He was like, hey, I'm buying lunch. I'm like, yeah, good job. We're good to go. We also got gun and trophy insurance. I mean they're the best in the business. I know they're, they're great price. Ricky, you're familiar with them, right?

C (47:50)

Yeah.

B (47:51)

Cole and Larry Cushman, been long time supporters of myself and, and I've been a supporter of them and you know, especially with my college team, you know, we require insurance. It's so fast and easy to sign up and get your insurance. In literally 10 minutes you can have your guns insured. And they're just great. They're great to deal with. Like I said, you can do your trophies also, you know, your, your wildlife, animals and that such and your guns.

A (48:18)

It's just a great, it's always good when you're traveling around to have that peace of mind. And know that you don't have to worry about losing your stuff forever. And these are expensive things, especially when you got those Craig offs, you got to keep them insured. So.

B (48:28)

Oh.

A (48:29)

With that being said, let's get back to the show. And the Trap Talk podcast is brought to you in part by RM Shooting Clinics. Have Ricky take your game to the next level. If you want to shoot hundreds of hundreds of hundreds, give Ricky a call today. Zach Nini Financial we believe in putting people first.