TRAPSHOOTING UNDER THE LIGHTS

About 40 winter league trapshooters meet on Wednesday night at the La Grande Gun Club to fire at sporting clays. ().

Story and photos by

Dick Mason

The Observer

Rare is the trapshooter who prefers firing at night under lights.

Few such shooters can be found in La Grande.

But Wednesday night at the La Grande Gun Club the 35 to 40 trapshooters at the club appeared to be exactly where they wanted to be.

The trapshooters are members of a winter league that meets every Wednesday evening to fire at sporting clays under lights.

"It's just a fun time to shoot,'' Audrie Chandler of Elgin said.

Chandler and her husband, Derrill, have been coming to the

La Grande Gun Club's range southeast of the city to shoot during the winter on Wednesday evenings for years.

"There is not enough light to shoot (frequently) during the day in the winter,'' Chandler said.

The Chandlers think nothing of coming to La Grande on Wednesday nights. The La Grande Gun Club has one of the few trapshooting ranges with lights in this region. Other area towns that have lighted trapshooting ranges include Wallowa and Baker City.

Regardless of where they are shooting, trapshooters usually have lower scores at night.

"You have better depth perception in the daytime,'' Taylor Gregory of

La Grande said.

Another factor working against shooters is that it takes longer to get the depth perception needed to nail a sporting clay after it is released, said J.C. Keller of La Grande.

"You have to follow it further (before firing) to get depth perception,'' Keller said.

Jack Rudd of La Grande said that in theory it should be easier to shoot at night because the target is flying against a dark background with no distractions. He is mystified by the lower scores shooters get at night.

"It (the art of trapshooting) is all in your head,'' Rudd said.

La Grande trapshooter Les Warner has a similar opinion.

"It should be easier (at night) because there are no distractions,'' Warner said. "Ninety-five percent of this game is mental.''

Keller, however, offers another perspective. He believes that the background of area mountains helps him when shooting in the daytime. Keller explained that a mountain backdrop allows him to better judge the speed of the sporting clays springing from traps.

Green sporting clays are used for night shoots because they are easier to pick up at night. Orange sporting clays are used in the day.

On most Wednesday nights, league shoots draw between 35 and 40 people. Elizabeth Stokes, an EOU freshman from Redmond, is among those who shoot regularly on Wednesday nights. Stokes is a member of a student trapshooting group at EOU and likes to keep her skills sharp for competitions. Stokes said that she enjoys the camaraderie of the group at the

La Grande Gun Club.

On Wednesday night, temperatures that dipped into the 30s worked against shooters at the gun club. Cold weather makes it hard to relax your muscles. Someone who is tense will not shoot well, Chandler explained.

Trapshooters stay warm at the range by spending time in the heated clubhouse between rounds. It is place of community, one where shooters exchange good-natured banter in a building filled with historic photographs of the club dating back to the 1920s.

"We like harassing each other,'' Wally Rudd of La Grande said with a smile.