Sooo you want to be a Targologist!

     It was mid-day when the phone rang. I had just spilled a cup of coffee down the front of my shirt trying to balance a script while opening the door to the studio. "Now what''.. I said aloud as I reined back my anger.

     It was Gary Greenway. I had not seen him since the Elk Creek shoot in Kentucky, where I had grabbed him off the range for an interview, and a few photos. Gary is one of those great shooters who has been around the world competing from Texas to Europe. Known by many as "America's Milkman", for the dairy he once operated, Gary is well known and respected by all who have met him. Now, the chief instructor for the NSCA, I was a surprised to hear from him. Gary began by asking, in his easy-going Texas accent, if I would be interested in staying behind after the Nationals to audit a few of the NSCA Classes he conducts, in San Antonio. Scheduled was a trap setting class of 8 men and a Level III instructors class of 18. I quickly agreed. What an opportunity for an inside view... little did I know what I was about to see AND learn.

     Now, sitting behind the desk in my hotel room, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I had collected. What would the NEXT class produce! I sat staring at the computer screen trying to sort through my notes and the videos. WHEW!... I had just witnessed a side to Sporting Clays, very few see and fewer understand. As this story unfolds, it will be important to you, the reader, to click where indicated. The PODCAST is right from the participants and instructors. Stick with me here, you will not regret this.....

     "PULL & BANG" is the last result you hear after many, many hours of work AND study by professional course setters. Their reward is seeing you leave happy and challenged to return for more. I have been in many classes in many different disciplines, but I had not been in a "science" class since college...yes, I said science class....gravity, speed, distance, diameter, from Newtons' law, to the strict law of Physics. Download greenway_training_07_013.MPG <------CLICK HERE NOW!

     After arriving at the National Headquarters in San Antonio,Texas, I discovered 8 attendees from Alaska to Hawaii, plus Gary and one instructor out on the course. The class was into it's second day of instruction when I arrived. I found them grouped up under an old Oak tree. I sensed they expected me. I introduced myself and began studying the chalk boards, grease boards and a pile of hand-outs. I pulled up my chair under my desk to watch the instructor---> NOT!  As Gary said later, over a plate of Tex-Mex ", if you want to learn to set traps you got to get in the field and DO IT..can't find this stuff in a classroom...can't get it on a computer...you just got to do it!" John Calandro began to explain his assignment this way-->Download last_trap_003.MPG

     As I soon discovered, not only was the assignment to set the traps, but to shoot them! After all, how many of us have stepped out of a station and said, " who set these..has the trapper ever shot a gun?" As I have become more and more involved with Sporting Clays, the science behind a "Bad Day" and a "Good Day" at the range has as much to do with your shooting ability as the course designer and the trap setter have planned for you. Perhaps the whining we hear after a shooter leaves a station and blames the trapper...might have some validity, after all. As we all know and joke about, shooting is NOT a thinking game. But setting a course is all about the thinking game. A poorly set course can drive away shooters. A course set with 12-15 stations of difficult targets will also drive the club out of business. This is where you come to learn the secrets of course setting. There is no other organization with the talent that compares to the NSCA and no other course setters like the ones you will have here. This class is only EVERY TWO YEARS! Can your club afford NOT to have you here? Download greenway_training_07_012.MPG

     When asked, the attendees said they had read about the class in " SPORTING CLAYS" magazine or heard it by word of mouth, at their club. Most of these men either had a "working" relationship with a local club in their hometown, or, had come for a better understanding of trap setting to improve their shooting. Gary welcomed them all. " I'm an instructor..I hope everyone leaves smarter than when they arrived." Download greenway_training_07_019.MPG

     The Instruction consisted of doing it and shooting it. As the second day passsed, individuals were assigned a particular station to set early in the morning. Following the guidelines given, these potential Trappers/Setters walked their stations taking into consideration what they had been told. Study the terrain of their station, its topography, the foliage, trees or earth formations all had to be considered. What will the "line" of the target look like against the background? Will the "line" fool the shooter? Will an easy target appear difficult to the shooter? Will the shooter THINK or shoot? They paced off distances. Decided upon angles. Considered where the sun would be during the day. Moved their trap machines to Download last_trap_011.MPG reflect what they wanted to present. And what did they load in their respective machines?...MIDI ! They tested them, re-tested them, and made further adjustments until they were comfortable that the presentation would  pass inspection by fellow trappers. They defended their settings aggressively. It was interesting to watch the decision process that each one had to consider before completing his station.Download last_trap_012.MPG

     As a D class shooter and still new to Competitive Shooting, it opened a whole new perspective for me. Meeting Pete Masch and getting to know Jason Menke, both professional trap setters, has been a pleasure and an education. The theory behind trap setting is not to destroy your confidence nor is it to make it easy. The secret lies between knowing who your client is that day, and making the course fun and challenging for him. That being said, as the client grows, so should the challenge. It is the "ART OF TRAP SETTING", not the act of trap setting, that is taught in this class.

     Gary ended his class by asking for comments from the attendees. Everyone was very excited about attending and thanked Gary, Pete and Jason. The final question was.."if we take our newly acquired knowledge of course setting and try to make a living at setting traps, what should we expect?----> $$$$? Pete had the answer immediately. "What is your time worth, per hour?" Some courses Pete will set he does for fun, some he does for his reputation, and some he makes $$$. It is up to the individual. Like any business, you get out of it what you put in...that's no "new lesson", especially, to a competitive shooter who's ability can almost be measured by the amount of flats he shoots each month.

     The last thing Gary & Co had up their sleeve, was a 5-Stand Flurry! Fun, it was time to have fun. Harassment was encouraged! The laughter nearly drowned out the shotguns. It was fun. Handshakes were soon all around, as some men prepared to leave. I know I will leave with knowledge I had not had before... and I will remember a few funny moments, such as when I asked these two cart dwellers if they were going to have a beer with us after the day was done. "No thanks, we are fine with CITY GIN!" Better known as water to us! Does that imply that the water from their State is questionable and leaves them chemically high??...lol..lol..There are some things I don't want to know. Toooo much information as they say.

     But, as with all "bonding" experiences such as this one, parting leaves a small void, as quiet sets in after men separate and leave an experience like this.The lives of these men have been changed. New goals have been set. Expectations must be met. The passage home will be marked by new plans for the future. Memories will be lost as time moves forward, but what they have taken with them will last forever.

     Gary Greenway, Pete Masch, Download greenway_training_07_018.MPG and Jason Menke are the men responsible for this class, leaving each participant---> "smarter than when they arrived!" Download last_trap_015.MPG

Hey, remember..click on any photo and you can copy it. See you on the radio! All of you that gave me a business card will be sent a CD of the radio show, every month FREE, until it comes to your area-----> MERRY CHRISTMAS,TRAPPERS!