Monday, 16 March 2009
CRGC's junior trap program began, as usual, on the first Thursday in March, and will continue for the remainder of the month on Thursdays. These are eighteen juniors participating in the program this year. Trap chairman, and member of the board of directors, Dan Stevens is in charge of the activity. He is being helped by other instructors, including Michael Jones (from Douglas Ridge Rifle Club), Ben Millar, and Kevin Starrett.
A new development this year is the availability of Remington 870 shotguns in 12 and 20 gauge for use by the juniors. The shotguns were purchased from the proceeds of the raffle of the rifles donated by Adrian Fisher, and Millar's Hiway Tire at the annual meeting. In addition, the Oregon Firearms Education Foundation has donated money to CRGC to operate the program.
The three 20 gauge Remington 870 shotguns are the youth models, with a shorter barrel and a shorter stock. The club also purchased two standard 12 gauge Remington 870 shotguns for use by bigger juniors.
The club provides the ammunition and the targets for the junior program as well. The ammunition is a light load - 7/8 ounce or 1 ounce of shot, at 2.5 or 2.75 dram equivalent powder charge. This minimizes the shotgun's recoil while shooting, and makes the experience much more pleasant for the juniors, with the result that they are more likely to continue trap shooting.