TRAP AT CGESC

The CGESC has 13 Trap houses of which we can use 11 for Trap tournaments. The two Trap houses located in our Skeet fields can only be used as 16 yard practice; however they are also used as part of our larger Sporting Clays tournaments. We use nine Pat Traps for our Trap birds. Utilizing eight tournament Traps and one for practice allows us to accommodate 30 squads easily.

We have two Trap mechanics on hand that keep our machines fine tuned and set to PITA/ATA requirements. We are proud of a less than 2% target breakage. However being mechanical devices, we do have breakdowns from time to time. When we do have a breakdown, we make sure the machines are repaired with the newest technology, parts, and guidance from Chuck and Mike Elton of Golden West Industries.

We launch our targets using the wired version of the Canterbury CVR system. These have been modified to throw instant release. The speakers have all been re-wired direct, bypassing the resisters. They are extremely sensitive. The birds are lightning quick out of the house. If you’re not ready when you say “pull,” you just may come out of your boots trying to catch up to that hard right or left.

Cottage Grove is known for being a tough place to win.  You need to bring your “A” game because we do attract some of the best shooters on the west coast. We have over $5000.00 in our perfect 50’s account and we challenge you to come and try and take your share! Many have as you can see by the size of this account.

After a day of trap, we also offer Skeet, 2 different 5-Stand courses, Sporting Clays. Wobble, International Wobble, Flurries, and even Chinese trap (Wobbles Trap shot from Skeet stations). At CGESC, fun is the name of our games.

Haven’t been here before? Come see us in the “Fun Zone”, the first round is on us.

Dennis Crowell, Managing Director

Trapshooting was developed in England late in the 18th century. The first targets were live pigeons, which were released from cages known as traps. The sport was first practiced in the United States early in the 19th century and was popular by midcentury in a number of areas, notably Cincinnati, Ohio, and the New York City area. In subsequent decades the scarcity of live pigeons prompted trapshooting enthusiasts in the United States to create ingenious artificial targets. The substitute targets first tried included glass balls filled with feathers and solid iron pigeons mounted on long metal rods. Platter-shaped clay pigeons were developed about 1870. The subsequent introduction of standard-ized traps facilitated nationwide competition. The first U.S. national championship match took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1885.

The Amateur Trapshooting Association, with headquarters in Vandalia, Ohio, is the governing body of U.S. and Canadian trapshooting. Under its auspices numerous trapshooting competitions, notably the Grand American Handicap, take place each year. Trapshooting competition takes three forms: singles, handicap, and double-target shooting. In all three the targets are hurled from one trap, and 12-gauge shotguns are used. In singles shooting, contestants fire from a series of five stations located 16 yd (14.63 m) behind the trap. At a signal from the contestant, the clay target is hurled forward into the air, away from the firing line. In order to simulate the unpredictable flight patterns of birds taking wing, the targets are sprung out of the trap at various angles and in various directions. The clay pigeons rise to a minimum height of about 10 ft (about 3 m) and, unless hit, fall to the ground about 150 ft (about 45 m) from the trap. Champions often hit 100 out of 100 targets.

In handicap trapshooting, contestants possessing superior records must shoot from stations located 17 to 27 yd (15.54 to 24.68 m) behind the trap. The added distance, or handicap, enables trapshooters of only average ability to compete on equal terms with experts. In double-target shooting, the trap springs two clay pigeons into the air simultaneously in different directions.