Origins:
Trapshooting originated in England during the late 18th centu- ry to help marksmen improve their hunting skills. It is aimed at helping marksmen develop skills by shoot- ing live pigeons released from cages or ball traps. While the practice of shooting living pigeons faded away, it was replaced by shooting inani- mate objects such as the clay disk. Trapshooting has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1900.
Rules:
The trapshooting field is composed of a singular trap house located fifteen meters in front of five shooting stations. Targets are thrown into the air with variable angles. One regulation consisted of 25 targets, with each shooter firing at five targets from each of the five stations. In doubles competitions, two targets are simultaneously released, and the shooter must fire one shot at each. The gun is oftentimes the double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun.
Prep Trapshooting:
Peter Rodriguez and I interviewed one of the team captains, James McIntyre, ’26. He came to Prep a veteran of two years, having shot clay targets with his grandfather previously.
When asked how the team fared last season, James said, “We had a much smaller team than usual due to some graduations but we did well and the leadership for the ’24 – ’25 year stepped up significantly.” Indeed, the team placed second in the spring-season league tournament, and third at the Maryland State Tourna- ment, not to mention two shooters placed first and second in a tour- nament in Fairfax County Virginia. Though it took much work, the effort paid off.
For the first big tournament of this fall season, the team drove down to the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club in Virginia. This tournament is crucial to the early analysis of the team in both long and short-term success. James hopes that the team will experience a growing season by bringing in lots of committed underclassmen, broadening our public image with the wider Prep community, and of course, winning some trophies.
Anyone interested in shooting with the team this or next season, contact either head coach at [email protected] or the captains at [email protected], jamcintyre@ gprep.org or [email protected] for any information. Experience in shooting is not a requirement as the coaches, leadership, and shooters are great instructors.
