Did Illinois shooters boycott the ATA Grand American Trapshoot?

There were only 592 Illinois shooters that registered for any events at the Grand. I suspect there will be more Ohio Shooters attending the Cardinal Classic next week.

The big singles event was up a bit but that wasn't because the home team showed up?

It makes me wonder how many Wisconsin shooters would have shot if the Grand were in Wisconsin?
Ohio has two shoots at the CC alone that has more that 600.

Could PA get 600 shooters from their state? I suspect KY could find shooters from KY if it were held there. At least 600 kids would show up in Nebraska.

Someone explain why less than 600 from IL.

Stan

 

A lot of my pals enjoy the grand. They all have plenty of money to burn. I suspect the lack of nearby motels and distance for decent for hurts even the Illini.

 

As bad as the numbers seem, the Illinois attendees numbers are about the same as last year. There just isn't much enthusiasm for trapshooting in Illinois.

 

national economy? that has to have a lot of say in the issue.
it use to be food and lodging was the only overhead.
now its ammo too.

 

$49 for targets will keep even local shooters away. Not sure why they think those are reasonable costs, even on this scale.

 

BS.....been hearing that crap for 20 years. The grand did great during the massive inflation and stagflation of the 70's. Then the long gas lines in Ohio. The mills closed down and still they had 5,000 shooters in Vandalia.

 

are you working making income?
do you have a well paying pension that pays your entry fees and travel?
curious.
because if you are, its hard for those well off to picture someone who cant pay bills and is stuck making decisions to feed his family or shoot away his spendable income, just to register a score.

let me use my life as an example....
my mother just died. i took care of her with my retired military pension. she was destitute on ss. i had no leeway on cash. it had to pay moms needs for 18 years and pay my needs. im disabled so no work on my end.
now i need to buy a tombstone for me. hearts giving out. choice, go to the grand or buy a tombstone and bury my mom now sitting on the fireplace mantle, and dig a hole for me as well so the wife doesnt have to.
thank G-D for my military medical care. most of you see all my guns for sale. why.
preparation time for my journey.
you think the grand even crosses my mind?
how does this effect the topic.
simple.
no one in the working class is buying guns or mine would be gone. and if they cant afford my cheap guns, the grand is the last thing on their minds.
those with wealth are buying and selling as if nothing happened nationally.

and my friend,

thats who you see still shooting. those other endless thousands of shooters are home struggling.
how do i know? my range is dead. no one comes anymore. to them its, milk and feed for cattle or play time money wasted on clay birds you cant eat.
farmers arent stupid and all one needs to do is watch farmers to get a feel as to how the economy is going.

im writing this not to convince you. i will assume its impossible. its just on here for others to ponder.
thanks for letting me share....what you like to call BS.
the nation is struggling and its very real....or else trump wouldnt be making it a campaign promise to fix.

 

Bobski must not have gone to Vandalia during the hi inflation days. That place was packed. I remember having to wait in line for gas. I know Vandalia was packed with those blue collar weekend warriors.

I am guessing Bobski wasn't around Ohio and PA the week the steel mills closed. The two biggest trapshooting states had their economies smashed. The GAH had near record numbers. They were still shooting for cars. The west field was packed with weekend warriors.

I wonder if Bobski can remember the year of the Dotcom crash. Yep huge numbers.

I can't remember the shoots during the Great Depression. Ask Dave Berlet. The numbers at the Grand were higher than now. The GAH had better numbers during the Korean War.

All those terrible economic times were called the Golden Age of trapshooting.

The one thing that nearly killed trapshooting was the move to Sparta.

1862 this year's GAH.

 

Dot com crash? That was when they had 5,000 shooters in the Grand American Handicap. Tuff times. Lol

 

thanks jim. you explained it very well.
im sure im not the only one who now sees the real reason.