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Clay Crushers Aim To Improve

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Prairie du Chien Clay Crusher Zach Wachter takes aim at the target on the trap shooting simulator screen. Others in the rotation include, from back to front, John Titlbach, Lydia Seeley and Tanner Kohler. (Photo by Ted Pennekamp)

Max Clanton (left) and Justin Kossman help to build wood duck nesting boxes on Saturday. (Photo submitted)

 

Clay Crushers aiming to improve with use of technology

Prairie du Chien shooting team also selling wood duck nesting boxes

By Ted Pennekamp

 

The Prairie du Chien Clay Crushers continue to grow and use the latest technology to improve. 

In fact, on March 23, members of the Crushers practiced for the first time on a trap shooting simulator made by Dryfire which is manufactured by Wordcraft International Ltd. in Derbyshire, England. The practice was held at NCS Gunsmithing, Sales and Indoor Archery, 815 E. Campion Blvd., Prairie du Chien, where the next three practices will also be held. NCS Gunsmithing is a supporter of the Clay Crushers.

“It’s a good teaching tool and a good way to introduce the procedures of shooting trap,” said Clay Crushers Advisor Kirby Kohler. “It’s also a good way of introducing new kids to the sport.”

Kohler, a teacher at Bluff View Intermediate School, explained that the simulator involves a video screen which is about 10 feet wide which depicts a realistic view of trap shooting. The students use their own shotguns with an infrared laser mounted on the end of the barrel. The simulator operator can program all the specs of the gun, including the gauge, the choke, the speed of the loads, and the size of the shot, etc.

A student stands ready at one of the five stations of trap shooting and says, “Pull.” The clay target then flies from the house shown on the video screen. The student swings his or her gun and fires. If the target is hit, it breaks apart on the screen and the sound is heard. If the target is missed, the student gets instant feedback as to how far off they were by a circle that appears on the screen. Sometimes the circle appears right on where the target was, but this shows that the target was too far away when the gun was fired.

“The simulator shows the shot pattern in relation to where the clay target was when they fired,” said Kohler, who noted that the student and the coach can then work to correct a recurring problem because the simulator shows why the student missed.

“If a shooter is having trouble with the hard rights of station 5, for example, the shooter and the coach can, hopefully, correct it,” said Kohler, who noted that the simulator has all of the same angles and shooting stations of a trap house. 

The computer part of the simulator, in fact, can get quite detailed. It can show the shooter how far away the clay target was when the shooter shot. It also displays how many seconds it took for the shooter to shoot, and how many inches to the right, left, up, down, etc., the shot pattern was from the target. 

The Clay Crushers now have 31 members made up of middle and high school students. Kohler said there will be five or six teams in their conference this season. The sport has grown to about 80 teams in Wisconsin, he said.

The week of April 3 will be the Clay Crushers’ first week of shooting at the Mill Coulee Range which is owned and operated by the Prairie Rod and Gun Club. 

The Clay Crushers were formed in 2015 and competed in a five-team conference. There were five conferences back then and only 23 teams in Wisconsin. 

All of the Clay Crushers’ meets are held at the Mill Coulee Range, except the state tournament, which is held in Rome, Wis. Each of Prairie’s competitors shoot two rounds of 25 clay targets at each competition.

The competitions are scored under the True Team Scoring System, whereby the top 17 shooters from each of the five teams participating in a particular meet score points for their team. Each of the five teams shoot at their home range. The scores are then entered into a computer and compared to see how each team placed.

Any business, organization or individual who would like to sponsor the team can contact Kohler at (608) 412-5416.

The Clay Crushers held their latest fund-raiser on Saturday, March 25, by constructing wood duck nesting boxes at the high school beginning at 8 a.m.

“We built 85 boxes in three and a half hours,” said Kohler. “Our group of workers consisted of 12 students on the Prairie du Chien Clay Crushers, several community volunteers, members of the Prairie Rod and Gun Club, and staff from the school district. We want to thank our sponsors of this project, Nelson Hardwood Lumber for donating all the black locust lumber and Design Homes for donating the screws and drill bits.”

If anyone would like to purchase nesting boxes, the team is selling them for $20 each or five for $80 or 10 for $100. All proceeds go to the Prairie du Chien Clay Crushers to pay for trap range and league fees. Those interested can contact Kirby Kohler at kohlerki@pdc.k12.wi.us or at (608) 412-5416 and stop by Bluff View Intermediate School to pick them up.

The team will have another fund-raiser on April 15 at the gun auction at Kramer Auction Service, 203 E. Blackhawk Ave., Prairie du Chien. Kramer Auction Service has been another supporter of the team. The fund-raiser is one where the team is asking people to donate their unwanted firearms to the team to be auctioned off at the gun auction.  

All people need to do is drop the gun off and let Curt Kramer know it is a donation to the Prairie du Chien Clay Crushers. 

Once auctioned, the firearm donation can be used as a tax deduction.

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