Only club in county; one of few in Oregon

WALLOWA — The trap shooting team from Wallowa High School is getting all fired up as its season gets underway, practicing at the Wallowa Rod and Gun Club just outside of town.

Of the 15 club members, 13 were on hand Sunday, April 13, for a practice shoot, along with several coaches.

“We have got one heck of a program here,” head coach Ken Knifong said. “The whole state knows who Wallowa, Oregon, is.”

The program is the only one in Wallowa County, though it’s open to shooters from the entire county.

From the state competition in June in Hillsboro — next year it will be in Bend — the top five shooters advance to the nationals in July in Mason, Michigan. An Oregon team won at nationals last year. Four or five Oregon teams made to state last year, Knifong said.

“It was pretty awesome to watch them win. I know those people,” Knifong said. “It was pretty cool to watch them win. I would love to watch us win one year.”

But trap shooting is not in expensive, the coach said.

“It’s not cheap, guys, so I want you to take what you do seriously,” he said. “It’s the most expensive sport in high school. That’s why I’m always trying to think of ways to raise money.”

Some of those ways include an annual meat shoot, aluminum can drives, a silent auction, creating gift baskets and cutting firewood.

“We volunteered three hours and got three-four cord of wood,” he said. “The more things we can do; the more things we can be creative about.”

The can drive raised about $12,000 the past two years, he said.

The team usually gathers for a shoot on Sunday afternoons, but members are welcome to shoot more often, giving them extra practice.

It costs the team members $32 each time they shoot. That is generally paid through the club’s funds, but only for once a week. If they choose to shoot more than the usual practice day, “That’s on you,” to pay for shells and clay pigeons.

Knifong urged the team members to come up with as many ways to raise money as they could.

“It takes all of us to do these things, guys. I can’t do it all; I’m not going to do it all,” he said.

Safety first

Knifong and the other coaches routinely cautioned the team members in safe handling of their shotguns. They said a shooter can keep a finger near the trigger guard of a pump-action and hinge/break action shotguns, but not so with automatic weapons.

“If you’re shooting an automatic, I don’t want your finger anywhere near the trigger,” Knifong said.

Shooters also are urged to keep aware of what’s going on on the firing line. If someone hollers to cease fire, keep the weapon pointed down range and unload it.

“There’s no accidents in trap shooting, and it’s my job to make sure it stays that way,” Knifong said. “They’re guns. We expect them to operate right, but they’re still guns.”

He encourages the shooters to enjoy their target practice, but to remain safe.

“We can’t afford an accident,” he said.