Newsletter - Summer 2025
Salem Trap & Skeet Club
Home of Mid-Valley Clays & Shooting School
The objective of the Club shall be to further the common good and general welfare of the community by providing well maintained facilities where individuals have the opportunity to learn about the safe use of firearms and to develop skills in the shotgun sports.
welcome to the new quarterly newsletter!
We are so excited to announce Salem Trap & Skeet Club’s new website: https://www.salemtrapandskeet.org
You can show your club pride with high-quality shirts, hoodies and jackets with our new logo! Take a look at all the options on GearUp.
President’s Message
Dear Members,
I’m honored to serve as your president and grateful to our previous president, Craig Rhea, for his many years of service to the board. The next few years will be a major turning point for STSC, and this board is working hard behind the scenes to ensure the long-term success of our club and improve the value of your membership.
We’ve started by rebranding our organization: designing a new logo, rebuilding our website, and launching this newsletter. We aim to increase our visibility and accessibility to our members and the community. The newsletter will be sent out quarterly, and members will now be notified of bylaws changes and annual meetings via email instead of snail mail. We truly need you, not just as dues-paying members, but as Northwest shooters who want to help preserve a space where we can all enjoy the shotgun sports. Visit our website to learn about the board members and reach out to us online or in person. Let us know how you want to participate. In turn, we’ll reach out to you as we launch new initiatives to improve our club and its facilities.
I want to give special thanks to board member, Ara Roselani, for spearheading our rebranding efforts, including the assembly of this newsletter. A great new look to match an exciting new era for STSC.
Break ‘em all,
William Turner
William Turner - 2025 STSC Board President
Save the Date!
2025 Member Appreciation Day
Saturday, September 27th
Raffles, discounted targets, lunch!
More info to follow.
Around The Club
In March, Board Member Ara Roselani oversaw creation of a completely new website and Club logo. The new website brings improved and streamlined communication capabilities, this Newsletter being a case in point. The logo has met with rave reviews and is available on clothing from GearUp, and vests from Barepelt. Stickers and patches will also be available.
Lately, the capital improvement activities have been focused on “behind the scenes” infrastructure repair and maintenance projects. The 50-year-old parts of the Clubhouse water system have been replaced along with roof, insulation, and electrical upgrades to the pumphouse; improvements were made to both the Men’s and Women’s restrooms; floors in danger of collapsing have been repaired in two of the Skeet houses; and the irrigation wiring was repaired in order to keep fields 3 and 4 green. A recalcitrant rooftop HVAC unit is the focus of the Facilities Committee this week.
Moving forward, we will be leveraging grant monies to augment the Club finances. As we work off decades of deferred maintenance, there are a number of visible projects this year to spruce up the look of the buildings and improve the shooting ranges. It is not lost on the current Board that the Club mission, in part, is to “….provide well maintained facilities…”. If you have any painting or carpentry skills - or want to get involved in any aspect of the Club, check out the volunteer link below.
Clover is a good pup.
STSC Committees & Volunteer Opportunities
The STSC Board identified a need to increase the amount of stuff that gets done (putting it mildly) while keeping in mind the Board has statutory obligations when it comes to making decisions for the 500 or so members of the Club. Beginning in 2024, a sub-committee structure was developed and continues to evolve. We are still tweaking responsibilities here and there, but the general structure is in place.
Operations – comprised of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Responsible for Operator relations, tenant contracts, and finance functions.
Stewardship – Chaired by Brad Carbaugh, includes both Board and non-Board Club Members. Responsible for executing on our documented land stewardship program including soil pH, drainage, and mowing.
Membership – Chaired by Jerry Richardson, includes both Board and non-Board Club members. Responsible for recruitment, communication, and events (e.g. Member Appreciation Day).
Planning and Vision – Chaired by William Turner, includes both Board and non-Board Club members. Responsible for medium and long range planning including project selection and prioritization.
Facilities – Chaired by Chuck McClaugherty, includes both Board and non-Board Club members. Responsible for maintaining buildings and Club structures.
If you have any interest at all in participating, either regularly or on a limited basis, do fill out the interest form linked below. Somewhere in this mix we are working to develop a Volunteer Coordinator role as well. Rather than solicit volunteer help one project at a time, we will develop and maintain a volunteer community that can be called on from time to time based on the skills (and preferences) of the individual volunteers.
Interested in volunteering? Please fill our interest form! All skills welcome.
Congratulations are in Order!
On June 20, the Mid-Valley Clay Crushers (youth team) took the 1st Place, High Above All Team trophy during the USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESS) Championships at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio Texas.
1st Place High Above All Team
Tristin S., Chase K., Caleb G., Brodee M., Elizabeth F., Wyatt F., Evie K., Grayson L., Brighton S., Grace S., Holden S., Trevor H., Nate H.
Intermediate Trap Ladies - 1st Elizabeth F., 3rd Grace S.
Senior Trap Men - 3rd Tristin S.
Intermediate Trap Doubles Ladies - 1st Grace S.
Senior Trap Doubles Men - 1st Trevor H., 3rd Caleb G.
Intermediate Skeet Ladies - 1st Elizabeth F.
Senior Skeet Men - 2nd Chase K.
Intermediate Skeet Doubles Ladies - 2nd Elizabeth F.
Intermediate Sporting Clays - 1st Grace S.
Intermediate Ladies Super Sporting - 2nd Grace S., 3rd Elizabeth F.
Senior Super Sporting Men - 2nd Brodee M.
We’re so proud of our youth!
Shooting Tip of the Quarter
Shooting Springing Teal Targets on the Drop
From Art Heitlauf
Recently, I was asked why I mainly shoot Springing Teal targets on the way down as "droppers" vs. shooting them at the top or on the way up. Now, I’m no expert, but I have been shooting Sporting Clays for 35 years with over 130,000 registered targets – and this is my take on the matter.
To me, the answer to the question is both simple and complicated. The simple answer is that I just plain like to shoot teal dropping better than on the way up or at the top and have had good success doing so. The complicated answer is that Sporting Clays shooters need to have a lot of different tools in their target-breaking tool-box because every target presentation is different! And being able to shoot droppers is a great tool to have.
Sometimes, if necessary, I’ll shoot teal on the way up and rarely at the top. But I firmly believe you need to be able to shoot them as droppers, particularly when you get a true-pair with a springing teal and a fast, going-away, trap-style target that starts out at 30 yards which you should probably shoot first unless you want to shoot it in the next county. If you can only shoot teal going up or at the top, you could be in deep kimchee, unless you’re an expert 27-yard trap shooter! With this presentation, however, shooting the teal as a dropper, gives you the time to shoot the trap target 1st (sooner and closer) and the dropper 2nd, and hopefully, break both targets.
Also, I’ll admit that it’s fun to see how low I can hit a dropper – but only for fun – because during a tournament, it’s both easier to break and to score a dropper when it's higher up than a foot off the ground.
Getting back to my tool-box, my preferred method for shooting droppers is Pull-Away where you insert the barrel on the target, match the speed and direction for a few moments, and then pull-your barrel-away downwards until it feels right to pull the trigger. Hopefully, after some practice, that will result in a lot of dead droppers for you too. If you need any help learning to shoot droppers, you might want to ask a Mid-Valley Clays & Shooting School instructor for a lesson. Although they may want to show you other ways to break springing teal targets, that’s okay – because everyone needs multiple tools in their tool-box for Sporting Clays, Super Sporting, FITASC and 5-Stand.
And like my Dad always told me – You can never have too many tools!
Art & Debbie Heitlauf
Club Dog Corner
Every newsletter, we’ll feature dogs at the club and their doings!
Summer 2025: Potter
If you’ve visited STSC/MVC, you’ve surely met Potter! Vandy shared some fun details about one of our favorite club dogs:
Potter's full name is “Colonel Sherman T., the Tank, Potter”, named after the character from the 1970's sitcom M*A*S*H. The name fits like a glove! “Colonel” because Potter is an alpha, he's in charge (so he thinks). “Sherman T.” being a play on words since he's built like a Sherman Tank, low to the ground and solid as a rock. And we call him Potter, unless he's in trouble, then he's Harry Potter!
Potter is showman and probably would have been well suited for the circus. He loves to grab a toy in his mouth and prance or dance around you with it. Most people assume he's bringing them his toy so they can play with him. Nope, not the case; he's just teasing. He will bring you a ball if you're throwing it for him, and he'll bring me a bird when we hunt, but not his toys!
Like some other English Cocker Spaniels I've met, Potter is very jocular. Almost daily, something ignites him and he's off to the races zooming here, there and everywhere. This usually finishes with the spins, not chasing his tail, actual spins. I don't know how he does it, I would be dizzy!
Also, if you need to adjust your lead, Potter can help! Take a tip from Mid-Valley Clay Crusher, Evie:
“You were about a Potter tail behind the target!”
“You need to be about one Potter in front of that one!”
Have a fantastic summer, and we hope to see you around the club!
