Newsletter - Early Fall 2026
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.
https://www.salemtrapandskeet.org
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President’s Message
Dear Members,
Welcome to the Early Fall 2026 quarterly newsletter of the Salem Trap and Skeet Club.
As we wind down the summer and head into the end of the year, I’m proud of the accomplishments your board has made. I’m sure you have noticed and appreciated their tireless work and investment in upgrading our facilities. The comments from you, our members, have been nothing but positive. Although much work has been done, there is still more to do. Working with Dave and Vandy at Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School our Operators, you will continue to see improvements.
I want to say a big “Thank you” to those of you who attended our 3rd Annual Member Appreciation Day! This year’s turnout was our biggest yet! In attendance were both long-standing and new club members, which made the event special. As board members, we appreciated the opportunity to see and meet as many of you as we could. Special thanks to the student athletes and family members from the Clay Crushers who pitched in to help make the event a success.
Earlier this year, we sent out a survey to our membership. Thank you to all of you who provided feedback. In this edition of our newsletter, we’re sharing the results, suggestions, and constructive criticism we received. We will continue to use your input to prioritize and effect changes to the Club. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of the board members if you have a question or concern. We’re always willing to hear from the members.
Until then, “break ‘em all”
William Turner
William Turner at the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds in Atlanta, Georgia with World Champion and USA Skeet shooting legend Luke Deshotels (left) and his son, current USA Champion, Houston Deshotels.
2026 Member Appreciation Day Recap
What a fantastic day celebrating our members! We were thrilled to welcome 85 members, along with their families and friends, for a great day of fun, games, and shooting activities.
85 members attended, bringing along family and friends to share in the celebration.
47 rounds of snooker were played, adding plenty of friendly competition to the day.
Everyone had the opportunity to enjoy a round of sporting clays, skeet, or trap, along with a coupon for five Helice targets.
An exciting raffle featured an incredible selection of prizes, including a Beretta A300 shotgun, cases of ammunition, lessons, OnX memberships, custom gun carts, bags, swag, and more.
Krieghoff Pro-Shooter Tracy Wright shared a wonderful perspective on the positive experience our club provides for youth, highlighting the opportunities young people have to learn, participate, build confidence, and create lasting memories.
And, of course, we couldn't have asked for better conditions—the day was blessed with beautiful weather!
Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make the Member Appreciation Day such a great success. See you next year!
Membership Survey Results
2026 STSC Member Survey: You Spoke, We Listened
Thank you, STSC members! We received 120 responses to our 2026 member survey, and your feedback gave the Board a valuable look at what you enjoy about the club, where we can improve, and what you’d like to see in the future.
The good news? There is a lot to feel positive about. Members expressed strong satisfaction with our facilities and with how questions and concerns are addressed. Many of you also told us that STSC is a welcoming place to shoot, spend time with friends, compete, and introduce new shooters to the sport.
You also gave us plenty to work on. Facility improvements were the most consistent theme, with members highlighting sporting clay, trap and skeet facilities, the clubhouse, parking, roads and walkways, lighting, restrooms, 5-Stand, covered stations, carts, and equipment. The cost of targets and ammunition was another significant concern, as was the desire for more opportunities to shoot—including leagues, social events, clinics, evening shooting, and expanded access.
We also heard that communication can be better, and the Board is committed to making it easier to provide feedback and to understand how member input influences decisions.
So, what happens next? The Board will use the survey results as part of our planning process and will work with Mid-Valley to identify improvements and opportunities that provide meaningful benefits to our membership.
Read the full survey summary here to learn more about what we heard and what happens next.
Around The Club
Way to go Mike!
Congratulations to STSC Member Mike Precure (right) for his 3rd place finish at the 2026 ISSO Senior Open for International Trap. The event was held on September 11 and 12 at Hillsboro (OR) Trap and Skeet Club. While bunker shooting is Mike’s first choice of spending time with a shotgun, he’s also seen regularly on the Helice ring at the Club. Nice shooting Mike!
Interested in volunteering? Please fill our interest form! All skills welcome.
Clay Crusher News
The Mid-Valley Clay Crushers youth team killed it in the Oregon State Sporting Clays Championship in July!
1st - B class: Holden S.
3rd - Jr. class: Holden S.
1st - Sub jr.: Elizabeth F.
2nd - Sub jr.: Grace S.
Interested in having your business become a corporate member? Learn more and find our application form here.
Shooting tip
Sweet, Early, or Late?
by Michael Sullivan
I was on the Sporting Clays course recently, shooting with a couple members of the Clay Crusher team and their parents. This is always great fun but was particularly amusing when one of the youths opined, “Neither of those targets are difficult, but together they’re impossible!” I had to smile, because I have experienced that frustration many times. The target setter was throwing a true pair that required the shooter to either break the first target early, or break the second target late. If you broke the first target in its sweet spot, the second target was 45 yards away, curling, and dropping. Some people like that shot. Mmmmm. Maybe. However, if you broke the first target early, the second target was, not exactly a gimme, but a 30 yard quartering shot with a stable line. I believe most people would prefer that to the 45 yard curler.
We all like to shoot targets where they are sweet (good line, good, speed, good visibility, etc.), but sometimes, (the tournament “separator stations” come to mind) you have to plan on breaking a target early or late. Of the two, early is more forgiving than late. The target itself is consistent in speed, location, and trajectory versus a late presentation. Early targets deserve some of your practice time if you want an edge in any competition be it NSCA or ‘buddies bragging rights’. Find a fairly close, quartering away target to work with. Start breaking it sweet, then move the breakpoint closer. As the breakpoint gets closer and closer to the trap, you will hear the difference in the tempo. Hold that thought for a moment.
The “trick” to consistently breaking targets early, is not to move faster (that way leads to zeros), you want to move SHORTER. Yep, it’s not the speed of the move you want to work on, it’s the distance. If your muzzle moves 18” to the sweet breakpoint, it moves progressively less the earlier the breakpoint gets. Don’t go overboard by trying to spot shoot it (more zeros). You must have some muzzle movement to be consistent.
Now, back to the difference in tempo. Take some time to think about the chart shown below. Lift your arms like you are shooting a quartering target. Right now. Lift your arms like you are shooting a going away quartering target. Feel the difference in a shorter move. Imagine the changing sound of the tempo that accompanies the shorter move. Get comfortable with these ideas. Let your brain know that the shot is going to come together in a short period of time. Visualize this a few times while you are moving your arms a shorter and shorter distance and imagine the change in sounds. Don’t worry, unless you are on the patio at the Club, nobody can see you.
Now, next time you are on the course, give it a try. It does require some practice but not as much as you might think. You already have the skill, you are just making it shorter. Challenge your pals to building this skill (learning loves company.) See how SHORT a move you can make. Have fun.
Club Dog Corner
Every newsletter, we’ll feature dogs at the club and their doings!
PippIn
by Roy Elicker
It started last year in Linnton, North Dakota. After three hard days of pheasant hunting, Bonnie, our 70-pound Chocolate Lab, was done. She wouldn’t touch her dinner, a real red flag for a hard-charging 70 lb. Lab, and gave me the look that said "Dad, I’m hurting." She had badly bruised her shoulder and was soon sidelined for the season. The injury eventually required surgery for Infraspinatus Contracture, followed by two months of rehab.
I’ve almost always had a four-legged hunting companion, so with Bonnie’s future uncertain, I decided it might be time to look for a new family member. After 50 years of hunting with Labs—-and a couple of Spaniels along the way—-I decided to try something different: a Boykin Spaniel.
Finding one proved to be quite the adventure. Boykins originated in South Carolina, and puppies are pretty scarce out West. After two months of phone calls and help from an enthusiastic group of Boykin owners, I finally found a pup on Long Island who had been returned to his breeder due to illness in the new family.
The only catch? He was 3,000 miles away.
So I flew to New York in the middle of winter, met the breeder, grabbed a Nathan’s Hot Dog at Coney Island, and boarded a plane home with a puppy tucked under my Alaska Airlines seat. This tiny fur ball, who slept the entire 5-6 hour flight, has turned out to be the master of chaos in his new household. We named him after Pippin the Hobbit--the master of chaos in Lord of the Rings. He is getting ready to start his hunting career. I hope everyone gets to have as much fun at some point in their dog endeavors as I did in finding Pippin.
Pippin and his family: Bonnie the Lab, Sally the Shelter dog, Cowboy the Border Collie.
Want to feature your dog in the Club Dog Corner? Send a short introduction, story, and photos to Ara at aramina@gmail.com.
Have a fantastic autumn, and we hope to see you around the club!
