What We All American's Shot for in the 70's

I was reading the HOF thread and thought I'd post this picture of what we shot for back in the day 7/4/78 at a Jagua's Calcutta. No Ribbons, No AA points, No categories, Just Money and Memories. By the way that's Leo in the middle. Brad

 

Those were the days!

 

I rarely shot good enough to play the money but Jaqua's was a good place to win.
I rarely missed the Lewis even with some lousy scores.

Regards.....Gerald

 

I've got to thinking about this and I think 78 might have been the first year that Bill Jaqua leased the club from the Fisher's so this was called Fisher/Jaqua's in 78. Fisher's never had a calcutta while I was shooting but Bill was a very active Trap Shooter and he brought the event to his club. In today's shooting world Bill's shoots would be bigger than 3/4th the satellite grands. Brad

 

Shooting for money was the lure for Trapshooting. There is no doubt the better shooters won more, but the "little guy" could win just enough to stay "hooked".

The days that the "Little Dog" could show up at a shoot like that with a 100 bucks in their pocket, and go home with a 120 bucks feeling like a "winner", are long gone.

We all have our opinions why this "happened" ..... mine is simple, when a "Calcutta" shoot uses "ATA handicap yardage" in their program, and that system is so "screwed-up", those who were happy with their "little victories", now may feel that is no longer possible and started staying home.

The "problems" with the "ATA" becomes the cancer of "Trapshooting", but some have problems connecting the "dots" ..... The "funny" thing to me is, all the "meat shoots" and "league shoots" I go to, that seem to be doing very well, use NOTHING "ATA" .....

Why some continue to use such a "broken system", then wonder why "Trapshooting" is in such a "decline", is well beyond me .....

 

Leo ..? where ..? I see them two good looking ladies, oh wait I see him now ... I used to play the money at certain shoots, the grand was one of them ... One year I broke a 97 in a handicap event, made the board and enough money to pay for my entire trip, figured I got away with something (lol) ... I was shooting a Model 12 that I bought only a few weeks before that, used my MX 8 Combo for a back up ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

WPT it's true about the Model 12, that what I was shooting when this photo was taken. We have really good small club meat shoots around my house now. Several Clubs, Cloverdale, Paulding, Lepsic, Continental, Williams Co and a couple dozen more and a lot of shooters have broken out or reacquired model 12's for fun. Most of these clubs let you shoot the program as many times as you like so many of the "good" shooters are shooting once with their "real" trap gun and then again with the model 12.

In fact I bought 3 model 12 trap guns in the last couple years but I've not shot enough to get used to how flat they shoot. I still enjoy them though and have started hunting with model 12's almost exclusively. They point great on birds. Brad

 

Then there was Tipp City, made me a bunch over there from 22 yards in a wind storm ... There was a guy Bob Tucker from Annandale, Virginia who prompted me to shoot after a practice round and in the wind, he and I split a considerable amount of money, but I can't recall exactly how much ... Those were the days, the shooters now days will never get the chance we had because times have changed ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

One of my best wins ever was at Jaqua's Flag City shoot.

It was windy as usual and I got very lucky, broke a lot of targets where I thought to my self "how in the hell did I ever hit that one?" I also liked the pulled pork that the guy running the kitchen made. His secret sauce was actually apple juice he added during the last part of the cooking process.

I stopped by Jaqua's this past summer while heading south from a week of fishing in Michigan's UP and it was sad to see the changes. There is an enormous warehouse now when you look out from the traps.

Not trinkets and trash trophies at Jaqua's. Their trophies were flats of Winchester AA's.

 

I loved the Night shoots during the Grand and Ohio State shoots, I brought Home a lot of money One night there were 2 50 straights and I Gary Bryant and Jerry Shockcor were the only only 50s it was over $5,000 , bought a lot of Loading Supplies at the Grand

GB........................................DLS

 

That's a "little" Leo.

 

When we lived in NY we used to travel to St. Thomas Ontario for their Shell Shoot.

Good God, we won 5 flats of shells the first year, and thought we were in heaven...

Those were great times, and the Canadians sure are a hospitable bunch !

 

I sold an old Model 12 trap gun with a solid rib to some guy in Ohio a while back. Dang thing was really neat.

 

No sure who the blond is but I am giving even odds the hot brunette's first name is Kam?

 

If I remember correctly the blondes first name is Val.

Dave Berlet

 

Cam and Val is right, the Old guy wins. Bd

 

Well crap! I shot at Jaqua's for many years but I never saw THAT option on the card. I'm guessing the fee for that option was out of my price range anyhow. Word is that Leo fellow was one heck of a diesel mechanic for the farm equipment. Someone mentioned that he could shoot a bit of trap too!

 

Leo didn't know what end of a screw driver to use, the only thing I ever saw him repair was his 1100. He was the apprentice parts manager for his Granddads farm dealership when this was taken. That picture was taken before it was Jaqua's. If you look close the T-shirt over Val's says Fisher Jaqua's. I would date this picture around 77 - 78. Brad

 

I wish I was shooting targets at Jaquas today...it was my favorite place to shoot.
Doug

 

Brad,
You've changed your punch line! I believe you told me that you stated "Leo wouldn't know where to put diesel into a tractor" when the big guy told a nosey bystander that he was a diesel mechanic at the family business. Someday you need to write a book with all the Leo and Brad stories. I remember the first time I saw the picture above and if memory serves, the husband of one of those gals wasn't too pleased about that photo!

 

Dbl Auto,
I always thought of Jaqua's as my "home" club. I have so many fond memories of not only shooting there but time spent with family and friends as well. Even though we only lived about a 1/2 hour away we would always take our camper to their shoots. It was just a fun place to be. Saturday's program was normally 200 singles, 100 cap and 50 pair of doubles. We would shoot them all then race down to the golf course to get 18 holes in before going out to dinner. Just memories now.

 

My last round at Jaquas I tied Willie A and Rick S with 96 on caps on Memorial Day 2014. Cam flipped coins and I came out on top. I wish I would have been around to see the glory days at Jaquas. I was just talking to a shooter about the early 90's at Jaquas. Did they call it Deckerville for Merle at that time? I checked his average on shootata. He was really hot in the early 90's In 1991 he had 99.19% on singles and 94.18 on caps. Merle and Willie were the top dogs when I first started shooting around 2000 here in our area. I didn't do ATA until later, but they would come to places like Carey or Mt Blanchard and dominate the 50 programs.
Doug

 

At the time frame of Fisher/Jaqua Gun Club I don't believe that any of the 3 in the picture were married.

Not to change the subject, but sitting here I just started thinking about how many 1 hour trips I have made to Findlay to shoot. Before interstate 75 it was a 2 hour trip. Also through the 60's and early 70's I made many trips to Findlay to play fastpitch softball. Brings back memories of either Wilsons or the Fern Cafe after the games. It just makes a person wonder where all the years have gone. Another great memory is of all the times that Sandy Dirk and I would meet Hugh and Lee Ellen Driggs at the gun club and us guys would shoot and Sandy and Lee Ellen would check out all the places that interested them.

Over the years I shot 161,000 and Dirk shot 114,000 registered targets at this club besides the shoot offs and the other programs. Just so many memories. Just a shame that the club had to close, but the great gun store is still there.

Dave Berlet

 

Jaqua Gun Club is where I first got to shoot around Earl Scripture, and then at the Grand. He became one of my heroes.

I first got to shoot around Brad and Leo at a chain shoot at the Orlando Gun Club in Florida.

Ron Burdick

 

Hey Brad, I still looking for my trailer hitch back, you used it in 1980 in Fl. to fishing with but I think you lost it when you cast in and got a gator, you got in your truck and left the boat trailer and hitch behind.

 

Targetbreaker. I think your approaching old age is making you forgetful, I'm sure you got your hitch back, are you sure your trailer didn't just fall off on your why home in 1980 taking the hitch with it? Brad

 

nope I seen gator with hitch in its tail and a mercury 10 hp in its mouth, boat ?? trailer?? I think that was it.
P/s I did not own a trailer then, now were both telling or age!