Snow and a light touch of freezing rain were no deterrents when it came to having fun on New Year’s Day, and fun is what 36 men, women and children had at the annual New Year’s turkey trap shoot.
Shooters came from north and south to test their skills in 28 events at the Williams Lake Sportsmen’s Association shotgun range.
Some were new to the sport while others had many years of shooting experience behind them. All of them had a chance to have fun, and maybe win a prize.
They were divided into three classes, with nine ranked as novices, 14 as intermediate and 15 as experts, with turkeys, bacon, pork chops and liquid refreshments as prizes.
Top shooters in the expert class with two wins a piece in individual events were Bill Chapman, Mathew Morgan, Randy Morgan, Gord Johnston, Adam Veley and Dave Rogal. Other expert winners with one win a piece were Jim Feeley, Sam Davis, Jeremy Schmid, Gary Martin and Reid Williston.
Brett Bradshaw led the intermediate class with two wins, while D. J. Elzinga, Jenna Brink, Lloyd Como and Jim O’Brien took home a prize apiece.
Brayden Feeley, Debbie Brettell and Bev Bradshaw were winners in the novice events.
Twenty-six shooters from all classes lined up for the first novelty event, known as an Annie Oakley shoot. Winners were Gary Martin, Adam Veley, Ernie Stuart and Ernie Schmid. The second Annie had two winners, Reid Williston and Gary Martin.
The second crowd-pleaser was a bushwhacker, with top guns Jim Feeley, George Ostoforoff and Dave Rogal.
Gary Martin and Jim O’Brien won the first buddy shoot with a perfect 10, and Lloyd Como and Dave Rogal also had a perfect 10 to win the second buddy shoot.
Gord Johnston and Brett Bradshaw teamed up to win the third buddy shoot in a shoot-off with Adam Veley and Roxanne Bambrick. Both teams scored nine in the first round.