| It was 1968 when Nardi Gabriele, Al Iafrate, Nick Macaron and Ed Fidel organized the Raton Trap Club and
even today there are three or four of the original charter members still active in the club. Likewise, membership has grown and now includes members
from New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma. Most members are active in competition shooting; but others come to shoot, have fun and practice for
bird hunting season. The Raton Trap Club is operated as a recreational facility for the citizens of Colfax County and is located at the Raton
Municipal Airport. It's open to all interested shotgun shooters during normal hours, except during registered matches; then participants must be
members of the ATA (Amateur Trapshooting Association). Club hours year round are 1pm to 5pm on Sunday afternoons, weather permitting, and June through
the first weekend of October on Friday nights from 6:30pm to 9pm with two lighted trap fields for night shooting. The club has nine traps, three
automatic, and all have voice-activated releases. A full squad of shooters consists of five shooters per trap. The club sponsors 3 two-day and a
one-day registered shoot each year. Their next registered shoot is scheduled for August 9-10. The club is incorporated under the laws of the State of
New Mexico. Annual dues were established in 1968 at $10 per year and have remained so. Practice rounds are $2 per 25 targets for members and $3 per 25
targets for non-members. The Raton Trap Club welcomes everyone whether they participate in shooting or to simply watch. Safety rules and regulations
are posted and strictly enforced. Since its inception, the club has had an outstanding safety record with no serious injuries reported.
Howard Meserve, Arlene Lundahl, and Bob Stoller
Every five years, they host the State Championship Shoot; and this year it was held in Raton from June 25 through 29th. The club also hosts the
Southwest Zone shoot every four years. The Zone Shoot is a seven state affair with participants from Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas,
New Mexico and Colorado. The largest state shoots in New Mexico history have been held in Raton with as many as 281 shooters. Most shooters bring
their families so RV parks, local restaurants, motel, and Raton merchants all share the benefits.
Competition shooters participate in three disciplines. The first, singles matches, are shot from stations 16 yards behind the trap house using a
voice-activated release. The angles vary randomly so that the shooter never knows ahead of time the direction of flight. Each shooter fires five shots
from a position and rotates stations for a total of 25 shots. A match consists of 100 targets. The targets leave the trap house at a very high rate of
speed, so most targets are 30 or so yards away before the shooter can acquire the target and fire. Shooters are ranked into five classes: AA, A, B, C
and D. There are also classifications for sub-juniors under 16 years, and juniors 16-18, ladies, vets 65-70 years of age, and senior vets over 70. The
second discipline is handicap. Each shooter is handicapped and shoots from the 19 to the 27-yard line. The better the shooter, the farther away from
the trap house he is positioned. Handicap is supposed to even the competition by placing the better shooter farther away and giving them a more
difficult shot. The third discipline is Doubles shooting. These targets are shot from the 16-yard line. Two targets are thrown simultaneously, one to
the shooter’s left and one to his right. The shooter attempts to break both birds. A match consists of 50 pair or 100 targets.
The club is proud to have produced three state singles champions, one state handicap champion, and one doubles champion. Another shooter has been
named all-around champion four different times; and past member, Nardi Gabriele, has taken the National Handicap Champion. The club has also claimed
two junior champions, 2 sub-junior champions, and one senior vet champion. A past member, Nardi Gabriele, was inducted into the State Hall of Fame in
1995 while Norris Newberry was inducted into the New Mexico Hall of Fame at this year’s state championship shoot. In addition, Raton Trap Club
members won 21 awards at the state shoot. Sub-junior, Matt Heck, won two awards; his brother and defending state junior champion, Garrett, won nine
trophies, Charles DiDomenico, two trophies, Scott Webster, one, Steve Fernandez, two, Bobby Keiner, two, J.D. McFall, two, and Bob Stroller, one. For
more information contact Howard Meserve at 505/ 375-2661, or J.D. McFall at 505/ 483-5567, or stop by to watch or participate and learn from some of
the best shooters in the state.
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Raton Trap Club
for info. call
Howard Meserve: 505/ 375-2661
or
J.D. McFall: 505/ 483-5567 |
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