From Friday through Sunday this weekend, Bethel resident Straun Fotheringham, is in Hartford competing in the 3 day annual Connecticut State Trap Shooting Competition. This little known sport is actually an Olympic event, and as anybody who participates in Trap Shooting competitively will tell you, it comes with all the requirements equipment-wise as any other sport.

Fotheringham moved to the USA from South Africa in 2002 with his wife and 2 daughters on a 2 year work contract. This work contract was extended year after year and is now permanent. The family lived in Ridgefield for 4 years before permanently making Bethel their home.

As a young boy, Fotheringham used to shoot .22 rifles with his father in a quarry near his home in South Africa. This was the beginning of a fascination for guns. He used to read books and magazines about different guns as he was growing up.

Driving along Route 7 in Ridgefield, mid – 2009, he noticed the Wooster Mountain Shooting Range sign one day, with another sign stating “Open to public – trap shooting”.  He decided to stop in and make enquiries and ended up purchasing a shotgun and trying his hand at trap shooting.

When asked what factors go into the purchase of a shotgun, Fotheringham felt the main decision was the price, as shotgun prices can range from a few hundred dollars up to $30,000 to $40,000. The second main factor was the purpose of the gun – was it for just trap shooting, or also for sporting clays and skeet shooting?

This then raised the question of hunting. Are these the same shotguns hunters use? And the surprising answer was “no”.  Few trap shooters are also hunters and Fotheringham himself does not hunt. The shotguns are designed specifically for the sport of trap shooting.

It took less than a year of non-competitive shooting before Fotheringham decided to try his hand at competitions. He likes a challenge and decided to pit his skills against other shooters, from fellow beginners to seasoned shooters who had been competing for up to 20 years. He  quickly  found that he had a talent in this sport and that his scores were great for a “beginner”. He was nominated and voted in to become a member of the Pahquioque Rod and Gun Club, one of the oldest trap clubs in America. He went on to shoot in a number of Amateur Trap Association competitions in Connecticut and has earned two belt buckles for winning Class B in 2010 and then Class A in the 2010 / 2011 Winter League.

These shooters are very dedicated and shoot in all weather except lightning conditions. They wear Under Armor underwear, heated gloves and thermal boots, and will shoot throughout the winter. As the pictures show, they were shooting in a snow storm during this year’s Winter League. The clays are bright orange and the shooters wear glasses with interchangeable colored lenses for different weather conditions to make the clays more visible.

Fotheringham says the majority of people who shoot trap do so socially. The ones who compete range in age from early teens to 70+.   He enjoys that shooting is a family-oriented sport – men, women and children can all be found at the shooting range, shooting socially, and he has even seen a person in a wheelchair taking part. As for the competitions, there are categories for ladies, juniors, sub-juniors, veterans and senior veterans. There is also a round of “handicap” shooting in every competition where the shooters, like in golf, are handicapped according to their competency. This equalizes everyone, allowing anybody a chance to win. Fotheringham pointed out that at a recent competition, the handicap round was won by a sub-junior.

Like some of the more serious competitors, Fotheringham chooses to reload his own shells, as this ensures quality and consistency of each round.. This is an art form in itself and can take hours to prepare enough shells for a day of competition.

We wish Fotheringham well in this 3 day competition and feel proud to have him represent our town at the state level.