By John Rossiter

Marietta, GA. —  As the 2026 trapshooting year ends today, August 31, I sit here reflecting not just as a reporter of scores and titles, but as one of you—a Georgia trapshooter who has stood on the same lines and shared the same mix of triumph and heartbreak this past season brought. I only started shooting in 2019, a late comer who picked up the game in my mid-40s. Many of you have been on the line your whole lives. Yet the family and camaraderie feel exactly the same. We welcome new friends with open arms, feel the excitement of seeing old friends again, build lifelong relationships, and treat one another like family. Living in Georgia is a true gift for all of us. While shooters in colder states pack away their guns for months, we get to pull targets year-round under our mild southern skies. That continuous opportunity shapes everything we do, and it showed in the depth of talent and camaraderie we saw from September 2025 through today.

I watched with pride as three of our own—friends I’ve competed alongside—earned spots on the 2026 ATA All-American Teams. Rory Lee took Junior First Team, Ethan Ledford Junior Gold Second Team, and John N. Davis Veteran Second Team. Shortly after, I was there when Ethan, still only 21, became the youngest shooter ever inducted into the Georgia Trapshooting Hall of Fame. Later he added the rare AAA27AAA classification. Watching a young friend like Ethan reach those heights reminds me why we keep coming back to the line.

The 103rd Georgia State Trapshoot at South River in April was one of those weekends that stay with you. I saw Ethan Ledford sweep the resident doubles and handicap titles and claim both High All Around and High Over All. Andrew Cortner and young Codey Storey pushed each other to 199s in singles before Andrew won the shoot-off. Friends like Dave Hollingsworth and Chet Hendrickson marked huge career milestones—75,000 and 80,000 singles targets—while we learned Bob Boswell would be our next Hall of Fame inductee. Moments like those make the long drives and early mornings worthwhile.

Our Georgia contingent traveled well. At the Alabama State Championships, hosted for the first time at South River Gun Club due to the closing of Dixie Trap and Gun in Mathews, AL, I cheered as John Davis broke a perfect 200 and Jase Lee Royal took the out-of-state handicap and High All Around. At Tennessee and North Carolina, friends including Mike Schildgen, Joe Oleary, Shirley Duong, Justin Royal and others brought home category titles. Joe continued his strong run at the U.S. Open with multiple trophies and to me it felt like a shared Georgia victory. I wasn’t able to attend the Southern Zone myself, but I was genuinely excited to learn of the strong showings—especially Boris Gorinshteyn’s Handicap Championship win in a dramatic shoot-off, along with titles by John Davis, Shirley Duong and others.

At the Grand American in Sparta, despite the heat, rain and wind, our group of 21 classified shooters represented the state with pride. Oleary collected multiple doubles titles, Mike Reed posted a perfect 200 in class singles, Rory Lee added junior hardware, and I was even able to earn a Grand American 100x100 pin in class singles (which was very exciting for me). These fellow shooters are the friends and competitors who make the long trip out to Sparta feel like a shared adventure.

This shooting year also brought hard losses that hit close to home. In late 2025 we lost Andy Ledford, Ethan’s father. Andy was a friend to all of us—a dedicated coach, a devoted dad, and a talented photographer who generously allowed me to use his pictures on this website. His quiet support and kindness left a mark on so many in our community. The sudden passing of Russ Wright in June was another heavy blow. I knew Russ well—his steady presence as the GATA president, his quiet faith, and the way he always had a kind word on and off the line. While I did not personally know Joe Doris or Lexie Salvanaro, I knew of them and of the respect they earned among fellow shooters. Their absence, like Andy’s and Russ’s, will be felt whenever we gather.

Looking ahead, I’m already looking forward to the events that will keep us on the line into the new year. Big 50s at clubs across the state, the Georgia Hall of Fame Shoot on September 12 where we’ll celebrate Bob Boswell’s induction, the Griffin Gun Club Singles Marathon on September 19, and the John Hiter Memorial at Cherokee Gun Club on September 26 with its 100 singles and 100 handicap targets.

We’ve been lucky this past year—lucky to shoot year-round, lucky to share the line with such talented friends old and new, and lucky to belong to a community that welcomes latecomers like me the same way it embraces lifelong shooters. The relationships we build here last a lifetime. As one season ends and another begins, I know I’ll see many of you soon—new friends and old—ready to call “Pull!” once more. Until then, keep your stance steady and your focus sharp.