A trap-shooting adventure

by Josh Leonard - Guest contributor

Hello Beretta Nation! My name is Josh Leonard, and I have been given the opportunity to write about Trapshooting for Beretta.

First a little bit about me. I am fourth generation shooter from a small town in southeast Indiana. I am in communication technology sales by trade, but my spare time is dedicated to my passions: my family, trapshooting, and motorsports. Some of my fondest memories growing up were at a local gun club with my father and grandfather, and each time I smell the burnt powder in a spent hull it takes me back to those moments. Here I am twenty-some years later shooting with some of those guys I remember from when I was shorter than a trap gun. I started shooting when I was around 14 with a field gun that I had gotten as a gift. I learned about the basics of the sport and shot as much as I could on a 14 year old boy’s budget. Then I turned 16, got my driver’s license, and my focus was directed to what seemed important as a teenager. Just over two years ago after my grandfather, who used to take me to the gun club, passed away I was going through some old things at my house and found a bag of hulls… oh there was that smell. Over ten years had gone by and it was still just a strong as it was when they came out of the gun. I told my now wife, “I am going to start trapshooting again” and she has been completely supportive since that statement. I went and picked up a Beretta 390, drug out my old single stage loader, bought some loading components, and here I am today. Well kind of. I still am shooting the 390, but I have upgraded a hydraulic loader to keep up with my shooting. I even got my dad to start shooting again, so it gives us something to enjoy together.

Over the course of my blog, there are several things I hope to cover. First of all, being only two years into registered shooting, I am a short yardage shooter (21.5 yds). However, I want to move closer to the back fence, so hopefully readers can follow me on my trek to get to the coveted 27 yard line. I am also in the process of shopping for a new Beretta. I am planning to pick up a 680 series gun that I can utilize to shoot all disciplines of American Trapshooting. I have yet to tackle doubles, and look forward to that challenge. So readers can follow me, as I adjust and adapt to a new gun while trying to improve my scores. (If I actually am able to learn anything worth passing along, I promise to share it) I hope to give some coverage to some of the shoots I attend such as State Shoots, The Cardinal Classic, The Grand American, and so on. I also want to touch on the state of the sport: not the political aspects, but rather the future. I think it is incredibly important to get the youth involved, and ATA’s AIM program is an excellent step in that direction, but I think we, as shooters, need to be activists for the insurance of the future of trapshooting. Finally, I hope to do some research into the mental and physical aspects of the game. Preparation and practice are two of the most important things to shooting. I am by far no expert on the mental part, and I am built like a typical trap shooter. So I have a lot to learn, but anything that I find helpful I intend to pass along.

I want to thank Beretta for this opportunity, and also want to thank all of the readers who follow each of my entries. If there is anything the readers want to hear about feel free to comment and I will do the best I can. Till next time…