Originally called the WV Spring Championships, starting in 1996 the name was changed to the WV Hall of Fame shoot in 2006 , to honor the WV Hall of Fame members, and the WVATA added the WV AIM State Championships as a concurrent shoot in 2022 .<\/p>\n
\u00a0But first a little history as why there was ever a Spring Championship in the first place.<\/p>\n
It goes back to the WV State Shoot, properly run, it would be a revenue generator for the club, the bylaws were such that the WV State Shoot was to be rotated between WV clubs, at that time most clubs were pretty equal in size, if a club didn’t want or for whatever reason couldn’t commit to holding the shoot it would be offered to the next club in rotation.\u00a0 This is about the time I started shooting, my first WV State Shoot was at KERA\u00a0 in 1988.\u00a0 Brooke had it in 1989 and in 1990, KERA, the only other club operating that could hold it passed. Tom Weaver committed Brooke County for 1990 and the shoot was starting to grow and in 1991 Brooke asked for a ten year agreement in return they would upgrade their facilities and infrastructure, the board agreed to it. KERA eventually closed permanently when the Plant closed, now Brooke was the only place that could to hold it because of it’s size. The WV State Shoot at Brooke had been drawing large crowds, one year throwing over 230,000 targets in 4 days. Brooke ended up holding the shoot continuously for 29 years, from 1989 to 2018 when Brooke’s board declined to commit to the 2019 shoot and the WV State Shoot moved to Winchester.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 The idea came during Darrel Murray’s fifteen year term as WVATA President (1995-2010).\u00a0 The WV State Shoot is now too big for a facility of less than ten traps, the next largest club had six traps, another shoot was needed to fill the loss to the smaller clubs. The\u00a0 shoot was to be a medium sized two day championship shoot throwing 500 targets and drawing 50 to 60 or more shooters, to make sure the club made money the Association would pay for publishing and mailing of the Shoot Program, preform classification, squadding and cashiering of all entries at the tournament and furnish all reports to the ATA. Pay the cost of the targets, trap line labor, machine depreciation on a per target basis, the cost of the meal during the Saturday Singles Championship, set the traps, conduct the shoot offs and furnish the trophies. To be held one year at a northern club and the next year at a southern club, target prices were kept low as a give back to the shooters the Association looking just to a break even. The shoot was successful and rotated between Point Pleasant and Moundsville clubs until Point couldn’t host the shoot in 2012, at the winter meeting Jason Kokosinski volunteered Brooke County facilities, where the WV State Shoot had been held since 1989, to save the day. Back to Moundsville in 2013, where it’s been until this year, Marshall County Hunting & Fishing Club stepping up in 2014 when no other club could host it and has held the shoot for the last 11 years and it wasn’t easy at least three of those years floods hit, the water coming up to the eves of the clubhouse a month before the shoot. Still the team at MCH&FC was ready for the shoot. One year having to remove three feet of slit that was deposited by the receding water. Last year, 2 weeks before the scheduled shoot, it flood again this time the electrical feed to the traps where affected and it was moved to September. Some of the MCH&FC volunteers:\u00a0 Jimmy & Mary Gump, Dan Morris, Rob Ingram, Buck Mattone, Jim French, Mike & Kathy Snyder, Ron & Cindy Stollar, Zach “Rip” Pethtel, Russell Lillard, Rusty & Zane McHenry, Kenny & Betsy Tagg, Ralph & Dee Corley, Chris & Denise Scamehorn, Shawn & Charity Carroll, Monroe County Trap Team & Parents, and especially the people who put it all together Larry & Kenney Lilley and Bill King. If I missed anyone, thank you too!<\/p>\n
In 2024 it flood twice.<\/p>\n
This year Leetown Gun Club under new a board expressed interest in holding the shoot giving MCH&FC a welcomed rest. Leetown sports 6 traps and is in the process of installing a seventh. With three banks the WVATA put back the original program of 200 singles and 100 handicap on Saturday and 100 Doubles and 100 Handicap on Sunday. The Association expecting a larger crowd has increased the classes and trophies for Singles and Doubles to five and the handicap yardage groups to four, same as the WV State Shoot. Categories include: Sub Jr, Jr, Lady I, Lady ll, Sub Vet, Vet, and Sr. Vet for the three championship events. The WV AIM State Shoot will run concurrent with the first hundred on Saturday’s Singles counting for the AIM Singles Championship and the Preliminary Handicap for the WV AIM Handicap Championship. Sunday’s Doubles for the WV AIM Handicap Championship. Metals for AIM in state and out of state winners. Programs will be mailed in June and available online here after they’re published. A free lunch on Saturday for shooters come on out and shoot.<\/p>\n\n\n
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