Merrill Bluejay Trap Team kicks off 2025 season

The Merrill Bluejay Trap Team kicked off their 2025 season on Tuesday evening, March 25, 2025, competing against the Tomahawk Claybusters. Trap is somewhat different from other sports in that, during their season, teams shoot and compete at their own shooting ranges and do not travel to competitors’ locations. Each team shoots on their home range according to their team’s shooting schedule, which may be affected by weather and conditions at their individual range, and then reports scores into a central hub. That means some area teams are not able to compete during the same week as their competitors and it can take a while for competing teams to both have their scores entered in order to determine the winner of a scheduled match. Such is the case with Tomahawk, so the Bluejay Trap Team won’t know how thir score compares to the Tomahawk team until their team shoots and scores.
For now, it appears the Merrill Varsity Trap Team started off strong. “We had two Varsity shooters with 25’s on the first night,” coaches reported.
For those not familiar with the sport, that’s a perfect score—meaning the shooter shot and hit all 25 of the clay targets [discs often referred to as “clay pigeons,” because historically the sport originated with using live pigeons being released from traps as a way for hunters to practice shooting in preparation for bird hunting] being launched into the air from a machine now referred to as a “trap house.” These days the devices used are typically automated machines capable of holding many clay targets, located some distance from the shooter, which launches the clay targets at varying angles and speeds away from the shooter. While still great practice for bird hunting, trap shooting is a fast-growing co-ed sport for all ages, and is even included at the Olympic level, and showcases marksmanship and gun safety.
[Note: Trap shooting is distinguished from skeet shooting because the targets are launched from a single “house” or machine, compared with skeet shooting where targets are launched from two “houses” with clay targets crossing in front of the shooter.] There are some other specifics relative to the sport, but this provides the basic concept.
Varsity shooters Mason Meyer and Prestin Dashek both set the bar high right out of the gate with their perfect scores. “What an awesome way to kick off the season!” a spokesperson for the Bluejay Trap coaches said.
The Merrill Bluejay Trap Team is a co-ed Merrill sport for students in grades 6-12. They shoot every Tuesday evening at the Lincoln Gun Club on Corning Rd. just west of Merrill, the team’s home shooting facility. Athletes of all ages and volunteer coaches mentor other athletes to help them develop their skills and confidence as they develop their accuracy and marksmanship in the sport.