09/18/2026
Deep thoughts with Dave:
Saw this on an ATA page yesterday and it really upset me. This guy wins something from a Satellite Grand and throws the trophy in the garbage because it is cheap and the ATA and clubs should start handing out cash for winnings. Most of the shooters that I know would LOVE to win something at any kind of big ATA shoot. At what point did so many shooters who started shooting to win, to shoot better scores, have fun, now become gamblers that want to be in it for the money? Hell, even Bill won an Omaha Steaks gift card at a state shoot and asked me how to put that on the fireplace mantle for display. Obviously, this guy hasn’t won a piece of plywood from a shoot yet if he thinks that cup is a cheap trophy. The money will get spent, the trophy will sit on display for as long as you want it to and will bring you memories of what you have done, what you have accomplished, and give a talking point for the future for people who are in awe for what you have. That is why we should be doing it. Shooting never started for us to be a way to make money, so why did so many turn it into that? If you want to say “Ammo Prices” you haven’t probably done enough, like I do, to find ways to save money on shells to make the sport more affordable. I call that “Playing Fleet Farm games to win Fleet Farm prizes”. I love it at my home club where a team of ten has a grudge match going every year just to win a $2.50 patch that says, “Team High Gun”. That is what it is about, it is about being the best to the people who care that you are the best. Just think of where you started, and where you are now.
Bill and I play options for cash; we shoot to win the trophy and to prove that we were the best that day…. And we shoot for all the girls…
