
.THE
HISTORY OF OUR CLUB.
The Port Angeles Gun Club was established in 1926,
possibly earlier (the exact date has not been established), but it is one
of the oldest trap clubs in the State of Washington.
The clearing of the 20 acres of land took place in
1927 and was performed solely by volunteers. They placed the trap houses early
on, so that they could shoot, and then continue with the work of clearing the
land. Around 1929, the club house was built, then later in the 1930s it
was expanded to its present size.
The P.A. team won the Seattle Post Intelligencer Singles
championship in 1926.
January 3, 1930, Port Angeles Evening News: Not only
is J.L. Coffey (PAGC member) shown to be the leading clay shooter in the
State of Washington with an average of .9704 (according to ATA
Headquarters in Vandalia, OH), Coffey is also champion handicap shooter
of the United States, Canada, and the Canal Zone.
In 1934, the PAGC hosted the Washington State Trap
Shoot over a 4 day period (July 19-22, 1934). There were 5 events, each
having a $13 entry fee. With the average wage in those days being around
$.50 an hour, you can understand why they called Trap Shooting a "rich
man's sport".
Many improvements have been made by our members over
the years. In 2004, the club purchased a heavy-duty tractor with a front
bucket for excavating, and forks for moving pallets of clay pigeons. No
more "man handling" the target deliveries from the semi to the club
house or from the club house to the trap machines. The club purchases
approximately 230,000 clays per year!
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