Pigeons & Pins

by Ed Moreth

A group of people spent their Saturday knocking down both pigeons and pins and their only regret was not getting them all.

They were clay pigeons and bowling pins and it was all part of the annual Plains Trap Club "Bowl 'n' Blast competition. In teams of four, 48 men and six women started out the early chilly morning at the trap club shooting at the disk targets. Each person went to the shooting line 20 times, 10 as a caller and 10 as backup, said Cookie Kunzer, who coordinated the near six-hour event with Ty Colombo at the trap club and at the VFW's bowling alley.

"They had a great time; we always have a good time doing this event," said Kunzer. When all was done, it was a Kalispell team comprised of Fred Roetz, Andy Kelly, Ciaron O'Neil, and Cory Izett that claimed top honors with a score of 53 points. They finished the morning part of the competition in first with seven points and in the bowling alley with an additional 46 points.

Kunzer said the idea was to score as low as possible. At the trap club, shooters went to the line in pairs. If the caller hit the target, the team received a zero. If he or she missed, but the backup shooter hit the bird, they received one point. If both missed, they got two points. It was the same principle on the bowling lanes. A strike got the team a zero, a spare one point, and an open frame two points. Unlike at the range, bowlers were presented with some unique handicaps. On one frame, they had to bowl with the opposite hand and on another they had to use two hands.

Competitor Jase Miller said that everyone he saw throw the ball with two hands sent it right into the gutter. The two people who got strikes using both hands received a free drink token, compliments of the VFW. Randy Firestone dropped all 10 pins with the two-handed approach, but it was considered a spare because his wife, Shauna, guttered the first shot. Kunzer also gave out free drink tokens to three who got strikes using the opposite hand.

Second place for the day went to the team from Polson, which included Howdy Vassar, his son, Chris Vassar, Dale Kinyon, and Plains resident Scott Knudson. The team chocked up 63 points for the day. They accumulated eight points at the range, said Kunzer.

Third place went to a Plains team – Jase Miller, Dave Petteys, Rick Cavill, and Jon Airhart – with 70 points. The first three placing teams received cash prizes for their winnings.

This is the eighth year for the Bowl 'n' Blast. Most of the competitors came from the Plains area, but Kunzer said they also had competitors from Kalispell, Missoula, Polson, Paradise, and Thompson Falls. The cost to enter was $30 a person and they had a dozen teams this year, slightly less than last year. Kunzer said the maximum number of teams they can take is 16. This year they had only one team that was all women: Andra Firestone, Chelsea Colombo, Tiffany O'Neil, and Marsada Sweet. The ladies finished with a score of 102.

Special recognition also went to the last place team, which was comprised of Shawn Bright, Coltyn Bache, Jim Watts, and Darin King. Kunzer said they finished with a score of 116 points and cheered when they received the news of placing last.

"This is a good event that they can get the winter blues out of the way," said Kunzer. "The bowling works well because everybody is together in the bowling alley having fun and there's a lot of camaraderie. And the VFW has always been a good sponsor of all our events," she added. Kunzer also noted that Joe and Karen Eisenbrandt supplied all the food for the day.

The Plains Trap Club will also sponsor a Hack 'n' Blast competition on May 19, when the competition takes participants from the trap club to the golf course. The club will also host a turkey shoot on March 24. For information about the Plains Trap Club and its events, call Cookie Kunzer at 826-5589.