Hundreds and hundreds of shooters toed the line on Saturday during the State Clay Target Trap and Skeet Tournament at the Aberdeen Gun Club.

One of the shooters who stood out a bit from the rest was Chandler Helm of Aberdeen Christian.

The senior to be was noticeable because he was one of the few left-handed shooters in the competition.

Helm said it really doesn’t make a difference as far as shooting, but his teammates definitely let him know about it.

“Some of the guys get on me, because the shells are hitting them,” Helm said, “but that’s alright.”

Helm enjoys shooting clay targets because he gets to be with his friends, plus the sport offers a challenge.

“It is a challenge, but if you keep shooting and stay dedicated to practicing, you’ll get better,” Helm said. “That’s just how it is.”

Helm said his coaches have also played a role in the improvement of his shooting through the years.

“We have good coaches at Aberdeen Christian. They really make sure to focus on you if you’re having problems and help you out,” Helm said. “They know the problem, they fix it and you shoot better. If you work on your form and everything, you’ll be a better shooter.”

Still, there is always a challenge lurking now matter how well you shoot.

Helm said the most targets he has hit is 24 out of 25.

“I have not gotten a 25. It’s pretty good, but it’s not a 25. … That’s the goal,” Helm said. “Four years of high school shooting and I haven’t hit 25 in a row.”

SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES

Aiden Raap is no stranger to shooting things. During the spring, the upcoming Warner senior shoots at clay targets. During the winter, Raap shoots pucks into goals as a member of the Aberdeen Cougars.

“Shooting is like a hand-eye coordination skill, so you need that for hockey,” Raap said, “so it gets me in that mindset in a way.”

While Raap enjoys hockey because it helps her to let her aggression out, she also enjoys clay target shooting.

“I like to hunt deer and pheasants,” Raap said, “but mostly pheasants because its like a clay pigeon.”

Despite girls being in the minority at the shooting range, Raap fits right in with her Monarch teammates and said she is hoping to set an example for other female shooters.

“Girls doing trap in general, I feel like it convinces young girls to come out and try it,” Raap said.

STELLAR CLAY TARGET ACCURACY

Groton’s Ashton Holmes was spot on during his clay target competition on Saturday. The freshman nailed all 50 of his first targets to start the tournament, and then added 50 more later in the day for a perfect score of 100.

“It’s nothing different,” Holmes said of his perfect start, “it’s just that I’ve been putting in a lot of practice.”

Holmes said his goal for the tourney was “just to have a good time and hang out with some friends.”

Interestingly, Holmes said he tries to block out everything when it comes to shooting.

“You’re not supposed to think of anything on the line,” he said.

Holmes is part of a strong shooting delegation at Groton. He said he learned from his Tiger teammates.

“I took off little parts of how they shoot,” Holmes said, “mostly how they stand and their stance.”

Holmes is also a member of the Groton football team, but said that clay targets are his favorite, “because it’s something I’ve done a lot throughout my years.”

STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWD

It was easy to spot members of the Sisseton shooting team on Saturday.

The Redmen were decked out in Hawaiian style shirts with predominant Sisseton red and black colors.

“Well, we just decided to get them because we wanted to stand out,” said recent Sisseton graduate Hunter Hanson.

He said it was a group effort to decide to have the shirts made.

When asked about how they came to select the specific pattern, Hanson responded, “I don’t know. That’s the one we all kind of agreed on.”

Hanson said he enjoys shooting at moving targets and also noted that not all trap ranges are the same.

“Some trap houses are different,” Hanson said. “They like to shoot out faster.”

While this weekend marks his final organized competition for Sisseton, Hanson plans to continue shooting in the future.

“I’m planning on joining the trap team at Lake Area next year,” Hanson said.

Will he wear that same Sisseton Hawaiian shirt?

“Possibly,” Hanson said.

DOUBLE TARGET CHALLENGE

While most individuals were competing in the clay target portion of the tourney on Saturday, Trey Hutchinson and his Pierre teammates were busy participating in the skeet division.

During that competition, shooters take aim at targets from different angles and sometimes multiple targets at the same time.

“It’s definitely a lot quicker,” Hutchinson said of skeet compared to clay target. “You have to be more on point and get everything down.”

He said it can be a challenge to hit targets flying from different angles.

“You have to know how to work with the leads with the angles, definitely,” he said.

He said there is one angle that is more difficult for him than others

“I’m a right-handed shooter, so I think you get more towards the left side of the court, it’s a lot harder to hit that high house,” Hutchinson said.

The recent graduate said there is a big difference between shooting in front of a gallery at a state tournament as compared to virtual competition during the regular season.

“There’s definitely pressure,” Hutchinson said, “but I always for some reason shoot better when we come to Aberdeen, so it’s going good for me. … For skeet this is definitely my best day so far.”

Hutchinson, who plans on attending Western Dakota in Rapid City to go into criminal justice and law enforcement, was also a member of the state champion Pierre football team.

He was asked is there was difference between hitting people in football and hitting targets on the shooting range.

“There is definitely,” Hutchinson said, “they’re both very fun, though”