Trapshooting gaining steam with Dubuque Wahlert girls

DUBUQUE - Pull!

We're not talking about pulling mascara out of a makeup bag. We're talking about trapshooting, a relatively new sport at Dubuque Wahlert but its popularity is growing rapidly, especially among girls.

Freshman Kylie Schueller loves the atmosphere trapshooting has to offer.

'Trapshooting is a great way to meet new people,” Schueller said. 'Some of the people have different interests than me, but it's a cool way to try something new. Being a cheerleader and being in trapshooting are total opposites, and I like that I'm a part of two things that are so different.”

Schueller can't believe qualifying for state is very possible.

'I'm really excited to make it to state trapshooting,” she said. 'All you need to do is to shoot at two home meets and two away meets, and you're qualified.”

Trapshooting is all about trying new things.

'My family has never been the hunting or shooting type,” Schueller said. 'So I wanted to do something that no one else in my family has.”

Being involved in trapshooting also is giving these girls street cred with the males in their lives.

'My dad thinks I'm really cool now,” said senior Kate Hanley.

Although dads often feel obligated to attend events, brothers aren't as easy to convince. Freshman Macy Vance has noticed her older brother, Greg, has suddenly become more interested in her extracurricular activities.

'My brother never really comes to me and my sisters' sporting or cheerleading events, but he actually shows up and gets excited about trapshooting,” Vance said.

Although their families are supportive, it's not uncommon for girls to encounter sexist comments from those who don't expect them to be able to shoot.

'A lot of people ask me what sports I do, and when I include trapshooting, they say ‘oh really' and proceed to ask what gun I use trying to get me to say something stupid or to answer ‘I don't know,'” said senior Alexis Glaser. 'When I respond with a Browning over under .12 Belgium with a chrome-lined barrel, they normally stop again and say ‘dang' or ‘nice.' So, safe to say, they are surprised or caught off guard.”

Being underestimated is frustrating, but for these trapshooters, victory is sweeter when proving others wrong.

'This weekend I had a couple guys that I was shooting with for the day,” Glaser said. 'I didn't know them or anything. We were walking out, and they said, ‘show us how to shoot' and, of course, they used a tone like, yeah, like you're any good or know what you're doing attitude.

'We went out, and I shot better than them all. The remarks stopped after that.”

At the end of the day, success in trapshooting comes down to pulling the trigger, even if the fingernails on that hand are painted bright pink.