Haines perfect at state high school trap shoot

CEDAR FALLS - With mechanical precision, Bryce Haines broke 50 straight clay birds to claim the boys' individual title Saturday at the 26th annual High School Trap Shoot sponsored by the Cedar Falls Gun Club.

Asked if he felt mounting pressure toward the end of his perfect day, the Iowa City West High School junior said he just tries to take each bird as it comes.

"I just want to do well and have fun," Haines, 17, of North Liberty, said.

Shooters have to concentrate for just 2 seconds per shot, but it's hard to keep that up indefinitely, said one of Haines' shooting coaches, Phil Bourjaily, a nationally known outdoor writer and shotgun expert.

That was apparent Saturday as 16 shooters broke at least 47 of 50 birds but only Haines broke all 50.

Between shots, Haines follows the same ritual, looking down at the open breach of his shotgun until it's time to reload and shoot. "I just try to zone out," he said.

Dave Giese, who coaches the team with Bouarjaily and Larry Weber, said trap shooting is 99 percent mental.

"Bryce is able to focus on the target, take the shot, quickly analyze it and let it go," Giese said.

In the boys' individual competition, two shooters scored 49s, two scored 48s and 11 scored 47s. Dylan Dunn of Montezuma defeated James Bultman of Ankeny in a shootout for second place. In a shootout for fourth place, Nick Arthur of Lynnville Sully outscored Skyler Rath of Solon. B.J. Bunting of Ankeny prevailed in the 11-way shootout for sixth place.

Kelsey Hugg, a member of the Tri-State Gun Club in Montrose, took top individual girls' honors with a 46. Carly Berutti, a 15-year-old freshman at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, shot her best round ever, a 45, to finish second.

Vanessa Shearer of the Tri-State club and Brynna Steele of Montezuma each shot 42s, but Shearer previaled in the shootoff. Lexy Aukes of AGWSR placed fifth with a 41, and in a shootoff for sixth place, East Buchanan sophomore Kristin Kinney outdueled Amber Simmerman of Waterloo West. The two had shot 39s in the initial competition.

Although an Ankeny High School group won the team competition, breaking 230 of 250 birds, several Eastern Iowa teams placed high in the final standings.

A Xavier High School team finished second with a score of 223, while a Vinton-Shellsburg team placed fourth with a score of 217 and a Montezuma team placed sixth with a score of 215.

Bourjaily of Iowa City, who writes a shotgun column for Field and Stream magazine and hosts a shooting show on The Outdoor Channel, said he tries to teach the shooters to trust their hands, eyes and subconscious mind.

"It seems like a magic trick to them when it all comes together and they start breaking targets," he said.