Dave Berlet is about to take his place among the greatesttrapshooters in history. Berlet, 69, of New Knoxville will beinducted into the national Amateur Trapshooting Association Hall ofFame on Tuesday in Red Bud, Ill.
Berlet is in Sparta, Ill., attending his 67th Grand American. Hisfirst taste of the tournament came in 1944 when his parents took himto the former ATA homegrounds in Vandalia as a 2-year-old. He hasattended each year since.
'As the event time comes closer I am getting more excited aboutit, and as I think about it, it is really quite amazing,' Berletsaid. 'When I first started shooting ATA targets in 1957, I neverdreamed that it would come to this.'
Part of the thrill for Berlet is that his longtime friend andHall of Fame shooter Brad Dysinger will introduce him at theceremonies.
'That means a lot to me,' Berlet said. 'He is coming out herejust to introduce me.'
Berlet has been shooting at the Grand, which has been held inSparta, Ill., since 2006, for 54 years. He has won at least onetrophy at most of the individual Grands. In fact, he has won Grandor Ohio State trophies for seven decades.
'I am very thankful for the good health that I have had to beable to compete over all these years,' he said. 'I have been veryfortunate to have been in the right places at the right times, andmost of all I am very lucky to have made and enjoyed so many greatfriendships while competing in this great sport.'
As with most of the greats in the sport of Trapshooting, Berlet'sinduction isn't based on any single achievement but has taken in alifetime of trapshooting excellence. Through the 2010 shooting year,Berlet had shot at more than half a million targets in ATAcompetition (517,250). His lifetime average in singles is .9820.
He has been on nine ATA All-America teams and has been on 28 All-Ohio teams. He was inducted into the Ohio State TrapshootingAssociation Hall of Fame in 1995.
Perhaps his greatest single championship came in 2000, when hewon the Grand American Clay Target (singles) championship. Way backin 1961 -- 50 years ago -- Berlet finished as runner-up in the GrandAmerican Handicap.
Until his Hall of Fame induction, Berlet was perhaps best knownin trapshooting circles for two events that did not take place atthe Grand or the Ohio State shoots.
In 1988 he hooked up with Hall of Famer Larry Bumsted of Iowa ina Central Zone shootoff at Jaqua's in Findlay after both had broken200 singles targets. When the last target was broken, the two hadset a shootoff record of 725 targets. Bumsted finally won by asingle target.
Long before that -- on Sept. 5, 1971 -- he made the Guinness Bookof World Records by breaking 1,572 clay targets (out of 1,659) in anhour of shooting at the old Camp Troy Gun Club. He used five guns,and there were five people loading guns for him. The event drew 500spectators with ticket proceeds going to charity. The record hassince been broken, but nobody has come close to Berlet's percentageof .9475.
Berlet's portrait and a story about his accomplishments will beon display at the national ATA Hall of Fame at 601 W. National Road,Vandalia. It is open to the public, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to3 p.m.
'To be included in the National Trapshooting Hall of Fame withthe great shooters of the past is the greatest honor that I couldever have hoped for,' he said. 'I really can't put into words howgreat I feel about this honor.'
Outdoors columnist Jim Morris can be reached through his websiteat www.examiner.com/ outdoor-recreation-in-dayton/ jim-morris or byemail at sport s@DaytonDailyNews.com.
