For western trap shooters who don't want to travel to Vandalia for every sanctioned event, PITA is the organization that keeps local and regional competition running.

This is the whole pitch right there. The Grand American is great if you want to road trip to Illinois, but most of us are trying to build a competitive record close to home — and you need the infrastructure to make those targets count for something.

Without it, you can still shoot at member clubs, but your targets won't count toward an official PITA average and you won't be eligible to compete in PITA championship events.

Worth being clear on this if you're new to registered shooting. Showing up and shooting a round is fine — nobody's checking your card for fun rounds — but the moment you care about classification and championships, you've got a membership decision to make. The cost is low enough it's not really a debate.

A thread on Trapshooters.com titled "R.I.P.: Pacific International Trapshooting Association (PITA)" captures some of the frustration among longtime members about organizational direction and the health of the regional club ecosystem.

The club closure problem is real and it's not unique to trap — I've watched it happen across several disciplines over the years. When the local club folds, the regional body loses its operational spine. A central board can sanction all the events it wants, but if there's nowhere to shoot them, the calendar shrinks fast.

How many of you are currently holding both PITA and ATA membership, and do you find the dual registration worth it or mostly redundant for how you actually compete?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By The Boise Gun Club Team