everything was new, and everything was quite simple...or, at least it appeared that way until one was standing on the shooting station with his gun loaded, calling "Pull." Then it was quite evident that the trap, fifteen yards ahead, rocketing a clay pigeon out at 40 miles per hour, sure wasn't the simple hand trap that they had been used to.

There are no records of scores shot that first Saturday afternoon at Newstead; but, we can deduct from the various reports that every member was in attendance, and more than a little excited and enthusiastic. Three weeks later a second shoot was held and this, on the advice of Doctor Blanchard, would be the last one held until fall. Some of the members expressed a desire to shoot during the summer; but, on hearing of the experience the Belvidere Club had gone through two decades ago, agreed to curtail their enthusiasm until the fall.

At the first two outings they tried a bit of everything, mostly straightaways from a 15-yard rise, with a few doubles and some right to left crossing shots. At this very early stage in the life of trapshooting with clay targets (and it really was still only thirty years old), there was no such thing as an extreme crossing shot associated with it. Where the game was enjoyed, in its simplest form, crossing shots were anticipated simply as an additional challenge. The Newstead Club had held only two trapshoots, and already they had tried them.

With the late spring start in 1909, the full enthusiasm that grows with a new club's activity did not have the opportunity to become a factor. For that reason, the starting-up, planned for the fall did not actually materialize until January of 1910, when they Settled down to regular shoots at Newstead every third Saturday. As the winter progressed, the senior executive members of the club expressed some concern that members were not turning out for competitions in the numbers they expected, and that some new enthusiasts should be sought.

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