Team coach Rich Magel aims at a laser generated by the DryFire Target Simulator at Backus Community Center Wednesday. The simulator, purchased with donations by the trap club, will allow shooters to practice and perfect their skills indoors.
Tom Ridge, owner of the DryFire Target Simulator company, traveled to Borderland from Dallas, Texas, this week to educate the Falls Trap Team on the DryFire system.
Shotguns were fired in Backus Community Center Wednesday, but no bullets ever left the barrels.
The International Falls School Trap Team got a hands-on experience with a new indoor trap shooting simulator that will allow members to practice skills and techniques indoors.
“The school team is very excited to get this simulator,” said Eric Norstad, head coach of the team that has 40-50 members.
Tom Ridge, owner of the DryFire Target Simulator company, traveled to Borderland from Dallas, Texas, to educate the group on the system. The demonstration also drew two trap shooting coaches from southern Minnesota.
“You guys are some of the first to do it,” Ridge said of using the simulator that was developed 13 years ago. “I expect it to get more popular as more people like your club begin to use it.”
The device starts with a pattern of each shooter’s gun and transfers the information into software. When the shooters use the simulator with their own gun, the software tracks where they shoot and will adjust to their style. It tells them where their shot pattern was in relation to the target.
“It’s important that shooters know where their gun shoots and to adjust for that,” Norstad said.
Ridge said the simulator saves trap shooters money on ammunition and allows them unlimited practice time with their own shotgun during any season.
“When the snow is flying and it’s cold, you guys aren’t going to be out practicing in the cold,” Ridge told the group. “With this, you can practice in a 70-degree room with your own gun and that is key...If we gave you a gun to use with it, it’s worthless. You need to learn how to shoot your own gun.”
Ridge said trap shooting is difficult to learn because shooters don’t get feedback other sports get. With the simulator, however, the software shows shooters how much they missed a target and allows them to perfect their shot.
“This is a powerful training tool,” Ridge said. “This system will help you master the game of perfection.”
Meadow knapweed flower with bright pink petals. Meadow and brown knapweed have been found in Koochiching County.
December’s Weed of the Month is not one, but three species of knapweed: brown knapweed (Centaurea jacea), meadow knapweed (C. x moncktonii), and diffuse knapweed (C. diffusa).
All three species are native to Eurasia, and it’s thought they were introduced to western North America for forage. In Minnesota, infestations of meadow knapweed have been reported in St. Louis and Koochiching counties, brown knapweed has been reported in Koochiching County, and diffuse knapweed has been found in Duluth.
Several characteristics of these knapweed species have helped them thrive and become a threat to Minnesota. They outcompete pasture grasses and native plants, leading to large bare patches of soil that is more susceptible to erosion and water runoff. Once established, the knapweeds reduce hay quality and pasture productivity. The plants can also hybridize between species, which makes identification difficult and increases the risk for an aggressive plant that can invade many soil types and growing conditions.
Knapweeds can be biennial or perennial. They reproduce primarily by seed, which can be spread with infested hay, on equipment, or by wind and water movement. The flowers are tight clusters of individual flowers called florets. The flower color ranges from pink to white. The plants produce a rosette of leaves, which then sends up a flowering stalk in the summer.
To prevent the knapweeds from further spreading throughout Minnesota, several management strategies are available.
- Make sure to clean equipment, vehicles, and footwear after being in a knapweed infested area.
- A combination of hand-pulling and digging is an option for small infestations. Seedlings are tap-rooted and can be hand-pulled; however, the large taproots must be removed or the plant will regenerate from the root.
- Herbicides are a very effective management tool for meadow knapweed. For specific herbicide recommendations, contact your University of Minnesota Regional Extension Educator.
- Mowing does not control meadow knapweed and the mower may spread seed.
- All infestations must be monitored and treated until the seedbank is depleted.
To report infestations of these species of knapweeds or any other noxious weeds on the eradicate list, please use the Early Detection and Distribution MAPping System at www.eddmaps.org.
