Inaugural Al Lundgren Memorial Shoot two-day event starts Saturday and finishes on Sunday
Al Lundgren didn’t just have the quick hand and eagle eye for trapshooting.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- Blaine Dukart
Al Lundgren didn’t just have the quick hand and eagle eye for trapshooting.
He made an impression on the state of North Dakota that will last a lifetime.
“It’s a big honor, because I was with my grandfather when I was little,” said Kris Hastings, a grandchild of Al Lundgren. “It’s generations of us.”
After Lundgren’s passing in April, the Dickinson Trap Club felt it necessary to remember Al and his wife of 65 years, Estelle, by starting the inaugural Al Lundgren Memorial Shoot.
“It’s going to be pretty instrumental in keeping the club going,” Dickinson Trap Club president Blaine Dukart said. “There will always be the Al Lundgren Memorial Shoot every year. It’s a little incentive to keep the other shooters from the other clubs to come to Dickinson.
“Mostly everybody in the state that shoots trap knew Al.”
The two-day event starts Saturday and ends Sunday at the Dickinson Trap Club. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the shootout starts at 10 a.m. The shoot this weekend is a registered American Trapshooting Association shoot and is open to public, if they join the ATA.
“To join the ATA is a minimal $20 fee and you are a member for a year,” Dukart said.
Al was instrumental in rebuilding the Dickinson Trap Club from scratch 11 years ago to become the group it is today. Estelle can remember the first words Al said to her, “Are you ready to work?”
Working they did. They overhauled the entire shooting range from a place with next to nothing that now has state-of-the-art equipment.
“He was key to bringing automated traps in,” Dukart said. “He found a couple donors to help out with the first one and then we went to a second and a third. Now we put in a brand new Pat Trap.”
The Lundgrens more or less lived at the range, so not only was shooting a big part of Al’s life, but for Estelle as well. Al shot more than 250,000 casing throughout his lifetime and Estelle said it was wonderful to see every shot.
“That was my life as much as his,” Estelle said. “I really enjoyed it.”
Before the Lundgrens moved to Dickinson, Al started and kept the Mohall Trap Club running for 25 years. He also belonged to the Minot and Mesquite (Nev.) gun clubs.
“We practically built the club in Mohall,” Estelle said with laugh. “He said, ‘You might as well cook. I’m going to shoot.’”
A majority of Al’s time was spent shooting, while Estelle baked pies and food for the shooters. Though, as the years went on, Estelle started taking to the range more and more.
“We always had good meals, I always said that,” Estelle said.
The number of squads expected to make their way to Dickinson this weekend is five to seven. There are five people per squad, so roughly 25 to 35 people. They are from Dickinson, Montana, Williston, Minot, Bismarck and possibly Jamestown.
“We were looking at people from North Dakota, but possibly out-of-staters,” said Hastings, who lives in Belfield. “We are hoping the quality of Dickinson shooters bring other people in.”
Al’s biggest honor was passing down his knowledge to his children and grandchildren.
“It was just wonderful seeing him get the grandkids going,” Estelle said with tears in her eyes. “I was really glad for that.”
Tags: trap shooting, al lundgren, dickinson trap club, mohall trap club, outdoors
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