Phil Frigon was inducted into the Kansas Trap Shooting Hall of Fame, following his father, Armond “Frenchy” Frigon’s induction in 1984. The youngest of four, Phil had spent his childhood on the road, trap shooting and selling guns alongside his parents.
It was a business that took up half of the school year,
“Basically, I was an only child. Most of the time I was with my Mom and Dad,” he said. When he was 10, the family started a new hobby: trap shooting. It was the early 60s; his closest sibling was a senior in high school, while the eldest two were away at college.
By the time he was 11, Phil landed a spot on the All-American team for the sub-junior age group. He remained on that team through age 13, when he graduated to the junior team from 15 to 17.
“We went to these trap shoots and brought tables to buy, sell, and trade guns for people,” he said. “When I got older and could drive we would go to different places during the weekend.”
The family traveled to Nevada, Colorado, and beyond to attend trap shooting events and sell firearms and equipment.
“We would go shoot and bring guns,” he said. “I kind of learned how to do it on the job.”
By Phil’s senior year at CCCHS, the administrators knew the drill, even if they didn’t like it. However, most times he only traveled weekends and landed home for the school week.
“I told the principal I was going to be gone for a week, and he said, ‘You can’t just leave’ but I said that I could and did just that.” Frigon was out of school for seven days, taking a friend with him to help. The pair returned from Reno with approximately $13,000 cash. (Almost $104,000 today.)
“That was how much I sold that week,” he said. “I did get a 9th hour the rest of the year for that. But I did my duty.”
Back home, Phil helped man the store – selling liquor when his Dad was in the back – then heading to trap practice on Wednesday evenings, held one mile west of Clay Center.
Each year, a national competition was held in Indiana, which included 10 days of trap shooting.
“I always competed as a sub-junior and junior, we did doubles where they’d throw two targets at a time; once I tied for the men’s best shot,” he said. “I ended up third because I missed one on the third round. It was my life.”
He also wrote a column for Trap & Field called Lock, Stock & Barrel where readers could write in with questions related to their guns. In a time before Google, many included “friendly arguments” concerning gun facts. In an August, 1986 issue, one writer asked about the age of Federal Ammunition. The letter writer said a case of shells would go to the winner, stating they believed the company to be founded during WWII. Ultimately, Frigon proved them wrong, explaining it was organized in 1922. However, Phil’s brother Ray said they made up many of the questions themselves.
The gig also required worldwide travel to order firearms. In 1983 after the U.S. and China opened trade channels, he went to a Chinese factory, ordering a container load of merchandise. The Frigons then sold their goods across the U.S. Next, he went to France where he obtained rifled shotgun barrels. These models contain internal grooves, which increase the accuracy during deer hunting, he said.
While attending K-State, Phil met his wife, Jean – a move he called “the best thing ever,” – and started a trap team at the school. Still working traveling shows on the weekends, he rounded up four others to compete.
“In 1974 we took this big Cadillac; the back was real low with the weight of the guns and shells,” he said. That year they took the national title, landing first at the American Trap Shooting competition.
By that point, Phil was married to Jean, and they soon started a family.
“I was gone a lot; it was getting more difficult to be gone and leave her home with four kids,” he said. In addition, after 100,000 registered targets, he was simply burned out on shooting.
Once the pair moved back to Clay Center in the late 70s, Phil got into real estate. He opened his own gun business, ClayCo Sports, with a business partner.
“His philosophy of business he learned from Dad,” Ray said. “And it’s served him well.”
Pictures: Top: Phil Frigon receiving a Golden West Grand award, an annual event by the Amateur Trapshooters Association. He was the Kansas All-Around Trapshooting Champion in 1974 with 388 out of 400. Above: In the ‘70s, Frenchy and Phil took their trap shooting awards to the armory for display.
Left: A 1979 Ford van the Frigons drove to different trap shoots. The center included hydraulic lifts to display their firearms. Phil (approx. 16) won a presentation-grade Model 870 shotgun at the world premiere of Remington Arms film, Trapshooting with the Remington Pros was held at the Nugget Convention Hall near Reno, NV in 1969. His Dad, A.R. “Frenchy,” accepted the gun on his behalf.
