Friends and family gathered at the Salisbury Gun Club recently in honor of Rick Fears, a member of the Salisbury Gun Club since 1965. The celebration kicked off with a 50-bird, 28-gauge shoot won by Don Handy. The shoot was named “The Rick Fears 28-Gauge Classic” because over Rick’s long skeet shooting career, he fell in love with the little 28 gauge and shot it in the 12, 20 and 28-gauge events. Following the shoot, participants gathered with Rick and his family, plus a host of both old and new friends to enjoy lunch and fellowship.
After lunch, the crowd was treated to a good-natured roast of Rick and a brief summary of Rick’s long skeet shooting career. Rick earned places on 18 All-American Teams from 1985 through 2009 and 36 Maryland State Teams. He was inducted into the Maryland Skeet Hall of Fame in 1998. He has recorded 136 100-straights in registered competition, including 10 in the .410 bore. During Rick’s long career, he has registered more than 255,000 targets, shooting in events in 37 states. He has been a perennial club champion at Salisbury Gun Club, maintaining an event average of 98.3.
– Contributed by Norman Bunting