Clay Target Nation

The official magazine of the National Skeet Shooting Association and the National Sporting Clays Association

Lopata Classic at Clinton-Irwin Rod and Gun Club

By

Clinton-Irwin Rod and Gun Club near Grove City, Penn., held their Lopata Classic on August 2-4. Jerry Lopata was a longtime past president, and he and his family have been major benefactors of this club for years.

Left to right – Joe Gans V, Joe Gans III, Jack Petrosky, John Welch, Sr.

Twenty-nine shooters participated in one or more events in this five-gun shoot. Chris Kline’s 393 made him HOA Champion. Bryson Fox (387) was HOA runner-up, and Jack Harshbarger was HOA third  after he winning a shoot-off of 383’s with Matt Bartosch.

Nineteen competitors shot doubles on Friday afternoon under overcast skies in humid conditions. Kline’s 96 made him outright gun champ; Bryson Fox and Don Steinert, respectively, were runner-up and third after shooting off their 94’s. Class firsts went to Rich Vensel (A), Evan Martin (B), Joe Gans 5 (C) and Joe Gans III (D).

Saturday was foggy in the morning and raining, heavy at times, most of the day. The rain did pause in time for shoot-offs, but then restarted and continued through much of the night. The 12-gauge event was first, and 26 shooters participated. Kline ran them and was Champion. There were three 99’s. After shoot-offs Jack Harshbarger was runner-up, Bryson Fox was third, and Matt Bartosch was AA1. Other class firsts included Tom Shields (A), Scott Hazlett (B), Paul Augustin (C), John Welch (D) (after a shoot-off of 93’s with Joe Gans 5), and Jack Petrosky €.

The 20-gauge was shot by 26 competitors on Saturday afternoon. Kline was gun champion, but not until he won a shoot-off of 99’s with Scott Hazlett, runner-up. Matt Bartosch was third after winning a shoot-off of 98’s with Evan Martin (A1). Other class firsts included Bryson Fox (AA), Paul Augustin (B), Brian Fox (C) and Robert Dezort (D).

Sunday morning dawned foggy, but soon turned mostly sunny and warm, for 28 shooters in the 28-gauge. Bryson Fox took the champion title with a 99; Adam Vollmer was runner-up and Brian Steinert third. Class firsts went to Bartosch (A), Mark Eckert (B), Joe Gans 5 (C) and Joe Gans III (D).

Twenty-eight participants shot the .410 on Sunday afternoon. Kline took the championship with a nice 97, while Vollmer’s 95 was good for runner-up; Bryson Fox was third. Class first places, respectively, went to Brian Steinert (A), Brian Fox (B), Scott Hazlett (C), and Jason Callahan (D).

Registration, score compilation and posting, and payouts were handled by Dee Leake, Casey Vensel and Wayne Haines. Referee duties were handled by Matt Ohler, Terry Leake, Greg Lopata, Dave Smerkar and Rich Vensel. Lenny Vensel, Rich Gaw, Dick Bunch and Bob Sharkey handled field duties including keeping watercoolers and traps filled.

A nice lunch was provided by the club on Saturday and Sunday (meatball sandwiches, ham BBQ, hotdogs, potato and macaroni salad and yummy zucchini bread). Thanks to Darlene Burns and Dee Leake for all their efforts preparing and serving the food.

Sub-Junior shooter Jack Petrosky from Ford City, PA, shot his first ever 25-straight in the 12-gauge event, shooting on the same squad as his grandfather, John Welch.

There was $3,200 in added prize money, including $200 donated by the club. Shoot sponsors included the Lopata family (Jerry, Greg and JJ); Herman Holdings, LLC; Dick Bunch; Jim McCormick; and Dave Smerkar.

– George Gleich

Jack Petrosky
20 GA – Chris Kline – CH, Scott Hazlett – RU
Bryson Fox – 28 GA CH and HOA RU
Casey Vensel and Wayne Haines
Chris Kline – HOA CH, DBLS CH, 12 GA CH, 20 GA CH, .410 CH

The ‘Gans Moblie’

Minnesota State Skeet Championships

By

The 2024 Minnesota State Skeet Championships (August 23-25) were hosted by the Metro Gun Club in Blaine, Minn. Great shooting conditions prevailed throughout the tournament. Tate Peterson of Ham Lake, Minn., is well known at Metro, having been an employee there for many seasons. He led a field of 40 shooters with HOA honors.

Tate Peterson – HOA CH

Tate Paterson also worked with Dan Kampa to register shooters and record scores using new NSSA online software. This automation provides access to the national NSSA database, eliminating many tasks in the registration process and avoiding the misspelling of competitor names and their associated information (classifications, concurrents, etc.). Mike Quigley did a great job handling the shoot-offs.

The Friday Doubles event drew 27 competitors. Jared Miller’s 99 won the Doubles championship for the second consecutive year, with Jarret Hayes taking the runner-up spot.

Good weather helped pave the way for Jarret Hayes on Saturday, who posted two lone 100-straights, claiming gun championships in both 12-Gauge and 20-Gauge events.  Bruce Pearson’s 99 earned the 12-gauge runner-up title, while third place went to Tate Peterson. Class winners in 12-gauge were Jake Boerboon, Jared Miller, Brodie Schaefer, Bart Ott, Zack Kurtti, and Chase Beckius in classes AA through E.

Brian Hendrickson took the 20-gauge runner-up title, with Justin Staebell coming in third. Matt Robinson won class AA, followed by Roger Plooster, Bob Rick, Bart Ott, and Chase Beckius in classes A through D.

Randy Vaske won Sunday’s 28-gauge event by posting an uncontested 100, his first-ever perfect score in the 28-gauge! Jared Miller’s 99 earned the runner-up spot following a shoot-off with Tate Peterson, who claimed third place. AA first went to Bob Rick. Mark VanderBloomer, Brian Hendrickson, Sam Radford, and Art Peterson won classes A through D.

Bob Rick posted the lone 99 in the .410-Bore event to win the gun championship outright. Tate Peterson posted a 97 to win the runner-up spot following a five-way shoot-off, Third place was won by Bruce Pearson. Class winners were Jarret Hayes (AA), Matt Robinson (A), Chad Herrmann (B), Mark Cameron (C), and Chase Beckius (D).

Tate Peterson’s 390 won the High Over All Championship over runner-up Jarret Hayes, who posted a 389. Bruce Pearson’s 388 won third place after a shoot-off with Chad Herrmann. High Over All class winners were Chad Hermann (A), Brodie Schaefer (B), Bart Ott (C), Dave Seidel (D), and Chase Beckius (E).

Jared Miller won the High All Around Championship with a 487. High All Around runner-up was Jared Miller (486), followed by Tate Peterson’s third place 484.

The MSSA thanks Mark Cameron and his staff at the Minneapolis Gun Club for hosting another excellent state championship.

– Ronald Chandler

Jarret Hayes – HOA RU
Randy Vaske – 28 GA CH
Bob Rick – .410 bore CH
Jared Miller – HAA CH

Illinois State Skeet Championship

By

The 98th Illinois State Skeet Championship was held at Peoria Skeet and Trap Club, August 23-25. Friday afternoon had 45 Doubles shooters enjoying a beautiful sunny day that actually felt more like early fall than August in central Illinois. There was not a lot of drama determining who would stand at the top of the podium, as Mike Glasby’s 99 took care of that. Several 97’s needed to shoot off to figure out the rest, with Jeff Moecher runner-up and Chris Phelps third. Class winners were Joe Vancura (AA), Robert Zeek (A), Artie Tessman (B), Daniel Davidenko (C), and Ken Hilleman (D).

Cody Topping CH, Alex Spiros RU, Greg Hufnagel 3RD

Saturday had more shooters arriving to do their best in the 12- and 20-gauge events. Nearly 70 shooters were able to enjoy the more typical Illinois August heat, with Alex Spiros showing everyone how to do it with his 12-gauge 100. Greg Hufnagel’s lone 99 had him standing one step down. The rest had to be fought for on the shoot-off field, with 11 shooters’ 98’s creating a logjam. Mike Glasby emerged as third, with the following class winners: John Wilson (AA), Jack Dean (A), James Dial (B), Hawken Clampet (C), Ken Hilleman (D), and Kyle Marten (E).

The 20-gauge ended in similar fashion. This time it was Cody Topping with the lone 100. Several 99’s were called to the shoot-off field to figure out the rest, with Jeff Moecher runner-up and Joe Vancura third. Class winners were Alex Spiros (AA), Greg Hufnagel (A), Todd Malcom (B), Ken Hilleman (C), and David Dill (D).

Saturday evening, shooters enjoyed a great meal catered by Bernardi’s Italian restaurants, while All-State Teams were recognized and awards were handed out.

All of the seasoned Illinois shooters have come to expect that Sunday means the wind must blow. The 28-gauge event continued the pattern from the previous day with only one shooter able to break them all. Mike Glasby’s lone 100 made him champion, with three 99’s shooting off for the rest of the podium; Cody Topping was runner-up and Jeff Moecher third. Class winners were Robert Zeek (AA), Kevin Price (A), Daniel Davidenko (B), Josh Nielson (C), and Hawken Clampet (D).

The .410 event stayed interesting with the gusty breeze making even harder work for most shooters. Jack Dean was unfazed by the conditions and calmly brought in the top score of 98 to win the championship. Alex Spiros had the only 97 for runner-up, and four shooters with 96’s had to shoot off for the rest. Mike Glasby was able to emerge as third. Class winners were Zak Knasko (AA), Chris Phelps (A), Tim Conrin (B), Ken Hilleman (C), and Christine Dill (D).

The HOA Championship was not automatically decided like all of the other championships were. Four shooters were tied with 390’s that needed to get things figured out. Cody Topping fought his way to the top of the podium, with Alex Spiros runner-up and Greg Hufnagel third. Class winners were Mike Glasby AA1, Jeff Moecher A1, Alan Wise B1, and Ken Hilleman C1.

– Greg Hufnagel

10th Annual Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

By

Generations Skeet Club near Patton in beautiful central Pennsylvania hosted their 10th annual Couples Skeet Shoot on September 1. Over the years, 14 to 38 couples have participated in this shoot; 17 couples participated on Labor Day weekend this year. The weather was beautiful, just a lovely late-summer day. There was a bit of wind, but without that it wouldn’t be Generations.

Left to right: Kevin and Cheryl Smith – RU, Paige McMullen and Brian Waldo – CH, Camden Sikmanski and Lynn Holtz – 3RD

Young and old shooters, some who had never tried to break a clay pigeon, enjoyed the day; some had never fired a shotgun before. Shotguns, shells, ear plugs, etc. were provided as needed. All four of Generations’ skeet fields were used. Squads of four or six shooters were formed, and each couple shot 50 birds, shoulder-to-shoulder. The atmosphere was informal, but safety was stressed. Pulling and scoring was handled by experienced referees, and qualified coaches were present to help as needed.

After the 50 birds were shot at, a rather liberal handicapping system was applied, and all 17 teams (four or five teams per each of the skeet fields) participated in a 3-4-5 doubles shoot-off. The eight winners (two from each field) then shot off again to decide the shoot winners. Plenty of “encouragement” was provided by the onlookers, especially when a few of the newer shooters hit both targets at station 4. The whooping and hollering could be heard throughout the valley. The girls found it very encouraging to hear everyone cheering for them every time they hit a target. The winners were: Paige McMullen and Brian Walwro, champs; Cheryl and Kevin Smith, runners-up; and Lynn Holtz and her 11-year old grandson Camden Simanski, third.

After the shooting was finished, all retired to the Youth Center (one of the nicest barns you will ever see) onsite for a great picnic dinner. The main entrée, grilled chicken, was provided by Ryan Holtz; it was exceptionally tender and delicious this year. There were also tasty hors d’oeuvres and ribs. Many of the shooters brought delicious salads and desserts. One of the desserts that was a big hit was “puppy chow.” Some folks had not heard of this delicacy before, but all who sampled it gave it a big thumbs-up. There was also some of Roy Holtz’s homemade wine.

Kudos to all of the Generations folks and visitors who helped make this year’s Couples Shoot a wonderful time! There are not many skeet shoots where half the participants are female. And speaking of female shooters, the newest Generations’ family member Vivielle Vescovi, infant daughter of Michael and Kierstyn Vescovi, also attended the shoot. She is a member of the fourth generation of the Holtz/Vescovi shooting family. Camden Simanski is also a fourth generation member at age 11. He and his grandmother, Lynn (Lollie), placed third in the Couples Shoot.

– George Gleich

Skeet

Sporting Clays

National Shooting
Complex

Museum &
Hall of Fame

About