Clay Target Nation

Youth Skeet Camp In Crossville, Tennessee

June 24, 2017 By Sherry Kerr

Fairfield Glade Sportsman Club in Crossville, Tennessee, hosted an NSSA Youth Skeet Camp on June 5-6 at their Caryonah Hunting Lodge. Thirteen happy youth participated in the two-day camp, instructed by NSSA Level III Instructor Terry Hetrick, a member of the Pennsylvania Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame and holder of numerous national titles. Sheryl Webb assisted Hetrick.

“I was so impressed with the young shooters that I had the pleasure of working with,” said Hetrick. “It is such a pleasure and so very rewarding to know and experience the enthusiasm these young folks have.”

The camp was partially funded by an NSSA grant. Hetrick and Webb expressed to NSSA how grateful they were for this opportunity to offer more shooting instruction to the youth.

Ballentine Makes It Two in a Row at Cal State

June 11, 2017 By Sherry Kerr

In 2015 the California State Skeet Shooting Association made the decision to adjust the date of their State Championship to May, the weekend after Mother’s Day. With a three-club rotation that includes NorCal, SoCal, and Central California, it was the mid-state’s turn to host. That put the tourney on the weekend of May 19-21 at Kern County Gun Club near Bakersfield, a lovely facility that has hosted notable tournaments, including zone and state shoots.

The tournament would be a three-day event, with Doubles and 12 gauge to be shot on Friday, the balance of guns over the weekend. Weather was typical of the central valley in May, mid-80s on Friday and upper 90s by Sunday and a relatively constant breeze picking up each day about mid-morning — very manageable and shootable conditions.

The RVs and shooters started rolling in on Thursday to set up and practice a bit. The club has put a lot of energy into some of the niceties that accompany a state event, including new scoreboard, enhanced patio areas set up to create a stadium effect for shoot-offs, fresh gravel, and decorations courtesy of Katie Fry. Led by the legendary Ginny Fazer, the team of Bobby Williams and Tina Stephens made registration look easy. Jamie and Susan Horton assembled the State t-shirts and swag, and gorgeous they are. Bill Burke and Mike Anderson coordinated with the club field staff to ensure the best targets possible. Every morning at 7:00 a.m., Mr. Burke and Anderson ran through all the fields, hooping and adjusting as needed. Admin and field management often go overlooked. Be sure to say “thank you” to these folks when you see them. They work tirelessly.

Sponsors are tremendous and generous, and they are the backbone of making this type of event happen. Thank you to ours, including Derrick Gerecke, Mike Jones, Colby and Katie Fry, Jon Cunningham, Chuck Antonino, Keith Key, Wes Reece, Ed Bolt and his Lunch Bunch, Brad and Kathy Allen, Dick Wurster, Randy and Donna Holtzclaw, the Buonis, the Kern County Skeet Committee and Kern County Gun Club.

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years, there is a young man from Northern California who is impressive both on and off the field. In April, he won the Zone 7 Championship in severe shooting conditions. In 2016, he broke the highest score at the Junior World. And he is the reigning Cal State Champion. He consistently shoots high scores and wins titles, and his accomplishments aren’t just on the skeet field. Straight A’s in school accompany high work ethics and social skills. So it was no surprise that the 2017 California State shoot was the Nick Ballentine show. He won the HOA by two targets, along with a couple of gun titles, beating several wily veterans along the way.

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As is customary, the tournament started on Friday morning with Doubles. Ballentine, McLaughlin, and Bolt each broke 99, finishing in that order. A couple managed 97s, a few more 96s and 95s. Class winners were Dan Lewis AAA1, Robert Lopez Jr. AA1, Brad Young A1, Andre Frey B1, Dr. Bill Bell C1, and the legendary Joe Adams D1. After lunch the 12 gauge would be contested.

Miracle of miracles, Ballentine dropped a target in the 12. He’s human, and a couple of grey beards jumped on the opportunity. Two straights and half a dozen woulda-shoulda 99s meant a battle for the podium. NorCal’s Dan Lewis beat out SoCal’s Joe Falabrino for the gun title, then the 99s went at it for the last spot. Ballentine prevailed for third, followed by Lopez AAA1, Jack Bernardi AA1, Brett McLaughlin A1, lefty Cliff Weaver B1, Hal Stewart C1, and San Diego’s Ron Schaefer D1.

Led by newlywed Kathi (Friesen) Allen, her husband Brad Allen, and Katie Fry, the club hosted a nice taco bar for the guests. Chicken, steak, and pork tacos were enjoyed by nearly 100 people, and you can’t have tacos without margaritas. The CSSA Board of Directors also conducted one of their regular meetings in the clubhouse. Of note is the scheduling of the 2018 Zone 7 Championship at Kern County Gun Club. As the hosting state, the Californians all agreed to fully support and assist in next year’s Zone Championship.

Saturday morning, 7:00 a.m.: Burke and Anderson are setting targets. It’s perfectly calm, a slight chill in the air, the sun is coming up. It’s going to be a good day. Yellow shells are being assembled by the various shooters in preparation for the 20-gauge event. A group of about 10 Juniors are arriving from Southern California, two others having arrived on Friday. The Junior program is the pet project of Tina Stephens, CSSA Board. Since the basic entry for Junior shooters is paid by CSSA, this group of youth are here to take a shot at skeet. For some, it was their second state shoot. For many, it was their first time in a registered event. And for just about all of them it was their first time at Kern County. They shot both the 20 and 28 gauge this day and represented very well.

At 8:30, the sounds of shooting filled the air. The 20 gauge would be complete by noon, two banks of the 28 by sundown. It was to be a very full day, including a banquet in the evening. In the 20, a rather eclectic group broke perfect scores, led by JR Fernandez’s first ever 100 straight. Larry Blount of Arizona and his lovely daughter Emily Steinbaugh also ran hundies. Nick Ballentine completed the quartet. A couple of 99s and a group of 98s would scrap it out for the various class titles. In the end, it was no surprise to see Ballentine 20-gauge Champion, Blount runner-up and Steinbaugh third. Class titles were Dan Lewis AAA1, Jack Campbell AA1, Adam Stull A1, Emeterio Fernandez B1, Melissa Taylor C1 and Denny Armstrong D1. Steinbaugh had a clean run of Lady titles so far.

The 35th annual CSSA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet was held at Stockdale Country Club. Frank and Lori Buoni sponsored the group, providing access to the beautiful and grand facility. White linens and tablecloths made the group feel like dignitaries. Speaking of dignitaries, two were inducted into the California Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame. Jerry Murphy and Cliff Bolt received the award for their many years of hard work promoting skeet and building clubs in the Central Valley. Michelle Bolt presented an insightful and entertaining program which took us through years of this great friendship and journey. Following the HOF presentation, the state teams were announced and awarded. Finally, a scholarship was awarded by Susan and Jamie Horton. Two prior recipients were there: Jenna Buoni and Diana Riddle. A deserving Nick Ballentine will be the 2017 recipient of the Horton Scholarship.

Sunday at 8:30 a.m., the last bank of the 28 was completed. The .410 followed, with the last bank going out at 1:30. It was another full day that included the HOA event, and another first 100 straight was broken in the 28 by hometown favorite and upcoming Junior Joe Fry. He made it look easy. Three others got ‘em, setting up an entertaining shoot-off. Once again Ballentine prevailed for Champion, Joe Fry captured runner-up, and the other Kern County Legend Hal Stewart completed the podium. Dan Lewis earned another AAA1, Bill Marble AA1, Wayne Cagle A1, Murphy Miller B1, Brad Allen C1 and Hal Garb D1. This time Diana Riddle took Lady Champion.

After three guns, Ballentine was down just one target. Dan Lewis was right on his tail, down only two. Hal Stewart was down four, along with a slew that have missed four or five. Somehow it always comes down to the .410. Half an ounce of lead, less than 300 #9s to break a target moving about 45 mph. Seems impossible when you think about it. Bill Burke never gave it a thought, breaking 99 of the flying disks to win the gun title outright. Bill Marble’s 98 took runner-up outright, and Bill Borrelli’s 97 took third without contest. This time Ballentine beat out Lewis for AAA1 by a target. Blount was AA1, Wayne Cagle A1, Hal Stewart B1 and Kern’s own Dick Wurster C1. Anthony Abernethy completed it for D1, while Remington DeWitt took the Lady .410 title.

By beating Lewis in the .410, Ballentine assured his second straight California HOA title. Lewis was relegated to runner-up, and Bill Marble completed the podium at third. Robert Lopez was the AAA1 Champ, Jack Campbell AA1, Larry Blount A1, Hal Stewart B1 with a very nice 391, Warren Liu C1 and Vic Parachini D1. Emily Steinbaugh was the Lady HOA Champion.

And one more momentous event: Carl Schlicht of Utah shot his 100,000th registered target at the championship. Congratulations, Carl.

Part of the conversation since 2016 has been whether the May date makes sense for this championship. It’s a fair conversation, but until the entire three-club rotation is complete, the tourney will remain in May. Next year it’s off the Stockton for what promises to be a first cabin weekend in all aspects. And as mentioned earlier, the 2018 Zone 7 should land in April at Kern County. Add to that two or three other notable shoots in the Golden State, and you’ve got a nice West Coast swing. Make it a point to join us next year.

– Contributed by Chris Baker

22nd Ladies Charity Skeet Classic and Last in Virginia

June 22, 2016 By Sherry Kerr

On April 8 — 10, Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, Inc. in Manassas, Virginia, welcomed 65 lady shooters, 30 of whom were novices, to compete, introduce new ladies to skeet shooting, and raise money for the Fisher House Foundation. We are proud to announce that we raised a total of $22,000 this year, which is a $1,000 for each year of the shoot’s existence.

Overcast, chilly weather for April in Virginia and seven coaches welcomed an all-time record number of 30 novice shooters to two hours of an introduction to skeet shooting via our Krieghoff International Novice Team Event on Friday morning. Following a few hours of instruction, the seven Novice Teams, including the coaches shooting a regular round with the .410, competed in a one-box modified round of skeet.

Team DeFrancesco, composed of Denise Loring, Diane Murtha, Mary Pat Hennigan, Linda Tucker, and Jenna Fees, took first place. Following in second place was Team Key: Annette Spetallieri, Anita Kane, Suzanne Rosenberg, and Annmarie Trost. Third place honors went to Team Gormish: Kirstin Knott, Sandra Miller, Shawna Wood, and Alicia Williams. Fourth place was Team Gamble: Linda Fortunato, Jessica Fortunato, Barbara Heffernan, Lana Vu, and Ann Cliburn. Thanks to the generosity of Krieghoff International, each of the lady novices in the first through fourth place teams received either a Krieghoff shooting pouch or hat.

Our other three teams were: Meg Hennigan, Ruth Tucker, Stefanie Portugallo, and Cassandra Ruark, coached by Dale Cox; Mary Williams-Lynch, Loretta Lynch, Connie Buckley, and Joy Schaya, coached by David Latimer; and Kelly Sanborn, Betsy

Hennigan, Bonnie Camp, and Kathie Jordan, coached by Karen Ruddle.

Novice Sandra Miller then proceeded to shoot her very first NSSA-sanctioned targets at the 2016 Ladies Charity Skeet Classic in the Murrell Smith 12-gauge event. Welcome to NSSA registered shooting, Sandra! Two of our Novices from 2015, Theresa Buonocore and Sydney McWilliams, also shot the Ladies again this year. We hope this will be the start of long shooting careers for all three of you. A number of this year’s class also asked how to take it forward from here and we have set them up with local coaches to continue shooting. Hopefully we’ll have a few more shooters join the NSSA ranks from our efforts here.

Baker and Bill Wise worked registering the ladies for the NSSA sanctioned competition by noon on Friday down in the Vince Marcum Skeet Pavilion. Each lady shooter, Novices and Registered alike, received a handsome burgundy attache case embroidered with the LCSC logo and filled with handmade gifts from Brenda Bangert and David Latimer. Babette Burley, Peggy Meunier, and our wounded shooter, Winnie Tucker, sold raffle tickets and LCSC shirts. A great job all weekend, can’t thank all of you enough!

The John Haugh Doubles event got underway Friday afternoon concluding with a wine and cheese tasting social. John Waters presented gorgeous engraved Salisbury bright-pewter trophies, which each of the six event sponsorships allowed us to purchase. Alyssa Gormish took the Doubles Champion with a 93, followed closely by RU Debra Perry and third place went to Marina Pakis with 92’s after a shoot-off that went four stations. Class 1st winners were presented with pewter coin jiggers with second and third place class winners going home with an engraved LCSC enameled pin.

Despite the challenging weather conditions of snow and wind on Saturday, the ladies posted good scores in the Murrell Smith 12-gauge event with the standouts of 98 for Champ Vicky Stellato, 97 for RU Debra Perry, and 96 for Third Christina MacMillan. The longest shoot-off was to determine Lady Group I-3- 7. Five ladies with 95’s battled for several stations with Alyssa Gormish and Holly Paul taking it to the seventh station before Holly emerged victorious.

Scores were only a little bit lower for the John Waters 28-gauge event. Holly Paul’s 95 earned her the Championship bowl, followed by Alyssa Gormish with a 94. A shoot-off was needed between Mary DeFrancesco, Susan Huszai, and Colleen Berg to decide third with Mary as victor.

Grill Master Bobby Defrancesco and Greg Buonocore grilled the big New York strip steaks to order for the chilled and hungry shooters and volunteer workers. Baked potatoes, salad, rolls, and two of Kathie Latimer’s famous caramel chocolate cakes waited inside. Thanks to Lynn Gormish for heading up a crew of volunteers to get everything set out prior to the shoot-off’s and award presentations.

Thirteen men participated in a .410 competition on Friday & Saturday shooting two regular rounds and two rounds of doubles. The proud and humbled winners of the engraved pewter mugs were Dan Felton, with an impressive 93 as Champion, edging out RU Ray Gilbert by one bird, and John Snyder as third. Four shooters competed in the 5-stand event. Clay Gormish was Champ, with TW Williams RU and Dan Felton third. Congratulations to them all. Both their sportsmanship and their entry fees were appreciated.

As the sounds of eating died down, Becky Myers presented winners of the men’s event specially engraved trophies, announced the results of the Wi$he$ for Warriors program, and thanked our many sponsors, shooters, donors, and volunteers by group. Wi$he$ for Warriors is a contest where ladies collect cash donations throughout the year for the charity and bring it to the shoot. Susan Huszai again volunteered to administer the program and with eight lady shooters participating this year, they collected a total of $3,273.00 for the Fisher House Foundation. Sue again took first place and Theresa Buonocore was the second highest Wi$he$ for Warriors money raiser. Both received an engraved silver-plate Revere Bowl and sincere thanks for their efforts. Mary B. Considine, Chief of Staff of the Fisher House Foundation, spoke about the mission of the foundation and awarded a special military Challenge coin to the Event Champions determined so far, to the volunteers who have been especially helpful over the past five years, and to three of the Ladies Shoot Foremothers who were present this year: Winne Tucker, Mary Beverly Gamble, and Carolyn Lause. Following Alyssa Gormish’s able demonstration of the secret handshake method of receiving the coin, Mary successfully transferred all the coins to the remaining recipients.

Blue cup drawings preceded the auction with winners of the BIG items including: Debra Perry, who won the Mini World entry; Christine Wittington, who won the Main World entry donated by NSSA; and Christine Fox who will shoot the 2017 LCSC for free.

The evening’s entertainment was then turned over to showman T.W. Williams, who ably conducted our live auction. Overall, there were seven items for auction which included a quilt made by Susan Huszai, an exotic wood & “ammo” pen made by Club member Chris Jabbs, an Italian crinkled leather shooting pouch & belt from Donny Weaver, three state product baskets containing a variety of state products including shoot entries, a Remington wooden ammo box containing ball caps signed by Wayne Mayes & Al Magyar, and a scratch box turkey call. Our thanks to the auctioneer Col. USA Ret., T.W. Williams for another spectacular job, to the contributors and especially to the bidders. My personal thanks to John Waters, who after bidding $500 to win Sue’s quilt, gave it to me as a thank you for my work in keeping the Ladies shoot going for the past five years.

We again delayed the raffle drawings to allow dinner guests time to buy tickets and to choose items. Then, after dinner and the disappearance of most of the dinner guests, a volunteer crew of Babette Burley, Mary Alice Defrancesco, and Susan Huszai conducted the drawings so that participants could pick up their winnings before they left on Sunday.

Sunday brought bright sunshine, but was still a bit chilly. We started with the Bozard Ford 20- gauge event, followed by the Kolar Arms USA .410 Bore event, concluding with the Haugh/Smith/Waters HOA event. Scores were high in the 20-gauge Champion Susan Huszai’s 100, RU Alyssa Gormish’s 99, and third Christina MacMillan’s 98. The Kolar Arms .410 Bore event was won by Debra Perry’s 97, followed closely by Vicky Stellato’s 96, and Maria Pakis 95.

Finally, the Haugh/Smith/Waters HOA trophies, which were re-named this year to honor the three individuals who sponsored gun events every year of the last five years, were presented to: Champion Debra Perry (381), RU Vicky Stellato (380), and third Holly Paul (379). Debra, a Lady

All American team member, was also presented the All American HOA Crystal vase which is a tradition started by former NSSA President, Louise Terry, when the shoot was held in Memphis, TN. John Waters presented the trophies for all the Sunday events.

As always, we want to thank our referees who donated their pay to the charity and to Greg Huzsai for the wonderful photos including this year some awesome photos of snow shooting.

Thanks again to the tireless work of Club Facilities Manager, Jamie Martin; his assistant, Oscar Lechuga; the members of Fairfax Rod & Gun Club; and to the Board of Directors, who have hosted this event for the past five years.

We ended our five-year run here with the best participation ever. A special thanks to the event sponsors who stuck with us though-out the run: Krieghoff International, Kolar Arms, John Haugh, Murrell Smith, John Waters, and Alamo Sporting Arms and Bozard Ford. Without your continued support we would not be able to hold this event nor be as successful in our fundraising.

We hope to see even more shooters next year as the shoot returns to Memphis, TN under the chairmanship of Barry & Dayna Rich. The weekend in April will be announced as soon as Barry can work out the scheduling with the Memphis Sports, watch our website

www.ladiescharityshootclassic.org.

– Contributed by Rebecca Myers

Old Pueblo Open

May 24, 2016 By Sherry Kerr

I’ll admit, I struggled writing this article. I wanted to provide an unbiased opinion of the shoot and the club to convince those who’ve never been to come next year. But I can’t do that. I can’t be unbiased, for several reasons. One, I grew up going to Tucson Trap and Skeet; it’s my home club and will always hold a special place in my heart. Two, the 40th Old Pueblo Shoot organizer, Larry Blount, is my dad; of course I’m going to think he did a wonderful job. And three, I happened to win the shoot this year with a personal best score, so naturally it was a great shoot. Having said all that, I’m going to provide you my opinion, and you be the judge on whether it convinces you to come next year. I’ll definitely be there.

In case it’s been awhile since you’ve been to the TT&S club, there are a multitude of changes that have happened in the past couple years. It has expanded and grown in all ways: more skeet and trap fields, more sporting clays courses, updated target machines, more RV facilities, and improvements to the grounds which were exceptionally clean since the walls and houses were recently power washed. The referees and maintenance crews did an exceptional job before and during the shoot. Every time I come back, there’s something new. It truly is an outstanding place for shooting.

Early spring is an undeniably beautiful time of year in Tucson and the TT&S club is an oasis from the foul weather across the country. The Old Pueblo Open was uniquely situated to allow for a shoot-to-shoot three week tour of the southwest. Many of the shooters traveled from the Copper State Open hosted by Clay Busters of Arizona in Phoenix, AZ at the end of February, down to Tucson for the Old Pueblo Midweek and the Main, and finished with the Comstock Open hosted by the Vegas Skeet Association the weekend after the Old Pueblo. That’s a lot of targets!

This year was the special 40th anniversary of the Old Pueblo Open, and shoot organizers wanted to make it grand. Extra prizes were donated, including shoot bags donated by Pacific Sporting Arms and once-in-a-lifetime money clips by Briley Manufacturing. A generous donation by John Waters paid for the all junior entry fees for the 28 gauge event. And to top it all, extra money was added thanks to Bill and LeAnn Martin, to the tune of $10,000 spread across all classes and events!

A relatively chill clear Friday morning greeted shooters as they headed to their fields for the first two events of the Old Pueblo. Shooters that participated in the Midweek were all tuned up, and those that arrived for the Main were fresh and ready to go. The 28ga prelim event was won by Lauren Downum with a perfect 100. As the day continued the sun warmed backs and a slight breeze cooled the 88 degree heat. In the Doubles event, Dan Jones tied Michael Peterson and James Decker but bested them in a shoot off for Doubles Champion. Friday night’s social event boasted free hors d’oeuvres and a social hour in the clubhouse.

Another beautiful sunny day with a cooling breeze allowed shooters to post good scores for the Saturday 12ga and 20ga events. A 100 straight shoot off between Tanner Bissel, Rick Curtin, Billy Williams and Joe Witty led to collegiate shooter Tanner becoming 12ga Champion. Curtin and Williams were RU and 3rd respectively. The 20 ga event culminated in another 100 straight tie with Dan Jones, Emily Steinbaugh, and John Imbt battling for the championship. Dan Jones became 20 ga champion.

Saturday night also hosted an Old Pueblo tradition of the Junior Shootoff. Juniors were handicapped based upon their averages in 12ga or 20ga, depending on what they decided to shoot in the shootoff. All juniors were invited to participate; the prize money of $500 extended to 5th place. During the shootoff another generous donation extended the prize money to 6th place! We had a full score of juniors participate, and they rocked! What a great opportunity for new shooters to get experience in a shootoff with the more experienced juniors. They banded together and supported each other, cheering and commiserating as each shooter succeeded or was eliminated. That’s the future of our sport.

Dinner on Saturday was another tradition of steaks cooked on the large outdoor fire pit grill accompanied by baked beans, rolls, and salad, but the cheesecake was my favorite. During dinner several folks were honored. Ron Wilson started the Old Pueblo shoot 40 years ago, so to commemorate the anniversary and his contributions over the years, an engraved bottle of spirits was presented to him. The Tucson club has another tradition of handing out once-in-a-lifetime sterling silver thunder-bird pins for those shooters who shoot a 100 straight at the Tucson club for the first time. This does not have to be your first 100 straight ever, just your first at the Tucson club. I and five other shooters received our thunder-bird pins.

Sunday was cooler for the 28 ga event with afternoon breezes just in time for the .410 event. Even so, good scores were posted by those who persevered with the lone 100 by John Imbt taking the 28ga event championship. Robert Lopez and Billy Williams shot off with scores of 98 for the .410 event championship with Robert prevailing.

The shoot concluded with an awards ceremony in which the Pacific Sporting Arms shoot bags and Briley money clips were presented to the HOA champions. Kevin Kercheval won the HOA D/E class bag, Thomas Phelps HOA C, Mackinzee Swetman HOA B, Frank Demarco HOA A, Dan Jones HOA AA , Lauren Downum HOA 3rd Place, Tanner Bissel Runner Up, and Emily Steinbaugh the HOA Champion bag. It was a poetic moment for me to receive the 40th Old Pueblo Open HOA champ bag and money clip from my dad who worked so hard to make this shoot great.

Photo Gallery: Krieghoff Classic 200

February 25, 2016 By Sherry Kerr

South Florida Shooting Club hosted more than 200 shooters at the Krieghoff Classic 200 on February 4-6. NSCA member Johnathan D. Evans not only shot clays at the event but also shot a large number of photos at the scenic club. He has generously shared them with us, and we’re sharing some of them with you.

You’ll see more of them in the magazine over the coming months.

Click on any thumbnail below to open the gallery and scroll through larger images. Enjoy!