Clay Target Nation

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

Ralph Holtz Memorial at Generations Skeet Club

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Generations Skeet Club (formerly the 7-H Skeet Club) hosted the 15th annual Ralph Holtz Memorial Shoot at their beautiful fields near Patton, Pennsylvania on June 1-3.

Even though the weather people had been calling for rain for this weekend, Friday and Saturday were nice, partly cloudy with light breezes and a bit muggy. Sunday, on the other hand, fulfilled the prognosticator’s predictions by raining all day!

Forty-eight shooters shot at least one gun. Chris Kline’s 392 was good for HOA champion; Mike Wollard was HOA runner-up with a 391. Missy Vescovi was Ladies HOA champ.

Twenty-two shooters shot Doubles on Friday afternoon. Kline’s 98 made him champion. Class firsts went to Wollard (A), Scott Grossett (B), Brad Botteicher (C) and George Gleich (D).

The 28-gauge shooting began on Saturday morning with 34 shooters participating. Dan Felton was champion with a nice 99 after a shoot-off with Joe Vescovi. Class firsts were Joe Vescovi (AA), Roy Holtz (A), Ed Call (B) after shooting off 96s with Kevin Spessard, John Davies (C) and Tracey Snyder (D).

Shooting continued on Saturday afternoon with 38 shooters in the 12-gauge event. Frank Smithmeyer had the lone 100 straight and was champion. Clay Gormish won a shoot-off of 99s with Joe Vescovi and took AA1. Wollard, Josh Crofutt, Grossett, Davies and Brian Long, respectively, were A, B, C, D and E class winners. Allison Shaffer from St. Marys, PA had her first registered 25 straight.

The food was abundant and delicious on Saturday evening. The meal was a combination affair serving as the banquet for the winter skeet league held at Generations and the Holtz Memorial Shoot repast.

The .410 bore was shot on Sunday morning. After all the little bullets were fired, Wollard’s 98 was good for champion, after a shoot-off with Kline. Class firsts went to Kline (AA), Gormish (A), Adam Vollmer (B), Gary Trilli (C) and Doug Long (D). The Three-Man Blind event, based on .410 bore scores, is always fun with secret ballot bidding for the eight computer-picked teams after the meal on Saturday night. The winners were Joe Vescovi, Kline and Doug Long after they won a shoot-off with Leyo, Gormish and Trilli. Wollard bought the winning team.

The 20-gauge event was last and took place on Sunday afternoon with 34 shooters. Ryan Holtz, Leyo and Joe Vescovi shot 99s; Ryan won the shoot-off to take the championship. Leyo, Vescovi, Tim Holtz, Davies and Shaffer, respectively, took firsts in AA, A, B, C and D classes. Terry Smith, from New Germany, PA, shot his first registered 25 straight.

A hat shoot was conducted at the end of the day. Allison Shaffer’s and Terry Smith’s hats were well perforated to commemorate their 25 straights this weekend.

The shoot management team included Tori Holtz, registration and scorekeeping, and Michael Vescovi, chief referee. Young, non-shooting referees included Kelsey Krug, Mikayla Lansbury, Paige McMullen and Jake Beebe, who did a great job.

– Contributed by George Gleich

 

Minnesota Inducts Jerry Ryan, Honors All-State Teams

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Minnesota Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame Inductee, Jerry Ryan

Jerry Ryan was inducted to the Minnesota Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame at its annual awards banquet on April 21, 2018, in Minneapolis. Jerry has been a member of the NSSA since 1984. As a young man he worked at the Minneapolis Gun Club (MGC) and developed a lifelong love of skeet. Jerry has always been willing to volunteer his time and efforts for many different projects at MGC, as well as being a strong proponent of youth shooting.  Jerry makes a point to meet and welcome new skeet shooters.  During tournaments, he interacts with shooters, offering support and encouragement. He is a great mentor for both new and experienced skeet shooters.

Jerry has posted over 40 100 straights during his shooting career at various gun clubs all over the country. This puts him close to the top of all the great skeet shooters from Minnesota. Jerry has won a number of Minnesota state gun championships and 37 Minnesota concurrent titles.  He posted 100 straights to claim state 12 gauge titles in 2009, 2012 and 2013.  He also won the state Doubles championship in 2009 and the state High Overall championship in 2016.

The 2018 Minnesota All-State teams were also recognized at the annual awards dinner:

First Team
Bob Rick (Captain)
Jeff Korhonen
Jerry Ryan
Jarret Hayes
Tony Lowe
Second Team
Justin Baker (Captain)
David Baker
Scott Melchisedech
Hayden Wege
Mark Vanderbloomer

 

 

 

 

Port City Open at Buccaneer Gun Club

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On May 18-20, championship skeet returned to southeastern North Carolina for the first time since 2014, and man, was it exciting.

The most exciting part was the number of Junior shooters making the trek to the John Scott Skeet and Trap Fields at Buccaneer Gun Club, no doubt at a financial sacrifice to many of the Junior shooters’ families traveling to and from skeet tournaments.

With a grant from Friends of the NRA and a generous donation from Sportsman’s Warehouse manager Bill Colvard, the Port City Open provided Junior shooters free ammo for all four events, 12 gauge through .410, helping to promote the sport to these young people who are the future of our sport.

The festivities began with Doubles on Friday afternoon. Doubles shooters gave chase to White Flyers most of the afternoon, with Scott Graham winning with a fine score of 96. Intermittent showers tried to interfere with the Doubles event, but these folks are used to it.

Foul and ugly weather greeted shooters Saturday morning. Heavy rains plagued 12- and 20- gauge shooters all day. Even with a brief stoppage for lightning, the shooters persevered, and Scott Graham again showed his mettle with a smooth 100 in the rain to take the 12-gauge event after a shoot-off with Chip Simmons and Jay Bunting, neither a stranger to Doubles at 3, 4 and 5 after 100 straights.

Justin Haddle, with his first 100 ever, was not alone in 20-gauge straights. Larson Harkins had his first 20-gauge straight, and Mark Smith’s perfect score landed him in the shoot-off with Justin and Larson. Mark outlasted these sharp shooters to become 20-gauge gun champ. Any 100 straight is impressive, but Justin Haddle accomplished something special; he was on station 8 of his last box when the lightning horn blew. After an hour wait, he stepped back on station 8 and calmly finished his 100 straight.

The 20-gauge Special Handicap event Saturday afternoon sparked a lot of interest. Junior shooter Larson Harkins walked away with a little extra shotshell money. Young eyes and young reflexes told the tale here.

Saturday night’s dinner was steak, baked potato, and green beans prepared cowboy-style by True Grits Chuck Wagon. Everything was cooked on open grills and in Dutch ovens. The peach cobbler slow-cooked in a Dutch oven did not last very long. Chuck Wagon Bill’s profits and donations support the “Easy Does It Ranch,” a free summer camp for recovering teens. 

After this palate-pleasing dinner, the shooters were still not ready to kennel the Kolars and Krieghoffs. A friendly game of Scrap under the lights broke out. For the uninitiated, Scrap uses the trap machine overlay to throw targets to be shot at from the skeet stations. Needless to say, the choke wrenches were busy. When the smoke and the “pull, bang, dammits” cleared, Justin Haddle and Kevin Hostinsky eased away with a little more jingle in their pockets.

We all went to bed with visions of broken targets dancing in our heads.

Sunday’s weather found the 28-gauge and .410 shooters apprehensive about the weather forecast: more showers. Nevertheless, 28-gauge scores were mighty impressive, with Marquis Williams besting Noah Dove in a shoot-off for 28-gauge gun champ honors. Marquis’ 100 was his first in 28 gauge.

All in all, there were eight 100 straights in our skeet-o-rama.

Someone opened a box of .410’s Sunday afternoon. As soon as it was opened, the typical breeze kicked in. Jay Bunting out-maneuvered the wind and pulled past the field with a smooth 99 to take .410 gun champ honors.

Jay Bunting was also the tournament HOA with a cool 396. Riley Dellinger was Junior HOA with a 392. Corrie Cloninger was Ladies champ, carding a 379. Trace Davis finished the tournament as Sub-Junior winner with a nice score of 377.

The Port City Open HOA shooter, Jay Bunting, was presented a tailgate quilt constructed of Sportsman’s Warehouse canvas shot bags. Riley Dellinger, Junior HOA with a smooth 392, was also presented a tailgate quilt. Bill Colvard, manager of Sportsman’s Warehouse, furnished the shot bags, and Jane Hassell did the quilting. This is a fine way to protect a quality shotgun while it rests on the tailgate of a pickup or SUV.

Thanks to all the referees who controlled the event and turned in a weekend of masterful scorekeeping and refereeing. Special thanks go to Patty Walton and Jane Hassell for keeping everything running smoothly. Thanks to all the shooters and their families who enthusiastically complimented our targets, staff, food and shoot presentation.

Thanks to this year’s Tournament Committee: Tom Smith, Hart Stuehmer, Jeff DeSantis, Peter Ruffin, Cosby Thomas, David Ruehle and Frank Hassell. Thanks to our officers, Dave Ernst – president; Jim Caison – treasurer; and Ray Campbell – past president, for your input and dedication to the Port City Open.

David Ruehle and his ground crew did a masterful job of keeping the machines full, water coolers full, trash removed, empty hulls picked up and targets flying smoothly all three days. Special thanks go to the Buccaneer Gun Club members who came early and stayed late days and weeks before the tournament, working together to make the Port City Open a rousing success.

A very special thank-you goes to our sponsors: Bill Colvard and John Clark of Sportsman’s Warehouse, Cox Industries, Michael Davis and Party Suppliers of Wilmington, and Jim Davis.

Join us for our next event, the Fall “No Frills” Open, on November 16-18.

– Contributed by Frank Hassell

Bob Lepor Is First to Shoot 250,000 Registered Targets

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In 2011, NSCA Hall of Famer and former Executive Council chairman Bob Lepor made sporting clays history when he shot his 200,000th registered target. That record has now been broken. On Sunday, September 24 at high noon, Bob shot his 250,000th registered NSCA target during the main sporting event at the Delaware River Classic in his home state of New Jersey.

“Bob’s accomplishment and dedication to the sport is remarkable,” said Anthony Matarese, whose club, M&M Hunting and Sporting Clays, hosted the event.

Bob’s journey into the history books of sporting clays began in 1994 when he shot his first registered NSCA target at the U.S. Open held at Hopkins Game Farm in Maryland. He posted 1,000 registered clays that first year alone, but really ramped things up the following year after recovering from an illness. Bob used shooting as a means to rehabilitate himself in an effort to increase his strength and stamina. By the year 2000, he’d shot 100,000 registered targets.

“Bob’s most prolific year was in 1999, when he shot 31,650 registered targets,” reported Diane Sorantino, a close friend and frequent squadmate of Bob’s. “Between 1994 and 2017, Bob averaged over 10,000 registered targets per year, and during one three-year period, he averaged 20,000 per year.”

After reaching 200,000 in 2011, Bob was noncommittal about hitting the quarter-million mark. “I don’t know about 250,000,” he said at the time. “I’ll let that run its own course. We’ll see.”

Six years later, Bob had this to say about his most recent milestone, “I was the first to reach 100,000 and first to reach 200,000. Now, being the first to reach 250,000, I must admit it feels like I have accomplished a real personal goal.”

He didn’t make this journey alone, though. “Bob has tremendous family support in pursuing his shooting goals,” said Sorantino. “Bob’s wife, Marilyn, has traveled to many shooting events and frequently accompanies him at Nationals in San Antonio. Over the years, Bob’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Carbone, has also shot many tournaments with him.” Both Marilyn and Elizabeth were on hand to see Bob shoot his 250,000th target.

Spending time with his granddaughter has been particularly gratifying to Bob. “She was there for 100,000 and 200,000 as well,” he noted. “Having Elizabeth along with me on this journey, either shooting or just supporting me, has meant everything to me!”

Spending time with grandpa has meant a lot to Elizabeth, too. “Looking back on my adolescence, shooting with my grandfather for nearly seven years provided me with some of my most cherished moments of our relationship,” she reflected. “Not only was I able to compete side by side with him, but we also got to travel the country together, doing something we both loved.

“Through his patience, guidance, and knowledge, I was able to become a successful shooter for my age group,” Elizabeth said. “I am so proud of his incredible accomplishment and even prouder that I got to experience firsthand a very large amount of his 250,000 targets.”

It isn’t all about the numbers, though. Bob has also taken time to give back to this sport he so dearly loves. Sorantino points out that Bob was awarded the Hal du Pont Service Award, which is given to an NSCA member who has given back to the NSCA and had a positive influence on the game and its members.

“This award describes Bob completely,” she continued. “He has served as a State Delegate, Advisory Council Member, and Executive Council Member. As chairman of the Executive Council, he spearheaded and managed many positive changes that benefited the NSCA and its members. Bob worked tirelessly at all these positions, and we often joked that it was a full-time job without the paycheck.”

Although he’s approached sporting clays in a workmanlike fashion — one has to in order to rack up such an astounding number of targets — it’s mainly been about family, friends and fun. “The sport does give you the opportunity to meet many people and make some great lifelong friends,” Bob acknowledged.

Sorantino counts herself among those friends. “I’ve personally shot many targets alongside Bob,” she said. “We actually live in the same hometown, approximately one mile away from each other. It was shooting that brought about our friendship. To this day, we continue to shoot tournaments together. We know each other and our shooting styles, and it works well for us both. Most of all, we always enjoy a good laugh — and a good meal — together!

“It is my honor to know Bob, and I treasure our special friendship,” Sorantino added. “I look forward to seeing him shoot many more NSCA registered targets. I’m proud to be a part of his recording-setting goal, and very proud to say Bob Lepor is my friend.”

“I’ve known Bob for over 20 years and am honored to call him a friend,” echoed Matarese.

In the end, the shooting sports are all about the friendships we make, not the number of clays we break. That said, don’t be surprised if the tally approaches 300,000 in a few years. If there’s one thing you can always count on Bob Lepor to do, it’s shoot a lot of targets. The last 23 years have proven that time and time again — a quarter of a million times, in fact.

Photos by Photos by Derek Moore & Devin Kearney
Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Jesse Geddes Memorial Shoot

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Phil Strelau, HOA Champion

Missoula Trap and Skeet Club in Missoula, Montana, hosted the Jesse Geddes Memorial Shoot on May 25-27. The shoot has been held annually in honor of Jesse Geddes, who passed away in 2010. He was not only an avid skeet shooter but also served as a board member at MTSC and was involved in various capacities.

Congratulations to Phillip Strelau, who came away with the HOA victory!

 

 

 

 

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