Clay Target Nation

Nebraska State Skeet Championships

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The 91st annual Nebraska State Skeet Championships were held August 18-20 at the Lincoln Trap and Skeet Club (LT&SC) in Lincoln. The action started on Friday with the Oak Creek Engineering Champ of Champs event, with 25 targets in each gauge/bore, starting with the .410. Kurt Mann bested all others with an impressive 99.

Friday afternoon brought pleasant weather – the last of such weather for quite a while – and the Cornhusker Winnelson Doubles event. Squadmates Chris Lutz and Kurt Mann shot off 97’s and were champion and runner-up, respectively. Third place went to Blaine Frizzell, one of the notable Junior shooters from the weekend, and class winners included Jacob Uphoff (A), Bill Buettgenbach (B), John Rossi (C) and Mike Vainosky (D).

Shooters and guests were treated to pizza and appetizers after the Doubles shoot-offs. Thanks to Jerry Classen and all who contributed.

Saturday morning brought clear skies, calm winds, and a preview of the impending heat for the Morton Buildings 20-gauge event. When the smoke cleared, two 100-straights were shot, both by Junior shooters. Mason Pillard outlasted Blaine Frizzell in the shoot-off to take his first state title, along with his first 100-straight in the 20 gauge! Third place was Kurt Mann. Class winners were Derek Pollock (AA), Chris Lutz (A), Don Serna (B), Michael Day (C) and Mike Vainosky (D).

Oddly enough, the Nebraska winds stayed fairly light for the afternoon and the Class One Machine .410 state championship event. Chris Lutz had the lone 98 to take the championship buckle. Runner-up was Derek Pollock and third place was Jacob Uphoff. Class winners were Tristin Duff (AA), Rob Predmore (A), Tim Hartzog (B), Charles Burgess (C) and Mason Pillard (D).

On Saturday evening, shooters and guests enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner from Del Gould Meats with sides and more desserts than you could count. Thanks to everyone who grilled, provided food and drinks, etc.!

Sunday brought a continuation of high temps and humidity for the Conreco 28-gauge event. Two of Nebraska’s great young shooters, Jacob Uphoff and Michael Day, shot 100-straight for champion and third place respectively, with Rob Predmore taking runner-up after shooting his first 100-straight in the 28-gauge at a state championship shoot. Blaine Frizzell (AA), Chris Lutz (A), Adam Classen (B), Charles Burgess (C) and Don Hansen (D) took class honors.

Sunday afternoon brought out almost 75 shooters vying for the Anderson Auto Group 12-gauge title. Three perfect scores were posted, with Lane Sorensen taking his first ever state title, Jacob Uphoff claiming runner-up and Kurt Mann taking third place. Class winners included Derek Pollock (AA), Rob Predmore (A), Charles Burgess (B), John Rossi (C), Rick Standley (D) and Kaela Hinze (E). The highly coveted Zych Drywall 5-Man Team Trophy went to Bill Buettgenbach, Jake Uphoff, John Rossi, Michael Day and Mason Pillard.

The Kolar HOA title went to Jacob Uphoff with a very impressive 394. Rob Predmore (393) was runner-up, and third place was Chris Lutz (391). Class winners were Derek Pollock (AA-386), Kurt Mann (A-389), Blaine Frizzell (B-389), Roger Plooster (C-385), Rick Standley (D-349) and Kaela Hinze (E-335). Lady HOA champ was Claire Kee, and Junior HOA champ was Jacob Uphoff. Chris Cobb (CO) was high gun for out-of-staters, shooting an HOA score of 386.

Highlights from the weekend included a great showing from the young shooters from around the state, with Jacob Uphoff taking three state titles and shooting 200-straight on Sunday. There was a great turnout of shooters from outside of Nebraska, including representation from South Dakota, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and even New Mexico. Their presence was appreciated, and we hope the trend continues in the future! A big thanks goes out to the LT&SC staff and all the volunteers that helped keep the shoot running smoothly. The 2024 Nebraska State Championships will be headed west to Grand Island next year. We hope to see you there!

— Contributed by Chris Lutz

Minnesota State Skeet Championships

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The 2023 Minnesota State Skeet Championships were held at the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake, Minnesota, on August 25-27. The weather was ideal throughout all events, with a few tricky periods of wind to keep shooters alert. Jared Miller, a 17-year-old Junior from East Bethel, Minnesota, led a field of 42 shooters, winning High Overall, High All Around, .410 Bore, and Doubles championships.

Bob Muehlenkamp, Brian Hendrickson, and Justin Staebell managed recording of the scores and winners using MySkeet software which provided online access to reports throughout the tournament. It communicates with the 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 26 competitors. Two Juniors claimed top honors. Jared Miller won the Doubles Championship with the lone 96, and 18-year-old Junior, Gabriel Anderson, won the runner-up title. The Doubles class winners were Tadd Stanton (A – another Junior), Bruce Pearson (B), Jeffrey Schneider (C), and Art Peterson (D).

MSSA President Randal Baker hosted the annual year-end meeting, noting that 33 Minnesota shooters posted 100-straight scores to date, and first-100 straights were posted by Justin Staebell, Brodie Schaefer, and Randy Vaske.

David Baker posted the first perfect score of the tournament in Saturday’s 12-gauge event. Gabriel Anderson’s 99 claimed his second runner-up title. Class winners were Matt Robinson, Jared Miller, Tim Olson, Erin Quaranta, Emily Wraspir, and Jon Parranto in classes AA through E.

David Baker’s 99 won the 20-gauge championship after a shoot-off with Tim Olson and senior veteran Don Tesch. Tim Olson took runner-up. Bob Rick won class AA, followed by Chad Herrmann, Jared Miller, Don Tesch, and Roger Carlson in classes A through D.

Jacob Boerboon won Sunday’s 28-gauge event by posting an uncontested 100, his first-ever perfect score in the 28-gauge. A lone 99 posted by Jared Miller earned the runner-up spot. AA-1 went to David Baker, and Randy Vaske, Tim Olson, Bart Ott, and Mark Cameron won classes A through D.

Jared Miller posted the lone 99 in the .410-Bore event to win the gun championship outright. Dan Kampa posted a 96 to win the runner-up spot, followed by David Baker (A), Tim Olson (B), Erin Quaranta (C), and Jon Parranto (D). Mike Quigley made Minnesota state history by shooting (and breaking) his 200,000th registered target.

Jared Miller’s 393 won the High Over All Championship over runner-up David Baker, who posted a 390. Jared Miller also won the High All Around Championship. HAA runner-up was Jacob Boerboon.

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

– Contributed by Ronald Chandler

9th Annual Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

Generations Skeet Club in beautiful central Pennsylvania hosted its 9th annual Couples Skeet Shoot on September 3. Over the years, 14 to 38 couples have participated in this shoot; 19 couples participated this year. The weather was sunny and warm, just a lovely late-summer day for skeet shooting, if you could ignore the wind. Yes, it was windy, but it was an “equal opportunity” wind.

L to R – Joe Vescovi and Paige McMullen RU. Renee and Tom Hillard – CH, Makaela and Bryon Stanek – 3rd

A number of the shooters had never fired a shotgun before. Shooters’ ages ranged from 10 to 83. Shotguns, shells, ear plugs, etc. were provided as needed. All four of the 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 top-secret, but rather liberal, handicapping system was applied which resulted in all 19 teams (four or five teams per skeet field) participating 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. And the winners were: Renee and Tom Hillard, champs; Paige McMullen and Joe Vescovi, runners-up; and Makaela and Bryon Stanek, third.

After the shooting was finished, all retired to the Youth Center (one of the nicest barns you will ever see) onsite for a yummy picnic dinner. Many shooters brought covered dishes and/or desserts, and the main entrée, a special-recipe grilled chicken, was provided by Ryan Holtz. The dinner this year was even more exceptional than usual, with a wide variety of delicious items. One of the desserts was a large cake commemorating Roy and Lynn Holtz’s 45th wedding anniversary. And speaking of Lynn, she wasn’t planning on shooting this year until her 10-year-old grandson, Camden Simanski, asked if she would shoot with him, so she readily agreed. He shot a 21 x 50 for his first time at shooting 50 targets, and he was thrilled to make it to the championship shoot-off!

All in all, it was a great event, and most of the participants said they would be back when Roy asked for a vote on whether Labor Day weekend would be appropriate for this shoot next year. Kudos to Ryan, Michael and Roy for organizing this shoot and to all of the Generations folks who helped make it the rousing success that it was!

– Contributed by George Gleich

3rd Annual Newark Open

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The 2023 Newark Open was held on July 28-30. Once again, great scores were posted. Three years running and HOA scores have been 397, 398, 398. If you like good targets, great scores, added money, a free handicap event, and plenty of free food, you should put this on your schedule.

This year’s tournament started out on Friday afternoon with some pretty good conditions, although quite humid. Some fine scores were posted, highlighted by Ontario, Canada’s Dan Morris winning a shoot-off of 99’s with Craig Parsons. Third was captured by Steven (Woody) Wood.

Saturday started out calm and humid again, but our noon flight of 12-gauge shooters were not so lucky. They got drenched! They were able to brave the downpour to conclude their third round but were called in to wait out the storm before being able to finish the event. After a 30-minute or so pause, shooting resumed in the rain. The first flight of the 20-gauge shooters also got soaked, but good scores still prevailed. Once everyone got dried out and guns were dried and cleaned, lunch donated by Newark member Craig Halstead and his wife Cindy was served.

Luckily, the remainder of the afternoon was dry, and we were able to complete the day’s events in time for all to enjoy dinner provided by the Newark club. This year’s dinner was catered by local favorite Bad to the Bone BBQ, and at the end of the evening, only a few scraps were found to be left over.

The winners of the day were:

12-gauge champion, Don Lewandoski; runner-up, Dess Ivanov; and third, Craig Parsons, after a shoot-off of 100 straights, and

20-gauge champion, Dess Ivanov; runner-up, Steve Wood; third, John Boone.

The 20-gauge B-C-D handicap event with free entry, sponsored by Pat Breen and Cliff Patridge, was won by Walt Aldrich with a fine score of 99. Runner-up was Larry Clarke, and third place was split between John Greco and Victor Stirpe.

Sunday brought dry conditions and more great shooting highlighted by Newark’s own Cameron Baker smoking his very first 100 straight, in the 28-gauge event. Dess continued his hot streak with another 100 straight as well. Several people reported that they heard Dess breathe quite a sigh of relief when he heard that Cameron had left the club after smashing his straight to honor his commitment to play on his summer soccer team and would not be able to shoot-off the event. 28-gauge winners were champion, Dess Ivanov; runner-up, Cameron Baker; and third, Woody Wood.

In the afternoon .410 event, all eyes were on the Bulgarian. Everyone was pulling for him, as he was the only competitor at 300 straight. I suppose the lack of sleep caught up to him Sunday afternoon, as he had just arrived home from a trip to Bulgaria at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Some fine shooting on a few short hours of sleep! Unfortunately, the outcome wasn’t what everyone was hoping for, but he posted an awesome 98 in the small-bore event, capturing the HOA championship with a great score of 398X400. Other winners in the HOA were runner-up Craig Parsons and third-place Steve Wood.

The .410 champion was Dan Morris, and runner-up was Craig Parsons, after a shoot off of 99’s. Third went to Dess.

– Contributed by Craig Parsons

Photo Gallery: Ladies Skeet Clinic at World Skeet Championships

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The inaugural Ladies Skeet Clinic was held on September 29 during the Mini World, with 12 participants paired with four instructors. Instructors were JoEllen Collin, Jackie Ego, Bethanne Miles, and Hannah Goddard, with Susie Galloway assisting. The objectives of the clinic were to provide a safe, friendly and supportive environment for our students to learn the fundamentals of shotgun shooting from and with other women.

– Photos contributed by Susie Galloway

Click on a photo to enlarge.