Ahh, September! When the nights are cool and the days are warm and sunny! The Kasle Family Charity Shoot, held September 13-15 at the Detroit Gun Club, was blessed with perfect weather. At capacity, with a few first-timers and a number of our friends from abroad, everyone in attendance was anticipating the Saturday night show that is the hallmark of the Kasle Open. The shoot kicks off with a .410 bore, 75-target Event 6 in which the top 10 scores plus the high lady participate in a themed shoot-off Saturday night, complete with costumes. Three 75s and six 74s automatically qualified for the finals, while six 73s that included the high lady had a shoot-in for the remaining spot, setting the stage for the 11 shooters to compete for bragging rights and the coveted crystal bowl.
Doubles – Friday afternoon saw three perfect scores, making the podium easy to sort out. Mark Vaillancourt missed early in the first box, settling for third, leaving Sheaffer Stanfill and Ed Smith to slug it out for the next four boxes, with Stanfill emerging as the victor. The 99s shot off for places in AAA and AA, with Gordon Novak and David Miles the respective winners, while Brendan Appel (A1), Jeff Desano (B1), Dan Lauderback (C1) and Cheryl Henderson (D1) won their classes outright. Diana Riddle was Lady Champ and Connor Thigpen, Junior Champion.
12- and 20-Gauge – Saturday morning’s conditions were severe clear, quickly warming up into the 70’s with no wind. Not surprisingly, there were 19 100s posted in the 12-gauge and 15 perfect scores in the 20-gauge. Add to that the plethora of 99s, and over 30% of the participants missed none or one target. It’s a wonder there weren’t more 100 straights. Now, to the shoot-offs: Five shooters made it through the first box of the 12-Gauge Championship. Alessandro Vitale missed late in box two to take third place, leaving two shooters who completed the round. Halfway through box three, youth and exuberance won out over age and treachery, with Stanfill the victor over Mike Schmidt. Steve Wood’s (AAA) and Sean Rosencrantz’s (AA) 100s put them at the top of their classes. David Schiebel (A) and Hal Wendling (C) won their shoot-offs, while Scott Daniels (B) and Lauderback (D) were at the top of their classes. Diana Riddle was Lady Champ and Tyler Wildman, Junior Champ.
In the 20-gauge event, the 100 straights took the field and, just like last year, there were only two still standing after the first box – Jack Krispin and Steve Wood. Four pairs into box two, Krispin was the victor over Wood. Bruce Christian took third place, with Miles (AAA) and Mason Reed (AA) taking top class honors with their 100s. Daniels was A1 after his shoot-off, and Bill Nielsen (B), Adam Taylor (C) and Cheryl Henderson (D) were high in their classes. Diana Riddle repeated as Lady Champ, as did Tyler Wildman for Junior Champ. With two events in the books, there were eight shooters perfect and another 10 down only one target.
Kasle Cup – This was the 26th Kasle Charity Shoot, and over the years the Cup has had different sponsors and, hence, different names. But the idea behind the event has always remained the same – to put some fun back into skeet shooting. Each year has had a different theme, with the shooters making it to the finals dressing the part; at times the contestants are on different teams, with the crowd always getting into the action. The themes over the years have been WWF; Rock Stars; West-Side Story (Sharks vs Jets); Heroes and Villains; NFL (AFC vs NFC); NASCAR; Professional Rodeo; Pirates; the Olympics; Woodstock; Caddy Shack; Top Shot; Slap Shot; Dr. Seuss; Stripes; Top Gun; Snow White; Dorf on Skeet; Detroit Skeet City, based upon the classic movie Detroit Rock City, featuring KISS; the Greatest Shoot (Show) on Earth; Looney Tunes; Old McDonald’s Farm; “Wayne-o’s World,” based on the Saturday Night Live skit and subsequent movie, in honor of the late, great Wayne Mayes; Gomer Pyle, USMC; American Ninja Skeet Warrior; and last year’s theme, Guardians of the Skeet Galaxy, saving the galaxy one clay at a time. This year’s theme, the World Series of Skeetball, was based loosely on the movie Major League but with the addition of a new twist: Each of the “batters” was recruited a “runner” and introduced by the emcees, Wild Thing (Billy Ray Suggs) and Harry Doyle (Bob Uecker’s character, played by Mike Kremski), with shot-by-shot commentary. The “World Series” entailed shooting doubles on stations 3, 4 and 5. But instead of miss-and-out as in previous years, the “runners” advanced a base for each target hit in the shoot-off or, if the pair was “dutched,” going back a base. The winner was determined by the first shooter to run 24 bases. The “World Series” was conducted using flash targets, with music playing and crowd participation (heckling), making for quite a spectacle. When the smoke finally cleared, Steve Wood (AKA Woody) was the winner of the coveted crystal bowl, along with his runner, Michael Fitzner, who also received a crystal bowl for his running prowess! Based upon the comments from everyone present, the new format was a huge success!
28-Gauge and .410 Bore – Sunday’s conditions were a little cooler than Saturday, but still clear blue skies and no wind, making for great conditions for the smaller bore events. Ten shooters posted 100s, along with 15 99s, in the 28-gauge event. The championship was decided on the last pair of the first box in the shoot-off with the Junior phenom Connor Thigpen, the winner (and, obviously, Junior Champ) over Woody. Stanfill claimed the final spot on the podium, with 100s by Schmidt (AAA1) and Jason Johnson (AA1) for those classes. Shoot-offs were needed to decide Classes A and B, with John Boone and Bruce Wilson the respective winners. Daniels (C1) and Andrea Lehr (D1) rounded out the classes. Diana Riddle was, again, Lady Champ.
The .410 bore saw only one perfect score in the afternoon by Connor. Four 99s took all of three pairs to decide the remaining spots on the podium with Jeff Ventry runner-up, Schmidt third, Connor Ball AAA1 and Wood AAA2. Christian (AA) and Wildman (A) won their shoot-offs for top class honors, with Jeff Pope (B), Scott Crosby (C) and one of our regular attendees from Down Under, Leonie Johnston (D) rounding out the classes. Diana Riddle was again Lady Champ.
High Over All – In the High Over All race going into the .410 bore, there were two shooters still perfect, with 16 shooters down only one or two targets. So, once again, it would all come down to the baby bore. When the final shot was fired in the .410, there were two 399s and three 397s. Both shooters missed on station 5 for the championship, but young Connor prevailed on the next pair, besting Woody for the win. The 397s also took all of four pairs to sort out the remaining places. Another one of our regulars from abroad, Kiwi Andy Peter claimed the final spot on the podium over Stanfill (AAA1) and Krispin (AAA2). Class winners, without having to fire another shot, were Mark Gay (AA), Tom Longolucco (A), Daniels (B), Lauderback (C), Cheryl Henderson (D) and Leonie Johnston (E). Diana Riddle completed her sweep of all the events as Lady Champion.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Once again, everyone – shooters and spectators alike – had “too much fun!” Untold thanks go to our sponsors Roger, Lisa, Matt and Jill Kasle, without whose generous support this shoot, the fireworks show and charity donation would not be possible. Without fail, once again, Scott Behnke and his assistant soon-to-be-manager, Danny, did a fantastic job ensuring the targets flew true. The referees were first-rate, keeping their thumbs on the buttons and giving us the targets when we called for them. The kitchen staff of Chef Kristina, with waitresses Tricia and Jenny, made sure that no one went hungry (or thirsty), and our dynamic duo shoot staff of Debbi Perry and Debbie Behnke promptly entered and posted the scores and ensured the shoot-off sheets were ready to go after the last shot was fired. Debbie Behnke also did double-duty as a referee. Again, this event would not enjoy the success it has without the support of all concerned.
Mark your calendars now for the 2025 Kasle Family Charity Open, which will be held September 12-14, 2025. So, look for our ad in Target Talk or visit MichiganSkeet.com to get your registration in early so you, too, can have “too much fun” at Detroit Gun Club!
– Trish Magyar
