NSSA News

84th Virginia State Skeet Championships

December 8, 2022 By Cara Woodard

The 84th Virginia State Skeet Championships were held at Fredericksburg Rod and Gun Club on September 8-11, 2022. The Club was ready and looked great, thanks to the hard work of Bud Hitchcock, Brian D’Souza, Nick Gravina, Jim Hart and others.

The shoot kicked off on Thursday with the 12-Gauge Preliminary Event and the first flights of doubles. Garrett Jordan posted a fine 100 to win the Preliminary Event.

Friday morning brought great weather conditions for the 28-gauge event, the start of the 20-gauge, and the last doubles flight. Conor Stephens captured the 28-gauge title, with JohnSnyder runner-up and Dick Weinley third. Class winners were Garrett Jordan (AA), BrianD’Souza (A), John Allen (B), Bob Myers (C) and Barry Akers (D). Class winners were awarded beautiful belt buckles, thanks to Virginia’s State Shoot Assistance Grant from NSSA. TomWilliams was the Doubles Champion, winning his fourth doubles title. Highlights of the evening included the presentation of VSSA Sportsman of the Year, awarded to Mark Parker, and Referee of the Year, awarded to James Reinhold. Kevin Baker won the drawing for a complimentary entry to the main events of the World Shoot.

Saturday evening marked two first-time state title winners and several personal bests. Junior shooter Ethan Shiflett shot his first 100 straight and won the 12-gauge title! John Snyder was runner-up and Meredith Tunick-Kling third. Class winners were Keythe Hancock (AA), Jim Hickerson (A), John Allen (B), Robert Williams (C), Allen Parker (D) and Cody Ellis (E). Jim Hart won the 20-gauge, Fred Wood was runner-up and Garrett Jordan third.

The B-C-D-E HOA shoot-off was the final shooting event for the day. Class winners were determined by shoot-offs, and the lucky winners (B-David Whipp III, C-Ethan Shiflett, D-Becky Myers) returned to the shoot-off field to vie for the cash prize generously donated by Mark Scott. When the dust settled, Ethan Shiflett continued his winning streak and was the 2022 B-C-D-E HOA winner.

Following shoot-offs, shooters and their guests sat down together to enjoy the Hall of Fame dinner hosted by Fredericksburg and prepared by Jeremiah Burns MGySgt USMC (Ret) and his crew from Jeremiah’s Kansas City BBQ. VSSA President Richard Haynie recognized the 2021 State Teams and presented their plaques. Then it was time for the highlight of the evening, the induction of Al Ange into the VSSA Hall of Fame. Al was accompanied by his wife Peggy and his family, and it was wonderful to celebrate his shooting accomplishments and contributions to our sport.

Sunday morning, September 11, brought us all together as we held a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. to honor those who lost their lives in the attacks 21 years ago.

Fred Wood took top honors in the .410 event with an outstanding 98, followed by Brian D’Souza, runner-up, and Garrett Jordan, third. Class winners were Jim Hickerson (AA), Steve Kling (A), Savannah Morrow (B), Dale Flory (C) and Cody Ellis (D). High Over All title went to Fred Wood, runner-up to Conor Stephens and third to Garrett Jordan. Meredith Tunick-Kling was the Lady HOA champion. Savannah Morrow was Sub-Junior HOA winner, and Ethan Shiflett, 12-gauge champ, was the recipient of the Bond NSSA Life Membership Award. Our Sub-Junior and Junior shooters continue to enjoy the support and generosity of the Milton Mills Memorial awards and benefits, and the VSSA Award.

Many thanks to the outstanding Shoot Management Team – Mark Parker, our Chief Referee, Tonda Finney, Kristi Garstang and Darlene Jeffrey on the desk (and Darlene and Mark coordinating awards and trophies), and Bud Hitchcock for their tireless work to help make this shoot a success. We especially appreciate our dedicated referees, who come from far and near to help make this shoot happen.

We look forward to next year’s 85th Virginia State Skeet Championships, to be held at Arrowhead Gun Club, September 7-10, 2023.

– Contributed by Hannah Goddard

86th Pennsylvania State Shoot

December 8, 2022 By Cara Woodard

PSSA held the 86th annual Pennsylvania State Open Skeet Championships at Shenecoy Sportsmen’s beautiful 16-field facility in McConnellstown, Pennsylvania, on August 26-28. The weather was great! Not too hot, not too humid, not much wind, no rain, not many clouds.

Two hundred nineteen participants shot at least one gun, including 50 out-of-state shooters (from AZ, CA, DE, FL, IL, IN, MD, NC, NY, OH, TX, VA, and WV); thank you so much for coming folks! There were 183 four-gun shooters. The shoot difficulty factor was 22.8.

Open HOA winners were Owen Knight (Champion, 397), Mike Rykacewski Jr. (runner-up, 397) and Nick Boerboon (third, 396). PA HOA winners were Rykacewski Jr. (champion), Boerboon (runner-up) and Chris Kline (third). Open HAA Champion and runner-up, respectively, were Kline (495) and Knight (493); Boerboon (492-PA) was third. PA HAA honors went to Kline (champion), Boerboon (runner-up) and Rykacewski Jr. (third).

The 28-gauge Prelim started the festivities on Friday morning with 59 shooters participating. The top score was 99, and there were three of them. After shooting off, Tyler Mroczka was Open Champion, Alyssa Gormish and Larry Blount, respectively, were Open runner-up and third. PA Prelim winners were Mrozcka (Champion), Alyssa Gormish (runner-up) and Ethan Cree (third). Mike Zavasky, Clay Gormish, Mark Eckert, Greg Valentine, and John Tucker, respectively, took PA class AA-D firsts.

There were 158 doubles shooters on Friday afternoon and two 100 straights. Chris Kline emerged as Open Champion by winning a shoot-off of the 100s with Alyssa Gormish, runner- up; Sam Armstrong was Open third. PA Champion, runner-up, and third, respectively, were Kline, Alyssa Gormish and Josh Crofutt. PA class firsts (AAA-D) went to Boerboon, Denny Lehman, Carl Biddle, Andy Trayer, Marcus Rosenstiel Jr., and Mike Rykacewski Sr. In the main event, there were ten 100 straights in both the 12 and 20, eight in the 28 and one in
the .410.

PA Champions, runners-up and thirds, respectively, were: Tyler Mroczka, Pat Leyo, and Adam Vollmer in the 12-gauge (215 shooters with PA shooters taking the top three Open spots); Jeff Holtz, Carl Bathurst and John Brickner in the 20 (205 shooters with Sam Armstrong Open Champion, Brian D’Souza Open runner-up, and Mike Stasio Open third; Tyler Mroczka, Mike Rykacewski Jr., and Tom Shields in the 28 (194 shooters with Kurt Suprynowicz Open Champion); and Nick Boerboon, Mike Rykacweski Jr., and Chris Kline in the .410 (187 shooters with PA shooters taking the top three Open spots).

Class first places (PA) were won by Mike Rykacewski Jr., Frank Smithmyer, Gary Nace, Allison Shaffer, Mark Strickland, Greg Mahoney and John Lavrich (12-gauge AAA-E); Nick Boerboon, Joe Vescovi, Pat Leyo, Ed Call, Joe Gans V and Kurt Fisher (20-gauge AAA-D); Joe Vescovi, Fran Kosmacki, Matt Sanders, Pat Leyo, Zak Sutton and Bill Plunkett (28-gauge AAA-D); and Adam Vollmer, Rich Vensel, Mark Saussure, Marcus Rosenstiel Jr., and Allison Shaffer (.410 bore AA-D).

Grant Glossner and Wade Smith, respectively, were Sub-Junior Open and PA HOA Champion and runner-up. Owen Knight, Zak Sutton and Marcus Rosenstiel Jr., respectively, were Junior Open HOA Champion, runner-up and third; Sutton, Rosenstiel Jr. and Colby Eckert, respectively, were PA HOA Champion, runner-up and third.

Open Lady HOA winners were Meredith Tunick Kling (Champion, 391), Sue Huszai (runner-up, 383) and Allison Shaffer (third, 379). PA Lady HOA winners were Allison Shaffer (Champion), Alyssa Gormish (runner-up) and Debra Meade third.

Saturday evening was busy, beginning with shoot-offs and several hat shoots. Evelyn Zutter had her first 25 straight, Gavin Glossner and Dan Amsler had their first 50 straights, and Allison Shaffer had her first 100 straight this weekend. All had their hats well ventilated. Chris Kline was inducted into the PSSA Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame. Chris has been one of Pennsylvania’s top skeet shooters for years, and he is one of the very best people in the
Pennsylvania skeet community. Congratulations, Chris!

PA’s top shooters for 2022 (2021 data) were recognized. Fran Kosmacki with a 0.9767 average was the state’s Top Gun. All-State First and Second teams were recognized, and each member received a nice wooden plaque. The First team included Fran Kosmacki, Mike Rykaczewski Jr., Josh Crofutt, Tom Hillard and Alyssa Gormish; Second Team members included Denny Lehman, Clay Gormish, Kenny Riddile, Gary Nace and Jack Harshbarger.

All Juniors and Sub-Juniors (25 shot in the 12 gauge) had 50% of their entry fees paid by PSSA.

Denny Lehman spearheaded a drive for the 2022 State Shoot that resulted in over $22,250 in added money. Many thanks to Denny, and especially to Elite Shotguns, the major sponsor of the PA State Shoot, who matched donations received from businesses and individuals up to $10,000. Special thanks also to all the businesses and individuals that made donations.

The PSSA President’s Cup award for 2021 was presented to Murry Gerber of Elite Shotguns in recognition of his ongoing and outstanding support of Pennsylvania skeet. Murray is leading from the front in growth of this sport, and we look forward to continued successes together.

Added money was capped so that gun champion, runner-up and third received $350, $250 and $150, respectively. All class first through fifth places received cash from added money (e.g., in the 12-gauge E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5 received $75, $70, $65, $60, $55, respectively).

In a field of 43 shooters, Guy Barr won the BCDE Challenge shoot-off and received $220. Class champs, B-E respectively, were Tyler Mroczka, Colby Eckert, Ethan Cree and John Lavrich, and each received $75. All winners were from PA.

The Three-Man Team event involved 16 teams picked by the computer. The winning team included Randy Browning, Brian D’Souza and Allison Shaffer, whose 12-gauge scores were 97, 95 and 93, respectively. Each received $80.

The 5-person team belt buckle championship involved 10 teams. The event started and finished on Station 3 with the second team up breaking nine of 10 birds (5 doubles) and none of the other nine teams matching that total. The winning team members, from Tarentum District Sportsmen’s Club near Sarver, PA, were Josh Crofutt, Murry Gerber, Mike Rykacewski Jr., Mike Rykacewski Sr. and Bob Waite. Each received a beautiful belt buckle.

Five shooters participated in the HOA handicap option on Sunday afternoon. Nick Boerboon, Chris Kline and Rich Vensel were first-, second- and third-place winners.

Tyler Mrozcka had quite a weekend shooting his first 100-straight in the 12-gauge and then breaking his first 100-straight in the 28-gauge as an encore. His hat was demolished, of course. Tyler was Open Champion in the Prelim and 12 and PA Champion in the 28.

Members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Company provided the delicious catered dinner for all, at no extra cost to the shooters and their guests, on Saturday night. Many thanks to John Ramagli who graciously donated this dinner!

Kudos to Tami Daniel-Means and her hubby Al for handling registration, score keeping and posting; Bobby Wilkin, Chief Referee and shoot-off announcer and his outstanding group of referees; the Generations Skeet Club team who handled medal preparation and distribution; and Nick Boerboon, PSSA President, who was involved in most everything, in addition to shooting lights out.

Special thanks to the following folks whose hard work was greatly appreciated: Barry and Lori Sheffield and all the Shenecoy people who always work so hard; Rod Shyda (Lincoln Traps); Bob Woods (Elite Shotguns); and Wendy and Steve Dunmire and crew (Petersburg Volunteer Fire Company) for running the kitchen throughout the shoot and providing tasty food. Make sure to mark your calendars for the 2023 Pennsylvania State Skeet Shoot which will be held at Shenecoy on August 18-20. We are anticipating having $20,000 plus added money again, along with many other great things.

– Contributed by George Gleich

2022 Texas State Skeet Championship

December 7, 2022 By Cara Woodard

Legend has it that in 1889, Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, stated that the Patent Office would eventually close, because… “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Some of his descendants are likely clay target shooters since it is often heard, “I have seen everything there is to see in this game, and nothing surprises me.” Those in attendance at the 2022 Paxton Arms Texas State Championships were reminded, however, that there is always something new and exciting to witness in this sport.

A full slate of events was booked for the four days of the tournament at the Greater Houston Sports Club. Thursday morning started things off with the Texas State Referee Championship. Up for grabs was the coveted Al Topham Buckle and $500 in added money, donated by Sharron and Mike Schmitt. When the dust settled, Stormy Weatherford was crowned the champion, with the sole perfect 100. As is the custom, the added money was divided equally among all participants.

The afternoon saw the start of the doubles championship, sponsored by the Corpus Christi Gun Club. One hundred forty-three competitors took to the field, and at the end of three rotations, Houston Deshotels and Sheaffer Stanfill posted the sole perfect scores. Shoot-off sheets were quickly prepared, and Houston and Sheaffer took to the field to determine the gun champion. A box of shells later, both competitors were still in the running. A second box yielded a champion at the end of the second pass, with Sheaffer missing a high bird from station 4. Five shooters had scores of 99 and shot off for additional honors, including the resident champion title. Three quick pairs determined Cody Sergeant as the state title holder and Melissa Barringer as the Ladies title holder.

Friday’s schedule included four rotations of 28-gauge and two rotations of 20-gauge. Although 10 shooters positioned themselves for championship titles in the 28-gauge, they would have to wait patiently. No shoot-offs were held on Friday to allow for attendance at the TSSA Hall of Fame Banquet, sponsored by the Sandy Springs Skeet Club. The evening saw the awarding of belt buckles to the members of the Texas All-State Teams, auctions that featured Briley 10/22 rifles and engraved knives from master engraver Jon Novak, a drawing for a pallet of Winchester shotgun shells, and a nice plated dinner. The highlight of the night, however, was the induction of three incredibly deserving individuals into the TSSA Hall of Fame. Both Greg Hayes and Lindsay Plesko were enshrined for shooting proficiency. The Buck Stark Award is awarded for outstanding work with the TSSA and for unselfish service to the overall perpetuation of the sport. This year’s honoree was the manager of the GHSC, Kevin Dougherty.

Saturday dawned and the final two rotations of the 20-gauge and four rotations of the 12-gauge events were on tap. The evening started with the Lib and Woody Anderson 28-gauge shoot-offs. Through the first round of the shoot-offs, competitors dwindled until Josh Poole bested Kyle Shumaker on the last pair of the box to become both the gun champion and Texas resident champion. During this shoot-off, Lindsay Plesko overtook Rachel Barringer to gain the Ladies title. Sixteen shooters then took the stage to try their hand at securing the Cody Sergeant / Harper Insurance Agency 20-gauge title. At the end of the first box, Cody Sergeant, Josh Poole, Andre Williams and Rachel Barringer finished clean and headed off to grab a second box of shells. Andre Williams and Rachel Barringer again went clean in the second box. Toward the end of the third box, Rachel let a bird slip by, allowing Andre to secure the gun championship. Rachel was not left out of the cold, however, having secured both the Ladies title and the resident championship.

The final shoot-off of the evening was the GHSC 12-gauge. Notably, Georgie Seagraves had one of the nine perfect scores with her first 100 straight. It was interesting to observe that of the nine competitors, four of the perfect scores were women, portending events to come. The first box narrowed the field to Cliff Moller, Cooper Oliver, and Kaleigh Lawson. After a few pairs in the second box, Cooper Oliver was crowned gun champion and resident champion. Kaleigh Lawson secured runner-up and the Ladies title.

As the sun rose on Sunday morning, the scoreboard revealed that Houston Deshotels was 400 straight, and both Rachel Barringer and Josh Poole were 300 targets straight. Conditions seemed ripe for solid scores in the .410 Bore with a balmy 96% humidity and temperatures rising rapidly from 75 degrees at dawn. By 3:30 in the afternoon, all scores were turned in. The scoreboard revealed that although no perfect HOA or HAA scores were meant to be, several strong scores were posted. Both NSSA Hall of Famer, Kevin Monteleone, and Rachel Barringer posted scores of 398×400 and lined up to vie for the HOA Championship, sponsored by the Dallas Gun Club. The crowd gathered to witness the shoot-off and to see if Rachel could win the open HOA title, after being crowned the second female Texas State overall HOA Champion since the start of the championship in 1931. The format of the HOA shoot-off was a regulation round of singles, total score. It quickly became apparent that Rachel was not to be denied and at the end of the shoot-off, she secured the overall HOA title, the resident HOA title, and the Ladies HOA title. Four shooters with scores of 99 lined up for the S&B Plumbing .410 Bore Championship. Kevin Monteleone bested Alison Boyette to win the open title and Mike Gerschick secured third overall and the Texas resident champion crown.

Hats off to Rachel Barringer and her impressive accomplishment, and many thanks to all the competitors that came to Houston to compete. The TSSA is already looking forward to what excitement the 2023 event holds. Plan on joining us from June 8-11, 2023, at the Greater Houston Sports Club to witness the excitement for yourself.

– Contributed by Patrick Byrne

2022 MS Skeet Championship

December 6, 2022 By Cara Woodard

September 9-11 will surely go down in the history books as a weekend to remember in Mississippi! Starkville Gun Club hosted the 2022 Mississippi Skeet Championship, a shotgun wedding and the Mississippi Hall of Fame celebration all in one weekend. Thirty competitors kicked off the events on Friday afternoon with Jeff Sullivan (MS 2020 HOF) claiming victory as 2022 Doubles Champion. Then, with a quick change of clothes, Jeff walked down the aisle (under the front porch due to rain) and tied the knot with his beautiful bride, Penny Pittmann Spooner. Jeff shot his first 100 in .410 at SGC in 2010, so it seemed only fitting that this be the venue for his shotgun wedding. The happy couple generously arranged for a wonderfully lavish banquet of food and drinks in the clubhouse, which was enjoyed by all our shooters, spouses, family and friends. Dancing in the rain was captured on video!

Saturday’s weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold and not too windy, and three competitors produced perfect 100 scores in the morning. Shoot-offs made Stan Salter the 12 gauge champion, Jessica Wolfe runner-up and Trip Jones third. In the afternoon, shoot-offs broke a three-way tie of 99; this time, Trip Jones prevailed as 20-gauge champion, David Gollott (MS 2021 HOF) runner-up and Jeff Sullivan third.

And then a fabulous steak dinner with our skeet family to honor our two inductees into the Mississippi Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame:

Tony Rosetti, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War with more wins and accolades in both International and American Skeet than we have room to list on this page, was the first to be honored. To his credit are four HOA World Championships, six Open Mississippi Skeet Championships, multiple Mississippi State Teams, world records, plus a 1972 Mississippi HOA score of 399 that set a state record that stood for 30 years.

Clark Hartness, a U.S. Army veteran also who joined SGC in 1992 after returning from Desert Storm, was also inducted. He has been an NSSA Concurrent All-American Team member for 16 consecutive years, with many state championship buckles to his name. He is super competitive but also a leader and innovator in the skeet world. Back in 1997, Clark was instrumental in the creation of one of the first state association websites posting news, scores and results. He has served as Secretary-Treasurer of MSSA since 1995, as NSSA Director for Mississippi since 1996 and Zone VI NSSA Executive Committeeman since 2018. In 2015, Clark led the first iZone VI Championship, which led to the launch of https://ishoots.org. Somehow, this man does all this, runs all our zone shoots, actively competes and still makes time to help anyone who asks. His contributions to our sport at a local and national level are unmatched.

Sunday morning conditions were pleasantly dry. Frank Callahan (MS 2018 HOF) won the 28-gauge championship outright with the sole perfect 100. Trip Jones was runner-up and David Gollott third, both with scores of 99. To close out the weekend, David Gollott took the .410 championship with an impressive 99, with Frank Callahan runner-up with a 98 and Russell Walker third with a 97.

David Gollott was the 2022 Mississippi State HOA Champion with an impressive score of 392. Congratulations to him, the gun champions and the 2022 Hall of Fame inductees.

The Mississippi skeet family may be smaller in numbers, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a more caring and friendly bunch of folks. I, for one, am blessed to be a part of this great group of people.

– Contributed by Susan Galloway

Kasle Family Charity Open

December 6, 2022 By Cara Woodard

Aah, September! When the nights are cool and the days are warm and sunny! The Kasle Family Charity Open held September 16-18 at the Detroit Gun Club was blessed with blue skies and very little wind. Over 80 competitors, with a number of first-timers and some friends from abroad, were in attendance, and they were all anticipating the Saturday night show that is the hallmark of the Kasle Open. The shoot always starts 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. Two 75s, six 74s and the high Lady automatically qualified for the finals, while 10 73s had a shoot-in for the remaining two spots, setting the stage for the 11 shooters to compete for the coveted crystal bowl.

DOUBLES. Given the great conditions, surprisingly, there were no perfect scores; however, 10 99s shot off, settling everything through B class. Cody Sergeant missed on the last pair for third, while it took going in to the third box for Mark Vaillancourt to emerge the winner over Des Ivanov. Class winners with their 99s were David Ballerini (AAA), Brent Edwards (AA), Charlie Parks (A) and Crystal Stoddard (B and Lady champ). Jim Gingrich (C) and Theresa Buonocore (D) won their classes outright.

12- and 20-GAUGE – Saturday morning’s conditions were severe clear, quickly warming up into 70s and no wind. Not surprisingly, 15 100s were posted in the 12-gauge and nine perfect scores in the 20-gauge. Add to that the plethora of 99s (14 in each event), and it’s a wonder there weren’t more 100 straights. Three shooters made it through the first box. The second time on 4 coming back, David Ballerini let the high bird get by unscathed, settling for third. On the next station, Brent Edwards missed low 3 and Alessandro Vitale hit his pair for the championship. 100s by Bruce Christian (AAA), Ed Smith (AA) and Jason Johnson (A) put them at that top of their classes, with Diana Riddle, Lady Champion. Mike Suwinski (B) and Jim Rogers (C) won their classes outright with 99s, as did Theresa Buonocore (E), and Jenna Tenore won D class in a shoot-off. Diana Riddle was Lady champ.

In the 20-gauge event, the 100-straights took the field with Craig Parsons the victor over Charlie Parks, one station shy of the box. Cody Sergeant was third, Bryan Rogers AAA1, Dennis Lehman AA1 and John Clark A1 with their 100s. Larry Israel (B), Greg Buonocore (C) and John Tucker (D) won their classes outright, with Crystal Stoddard repeating as Lady champ. With two events in the books, four shooters were perfect and another 15 down only one or two targets.

KASLE CUP. Twenty-two years ago, in 2000, the Kasle Cup started as the Walker Cup, named for the original sponsor, Spike Walker. Over the years, it 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; often the contestants are on different teams, with the crowd 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, Caddyshack, 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, and last year’s theme of Gomer Pyle, USMC, a tribute to Spike Walker, who had recently passed away and had the nickname Sergeant Carter. This year’s theme was American Ninja Warrior, featuring a variety of obstacles the shooters had to confront. The show started with a spectacular fireworks display. The contestants were announced by the emcees, Billy Ray Suggs and Mike Kremski. The banner hanging below the announcer’s booth read “Bigger Obstacles – Tougher Contestants,” but it was quickly pointed out that was a misprint and should have read “Bigger Contestants – Tougher Obstacles.” In years past, the competition was skeet doubles on stations 3, 4 and 5, shooting flash targets, with music playing and the crowd heckling, making for quite a spectacle. This year, however, was kicked up a notch by having to shoot a variety of sporting clays targets. Rarely has the shoot-off gone more than a round, which is understandable given all the commotion, but the new format provided more excitement and shooting, and a bigger challenge. When the smoke finally cleared, Bruce Christian was the winner of the coveted crystal bowl – his second!

28 GAUGE and .410 BORE. Sunday’s conditions were a little cooler than Saturday’s; the dreaded white puffies usually make an appearance for the .410 event, but they failed to show. Ten shooters posted 100s in the 28-gauge event, and it quickly got down to two, with Cody Sergeant taking third. Andy Peter prevailed over Mark Vaillancourt for the championship. Bryan Rogers (AAA), Owen Knight (AA) and John Clark (A) finished at the top of their classes with 100s; Pat Wusthoff won his shoot-off for B1; and Gary Trilli (C) and John Tucker (D), won their classes outright. Crystal Stoddard was again Lady champ.

The .410 bore saw three perfect scores in the afternoon, but it took little more than a handful of stations to sort it all out. Ballerini was the Champion, followed by Owen Knight, runner-up, and Ed Smith, third. Shoot-offs were needed to settle AAA, AA and C classes, with Fred Tschantz, Dess Ivanov and Bill Brown the respective winners. David Duncan (A), Paul Johnston (B) and John Tucker (D) were at the top of their classes. Trish Magyar was Lady champ.

HIGH OVER ALL. In the High Over All race, after three events Cody Sergeant was straight, with five shooters down two targets, and another five down just three or four targets. So, once again, it would all come down to the baby bore. When the final shot was fired in the .410, Ed Smith was on top with a 398 – that’s what running 100 in the .410 can do for you! – with three tied at 397. David Ballerini missed first, settling for AAA1, then Cody Sergeant missed, handing the runner-up spot on the podium to Bruce Christian. Steve Wood (AA), Steve Patke (A), Greg Buonocore (C), Andrea Lehr (D) and Theresa Buonocore (E) stood at the top of their classes, with Larry Israel (B) winning his shoot-off for top class honors. Crystal Stoddard was 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 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 Jenny and Carol, made sure that no one went hungry or thirsty; and our 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 even did double duty as a referee.

Next year the Motor State is scheduled for July 7-9 and the Kasle Family Charity Open, September 15-17. Watch for our ads in Target Talk or go to MichiganSkeet.com. Get your registration in early so you, too, can have “Too Much Fun” at Detroit Gun Club.

– Contributed by Trish Magyar