Clay Target Nation

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

Photo Gallery: 2023 Kolar U.S. Open Skeet Championship

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With 14 participating clubs, the 2023 Kolar U.S. Open left us with no shortage of photos to share with you. You can read full coverage of the event in the August issue of Clay Target Nation, but please enjoy the photos below, sorted by club. If you have photos from the U.S. Open you’d like to share with us, please email them to ctn@nssa-nsca.com and we’ll be happy to add them to this gallery.

Click on a photo to enlarge.

 

Ark Valley Gun Club

 

Brown County Sportsmen’s Club

 

Fort Bragg Clay Target Shooting Center

 

Fort Rucker Skeet Club

photos by Jennifer Wilson

 

Imperial Polk Gun Club

 

Lafayette Skeet Academy

 

Montgomery County Shooting Complex

Missoula Skeet and Trap Club

photos by Paul N. Queneau

 

National Shooting Complex

photos by Lefty Ray Chapa

 

Salisbury Gun Club

 

St. Joe Valley Conservation Club

 

Tucson Trap and Skeet Club

 

United Sportsmen Inc.

photos by Shakib Akbari

Photo Gallery: John Teresi Shoot

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The John Trees Shoot was held at Stockton Trap & Skeet Club on April 15, 2023. With 38 shooters competing, Anthony Juarez took home HOA Champ, followed by Jack Campbell in RU, and Rocky Romo in third.

Click on a photo to enlarge.

All photos taken by Shakib Akbari

Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot

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Grand Prairie Gun Club was proud to again hold the Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot April 14-16. Donny Penwell hosts this shoot in honor of his father, Penny Penwell, who was well-known in the Dallas area as a great shooter and supporter of skeet shooting. Donny makes sure shooters have a memorable time at his shoot. And the gun club members, who volunteer their time and hard work, are extremely supportive and take great pride in throwing great targets and providing delicious meals. They work tirelessly to ensure everyone one has a great shooting experience at Grand Prairie.

(L to R) David Chancellor 28ga CH, Dustin Holmes 410 CH, Jason Foshea 12ga CH, Michael Dennis DBLS CH, Adam Roberts HOA CH

The Texas referees are second to none – they came out and worked with no planned breaks. It is so important to have good referees, and it certainly helps shooters to perform at their best. These referees did a great job, and we appreciate their support, as well as Allen Cline for his leadership to develop and train referees in the state of Texas.

The Saturday night shrimp boil and the 28-gauge Calcutta auction are definitely highlights for this shoot! Three-man teams are blindly identified electronically based on classes to get good competitive teams in place, and they are auctioned off to the highest bidder. It is great fun and provides great camaraderie as consortiums are sometimes formed to pool their funds to bid on the favored teams. Quite a bit of analysis is typically done to ensure success in winning the auction for the best team.

2023 winners of the Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot:

Adam Roberts – HOA Champion

Jason Foshea – HOA runner-up

Mike Gershick – HOA third

Kathleen Butler – HOA Lady champ

Jason Foshea – 12-gauge champ

Mike Gerschick – 12-gauge runner-up

Tommy Hubbard – 12-gauge third

Kathleen Butler – 12-gauge Lady champ

Nicholas Godfrey – 20-gauge champ

Adam Roberts – 20-gauge runner-up

Dennis Godfrey – 20-gauge third

Jo Ellen Collin – 20-gauge Lady champ

David Chancellor – 28-gauge champ

Adam Roberts – 28-gauge runner-up

Ken Wright – 28-gauge third

Jo Ellen Collin – 28-gauge Lady champ

Dustin Holmes – .410 champ

Doug Toulouse – .410 runner-up

David (Tim) Cudia – .410 third

Kathleen Butler – .410 Lady champ

Michael Dennis – Doubles champ

Travis Mears – Doubles runner-up

Jon McDonald – Doubles third

Tracy Ragle – Doubles Lady champ

David Chancellor came down from Oklahoma to referee the shoot but also shot, winning the 28-gauge after shooting a perfect score of 100 and winning the shoot-off. Then he iron-manned as a referee, as he often does.

Come out and join this shoot next year – we would love to have you!

– Contributed by Randy Walhood

Kathleen Butler Lady HOA CH
Nick Godfrey 20ga CH

Onion Snow Open

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The Sportsmen’s Club of Forest County in Marienville, PA held their second-ever registered skeet shoot, the Onion Snow Open, on May 22. The Club was established in 1970 but didn’t have a skeet field until about 15 years ago. Club members Norm Wagner and Paul McConville were instrumental in the planning and construction of the field. As many as 20 skeet shooters use the field on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, and a number of these shooters volunteer to help get things done around the club. Registered monthly targets at the club have resulted in several new shooters being added to NSSA’s rolls in the past few years. 

This shoot was a two-gun affair, including 100 birds in each 28- and 12-gauge. The weather was relatively warm, but otherwise not especially nice — clear in the early morning and late afternoon, but windy with clouds and off-and-on rain for much of the day. Fifteen shooters participated. There were three flights, which meant a full slate for this one-field club. Allison Shaffer, Mark Eckert and Chris Kline, respectively, were HOA Champion (193), runner-up (191) and third (190).

The 28-gauge was first. Mark Eckert’s 95 made him gun champ, while Jared Shaffer’s 95 was good for runner-up. Class winners included Tom Shields (AA), Allison Shaffer (A), Evan Martin (B), John Avolio (C) and Norm Wagner (D).

A great lunch was enjoyed by all, with ham barbecue, macaroni salad, baked beans and several fresh fruit salads, followed by a large assortment of delicious desserts. Many thanks to Lois and Carol Shields!

After lunch, the 12-gauge event took place. Allison Shaffer’s 99 made her the 12-gauge champ, while Chris Kline, also at 99, was runner-up. Evan Martin, Jared Shaffer, Colby Eckert and George Gleich, respectively, took firsts in A, B, C and E classes.

Kudos to Tom Shields for overall shoot management and to Paul McConnville, Mark Williams, Dale Gallagher and Dave Smerker for their efforts before and during the shoot. Many thanks also to Casey Vensel for sign-ups, scorekeeping and posting, etc.

It was neat to again experience the “advance warning” of the exiting birds as they were thrown flawlessly from vintage Winchester traps.

– Contributed by George Gleich

Blackbird Open

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The Blackbird Open was held at Generations Skeet Club near Patton, Pennsylvania, on May 7. Thirty-four shooters participated in this two-gun event, 12-gauge in the morning and 20-gauge in the afternoon. The weather was overcast with scattered rain showers, mainly in the afternoon, but relatively warm and not too windy.

Chris Kline took HOA honors with a perfect 200. Pat Leyo and Mark Eckert both posted HOA scores of 197. Debra Meade was Ladies HOA champ with a 195. Great shooting by all!

Kline’s 100-straight won the 12-gauge event outright. Meade’s 98 was good for Lady Champion. Class winners in the 12 included: Leyo (AA-97), Jack Harshbarger (A-99), Meade (B-98), John Avolio (C-97), Don Steinert (D-95) and George Gleich (E-89).

Kline was also 20-gauge champ, but not until he bested Leyo and Frank Smithmyer in a shoot-off of 100-straights. Missy Vescovi was Lady Champion with a 98. Class firsts went to: Smithmyer, Leyo, Mark Eckert (99), Scott Hazlett (94) and Andrew Hazlett (86), AA, A, B, C and D, respectively.

Kudos to Ryan Holtz for running the desk and Michael Vescovi, who was chief referee. Non-shooting referees included Renee Calvert, Andrea McMullen, Alex Farrell and Braden Holtz — great job, refs! Thanks also to Pat Leyo for doughnuts and to Renee Calvert for cookies!

Many skeet shooters agree that recruiting young shooters is one of the most important tasks we face as a sport. Generations’ next generation of skeet shooters is on the way! Sub-Junior Luke Holtz (13) and Juniors James and Braden Holtz and Gabe Smithmyer shot on a squad with Gabe’s dad Frank who showed them how to do it with his 100-straight.

Nine pairs of parent and child competitors participated in this shoot. Families represented included: Harshbarger, Sutton, Hazlett, Vescovi, Steinert, Smithmyer and three sets of Holtz teams.

Junior shooter Zak Sutton of the Lawrence County Young Guns from Wampum, PA, shot and did quite well (two 95s). Sporting clays is the main focus of this group of several dozen young shooters, but they also participate in trap and skeet. Zak’s dad, Ed, shot his first registered skeet and finished with very respectable scores.

And speaking of young skeet shooters, Generations also hosted the PA SCTP Championships on May 20, with approximately 90 young people participating. Kudos to Joe Gans 3 for all his efforts with the kids!

– Contributed by George Gleich

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