Clay Target Nation

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

2022 MS Skeet Championship

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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

Grand Prairie World Warm-Up

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In true style, shooters came out to enjoy some awesome shooting and camaraderie! It was a pleasure to have worldwide shooters join us for their first shoot in three years. Shooters from the United Kingdom and New Zealand were a welcome sight, as they have become friends of the Grand Prairie Gun Club over the years and it was awesome to see them again. Martin Brister, Kerri Fallon, Matt Fallon, Shane Quinn, Ray Rogers and John Tonkin joined us, and it was so nice to see their smiling faces – it has been a long three years.

We also welcomed out-of-state shooters James George and Bill Myers from Louisiana and New Mexico, respectively.

The first World Warm-Up Mini was held this year due to the generous support of Jason Foshea and Brian D’Souza, with 12-gauge in the morning and doubles in the afternoon. The Mini was eventful for at least one shooter who shot the lone 100 for the entire weekend. If you were there, you know who it was, and we were all reminded several times by this person of his achievement as the lone 100 – congrats to Randy Walhood!  He kept us smiling. We also congratulate Brian D’Souza as champ of the doubles event as well as his HOA win. Jason Foshea was the Mini runner-up, and Richard Funk captured third place.

Sixty-one shooters joined us for the Main. Jason Foshea was a big winner, capturing the champ slot for 12-gauge, .410 and HOA. Brian D’Souza landed 12-gauge runner-up, and Houston shooter Pat Byrne was third in 12-gauge.

Other gun winners included:

12-Gauge – Jason Foshea, champion; Brian D’Souza, runner-up; Pat Byrne, third

20-Gauge – Brandon Cade, champion; Gary Jaggears, runner-up; Donny Penwell, third

28-Gauge – Richard Funk, champion; Brandon Cade, runner-up; Jason Foshea, third

.410 Bore – Jason Foshea, champion; Matt Fallon, runner-up; Gary Jaggears, third

Jason Foshea and Brandon Cade shot off for the HOA Champion position, with Jason coming out on top. Gary Jaggears captured third place. Lady shooters at the top for the Warm-Up were Jo Ellen Collin, champ; Emily Nevin, runner-up; and Jenny Pang, third. Emily and Jenny have been shooting a couple of years and are coming on strong in these competitions.

One other activity that was memorable and a lot of fun was the 3-Man Blind Calcutta for the 28-gauge event. The 3-Man Blind teams were determined via the MySkeet software to place teams together based on their classes/averages. The teams were announced, and after the completion of the 12- and 20-gauge on Saturday, shooters dined on a steak dinner to study and determine their strategies for the auction of these teams. It was quite entertaining to see the bidding war that ensued, including consortiums that were formed to pool their monies to gain the highest bid for a team.

Hope to see everyone again next year as well as new ones – we love to see new shooters come to Grand Prairie.

The Grand Prairie Club is a volunteer-run club. Many, many thanks go to the awesome group that made sure we had awesome targets and every need met. There were no delays due to machine breakdowns or waiting on someone to load houses. Volunteers also swept the fields, kept us hydrated by filling the coolers with ice and water multiple times during the day and made their work look effortless – like a fine-oiled machine. In addition, Grand Prairie fed the shooters lunches and dinners, again with volunteers providing the food and services to ensure everyone was well-fed and enjoyed themselves. Their hard work was noticed and appreciated. Thank you to all!

– Contributed by Jo Ellen Collin

WorldWide Summer Classic at Victor Rod and Gun

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Victor Rod and Gun Club hosted the sixth annual WorldWide Summer Classic, the “Richest Little Shoot in New York State,” on August 7. This 12-gauge and doubles one-day registered skeet shoot is highly favored by shooters in the Western New York region. Enticed by $3000 in added money, 41 shooters took to the freshly cut and trimmed fields with high expectations of cashing in on the abundant prize money. The shooters started to arrive for registration early in the morning, and the machines were dialed in to throw great targets against a perfect background.

Left to right: HOA Champ Bill Kalwas, Shoot Sponsor Rick Simmonds, and HOA RU Don Lewandoski.

Mother Nature provided a hot and humid day, but the winds were calm, and the blue skies complemented the club’s great background. The morning started with the 12-gauge event. Kody Hoth crushed all 100 targets for the only perfect score of the day, claiming the 12-gauge champ title. There were four scores of 99. Don Lewandoski prevailed in the spirited shoot-off for the runner-up spot. Mat Kelley’s 99 earned him the AA1 title. Bill Kalwas’ 99 took A1. Other 12-gauge winners included Zach Jacot (B), Scott MacIntosh (C), John Quealy (D) and Cheryl Henderson (E).

In the afternoon, Mother Nature turned up the temperatures into the 90s, but the winds remained calm for the doubles competition. Bill Kalwas and Mat Kelley each broke 98 targets. Kalwas won a short shoot-off to claim the doubles title, with Kelley taking the runner-up spot. Doubles class winners were Don Lewandoski (AA), Clay Tietjen (A), Mike Haff (B), John Yackiw (C) and Terry Prem (D).

For the eighth year in a row, a shoot-off was not required to crown the HOA champ. Bill Kalwas bested the field with a superb 197×200 score. Kalwas needed every target, though, as three shooters were just one target behind. In the shoot-off for runner-up, Lewandoski prevailed to take the HOA runner-up spot. The other two shoot-off contenders, Hoth and Kelley, claimed AA1 and AA2 respectively. The remaining HOA class winners were John Boone (A), Scott MacIntosh (B), Jack Mutchler (C) and Cheryl Henderson (D).

Victor Rod and Gun Club’s all-volunteer team did a great job of preparing for the shoot and working during the day of the shoot. Everything ran smoothly from registration through the shoot-offs. Special thanks go to shoot chairman, Andy Nolan, and the administration team.

We cannot thank enough the generosity of Rick Simmonds for sponsoring this shoot. Rick is a long-standing member of VRGC and an avid shooter. We also want to thank Chief Referee Jim Thompson and his crew of referees, who did a fantastic job. Most importantly, we would like to thank the shooters. Without shooters willing to travel from across the region to participate, we could not have a successful shoot.

– Contributed by Wes Bailey

T-Town Classic at Tulsa Gun Club

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On Friday, July 15, Tulsa Gun Club hosted its 5-gun shoot, the T-Town Classic, and it was a hot, hot, hot one.

The doubles event on Friday was won by John Frere with a 99, followed by Robert Robinson with a 97 for runner up, then Jack Taylor at third with a 96 after a shoot-off. On Saturday, Derrick Morgan was crowned 12-gauge gun champ with a 100. Runner-up went to J.T. Hearn, with third place awarded to Jack Taylor, both with 99s.

The 20-gauge came down to a shoot-off for the podium with the top three men all shooting 100s.The event was won by Josh Guess. Brad Goodart fought hard for runner-up, followed by J.T. Hearn for third. Brad tried hard to heckle the young guys and get in their head but fell short.

Sunday was another toasty day, but still wonderful. It is always a great day when you’re at the gun club with your family and friends. The 28-gauge gun champ went to Carol Goodart with her first 100 straight in this gauge. After the field of 99 scores shot off, Ally Robinson took the runner-up title, followed by Josh Guess for third.

After all the shooters melted down in the 104-degree heat, John Frere prevailed as the .410 bore gun champ with a 98. Jack Taylor earned runner-up with a 97, followed by Robert Robinson with a 96.

HOA champion was Josh Guess with a 394, runner-up was Robert Robinson with 392, and Derrick Morgan, third with 392.

– Contributed by Amelia Morgan

 

Phil Femiani Open at Conservation Park

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The inaugural Phil Femiani Open was held at Conservation Park in Charles City, Virginia, August 19-21. Thirty shooters came out to remember Phil, who was always known to carry a wrench in his pocket to help when an adjustment was needed on the field. There was never a shoot held at Conservation Park when you didn’t see Phil and his wife Flo sitting on the patio, catching up with friends.

The weather was perfect, as were the targets. Park manager Kevin Key had the grounds looking beautiful. Friends of Phil and Flo came out to support the shoot and to visit.

Congratulations to Keythe Hancock, HOA with a fine 390; David Warren, runner-up with a 387; and third place Garrett Jordan with a 385. Congratulations to Savannah Morrow who shot her first 100 straight in the 20-gauge event and a 381 to win Junior Champ, David Whipp III with a 366 for Junior runner-up, and Shelby Austin with a 359 for Junior third.

See more coverage and photos at claytargetnation.com.

– Contributed by Laura Key

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