Clay Target Nation

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

3F Summer Classic

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The 3F Club in Lewiston, New York, hosted the 3F Summer Classic on July 14-16. The 3F continues to host one of the top money shoots in New York with over $3000 added money. The shoot had 45 participants with two squads from our Canadian colleagues, and it was nice to see them back. The weather for the weekend was great with sunny blue skies and light winds and HOT except for the 30-minute microburst Saturday afternoon when some got pretty wet.

Friday’s doubles event resulted in a lone 99 by Canada’s Charlie Peacock for the championship. Mat Kelley took runner-up with a 97. Class winners were Steve Wood (AA), Clay Tietjen (A), Mike Smith (B), Ron Casella (C) and Scott Daniels (D).

Saturday’s morning 12-gauge event posted a first registered 100 straight by Mike Smith, along with straights by Steve Wood and Veteran Ricky Laurito. When the dust settled, Wood emerged as champion with Laurito runner-up. Class winners were Kody Hoth (AA), Clay Tiejen (A), Mike Smith (B), Dan Nichols (D) and Weston Nichols (E).

After the lunch break sponsored by Ventry’s Pizza, shooters took to the fields to start the 28-gauge event. Four 100’s were posted and another first 100 straight by Jon Zywiczynski, along with Matt Lenehan, Jeff Ventry and Steve Wood. After a lengthy shoot-off, Wood captured the title, with Ventry runner-up. Class winners were Jon Zywiczynski (AA), Matt Lenehan (A), Fritz Ochab (B), Paul Barnas (C) and Zeljko Blazic (D).

On Saturday night, shooters and guests were treated to cocktails, hors d’oeuvre, shrimp, pulled pork, Natural Link locally made Italian sausage, fruit trays, and dessert table.

Sunday had ideal weather conditions for the day. The lone 100 in the 20-gauge was posted by Charlie Peacock, who took the championship, followed by four 99’s shooting for runner-up. Matt Kelly, Kody Hoth, Mike Smith and Jon Zywiczynski. Kody emerged as runner-up. Class winners were Mat Kelley (AA), Jon Zywiczynski (A), Aaron Burnett (B), Owen Cooley (C) and Weston Nichols (D).

Everyone’s favorite, the .410 event, posted two fine 98’s by Jon Zywiczynski and Charlie Peacock with Jon outlasting Peacock to take the champion spot. Class winners were Jeff Ventry (AA), Matt Lenehan (A), Johnny Sibani (B), Paul Barnas (C) and Weston Nichols (D).

The HOA crown came down to a pair of 395’s and a battle of the borders: New York’s Jon Zywiczynski and Ontario’s Charlie Peacock. After they squared off, Jon Zywiczynski managed to fend off Charlie to take the HOA Crown. Remaining class winners were Steve Wood (AA), Matt Lenehan (A), Aaron Burnett (B), Owen Cooley (C) and Zeljko Blazic (D).

Thanks to our key sponsors this year, we were able to keep our traditional added money payouts in these uncertain times. Sponsors were Duane Manth and family, Dawson Enterprises (Ammo and Reloading Supplies, Massillon, OH), Cambria Game Farms, Niagara River Fishing Station, and the Ventry family for the .410 blind. Without the generosity of our sponsors, the shoot would not happen. Thanks to our referees who did an excellent job and had the stamina to hang in there in the heat, and to and all our volunteers who made this shoot possible: Mike Clarke, Fredo Vanoni, Dave Sobiegray, Jeff Ventry, Mat Kelley, Kody Hoth, and Aaron Burnett; Jackie Ventry and Lisa Kelley for running the shoot and dinner table. Thank you to all the shooters for making our event a growing success. Please join us again next year and bring along your new shooting friends.

– Contributed by Dave Sobiegray

WorldWide Summer Classic

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Many years ago, Gordon MacRae sang “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin” in the musical “Oklahoma!”, and indeed it was on August 6 as the Victor Rod and Gun Club in Victor, New York, hosted the seventh annual WorldWide Summer Classic. The weather was as near perfect as it gets in Western New York, with light winds and temperatures in the 70’s. This 12-gauge and doubles one-day registered skeet shoot, with $3000 in added money, is highly favored by shooters in the region. 

The shooters started to arrive for registration early in the morning. Shooter registration was fast and efficient for the 45 shooters due to a new, streamlined pre-registration process. The shooters were in very good spirits as they gathered in the pavilion. They enjoyed catching up with old friends while making new friends. The machines were dialed in to throw great targets against a great background. Everyone was eager to start the competition. The freshly cut and trimmed fields awaited the shooters.

The morning started with the 12-gauge event. Both Christopher Dole and David Cooley crushed all 100 targets for the only perfect scores of the day. After a brief shoot-off, Dole emerged as 12- gauge champ with David becoming the runner-up. Bill Kalwas and Mat Kelley took their scores of 99 into a shoot-off for AA class 1st and 2nd. Kalwas emerged as class AA1 after a lengthy and exciting shoot-off. Chad Seelbinder had the lone 99 score in B class to claim B1. Mike Haff and Victoria Ferchaw also had scores of 99. Mike emerged the winner of the shoot-off over Victoria to claim A1. Rounding out the other 12-gauge winners were Walt Aldrich (C) and John Yackiw (D).

At midday, the kitchen crew prepared a great lunch, much to the delight of the hungry crowd.  For the afternoon doubles competition, the winds remained relatively calm. Owen Cooley and Bill Kalwas each broke 99 targets. Kalwas won a short shoot-off to claim the doubles title, with Owen Cooley taking the runner-up spot. Doubles class winners were David Cooley (AA), Scott Janowski (A), Jeff Ventry (B), Terry Prem (C) and Jack Mutchler (D).

For the ninth year in a row, a shoot-off was not required to crown the HOA champ. Bill Kalwas bested the field with a superb 198×200 score. This was Bill’s second HOA Champion title in a row. David Cooley and his son Owen shot off for HOA runner-up. This father-son match-up drew the interest of the crowd. David was able to beat Owen after a spirited shoot-off, with Owen taking A1. Owen is a Junior shooter and a rising skeet star. We will be seeing him a lot on future winners’ stands. The remaining HOA class winners were Kody Hoth (AA), Dan Berry (B), Jack Mutchler (C) and William DiSalle (D).

Everything ran smoothly from the registration process through the shoot-offs due to the tireless efforts of the members of the Victor Rod and Gun Club.

We cannot thank Rick Simmonds enough for generously 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 as always. 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. We are very fortunate to have such a passionate group of skeet shooters in this part of the country. We look forward to another great shoot in 2024.

– Contributed by Wes Bailey

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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