Clay Target Nation

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

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

John Scott / Henry Grubb Azalea Open

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Fort Bragg Clay Target Center hosted the Azalea Open on April 14-16. Early spring gave us some showers, but the 58 attendees had a fun weekend and posted some great scores. Congratulations to collegiate shooter Anna Wood, who won HOA with the lone 391. Her win was even more special because the former Henry Grubb was her mentor. In her free time, she would practice at Henry and Cheryl Grubb’s range. Anna actually hadn’t lifted her gun since the North Carolina State Shoot last September; obviously, the break didn’t dull her shooting skills. 

Gun champs:

Doubles—Josie Cloninger (99), the lone posted 99
12 Gauge—Chris Brown (100) in a 4-person shoot-off
20 Gauge—Addison Wallace (100), the only posted 100 and her first 100 straight in 20-gauge
28 Gauge—Stuart Brown (99), the only posted 99
.410 Bore—Anna Wood (99), with the single highest posted score

HOA winners:

HOA, Collegiate, Triple-Sub and Lady Champion—Anna Wood
Runner-up; SS champion and RM champion—Stuart Brown
Third—Otto (Chip) Simmons
AA1—Mark Smith
A1—Addison Wallace
B1—Ridge Pearson
C1—Joshua Wayne
D1—Briley Koller
JR CH—Addison Wallace
SU CH—Jason Shell
SR CH—Mark Smith
VT CH—Paul Stemac
SV CH—John Parker
ML CH—Timothy Riordan
MV CH—James Delosh
RF CH—Corrie Cloninger
FR CH—Bill Kluttz
2M CH—Scott Graham and Bruce Colclough

Many shooters look forward to returning for future shoots hosted at Fort Bragg Clay Target Center over the summer, including the U.S. Open.

– Contributed by Belinda Tiner

 

84th Virginia State Skeet Championships

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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.

Wood – HOA CH

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 John Snyder runner-up and Dick Weinley third. Class winners were Garrett Jordan (AA), Brian D’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. Tom Williams 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 MGy Sgt 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

 

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