Clay Target Nation

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

Kentucky State Skeet Championships

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The 2022 Kentucky State Skeet Championships returned to Chief Paduke Gun Club after a four-year hiatus. Junior star Donald Ryan Kitchen subdued his closest competitor, Gavin Stevenson, by three targets in the HOA contest. Participants were rewarded with a smooth-running shoot and only slightly high temperatures. Maybe the highlight of the event was a fish fry hosted by the home club and served up by Earl Yarbrough and his entourage; it was enjoyed by all.

HOA and Doubles Champ -Donald Ryan Kitchen

Kitchen got off on the right foot, breaking 98 to take Friday afternoon’s doubles event uncontested. Other class winners were Les Lala (AA, 97), Brad Felton (A, 96), Gavin Stevenson (B, 95), Nick Harwood (C, 84), and Bobby Blalock (D, 81).

In the all-bore event Saturday, Jody Stevenson of the five-man team champion Calvert City Gun Club prevailed over Don Donnelly in a tiebreaker of perfect 100s. Barry Stevenson defeated Kitchen in a shoot-off of 99s in AA, Donnelly led A, and Bart Redman won his B class. Charles Castle with 97, new registered shooter Lane Wicker, 88, and Timothy Thompson, 94, won C, D, and E, respectively.

The yellow shells came out Saturday afternoon, and this time, Les Lala and his 100 prevailed over Kitchen in a miss-and-out decider at 3-4-5. While Joseph Charles was best in A by virtue of his nice 98, Kitchen was tops in AA, Barry Garner grabbed B1 with a 97, while Timothy Thompson garnered a second class champion medal with a 94. Also notching another class win was veteran star Bobby Blalock, breaking 91 for D1.

The hot-shooting Calvert City squad showed their five-man team victory was no fluke in the 28-gauge event, with Jody Stevenson, Gavin Stevenson, and Ken Ford each putting red marks on the board with their perfect efforts. The gun championship shoot-offs ended in that order. T. D. Berkes made his trip from the Volunteer State pay off by finishing first in A with a near-perfect 99. Mark Hammond led the B-class gunners with his 94. Bobby Garner was the winner of C with his 97, and another Calvert City shooter, Zach Oden, got his first class award, this time with his 91 in the D division.

Shooting in one of the last squads, Gavin Stevenson inkballed 99 in the baby bore with a smooth 99, taking state gun champ (and his first) uncontested. Barkley Lister prevailed over Lala and Kitchen in a shoot-off of 98s in class AA. Donnelly marked again with his 96 in A, while another Calvert City hot shot, Nathan Harrington won B class with 89. Garner and Thompson grabbed more gold in C and D, with scores of 91 and 84.

Trailing Kitchen and Gavin Stevenson in the HOA tilt were Donnelly (A, 391) and Jeff Pope (B, 367). Garner and Thompson again triumphed in their respective HOA divisions, breaking 378 and 359, respectively.

Chief Paduke would like to thank all those that supported and participated, especially the KSSA leadership. We invite each and every one back for the 2023 version of the Kentucky Lake Open.

– Contributed by Bob Toy

12 and 28 CH – Jody Stevenson, 410 CH – Gavin Stevenson
20 GA CH – Les Lala

8th Annual Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

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The 8th annual Couples Shoot was held at Generations Skeet Club near Patton, Pennsylvania, on September 18. The weather was lovely, upper 70s, mostly sunny, and not too much wind, at least by Generations’ standards.

The Couples Shoot was initiated by Generations in 2015, and the initial goals of the shoot remain: to introduce new shooters (especially ladies and younger shooters) to skeet; to have fun shooting while stressing gun safety; to enjoy an early autumn afternoon with a fine group of people, and, of course, to eat!

Twenty-six couples shot this year, four more than last year. Very few skeet shoots in the country have 26 lady shooters.

Shooting began late in the morning, and all four of Generations’ skeet fields were involved. Many of the participants were first-time shooters, and several had never handled a gun before in their lives. NSSA Certified Instructors were available to all four fields to help new shooters. Shotguns and shells were provided to any who needed them.

Squads of four or six people were formed. All NSSA safety rules were strictly enforced, but some of the other rules were slightly “bent” at times to help new shooters. For example, some new shooters shot four singles instead of two singles and a double at times, and congratulating a new shooter each time they smoked a bird was strongly encouraged.

After everyone had shot at 50 birds (two rounds), shoot-offs began. Liberal handicaps were applied, which allowed all 26 couples to shoot doubles at 3, 4 and 5. The shoot-offs were also handicapped, with experienced shooters receiving no targets and rookies getting four. Most shoot-offs are somewhat subdued to let the shooters concentrate, but not this group. Up and down the line of fields you could hear hootin’ and hollerin’ as the ladies were busting targets at doubles. Following the first round of shoot-offs, the remaining eight pairs of shooters proceeded to field 2 for the final shoot-off while everyone else gathered around to cheer on the competitors.

Several new shooters made it to the final field, but even with their handicap they could not hold off Allison Shaffer and Alex Newara, who just kept breaking clays and emerged as the Couples Shoot champions. Alex is new to the game but held his own in the shoot-off. Allison is getting used to this champ stuff, as she was Pennsylvania Ladies HOA Champ at this year’s State Shoot. Terry Smith and his grandniece Jenna Smith were Couples Shoot runners-up, and Kevin and Cheryl Smith (no relation to Terry and Jenna) took third place. Cheryl remarked after the shoot-off that she could not believe they won third place. She and Kevin were thrilled. Pictures of the group followed the crowning of the shoot champions with the custom-made crown of shotgun shells, while gift certificates for food and shooting were awarded to all three winning teams.

After the shooting was done, people headed to “The Barn,” about 200 yards from the skeet clubhouse, for a fine picnic-style dinner. Ryan Holtz cooked the delicious chicken on-site, and many people brought covered dishes and yummy desserts. There was plenty of food and drink, including homemade wine, but more importantly, many new friendships were formed.

Kudos to the Generations Skeet Family for hosting a great event. We are already looking forward to next year. If you would like to be added to the list of competitors, please email Roy Holtz at royholtz@gmail.com. No prior experience is necessary, and the Generations family will definitely show you a good time.

– Contributed by George Gleich

Champions – Alex Newara and Allison Shaffer
L to R-Kevin and Cheryl – 3rd, Terry and Jenna Smith – RU, Alex Newara and Allison Shaffer – CH

Nebraska State Skeet Championships

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The 90th Nebraska State Skeet Championships were held at Koch Range in Omaha, Nebraska, in mid-August. The weather was perfect for shooting, which is unusual for August in Nebraska.

The temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s; fortunately for some, the scores were a little higher than the temperature. Although there were no 100 straights over the weekend, there were several 99s.

The doubles event was shot on Friday, with three 96s for the high. After the shoot-off, Kurt Mann came away with the win. Josh Peters took second and Rob Predmore earned third. Class winners were Chris Lutz (A, 94), Zach Hinze (B, 93), Ray Hansen (C, 89) and Kim Zenon (D, 84).

Saturday morning started off with the 20-gauge. Two young shooters tied with 99s. After the shoot-off, Zach Hinze took gun champ and Jacob Uphoff runner-up. Third place went to Rob Predmore with his lone 97. Winning the classes were Mark Portz (A, 96), Rick Hoffman (B, 95), Ron Fucinaro (C, 94) and Steve Schmiedeeskamp (D).

The .410 was shot Saturday afternoon, Jacob Uphoff winning the gun championship with a 96. Runner-up went to Rob Predmore (93) and third place to Zach Hinze (92). Class winners were Dave Meisinger (A, 92), Deric Meisinger (B, 92), Michael Day (C, 90) and Ray Hansen (D). Saturday ended with dinner catered from Casio’s, thanks to our largest sponsor, Mr. Ron Zych, owner of Zych Drywall located in Omaha.

Sunday was another beautiful day for Nebraska and started with the 28-gauge. Deric Meisinger shot the only 99 in that gauge to earn him gun champ. Four 97s came next and set up a brutal shoot-off, with Dave Meisinger coming away with runner-up and Zach Hinze third. Classes were won by Chris Lutz (A, 97), Ray Hansen (B, 96), Bill Buettgenbach (C, 93) and Thomas Peltz (D).

The last event of the tournament was the 12-gauge, and it was not lacking in excitement! There were two 99s and four 98s, with a lot of shoot-offs on the side. The two 99s shot off for gun champ and runner-up. Jacob Uphoff came away with the win, and Chris Lutz nailed runner-up. Zach Hinze took home third after the shoot-offs of 98s. Winning the classes were Kurt Mann (AA), Dave Meisinger (A), Mark Portz (B), Michael Day (C, 96), Bill Buettgenbach (D, 95) and Ashtian Nielsen (E, 83).

At the end of the day, Jacob Uphoff walked away with his first State Championship. Jacob shot a 390 and received the HOA buckle for the win. Congratulations to all the buckle and medal winners.

– Contributed by David Meisinger

New Jersey Skeet Championship

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The 2022 New Jersey Skeet Championship was held over the weekend of Friday, September 9 through Sunday, September 11. Joint Base-Range 14 once again hosted the event. The competition started with the Friday doubles event, and Jim Seiler broke a very strong 97 to take the championship. Class winners were Ben Galioto (A, 94), Mason Palidar (B, 95), Jay Taylor (C, 91), and South Carolina’s Bob Liptak (D).

On Saturday morning, the weather was perfect for our first gun, the .410 bore. Peconic River shooter Larry Bonavita shot a terrific 97 to win the Open .410 championship. Mike Cerce took AA1 with a 92, and Jim Seiler won A1 with his 96, which also earned Jim the .410 state title. Donna Fusco claimed B1 with a nice 94, and another New York shooter, Ralph Novotny, nailed down C1 with a 92. D1 honors went to Howie Mann.

On Saturday afternoon we shot the 20-gauge event, and a determined Ben Galioto was able to bear down and post a 100 straight to win the title. Mike Cerce posted a 97 to take AA1, and Mike Costello broke a 98 to win A1. Cliff Schafer iced B1 by putting together four solid rounds to break a 98, and Jay Taylor’s 92 won C1.

On Saturday evening, NJSSA provided shooters with an amazing BBQ dinner, beverages and dessert. This year’s dinner was a special event, as Ed Amaty and Ben Galioto were both inducted into the New Jersey Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame. Presentation plaques for both gentlemen will be on display on the New Jersey Hall of Fame board at Joint Base.

On a cloudy Sunday morning we shot the 28-gauge event. This year we will have to open up the records book and enter a new state champion’s name. Joe Madlinger broke his first 100 straight in the 28-gauge and won his first state title. Larry Bonavita won AA1 with a 97, Ben Galioto took A1 with a 98, and Cliff Schafer won B1 with a 95. Neil Alexander shot a solid 96 to take C1 and Howie Mann broke an 88 to reel in D1.

The last gun was the 12-gauge event, and Jim Seiler put an exclamation point on a solid weekend of shooting by breaking a very hard 100 to claim his third state title of the weekend! Larry Bonavita won AA1 with a 97, and Ben Galioto, who missed early, went into damage control mode and preserved a 99 to win A1. Paul Billings secured B1 with a very strong 98, and Ed Amaty locked up C1 with a 95. Tony Viel broke a 95 to secure D1, and Jay Taylor broke a 94 to claim E1.

The coveted and lucrative HOA title represents a body of work over a strenuous weekend of shooting. Ben Galioto’s focus and tenacity resulted in a 391×400. This was Ben’s sixth career HOA title! Mike Cerce took AA1, and Larry Bonavita’s 387 took A1. Only three targets back, Jim Seiler posted a solid 388 to claim B1, and Jay Taylor’s 370 took C1.

A special “thank you” goes out to the following people for making this year’s New Jersey State Shoot possible. Thank you to Ben Galioto for his help in running all of the administrative functions for the shoot. Also, we thank our referees, Ed Amaty, Mark Bricker and Sophia Galioto, who all did an outstanding job refereeing. A special thank you goes to Howie Mann for making our State Shoot t-shirts and patches possible, and we extend our sincere thanks to the entire Joint Base staff for all of their assistance. It is very much appreciated! And last, but not least, a big thank you goes to our loyal New Jersey contingency for stepping up and supporting our shoot, and to everyone who made the trip from New York to support our shoot. Thank you all for attending, and for making this year’s state shoot a huge success!

2022 New York State Skeet Championships

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For the 90th time, shooters honored the end of the shooting season in New York by coming to Rochester-Brooks Gun Club in Rush, New York, over the weekend of August 26-28.

Thanks to the state association’s response to a shooter survey conducted after the 2021 state shoot, the traditional schedule starting with doubles Friday afternoon was amended to shoot doubles Friday morning and start the 12-gauge on Friday afternoon. The achieved objective – a shorter day for all.

Friday morning’s doubles kicked off with beautiful summer weather, but humid with a hint of thunderstorms. After a lunch break spent watching the weather radar, two flights of 12-gauge were shot on Friday afternoon, with a time-out called, thanks to an awesome display of lightning, thunder and pounding rain. Soaking wet would be the description for some of the competitors, but lots of good scores were posted!

In Doubles, shot off Friday evening, Craig Parsons shot the lone 99 to capture the championship outright, and in a shoot-off of four 98s that ended two stations shy of the first box, Bill Kalwas and Don Lewandoski finished runner-up and third, respectively. Scott Van Etten settled for A1. Other class champions included David Ballerini (AA), Shane Farr (B), Junior Champion Owen Cooley (C) and John Quealy heading up D class. Mary Alice DeFrancesco captured her first Lady championship of the tournament.

The third flight of 12-gauge took place Saturday morning and added two more 100s to the scores shot Friday. David Cooley captured the champion’s step on the podium in four stations, while Bill Kalwas and Craig Parsons lasted nearly a box as they battled for runner-up and third, respectively. Mat Kelley and Scott Janowski shot off 100s to finish first and second in AA, and Larry Bonavita won A class with his 100. Other class winners included Bobby DeFrancesco over Bob Kase in a shoot-off for B class, while Doug Goodman shot a terrific 99 to take C class. Owen Cooley repeated as Junior champion and won D class with a 97, and Tim Herbstsommer won E class. Victoria Ferchaw won a shoot-off with Kristin Harshman for the Lady title.

The 20-gauge was also shot on Saturday and produced only two perfect scores and one hat-shooting ceremony. Victoria Ferchaw ran her first 100 with the 20-gauge and two stations of doubles later put Long Island’s Michael Cerce on the runner-up step of the podium. Congratulations to Victoria, who became the third lady to win an Open New York state title! In a shoot off of 99s, Clay Tietjen made his first podium appearance at third, while Steve Wood, Dan Morris and Bernie Lenehan claimed the AA places, and Junior champion Cameron Baker won B class. Other class winners included Dave Sobiegray in a shoot-off of 98s for A, Junior shooter Lincoln Nichols in C class and Nicholas Gillett in D class. Victoria also won the Lady championship.

Following the conclusion of the 12- and 20-gauge shoot-offs Saturday evening, two more popular New York events were held: the shoot-off for all kids, everyone eligible, for flats of ammo sponsored by the Mitchell-Heitman Fund to benefit youth shooting, and the 5-man team shoot-off for NY State belt buckles. Owen Cooley gave targets to all the other young competitors but persevered to take home the ammo, while the 5-man team event, which rarely goes more than a station or two, was a family affair, won by David and Owen Cooley, Dan and Steve Holdsworth, and Chad Seelbinder. This is a handicap event to qualify, but no handicap in the team shoot-off, so nice to see a new winner.

Following the shooting events, Rochester-Brooks hosted a cocktail hour and BBQ dinner for all shooters and guests, concluding with the presentation of awards for the championships determined so far, and the installation of two long-time NYSSA members into the Sportsmen’s Division of the New York State Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Joe Endres, still telling amazing stories in his ninth decade, and to Ed Cornelius, former secretary-treasurer of the state association, who showed us how to bring the heat.

Sunday morning kicked off with two more flights of 28-gauge followed by the conclusion of the .410 event. Four perfect scores were shot in the 28, with Steve Wood emerging victorious after two stations. Matthew Lenehan broke the next pair to take runner-up, while John Boone and Craig Parsons continued to settle third and AA1, respectively. A and B classes were both won with scores of 99, shot by Don Lewandoski and Ken Brown, C class was taken by Al Grundman and Sub-Junior shooter Weston Nichols won D class. Cameron Baker took the Junior championship, and Mary Alice DeFrancesco won a shoot-off against Donna Fusco to capture her second Lady title of the shoot.

In the .410, Craig Parsons needed a good score to wrap up the HOA championship and came through in the clutch with a nice 99×100. A shoot-off of 97s filled the runner-up and third spots as the battle of the Mats took one station for Lenehan to win over Kelley. A shoot-off of 96s in AA also established Jon Zywiczynski  as the winner in one station. B.J. Jensen won A with 95, and Victor Stirpe beat Bobby DeFrancesco in a shoot-off for B-class honors. Dan Nichols won C class, and Steve Holdsworth took home the medal for D class. Cameron Baker won the Junior championship, and Mary Alice DeFrancesco took the Lady title.

Parsons won the HOA championship outright with 398×400, HAA with 497×500. Mat Kelley was runner-up with 393, and Dess Ivanov found the third step on the podium with 391. David Ballerini captured AA1, and a shoot-off of 390s resulted in Clay Tietjen winning A class over Matthew Lenehan. Robert DeFrancesco won B, Alan Grundman took C, Gregory McChesney took home the D-class medal, and young Weston Nichols won the Sub-Junior championship, along with E class. Owen Cooley won both the Junior HOA and HAA, and Mary Alice DeFrancesco won Lady HOA.

 Nice weather, lots of good shooting, a first 100, and a wonderful party on Saturday night made a pretty good weekend. Thanks to Dan Caryl, NY Chief Referee, and his excellent button-pushers, to Roger Brooks and Mike Krol for their work on throwing targets, and to the staff and workers at Rochester-Brooks who made every effort to show shooters a good time. Finally, thanks to the shooters; we couldn’t do it without you.

 – Contributed by Andrea Graham Lehr

 

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