Clay Target Nation

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

6th Annual Harry Michelson Memorial Skeet Tournament

By

St. Joe Valley Conservation Club had the honor of hosting the 6th annual Harry Michelson Memorial skeet tournament. Memorial weekend was the perfect time to honor one of our WWII heroes.

Mike Schmidt – 2nd, Owen Knight – HOA, Bruce Christian – 3rd, Sandy Michelson

Harry Michelson was a decorated WWII pilot, lifelong NSSA member and Chief Referee for many years. Harry’s daughter Sandy continues her father’s legacy by sponsoring this tournament each year in his honor at St. Joe Valley Conservation Club.

We had 54 registered shooters for the Memorial weekend event. Friday was a beautiful day to begin the tournament, starting with doubles in the afternoon. Alan Ferrell was the only shooter to run the board with a 100 straight. Mike Schmidt, Owen Knight and Kyle Krispin were in the shoot-offs with 98’s. Mike Schmidt was runner-up and Owen Knight was third.

Saturday morning began with the National Anthem, followed by “Back Home in Indiana.” The 12-gauge event produced some very good scores. Bruce Christian, Mark Presnell and Jack Krispin each posted 100 straights. Bruce Christian prevailed in the shoot-off to win the 12-gauge event. Mark Presnell was runner-up and Jack Krispin third.

The 20-gauge event continued with some very good shooting. Nic Shiveley, Mike Schmidt, Owen Knight and Kyle Krispin all shot 100 straights, setting up a four-man shoot-off, with Nic Shiveley the last man standing. Mike Schmidt was runner-up and Owen Knight third.

Sunday morning brought the possibilities of some rain showers and storms later in the day. In the 28-gauge event, Owen Knight and Jack Krispin were the only ones to shoot 100’s. Andrew Winders, Mike Schmidt, Jason Johnson and Al Magyar were in the shoot-offs with 99’s. Owen Knight won his shoot-off against Jack Krispin for first place, and Andrew Winders won his shoot-off to place third.

By afternoon, the weather was changing with a storm front moving in. Bruce Christian posted the highest score in the .410 event, a 99. Owen Knight, Ken Ford and Mike Schmidt each shot 98 to go into the shoot-offs. Bruce Christian was first, Owen Knight second and Ken Ford third.

Owen Knight was HOA with a 397, Mike Schmidt was runner-up with 396 and Bruce Christian third with 395.

The rain and storms held off for the shoot-offs. By the time the volunteers had the fields closed down and equipment under roof, the storms moved in.

Big thanks to all the volunteers who had the fields looking great, the volunteers that worked the weekend to load and adjust machines, and the volunteers that worked in the kitchen to provide food and refreshments. A very big thanks to Sandy Michelson for her generosity and her support. Sandy was in attendance every day to support and help anyway she could.

The Harry Michelson Memorial Shoot is scheduled for May 2025, so mark your calendars.

– Contributed by Ted Nussbaum

Paxton Arms Texas State Skeet Championships

By

The 2023 Paxton Arms Texas State Skeet Championships were held at the Greater Houston Sports Club (GHSC) June 1-4. One hundred seventy-six shooters from three continents brought their top target-busting talent to determine the next name to engrave on GHSC’s revered Todd Bender champion’s monument below reigning 2022 HOA Champion Rachel Barringer’s.

Rachel Barringer HOA, 12 and 410 LDY CH with Melissa Barringer and Lindsay Plesko

Early June around Houston is supposed to be about 90 degrees, and it was. The wildcards, of course, are always wind or rain – sometimes both. All four contest days delivered the weatherman’s “average” conditions that, to a clay target shooter, were way above average! Other than a few wind changes around local thunderstorms, tournament weather was ideal.

The 2023 sponsors ensured the tournament would be an event to remember. In addition to helping to underwrite the contest, the list of ways for entrants to win was long. Each Championship event carried a purse of $400, $300, and $200, with an HOA of $600, $500, and $400. There was a Lewis Class purse, a Briley-sponsored Lewis Class Doubles, and Concurrents that offered prize medals and trophies, including the Gene Jackson Trophy for the Senior Vet Champion and, new for 2023, the Woody Anderson Trophy for the Military Veteran HOA.

Past TSSA president and 2007 TSSA Hall of Famer Harry Mach’s family and Greater Houston Sports Club donated seven 28-gauge Beretta shotguns for the 12-Gauge Event class champions. The Chaddock family offered the Champion of Champions option purse for the highest composite score of the last 25 targets in the Main Event. Buckle prizes were awarded for the Five-Man Team, a cash purse for the Two-Man Team option, and a Three-Man Team blind draw in the 28-gauge Event sponsored by myskeet.com. There were even drawings for complimentary entry into the 2023 World Skeet Championships provided by the National Skeet Shooting Association, and the long list of loot didn’t include the gun and pallet of ammo raffle drawings at the Friday night Hall of Fame banquet!

Thursday, June 1, kicked off with the 100-target, 12-gauge Texas State Referee Championship sponsored by Mike and Sharron Schmitt, and the Doubles Championship, sponsored by the Corpus Christi Gun Club. Congratulations to referee Kirk Barringer, whose 98 earned him the champion spot and commemorative Al Topham belt buckle. Timothy Provorse’s 97 took the runner-up slot, and Michael Dowling, with 94, nabbed third place. In the Doubles, only Edward Smith walked away from the field with a 100 straight, although there was a pile of 99s decided by the shoot-offs. Craig Parsons took runner-up, and Collegiate shooter Sheaffer Stanfill, who was fresh off his Briley Blue Goose runner-up trophy just days before, earned third place.

The Lib Anderson 28-Gauge and start of the Cody Sergeant 20-Gauge competition were on Friday’s schedule, with the shoot-offs held the next day. The highlight of the day was the always-anticipated Friday night Hall of Fame banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pearland. The 2023 inductees were Tim Cudia and Kyle Shumaker. Tim Cudia, a current North Zone TSSA Director, was recognized for contributions to competitive Junior shooting programs. As a five-time state title holder, 2023 Texas All-State Sub-Senior Team member Kyle Shumaker was nominated for shooting proficiency. One of the most coveted awards in Texas skeet is the Art Sideras Rookie of the Year Award. The 2023 recipient was Cash Hicks, a Junior shooter from Weatherford.

Saturday saw the Cody Sergeant 20-Gauge finale and Greater Houston Sports Club 12-Gauge competition followed by the three gun shoot-offs. It looked as if contestants were going to have go deep into their ammo arsenal – there were 11 100-straights in the 28s, eight in the 20s, and 18 in the 12-gauge. Congratulations to 28-gauge champ, TS Chuck Rister, TS Houston Deshotels (runner-up), and JR Connor Thigpen (third). In the 20s, CL Sheaffer Stanfill won the champion spot, with TS Edward Smith runner-up, and CL Carter Royston at third. In the big bore competition, 2022 defending HOA Champion Rachel Barringer took the champion’s spot, SS Les Lala was runner-up, and TS Josh Poole was third. When the guns were cased Saturday afternoon, just two shooters had managed 300x300s – Kevin Monteleone and Sheaffer Stanfill.

One of the more somber parts of the championship is the remembrance of Texas shooters that passed away during the prior year.  Many former greats of our game were recognized, including  David Marcum, Raymond Adamietz, Jim Pierce, Harry Mach, Mike Cusack, Johnny Moore, Dave Scott, John Hunt, John Martinez, Robert Manskey, WC ‘John’ Hill, Connally Ludwick, and Tom Hupp.

The weather looked like it might be fussy on Sunday. A strong storm line passed through during the night, and a second line was forecast in the afternoon. Instead, light northwest winds and comfortable temperatures prevailed throughout the S&B Plumbing .410 Bore rounds and the Dallas Gun Club HOA shoot-offs. In the small bore, SS George Murray, champion, shined with a perfect score, and CL Sheaffer Stanfill dropped just one target for the runner-up spot. Ten shooters posted 98s for the third place tie, and it was VT Douglas Toulouse, third, who didn’t blink at the end.

With an impressive overall of 399, CL Shaeffer Stanfill was named the 2023 Paxton Arms Texas State Skeet Championships HOA Champion. SS Kevin Monteleone took the runner-up honors with 397. SS George Murray prevailed during the shoot-off over Houston Deshotels to break the third-place tie. In the Lady’s concurrent, congratulations go to Rachel Barringer, whose 395 cleanly took the Lady HOA laurels. Melissa Barringer, runner-up, and Lindsay Plesko, third, were her nearest competitors, each with a score of 392.

The Sub-Junior and Junior Concurrents provided a glimpse of Texas’s next champions, and the talent pool looks strong! Slayde Roktya’s 392 earned him the Sub-Junior HOA, and John Arnett crushed 394 of the fast flyers for the Junior HOA. The Woody Anderson Trophy went to Military Veteran HOA winner Douglas Toulouse, and 2023 Texas All-State Senior Vet Team Captain David Cudia earned the Gene Jackson Trophy as HOA Senior Veteran Champion.

Resident Championships were awarded to George Murray (HOA, 20, .410), Rachel Barringer (12), Chuck Rister (28), and Josh Poole (Doubles). Ladies Resident championships were awarded to Rachel Barringer (HOA, 12, .410), Kayleigh Lawson (Doubles, 28), and Lindsay Plesko (20).

The TSSA Board of Directors extends its thanks to GHSC for helping to organize another fantastic shoot, the sponsors whose support made the contest great, the referees whose dedication and tireless talent made the contest precise, and the shooters whose participation made it competitive. We look forward to seeing all of you at next year’s 2024 Paxton Arms Texas State Skeet Championships.

– Contributed by R.K. Sawyer

Sheaffer Stanfill HOA CH
Doug Toulouse MV HOA CH
George Murray HOA Resident 20 Resident and 410 Resident CH

Michelson Youth Skeet Clinic

By

Saturday, September 23 was the second annual Harry Michelson Youth Clinic held at St. Joe Valley Conservation Club, sponsored by Sandy Michelson, Harry’s daughter. Harry was a lifelong NSSA member and chief referee for many years. After his passing, Sandy wanted to continue her father’s legacy by introducing young shooters to the game of skeet. 

The clinic was designed to provide young shooters with the opportunity to learn about the game of skeet and take instruction on the field with certified skeet instructors. Eleven youth from around the area participated in the afternoon session. Youth from Central Noble, Aboite Clays and St. Joe Valley Conservation Club participated in the clinic.

Mike VanZile and Bruce Christian organized and coordinated the activities. Mike Lasley, Larry Easley and Ted Nussbaum assisted with the field instruction. Larry Easley covered gun safety and skeet etiquette in the classroom. All the participants were given approximately two hours of field instruction covering foot position, hold points, gun mounting and how to have fun.

At the end of the session a 25-bird tournament was held for all the participants. Grant Reith was first, Alex Gilot was second and Joseph Fellows was third.

A big thank you to Sandy Michelson for sponsoring this event and for her commitment to our sport and our youth.

– Contributed by Ted Nussbaum

New York State Championship

By

Competitors from New York, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Canada arrived at Rochester-Brooks Gun Club for the annual state/open championships the weekend of August 25-27. Interestingly, half of the championships were won by shooters capturing their first open state titles – a changing of the guard? Too soon to tell, but it made for some exciting moments!

Smith, Parsons, Wood HOA CH

A questionable weather forecast proved accurate for the first events, with tropical humidity levels and a slight mist kicking off the Referee, Doubles and start of the 12-Gauge on Friday. Kerry Henderson defeated runner-up Terry Winders for the Referee Championship, leaving the crew free to push buttons for the rest of the weekend.

No perfection in doubles, as three 99’s took to the shoot-off field to settle the podium. Don Lewandoski took six stations to defeat runner-up Bill Kalwas for his first New York State Open title, with Pennsylvania’s Dennis Lehman winning third along with the non-resident champion medal. There was no battle for the New York-resident third step, as John Boone’s 98 was good for the medallion.

For a complete listing of all winners, please go to www.ishoots.org which was utilized during the competition for texting shooters scores and shoot-off statuses and scrolling scores throughout the universe. Thank you, Clark Hartness!

The “Swamp” returned on Friday evening, 80 pounds of ribs to benefit the Heitman Fund, which in turn benefits youth shooting in New York. Old-time skeet can now be enjoyed by the young generation of hotshots.

The 12-gauge event concluded Saturday morning under much more pleasant weather conditions, sunny and mild, no humidity – whew! Four perfect scores resulted in Swamp-master Dave Cooley returning to the championship podium, followed by Mat Kelley and Craig Parsons winning third. Dennis Lehman also won his second non-resident champion medal.

Saturday also saw the conclusion of the 20-gauge event, where it took half a round of doubles for another first-time champion, Clay Tietjen, to win out over seasoned veteran Craig Parsons. In a shoot-off of 99’s, Steve Wood ascended to the runner-up spot on the podium, and Dave Ballerini won the non-resident champion prize.

Saturday night’s festivities featured the usual traditions, including one more belt-buckle win by the squad of Craig Parsons, Dan Morris, Ed Smith, Cam Baker and Andrea Lehr, plus the Heitman-sponsored Sub-Junior/Junior shoot-off for flats of ammo, snapped up by Owen Cooley, Weston Nichols and Ethyn Moore. These two shoot-offs are crowd pleasers and especially fun to watch the kids just destroy targets!

A cocktail party and delicious Dinosaur BBQ dinner, both sponsored by the host club, was followed by the awards presentations. This year, the NYS Executive Committee honored long-serving NSSA EC member Roland Smith by bestowing the award in his name on our most recently retired Executive Committee member, Dr. Michael Ferchaw. This award is a closely held secret; surprises are always great, and for once, Doc was speechless!

Sunday morning kicked off the conclusion of the 28-gauge event, with sunny skies and perfect temperatures for shooting. Surprise, surprise, only one perfect score, and our third first-time NY open champion was Scott Janowski. 99’s settled the remaining podium rungs as PA’s Chris Kline took runner-up and the non-resident champion medal, and Ed Smith won third. To complete the NY resident podium, Rick Ayers was awarded the NY third medallion.

Sunday afternoon’s .410 event resulted in only one score of 99, posted by Craig Parsons, followed by a shoot-off of 98’s settling Ed Smith as runner-up and Zach Jacot as third. Dan Morris won the non-resident champion medal.

As usual, the .410 event settled High Over All, with Craig Parsons winning the championship over Ed Smith and Steve Wood – all uncontested. Dan Morris won AA1 along with the non-resident champion prize and Sub-Senior HOA. Brian Mayeu defeated Rick Ayers in a shoot-off for A1, Justin Aldrich won B-class, Dan Ficarra headed up class C, and Victor Stirpe wrapped up the class medals with a win in D.

Concurrent HOA winners included Sub-Junior Champion Weston Nichols, Junior Champion Cam Baker, Ed Smith in Triple-Sub, Chris Kline won the Sub-Sub Senior shoot-off, Parsons took Senior, Bob DeFrancesco won Veteran honors, and Victoria Ferchaw won the Lady award. Michael Cerce won First Responder, and the military was well represented by champions Jon Zywiczynski (Military), Jeffrey Groh (Retired Military) and John Boone (Military Veteran).

The final championship of the tournament, Champ of Champs, involved a shoot-off of 99’s where Steve Wood captured the medallion.

Thanks to Rochester-Brooks for hosting this annual event. The club and grounds were in great shape, and Howell Traps was hired to set targets. Thanks to Dan Caryl, NY chief referee, who worked his Rolodex to bring in the best, a move appreciated by all shooters. Mother Nature cooperated after we showed her Rite-in-Rain sheets the first day, and the social activities, club food, contributed to a memorable state championship. See you all next year!

– Contributed by Andrea Graham Lehr

Cooley, Baker JR HOA
Dan Morris NR HOA
Victoria Ferchaw LY HOA
Parsons, Wood, Kline CofC CH
Smith, Parsons, Jacot 410 CH
Tietjen 20-GA CH
D Cooley 12-GA CH
Smith, Janowski, Ayers 28-GA CH
Michael Ferchaw Hall of Fame

87th Pennsylvania State Shoot

By

PSSA held the 87th annual Pennsylvania State Open Skeet Championships at Shenecoy Sportsmen’s beautiful 16-field facility in McConnellstown, PA, on August 18-20. Overall, the weather was nice. A bit of wind on Friday afternoon, a bit of fog Sunday morning, nothing too bad, although some of the doubles shooters (Friday afternoon) might not agree.

HOA Open – L to R- Mike Stasio – RU, Josh Crofutt – CH, Tyler Mroczka – 3RD

One hundred ninety-five participants shot at least one gun, including 45 out-of-state shooters from 14 different states. Thank you so much for coming, folks! There were 178 four-gun shooters, and the shoot difficulty factor was 24.6.

Open HOA winners were Josh Crofutt (champion, 397), Mike Stasio (runner-up, 395) and Tyler Mroczka (third, 394). PA HOA winners were Crofutt (champion), Mroczka (runner-up) and Fran Kosmacki (third, 393). Open HAA Champion and runner-up, respectively, were Crofutt (494) and Stasio (493); Mike Rykacewski Jr. (491) was third. PA HAA honors went to Crofutt, champion; Rykacewski Jr., runner-up; and Mroczka, third.

The .410-bore Prelim on Friday morning involved 32 shooters. Lissette Grunwell-Lacey broke 95 birds and was the open champ. Alyssa Gormish (93) and Peter Bogdon (93), respectively, were open runner-up and third. PA winners were Alyssa Gormish, champion; Clay Gormish, runner-up; and Joe Gans III, third. David Darrough, Meghan Darrough, Charles Ford and Shawn King, respectively, took PA class A-D firsts.

There were 145 doubles shooters on Friday afternoon, and some pesky wind. Mike Rykacewski Jr. (98) was open champion, while Mike Stasio (98) and Kenny Riddile (97), respectively, were runner-up and third. PA champion, runner-up and third, respectively, were Rykacewski Jr., Riddile and Crofutt. PA class firsts went to Chris Kline, Frank Smithmyer, Mroczka, Steve Hildebrand, Gavin Glossner and Mark Hunt (AAA-D).

In the main event, there were nine 100-straights in the 12-gauge, six in the 20, seven in the 28 and three in the .410. PA champion, runner-up and third, respectively, were Mark Eckert, Mroczka and Crofutt in the 12-gauge (with Jack Krispin as open champion); Rykacewski Jr., Jack Harshbarger and Crofutt in the 20 (Krispin and Meredith Tunick, respectively, open runner-up and third; Crofutt, Kosmacki and Nick Boerboon in the 28 (Sam Armstrong and Tunick, respectively, open champion and third), and Roy Holtz, Rich Vensel and Tom Hillard in the .410 with PA shooters taking the top three open spots with 100-straights.

Class first places (PA) were won by Denny Lehman, Smithmyer, Joe Vescovi, Michael Vescovi, Kurt Fisher, Gavin Glossner and Andrew Wojtaszek (12-gauge AAA-E); Kline, Ed Call, Tim Vescovi, Evan Martin, Bill Sellitto and Gavin Glossner (20-gauge AAA-D); Rykacewski Jr., Tom Johnson, Mroczka, Joe Paul, Grant Glossner, and Colby Eckert (28-gauge AAA-D), and Kline, Joe Vescovi, Adam Vollmer, Meghan Darrough, John Stough and Jerry McCullough (.410 bore

AAA-D).

Grant Glossner, David Darrough and Ryan Harshbarger, respectively, were Sub-Junior open and PA HOA champion, runner-up and third. Kyle Krispin, Gavin Glossner and Marcus Rosenstiel Jr., respectively, were Junior open HOA champion, runner-up and third; Gavin Glossner, Rosenstiel Jr., and Adam Smith, respectively, were Junior PA HOA champ, runner-up and third.

Open Lady HOA winners were Meredith Tunick, champion; Meghan Darrough, runner-up; and Crystal Stoddard, third. PA Lady HOA winners were Meghan Darrough, champion; Alyssa Gormish, runner-up; and Missy Vescovi, third.

Saturday evening was busy, beginning with 12- and 20-gauge shoot-offs and ending with several hat shoots and the BCDE Challenge shoot-off. Tyler Wagner had his first registered 25-straight in the 12-gauge event; Rich Vensel and Tom Hillard had their first 100-straights in the .410. All three of their hats were well ventilated.

Between the shoot-offs and the hat shoots: Roy Holtz from Generations Skeet Club was inducted into the PSSA Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame. Roy is and has been a strong ambassador for skeet for many years. His favorite avocation is teaching youngsters what skeet is all about, often providing guns, ammo and targets. I can think of no one in the State who deserves this honor more than Roy. He is not a bad shooter either, as evidenced by his 100-straight in the .410 which was good for the gun championship.

PA’s top shooters for 2023 (2022 data) were recognized. All-State first and second teams were named, and each received a nice wooden plaque. The first team includes Mike Rykaczewski Jr. (state high gun with a 0.9824 HOA average), Josh Crofutt, Fran Kosmacki, Tom Hillard and Alyssa Gormish; second team members include Denny Lehman, Clay Gormish, Jack Harshbarger, Gary Nace and Debra Meade.

All Juniors (8) and Sub-Juniors (15) who shot in the 12-gauge had 50% of their entry fees paid by PSSA.

Denny Lehman, again, conducted a fund drive for the State Shoot that resulted in over $26,300 added money. Many thanks to Denny, and especially to Elite Shotguns, the major sponsor of the PA State Shoot, who matched donations received from businesses and individuals up to $10,000. Special thanks also to all the businesses and individuals that made donations.

The PSSA President’s Cup award for 2023 was presented to Lori and Bob Sheffield for all their work over the years to make and keep Shenecoy the premiere shooting facility that it is.

Added money was capped so that gun champion, runner-up and third received $400, $300 and $200, respectively. All class first through fifth places received cash from added money (e.g., in the 12-gauge E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5 received $90, $85, $80, $75 and $70, respectively).

In a field of 67 shooters, Gavin Glossner won the BCDE Challenge shoot-off. Class champs B- E, respectively, were Ted Capers, Grant Glossner, Gavin Glossner and Luke Holtz. All winners were from PA, and all received cash awards.

The 5-person team belt buckle championship involved three teams. The winning team members were Jared Shaffer, Mark Eckert, Bill Calvert, Stephen Rupprecht and Tim Vescovi. Each received a beautiful belt buckle.

Members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Company served a tasty dinner of tortillas and tacos with all the fixins to the shooters and their guests on Saturday night. Many thanks to John Ramagli who graciously paid for the meals of the competitors!

Kudos to: Tami Daniel-Means and her hubby Al for handling registration, scorekeeping and posting; Bobby Wilkin, Chief Referee and shoot-off announcer and his outstanding group of referees; the Generations Skeet Club team who handled medal preparation and distribution; and Nick Boerboon, PSSA President, who was involved in most everything, in addition to shooting very well.

Special thanks to the following folks whose hard work was greatly appreciated: Barry and Lori Sheffield and all the Shenecoy staff; Rod Shyda (Lincoln Traps); Bob Woods (Elite Shotguns); and all of the crew from Petersburg Volunteer Fire Company for running the kitchen throughout the shoot and feeding the hungry masses.

Please mark your calendars for the 2024 Pennsylvania State Skeet Shoot which will be held at Shenecoy on August 16-18. We are anticipating having $20,000 plus added money, again, and being the most highly attended State Shoot in the country again.

– Contributed by George Gleich

Skeet

Sporting Clays

National Shooting
Complex

Museum &
Hall of Fame

About