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

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

 

The Grizzly at New Pioneer Gun Club

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With near-perfect weather conditions over the Labor Day weekend, skeet shooters from seven states came to track down the coveted trophy at The Grizzly shoot at New Pioneer Gun Club in Waukee, Iowa. It was also a renewal of the old traditions that have made this mid-size shoot one of the finest in the nation. The club brought back the High Handicap All-Around (HHAA) event, a prize-rich event that can be won by shooters of any class. The trophy was a Browning Buck Mark .22 pistol, valued at over $500.

Along with the trophy and other riches, there was fun, music, food and friendship. This shoot has brought good friends and new participants together for years. The New York strips were catered in from Rubes steak house and the live music was performed by Rob Lumbard. It doesn’t get any better than that.

The winner of the HHAA, with a 499, as well as the 12-gauge, was Mark VanderBloomer from Minnesota. Bob Rick, also from Minnesota, won the 20-gauge and 28-gauge with awesome shoot-offs, after running 100 straights in both. Iowa’s Dave McMillen won the .410 with a lone 98. Best of all, he brought a delicious cake for all the shooters to enjoy. Doubles was captured by Mike Jones from Iowa, with a 99. HAA and HOA honors went to Iowa’s Keith Brace with a 490 and 393, respectively. Keith did an outstanding job of coordinating the shoot committee and reaching out to Scheels to partner with us to be our main sponsor of the shoot. Chuck Follett also raised advertising funds for event sponsors. It’s a team effort, and we know next year will be even bigger. Thank you to Keith, NPGC board members and volunteers, sponsors, and most importantly, the shooters that came to Iowa to share this weekend.

– Contributed by Frank DeMarco

Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

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The fifth annual Couples Shoot was held at Generations Skeet Club near Patton, Pennsylvania, on September 15. The weather was great, mid-70s and mostly sunny with just enough wind to keep it interesting. Some visitors think the wind never stops blowing at Generations; just for the record, it does stop occasionally.

The Couples Shoot was initiated in 2015 by Generations 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! Fourteen couples participated in 2015, and this year 33 couples were involved – down a few couples from last year, but still a fabulous turnout. There are not many registered skeet shoots in the country that have 33 female participants. The Couples Shoot birds were not registered, but just having that many ladies participating in one skeet shoot is quite an accomplishment.

Shooting began at noon, and all four of the skeet fields were soon buzzing. At least 14 of the participants were first-time shooters, some as young as 11 years old. There were several father-daughter pairs, several boyfriend-girlfriend pairs and many husband-wife pairs. Coaches, including Joe and Michael Vescovi, Tim, Ryan and Roy Holtz, Chris Kline, Jack Makdad, Mark Saussure and George Gleich, were present on each field to help new shooters, and any not-so-new shooters that wanted help. Generations provided shotguns, shells and eye and ear protection to those who needed them. Pullers and scorers included Paige McMullen and Abby Lansbury, both of whom are regulars for helping run the Wednesday night skeet league here and do a great job. Paige and Abby also joined in on the shooting fun and did quite well.

Squads of four, six and eight people participated. All NSSA safety rules were strictly enforced, but some of the non-safety-related 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 encouraged.

At approximately 4 p.m., after everyone had shot at 50 birds (two rounds), shoot-offs began. Top-secret handicaps were applied, which allowed all 33 couples to participate in doubles at 3, 4 and 5. The shoot-offs were also handicapped, with experienced shooters receiving no targets and rookies getting 4. Following the first round of shoot-offs, the remaining shooters proceeded to field 2 for the finals. A large crowd of spectators watched and cheered as the winners were decided.

Father and daughter Jack and Emily Harshbarger emerged as the Couples Shoot Champions. Emily received the custom tiara bedecked with spent shotgun shells. Shoot runners-up were Chris and Ashley Kline, while third place went to Andy and Paige McMullen, another father-daughter duo. The champs received engraved drinking glasses, two pizzas and four dozen wings from Patton Sportsman’s and free targets from Generations. Runner-up and third place finishers received $25 gift cards from Pirate’s Cove and free targets from Generations.

After the shooting was done, people moved to The Barn, about 200 yards from the skeet clubhouse, for a fine picnic-style dinner. Ryan Holtz cooked the chicken on-site, and many people brought covered dishes and desserts. There was plenty of food and drink on hand and lots of lively discussion among old and new friends. All in all, a fitting ending to a very pleasant day.

Many thanks to the Generations skeet family for hosting a great event. Many of the participants are already planning to do it again next year.

– Contributed by George Gleich

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