Clay Target Nation

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

Virginia State Skeet Championships

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In a year when COVID-19 has upended all areas of life, the Virginia State Skeet Shooting Championships proved no exception. The Virginia Skeet Shooting Association Board of Directors made the difficult decision to reschedule the shoot, originally planned for September 9-13, to October 8-11, to help protect the health and safety of its members and the community of the host club, Arrowhead Gun Club.

The 82nd State Championships kicked off on Thursday, October 8, with 84 shooters registered and ready to begin shooting the 20-gauge and doubles events. The club looked wonderful, thanks to hard work and upgrades across the board. The Arrowhead State Shoot Team (led by Randy Baisey, Sharon Bolan, Herman Newcomb, Roy Carter, James Jenkins, Ronnie Newcomb, Jack Stebbins and many others not listed here) deserve huge thanks for their efforts to ready the club for competition, their flexibility during trying times, and keeping things running smoothly throughout the weekend.

Friday’s 20-gauge and 28-gauge events, and subsequent shoot-offs, became a race against daylight as the remnants of Tropical Storm Delta made an entrance earlier than predicted. Jordan Garrett captured the 20-gauge title; Muhamed Ed-Zoghbi, runner-up; and Senior Veteran shooter Bob Myers, third. Class winners were Mattison Russell (AAA), Tom Vance (AA), Dick Weinley (A), Jacob Davis (B), Charles Maddox (C), and Lee Lenhart (D). Winning the 28-gauge was John Snyder, with Jacob Davis at runner-up and Garrett Jordan, third. Class winners were Jeff Bond (AAA), Muhamed El-Zoghbi (AA), Dick Weinley (A), T. J. Wright (B), Charles Maddox (C) and Ashly Palles (D).

After shoot-offs, and during the General Membership Meeting, shooters and guests enjoyed a creatively (and safely) presented array of snacks and beverages, thanks to the hard work of Pam Hanks, John Caperton, and Bill Chiswell, and assisted by Marti, Shelby and Hannah Austin, and Stephanie and Alaina Whitley. State Teams were recognized and presented their plaques. Highlights of the evening included the presentation of VSSA Sportsman of the Year, awarded to Jeff Bond, Referee of the Year posthumously awarded to Chris Isley, and the President’s Award, presented to Lane Hartle.

Saturday brought rain. Of course it rained – it’s 2020 – but that didn’t hold back dedicated shooters making the shoot happen and trying their best to compete in difficult conditions. Jeff Bond won the 12-gauge event, Mattison Russell was runner-up and Jim Hickerson third. Class winners were Garrett Jordan (AAA), Mark Scott (AA), Jacob Davis (A), Clarence Dawson (B), Charles Maddox (C), James Reinhold (D) and James Jenkins (E). Doubles saw John Snyder, Frank Davis and Garrett Jordan capturing the top three spots.

One of the highlights of the State Shoot is always the special B-C-D-E HOA Shoot-off. Class winners were determined by shoot-offs and then the lucky four (B-Joe Helms, C-Charles Maddox, D-Roger Warner, E-Robert Tucker) returned to the shoot-off field to vie for the $100 prized generously donated by Mark Scott. When the dust settled, Charles Maddox was the 2020 B-C-D-E HOA winner. Shooters and their guests enjoyed a delicious barbecue dinner hosted by Arrowhead after shoot-offs, and some lucky shooters got to take home a variety of prizes generously donated by Billy Williams at Briley.

Sunday brought the .410 and more rain. Mattison Russell took top honors, followed by John Snyder, runner-up, and Mark Scott, third. Class winners were Jeff Bond (AAA), Tom Vance (AA), Jim Hickerson (A), Monty Sprouse (B), Matthew Hamilton (C) and Charles Russell (D). High Overall title went to John Snyder, with Mattison Russell runner-up and Garrett Jordan third. Mattison was also the Lady HOA champion, the Junior HOA champion, and the Champion of Champions. Logan Ellis, grandson of long-time Arrowhead shooter and friend to all, Ed Ellis, was Sub-Junior HOA winner. Our Sub-Junior and Junior shooters continue to enjoy the support and generosity of the Milton Mills Memorial awards and benefits, as well as the Bond NSSA Life Membership Award and the VSSA Award.

There is no way to adequately thank the outstanding shoot management team (Mark Parker, our Chief Referee, Tonda Finney, Kristi Garstang and Darlene Parker on the desk, and Darlene coordinating awards and trophies) and Tom Hill, for all their hard work to make this shoot a success. We especially appreciate our dedicated referees, who came from far and near to help make this shoot happen.

This State Shoot weekend, with all the bumps in the road leading up to it, provided many moments of wonderful fellowship, friendships, and sportsmanship, and reminded us why we are grateful for this sport we love – in good times and in bad.

We look forward to next year’s 83rd Virginia State Skeet Championships, to be held at Conservation Park of Virginia, September 8-12, 2021.

– Contributed by Hannah Goddard
– Photos by Tonda Finney and Jack Stebbins  

Nick Sisley .410 Memorial

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Tarentum District Sportsmen’s Club (TDSC) held its inaugural Nick Sisley Four Hundred Ten Memorial Shoot on August 17. Nick, who passed away earlier this year, was especially fond of the little gun. Thirty-one participants shot to honor Nick’s memory, including 18 who shot 100 registered .410 skeet targets, three who shot 50 non-registered .410 skeet targets, and 10, mostly TDSC trap shooters, who shot 50 non-registered 12-gauge skeet targets.

Mike Ryckaczewski Jr. had a very nice 97 and was .410 Champion, while Josh Crofutt’s 94 was good for runner-up. Class firsts went to Tom Shields (A), Ernie Anderson (B), Bob Waite (C) and Mike Ryckacewski Sr. (D).

Sean, John and Tyler Smith shot 45, 41 and 22 out of 50 with the .410; this was 12-year-old Tyler’s first attempt at skeet with the .410.

Chris Smith (43/50) and John Obringer (39/50) posted the high scores among the 12-gauge shooters. Obringer traveled from Colorado to participate in this shoot and honor Nick. Beth Carney shot the 28-gauge for the first time.

Brad King, Bryson Fox and Brian Fox shot their first registered birds and received Complimentary Limited Memberships to NSSA.

A great lunch was provided, including homemade bread made by Marie Palmer from Nick Sisley’s recipe – Nick always baked bread for the shoots.

A tribute to Nick was held after lunch. Everyone gathered in front of TDSC’s beautiful new clubhouse, and numerous people shared their memories of shooting with and being around Nick, including Paul McConville who was skeet chairman at Tarentum when Nick began shooting there many years ago. It was announced that the clubhouse was to be named the “Nick Sisley Clubhouse,” and a lovely plaque was dedicated. Nick’s wife Maryann and daughter Maria were there, along with Maria’s husband David McTarnaghan, and they presented a beautiful plaque celebrating his life with the words “He wrote…He Shot…He Flew.”

Nick was a celebrated outdoor writer, perhaps best known for his ruffed grouse books and articles. He was a life member of NSSA and shot his 100,000th registered skeet target in 2018; he also wrote many articles for Skeet Shooting Review, Sporting Clays Magazine and many other publications. Pigeon hunting trips to South America were a favorite. He had his private pilot’s license and his own airplane and loved to fly.

Despite all these vocations/avocations, the underlying sentiment from comments about Nick were that he was a consummate gentleman, and he loved to help people learn how to shoot skeet, especially youngsters and ladies just learning the game. Nick Sisley was a long-time member of TDSC, and the club will be a better place now that it has the Nick Sisley Clubhouse!

– Contributed by George Gleich

81st Virginia State Skeet Championships

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The 81st Virginia State Skeet Championships were held on August 14-18 at the Fredericksburg Rod & Gun Club. It had been five years since Fredericksburg hosted the State Shoot, but the club was ready. Everything went smoothly.

A total of 138 shooters shot the events offered: 27 shot the 20-gauge preliminary, 89 shot doubles, 129 shot the 12-gauge, 123 shot the 20-gauge, 119 shot the 28-gauge and 107 shot the .410-bore.

Keythe Hancock won the 20-Gauge Preliminary Championship for the second year. Top honors in doubles went to Junior shooter John McKeel, champion; Jacob Davis, runner-up; and Meredith Tunick Kling, third. Top honors in the 12-gauge event went to Doug Frazier, champion; John Snyder, runner-up; and Jeff Bond, third. Winners in the 20-gauge event were Junior shooter Mattison Russell, champion; Meredith Kling, runner-up; and Muhamed El-Zoghbi, third. In the 28-gauge event, Jeff Bond was champion; Meredith Kling, runner-up; and Charlie Souter, third. Honors in the .410-bore event went to Garrett Jordan, champion; Mark Scott, runner-up; and Mattison Russell, third. Garrett Jordan won both the HOA and HAA Championships with scores of 396 and 492.

There were only five perfect scores all week, with Mattison Russell shooting the only 100 in the 20-gauge event, and Jeff Bond, Meredith Kling, Charlie Souter and Garrett Jordan shooting 100s in the 28-gauge. Top score in the 12-gauge event was a 99, in the .410 a 98, and in Doubles a 99.

This is the first time the State Shoot offered the First Responder concurrent. Meredith and Steve Kling donated a plaque for the First Responder HOA Champion. Frederick Wood won the championship in the 12- and 28-gauge, and Steve Kling won the 20-gauge, .410-bore, doubles and HOA.

The Milton Mills Memorial, established in 2018, provided awards and benefits to Sub-Junior and Junior shooters participating in the VSSA Championships. The Memorial paid the entry fees in 12- and 20-gauge for these young shooters, and awards were presented to the champion and runner-up Sub-Junior and Junior shooters in both gauges. Champions in 12-gauge were Garrett Baisey (Sub-Junior) and Mattison Russell (Junior). Champions for 20-gauge were sisters Hadley Russell (Sub-Junior) and Mattison Russell (Junior). In addition, the Bond NSSA Life Membership Award for Sub-Junior or Junior HOA Champion was awarded to Garrett Baisey.

At Friday night’s General Membership meeting, VSSA recognized the 2019 State Team members and presented awards. Sportsman of the Year was awarded to Mark Scott for his contributions to Virginia skeet. Referee of the Year was awarded to Mark Parker. Winner of the free World Shoot entry was Nick Gravina.

At the Directors meeting following the General Membership meeting, there was a discussion and vote of intent to change the State Shoot date from the third weekend in August to the second weekend in September, beginning in 2020. Final vote will be made at the November meeting.

On Saturday night was the Hall of Fame Banquet. Dinner was prepared and served by the Halifax County Gun Club members. Inducted into the Hall of Fame was Bill Chiswell for his many years of contributing to Virginia skeet. Also inducted posthumously was Aubrey Webb for his contributions while serving as Virginia’s Chief Referee, 1963-1982. Aubrey’s nephews, Earl and Wayne Johnson, accepted his plaque and entertained attendees with stories of Aubrey.

Many people are deserving of thanks for a well-run shoot, delicious food, and support in and around the club before and during the shoot. Bill Chiswell and his crew from Halifax prepared party food for the General Membership meeting. This is Bill’s last year as Party Chairman – many thanks to Bill for his years of service. The Halifax Club members who prepared the Hall of Fame dinner did an outstanding job of serving delicious food and plenty of it. Bud Hitchcock, Skeet Chairman, with the help of Nick Gravina and Mark Scott, had all the houses loaded and ready for the shooters. Lane Hartle had referees from all over the country to pull targets. Mark and Darlene Parker distributed all the awards and are experts at keeping track of all the winners. Registration Chief Tonda Finney and her crew of Kristi Garstang, Jackie Connors, and Hannah Goddard kept the whole thing together. Excellent job, ladies and gentlemen.

The next State Shoot will be at Arrowhead Gun Club. Make plans now to attend.

– Contributed by Judy Harding

New York State Championships

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The New York State Skeet Championships were held at Rochester-Brooks Gun Club in Rush, New York, the weekend of August 23-25. 

Friday’s festivities always kick off with the Referee Championship, where Dave Sobiegray’s 96 won the day. In the doubles event, only two shooters were able to break 99×100, and unbelievably, the first station settled the championship. Dan Morris clinched both the Open and Non-resident titles, while Bernard Lenehan captured his second New York State Championship. The battle of 98s for third was more like it, lasting well into the third box before Craig Parsons missed high 4 coming back the second time, resulting in David Cooley occupying the third step on the podium. Class winners, in addition to Craig, were Rick Ayers, Steve Malcolm, Glen Safford and Mark Jesske.

Saturday kept shooters under mostly cloudy skies the entire day, with a threat of rain that never materialized. In the morning 12-gauge event, only three perfect scores were recorded, by Canada’s Reg Hooper and squadmates Aaron Benton and Andrea Lehr. Less than a box later, Aaron had won both the State and Open titles, with Reg settling for runner-up and Andie taking third. Again, the battle of 99s was the one to watch, with Craig Parsons coming out on the winning side over Dess Ivanov, who settled for a spot in class. Other class winners included Dan Morris, Jeff Ventry, Brian Milanese, Ed Calabrese, John Yackiw and Joan Doyle Paddock.

Saturday afternoon’s 20-gauge event produced a half-dozen perfect scores, with another shoot-off lasting less than a box. Long Island’s Larry Bonavita captured his first New York State title, in a near-sweep of the podium with runner-up Craig Parsons sandwiched between Larry and Long Island teammate Mike Cerce on the third step. Class winners included Dan Morris, Jim Grundman, Donna Fusco, Clay Tietjen and Gregory McChesney.

The highlight of Saturday evening, the last shoot-off before dinner and awards presentations, is always the 12-gauge 5-man handicap team shoot-off. Those teams scoring 500 or better usually form a long line behind station 3, doubles miss and out by team score, to settle who wins a beautiful belt buckle for everyone on the team. However, this year only four teams qualified, with the experienced Rochester-Brooks squad prevailing over the Outlet Outlaws.

Sunday dawned sunny and clear, and the first 28-gauge flight produced a perfect score before Great Lakes clouds rolled in for the remainder of the day. Five shooters took to the championship field, where Dana Driscoll captured the title in two stations. The battle for runner-up and third lasted only one more station and resulted in Ian Smingler taking runner-up, with Ed Calabrese on the third step of the podium. Class winners included Dess Ivanov, Bob Griffith Jr., Brian Quealy, Kerry Henderson and wife Cheryl cleaning up in D class.

The afternoon .410 event totally shook up HOA standings. “It’s always the .410,” and this time the rule ruled. Brad McRae and Aaron Benton posted 99s, and in a shoot-off where both missed on the first station, Aaron won the title on the next. The quest for third lasted a little longer, with Dana Driscoll making the podium in a shoot-off of 98s. Class winners included Dess Ivanov, Zach Andruchow, Victoria Ferchaw, Michael Asel and Ron Casella.

Coming into the .410, there were several competitors down only a bird or two, but with the little gun, the cream rose to the top. In a tie of 396s, Ian Smingler beat Dess Ivanov on the first station to capture his fourth New York State HOA Championship. Aaron Benton, with the lone 395, won third outright. Class winners included Mike Cerce, Dana Driscoll, Samuel Marks, Andrea Lehr, Gregory McChesney and Joan Doyle Paddock. 

The New York State Championships is always a fun event that welcomes shooters from outside the state, and this year was an excellent lead-up to the last U.S. Open to be shot mano a mano. Thanks to Scott Holmes and his terrific staff at Rochester-Brooks, with special thanks to Roger Brooks, the world’s best mechanic who dealt with, and solved, a host of target problems. Chief Referee Dan Caryl recruited excellent pullers, and registration, scoreboards and shoot-offs ran smoothly and efficiently. 

 

– Contributed by Andrea Lehr

Pennsylvania State Championship

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The beautiful Shenecoy Sportsmen skeet club hosted the 83rd annual Pennsylvania State Open Skeet Championships on their 16-field facility in McConnellstown, Pennsylvania, on August 23-25. The weather, facilities, birds and referees were all great. Shooting at least one gun were 213 participants, including 48 out-of-state shooters from 12 states.

Alessandro Vitale, Zone 2 committeeman from Maryland, was Open HOA Champion (397) and HAA (493). Sam Armstrong, also from Maryland, was Open HOA (393) and HAA (491) runner-up. Pennsylvanians Joe Vescovi and Fran Kosmacki were Open HOA third (391) and open HAA third (487), respectively. State HOA Champion, runner-up and third, respectively, were Vescovi, Gil Rodler Jr. and Kenny Riddile. Kosmacki, Chris Kline and Riddile were Pennsylvania HAA champion, runner-up and third.

The .410-bore Prelim started the festivities on Friday morning with 44 shooters participating. Michael Zavasky was champion after he won a shoot-off of 97s with Colin Crawford; John Sarge’s 96 was good for third. Tim Botwright, Dave Cominsky, Mike Wojtecki and Joseph Gans V, respectively, took A1 through D1.

Friday afternoon, 141 participants shot doubles, with Nick Boerboon, Chris Kline and Steve Hildebrand shooting 99s and taking Open and Pennsylvania champion, runner-up and third, respectively. State class firsts, AA-D, went to Kosmacki, Frank Smithmyer, Meghan Darrough, Jeff Wright and Gans V.

In the main event, there were eight 100 straights in the 12-gauge, seven in the 20, one in the 28 and none in the .410. With the great weather, over 200 shooters and a shoot difficulty factor of 25.4, it seems like there should have been more 100s, but you never know.

Pennsylvania champions, runners-up and thirds, respectively, were: Meghan Darrough, Vescovi and Gary Nace in the 12-gauge (204 shooters, with Vitale from Maryland as Open Champion); Mark Eckert, Adam Vollmer and John Stough in the 20-gauge (199 shooters, with Mark Polek from Maryland Open Champion); Denny Lehman, Rich Vensel and Vescovi in the 28-gauge (184 shooters, with Vitale Open Champion); and, Crawford, Zavasky and Rodler Jr. in the .410 (180 shooters, with Vitale Open Champion).

Class first places for Pennsylvania were: Boerboon, Clay Gormish, Ed Call, David Darrough, Joseph DeAugustine, William Kline and Eric Mitchell (12-gauge AAA-E); Smithmyer, Josh Crofutt, Rodler Jr., Ernie Anderson, Josh Mitchell and Richard Egick (20-gauge AAA-D); Kosmacki, Brian Steinert, Smithmyer, Brad Gregory, Don Steinert and Egick (28-gauge AAA-D); and Kosmacki, Mike Rykaczewski Jr., Riddile, Joe Paul, Allison Shaffer and Mike Rykacewski, Sr. (.410 bore AAA-D).

Colby Eckert was Pennsylvania Sub-Junior HOA Champion, while Garrett Baisey from Virginia was Open Sub-Junior Champ. Meghan Darrough and Allison Shaffer, respectively, were Pennsylvania Junior HOA Champion and runner-up; John McKeel from Virginia took the Open Junior HOA championship.

Pennsylvania Lady HOA winners were Meghan Darrough, Debra Meade and Allison Shaffer (champion through third, respectively). Open Lady winners were Victoria Stellato (champion, from North Carolina), Meredith Tunick Kling (runner-up, from VA) and Angelina D’Aquanno (third, from New Jersey).

Saturday evening was very busy, including a hat shoot. Meghan Darrough and her father David both shot their first 100 straights in the 12-gauge event, and their hats were appropriately demolished. Mark Eckert also had his first 100 straight in the 20-gauge event, and his hat was disrespected as well.

After shoot-offs and the hat shoot, a brief memorial service for Pennsylvania skeet shooters who passed away since the last State Shoot was held. The deceased include Mary Louise Holtz, Tom McConnell, George Cree and Nick Sisley. Tim Holtz, Gary Trilli and Marie Palmer spoke.

Pennsylvania State Teams for 2018 were recognized, and each member received a nice wooden plaque. The Pennsylvania first team included Fran Kosmacki, Denny Lehman, Clay Gormish, Dan Felton and Kenny Riddile. Second Team members are Rich Vensel, Ethan Call, Josh Crofutt, Debra Meade and Joseph Gans III.

The PSSA President’s Cup award for 2018 was presented to Ed Call in recognition of his support of skeet in the state.

All Juniors (11 in the 12-gauge) and Sub-Juniors (nine in the 12-gauge) participating in this year’s State Shoot had 50% of their entry fees paid by PSSA. Shells used (four boxes for each event except the Prelim) were also provided by PSSA. The Fulton County, Pennsylvania 4-H Shooting Club had seven Junior shooters participating in the 12-gauge event.

Denny Lehman spearheaded a drive to solicit added money for the 2019 State Shoot. Many thanks to Denny and to Murry Gerber and Elite Shotguns, the major sponsor of the Pennsylvania State Shoot, and all the other businesses and individuals that made the donations that resulted in $11,205 in added money (see photo of donors’ banner). This money was distributed to 125 of the 213 shooters who participated in the shoot. The added money was capped so that gun champion, runner-up and third received $80, $70 and $60, respectively. All class first through fifth places received cash from added money (e.g.,12-gauge A1-$55, A2-$50, A3-$45, A4-$40, A5-$35). Attendance at this shoot has increased dramatically in the past three years, with 12-gauge entries going from 150 (2017), to 185 (2018), to 213 (2019). The added money and its distribution certainly have had something to do with that!

Mark Polek from Maryland, in a field of 20 shooters, won the BCDE Challenge shoot-off. The top prize was a Henry rifle donated by Ed and Theresa Call (thank you, Ed and Theresa!). Class champs and runners-up were awarded shells, one flat and one-half flat, respectively.

The 5-Man Team Handicap Championship shoot-off (free to all shooters, based on 12-gauge averages) involved 11 teams. The winning team members were Sam Armstrong, Alessandro Vitale, Mike Wollard, Mark Saussure and Fran Kosmacki, and each received a beautiful belt buckle.

Clair Krug (CK’s Catering) provided the delicious catered dinner for all, at no extra cost to the shooters and their guests, on Saturday night at the club. Thanks to everyone who donated to make this happen.

Kudos to Tami Daniel-Means and her hubby Al who ably handled registration, score keeping and posting; Bobby Wilkin who was Chief Referee and shoot-off announcer; the Generations Skeet Club team who handled medal preparation and distribution; and Tim Holtz, PSSA president, who was pretty much everywhere, including being emcee at Saturday night’s recognition/awards presentation event.

Special thanks to the following folks whose hard work was greatly appreciated: Barry and Lori Sheffield (Shenecoy managers), Rod Shyda (Lincoln Traps), Petersburg Volunteer Fire Company (handled the kitchen), Chuck Mattice, Bill States, Danny Moore, John Davies, Rick Grimminger, George, Brian and Sandy Garner, Carl Confer, Bill Ozanich, Wade and Charlie Schlusser, Ed Tos, Tom and LeAnn Weaverling and Mark Wickersham.

Be sure to include Shenecoy in your shooting schedule for 2020. It appears that there will be three major skeet shoots “on the hill” next year – the U.S. Open (Pennsylvania location for the i-shoot), the Zone 2 and the Pennsylvania State. It should be a blast (pun intended).

 Scores: Doubles winners-Rev1

– Contributed by George Gleich

 

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