Because the Kasle Family Charity shoot is held mid-September, the weather can be a little iffy. It might be sunny and warm; it could be cold and rainy; or we could even see thunderstorms. For this year’s Kasle Family Charity shoot, held September 11-13 at the Detroit Gun Club, we lucked out for a change and actually had pretty nice weather! There were nearly 80 competitors from 10 states, with a number of first-timers in attendance. Given this is the year of COVID and none of our usual “foreigners” were able to attend, it was a pretty good showing. All were anticipating the Saturday night show that is the hallmark of the Kasle Open.

The shoot always starts with a .410 bore, 75-target Event 6 in which the top 10 scores participate in a themed shoot-off on Saturday night. Two 75s and three 74s automatically qualified for the finals, and six 73s had a shoot-in for the remaining five spots, which took all of three stations to decide.

In doubles, the breezy, somewhat cool conditions saw a lone 100 by Aaron Benton for the championship, followed by Brent Edwards’ 99 for runner-up. Four 98s took to the field to determine who would take the last spot on the podium, with Dave Scott the victor, followed by Ed Smith (AAA1) and Bruce Christian (A1). Shoot-offs of 96s settled AA, with Owen Knight the winner. Billy Nielsen (B), Jim Berg (C) and Wes Lafountain (D) rounded out the class winners. Trish Magyar was Lady champ.

12-Gauge and 20-Gauge. Saturday morning’s conditions started a little on the cool side but quickly warmed up to near 80 degrees and no puffy clouds. Not surprisingly, there were 11 100s posted in the 12-gauge and eight perfect scores in the 20-gauge. Add to that the plethora of 99s (8 and 12, respectively), and it’s a wonder the number of 100 straights wasn’t higher. The venerable Craig Parsons was the victor over Ed Smith two stations shy of a box. Gerald (no, NOT Gordon!) Novak took third, followed by John Fournier (AAA1) and Mike Rykaczewski (A1).

Surprisingly, there was a lone 99 for AA1 by Al Magyar. Jim Blanchard won his shoot-off of 98s for B1; Jeff Wright won a three-way shoot-off of 97s (one of which was his wife Linda who was Lady champ with her personal best) for C1; and Kyle Krispin (D1) and Ryley Carroll (E1) were at the top of their classes with 95s. In the 20-gauge event, Gerald Novak’s son (yes, that would be Gordon) claimed the championship over Owen Knight, again two stations shy of the box, with Ed Bowker, third. Paul Giambrone was AAA1; Mark Vaillancourt, AA1 and Craig Parsons, A1 with their 100s. Jeff Wright (B), Ed Brown (C) and Linda Wright (D) finished at the top their classes. Debbi Perry was Lady Champ. With the day’s main events in the books, it was time to get on with the show!

Kasle Cup. Twenty years ago, in 2000, the Kasle Cup started as the Walker Cup, named for the original sponsor, Spike Walker. Over the years it has had different sponsors and, hence, different names. But the idea behind the event has always remained the same: to put some fun back into skeet shooting. Each year has had a different theme, with the shooters making it to the finals dressing the part. Often the contestants are on different teams, with the crowd getting into the action. The themes over the years have been WWF, Rock Stars, West Side Story (Sharks vs Jets), Heroes and Villains, NFL (AFC vs NFC), NASCAR, Professional Rodeo, Pirates, the Olympics, Woodstock, Caddyshack, Top Shot, Slap Shot, Dr. Seuss, Stripes and Top Gun, Snow White and Dorf on Skeet, Detroit Skeet City based upon the classic movie (Detroit Rock City) featuring KISS, the Greatest Shoot (Show) on Earth, Looney Tunes, and, last year, Old McDonald’s Farm. This year’s theme was “Wayne-o’s World” (based on the Saturday Night Live skit and subsequent movie) in honor of the late, great Wayne Mayes. The show started with a spectacular fireworks display. The contestants were introduced by hosts “Wayne” (Billy Ray Suggs) and “Garth” (Mike Kremski) and were all sporting hairdos of mullets, and the contestants were coached on how to “schwing!” They shot flash targets, with music playing and the crowd heckling them, making for quite a spectacle. Rarely has the shoot-off gone more than a round, which is understandable given all the commotion, and this year was no exception. When the smoke finally cleared, Paul Giambrone was the winner of the coveted crystal bowl, which was presented by “Wayne,” Debbie Behnke, Linda Mayes and “Garth” on behalf of the event sponsors, Roger, Lisa, Matt and Jill Kasle.

28-Gauge and .410 Bore. Sunday’s conditions, though slightly cooler and slightly breezy, were pretty nice with a high overcast. Three shooters scratched out 100s, with Dess Ivanov the champion one station shy of the box over Fred Tschantz, runner-up, and Mike Rykaczewski, third. Lone 99s by Gordon Novak (AAA) and Vaillancourt (AA) were at the top of their classes. Jason Johnson (A) in a shoot-off of 98s, Jeff Wright (B), Bill Brown (C) and Carra Couturier (D) won their respective classes. Loraine Malloy was Lady champ. As it seems to usually be the case, the wind picked up for .410 bore in the afternoon. A lone 100 was posted by Gerald’s son, Gordon, to win outright. In a shoot-off of 99s, Giambrone dispatched first-time attendee and squadmate Nick Godfrey in four stations to take runner-up. Ed Smith had a lone 98 for AAA1, as did Edward Bowker for A1. Ivanov took two pairs to win AA1, and Blanchard (C1) and Lafountain (D1) were at the top of their classes. Debbi Perry was Lady Champ.

High Over All. In the High Over All race, after three events there was one shooter down one target; one shooter down two; four down three; and, five down four targets. So, once again, it would all come down to the baby bore. When the final shot was fired in the .410, Gordon and Giambrone were tied with 397s, which Giambrone won by hitting his pair on station 3. Rykaczewski was alone with 396 for third. All the other class winners were decided without having to fire another shot, with Smith (AAA), Parsons (AA), Dennis Jameson (A), Jeff Wright (B), Malloy (C) and Linda Wight (D) the winners. Debbi Perry was Lady Champion.

Once again, a grand time was had by all in Wayne-O’s World. Untold thanks go to our sponsors Roger, Lisa, Matt and Jill Kasle without whose generous support, this shoot, the fireworks show and charity donation would not be possible. Without fail, once again, Scott Behnke and his assistant manager, Danny, did a great job ensuring the targets flew true; the referees were excellent, keeping their thumbs on the buttons and giving us the targets when we called for them; the kitchen staff of Chef Shirley, with waitress Kristina, made sure that no one went hungry (or thirsty!). Our shoot staff of Debbi and Debbie greeted the shooters with cheery smiles, efficiently entered and posted the scores and ensured the shoot-off sheets were ready to go after the last shot was fired. Debbie (Behnke) even did double duty as a referee!!
Next year the Motor State is scheduled for July 9-11, and the Kasle Family Charity Open, September 17-19. So, look for our ads in Target Talk, or go to MichiganSkeet.com, and get your registration in early; we guarantee you will have a Schwinging great time at Detroit Gun Club!

– Contributed by Trish Magyar