Clay Target Nation

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

Onion Snow Open

By

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

By

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

John Scott / Henry Grubb Azalea Open

By

Fort Bragg Clay Target Center hosted the Azalea Open on April 14-16. Early spring gave us some showers, but the 58 attendees had a fun weekend and posted some great scores. Congratulations to collegiate shooter Anna Wood, who won HOA with the lone 391. Her win was even more special because the former Henry Grubb was her mentor. In her free time, she would practice at Henry and Cheryl Grubb’s range. Anna actually hadn’t lifted her gun since the North Carolina State Shoot last September; obviously, the break didn’t dull her shooting skills. 

Gun champs:

Doubles—Josie Cloninger (99), the lone posted 99
12 Gauge—Chris Brown (100) in a 4-person shoot-off
20 Gauge—Addison Wallace (100), the only posted 100 and her first 100 straight in 20-gauge
28 Gauge—Stuart Brown (99), the only posted 99
.410 Bore—Anna Wood (99), with the single highest posted score

HOA winners:

HOA, Collegiate, Triple-Sub and Lady Champion—Anna Wood
Runner-up; SS champion and RM champion—Stuart Brown
Third—Otto (Chip) Simmons
AA1—Mark Smith
A1—Addison Wallace
B1—Ridge Pearson
C1—Joshua Wayne
D1—Briley Koller
JR CH—Addison Wallace
SU CH—Jason Shell
SR CH—Mark Smith
VT CH—Paul Stemac
SV CH—John Parker
ML CH—Timothy Riordan
MV CH—James Delosh
RF CH—Corrie Cloninger
FR CH—Bill Kluttz
2M CH—Scott Graham and Bruce Colclough

Many shooters look forward to returning for future shoots hosted at Fort Bragg Clay Target Center over the summer, including the U.S. Open.

– Contributed by Belinda Tiner

 

Photo Gallery: 2023 NSCA U.S. Open

By

The 2023 NSCA U.S. Open was hosted by Coyote Springs Sporting Clays in Tucson, Arizona, and the desert terrain offered some unique target backgrounds and photo opportunities. You’ll find full coverage of the event in the June issue of Clay Target Nation, and you can view a selection of photos from the event here.

Click on a photo to enlarge. 

All photos by Lefty Ray Chapa.

 

 

 

Photo Gallery: Fujairah Mountain Shooting Championship

By

Several of the NSCA’s top shooters recently traveled to Dubai, UAE, for the Fujairah Mountain Shooting Championship (FMSC), organized by Fujairah Shooting Club under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah. This new sporting clay shooting championship was set in the countryside of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, among Fujairah’s mountains area, offering many unique backdrops for targets.

The USA had two out of the top three shooters on the podium. Anthony Matarese Jr. finished in second, while Junior Joseph Fanizzi was third in the Open and also took Junior Champion. European shooter Matthieu Delmas won the event. USA shooters Madison Sharpe and Karen Miles were Lady Champion and Lady runner-up, respectively.

These photos of the Fujairah Mountain Shooting Championship were taken by Don Brunt. Click on a photo to enlarge.

 

Skeet

Sporting Clays

National Shooting
Complex

Museum &
Hall of Fame

About