Firebird 400

Generations Skeet Club’s 20th annual Firebird 400 was held at their beautiful, still new, four-field club near Patton, Pennsylvania on July 6-8. The weather was lovely all week-end, 70 to 80 degrees, mostly clear and dry with variable winds. The shoot was a sell-out, with 48 competitors shooting at least one gun. Dan Felton was HOA champion after winning a shoot-off of 391s with Mike Wollard, runner-up, and Chris Kline, third. Missy Vescovi was Lady HOA champion.

Doubles were shot on a lovely but windy Friday afternoon, with 26 shooters taking the field. Kline’s 97 won him champion honors. Class firsts went to Wollard (A), Chris Norris (B), John Davies (C), and George Gleich (D).

The 28-gauge shooting with 40 participants began on Saturday morning. Kline shot the only 100 straight and was champion. Class firsts included Felton (AA), Ed Call (A), Richard (“Frenchy”) LaRosa (B), Mark Postlewait (C), and Rick Sherry (D).

Forty-three shooters shot the big gun on Saturday afternoon. Wollard posted the only 100 straight and was 12-gauge champ. Kline (AA), Roy Holtz (A), LaRosa (B), Jared Shaffer (C), Davies (D), and Steven Dickerman (E), were class champs.

The Saturday night feast in the Youth Barn was superb! Pat Leyo provided, and Joe Vescovi prepared and served, delicious prime rib. Pulled pork, barbeque chicken, baked beans, skin-on potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and various vegetables and salads, along with a large selection of yummy desserts, rounded out the meal. The gobs (if you aren’t from PA, you might call them whoopie pies) were an especially big hit! Beverages included cold beer on tap, soft drinks, and home-made wine. The kids enjoyed playing sports at the Youth Barn each day, and Saturday night the group headed to Lake Eddie to enjoy swimming, jet skiing, tubing, fishing, and a campfire.

Sunday morning, and time for the .410-bore with 38 shooters; yes, the .410 was shot first. Hunter Dickerman’s 99 took the championship outright. Class firsts went to Wollard (AA), Adam Vollmer (A), Michael Moats (B), Jeff Wright (C), and Steven Dickerman (D).

The 20-gauge event was last and took place on Sunday afternoon with 44 shooters. There were four 100 straights. Wollard won the shoot-off and was champion, with Felton besting LaRosa and Frank Smithmyer to take A1. Shaffer, Davies (after a shoot-off with Tom Hilyer) and Joe McGarvey took firsts in B, C, and D classes.

The three-man blind, with teams picked by the computer and based on .410 scores, was won by the team of Wollard, Vollmer, and Hilyer, with each receiving $50. Gleich bought the winning team in the blind auction and cleared $117.

Paul Hunt, from Ashburn, Virginia, had his first registered 25 straight in the 28-gauge; his hat was properly vented! Katie Burrows fired her first registered targets ever and had a fun time busting clays. You’ll be seeing more of her in upcoming shoots.

“The Squirrel” made an appearance over the weekend. This tradition, begun in 1996 by Scott Harvey, involves a lovely little stuffed gray squirrel that is awarded occasionally, and sometimes surreptitiously, to a shooter who does something very good or very bad during the shoot. The rodent was “awarded” to two people this weekend. Rich Vensel received it after he missed his last 12-gauge bird for a 99 on Saturday, and it found its way into Hunter Dickerman’s shell pouch after he missed the last bird in his .410 round for a 99 on Sunday. Great shooting to both, but missing the last bird has to rank right up there with having a root canal with no Novocain! Potential runners-up for the award included Theresa Call who forgot to bring her shotgun to the shoot and George Gleich who “smoked” 70 birds in the 28 gauge.

Tori Holtz ably handled registration, scorekeeping, and posting. Michael Vescovi was chief referee, and his fine group of young referees included Paige McMullen, Adam Bobak, Courtney Burgoon, Kelsey Krug, Mikayla Lansberry, and Zach Stoltz. Numerous members of the Generations family pitched in as needed to keep things running smoothly.

Last, but certainly not least, Pat Leyo brought many doughnuts on Saturday and Sunday morning, and they were enjoyed by all. When he walked into the clubhouse on Sunday morning, a convoy of youngsters followed him in to get first pick!

– Contributed by George Gleich

Rich Vensel (L) and Hunter Dickerman with the squirrel

Chris Kline (L): Doubles and 28 GA Champ, Mike Wollard (R):12 GA and 20 GA Champ

HOA Winners: Chris Kline 3rd (L), Dan Felton Ch (C), Mike Wollard RU (R)

Generations Skeet Club’s 19^th annual Firebird 400 was held at their beautiful four-field club near Patton, Pennsylvania on July 7-9. The weather was changeable all weekend, 70 to 80 degrees, cloudy to clear, wet to dry and windy to calm; all-in-all, good weather. Fifty-two shooters shot at least one gun. Chris Kline was HOA Champion with a fine 396 and Joe Vescovi was runner-up with a 393. Missy Vescovi was the Lady HOA Champion.

Doubles were shot on an overcast and windy Friday afternoon with 25 shooters. Mike Wollard’s 98 won him champion honors. Class firsts went to Kline (AA), Pat Leyo (A), Mark Postlewait (B), John Davies (C) and Doug Long (D).

The 28-gauge shooting with 40 participants began on Saturday morning under overcast skies with a few sprinkles. Joe Vescovi shot the only 100 straight and was champion. Class firsts included Kline (AA), Pat Leyo (A), Bob Myers (B), Mara Leyo (C) and Jared Voris (D).

Shooting continued on Saturday afternoon when 45 shooters took the field for the 12-gauge event. Weather included clouds, a few heavy downpours and some sun. Kline posted the only 100 straight and was 12-gauge champ. Frank Smithmyer, Wollard, Pat Leyo, Postlewait, Jared Shaffer and Vance McLaughlin, respectively, were AA, A, B, C, D and E class champs.

As usual at Generations, the Saturday night feast in the youth barn was superb! Joe Vescovi prepared the delicious prime rib. A cadre of ladies, including some of the shooter spouses, worked together to prepare lobster mac-and-cheese and other yummy dishes, complimented by home-made wine and other beverages. The kids enjoyed playing sports at the youth barn each day, and Saturday night the group headed to Lake Eddie to enjoy swimming, jet skiing, tubing, fishing and a campfire.

On Sunday morning, it was time for 42 shooters to take on the .410 bore. The skeet gods were obviously confused by the different scheduling, and the weather was great: cool, clear and no wind to speak of. Joe Vescovi’s 100-straight took the championship outright; class firsts went to Kline (AA), “Frenchy” LaRosa (A), Michael Vescovi (B), Mitch Chirdon (C) and Doug Long (D).

The 20-gauge event was last and took place on Sunday afternoon with 47 shooters. Great weather with a few puffy white clouds prevailed. Kline had the lone 100 and was 20-gauge champion. Bob Rairigh, Ryan Holtz, Fred Wood, Voris, and Becky Myers took firsts in AA, A, B, C and D classes.

The newly engaged Tori Holtz handled registration, scorekeeping and posting; congratulations to Tori and Zach! Michael Vescovi performed chief referee duties, and a fine group of young referees including Paige McMullen, Zach Stoltz, Kelsey Krug, Mikayla Lansberry and Jake Beebe did a great job. Numerous members of the Generations family pitched in as needed to keep things running smoothly.

The three-man blind, based on .410 scores, was won by the team of Joe Vescovi, Jeff Meidinger and Doug Long, each receiving a $50 prize. George Gleich bought the winning team in the blind auction and pocketed $138.

Joe McGarvey and Vance McLaughlin shot monthly targets and applied for Complimentary Limited Memberships to NSSA in June and shot their first registered tournament birds this weekend. Joe shot a nice 85 in Doubles, and Vance took E1 in the 12 and D1 in the 20. Welcome to registered skeet shooting, Joe and Vance!

– Contributed by George Gleich

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