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9th Annual Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

Generations Skeet Club in beautiful central Pennsylvania hosted its 9th annual Couples Skeet Shoot on September 3. Over the years, 14 to 38 couples have participated in this shoot; 19 couples participated this year. The weather was sunny and warm, just a lovely late-summer day for skeet shooting, if you could ignore the wind. Yes, it was windy, but it was an “equal opportunity” wind.

L to R – Joe Vescovi and Paige McMullen RU. Renee and Tom Hillard – CH, Makaela and Bryon Stanek – 3rd

A number of the shooters had never fired a shotgun before. Shooters’ ages ranged from 10 to 83. Shotguns, shells, ear plugs, etc. were provided as needed. All four of the skeet fields were used. Squads of four or six shooters were formed, and each couple shot 50 birds, shoulder-to-shoulder. The atmosphere was informal, but safety was stressed. Pulling and scoring was handled by experienced referees, and qualified coaches were present to help as needed.

After the 50 birds were shot at, a top-secret, but rather liberal, handicapping system was applied which resulted in all 19 teams (four or five teams per skeet field) participating in a 3-4-5 doubles shoot-off. The eight winners (two from each field) then shot off again to decide the shoot winners. Plenty of encouragement was provided by the onlookers. And the winners were: Renee and Tom Hillard, champs; Paige McMullen and Joe Vescovi, runners-up; and Makaela and Bryon Stanek, third.

After the shooting was finished, all retired to the Youth Center (one of the nicest barns you will ever see) onsite for a yummy picnic dinner. Many shooters brought covered dishes and/or desserts, and the main entrée, a special-recipe grilled chicken, was provided by Ryan Holtz. The dinner this year was even more exceptional than usual, with a wide variety of delicious items. One of the desserts was a large cake commemorating Roy and Lynn Holtz’s 45th wedding anniversary. And speaking of Lynn, she wasn’t planning on shooting this year until her 10-year-old grandson, Camden Simanski, asked if she would shoot with him, so she readily agreed. He shot a 21 x 50 for his first time at shooting 50 targets, and he was thrilled to make it to the championship shoot-off!

All in all, it was a great event, and most of the participants said they would be back when Roy asked for a vote on whether Labor Day weekend would be appropriate for this shoot next year. Kudos to Ryan, Michael and Roy for organizing this shoot and to all of the Generations folks who helped make it the rousing success that it was!

– Contributed by George Gleich

 

Roy and Lynn Holtz
Renee and Tom Hillard -Winners

 

    

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, NSSA News, NSSA Shoot Reports, Shoot Reports, Skeet, Skeet Events, Skeet News, Skeet Photos Tagged With: clay target shooting, Generations Couples Shoot, skeet

8th Annual Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

November 1, 2022 By Cara Woodard

The 8th annual Couples Shoot was held at Generations Skeet Club near Patton, Pennsylvania, on September 18. The weather was lovely, upper 70s, mostly sunny, and not too much wind, at least by Generations’ standards.

The Couples Shoot was initiated by Generations in 2015, and the initial goals of the shoot remain: 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!

Twenty-six couples shot this year, four more than last year. Very few skeet shoots in the country have 26 lady shooters.

Shooting began late in the morning, and all four of Generations’ skeet fields were involved. Many of the participants were first-time shooters, and several had never handled a gun before in their lives. NSSA Certified Instructors were available to all four fields to help new shooters. Shotguns and shells were provided to any who needed them.

Squads of four or six people were formed. All NSSA safety rules were strictly enforced, but some of the other 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 strongly encouraged.

After everyone had shot at 50 birds (two rounds), shoot-offs began. Liberal handicaps were applied, which allowed all 26 couples to shoot doubles at 3, 4 and 5. The shoot-offs were also handicapped, with experienced shooters receiving no targets and rookies getting four. Most shoot-offs are somewhat subdued to let the shooters concentrate, but not this group. Up and down the line of fields you could hear hootin’ and hollerin’ as the ladies were busting targets at doubles. Following the first round of shoot-offs, the remaining eight pairs of shooters proceeded to field 2 for the final shoot-off while everyone else gathered around to cheer on the competitors.

Several new shooters made it to the final field, but even with their handicap they could not hold off Allison Shaffer and Alex Newara, who just kept breaking clays and emerged as the Couples Shoot champions. Alex is new to the game but held his own in the shoot-off. Allison is getting used to this champ stuff, as she was Pennsylvania Ladies HOA Champ at this year’s State Shoot. Terry Smith and his grandniece Jenna Smith were Couples Shoot runners-up, and Kevin and Cheryl Smith (no relation to Terry and Jenna) took third place. Cheryl remarked after the shoot-off that she could not believe they won third place. She and Kevin were thrilled. Pictures of the group followed the crowning of the shoot champions with the custom-made crown of shotgun shells, while gift certificates for food and shooting were awarded to all three winning teams.

After the shooting was done, people headed to “The Barn,” about 200 yards from the skeet clubhouse, for a fine picnic-style dinner. Ryan Holtz cooked the delicious chicken on-site, and many people brought covered dishes and yummy desserts. There was plenty of food and drink, including homemade wine, but more importantly, many new friendships were formed.

Kudos to the Generations Skeet Family for hosting a great event. We are already looking forward to next year. If you would like to be added to the list of competitors, please email Roy Holtz at royholtz@gmail.com. No prior experience is necessary, and the Generations family will definitely show you a good time.

– Contributed by George Gleich

Champions – Alex Newara and Allison Shaffer
L to R-Kevin and Cheryl – 3rd, Terry and Jenna Smith – RU, Alex Newara and Allison Shaffer – CH

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, NSSA News, NSSA Shoot Reports, Skeet, Skeet Events Tagged With: clay target shooting, Generations Couples Shoot, NSSA, skeet

7th Annual Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

November 12, 2021 By Cara Woodard

The 7th annual Couples Shoot was held at Generations Skeet Club in Pennsylvania on September 19. The weather was lovely, in the low 70s, not a cloud in the beautiful blue sky and almost no wind.

The Couples Shoot was initiated by Generations in 2015, with 14 couples participating that first year. The goals of the shoot are 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!

Twenty-two couples shot this year, the same number as last year. Not too many skeet shoots in the country can boast having 22 lady shooters. For example, this year’s Pennsylvania State Skeet Shoot, one of the largest in the country, had 22 lady shooters in the 12-gauge event.

Shooting began late in the morning, and all four of Generations’ skeet fields were soon involved. Many of the participants were first-time shooters, and several had never handled a gun before. NSSA Certified Instructors were present on all four fields to help new shooters. Shotguns and shells were provided to any who needed them. Scorekeepers included Andrea McMullen and Rachel Nelen, along with a bevy of experienced shooters who offered to help.

Squads of four or six shooters were assigned. All NSSA safety rules were strictly enforced, but some of the other 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 strongly encouraged.

At approximately 4 p.m., after everyone had shot at 50 birds (two rounds), shoot-offs began. Liberal handicaps were applied, which allowed all 22 couples to shoot doubles at 3-4-5. The shoot-offs were also handicapped, with experienced shooters receiving no targets and rookies getting 4. Most shoot-offs are somewhat subdued with no injected noise, but not with this group. Up and down the line of fields, you could hear hootin’ and hollerin’ as the ladies were busting targets at doubles. Following the first round of shoot-offs, the remaining eight pairs of shooters proceeded to field 2 for the final shoot-off while everyone else gathered around to cheer on the competitors. New shooter Denise Serbin was comical because as she hit targets, the crowd could hear her play-by-play commentary. During the shoot-off, she kept the pressure on her husband Tim to keep hitting targets and not use up her handicap. It worked, because Tim really came through by crushing 7 pairs at 3-4-5 in his first shoot-off and first attempt at doubles. The pair captured third place for their first-ever win in skeet.

Renee and Tom Hillard emerged as Couples Shoot Champions. Renee proudly wore the custom tiara decorated with spent shotgun shells! Shoot runners-up were Ashley and Chris Kline, Denise and Tim Serbin took third, and Denise and Al Agostinelli finished fourth. Custom-made mugs commemorating the event were awarded to the winners (thanks to Jeff Meidinger for making the lovely mugs).

After the shooting was done, people flocked 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, but more importantly, many new friendships were formed.

Kudos to the Generations skeet family for hosting a great event; we are already looking forward to next year. If you would like to be added to the list of competitors, please email royholtz@gmail.com. No prior experience is necessary, and the Generations family will definitely show you a good time.

– Contributed by George Gleich

 

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, NSSA News, NSSA Shoot Reports, Skeet, Skeet Events Tagged With: clay target shooting, Generations Couples Shoot, skeet, skeet shoot

Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

January 17, 2020 By

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

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, NSSA News, NSSA Shoot Reports, Skeet, Skeet Events, Skeet News Tagged With: Generations Couples Shoot, Generations Skeet Club, skeet

Generations Couples Shoot

December 26, 2018 By Sherry Kerr

The fourth annual Couples Shoot was held at Generations Skeet Club near Patton, PA, on September 16. The weather was great, upper 70s and partly cloudy with just enough wind to keep it interesting (we wouldn’t want any new skeet shooters to think it was too easy).

The Couples Shoot was initiated 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! It was begun in 2015 with 14 couples participating. This year, 76 shooters – 38 couples – participated. Who knows what might happen next year; there certainly will be a next year for this shoot!

Shooting began at 11 a.m., and all four of the skeet fields were soon involved. Many of the participants were first-time shooters. Certified instructors were present on each field to help these new shooters, and any not-so-new shooters that wanted it. Generations also provided shotguns, shells and eye and ear protection to those who needed them. Pullers and scorers included Kelsey Krug and Paige McMullen; both young ladies regularly help run the Wednesday night skeet league here and do a great job. They also joined in on the shooting fun and did well!

Squads of 4, 6 and/or 8 people participated. All NSSA safety rules were strictly enforced, but some of the other 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. Liberal, but top secret, handicaps were applied, which allowed all the 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 four. Following the first round of shoot-offs, the remaining eight pairs of shooters proceeded to field 2 for the final shoot-off. A large crowd of spectators watched and cheered as the winners were decided. Cindy and Jeff Harding emerged as the Couples Shoot champions for 2018 and were awarded the custom tiara bedecked with spent shotgun shells and a blue ribbon. Shoot runners-up were Shane and Kate Crawford, and third place went to Michael Vescovi and Kiersten Kruise. During the awards ceremony, beautiful engraved wine glasses to commemorate the event were presented to all three couples. Just for the record, the champs and runners-up are experienced sporting clays shooters but first-time skeet shooters. They commented on how much they enjoyed the game and the camaraderie, and I would bet they become regular skeet shooters, as they met some very good friends.

After the shooting was done, people migrated to “The Barn,” about 200 yards from the skeet clubhouse, for a fine picnic-style dinner. After the meal, awards were presented to the Couples Shoot winners, and winners of the recently finished Wednesday night league were recognized.

Many thanks to the Generations Skeet Family for hosting a great event!

– Contributed by George Gleich

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

L to R: Shane and Kate Crawford-RU, Cindy and Jeff Harding-Ch, Michael Vescovi and Kiersten Kruise-3rd

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, Kudos, Skeet, Skeet Events, Skeet Photos Tagged With: Generations Couples Shoot, Generations Skeet Club

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