Clay Target Nation

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

20th Holtz Memorial at Generations Skeet Club

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Generations Skeet Club (PA) hosted the 20th annual Holtz Memorial Shoot, a 5-gun affair, on June 2-5, 2023. This shoot is held in memory of Ralph Holtz, his wife Mary Louise, and their grandson Kyle Holtz. Ralph died in 2003, Kyle in 2004, and Mary Louise in 2018.

(L) Chris Kline-410, 28 AND HOA CH, (R) Joe Vescovi – HOA RU

Except for an hour of rain on Saturday afternoon, the weather for the weekend was great. Fifty-five shooters shot at least one gun. Four Maryland shooters joined the festivities — thank you for coming! Top HOA finishers were Chris Kline, champion (395), Joe Vescovi, runner-up (395), and Denny Lehman, third (390). Missy Vescovi was Lady HOA Champion.

Thirty-one participants shot doubles on Friday afternoon. Bryson Fox emerged as Champion after defeating Gary Nace and Joe Vescovi in a shoot-off of 97s. Class firsts went to Mike Wollard (AA), Nace (A), Bill Calvert (B, after a shoot-off of 93s with Michael Moats), Joe Gans V (C), and Bryan Fox (D).

The 28-gauge shooting took place on Saturday morning with 47 shooters participating. Kline was Champion, but not before he won a shoot-off of 99s with five other shooters. Class firsts were Joe Vescovi (AA), Lehman (A), Pat Leyo (B), George Kirik (C) and George Gleich (D).

Shooting continued on Saturday afternoon with the 12-gauge event which involved 53 shooters and a rainstorm during the second flight. There were four 100 straights. Lehman won the shoot-off and was 12-gauge Champion. Kline, Clay Gormish, Bryson Fox, Missy Vescovi, John Davies and James Holtz, respectively, were AA, A, B, C, D, and E class winners.

On Saturday evening a bountiful meal was served including delicious grilled venison hors d’oeuvres prepared by Joe Vescovi, chicken, (grilled by Ryan Holtz) and a large variety of delicious desserts. Following dinner, the Generations Skeet Club’s President’s Award for 2023 was awarded to Pat Leyo for his long-term and outstanding service to the club. The Three-Man Blind event (to be based on Sunday’s .410 scores) was also set up with lively auction bidding for the 14 computer-picked teams after dinner. A total of more than $2,800 was wagered.

The .410 bore was shot on Sunday morning (46 shooters) with beautiful weather prevailing. Kline was Champion and AA1 with a nice 98. Other class firsts went to Wollard (A), Tom Shields (B), Jack Makdad (C), and Dan Amsler (D).

The 20-gauge event took place on Sunday afternoon. Jeff Meidinger roared out of B class, shot the lone 100-straight and was champion — way to go, Jeff! Wollard took AA1 after winning a shoot-off of 99s with Tyler Mroczka. Other class firsts were Joe Vescovi (A), Missy Vescovi (B), Paul Hunt (C) and James Holtz (D).

Ryan Holtz and Mark Strickland handled registration and score keeping/posting; Michael Vescovi was chief referee. Non-shooting referees included Renee Calvert, Paige, Andrea, Elle and Jackie McMullen, Braden Holtz and Alex Farrell. All did a great job, thank you!

Joe McGarvey provided homemade vegetable soup which was gobbled up on Saturday and Sunday. Biscuits and gravy were also available on Sunday. Joe Gans (3 and 5) made delectable sandwiches for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Renee Calvert’s chocolate chip cookies didn’t last long. As always, Pat Leyo provided filled and regular doughnuts on Saturday and Sunday morning, much to everyone’s delight.

The 3-man blind winners were Chris Kline, Roy Holtz and Dan Amsler, and each shooter received $55. Kline and Lynn Holtz bought the winning team at auction and took home $1,100 to share. Pay-outs went to the four highest-scoring team’s shooters and buyers.

Notable events included: Jeff Meidinger shooting his first 100-straight in 20 years in the 20-gauge; Emily Harshbarger shooting her highest registered score ever (95 in the 20-gauge); Dan Amsler being the “dark horse” in the 3-man team event by shooting an 86 (more than 10 birds above his average) in the .410 and spurring his team to win the event; James Holtz shooting 89 in the 12 and 94 in the 20, good for Junior and Class E first in the former and Junior and Class D first in the latter (Generations’ next wave of skeet shooting youngsters are on their way!).

A notable upcoming event is the Pennsylvania State Skeet Shoot which will be held August 18-20 at beautiful Shenecoy field in McConnellstown, PA. More than 250 shooters and more than $25,000 added money are being anticipated for this event. Please come and join in the fun!

 – Contributed by George Gleich

Three generations of Holtzes
Jeff Meidinger – 20 GA CH
Bryson Fox – DBLS CH
Denny Lehman – 12 GA CH
Three man blind auction

23rd Firebird 500 at Generations Skeet Club

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With a number of campers on site and a three-day span of beautiful weather, Generations Skeet Club in Patton, Pennsylvania, held their 23rd annual Firebird 500. The July shoot was sunny and warm with a light breeze throughout the weekend until an unexpected thunder and lightning storm appeared at 5 p.m. Sunday, which had the last flight’s shooters ducking for cover. Attendance totaled 57 competitors.

Bill Calvert, Alyssa Gormish, Joe Vescovi

Alyssa Gormish took the doubles champion title on Friday with a nice 99, and class firsts went to Chris Kline (AA, 94), Mike Wollard (A, 95), Skip Spessard (B, 95), Rich Rothrock (C, 90) and Mark Jones (D, 89). After the doubles event, the club treated the crowd to pizza and hot wings with refreshments and reminiscent stories throughout the evening.

Saturday morning saw the 28-gauge event, where Joe Vescovi captured the top honor with a 99. Class firsts went to Chris Kline (AA, 98), Jack Harshbarger (A, 98), Michael Vescovi (B, 98), Rich Rothrock (C, 94) and Mark Jones (D, 88). The 12-gauge followed and also included a belt buckle handicap 5-man team shoot. Twelve teams competed, and the final team standing was Mike Wollard, Skip Spessard, Gary Nace, Paul Hunt and Dan Felton. After a shoot-off with Chris Kline, Ryan Holtz and Clay Gormish, Alyssa Gormish added 12-gauge champion to her repertoire of wins for the weekend. Class firsts went to Chris Kline (AA, 100), Ryan Holtz (A, 100), Dan Felton (B, 99), Tim Holtz (C, 99), Chris Cohoon (D, 93), and rookie Tim Serbin captured E1 with an 83 at his first registered shoot.

After shoot-offs Saturday, Generations holds a cocktail party complete with beer, wine, venison cooked on the grill, and smoked cheeses, compliments of chef Joe Vescovi and his helpers. Dinner followed with prime rib beef, barbecue chicken, multiple covered dishes donated by the shooters, and desserts everywhere!

There was to be a surprise award ceremony for George Gleich, but, unfortunately, he was ill and could not attend; however, that did not stop the group from awarding him the first Generations Skeet Club President’s Cup!  Presented by board member Ryan Holtz, the event was streamed via Facebook Live so George and his family could experience the event with us. George has been a tremendous asset to the club and assists in so many ways, from doing shoot write-ups, to refereeing, coaching and attending all events and offering to help. He is a true gentleman of the sport, and we are proud to award him for his service to the skeet community.

Following dinner and the award ceremony is the 3-man blind Calcutta. Teams are chosen at random by computer and then auctioned off to the highest bidder. The cocktail party subsequently – and unashamedly – led to the increased bidding, as a total of over $3200 was bid and collected.

The .410 was the following Sunday morning, and brothers Matt and Ryan Holtz held the winning bid on the 3-man blind champions, taking home $1,000 as the top prize. The winning team of Spessard, Saussure, and Gans III were overheard lamenting their woes of not bidding enough to get their own team!

The .410 champion went to Joe Vescovi for a solid 99. Class firsts went to Kline (AA, 98), Skip Spessard (A, 96), Mark Saussure (B, 95), Joe Gans III (D, 91) and Chris Cohoon (D, 93).

With his first-ever 100 straight, Bill Calvert earned himself the 20-gauge champion title, and thus his hat was properly ventilated by a respectful line of proud friends. Class firsts went to Frank Smithmyer (AA, 98), Mike Naleppa (A, 100), Mark Eckert (B, 98), John Davies (C, 92) and Kurt Fisher (D, 84).

HOA honors went to Joe Vescovi and Chris Kline, each with 394; Alyssa Gormish (388, A and Lady HOA), Skip Spessard (B, 382), Tim Holtz (C, 375), Mark Jones (D, 352) and Zac Sutton (Junior HOA, 374).

Generations would like to extend a gracious thank you to our core of referees: Paige and Andrea McMullen, Rene Calvert, Alex Farrell, Braden Holtz, and all the shooters who assisted. And thank you to Lynn Holtz and all the girls for setting up for the dinner, desserts, and covered dishes, and to all those who helped to clean up the facility after the shenanigans dissipated. This truly is a team shoot with everyone pitching in to do whatever they can to make it fun for the entire group. From the bottom of our hearts, the Generations Family thanks you for your friendship and camaraderie.

– Contributed by Roy Holtz

Generations Awards President’s Cup to George Gleich

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As an ambassador to skeet, one name that stands out among all is George Gleich. George has supported and promoted the game of skeet all across the country. He has shot over 250,000 NSSA lifetime registered targets at sanctioned events at gun clubs in 16 states. But more importantly, George has supported his club, Generations Skeet Club, and the Generations family. From attending league nights, rain or shine, to shooting all the club’s registered shoots and doing write-ups and photos of all those registered shoots for Clay Target Nation (and previously Skeet Shooting Review) for many years, to running the club on Sundays, George has been an amazing member of the Generations skeet family. He is helpful to all and will lend a shotgun or ammo to anyone in need or to help get a new shooter started.

George Gleich

George is a Level 1 NSSA Certified Instructor and has been a registered referee for years. He volunteers to referee the SCTP State Championship held there each year.

You won’t find a more honest or gracious man in the game than George.  He is a constant gentleman on and off the field. For these and many other reasons, Generations has awarded the first Generations Skeet President’s Cup to George Gleich.

– Contributed by Roy Holtz

6th Annual Couples Shoot

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The 6th Annual Couples Shoot was held at Generations Skeet Club near Patton, Pennsylvania, on September 20. The weather was lovely, low to mid-60s, not a cloud in the beautiful blue sky, and not too much wind.

2020 Couples Shoot Winners

The Couples Shoot was initiated by Generations in 2015, and 14 couples participated that first year. The goals of the shoot were, and 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. This was down a bit from last year, but with COVID-19 and everything else going on in the world right now, it was a nice turnout.

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 to help new shooters. Generations also provided shotguns and shells to those who needed them. Pullers and scorers included Paige McMullen and her sister Andrea. A group of students from the Mount Aloysius clay-target shooting team also participated. This newly formed team practices and competes at Generations under the direction of Tim and Joe Vescovi.

Squads of four or six 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 shoot 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 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. Brock and Aubrey Shirk emerged as the Couples Shoot Champions. Aubrey was awarded the custom tiara decorated with spent shotgun shells, and Brock received a custom blue ribbon. Shoot runners-up were Frank Smithmyer and Paige McMullen, while third place went to Ben Greitzer and his mother Carley. Mugs commemorating the event, custom-made by Jeff Meidinger, were presented to all three couples.

After the shooting was done, people migrated to “The Barn,” about 200 yards from the skeet clubhouse, for a fine picnic-style dinner. Ryan Holtz and Frank Smithmyer cooked the chicken on-site and many people brought covered dishes and desserts. There was plenty of food and drink on hand, but best of all had to be the new friendships that were formed.

Many thanks to the Generations skeet family for hosting a great event. We are already looking forward to next year and the seventh iteration!

– Contributed by George Gleich

Couples Shoot at Generations Skeet Club

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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

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