Clay Target Nation

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

6th Gil Rodler Memorial

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Tarentum District Sportsmen’s Club (TDSC) held its sixth Gil Rodler Memorial four-gun shoot on Labor Day, September 7. Gil Rodler Sr. passed in 2014 at the age of 88. Gil was one of PAs best skeet shooters ever and many still remember him. Gil Rodler, Jr. and his sister Stacey Sabo attended the shoot, with Gil shooting and Stacey observing.

The weather was not bad, overcast and relatively cool most of the day, but with some rain during the mid-afternoon and then again at shoot-off time. A total of 21 different shooters participated in this 4X50 affair. HOA winners were Bryson Fox, champion (195) and Mike Wollard, runner-up (194).

Twenty-one shooters took part in the 20-gauge event that kicked off the day. Brian Fox shot a 49 and was champion, while his son Bryson took runner-up with a 48. Class first-places were Wollard (AA), Ernie Anderson (A), Paul Augustin (B), Bob Waite (C, after winning a shoot-off of 47s with Murry Gerber) and Brad King (D).

Twenty-one shooters also shot the 12-gauge. No one was perfect, but there were four 49s. Bryson Fox prevailed in the shoot-off and was champion. The other three 49s ended up as Wollard (runner-up), Tom Shields (B1) and Gary Trilli (C1). Rounding out the 12-gauge winners were Ernie Avolio (AA1), Augustin (B1), Paul Hunt (D1) and Paul McConville (E1, after he won a shoot-off of 37s with Dave Ostrosky).

McConville, a Senior Veteran who shot his first registered targets at Tarentum in 1963, remarked afterwards that it had been a while since he won a shoot-off. Paul and Gil Rodler Sr. are both in the PSSA Hall of Fame.

The 28-gauge was next up with 19 shooters, and there were two 50s. After the shoot-off, Augustin was champion and Shields runner-up. Wollard, Bryson Fox – after winning a shoot-off of 49s with Ernie Avolio – Brian Fox, Waite, and Hunt, respectively, were AA1, A1, B1, C1 and D1.

The .410 was last on the agenda, and 20 competitors shot the little gun. Wollard took the championship outright with the only 50 straight. Bryson Fox was runner-up with a 49. Class firsts went to Augustin (AA), Ernie Avolio (A), Brian Fox (B, after winning a shoot-off with Waite), John Avolio (C) and King (D).

Kudos to Jerry McCullough and Mike Rykaczewski Sr. for shoot management. Many thanks also to Josh Crofutt, Fran Kosmacki, and Mike Rykaczewski Jr. for pulling and scoring.

– Contributed by George Gleich

Gil Rodler Memorial

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Tarentum District Sportsmen’s Club (TDSC) near Sarver, Pennsylvania held their fifth Gil Rodler Memorial 4-gun shoot on Labor Day, September 2. Gil Rodler Sr. passed away in June of 2014 at the age of 88. Gil was one of the best skeet shooters in Pennsylvania for many years and had many friends and acquaintances in the skeet community. Gil Rodler Jr. attended the shoot and shot very well, ending up as 28-Gauge Champion, A1 in the 20 and A1 in the 12. Gil Sr. would have been proud but probably would have asked his son, “What happened in the .410?”

The weather was great, partly cloudy to partly sunny, near 75 degrees with light winds. A total of 31 shooters participated in this four-gun, 50-bird-per-gun affair. HOA winners were Josh Crofutt (Champion, 195), Chris Kline (runner-up, 194) and Mike Wollard (third, 191).

The .410 was first on the agenda, and 26 competitors shot the little gun. Kline took the championship outright with his 49; Tim Holtz was runner-up with a 48. Class firsts went to Mike Rykaczewski Jr. (AA), Crofutt (A), Debra Meade (B), Harry Simonovich (C) and Ross Carney (D).

The 28-gauge was next up with 27 shooters, and there were three 50s from Gil Rodler Jr., Wollard and Meade; Rodler emerged as Champion and Wollard as runner-up. Rykaczewski Jr., Meade, Arvid Kobosky, Bryson Fox and Lance Petro, respectively, were AA1, A1, B1, C1 and D1.

Twenty-seven shooters took part in the 20-gauge event. Wollard had the only 50 straight and was champion. Crofutt, runner-up, won a shoot-off of 49s with Kline (AA1). Rodler Jr. (A1), Ernie Anderson (B1), Paul Hunt (C1) and Simonovich (D1) rounded out the list of class winners.

Twenty-nine shooters shot the 12-gauge. There were three 50 straights: Crofutt (champion), Kline (runner-up) and Kevin Spessard (B1). Other class firsts went to Meade (AA), Rodler Jr. (A), Tom Shields (C), Bob Waite (D) and Petro (E).

Kudos to Jerry McCullough and Mike Rykaczewski Sr. for shoot management and to John Smith, Gary Trilli, Chris Smith, Paul Augustin, Tom Gulotta, Josh Crofutt and Mike Rykaczewski Jr. for pulling and scoring. Many thanks to Regina Nemergut and Marie Palmer for preparing and serving the food.

 

– Contributed by George Gleich

Gil Rodler Memorial

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Memorial skeet shoots are all about remembering and memorializing some of our greatest shooters. That’s the case with the Gil Rodler Memorial. He attended every Pennsylvania State Skeet Championship from 1954 until 2013. Further, he won more of those PA Championship titles than just about anyone. But the longevity of his year-after-year PA State Championship attendance does set him apart – 60 straight years.

But there’s more. He won national titles like the U.S. Open Doubles Championship. While Gil shot a Krieghoff Model 32 for most of his 4-gun career, he shot Doubles with a Perazzi MT6 with a Modified choke in the second barrel. He was noted for shooting the second doubles target way, way out there and smashing it. Gil was also well known as not only a serious competitor, but one with grim determination that showed on his face, his body, his every muscle. These days we’re told to relax while shooting. Rodler never shot relaxed.

September 3, 2018, was the fourth annual Gil Rodler Memorial. It takes place at the Tarentum District Sportsman’s Club near Sarver, PA. Our tradition for this shoot is always Labor Day – as well as 50 targets in the .410, 28, 20 and 12 gauge – in that order – so a one-day shoot. With the club’s three fields we are limited to 30 4-gun shooters (four flights), and this year’s shoot was filled within 24 hours of announcement – testimony to local shooters who have such respect for Gil Rodler, and to the Tarentum District Sportsmen’s Club as well, with its totally renovated clubhouse and all new Lincoln skeet, trap, 5-stand and sporting clays traps.

Well-known Pennsylvania shooter Roy Holtz won the High Overall Championship with a 195. Josh Crofutt was only one target behind for runner-up. Crofutt also won the .410. Tom Shields was 28-gauge champ, Josh Crofutt the 20-gauge, and Tim Holtz won the 12-gauge.

The club always puts out a great lunch spread, and this year’s Rodler Memorial was no exception. Kudos to kitchen help Regina Nemergut, Marie Palmer (who also shot the full program) and all the others who helped. Running the shoot was Dave Cominsky, using the NSSA skeet shoot software.

This club intends to keep the Rodler memory alive with a Labor Day shoot for years to come. The 50-target, 4-gun format has been very popular with our local shooters. We shoot the 12-gauge last to eliminate the need for cleaning barrels by tube-set shooters. We shoot 50 .410s first. Shooters bring their 28-gauge guns or tubes and shells. Consequently, immediately following the 50 .410 targets, we’re able to start the 28-gauge with no delay. Same with the 20- and 12-gauge events: shoot the 20 first and go right into the 12-gauge with no time lost. We find this an efficient way for each competitor to get in 200 targets in the day. We try to finish shoot-offs early enough that shooters can get back to their families for the rest of the Labor Day holiday.

– Contributed by Nick Sisley

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