Clay Target Nation

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

63rd Kentucky Lake Open

By

Mark Travis of Bartlett, Tennessee, returned to Chief Paduke Gun Club after a long hiatus and walked off with the HOA championship. This year’s version was also held mid-May, a welcome respite from the sweltering temperatures of the traditional July date. A good time was had by all, with many promises of “see you next year” upon the contestants’ Sunday afternoon departures. All competitors and their respective entourages were treated to a complimentary Saturday night fish fry by Earl Yarbrough and crew, and it was enjoyed by everyone.

Calvert City All-American Ken Ford, MD, posted the only 98 to take opening doubles honors without a shoot-off. Fellow Calvert City Gun Club member Jody Stevenson, showing he had lost little in an almost 10-year layoff, won AA with a 97. Larry Blount, visiting again from the Grand Canyon state, topped A class with a 96. Christian Wagner, an outstanding Junior shooter from Tennessee, was B1 with his 93. Mark Hammond, Elizabethtown, KY, led C with a nice 95. Mike Burrell, Blodgett, MO, was tops in D with 91.

Jody Stevenson cashed in for the second time in a row in the All-Gauge contest, popping the only 100. Scores of 99 were plentiful, though, as that tally from Barry Stevenson topped AA. It was Ford in A, and Jamie Hathcock, (visiting from Springfield, MO) in B. Hunter Burgess, Cordova, TN was best in C, beating Mike Jenkins in a shoot-off of 96s. Burrell won D again, this time with a score of 94. In what was probably the most eagerly watched shoot-off of the event, the Ballentine brothers of Milan, TN, locked horns in the Sub-Junior concurrent, with Owen prevailing over Ethan.

Two shooters had 100s with the yellow shells – Travis and last year’s runaway HOA winner, Josh Beard. Josh prevailed in the miss-and-out doubles decider, relegating Mark to AA1. Club president Keith Spivey, inarguably the top gun in Elizabethtown, IL, proved that you can oversee a shoot, repair traps as needed, pull a five-man squad, and still shoot well. He came out the winner in a shoot-off of 99s for the A-class crown over Wagner and Barry Stevenson. Hathcock reserved another spot in the payout line, leading B with his 97. Kevin Brogdon, out of Humboldt, TN, led C with a nice 96, while fellow Volunteer Stater Jack Huckabee, won D with the same score.

After Sunday morning’s small-gauge affair, only one red dot appeared on the scoreboard, posted by Keith Brummite, Benton, KY. Travis again showed up on the payout sheet, with his AA class best of 99. Gavin Stevenson, also of Calvert, gave further credence to the fact that the Stevenson men can take a lengthy break from the sport and return at the near-top of their game, taking A class with the lone 99. Perennial KLO participant and CPGC member Rob Gyngard, Florissant, MO, broke 96 for the top spot in B. Burrell triumphed again, this time in the C division, with a 96. Huckabee cashed in for the second time in D with 88.

In the baby bore, Travis prevailed in a three-way tie-breaker of 98s over Ford (A) and B class Spivey. Bartlett, TN, shooter and regular KLO participant Alan Newton led C with a 93, while Huckabee marked again, this time with a 94 that easily outclassed his competition in D class.

Travis’ 395 led the HOA chase by a healthy margin of four over Ford (AA1) and Blount (B1) by five. Don Beard, Jackson, MO, topped A with 386. Burgess prevailed in the C division with his 373, with Huckabee leading D at 367.

The KLO continues to run smoothly each year, due mainly to the pitch-in-and-help attitude displayed by many club members. Chief Paduke Gun Club would also like to thank all those that supported and participated. Plan now on signing up early for the 2023 version.

– Contributed by Bob Toy

Kentucky Lake Open

By

Chief Paduke Gun Club (Paducah, Kentucky) hosted the 59th Kentucky Lake Open on July 20-22. At the completion of Friday’s Doubles championship, Dennis Burns Jr. of Fancy Farm, KY, topped the leader board with the only 99. Kevin Parrott of Louisville won AA with a 95. Tom Selley, Mt. Juliet, TN, led A by breaking 98. The B class was taken by Joe Marr, Troy, IL, with a score of 94. Dick Ferguson, Lake St. Louis, MO proved best in C with a tally of 86 hits. Nathan Harrington, Benton, KY, was first in D, with 89 Xs on the scoreboard.

At the end of the day’s shooting, many of the participants spent a fun-filled evening at Harrah’s Casino in nearby Metropolis as guests of the casino. This has become somewhat of a tradition with our out-of-town guests who look forward to the outing each year. This was the 24th consecutive year for Harrah’s to host our shooters, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Burns won the shoot-off of 100 straights in the all-gauge event, besting Rodney Reinier, a class B gunner from Lebanon, IL, who had just posted his first 100 straight. Perennial KLO contender Mark Presnell, Jackson, MO, was AA winner with a 99. Josh Beard, also of Jackson, led A class with 97, and Richard Ladd, Collierville, TN, bested C with his 96. Club officer Mike Hatler, Bandana, KY, was the D winner with 96. Harrington was the best in the E division with 92.

Burns kept rolling in the 20-gauge shoot-off, beating Vernon Shedd of Ludlow, IL, in the Doubles tie-breaker after both shot 100. Ken Ford, Calvert City, KY, came out on top of AA class with his 99. Class A first was taken by Barry Stevenson, Calvert City, KY, also with 99. Shedd was the B winner, while Harrington led C by smoking 90 clays. A 93 by Dennis Owen, Medon, TN, was good enough to top the 20-gauge D rank.

A new twist at this year’s event was the operation of the kitchen by Kathy Toy and her fellow members of the Paducah DAR chapter. It was agreed unanimously that both the appearance of the help and quality of the lunches served was vastly improved over the days when Roger Hazen attempted to perform this task! Another major part of what makes the KLO a great shoot was the efforts of B. J. Yates and her staff of top flight referees – Denny Edwards, Jay Byrd, Seth Crawford and Brad Felton.

After three events, the smart money was on Burns to run the table, but then the 28 gauge reared its head, and a 98 went on the scorecard; Ken Ford was the only entrant able to survive unscathed with his 100 straight. Presnell was the AA top gun again with an almost-perfect 99. Davis Minton, Dexter, MO notched a win in A, also with a 99. Richard Ladd didn’t cut them any slack in B, breaking 99. Pat English, Jackson, TN, took the top prize in C by busting 89. John Oliver, Kevil, KY, 87, was the conqueror of D.

Burns righted the ship in the .410 event, posting a brilliant 99, to take another gun crown sans shoot-off. Parrott wound up atop AA by virtue of his 96. Stevenson triumphed in A by squashing 97. Minton again prevailed over the B group by virtue of his 94. When the smoke cleared, Pat English and his 87 sat all alone at the top of the C heap. D class .410 first was taken by Ferguson with 80.

Burns added another KLO HOA crown to his lengthy string of major victories, by virtue of his 397. Ford managed AA1 with his tally of 393 markers. Larry Blount, visiting from Tuscon, AZ, was a great help in preparing for the shoot and also notched a nice 388 to lead the pack in A class. Stevenson bested the B category with his 385. In the C HOA race, Mike Burrell, Blodgett, MO, came out on top of the pack with his total of 362. Harrington beat Oliver, 349 to 341, to claim D honors.

We will be back again in 2019 for the 60th version of our shoot, third weekend of July. Plan now on signing up early.

– Contributed by Bob Toy

58th Kentucky Lake Open

By

Dennis Burns, All-American of Fancy Farm, Kentucky, posted a sterling 398 to take top honors at this year’s Kentucky Lake Open. A rare respite from typical mid-summer temperatures kept the daily highs below the magic 90-degree mark. A good time was had by all, with many promises of “see you next year” upon our contestants’ Sunday afternoon departures.

Jerry Triplett, Rob Gyngard, and Burns broke 98s to start the shoot in Friday’s Doubles event. In a prelude of things to come, Burns vanquished his two foes for his first, but surely not last championship of the weekend. Ken Ford, Calvert City (95) led the AA class while Triplett settled for A1. Willie Taylor, Jr., all the way from West Point, MS, was the B-class winner with 94, and Kevin Hess took C by busting 87.

Three competitors broke them all in Saturday morning’s All-Gauge event, with Burns topping squadmate Tom Selley (AA1), and Joe Marr (B1) in the tie breaker. Ronald Blalock was best in A class with his 99 as Don Beard did the same in C with 97. Dean Rapp won D with 88, and Mike Hatler was best in E class with 93.

Three shooters had 100s with the yellow shells – Burns, Selley, and up-and-coming collegiate star Codey Dean. The youngster won the shoot-off, notching his first ever KLO gun championship. Burns settled for AA1. Mark Presnell was first in A class with his 99 while Barry Stevenson won B with 98. John Lawson won C with 92. New local shooter Jason Summarell led D by breaking a nice 89.

Burns apparently enjoyed the handshakes and congratulations he received after his prior conquests enough that he decided to do it again Sunday morning, but this time his 100 was the only red mark on the 28-gauge scoreboard. Glenn Rickman was AA1 by virtue of his 99. Bart Redman was best in A class with just one miss. Don Beard grabbed another class win, easily out-distancing the B field with his great score of 98. Bill Huffman was the C top gun with a total X count of 92. Mike Hatler marked again by prevailing in a tie breaker of 91s over Bob Simpson for the D-class crown

In the baby bore, Burns wrapped up his shoot with a strong 98 to take another uncontested gun championship. Selley won AA with a 97. Codey Dean took home more Kentucky Lake Open prize cash with his 97 in A class. John Phillips took home B1 money with his 96. Rodney Reinier won C with 93. Leigh Hanneken prevailed in D by busting 62.

Dennis Burns’s 398 took the HOA purse outright, leaving Selley atop AA with his 395. Mr. Dean, A-class HOA shooter, won his division with a nice 391. Barry Stevenson took B1 HOA honors with his 383. Bob Zimmerman made the trip from Indiana worthwhile by grabbing the top spot in C with 368. Bob Simpson was D-class HOA champ by virtue of his 354, with granddaughter Leigh Hanneken winning E with a 270.

The KLO continues to run smoothly each year, due mainly to the pitch-in-and-help attitude displayed by many club members. Chief Paduke Gun Club would also like to thank all those who supported and participated, especially Harrah’s, which hosted all competitors and their respective entourages in a complimentary buffet at Harrah’s of Metropolis, a KLO tradition in its 23rd year.

Plan now on signing up early for the 2018 version.

– Contributed by Bob Toy

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

 

 

Skeet

Sporting Clays

National Shooting
Complex

Museum &
Hall of Fame

About