Clay Target Nation

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

2019 Junior World Goes to Fort Bragg

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The National Skeet Shooting Association, Cross Creek Skeet Association, and Fort Bragg Clay Target Center invite all Sub-Junior, Junior and Collegiate shooters to participate in the 2019 Junior World Skeet Championships. The NSSA Junior World is a special event for our youth shooters to take part in their own championship event. The NSSA’s three youth categories are Sub-Junior, any person who has not reached their fourteenth birthday; Junior, any person who has not reached their eighteenth birthday; and Collegiate, a fulltime undergraduate student in an accredited degree-oriented learning institution. Parents and coaches are also welcome to shoot at the event, but preference is given to the youth participants.

The Junior World is an important shoot to our youth concurrent shooters vying for All-American teams, as many All-American points are awarded at this event. However, those not interested in All-American status need not be deterred, as the Junior World is a great way to venture to a new club, meet new people, and make lifelong friends. The Junior World is also a special event because of the age divisions, allowing those of a similar skill level to compete against each other.

While the Junior World program includes multiple gauges, it is not required to compete in all the events. It is perfectly acceptable to sign up for just the 12-gauge event if that is all you wish to compete in. While Fort Bragg has 12 skeet fields, it is important to pre-register so shoot management can plan and make all the necessary arrangements for a successful shoot.

Looking for more to do than shoot while heading to Fort Bragg? Fort Bragg Clay Target Center is located at 651 East Manchester Road, in the town of Spring Lake, in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina. The Sandhills of North Carolina has plenty to offer any family that comes to visit. The military history of Fort Bragg, the Airborne-Special Operations Museum, revitalized downtown Fayetteville, local towns with numerous antique shops, nearby world-class golf courses and so much more make this a very special place. Additionally, North Carolina beaches are only two hours away, and the North Carolina mountains are approximately four hours away.

I can promise you much work has already been put into making the 2019 Junior World a huge success, and much more effort will take place over the next few months to make the 2019 event very special. Registration opened on April 1, so if you haven’t already, make sure to complete your pre-registration form and mail to Cross Creek Skeet Association, Jim Tiner, 2141 Pridgeonfarm Road, Fayetteville, NC 28306.

Pre-registration form, hotel and general information can all be found on the Junior World page at bit.ly/JrWorld.

For any other questions regarding the Junior World, contact me at nboyd@nssa-nsca.com or call 210-254-1533.

Next Generation of Skeet Shooters

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A chance meeting at the Rhode Island State Skeet Championship between two youth coaches, one from Connecticut and one from Massachusetts, started a conversation about getting their junior shooters together for a low-key, fun skeet practice. A couple phone calls later, the plan was made for the Fall River (MA) Rod and Gun Club to host the youth team shooters of the Ledyard Clay Mechanics (Ledyard Sportsman Club, CT) and the Groton Clay Grinders (Groton Sportsmen Club, Groton, CT) on November 4, 2018.

It turned out to be a beautiful fall day in New England for the three full squads to shoot two rounds of skeet. The 15 shooters taking the field ranged in age from 12 to 16 years old, and it was almost a 50/50 split with seven girls and eight boys. Besides having fun, the coaches really wanted their young athletes to get to know each other and hopefully learn a thing or two. There were a few that had only been shooting skeet for a few months and others for a few years. Some preferred 20-gauge semi-autos, and some shot 12-gauge over/unders. The firearm didn’t matter. The skill level didn’t matter. Halfway through the first round, everyone started fist bumping and giving encouraging words like “good break” and “You were in the middle of that one.” The all-boys Ledyard team – all fairly quiet boys – were squadded up with some of the outgoing girls from Groton and Fall River who soon managed to pull them into conversations, first about shooting skeet targets, then on to other kid stuff.

Off the field, club members were firing up the grill to get lunch started, and parents were making their own connections. Moms and dads were interested in knowing how each other’s kids started shotgun shooting. Some started shooting in Boy Scouts, others hunting with their dads, and others because their friends were doing it so they wanted to try it. They discussed the great life lessons that the shooting sports taught and how it gave them such confidence on and off the range. The coaches from Ledyard and Groton had had kids (including their own) in their programs who were now shooting on collegiate teams, many receiving scholarships, which is always of interest to parents of any age kids.

After lunch, the Ledyard and Groton teams introduced the Fall River team to the game of “Adios,” similar to “Annie Oakley,” with all the kids, plus some coaches and parents, lining up on a trap field. The first two shooters in line load; shooter one calls for a trap target and has the first opportunity to shoot and break the target; shooter two then can shoot the target if shooter one misses or shoot at a chip if the target is broken. If they both miss or shooter two doesn’t break a chip, they are both safe from elimination. If shooter two breaks the missed target or a chip, shooter one is “Adios.” It was a great time, and some amazing long shots were made on some very small pieces of target, turning them into tiny chips. Never underestimate what a 20 gauge can do.

At the final gathering, Fall River’s Coach Armand told everyone to look around because these are the faces you will see at future Zone 1 NSSA matches. It was great seeing all the support provided by the club, the coaches, the parents and the next generation of shooters. There is no doubt that there were friendships born at this practice. And it won’t be the last get-together. Ledyard and Groton plan to return the favor by hosting the next skeet practice. Although seeing all the kids hammering skeet targets was fantastic; the best part of the day was watching the kids hang out in the clubhouse talking excitedly and overhearing the exchange of information and something about their new group in Snapchat … whatever that is.

– Contributed by Amy Stuchell

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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Pennsylvania State Skeet Championship

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Pennsylvania Skeet Shooting Association held its 82nd annual Pennsylvania State Open Skeet Championship at the Shenecoy Sportsmen facility in McConnellstown, PA on August 24-26. The weather, facilities, targets and referees were all great. 190 participants shot at least one gun, including 37 out-of-state shooters from Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Alessandro Vitale, Zone 2 committeeman from MD, was open HOA (398) and HAA (497) champion. Sam Armstrong was open HOA (396) and HAA (495) runner-up. Pennsylvanians Ted Capers and Fran Kosmacki were open HOA third (395) and open HAA third (492), respectively. PA HOA champion, runner-up and third, respectively, were Capers, Kosmacki and Richard (Frenchy) Larosa; Kosmacki, Larosa and R. Dennis Lehman were PA HAA champion, runner-up and third.

The 28-gauge Prelim started the festivities on Friday morning with 48 shooters participating. Michael Zavasky posted the lone 100 and emerged as champion. Clay Gormish and Jared Shaffer shot 99s and were, respectively, runner-up and third.

117 participants shot Doubles on Friday afternoon. Armstrong and Vitale shot 99s and were open champion and runner-up, respectively, while Chris Kline’s 99 was good for open third. Kline (99), Gary Nace (98) and Lehman (98), respectively, were PA champion, runner-up and third. PA class firsts went to Kosmacki, Kenny Riddile, Gormish, Tom Hillard, David Darrough and Rege Guckert (AAA-D).

In the main event, there were 13 perfect 100s in the 12-gauge, seven in the 20, 10 in the 28 and one in the .410. PA champion, runner-up and third, respectively, were Lehman, Kline, and Ernie Avolio in the 12 (185 shooters with Michael Stasio from DE winning open champion); Capers, Lehman and Gormish in the 20 (183 shooters); Kosmacki, Zavasky and Gormish in the 28 (176 shooters with Armstrong open third); and, Peter Anderson, Capers and Paul Augustin in the .410 (171 shooters, with Vitale’s 99 taking open runner-up).

Class (PA) winners were Matthew Sanders, Frank Smithmyer, Augustin, Meghan Darrough, Rich Rothrock, Richard Teti and Jack Makdad (12-gauge AAA-E); Kosmacki, Dan Felton, Adam Vollmer, Mark Saussure, Jackson Paul and Robert Saam (20-gauge AAA-D); Tom Johnson, Pat Leyo, Ed Call, Colin Crawford, Jeff Wright and Tracey Snyder (28-gauge AAA-D), and Joe Vescovi, Matthew Sanders, William Teti, Howard Page, Paul and Bob Waite (.410 bore AAA-D).

Among Junior shooters, LaRosa, Meghan Darrough and Paul, respectively, were PA HOA champion, runner-up and third, and open champion, runner-up and third. PA Ladies HOA winners were Debra Meade, champion; Meghan Darrough, runner-up; and Linda Sanders, third. Open Lady winners were Meade, champion, Sue Huszai at runner-up and Meghan Darrough, third.

A mega-hat shoot took place on Saturday evening, starting with a hat shoot in memory of Frank Walsh. After the memorial hat shoot, seven other hats were blasted by a long line of shooters. This must have been one of the biggest hat shoots (at least by the number of shooters out there) of all time.

Colin Crawford bested 47 other shooters to win the BCDE Challenge shoot-off. The top prize was a Henry rifle donated by Ed and Theresa Call.

The 5-man team handicap championship shoot-off – free to all shooters, based on 12-gauge averages – involved 13 teams. For the second consecutive year, the winners were the North Carolina Boys: Scott Graham, Russell Bingham, Steve Timmons, Rob Pope and Chip Simmons. Each received a beautiful belt buckle.

With 33 entries in the HOA Handicap shoot-off, the winners were Capers, Kosmacki and Leyo, in order.

PA State Teams for 2017 were recognized. The PA first team included Kosmacki, Lehman, Kline, Felton and Gormish, and each received a nice wooden plaque.

A drawing between 13 first-time 4-gun shooters at the State Shoot resulted in Carl Biddle being reimbursed his 4-gun entry fees. Josh Crofutt was the winner of free entry fees to the 2018 World Skeet Championships.

The PSSA President’s Cup award for 2017 was presented to Bob and Becky Myers in recognition of their long-time support of skeet clubs and their major milestone of 1 million combined registered skeet targets at the World Shoot this year.

Many shooters had firsts at this year’s State Shoot. Shooting their first 100s were Rich Rothrock, Jack Makdad, Armand Watts and Randal Horsley in the 12; Colin Crawford in the 28; and Peter Anderson in the .410. First 75s included Tori Holtz, Joe McGarvey and Guy Barr in the 12. First 50s included Allison Shaffer and Tracey Snyder in the 28.

George Gleich shot his 225,000th registered bird during the 20-gauge event.

All Juniors and Sub-Juniors participating in this year’s State Shoot had 100% of their entry fees paid by PSSA; shells used (4 boxes for each event except the Prelim) were also provided by PSSA.

Special thanks to the many club volunteers and sponsors whose hard work and support made our event a success, and to those who contributed a total of $5,400 in added money.

– Contributed by George Gleich

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New York State Skeet Championships

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Shooters from New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Canada arrived at Rochester-Brooks Gun Club two weeks after the Zone 1 Championships to contest the New York State Skeet Championships.

Friday’s action kicked off with the Referee Championship, with Mark Snyder defeating Mark Holthouse in a tie of 97s. The referees swapped guns for clipboards for the Doubles event on Friday afternoon. Two perfect scores later, Craig Parsons defeated Ian Smingler on the first station of the shoot-off for champion and runner-up honors, respectively. In the shoot-off for third between Mat Kelley and W.C. Parks, Mat ascended to the podium while Charlie took AA and the non-resident championship.

Victoria Ferchaw, Catherine Forbush

Class winners in Doubles included Peter Bogdon, Victoria Ferchaw, Doug Goodman and John Yackiw, with the Junior championship won by Hunter Dickerman and the Ladies podium held by Ferchaw, Victoria Barner and Catherine Forbush, in order.

Shooters arriving on Saturday morning were happy to see clear skies and slight wind. The targets were great, and the scoreboard lit up with 100s and 99s, with a 98 down into D class. Nine perfect scores took to the shoot-off field; Ian Smingler finished in the runner-up spot, and Craig Parsons won his second title of the weekend.

George Lehr and Dess Ivanov continued to shoot for third and class AA, with Ivanov reaching the podium. Other class winners included W.C. Parks, who also captured another non-resident champion medal, Michael Asel, Dawn Smart, Scott MacIntosh and Canada’s Don Legere. Matthew Lenehan took the Junior award, with Bryan Bale taking third. Cindy Johnson’s 98 won the Ladies championship outright.

The 20-gauge championship was also contested Saturday afternoon, and again, there were nine perfect scores. In four stations, Scott Sobiegray won over runner-up Michael Ferchaw and third Colin Smingler. Class champions included Bernard Lenehan, Richard Ayers, Fritz Ochab, Scott MacIntosh and Alan Maenza, with W.C. Parks winning another non-resident champion pin. Hunter Dickerman took champion in the Junior group, and Catherine Forbush took the Ladies honors.

Saturday evening’s last shoot-off is always the 12-gauge 5-man team handicap. Every team and shooter participates, with handicaps based on the shooter’s class, total team score miss and out. Congratulations to the winners of a beautiful belt buckle: Bruce Raymond, Matthew Lenehan, Bernard Lenehan, Michael Asel and Charles Lombardo.

Sunday afternoon’s HOA race started out as a tie between Craig Parsons and Mat Kelley with 298s, but at the conclusion of the .410 event, four shooters were called to shoot off 395s. Dan Morris prevailed for Open HOA champ and non-resident champ titles. Parsons and Ivanov went two more stations before Craig won yet another NY resident HOA championship.

In the 28-gauge event, five perfect shooters were summoned to shoot-offs. Mat Kelley took the top step and Michael Cerce runner-up. Brad McRae finished third and was non-resident champ, while Dana Driscoll took AA1 and NY third. Other class winners included Richard Ayers, Donna Fusco (who also took the Ladies title), Charles Lombardo and Don Legere. Hunter Dickerman won Junior honors.

The wind increased in the afternoon, and the lone 99 in the .410, for the top step of the podium outright, was scored by Canada’s Dan Morris, with a shoot-off of 98s for NY champion, runner-up and third. In that shoot-off, seven stations into the box, Aaron Benton let a low 5 slip by, totally disappointed — until Michael Cerce missed the pair! Aaron won the NY State resident title, and Dess Ivanov finished third.

Class winners in the .410 also included Reg Hooper, Donna Fusco (also the Ladies champion), John Mutchler and Andy Nolan. Hunter Dickerman won the Junior concurrent.

As the remaining HOA ties were settled, class winners included W.C. Parks, Donna Fusco, Scott MacIntosh, Mario Mastrangelo and Don Legere. Hunter Dickerman won Junior HOA champion, and Donna Fusco took the top step of the Ladies podium. Victoria Barner and Catherine Forbush shot off for runner-up and third, finishing in that order.

The last call to the shoot-off field was for the Champ of Champs event. Three perfect scores were recorded by Michael Cerce, George Lehr and Dess Ivanov, and it was over in a station. Lehr hit the pair for what he says gives him a span from his first NY title in 1970 to 2018 for his most recent. Cerce and Ivanov took the runner-up and third positions, respectively.

Rochester-Brooks was pleased to host both the Zone I and NY State championships this summer, and we’re looking forward to bringing the U.S. Open back to the great Northeast in 2019.

– Contributed by Andrea Graham Lehr

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