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Ladies Skeet Clinic at World Skeet Championships

October 19, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The inaugural Ladies Skeet Clinic was held on September 29 during the Mini World, with 12 participants paired with four instructors. Instructors were JoEllen Collin, Jackie Ego, Bethanne Miles, and Hannah Goddard, with Susie Galloway assisting. The objectives of the clinic were to provide a safe, friendly and supportive environment for our students to learn the fundamentals of shotgun shooting from and with other women. 

Experience levels ranged from never having handled a gun/shotgun before, to some beginners who had shot a little skeet, sporting clays, or trap. All were eager to learn about skeet shooting.  We had classroom time where we got to know each other, gave a brief overview of clay target sports, with emphasis on skeet, its history, and NSSA, and conducted a thorough safety orientation.

JoEllen Collin and Jackie Ego checked everyone for eye dominance, and the instructors helped dial in gun fit for all the ladies. Instructors went over proper mount and stance before each group headed out to the four fields NSSA had ready for the group. It wasn’t long before shots were fired and cheers went up and down the line as some of the students broke their very first skeet targets.

At the conclusion of shooting, the group headed to headquarters, met members of the NSSA staff and the Executive Committee, and enjoyed a fabulous lunch, compliments of NSSA. NSSA also provided Complimentary Limited Memberships for all the clinic participants. Huge thanks to duPont/Krieghoff, Krieghoff, Briley, Federal, and NSSA for their generous gifts, loaner guns, ammunition and the special touches that made this inaugural clinic a success. With a full clinic and waiting list for the inaugural event, we’re already planning for an expanded 2024 event.

– Contributed by Hannah Goddard

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, Ladies Charity Skeet Classic, skeet

20th Holtz Memorial at Generations Skeet Club

August 30, 2023 By Cara Woodard

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

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

Photo Gallery: John Teresi Shoot

June 28, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The John Trees Shoot was held at Stockton Trap & Skeet Club on April 15, 2023. With 38 shooters competing, Anthony Juarez took home HOA Champ, followed by Jack Campbell in RU, and Rocky Romo in third.

Click on a photo to enlarge.

All photos taken by Shakib Akbari

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation Photo Galleries, NSSA News, Skeet, Skeet Events, Skeet News, Skeet Photos Tagged With: clays target shooting, John Teresi Shoot, skeet, skeet shooting

Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot

June 5, 2023 By Cara Woodard

Grand Prairie Gun Club was proud to again hold the Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot April 14-16. Donny Penwell hosts this shoot in honor of his father, Penny Penwell, who was well-known in the Dallas area as a great shooter and supporter of skeet shooting. Donny makes sure shooters have a memorable time at his shoot. And the gun club members, who volunteer their time and hard work, are extremely supportive and take great pride in throwing great targets and providing delicious meals. They work tirelessly to ensure everyone one has a great shooting experience at Grand Prairie.

(L to R) David Chancellor 28ga CH, Dustin Holmes 410 CH, Jason Foshea 12ga CH, Michael Dennis DBLS CH, Adam Roberts HOA CH

The Texas referees are second to none – they came out and worked with no planned breaks. It is so important to have good referees, and it certainly helps shooters to perform at their best. These referees did a great job, and we appreciate their support, as well as Allen Cline for his leadership to develop and train referees in the state of Texas.

The Saturday night shrimp boil and the 28-gauge Calcutta auction are definitely highlights for this shoot! Three-man teams are blindly identified electronically based on classes to get good competitive teams in place, and they are auctioned off to the highest bidder. It is great fun and provides great camaraderie as consortiums are sometimes formed to pool their funds to bid on the favored teams. Quite a bit of analysis is typically done to ensure success in winning the auction for the best team.

2023 winners of the Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot:

Adam Roberts – HOA Champion

Jason Foshea – HOA runner-up

Mike Gershick – HOA third

Kathleen Butler – HOA Lady champ

Jason Foshea – 12-gauge champ

Mike Gerschick – 12-gauge runner-up

Tommy Hubbard – 12-gauge third

Kathleen Butler – 12-gauge Lady champ

Nicholas Godfrey – 20-gauge champ

Adam Roberts – 20-gauge runner-up

Dennis Godfrey – 20-gauge third

Jo Ellen Collin – 20-gauge Lady champ

David Chancellor – 28-gauge champ

Adam Roberts – 28-gauge runner-up

Ken Wright – 28-gauge third

Jo Ellen Collin – 28-gauge Lady champ

Dustin Holmes – .410 champ

Doug Toulouse – .410 runner-up

David (Tim) Cudia – .410 third

Kathleen Butler – .410 Lady champ

Michael Dennis – Doubles champ

Travis Mears – Doubles runner-up

Jon McDonald – Doubles third

Tracy Ragle – Doubles Lady champ

David Chancellor came down from Oklahoma to referee the shoot but also shot, winning the 28-gauge after shooting a perfect score of 100 and winning the shoot-off. Then he iron-manned as a referee, as he often does.

Come out and join this shoot next year – we would love to have you!

– Contributed by Randy Walhood

Kathleen Butler Lady HOA CH
Nick Godfrey 20ga CH

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, NSSA, Penny Penwell Memorial Shoot, skeet

Onion Snow Open

June 5, 2023 By Cara Woodard

The Sportsmen’s Club of Forest County in Marienville, PA held their second-ever registered skeet shoot, the Onion Snow Open, on May 22. The Club was established in 1970 but didn’t have a skeet field until about 15 years ago. Club members Norm Wagner and Paul McConville were instrumental in the planning and construction of the field. As many as 20 skeet shooters use the field on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, and a number of these shooters volunteer to help get things done around the club. Registered monthly targets at the club have resulted in several new shooters being added to NSSA’s rolls in the past few years. 

This shoot was a two-gun affair, including 100 birds in each 28- and 12-gauge. The weather was relatively warm, but otherwise not especially nice — clear in the early morning and late afternoon, but windy with clouds and off-and-on rain for much of the day. Fifteen shooters participated. There were three flights, which meant a full slate for this one-field club. Allison Shaffer, Mark Eckert and Chris Kline, respectively, were HOA Champion (193), runner-up (191) and third (190).

The 28-gauge was first. Mark Eckert’s 95 made him gun champ, while Jared Shaffer’s 95 was good for runner-up. Class winners included Tom Shields (AA), Allison Shaffer (A), Evan Martin (B), John Avolio (C) and Norm Wagner (D).

A great lunch was enjoyed by all, with ham barbecue, macaroni salad, baked beans and several fresh fruit salads, followed by a large assortment of delicious desserts. Many thanks to Lois and Carol Shields!

After lunch, the 12-gauge event took place. Allison Shaffer’s 99 made her the 12-gauge champ, while Chris Kline, also at 99, was runner-up. Evan Martin, Jared Shaffer, Colby Eckert and George Gleich, respectively, took firsts in A, B, C and E classes.

Kudos to Tom Shields for overall shoot management and to Paul McConnville, Mark Williams, Dale Gallagher and Dave Smerker for their efforts before and during the shoot. Many thanks also to Casey Vensel for sign-ups, scorekeeping and posting, etc.

It was neat to again experience the “advance warning” of the exiting birds as they were thrown flawlessly from vintage Winchester traps.

– Contributed by George Gleich

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, NSSA, Onion Snow Open, skeet

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