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Bob Lepor Is First to Shoot 250,000 Registered Targets

June 14, 2018 By Sherry Kerr

In 2011, NSCA Hall of Famer and former Executive Council chairman Bob Lepor made sporting clays history when he shot his 200,000th registered target. That record has now been broken. On Sunday, September 24 at high noon, Bob shot his 250,000th registered NSCA target during the main sporting event at the Delaware River Classic in his home state of New Jersey.

“Bob’s accomplishment and dedication to the sport is remarkable,” said Anthony Matarese, whose club, M&M Hunting and Sporting Clays, hosted the event.

Bob’s journey into the history books of sporting clays began in 1994 when he shot his first registered NSCA target at the U.S. Open held at Hopkins Game Farm in Maryland. He posted 1,000 registered clays that first year alone, but really ramped things up the following year after recovering from an illness. Bob used shooting as a means to rehabilitate himself in an effort to increase his strength and stamina. By the year 2000, he’d shot 100,000 registered targets.

“Bob’s most prolific year was in 1999, when he shot 31,650 registered targets,” reported Diane Sorantino, a close friend and frequent squadmate of Bob’s. “Between 1994 and 2017, Bob averaged over 10,000 registered targets per year, and during one three-year period, he averaged 20,000 per year.”

After reaching 200,000 in 2011, Bob was noncommittal about hitting the quarter-million mark. “I don’t know about 250,000,” he said at the time. “I’ll let that run its own course. We’ll see.”

Six years later, Bob had this to say about his most recent milestone, “I was the first to reach 100,000 and first to reach 200,000. Now, being the first to reach 250,000, I must admit it feels like I have accomplished a real personal goal.”

He didn’t make this journey alone, though. “Bob has tremendous family support in pursuing his shooting goals,” said Sorantino. “Bob’s wife, Marilyn, has traveled to many shooting events and frequently accompanies him at Nationals in San Antonio. Over the years, Bob’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Carbone, has also shot many tournaments with him.” Both Marilyn and Elizabeth were on hand to see Bob shoot his 250,000th target.

Spending time with his granddaughter has been particularly gratifying to Bob. “She was there for 100,000 and 200,000 as well,” he noted. “Having Elizabeth along with me on this journey, either shooting or just supporting me, has meant everything to me!”

Spending time with grandpa has meant a lot to Elizabeth, too. “Looking back on my adolescence, shooting with my grandfather for nearly seven years provided me with some of my most cherished moments of our relationship,” she reflected. “Not only was I able to compete side by side with him, but we also got to travel the country together, doing something we both loved.

“Through his patience, guidance, and knowledge, I was able to become a successful shooter for my age group,” Elizabeth said. “I am so proud of his incredible accomplishment and even prouder that I got to experience firsthand a very large amount of his 250,000 targets.”

It isn’t all about the numbers, though. Bob has also taken time to give back to this sport he so dearly loves. Sorantino points out that Bob was awarded the Hal du Pont Service Award, which is given to an NSCA member who has given back to the NSCA and had a positive influence on the game and its members.

“This award describes Bob completely,” she continued. “He has served as a State Delegate, Advisory Council Member, and Executive Council Member. As chairman of the Executive Council, he spearheaded and managed many positive changes that benefited the NSCA and its members. Bob worked tirelessly at all these positions, and we often joked that it was a full-time job without the paycheck.”

Although he’s approached sporting clays in a workmanlike fashion — one has to in order to rack up such an astounding number of targets — it’s mainly been about family, friends and fun. “The sport does give you the opportunity to meet many people and make some great lifelong friends,” Bob acknowledged.

Sorantino counts herself among those friends. “I’ve personally shot many targets alongside Bob,” she said. “We actually live in the same hometown, approximately one mile away from each other. It was shooting that brought about our friendship. To this day, we continue to shoot tournaments together. We know each other and our shooting styles, and it works well for us both. Most of all, we always enjoy a good laugh — and a good meal — together!

“It is my honor to know Bob, and I treasure our special friendship,” Sorantino added. “I look forward to seeing him shoot many more NSCA registered targets. I’m proud to be a part of his recording-setting goal, and very proud to say Bob Lepor is my friend.”

“I’ve known Bob for over 20 years and am honored to call him a friend,” echoed Matarese.

In the end, the shooting sports are all about the friendships we make, not the number of clays we break. That said, don’t be surprised if the tally approaches 300,000 in a few years. If there’s one thing you can always count on Bob Lepor to do, it’s shoot a lot of targets. The last 23 years have proven that time and time again — a quarter of a million times, in fact.

Photos by Photos by Derek Moore & Devin Kearney
Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, Sporting Clays, Sporting Clays Events, Sporting Clays Photos Tagged With: 250000 targets, Bob Lepor, NSCA, sporting clays

Photo Gallery: NSCA Western Regional Championship

May 23, 2018 By Sherry Kerr

Quail Point Hunt Club played host to the Western Regional April 25 – 29. Quail Point is located in Zamora, California. 300 competitors made their way out to sunny Northern California to take in the breath-taking landscape and break targets in competition. This beautiful facility hosted NSCA’s Western Regional Sporting Clays Championship in 2015 as well. View some of the action captured in the photos below.

Photos by Thaddius Bedford, Liquid Image
Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, Sporting Clays, Sporting Clays Events, Sporting Clays Photos Tagged With: National Sporting Clays Association, NSCA, sporting clays, Western Regional

Photo Gallery: NSCA Southeast Regional Championship

November 13, 2017 By Sherry Kerr

The Southeast Regional Sporting Clays Championship, held at The Fork Farm and Stables in Norwood, North Carolina on September 27 – October 1, provided the approximately 600 participants a pristine location to shoot some challenging targets. Enjoy these photos of the beautiful grounds and the competition:

Photos by Thaddius Bedford, Liquid Images
Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, Sporting Clays, Sporting Clays Events, Sporting Clays Photos Tagged With: National Sporting Clays Association, NSCA, Southeast Regional, sporting clays

Photo Gallery: NSCA South Central Regional Championship

November 13, 2017 By Sherry Kerr

Just a short drive from Jackson, Mississippi, is one of the most pristine shotgun shooting facilities in the country — Providence Hill Farm. This incredible facility hosted NSCA’s South Central Regional Sporting Clays Championship on September 5-9. Here is some of what our members saw there.

Photos by Thaddius Bedford, Liquid Images
Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Filed Under: Clay Target Nation - ARTICLES, Sporting Clays, Sporting Clays Events, Sporting Clays Photos Tagged With: National Sporting Clays Association, NSCA, South Central Regional, sporting clays

SCTP/SASP Nationals at Cardinal Center

July 22, 2017 By Sherry Kerr

Buckeye Elite
Members of the Buckeye Elite Shooting Team compete at the SCTP Nationals.

The 2017 Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) National Championships brought together competitive shooters, ages 8 to 23, from 32 states to compete for national titles in the shotgun disciplines of Skeet, Skeet Doubles, Sporting Clays, American Trap, Handicap Trap, Bunker Trap, and Trap Doubles. Pistol and rifle competitors competed for action steel-shooting titles in Rimfire Pistol, Centerfire Pistol, Iron Sight Rifle and Optics Rifle divisions. The event was July 8-15 at Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio.

This was SCTP-SASP’s largest Nationals since the inception of its umbrella organization, the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) in 2007, with 213 SCTP and 49 SASP registered teams participating.

  • 1,043,100 Competitive rounds were fired by 2,687 shooting sports competitors from 32 states during the 8-day event. Including games and practice, approximately 1.4 million rounds were fired.
  • Participation in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) increased 19.5%, from 2013 to 2017 (from 1883 to 2251 athletes)
  • Participation in the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) increased 119%, from 2013 to 2017 (from 199 to 436 athletes)
  • Women are the fastest growing segment of the shooting sports, making up 18% of the National Championship competitors (16% of SCTP shooters, 30% of SASP shooters).
  • This year teams earned $425,000 (SCTP) and $84,750 (SASP) in MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Funds .
  • With the support of many industry friends and supporting sponsors, including NSSA-NSCA, SSSF has awarded $100,000 in scholarships to SCTP and SASP member athletes this season.
  • SCTP and SASP make up the largest youth shooting program in the country with over 16,211 youth athletes in 45 states (14,854 in SCTP and 1,357 in SASP) participating as member athletes this year.
  • 6.3 million clay targets were thrown during the 2016-17 SCTP competition season (based on school year cycle) as recorded by the SSSF’s team registration and event management system.

SSSF BOD Chairman Louise Terry summarized the event saying, “The SCTP/SASP Nationals, held each year in July, has grown as the programs have grown over the years, and has now become THE major event in our annual schedule. For our team coaches, student athletes and their families, it represents the culmination of all of their hard work throughout the past school year and gives them the opportunity to spend a week with their families and teams participating in the shooting sports that they love. Competition is by age category, so kids of all ages are competing against their peers from all across the country in their own age groups. There is tremendous camaraderie, and many new friendships are made while old ones are renewed.”

Immediately following the SCTP/SASP Nationals on July 24-29, the SCTP staff will host the 2017 SCTP International Shotgun Championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, in conjunction with USA Shooting.

Next year’s SCTP/SASP Nationals will be July 14-21, 2018, and it will again be hosted at the Cardinal Center.

To see more pictures, visit SSSF’s and SCTP’s social media accounts listed below.

SCTP Facebook
SSSF Facebook
SSSF Instagram

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Filed Under: NSCA News, NSSA News Tagged With: SASP, Scholastic Action Shooting Program, Scholastic Clay Target Program, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, SCTP, SCTP/SASP Nationals, skeet, sporting clays, SSSF

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