ClayShootingUSA January/February 2023

J A N U A R Y

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CONTENTS

PUBLISHER

PUBLISHER

STACEY STEPHENS

THADDIUS BEDFORD

JOURNAL NO. 124

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023

THE GREAT AMERICAN SPORTING CLAYS ODYSSEY

58 2022 NATIONALS: HALL OF FAME

BANQUET AND INDUCTION CEREMONY

COVER PHOTO: stacey@odysseyoutdoors.com thaddius@odysseyoutdoors.com

EDITOR

MARKETING DIRECTOR

MATTHEW GAY

editor@clayshootingusa.com

2022 NSCA NATIONALS Celebrating the Ladies!

Desi Edmunds, Haylyn Hanks, Karen Shedd (L-R) Photo Credit: Thaddius Bedford

KALEIGH LAWSON kaleigh@odysseyoutdoors.com

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: BILL ELLIOTT BRANDY ELROD MARK FITZPATRICK MATTHEW GAY MAGGIE KELCH JIM KRALIK DEREK MOORE HARVEY SCHWARTZ LOUISE TERRY SPENCER TOMB MIMI WILFONG

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MATT’S MUSINGS

8

ATHLETES JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN TOO

62 2022 NATIONALS: LADIES OPEN A GROWING EVENT EACH YEAR

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

AG&AG CLAY EXTRAVAGANZA

2022 LADIES OPEN

14 FINDING DELIGHT IN TURKISH SHOTGUNS A VISIT TO THE HUĞLU FACTORY

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66 2022 NATIONALS: SHOOT REPORT

MAIN EVENT, FITASC AND SIDE EVENTS

76 NORTH DAKOTA 2022 A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY

80 PILGRIM’S FUN & GUN SHOOT AT NIGHT

SUBSCRIPTIONS & ALL DEPARTMENTS: CLAYSHOOTINGUSA 3921 127TH STREET LUBBOCK, TX 79423 TEL 210.377.1117 WEBSITE: www.clayshootingusa.com E-MAIL: subscriptions@clayshootingusa.com

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FITASC is a registered trademark.

It is used in the editorial and advertising pages of this magazine to report on such events, promote the discipline and advertise upcoming events by kind permission of the FITASC representative for America.

PRINTED IN THE USA

Technical ballistics and other information provided by our journalists, contributors and correspondents is published in good faith and should not replace established safe practices. Neither the author or publisher accept responsibility for injury or equipment damage resulting from its use.

COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. No part of this ­publication may be transmitted or r­ eproduced in any form without written ­permission from the publishers.

The opinions expressed by c­ orrespondents are not necessarily those of the publishers.

ClayShootingUSA recommends that readers ­satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of advertisers’ claims before any purchase is made, and accepts no responsibility for any loss arising from any purchase.

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20 2022 HELICE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MIMI WILFONG REPORTS FROM SICILY

30 WHY NOT OUR HUNTING DOGS? A TESTIMONIAL FOR INSURING MAN’S BEST FRIENDS

MAGGIE KELCH REPORTS FROM THE CARDINAL CENTER

86 SHOT TRACKER

NEW FROM TAKEAIM TECHNOLOGIES”

88 BECOME AN INDISTRACTABLE SHOOTER SELF-SABOTAGING DISTRACTIONS

94 CLUB WANKER

"YOU'RE THINKING IT, WE SAY IT"

36 2022 VINTAGER’S CUP DOMINATED BY CSMC

40 ON NUTRITION WITH BRANDY HYDRATION

42 2022 NATIONALS: WHAT IT TAKES

TARGET SETTERS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND (IN OCTOBER)

USA SHOOTING

96 PARTING SHOTS

PEOPLE, NEWS AND EVENTS

94

THE #1 CHOICE FOR COMPETITION SHOOTS

MATT'SMUSINGS

6

ZACH KIENBAUM

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR A

nother year has passed with many new products, champions, sporting events and friends. It is important to reflect on what we have gained and what we have lost.

Unfortunately, some titans in our shooting family have passed on to that great parcours in the sky. It is prudent to not only remember them as individuals and friends, but to remember their contribution to the sport and the various charities it has spawned.

A big congratulations goes out to Zach Kienbaum, who constructed an epic shooting season, culminating in yet another National Championship honor. This achievement was punctuated by his well-deserved admittance to the NSCA Hall of Fame. Zach began shooting at a young age and continues to excel on the courses and parcours, not only in the United States but on the world stage.

Also at this year’s Nationals, another great ambassador for our sport, Haylyn Hanks, shot phenomenally to earn her first National Championship. The level of dedication to craft required in order to achieve such a level of performance is astounding. If you

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happened to be hanging out back of the grandstand the evening of the exhibition shoot, at Nationals, you’d have seen Haylyn’s work ethic in practice. A few minutes prior to her participation in the North/South shoot, she was in front of her computer finishing up a college exam. That is dedication and commitment.

In this new year we hope you enjoy the expanded subject matter in ClayShootingUSA magazine.

From lighthearted humor pieces and wing shooting excursions to serious matters which affect our sport from a policy perspective we plan to entertain as well as inform.

We intend to work hard in order to bring you editorial on the best equipment, venues, policy and pertinent issues pertaining to this lifestyle we all enjoy.

As always, we want to hear from you. Drop us a note and let us know what you think about some of the new material. Let us know if there are topics you want to hear about, or matters you’d like discussed.

After all, this publication could not exist without your support. Happy New Year to all in the sporting community and I look forward to seeing you on the course. n

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FUN'NGUNS

8

ATHLETES want to Have Fun Too

BY BRANDY ELROD

F

or the last five years every match or tournament I have attended has had a purpose—whether it be to work on mental training, meet a MQS (minimum qualifying score), make a certain team, represent the USA at World Cups or World Championships, earn punches to move up in class, or instruct my students. This time I decided to attend an event strictly for fun. That event was the third annual A Girl and A Gun Women’s Clays Extravaganza in Lenexa, Kansas at Powder Creek Shooting Park. A Girl and A Gun is most notably known for self-defense, pistol, rifle, and 3-Gun/tactical shotgun training, however once a year, ladies come from all over the United States to attend the Clays Extravaganza at Powder Creek.

I loaded up my SUV with two of my students and we headed nine and a half hours north where we also added my dear friend Gayla, who flew in for our adventure. We had no idea what we were getting into as we are all athletes that perceive shooting as our sport and not our hobby.

I will openly admit; I was very apprehensive upon arrival that we had made a mistake and that everything would be very elementary for us.

I chose not to do the instruction. My philosophy on shotgun instruction is, if it is not broken, do not fix it. I am very fortunate to have two great coaches who understand me, my limitations, and I only use them. However, Gayla chose to participate in the instruction after hearing from others about everything they learned. The instruction and targets were geared more towards beginning shooters, though the instructor that Gayla was learning from did listen to the ladies and moved them to more challenging targets on the 5-stand fields. After speaking with all the ladies, the instructors were very insightful, as well as perfectly suited to handle the different levels of shooting abilities.

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FUN'NGUNS

Not only does the Clays Extravaganza start with instruction but there are also workshops throughout each day. They are very informal with the women sitting around on the porch of Powder Creek listening to the experts on all things shotgun. What I loved about this was that everyone was able to provide information to each other, as well as allowing for the “newbies” to not be intimidated by the “seasoned” shooters. I did attend the workshop on lenses as I am always looking for ways to explain lens colors to my students. Sharon Belt was very informative in this topic. She kept her information very simple while explaining prescription options to some newer shooters, providing information that I can pass onto my younger students. As an athlete who competes and does not just instruct, I sometimes get complacent and provide way too much information to my students. It was very refreshing to listen to someone that explained the complexity of shooting glasses in a very simple manner. As women, we tend to overthink everything, so simplicity is sometimes easier when you are first starting a new adventure. The names of the workshops were catchy as well. My, sometimes immature brain did chuckle a little at the name of the chokes workshop…” chokes and loads.” When you are always around high school students, sometimes your immaturity is on full display, and the name of that workshop was very impressive.

After speaking with some of the ladies on the instruction day and listening to the types of targets they were receiving instruction on, I really thought the entire tournament was going to be “fluff.” I was pleasantly surprised. Being an international trap athlete, I only shoot Sporting Clays or 5-Stand when I am working on mental training and tournament readiness. I most certainly never shoot American Trap since there are no tournaments in my area. I started the

tournament with American Trap, which does bring out the worst in me. I swear, that discipline will make a nun curse. My mental game goes to mush, I overthink every target, and I shoot past the targets. I decided to turn on my fun brain and whatever my score was, I would not let it affect the rest of my time in Kansas. The targets were thrown, and I laughed quite a bit on the line at myself. I can honestly say for once I was having fun shooting American trap, especially with the camaraderie from the ladies I was on the line with. There were two sporting clays courses, one 75 target course that provided more fluff targets, and a 100 target NSCA course that combined with the hilly and valley terrain, providing a challenge even for the Master class sporting clays athlete. Of all the disciplines we competed in, my favorite was the dual 5-Stand fields. Not only did the 5-Stand fields have eight trap machines, I can barely remember six, there were trees, bush piles, screaming tower targets, and terrain changes. I have never had such an adrenaline rush shooting

5-Stand as I did at the Clays Extravaganza. I was thoroughly impressed by the combination of the different target presentations and we were not just provided “fluff” because the competition was only for women.

My apprehensions when first arriving in Kansas quickly diminished after meeting all the ladies and competing. The ladies ranged in age from 15 to 71, coming from 16 different states.

There were NSCA E Class to Master class participants, but the common ground we all had was, ladies truly just want to have fun. If you are looking for an event where you can shoot multiple disciplines, meet women from all over the United States, and simply have fun, then the A Girl & A Gun Women’s Clays Extravaganza is for you. The 2023 event will be in July at Defender Outdoors Sporting Clays Ranch in Ft. Worth, Texas. In 2023 instead of dunking CZ Pro-staff member Dave Miller in the dunk tank, Travis Mears will show everyone his awesome trick shots. n

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TURKISHDELIGHT

14

FINDING DELIGHT IN TURKISH SHOTGUNS

BY ZACHARY HEIN

A Factory Nestled in the Mountains My fingertips did a dance on the side-by-side’s splinter forend, subconsciously shying from the barrels’ searing heat as I waited for a target in the Anatolian sun. A morning of hunting chukar and pheasant had pleasantly morphed into an afternoon of tea and clay shooting, passing time as our birds cooked confit in a buried dutch oven of sorts.

Targets that had started out fairly simple became increasingly interesting as the mid-day wind picked up, whipping through the cedar trees and making incomers dance at distance while crossers built a blistering speed. At first, we shot sparingly, not wanting to hog the shells and targets our hosts had so graciously provided. But with the wind came challenge and contest, and I could tell Joel was beginning to really enjoy himself about the time we ran out of shells.

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Firearms Manufacturing Heritage We’d come to this remote, mountainous part of Turkey to see the inner workings of CZ-USA’s primary shotgun partner, Huğlu – fully Huğlu Av Tüfekleri Kooperatifi. Perched on a

mountainside at the outskirts of a town bearing the same name, firearms manufacturing runs in the blood of this small community and they’ve been plying their collective trade for over a century.

Here in the states, import of Huğlu shotguns has long been exclusively held by CZ’s US subsidiary with very few exceptions. A partnership going back twenty years, the breadth of the product line has included everything from waterfowl and upland hunting shotguns to dedicated target guns and spans the gauges from 12 to .410. With an ever-growing following in the clay shooting world, one of the more surprising success stories within the line has been the exterior hammer-fired side-by-sides that found rapid and sustained

popularity in cowboy action/SASS competition.

Finalizing the plans for our visit in early 2021, we knew getting there would be half the battle.

Not only is the factory tucked into the south of Turkey, but we were in the grips of the global pandemic with all of the difficulties it brought (and seemingly forever imparted) upon travel and commerce. The rigamarole of international travel had become more bureaucratic than ever before – with an underlying sentiment that we should be grateful that those in power allowed us to travel at all.

My partner in crime on this trip was Joel Penkala, former custom shop manager and marketing guru for Griffin & Howe of New Jersey.

A purveyor of fine guns the likes of

TURKISHDELIGHT

Boss and Purdey, he had plainly expressed his intrigue at the great differences he might find in manufacturing processes.

Jumping through the hoops to fly halfway around the world, we were on approach to Istanbul as the morning sun crested the edge of the earth – the scope of the massive city impossible to take in even from the air. Fifth-largest in the world and forever a hub of culture and trade, it served as our connecting point for a flight to the interior city of Konya – home of the whirling dervishes I’d heard referenced so many times as a child without truly knowing who or what they were. From there we drove south and west across the bottom of the Anatolian Plateau, coming to rest at the edge of Beyşehir Gölü, the largest

freshwater lake in Turkey and just a stone’s throw from Huğlu itself.

A Trade Shared Becomes a Legacy Tucked into the northern edge of the Taurus Mountains – the same range that gives birth to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers – Huğlu is a quiet but decidedly industrious town. In the wake of the first World War, a returning conscript and son of the city brought back the trade he had acquired while in the service – gunsmithing. Beginning in his home, he taught his craft to those around him and a gun-making community was quickly born.

First were individual gunmakers, but over time there developed an interconnected web

of specialists working in unison, passing work from person to person and from workshop to workshop until firearms were complete. By 1962, the trade had become such a significant part of the local economy that 165 members of the town came together to form a manufacturing cooperative and bring production under one roof. A factory was constructed and though it would be almost ten years before electricity made its way to the mountain hamlet, Huğlu was already well on its way to becoming the manufacturer it is today.

Looking south over a massive valley between mountain ridges, a pair of factory buildings form the perfect dichotomy of old and new within the company’s complex. To

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the left is a state-of-the-art headquarters and manufacturing facility unveiled in the summer of 2020, while to the right is a more demure workshop that beats and vibrates as the heart and soul of the operation.

Olde World Craftsmanship Meets Technology The new factory’s bustling sea of CNC mills, lathes and EDMs create a constant flow of raw metal parts, while on the other end of the property, many thousand blanks of Turkish walnut are kiln dried and stacked, waiting to be turned, inletted, filed and sanded into their final shape.

Everything feeds into the older workshop, bristling with craftsmen.

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TURKISHDELIGHT

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Billet actions, Italian barrel steel and Circassian walnut all come together in their skilled hands, fueled by a regular resupply of chai. This hot black tea lubricates the wheels of the factory – and seemingly the country itself. On the hour a gentleman makes his rounds through the many rooms of the warehouse-sized workshop, delivering piping-hot refreshment to ensure everyone stays caffeinated as they shape metal and sand wood, solder barrels and engrave actions.

Stepping into this bustling cathedral of gunmaking, morning light streamed in through massive banks of windows and illuminated a slight haze of sawdust in the air.

From room to room we went, witnessing each step of the process. Roughly-shaped stocks

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were deftly mated to the metalwork that would forever ride within them, then metal and wood alike met with craftsman after craftsman as they were refined down to their finished form.

“These guys are skilled – I’m a bit surprised, actually,” Joel remarked. “You can tell each one of them has been doing this for years. Well, decades really.”

We stood in awe, watching a gentleman expertly tune a barrel set to be on face with its action, touching his file to five different planes and taking the perfect amount from each until the action closed with the metallic ring of a one-to-one fit. “I didn’t expect this, that’s for sure. I think they have more in common with the high-end manufacturers than I thought – they just do it at a much greater speed.” What may be surprising to some, this hand-fitment of metal and wood wasn’t just on the custom-grade shotguns – it was being performed on everything across the board. From the entrylevel CZ Bobwhite side-by-side to one-off custom target guns, they all pass through the hands of these same craftsmen. “To be perfectly honest, I think if you flew a couple of these guys over to London and put them in the same room with a Best gunmaker, they might not be able to talk to each other, but they

definitely speak the same language.”

Popping out a side door, our factory host Abdussamed led us to the wood side of the complex, where trucks were unloading a fresh shipment of walnut stock blanks just in from suppliers in the north and east of the country.

“Wood has been difficult this year.

Our buyers report the price of walnut has gone up 30% in the last few months,” Abdussamed remarked. If he only knew what was coming, with fuel prices and the price of wood in general to continue climbing to previously unheard-of levels. Putting his back into opening the sliding side door of an unassuming building, we were greeted by row upon row of rich walnut blanks from field grade to exhibition level, skillfully

layered in massive Jenga-like stacks to allow airflow as the dried and stabilized wood waited to be shaped.

Behind was a crypt-like kiln, ready and waiting to process this most recent shipment.

Going from stack to stack, Joel picked up a slab of wood with just a hint of fiddleback – barely visible in the rough surface of the walnut.

Stepping over to the beam of light coming in the side door, he started to rotate it in the sun when a worker produced a bottle of water and gave it a spritz of moisture – making the grain and figure absolutely come to life. The gentleman said something to Abdussamed and our fixer/liaison Murat, who relayed the message, “This would be Grade 2.5 wood, so what CZ would have fit to shotguns

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with ‘upgraded’ wood like the Supreme Field or Project Upland guns.” “It looks good as a blank, I can’t imagine how good it’d look once it’s shaped and finished.”

Murat nodded, “That’s the beauty of wood – you never really know until it’s shaped.

“These stacks here are all field grade for standard shotguns, but it’s surprising how many times a lower grade blank hides great looking wood inside,” he said, pointing to the bulk of walnut on one end of the room. And don’t I know it. A few years earlier I had picked through a handful of shotguns before buying my personal go-to field gun, a CZ Sharp-Tail 20-gauge side-by-side.

With strikingly dark mineral streaking and a bit of fiddleback to boot, it is a gorgeous gun. An absolute workhorse, it’s been my shotgun of choice ever since, racking up more than a dozen upland species as I crisscrossed the U.S. chasing birds wherever the opportunity presented.

Handcrafting Functional Art Stepping back into the workshop, we made our way upstairs to a corner room with some of the best views in the building – though no one there so much as paused to

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

take them in. Heads down and focused, a mix of men from their 30s to their 60s worked with hammer and fine chisel to engrave actions, side plates and forearm metal. Destined for CZ over/under and side-by-side shotguns from entry level up, some may be surprised to find that even the light scrolls and filigree of shotguns like the Drake and Bobwhite are all done by hand. Joel stood in contemplation, “I can’t help but notice that each person is using a different technique, some moving their body around a fixed workpiece, others with a fixture that rotates.

Do they get to choose that?”

“Absolutely. Each person is comfortable with a certain style, so they do what is best for them,” Abdussamed confirmed.

Watching whisps of steel curling from the tips of their gravers, I couldn’t help but think that this might be the most satisfying part of the process we had seen so far. In another life I could see myself, perfectly happy putting in earbuds and losing myself in the process of engraving – especially with such a stunning setting of mountain vistas and an addictive and ever-flowing supply of hot tea.

The day had been an incredible one, bordering on sensory

overload. As my head hit the pillow, I couldn’t help but think how little I had known about how much work had gone into the creation of my favorite shotgun.

The number of hands it went through before completion was staggering, from the turning of the barrels to fitment of the ribs and the application of the color case finish – it was surprising to say the least.

Turkish Hospitality Waking early and joining our hosts at a local hunting club, we piled into a yurt for a full Turkish breakfast. Piping hot suçuk and eggs was the centerpiece (spicy and distinctively red, suçuk is a beef sausage integral to the regional cuisine), complemented by sesame rolls, olives, cold meats and assorted cheeses. Perfectly sated, we headed into the foothills to enjoy a morning chasing birds before finding ourselves back at the yurt, running our hosts dry on both shells and clays.

Hefting his 12-gauge Bobwhite, Joel contemplated, “It’s definitely not my Fox, but after seeing all this I’m still impressed. I didn’t really have clear expectations for how the factory worked going into the trip, but after seeing how the sausage is made, I’m not coming away with any real reservations.” I chuckled, knowing that meant a great deal more than it might let on, given the level of shotgun he typically dealt with.

The sound of a four-wheeler approaching grabbed his attention and his eyes tracked over my shoulder, a broad smile breaking across his face. Turning, I couldn’t help but grin myself at the sight of an overly-laden Honda laboring towards us, precariously stacked sky-high with clays and shells. “It looks like we have more work to do,” Joel beamed. n

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Emile LaPorte created the first successful trap for throwing clay targets.

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HELICEWORLDS

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2022

HELICE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

SHOOT RECAP

BY MIMI WILFONG

T

he 32nd Helice World Championship was held at Tiro a Volo Castanea in Messina, Sicily, September 6-11.

The American contingency consisted of 20 shooters, accompanied by countless supporters as part of the entourage. After several years of pandemic-effected events, the US team was excited and well-prepared for the opportunity to travel to Sicily with the goal of bringing back of medals and titles galore.

The club’s location also meant that shooters had an incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea. On a clear day, you can see Mount Stromboli (an active volcano) about 20 miles to the north, with steam rising from the crater. The weather each day was hot, with the highs in the 90s, and the Mediterranean sun beating down from above.

Hydration was key to keeping an even keel in the competition, and the time of day when you shot varied the target presentation dramatically.

Preliminary Events The Venue Tiro a Volo Castanea is the quintessential Italian club—ripe with history, an inviting group of shooters, and world class targets.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

The World Championship competitors saw challenging targets across five rings, in part due to the fact that the club is situated on top of a mountain that lends itself to windy conditions.

The first two days of the event offered the preliminary events, the Coppa Citta’ Di Messina and the Coppa “Massigen”, both 15 target races. The US teams used each of these events to become familiar with TAV Castanea, a club none had shot at before, and become

acclimated to a different time zone, different ammunition, and a different shoot format. At Worldlevel helice events, the format is typically shot with two or three targets per ring, whereas in the United States, almost all events are shoot five targets per ring. This change in format can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the day, as those shooters who are on a roll prefer to keep shooting more targets, while those who have a difficult ring prefer to shoot fewer targets and use the time between rings to reset and recalibrate.

Often, shooters find it less taxing to only shoot two or three targets per ring, finding it easier to focus for a shorter period of time.

Nonetheless, the time to become acclimated to TAV Castanea was well-spent, as contingencies from other countries realized early in the week that the American team brought their “A-Game” to Sicily.

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HELICEWORLDS

22

TRIPP MOSS

Stachurski hit six targets in the shoot-off, while Page hit five, earning Stachurski the Gold medal and Page the Silver. Gunnar Reed shot a 27, winning the Junior World Championship outright. Michael Taylor shot a 26, tied for first place in the Master category, and won the bronze medal after a shoot-off.

The rest of the Americans turned in great scores but were edged out of podium placements.

The Match of Nations

The Grand Prix

By Thursday, when the Gran Prix began, the U.S. team was dialed in.

This 20-target race was shot across two days, ten targets each day.

Americans Doug Appling, Rick Plote, and MacGregor Douglass each shot perfect tens on the first day, placing them in great position to medal. The next day, the wind picked up, lowering scores across the board as many shooters broke targets on their first shot, but the wind carried the witness cap outside of the ring. Doug Appling and Lindsey Stachurski shot nines on the second day. Stachurski’s final score of an 18 took her to the top of the podium, winning the gold in the ladies category, while Appling’s 19 won the bronze medal in the Veteran category.

Additionally, Garrett Vaughn and Kazim Muhammad shot 17s to tie for fifth place in juniors, Glea Davis and Macie Page each shot 15s to tie for fifth in ladies, Gunnar Reed and Tripp Moss shot 14s to tie for 11th in Juniors.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

World Championship Saturday was the beginning of the headlining event. The World Championship was shot across two days, 15 targets each for a total of 30 targets. Almost 300 competitors from around the globe – from England to Egypt, Argentina to France – made their way to Sicily in hopes of leaving as the World L TO R - STARCHURSKI, DAVIS AND PAGE

Champion. On Saturday, Bradley Knapp and Kazim Muhammad both shot perfect 15s, while Robson Cupples and Rick Plote posted 14s. On Sunday, the final day of the World Championship, Beau Thomas and Gunnar Reed each put a 14. When the dust settled, two American ladies, Lindsey Stachurski and Macie Page both shot 25s to tie for first place, leading them into a shoot-off.

The Match of Nations is a team event shot independently of the World Championship. American helice shooters work all year to qualify to represent the United States in the Match of Nations at the world championship and being named to the team is quite an accomplishment. In the team event, every US team medaled.

The ladies team of Glea Davis, Macie Page, and Lindsey Stachurski won the silver medal, shooting a 21/30. The Great Britain team won gold with a 22, and Italians bronze with a 19. In the Men’s category, MacGregor Douglass, Rick Plote, and Beau Thomas won the bronze medal with a 52/60, following the Italian team (58) and the Argentinean team (53). The Junior team, consisting of Tripp Moss, Gunnar Reed, and Garrett Vaughn won the gold medal with a score of 22/30, besting the Great Britain team (21) and the Italian team (20). The senior team of Andy Stahl, Joe Dement, and Robson Cupples won a silver medal with a 26/30 against talented Italian (27) and British (25) teams. Finally, the Veteran team made up of Michael Higgins, Michael Taylor, and Doug Appling won the bronze medal with a 24/30 against Italy (27) and Egypt (26).

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HELICEWORLDS

24

TEAM RESULTS (MATCH OF NATIONS): Junior Team Gold - Gunnar Reed, Tripp Moss, Garrett Vaughn Senior Team Silver - Robson Cupples, Joe Dement, Andy Stahl Ladies Team Silver - Lindsey Stachurski, Macie Page, Glea Davis Veterans Team Bronze - Doug Appling, Mike Higgins, Michael Taylor Men’s Team Bronze - Rick Plote, Beau Thomas, Mac Douglass Michael Higgins served as the United States Helice Association President and on the FITASC Helice Technical Commission for many years. He was on the Veterans team this year, and said, “It was an absolute delight to see

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: Lindsey Stachurski - Ladies Gran Prix and World Champion Gold Macie Page - Ladies World Champion Silver Gunnar Reed - Junior World Champion Gold Michael Taylor - Master World Champion Bronze Doug Appling - Veteran Gran Prix Bronze Tyler Douglass - Wheelchair Champion

our junior team (all first timers at the World Championship) take gold and our ladies team take silver and individual gold and silver. My long-time European friends just looked at me and shook their heads, while saying DEMENT, STAHL AND CUPPLES

‘You Americans always bring different shooters and the best shooters!’”

Team Selection Process The individuals named to the US Team spent the previous year traveling to qualifying events to earn their team berth. Helice is governed internationally by FITASC, the same organization that governs FITASC sporting. In the United States, helice is governed by FITASC-member organization USHA (the United States Helice Association). USHA hosts events across the country in a qualifying year, which typically runs from August to July in order to best correspond with international events. To qualify for the team, individuals have to shoot a minimum of seven qualifying (or “sanctioned”) events. Typically, helice shoots are 3-day events, with a preliminary event on Friday, and two qualifying event days on Saturday and Sunday. At these

JUNIOR: Born between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2009 MAN: Born between January 1, 1967 and December 31, 2001 SENIOR: Born between January 1, 1957 and December 31, 1966 VETERAN: Born between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1956 MASTER: Born before January 1, 1950 L TO R - THOMAS, PLOTE AND DOUGLASS

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

qualifying events, shooters are vying for the top placement, as the team selection process uses a point-based system that multiplies event ranking by an event weight factor (which changes based on the number of shooters at an event). At the end of the year, an individual’s top 7 events are used to determine their ranking, and subsequently, team placement.

The capstone event of the year, and the final qualifying event, is the USHA National Championship. Following the National Championship, US Teams are named and teams begin their preparations to attend the World Championship.

Following FITASC’s nomenclature, there are 6 different categories in which US teams are named: Men, Lady, Junior, Senior, Veteran, and Master. With the exception of the Ladies category, which covers all ages, the remaining categories are all age classifications, broken down as follows for 2022:

HELICEWORLDS

25

Upcoming Events US HELICE TEAM

The 2023 USHA calendar is set, and if you’re interested in trying helice for the first time, or vying for a spot on the US Team, we encourage you to attend an event! The full schedule and event information can be found at the USHA website, ushelice.com

2023 Sanctioned Events • F EBRUARY 3-5 American Shooting Center, TX

• F EBRUARY 24-26 Providence Hill Farm, MS

• M ARCH 3-5 The Ring at Stockton, CA

2022 Team Members MEN

SENIOR

Mac Douglass

Mike Sellers

Rick Plote

Robson Cupples

Beau Thomas

David Tribble

Alternates: Brent Goodrum and Clinton Page

Alternates: Mike Bogetti and Joe Dement

LADIES

VETERAN

Macie Page

Rick Mein

Glea Davis

Bryan Jones

Lindsey Stachurski

Alan Shelfer

Alternates: Amy Dement and Karen Archer

Alternates: Doug Appling and James Teat

JUNIOR

MASTER

Kazim Muhammad

Andy Marsala

Garrett Vaughn

George Gregory

Macie Page

Michael Taylor

Jake Matthews

Alternates: Mo Powers and Joe Files

• M ARCH 17-19 Cottonland Gun Club, LA

• M ARCH 24-26 Quail Creek, FL

• M ARCH 31-APRIL 2 Bluebonnet Open at Austin Gun Club, TX • A PRIL 21-23 Black Prairie Helice, MS

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP The Ring at Stockton, CA

• A UGUST 11-13 Dallas Gun Club, TX

• S EPTEMBER 12 North Texas Helice, TX

• S EPTEMBER 8-10 Quail Creek, FL

• S EPTEMBER 15-17 Black Prairie Helice, MS • S EPTEMBER

29-OCT 1

White Winged Open at Austin Gun Club, TX

• A PRIL 28 - 30

• O CTOBER 13-15

North Texas Helice, TX

Cottonland Gun Club, LA

• M AY 19-21 Dallas Gun Club, TX

• J UNE 2-4

Alternates: Gunner Reed and Tripp Moss

• J ULY 21-23

Black Prairie Helice, MS

• J UNE 9-11 Cherokee Rose, GA

• J UNE 16 - 18 North Texas Helice, TX

• O CTOBER 27-29 Black Prairie Helice, MS

• N OVEMBER 17-19 Dallas Gun Club, TX

• D ECEMBER 8-10 American Shooting Center, Houston

• J ULY 7-9 Cottonland Gun Club, LA

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

HELICEWORLDS

MICHAEL TAYLOR

BRADLEY KNAPP

It is a real honor to represent the USA Helice team. The tournament in Sicily was amazing. And the venue, on top a mountain, with views of the Mediterranean, looking north to the boot of Italy ,were amazing.

Having now been on three USA Helice and nie sporting and FITASC teams, I thought the event was run very smoothly and professionally. I am grateful for the help of my teammates and the FITASC organization. I am now retiring from competition, leaving the mantle to my son Chris to carry on. By the way, it’s no wonder the Italians do so well in Le Mans: having ridden to the top of the mountain, each day, on narrow roads, was an eye opener, and thrilling.

“It’s somewhat cliche, but a common trope that one sees in movies and on television is that the greatest experience is not the event itself, but the friends that one makes along the way. I cannot say enough wonderful things about not just the other members of Team USA and the way that we coalesced and came together to support one another, but also the fantastic friendships that we were able to make with our fellow competitors from the UK and Egypt, many of whom were staying at the same resorts we were using. What a fantastic group of shooters, both foreign and domestic, and I cannot wait to continue our shooting journey with one another.

Watching our ladies shoot off against one another for Gold and Silver in the World Championship was a pleasure that I hope every shooter gets to experience at least once in their life, and listening to our national anthem play as the flag is hoisted over the podium is a milestone that I hope every shooter gets to experience at least once in their life. n

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WE INSURE OUR GUNS AND TRUCKS… WHY NOT OUR HUNTING DOGS?

BY MATTHEW GAY | PHOTOS BY MATTHEW GAY AND JILL MILLER Insurance /noun/ - 1. a practice or arrangement by which a company or government agency provides a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness or death in return for payment of a premium. 2. A thing providing protection against a possible eventuality.

As adults, the prospect of major loss due to unforeseen consequences elicits such angst that an entire industry has been created to mitigate that angst. This industry generates 1.4 trillion dollars in revenue annually, making up 3.1 percent of the total gross domestic product of the US economy. We insure our valued possessions and investments such as our houses, vehicles, jewelry, our toys and our firearms. What about our bird dogs?

Think about how much we invest in our bird dogs. First, the initial cost; a well-bred pup can

range from $1500 to $2000 while a finished dog can command a price tag of $5,000 to $10,000 depending on pedigree and titles achieved. It’s certainly worth mentioning that everything from a decent field gun to a high-end sporting gun can be purchased with the price ranges listed above. Its also important to note that those numbers represent only the purchase of your dog, not the training, equipment, regular care, food, kennels etcetera. Below is the true story of how my bird dog Gauge enlightened me to the concept of pet insurance…the hard way.

The Gaugeomatic It only took a single exposure to an English Field Cocker quartering a field for me to become enamored with the breed. Hours of research led me to a breeder in Wisconsin with an excellent breeding program and very nice dogs. After

sending a deposit and getting on a waiting list, the phone rang with an opportunity because someone withdrew their deposit. We proceeded to pick up the only male of the litter, a handsome orange and white little guy with a steady temperament and a sturdy build.

With my buddy’s hunting

BABY GAUGE WITH HIS BIG SISTER

preserve seven miles away, Gauge was fortunate to see more birds in his first two years than many dogs do in ten. He was proving to be a special dog, maybe the one. My boy proved himself further on the couple of trips to North Dakota, outsmarting running roosters, staying tight while sneaking in on sharpies and retrieving waterfowl of all types. I will say, watching a 33-pound spaniel retrieve a greater Canada goose is something to witness. It seemed as though there was nothing he couldn’t do, earning him the nickname, Gaugeomatic.

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MAN'SBESTFRIEND

32

closer than Wisconsin and time was of the essence. This repair did not go as smooth as the first. In fact, my hunting buddy had four total surgeries on the left elbow to finally correct it after an improper installation of pins, subsequent bone infection and significant arthritis, severely limiting range of motion and requiring an early

Tragedy Strikes Gauge had proven himself to a level where I was asked to guide for hunts at my friend’s preserve for corporate outings and events.

When doing so, I always start with the obligatory safety speech which contains a very clear articulation that if anyone negligently shoots my dog, they’d have a very bad day and would likely be leaving the field on a stretcher. We had flushed and harvested a couple of birds as I watched the hunters closely for safety compliance. These guys were doing a great job of waiting until the bird was well above head height and adhering to safe practices, making me comfortable with Gauge in front of them. All the sudden, Gauge’s body language indicated that a flush was imminent, I saw a flash of feathers four feet to his right, the bird flushed, then Gauge cut hard to the left and started screaming. I had watched all these hunters and knew this was not the result of a gunshot wound, but we certainly had a problem as his right front leg seemed fractured at the elbow joint. A rapid trip to the emergency vet confirmed the bad news, a condylar Y-fracture. Essentially his elbow joint was in four pieces. This kind of orthopedic injury can only be corrected by an orthopedic CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

of money I had into his elbows could have bought a pair of nice German scatterguns.

Learning the Hard Way At the point this injury occurred, I had no idea that health insurance for pets existed. I stumbled over an advertisement for on particular company and started to do some research. I found that very reasonable policies existed which would have saved me a whopping $23,000 through this nightmare. It was at this point that I decided I would never go without health insurance on any of my bird dogs EARLY RETIREMENT

surgeon. Between the surgery, rehabilitation and follow-up visits, this little mishap hit my wallet in the neighborhood of $12,000.

Excellent surgical care, good rehab and following doctor’s orders precisely cleared Gauge to hit the field again just four months later. As a further testament to his abilities and drive, five months after his surgery, he won a National Bird Dog Circuit tournament in Mikado, Michigan.

His return was epic to the point where his final flush was a quail which flew on the deck just ahead of his nose, having to call safety because of the proximity to the dog, the bird was scored as dead.

However, Gauge would have none of that. He ran this bird down and snatched it out of air in flight.

Simply amazing.

Fast forward about a year and a half. While guiding a hunt in lower Michigan on another hunting preserve, tragedy struck again.

Same injury but on the other side.

This surgery was conducted at a different facility since it was much

retirement from hunting.

By the time it was all said and done, I had put a little north of $30,000 over the course of three years into my hunting buddy, who could no longer hunt. Many of my hunting friends questioned my sanity at putting this kind of money into a dog that would ultimately spend the balance of his life holding down a couch. But for people like me, who like dogs more than most people, I couldn’t justify euthanasia for a broken limb in a five-year-old dog, especially my buddy Gauge. We did briefly consider changing his name to “Krieghoffs”, because the amount

again. My current K9 hunting companion is a high-speed English Springer with amazing drive and zero fear of anything, except missing a meal. He is currently four years old and is covered at a rate of 80% on everything (except annual vaccinations and well-pet visits) with an annual deductible of $500. This policy costs about $45 per month. Fortunately, I have never had to use it, but the way he runs it may come in handy someday.

Considering the significant cost of vet care, particularly specialized care, this amounts to cheap insurance for critters that

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MAN'SBESTFRIEND

34

continually put themselves in harms way to find us birds. Below is a list of possible injuries and the estimated cost of treatment.

As you can see, unforeseen accidents and injuries to your fourlegged hunting partner can get deep into your wallet very quickly. With all the above considered, it becomes a very simple mathematical

MY CRAZY SPRINGER “FESTUS”

• Torn ACL $6,000 • Venomous Snake Bite $1,500 - $4,000 • Collision with a vehicle $2,000 - $8,000 • Broken Leg with surgical repair/fixation $4,000 - $7,000 • Stomach Flip $3,000 - $7,000 • Cancer Treatment $3,000 -? calculation and evaluation of potential risk. My simple math and, albeit atypical, experience with Gauge brought me to the conclusion that pet health insurance is a must have, if not for financial reasons, for the peace of mind that it

brings if something unfortunate happens to my bird dog.

Options There are many insurance companies that have gotten on

board with the concept of pet insurance. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that your current car insurance company offers this kind of policy as an addon. I did some research and looked at reviews from policy holders who

had to utilize the insurance for their pet. This research led me to a specific company, and I have committed to never having another working bird dog without this type of coverage. n

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VINTAGER'SCUP

36

CSMC DOMINATES

The Model 21 for the Big Bores

at

THE VINTAGER’S CUP

BY MATTHEW GAY | PHOTOS COMPLIMENTS OF CSMC

T

he 24th Annual Vintager’s Cup was held at Hausmann’s Hidden Hollow in Friendsville, Pennsylvania, September 14th through the 17th. This event celebrates the wonderful heritage of the classic side by side shotgun, combined with all the romance and history of such association with the Victorian era.

The 2022 event brought shooters from all over the country and beyond, wielding shotguns of all pedigrees. This year’s event was utterly dominated by a gentleman pointing a pair of (CSMC) Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company’s models.

Charles DeVinne shot his way to six total medals, demonstrating immense prowess with the classic scattergun.

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The RBL Earns Small Bore Wins Using his CSMC RBL model, he earned first place medals in both the .410 bore and .28-gauge events.

The round-action side by side RBL is the ultimate shotgun for upland and waterfowl hunting, sporting clays, other clay target disciplines and live pigeon shooting. RBL shotguns are made by the master gunsmiths at Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company and feature a true Anson and Deeley style action, with a Purdey type double bite lockup and a Southgate ejector system. These shotguns are world-renowned for their craftsmanship, workmanship, and reliability.

When moving on to the big bore events, DeVinne opted for the CSMC Model 21. Charles continued to roll, taking the second place in the .12-gauge event, then earning first place in the long bird challenge, the Senior Event and took the champion spot in the Main Event. The CSMC Model 21 represents the pinnacle of American side by side shotgun manufacturing. These are new production model 21s, available in

.12, .16, .20, .28 gauges and .410 bore, and completely manufactured at the CSMC facility

in New Britain, Connecticut, USA. These models are completely assembled, fit and finished by hand, leaving no detail unattended.

This model can be custom built to the buyer’s specifications and desired finish. The mechanical durability of this side by side is unmatched. CSMC designs the barrels to mechanically interlock with a dovetail half lugs on each barrel, eliminating the possibility of even the slightest bit of shifting and ensuring consistent barrel regulation even under the greatest of stresses.

After the receiver and frame are produced from a special type of proof steel, the hand work begins.

From the fitting and polishing of all parts, to the engraving and final assembly, these shotguns are truly pieces of American handywork.

This is where beauty and reliability meet in the world of side-by-side shotguns.

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Hydration

N

utrition is not a one size fits all for athletes, but one aspect does remain the same, nutrition is important for all sports including ours. Shooting sports athletes must deal with many factors that affect their shooting—hydration, eye health, and energy are the key to controlling their physical performance. What you eat leading up to, during, and after a match can affect your current and future performance.

Shooting sports can be very physically and mentally draining and you need to eat and drink to fuel your body properly in order to maintain peak performance throughout training or a competition.

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Hydration and peak performance go hand in hand.

Dehydration can lead to a loss in sight, coordination, focus, energy, muscle cramps and fatigue as well as a decline in performance. If you feel thirsty, you are already in the beginning stages of dehydration.

The best way to determine how much water you need to drink is by paying attention to your own body.

Urine is the best indicator of hydration. Maintaining a urine color of pale-yellow or lighter is the best indicator you are hydrated.

Many people think of dehydration due to hotter temperatures because of sweating, however you can become dehydrated even in colder temperatures. Drier, colder climates with less humidity can give a false sense of hydration and thus constant drinking of fluids is important. The type of fluids you drink are important, you do not want to only consume water, you do have to replace the salts (electrolytes) in your body.

BY BRANDY ELROD There are many popular sports drinks on the market but beware of their sugar content. Choose a sports drink that has potassium, carbohydrates, and sodium to best replenish the loss of electrolytes in your body. Drinking 4-8 ounces of water every 15-20 minutes while shooting is a great way to maintain the hydration needed to endure a long match. You can also obtain hydration through fruits such as melons, strawberries, and grapefruit. These fruits make for great snacks before, during, or after a match or training session.

The next time you step on the course or field, ask yourself if you are hydrated, have you been maintaining proper hydration even when off the course or field? It can make a world of difference in your performance and hopefuly your score. n

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NSCA Nationals WHAT IT TAKES

BY MATTHEW GAY

W

hile many attending the NSCA National tournament are laser focused on their prep, equipment, and execution, it may surprise some that the technicians, target setters and planners have invested months into ensuring the highest quality of shoot for all participants.

While attending the 2022 NSCA Nationals I sat down with this year’s shoot Chairman, Neil Chadwick, who was completing his 27th year of involvement with this event. He peeled back the cover and enlightened me to the “nuts and bolts” of an event this size, and what it takes to make it run.

Extensive Preparation The planning for this event starts early in the year, after the holiday season. Step one is calculating the number of machines that will be needed to accommodate the full program, with necessary a contingency fleet. In 2022 the National Shooting Complex utilized 467 machines to put on Nationals. This is an astounding number but one that could not happen without support from the CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

various machine sponsors such as Laporte, Lincoln, GP and Mattarelli. Continued partnership with these manufacturer’s must be confirmed early on.

In order to accommodate multiple schedules and ensure top

quality target setting talent is available, the team must be selected and secured very early.

Neil stated that he selected his target setting team by weighing his past experience working with them and knowing that they can do the

job. He also considers any specific skill sets a potential team member might have, then assigning their duties accordingly. Teamwork is vital to the success of the team and consequently, the event. When it comes to evaluating targets for quality, Chadwick mentioned that every single target is vetted by the target setters as a group. Factors that they consider are safety, difficulty, color, light interference,

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NEIL CHADWICK

and target style. As a group, this team utilizes an evaluation method to estimate the results of each course presented.

Once the targets are set and the shooters embark on the course, the target setters become course managers. It becomes their responsibility to make sure all the machines are loaded, any problems are quickly addressed, and participants follow the rules.

Trap technicians are assigned to courses based on the manufacturer type of machine used on a particular course and are invaluable when machines break down.

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Take the Good with the Bad I asked Neil which part of his duties he most liked, and most disliked to carry out while chairing this event. In terms of his least favorite, Neil confided that having to enforce rules that, by all rights, shooters attending an event of this magnitude should know is an undesirable yet necessary charge.

Dealing with those who would break rules sometimes includes the more extreme circumstances such as cheating, begging chips, and bullying referees. In the most gentlemanly English accent, Neil said, “This is supposed to be a gentleman’s game”. “There’s no place for unsportsmanlike behavior.” This writer couldn’t agree more.

On the positive side, Chadwick articulated that he truly enjoyed watching the whole event come together and run. From watching his team come together and execute with professionalism and efficiency, to the “B-S-ing” at the end of the day and the friendly banter comes with it, he finds satisfaction from a day of hard work put in beside colleagues in the industry and culminating in a successful event.

A Wealth of Experience Neil Chadwick has a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the sport shooting world. His encyclopedia of information began in 1963 where he first started shooting on a farm outside of

HAZARDOUS WORK

Cambridge, England. As he continued to work in the industry in various capacities, Neil ultimately went on to operate shooting grounds in the mid 1980’s. This continued until 1991 when Chadwick immigrated to the United States to continue his career in various capacities as the

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sporting clays community grew at astounding rates.

In 2001 Neil started Long Range LLC, a wireless trap release system. His products can be seen at gun clubs and private facilities across the US and beyond. Long Range LLC is a major sponsor for the NSCA National Championship.

Their release systems were extensively used on the courses and parcours throughout the championship week.

Managing any shoot is a tough and often thankless job for anyone.

Managing the largest sporting event in the world is an even

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greater challenge. Mr. Chadwick’s steady temperament and confidence in his skills, along with that of his team, emanated in a way which inspired confidence that “everything was going precisely as planned.” Whether that was the case or not is irrelevant. What was important is the perception of the participants, and by all measures that was the consensus. Keeping the mood light, the staff on task and professionalism as an ethos appears to be the formula to successfully managing an event of this proportion…combined with a few shenanigans. n

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Lifestyle AND Experience ON THE Sporting Clays

dyssey

2022 NSCA National Championship National Shooting Complex San Antonio, TX

BY MARK FITZPATRICK

H

ow many of you remember your first time at Nationals?

For me, my first time happened in October, in the year of our Lord, 2022. I was 62 and I had no idea what to expect but I went into the experience with the unbridled youthful enthusiasm of a hormone bursting teenager, and I must say I am not disappointed in the experience or the outcomes.

The experts say you should speak to a person with more experience who can guide you through your first time. This sounds like fine advice, so I select a couple of experienced friends I respect who share their ample wisdom on the subject.

First and foremost, they emphasize solid blocking and tackling preparation, diet, exercise…train in the fundamentals and don’t get fancy or aerobatic. Keep it simple, keep it focused, don’t get anxious, don’t rush, take your time, make your plan, stick to your plan, make adjustments as required, concentrate on the task at hand and have fun. It is brilliant advice for a newbie and went along way to ensuring my first-time experience CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

was everything it could be and should be.

I must admit, most of my previous first-time experiences were more intimate; the birth of my first child, first morning powder after a two-day Rocky Mountain storm, my first helicopter back-country ski week in British Columbia, skiing the slalom course short-line on morning glass, enjoying the long afternoon shadows of a private Golf Digest top-100 golf course, my first Ruffed grouse, pheasant, and buck, diving my first shipwreck at night, flying my first hull on a Hobie Cat, my first long-distance Great Lakes sail boat race, my first deep-water barefoot start unassisted on long line moving to single leg, and teaching my daughter to snow ski,

water ski, play golf, ride a bike, throw a football, throw a Frisbee, shoot a clay target and tour the National Parks and America with wanderlust.

A Place Rich with History This first-time experience put me shoulder-to-shoulder with 2,300 strangers who would soon become friends as we traveled every available inch of this 700-acre parcel. People from all over the world came to my first-time experience, most as veterans of this venerable and iconic event known to the world as the NSCA National Sporting Clays Championship in San Antonio,

Texas. That’s right, Texas, the American state which has the federal right to fly its State Flag at the same height as the Stars and Stripes representing the United States of America…this must be some place.

As I pass through the iconic stone gates of the National Shooting Complex, I take high ground providing a commanding view of San Antonio for many miles into the distance. A man like Sam Houston could build himself a right fine fort on this high ground and defend the area with little effort.

The property’s original landowner saw this potential and built a fine home at the property’s highest point. Today it is used for NSCA events and open houses, including a NSCA reception to welcome and orient first-timers.

Known as the “House on the Hill” it is perfect for these occasions.

For those who haven’t been to San Antonio before, the city of San Antonio offers a wonderful eclectic and inviting downtown. The second largest city in the Southern United States, this city understands its roots dating back to the Spanish Empire and is the

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attended during 2022.

Let’s take a look.

A Shooter’s Wonderland of Procurement Opportunities

first-chartered civil settlement in present-day Texas.

Its time as a portion of the Mexican Republic also contributed to its famous history and current influences. Home to the Alamo and the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, 18th Century Spanish architecture and influence add warmth to San António infrastructure such as the iconic River Walk.

The San Antonio River Walk is a must-experience pedestrian walkway encompassing both sides of the San Antonio River nestled

far below the busy streets of San Antonio among 200-year-old cypress trees, stone clad riverbanks, restaurants, shops and hotels.

At night, the soft glow of southern charm is created by up-lit cypress trees, paper lanterns, the sparkle of white string lights, stone lighting and water feature lighting making the whole experience storybook quality.

Major anchors of the River Walk experience include the massive Marriott Rivercenter Hotel, Alamo Plaza, The Museum

Reach, San Antonio Museum of Art and the Pearl Brewery. The River Walk is certainly like nothing experienced before.

If you are young at heart or have young kids with you, Sea World San Antonio is the largest of the nation’s three Sea Worlds and a perfect spot for those who are fascinated by the underwater life.

The bottom line is San Antonio annually receives 32-million tourists visiting this amazing area, clearly there is a reason. Come, explore, and discover why.

The Mother of All Events Now let’s get back to the NSCA National Shooting Complex and the activities comprising the 2022 National Sporting Clays Championship.

As a first timer to Nationals, I first notice those things which differentiate the National Championship Tournament experience from the Regionals, Big Blasts and State Championships I CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

The single most dramatic difference is the density of gun manufactures, gun retailers, gunsmiths, ammo manufacturers and retailers, trap manufacturers and retailers, gun accessory retailers, and sporting clay clothing retailers. There is nothing like this anywhere else on the Winchester Championship Tour or on the NSCA circuit. This is not a pop-up operation sporting tents upon tents, this is a retail complex comprised of three permanent buildings each outfitted as proper retailers should.

I know many of you live in areas of America, distant from these services. This is a once-ayear opportunity to get up close and personal with the merchandise you could only view online but never mount, check proper fit, or experience the finest details, weight and balance. Depending of the where you live, I would argue there is no other place in America to compare all the brands, models and pricing side-by-each while walking the length of your local corner shopping plaza back home.

Imagine buying with confidence and full assurance you have access to all sporting clay’s available consumer options, its nothing short of mind-blowing.

Moreover, the retail counters are populated by the pro shooters, owners, executives, directors, engineers, gunsmiths, or inventors of the best the sporting clay industry has to offer.

When you speak to these passionate experts about their

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DIETER, BETTY AND PHIL KRIEGHOFF

newbie, I think you will find this stop worth your time.

Speaking of Hall of Fame, the 2022 National Championship was brimming with super-stars of the sporting world. Your chances of rubbing elbows with shooting elite increases 10-fold at the National

lessons learned in 2022 as you would expect from any multi-year journey.

After four days of intense main event competition Zach Kienbaum was crowned Champion, besting runner-up Brandon Powell by a single target during this 300-bird

GRACE CALLAHAN SHOOTING A STADIUM EVENT

products, it is like speaking to the Pope about religion. They are not just talking about the experience, they are living the experience and like the Pope, they understand their product to its deepest core.

Additionally, just like religion, the products, and people at the core of sporting clays are international so don’t be surprised if you hear some international accents and dialects during your shopping spree. After all this is a global sport, a sport of kings.

Much Like Gladiators Going all the way back in time to Caesar, man has always built coliseums, stadiums, and arenas to test man-against-man. This quintessential aspect of Darwinism still survives, dare I say thrives throughout the world. You will not be disappointed to know, the 700acre National Sporting Complex includes such a stadium designed for international and national audiences to see the best-of-thebest compete in Darwinian fashion until a champion is crowned. What else would you expect from the largest sporting clay championship in the world?

As a First Timer, I have experienced these clashes and CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

they do not disappoint. I witnessed history in the making and perhaps the most iconic duel in sporting clay history as George Digweed bested everyone in the world at the 2022 World English Sporting Championship earlier this year in this storied National Sporting Complex stadium.

For the 2022 National Championship, this same stadium would host the Top Gun ShootOut, and the North vs. South Shoot-Out. Mark, why North vs.

South? Don’t ask…it’s an American thing…some States are still fighting the Civil War.

History, Artifacts and Making History So, what else is unique and separates the National Championship from other NSCA Regionals, Big Blasts and State Championships? The National Shooting Complex is home to the NSCA Museum and Hall of Fame.

As a newbie, I enjoyed the opportunity to see the history of clay sports professionally displayed in storybook fashion showcasing the many who have brought this great sport to life through their involvement.

Whether you are a veteran or a

CORY KRUSE SHOOTING A STADIUM EVENT

Championship. Not every elite shooter attends every Regional, Big Blast or State Championship but I can assure you they are all at the National Championship in San Antonio.

This year was particularly exciting as 2022 marked the inaugural season of “Super Squad Competition” and its associated live filming and commentary by Justin Barker. In an effort to level the playing field for pro shooters and bring higher viewership to Sporting Clays, the Super Squad concept quickly took flight and by all measures seemed successful.

Coming years will benefit from the

competition. You read that correctly, a mere .00333333% separated the Champion from the runner-up?

Slim margins of victory crown Champions and make Hall of Fame Membership a destination, not simply a dream. Zach Kienbaum is now a Hall of Fame Member in good standing and the 2022 National Sporting Clay Championship Main Event HOA. Congratulations to both men for a fine performance and a wonderful 2022 season.

Another aspect differentiating the National Championship are the number of opinions. Every

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ZACHARY KIENBAUM WINS HIS 3RD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

participant seems to carry opinions about what could be done, what should be done and what is not done. At first, I found this confusing but then I realized the 2,307 participants are owning this National Championship experience at the deepest level. They have invested time, money, passion, sweat and in some cases tears during a period measured in decades, not simply years. What they expect from their sport is perfection and at a minimum continuous improvement bordering on perfection.

The National Shooting Complex is an international stage and the largest single platform in the world measured by attendance.

Why shouldn’t this be a perfect or near perfect experience. Why would the dedicated many, compromise to the less dedicated few?

Perhaps the Greatest Sporting Event on Earth Let’s let that soak for a minute while we continue our analysis of the 2022 National Championship.

Comprised of 14 separate and distinct games/events, each participant has their favorites. The good news is, if you are a shooter who likes to shoot a variety of CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

events, the National Championship offers variety like no other.

With 700-acres at their disposal, the National Shooting Complex offer up a variety of landscapes from trees to prairie with wind in

abundance blowing 30 mph stiff and gusting to 45 mph. Let’s not forget this is Texas.

I shot six of the most popular events, leaving seven specialty subgauge, side-by-side and pumpaction events for others to enjoy.

The only event not open to me was the Ladies Open, an event which brings the tally to fourteen.

There is much debate among shooters regarding which events at the 2022 National Championship were most challenging. During this discussion, the four-day main event is treated as four distinct courses and four distinct events.

Most shooters thought the main event yellow course was the most challenging and produced

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the lowest average scores. The course setters call these sporting clay trials, the “separators” and are designed to separate those with premium skill sets from those who are yet to arrive.

For me, yellow was the second most challenging trial in the main event, with green being the most challenging trial for me. As I look back at the best-and-brightest pro shooters performances in the main event, it is clear both the green and yellow courses proved to be the most difficult, even at the elite pro shooter level.

Leaving difficult birds on the table is part of the duel between professional target setters and professional shooters. Target setters will give you some attainable birds but if you get lazy and leave them on the table you will likely loose positions in the rankings.

In other words, winning tournaments is as much about killing the attainable birds as it is about gaining a percentage of the highly technical “separator birds.”

You must master both ends of the spectrum to wear the class-crown.

The Krieghoff Kup As a first timer, I found all the events stimulating and will now write about the two Events I found most challenging…The Krieghoff Kup and the Beretta Challenge Super Sporting. I have given my performance in these two events considerable thought since October and tried to compare and contrast my superior performance in other National Championship events.

The Krieghoff Kup is a perennial favorite at the National Championship and in 2022 attracted 1,715 participants making

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it the second most attended event at the 2022 Nationals, only 38 participants shy of the four-day main event record attendance.

I have learned from the gossiping many, some believe the K-Kup is a soft target prelim for the main event. The K-Kup target setters have also weighed in to chat forums saying they thought the targets were stiff. Let’s agree to disagree.

The K-Kup event can be measured in decades so there is a lot of history here to discuss. I have no doubt, depending on the target setter assigned to the K-Kup, we likely had varying degrees of difficulty. I can say, I struggled on the afternoon I shot the K-Kup. The K-Kup course is set up at the end of Don Snyder Boulevard on the Eastern end. It is primarily a wooded course where target setters cleverly disguise the true flight using vegetation and land slope to deceive the shooter. Brad Kidd shot immediately in front of our group and scored a 97, while Gebben Miles shot a near perfect 99…so, clearly, they found the K-Kup targets highly attainable.

The best-of-the-best in my class dropped 16-20 more birds than Gebben Miles, or nearly 1.5 birds per station. Clearly Gebben was seeing and solving things less advanced classes couldn’t comprehend and solve. In the end, I think I was over-leading the targets because when I shortened things up later in the round, targets started breaking.

Unfortunately, the damage was done.

Thanks to Krieghoff for their relentless and passionate sponsorship of the Krieghoff Kup for which every participant is issued a gold K-Kup trophy pin with the year 2022. A neat keepsake commemorating a CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

on other courses at the 2022 National Championship. There was something eluding even the best-of-the-best…the Beretta Challenge was truly an apt name for this contest. Todd Hitch ultimately bested the pack by dropping only two targets throughout to claim top honors in the Beretta Challenge.

Conclusions special K-Kup experience at the 2022 Nationals. There was also a 2022 Krieghoff Kup T-shirt available in the Krieghoff Retail Store on vendor’s row for those looking for the full experience.

Beretta Challenge Super Sporting The Beretta Challenge Super Sporting attracted 1,254 shooters to mixed venues of trees and open prairie along the Northern edge of this 700-acre sporting playground.

This is a beautiful area of the shooting complex causing the shooter to rise along the land’s natural inclines from station one to station thirteen…very majestic, especially when towers are brought into play.

This event was an 8:00 A.M., 43-degree frosty morning opener for this shooter. As the third most popular event at the 2022 National Championship after the main event and the K-Kup, this offered plenty of big air birds pushing the outer dimensions like a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode.

I pulled down more Elite Golden Tickets for challenging birds than I scored for attainable birds. I was a lost ball in tall weeds for most of this round and still can’t explain why I was hitting the hard birds and missing the easy birds.

In the end, whether elite pro shooter, master class or Charlie class, the Beretta Challenge Super Sporting Course presented challenges for Brandon Powell, Zach Kienbaum and Gebben Miles…men who performed better

There you have it—a First-Timer’s account of the 2022 National Sporting Clay Championship in San Antonio, Texas. If you have not made the effort to attend this event because it is too far away or, you think it is only for elite master class and pro shooters…think again.

This is a bucket list event for every shooter who has never attended the National Championship. The people are amazing.

My main event squad comprised a dude from London, a dude from Montana and a dude from Texas. We were multinational, multi-cultural, multilingual, and multi-generational. By the end of our four days together, I could understand the Texan, the dude from Montana, and could almost make out what the Brit was saying. It was a wonderful experience…I wouldn’t trade it for a 1,000 gold bars.

Until we meet again on “The Great American Sporting Clays Odyssey”...enjoy the moments life brings you. n

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HALLOFFAMEINDUCTEES

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2022 NSCA HALL OF FAME BANQUET & INDUCTION CEREMONY

BY MATTHEW GAY

T

he annual NSCA Hall of Fame banquet was held on the evening of October 27th at the Hilton San Antonio, during the NSCA National Championship. Four individuals were recognized for their contributions to the sport and their many achievements on the courses and parcours. The sold-out event was well attended and teeming with prominent members of the industry.

The Hill-Adams Award DR. SAMMY MCFADDIN This award is given in recognition of dedication and service to the sport. The 2022 Hill-Adams award was bestowed upon Dr. Sammy McFaddin for his contributions to CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

the furtherance of youth shooting.

Sammy became involved with coaching youth shooters via 4-H, and later with the Scholastic Clay Target Program in Georgia.

McFaddin’s speech started with a witty quip, “I see three very qualified names and mine below.”

He then proceeded to ask, “who’s DR. SAMMY MCFADDIN

playing a joke on me?” Sammy has dedicated countless hours and efforts towards expanding opportunities for youth shooters in his region. During his remarks and with humility, he mentioned that he is just one of many individuals who make youth shooting programs run.

RON SHAFER

Never to Late to Start Shooting RON SHAFER The next award winner and inductee into the Hall of Fame as a shooter started out in the game at the tender age of 63. Mr. Ron Shafer became enamored with sporting clays near the end of his farming career. After retirement, Ron began travelling to major shoots across the country and to date has made multiple NSCA AllAmerican teams and USA FITASC teams in his concurrent. Although Shafer jokes that he, “didn’t write a speech because he’s getting old enough to forget his own name”, he eloquently spoke of fond memories the game has given him.

He credits his one sponsor, Shafer Farms, and his coach Wendell

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Cherry for contributing to his many successes over the years.

After a funny story about being squadded with Zach at Northbrook once and finding out that Kienbaum blows the smoke out of the barrels after ejecting spent hulls, “because it looks cool,” Ron mentioned, “it’s about over folks.

This is my last Nationals…but I said that last year.” His overall message of being humble in victory and gracious in defeat resonated with the attendees and represents the core values of a true competitor.

Identity is Not Found in Trophy Count CORY KRUSE Our next inductee was two-time National Champion Cory Kruse.

Unlike Ron Shafer, Cory Kruse began his shooting career at a young age. He credits his development in these early years to many people, but especially his parents, his Grammy and Paw Paw, and his big brother Clay. Kruse credited many industry and organization individuals who “took a chance on a small town kid with a fire for the game.” Kruse thanked his coach Dan Carlisle for his dedication to helping him realize his potential.

Kruse spoke of challenges some competitors struggle with in terms of life balance, disappointment, and performance.

He credits his faith and mentors for helping him come to the realization that his identity is not contingent upon his performance at a shoot. He works to give back in an attempt to change someone’s

CORY KRUSE

ZACH KIENBAUM

life, like many had done for him on this journey, while challenging others to do the same. Cory articulated great pride in the charity efforts he and his wife Catherine have been associated with. During their more than 10 years together they have been able to facilitate and oversee the raising of between three and four million dollars for charity.

more quality time with them than most people get to experience.” He credits sporting clays for facilitating this time.

Kienbaum also credits the sport for introducing him to his “significant other”, multi-time National ladies sporting clays champion, Desi Edmunds. With the strong support of his sponsors such as Winchester and Beretta, Zach has been able to commit fulltime to excelling in this sport.

Kienbaum has won many major events on both the National and World stages. In his final thoughts, he thanked the many individuals who have been part of his journey and spoke of his commitment to sharing his knowledge and passion to other shooters and passing along his love for the sport to the next generation.

Building a Legacy of Excellence ZACHARY KIENBAUM Last but not least, three-time National Champion Zach Kienbaum was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his shooting achievements. Kienbaum was introduced to sporting clays at the age of 12 by his father. Zach’s father and stepmother along with his mother and stepfather all worked together to foster his passion and shooting career. Their commitment to facilitating Zach’s access to the best events and targets in the industry and around the country and world, drove his passion to excel in the sport on the world stage. Unfortunately, Zach lost both of his parents in his early twenties, but he articulated his gratefulness for those vast amounts of time spent as a junior shooter on the sporting trail, mentioning that he knows he “got CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

Congratulations are in Order ClayShootingUSA would like to send each of these excellent ambassadors for our sport a big congratulations for their induction into a great fraternity of difference makers and champions. We’d like to thank you all for your contributions and wish you well into the new year. n

INFO.BERETTA.COM/DT11

2022 NSCA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 3 X NATIONAL CHAMPION 20 X TEAM USA MEMBER 27 X NSCA ALL-AMERICAN 8 X NSCA ALL-AMERICAN OPEN TEAM CAPTAIN

ZACHARY KIENBAUM

THE

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2022 Nationals

Ladies Open

BY LOUISE TERRY

T

his “ladies only” 50-bird outing started a few years ago as an idea in conjunction with the free clinics offered on Thursday to beginner lady shooters who wanted to see what sporting clays and shotgun shooting was all about. This event was intended to show new lady shooters who were taking these beginner clinics what shooting a course would be like. As it has grown over the past several years, it has become so popular that it is now a registered event requiring four flights to be squadded this year. The advantage of this now being a registered event is that every lady shoots in her respective NSCA class according to her experience and ability.

This event had its own dedicated eight-station layout and 117 Ladies ventured out on Saturday of Nationals week to enjoy the great course set by NSC’s Pete Masch. Many of the ladies came from out of town with their friends to shoot with their regular “teammates” from their home clubs. Others were individual competitors who were at CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

the NSC shooting – or watching the Main and other events in the Nationals program. Regardless, everyone I spoke with was excited to be there and was having a great time. In fact, there were four ladies who scored perfect 50s—Pauline Broussier (France), Kayla Kane (Austin, TX), Savanna Barks (Katy, TX), and Jenna Battles (Missouri City, TX).

Aside from the “fun factor” and the camaraderie of shooting with your best buddies, this event has grown so much because of the wonderful support from NSCA and a cadre of generous supporting

sponsors. The Dallas Divas, an international shooting organization for ladies with members now in all 50 US states and 28 countries, have been supportive from the beginning by volunteering to coach in the Thursday Ladies clinics. This year they also provided each lady participant in this event with a beautiful Swarovski Crystal Star Pin to encourage each lady to always “reach for the stars”. Austin Gun Club in Lampasas, TX also gave each lady a special Stylus Pen. So, nobody went home empty-handed.

In addition, there were many

drawings and prizes including a Quail Hunt for Two donated by the Austin Gun Club, a leather gun case and Beretta gear from Cole Fine Gins & Gunsmithing, and a custom shooting vest, shooting bag, hat and towel by Ultimate Shooting Accessories. RE Ranger, Tachyon, Jon Hart Shell Pouches, Bluelene, Shooter Girl Jewelry, Rhino Chokes, Barepelt Shooting Vests, Beretta USA, SYREN, and NSCA were all also very generous in their support with prizes.

This is proof that the Lady demographic is the fastest growing segment in the gun industry today, and the ladies are anxious to learn how to shoot well and enjoy it as much as all the seasoned NSCA competitors here for the Nationals.

So, congratulations go to all the winners and participants. Anne

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Mauro, event organizer, says, ”we hope to see you again next year, and for those of you ladies who haven’t shot this event yet, and

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2022

NATIONAL SPORTING CLAYS CHAMPIONSHIP

BY JAKE DEANE

T

he 2022 National Sporting Clays championship was an event that all competitors will be sure to remember. 1,753 sporting clays shooters and outdoors enthusiasts from all over the world converged upon the National Shooting Complex (NSC) in San Antonio, Texas.

Their goal being the same, to win a coveted NSCA National Championship, but only one shooter would come out on top to claim the 2022 open champion title. The tournament drew in major industry juggernauts like David Radulovich, Joseph Fanizzi, Wendell Cherry, Zach Kienbaum and Anthony I. Matarese Jr. Once again, the National Shooting Complex produced a first-class event. Over 400 traps accommodated the massive number of shooters that competed throughout the week. Highly regarded shoot coordinator, Neil Chadwick, managed the event. Chadwick owns Long-range LLC, one of the most recognizable target counting and wireless release systems on the market. The National Shooting Complex utilized Chadwick’s technology to ensure the tournament fired

on all cylinders, kept the targets in the air and rotations on time.

Shooting commenced on Saturday October 22nd with the two-day main event rotation, sub gauge sporting, sub gauge FITASC, pump gun, and side by side courses open for European squadding on those days. The practice course was also open all day throughout the tournament.

The Main Event consisted of four technical courses that presented considerable challenge to every shooter.

Most target presentations were closer than 40 yards, but an

unstoppable combination of angle and speed caused all shooters to scratch their heads.

The NSCA brought in reputable guest target setters to provide all shooters with a considerable challenge in their national championship experience.

The NSCA Nationals annually bring in more than 2000 sporting clays shooters from multiple countries to compete for one of the most coveted awards in the community, the ability to call yourself a NSCA National Champion. This event is arguably one of the biggest

shoots in the world throughout all disciplines in competitive shooting. The 2023 edition of the National championship will be held October 21-29th at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, TX. Registration is currently live for this year’s championship.

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MORGAN HARBISON

The Main Event The Main Event was the most anticipated event of the week.

Multiple stories could be told just about the sheer amount of top talent that arrived in Texas for this event. The Main Event saw a plethora of impressive scores, pushing the limits of near perfect shooting in multiple instances.

Established pros and household names like Wendell Cherry, Anthony I. Matarese Jr., and Zach Kienbaum all sought to add to their impressive resumes. On the other hand, newer faces like Eric Harvey and Bayne Horne all fiercely fought to add a championship to their repertoire. As a result, the competition was stiff and certainly worth the price of admission for all in attendance.

The green course was the most technical course of the four. The course provided Many complicated angles and presentations to challenge the shooter’s target reading ability. No shooter was able to straight the green course. A target that stood out on the course was the high teal on station 1. Most competitors were easily able to crush the first bird, which was a looping crosser coming from the right side, but the teal seemed to cause loads of trouble for the majority of shooters. The teal was CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

JOE SCULL

around 45-55 yards, and the machine was hidden behind a tree.

This course provided some entertainment for everyone competing, but it was also the only live streamed course throughout the competition as the “Super Squad” rotations ended their weekend on the course. The locations of the green and yellow courses changed from the previous years, each taking the place of the other.

The red course is situated in partial woods and gaps of open crops. The setters used all the tools at their disposal to create a challenging and technical course.

The course was chock full of chandelle presentations, teals, and a few rabbits here and there. The red course was a good change of pace for all shooters as it rated “moderate” in terms of difficulty

level.

The Yellow Course was set to be the least challenging based on the score distribution. The yellow course lacked some of the distance seen in the green course, but the setters made up for that by employing speed, angle, and machine location to present National level targets. Near the top of master class, most scores were evenly distributed, with only two targets separating the scores of individual shooters on each course. The yellow course had an average score of 70.05/75.00 by the top 18 shooters in master class.

The final course, the coveted orange course was in its normal location. This course used a multitude of different target presentations and target types to add some spice to an often space limited layout. A specific

presentation that comes to mind was a station that involved a long chandelle like crosser that was almost cut in half with its flight path. This station was quite challenging for some of the amateur shooters.

The NSC utilized multiple tower stations to provide shooters with a true challenge. Tower stations are similar to targets thrown on the ground, but the height difference can cause some shooters to overthink their movements and stray from core fundamentals.

Zachary Kienbaum ultimately overcame fierce competition to win his third national championship.

Kienbaum shot an impressive 285/300 to overtake his competition. Kienbaum is an accomplished sporting clays shooter who continues to dominate the course. Kienbaum is a member of Team Beretta, Castellani Pro Staff, Team Winchester, and a current member of both the FITASC and Sporting Clays National Teams for the USA. Haylyn Hanks consistency and commitment paid of in 2022 as she earned her first National Ladies Championship with her impressive score of 276/300. Haylyn is a multitime All American team member in sporting clays and FITASC and continues to excel year after year.

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HAYLYN HANKS - FIRST TIME LADIES NATIONAL CHAMPION

ZACH KIENBAUM - THREE TIME NATIONAL CHAMPION

FITASC at 2022 Nationals

BY LOUISE TERRY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CH ZACH KIENBAUM RU BRANDON POWELL 3RD ANTHONY I. MATARESE JR. M1 JOSEPH FANIZZI AA1 COTY JAMES A1 CHRISTOPHER KELLER B1 JETT SMOTHERS C1 BRAXTON ROKYTA D1 TANNER BERNAL E1 RICHARD CISMAS LADY HAYLYN HANKS SUB JR CONNOR DANIEL JR JOSEPH FANIZZI VET BAYNE HORNE SUP VET MARK HALL SR SUP VET GARY GREENWAY LEGACY CARL SKIP ZAPFFE WHEELCHAIR DON KOEN INTL ALDO BRUZZONE

CHAMPION ZACH KIENBAUM, RU BRANDON POWELL, 3RD ANTHONY I. MATARESE JR.

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285 284 283 281 263 260 254 253 239 210 276 269 281 279 263 255 229 227 264

MAIN EVENT LADY CH RU 3RD 4TH 5TH M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1

HAYLYN HANKS DESIRAE EDMUNDS KAREN SHEDD ASHLEY LITTLE MDISON SHARPE ASHLEY BUTCHER GRACE CORSELLI KENNEDY THOMPSON HARLEE ALEXANDER CASEY BYRD KATELYNN DECKER LILY REICHARDT

276 275 269 262 260 259 247 242 239 232 235 209

The FITASC event this year, set by Neil Chadwick, was shot by 802 competitors over six days (Tuesday - Sunday). Neil presented a great set of targets along the eastern end of the lower road of skeet fields (aka “Dirty Dozen Lane”). Parcours 1 and 2 were set on the north side while Parcours 3 and 4 were on the south side of the road. Parcour 1 seemed to be the layout which provoked the most discussion – and heartburn – all week. This was

particularly true mid-week, when par 1 was arguably the layout most affected by the wind. I started my FITASC event on this parcour and I knew something was up as soon as I heard the referee describing the B target on peg 1 as “coming from west Texas and headed for north Texas”, but overall, the targets were all visible, challenging, and well set.

Setting a High Bar Wednesday turned out to be the first day for big scores - perfect weather conditions with clear blue skies, warm temps, and essentially

LADY CHAMPION HAYLYN HANKS, LADY RU DESIRAE EDMUNDS, LADY 3RD KAREN SHEDD

2022NATIONALS

Shoot-Off Under the Lights At 7pm Sunday night, the FITASC runner-up shoot-off was called to the stadium field with Anthony I. Matarese, Jr., Gebben Miles, Karen Shedd and Brad Kidd all tied on 94s. Shooting in that order under the lights, only Miles and Shedd cleared peg 1. Proceeding to peg 2, Karen shot first, cleaning her four singles, followed by Gebben doing the same. Miles shot first on doubles, missing his last target of the second pair. no wind. Nick Berry was the guy with the biggest smile when he finished his 100 targets late Wednesday afternoon. Nick was sitting atop top of the leaderboard with a big 95, but closely trailed by Brad Kidd’s 94 and Bill McGuire’s 93. Grace Callahan also posted a strong 90 that afternoon for the Ladies race.

On Thursday night, Nick’s 95 still looked dominant on the leaderboard. It turned out to become a long waiting game as there were still more than half of the FITASC competitors who hadn’t started yet, and the wind had become somewhat of a factor.

Kevin DeMichiel and Will Fennell had each shot two parcours on Thursday and were only down 2 targets each, but neither of them

PHOTO CREDIT: LOUISE TERRY

NICK BERRY 2022 FITASC NATIONAL CHAMPION

had shot parcour one yet. Friday started out with a 30-minute lightning delay and early morning heavy rain, resulting in no more challengers to Berry. Fennel and DeMichiel both faltered on Friday, but Will did finish respectably joining McGuire near the top of the board with a 93. Fennel also found quite the challenge in parcours one where he posted a 21.

On Saturday night, Zach Kienbaum, Gebben Miles, and Karen Shedd were all down two targets each in their first two parcours, so the gap finally looked to be closing on Nick. In fact, by Saturday night, there were over 15 people who still had a chance to catch Berry, but 6 of them would have had to run a 50-straight on their last two parcours even to tie.

Exciting right down to the last afternoon, Kienbaum dropped four targets on his final parcour, while Miles and Shedd held on to finish par one with 22s and par two with 24s, ending their outings with 94s.

This catapulted Shedd to the top of the Ladies leaderboard, and into a 4-way tie for the open runner-up spot. It was now final that Nick Barry’s great shooting on Wednesday won him the uncontested FITASC Championship.

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FITASC CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

NICK BERRY KAREN SHEDD GEBBEN MILES BRAD KIDD JR. JACOB TARLTON CHRISTOPHER KELLER CASH BURNS ANDREW JOHNSON FEDERICO G. ORTIZ RICHARD PENN KAREN SHEDD KAREN SHEDD WILL FENNELL DAVID WALKER ROBERT FIELDS

95 94 94 94 91 86 80 78 72 70 94 94 93 85 84

KAREN SHEDD

Shedd stepped in and calmly cleaned her four birds to take the Open runner-up title and the Ladies and Junior Championships.

Grace Callahan’s 90 held up for Ladies runner-up and Ashley Little carded an 86 to take Ladies Third.

All in all, a very exciting finish to a great event.

Winchester Ladies Cup & Side Events

BY MATTHEW GAY Winchester Ammunition stepped up in a big way to recognize the ladies in our sport who excel in competition. Throughout the 2022 NSCA Championship Series, Winchester has funded this program to facilitate prize money for these great competitors. The

ladies in our sporting clays community are truly great ambassadors for the sport. They are not only committed to their own excellence; they support, encourage, and celebrate the successes of their fellow lady shooters. The photo below demonstrates the passion and camaraderie these shooters share for each other.

At this year’s Nationals the key to earning the Winchester Ladies All-Around was consistency. Over the five events included in the Winchester Ladies All-Around, Karen Shedd took three first-place crowns in the Lady concurrent, including an open runner-up, and two third-place slots. Her performance culminated in over-all champion honors. Desirae Edmunds was only eight targets CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

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(L-R) HAYLYN HANKS, DONNY BALLARD, KAREN SHEDD, BRETT FLAUGHER, DESIRAE EDMUNDS

5-STAND M-AA CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

RYAN HARPER TODD HITCH BAYNE HORNE THEO RIBBS III DYKE JONES KAREN SHEDD LANE PICKLO TODD HITCH BAYNE HORNE STAN FAISON RUBEN SPELL GENE SHERROD

5-STAND A-E 99 98 96 96 90 89 90 98 96 92 86 64

A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

ARTURO LOPEZ ALEX HARTMAN EDUARDO ORTUNO MATTHEW SANCHEZ ANNIE TERRY KENNEDY THOMPSON JETT SMOTHERS KENNEDY THOMPSON ARTURO LOPEZ DOUGLAS KREITLER ED STITELER GRANT BERGMANN

91 92 88 82 71 88 90 88 91 87 77 73

SIDE BY SIDE behind Shedd to claim the allaround runner-up trophy. In third place, and only three back from Edmunds, Haylyn Hanks was putting forward a performance in the main event which would ultimately earn her the title of 2022 NSCA Lady Sporting Clays Champion. Congratulations all three ladies for a phenomenal performance.

And a big thank you goes out to the folks at Winchester for sponsoring this well-deserved program. n

CH RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

JETT THOMPSON MATTHEW HADA ANDY DUFFY JEFFERY ARNESON MATT MCKENZIE CADE MCCALL DAVID GREENE LEVI WRICH TOMMY NAPIER AERIANNA PREBLE MATTHEW HADA CADE MCCALL ANDY DUFFY STEPHEN HOLLIER DANIEL DANELL MARTIN JONES

"RAD" CHAD ROBERTS

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

97 93 93 88 86 91 82 75 60 82 93 91 93 90 81 80

2022NATIONALS

A HAPPY SIDE BY SIDE SQUAD

PUMP

AMERICAN FIELD SPORTING RED & WHITE CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

LAURENT FAVA JON MONROE ALDO BRUZZONE DAVID KING JOE PARDEES MAX ALLEN CHASE GARDNER GUSTAVO USCOCOVICH MIGUEL ARMAS TOMMY NAPIER YIM SZETO BRODY SOUZA THOMAS JACOBS JON MONROE ANDREW SEAMAN ALAN SPEIR ROBERT HAYES

73

44 44 44 44 43 42 43 43 38 24 42 40 42 44 42 37 35

CH RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

MATTHEW HADA STEVE LUNDEEN SHANNON DOWIES PHILLIP TOM OLIVERIO VILLARREAL HOLT GEISTWEIDT LANCE MODAWELL TY BYNUM STEPHANIE BURTON ANSLEY C JOHNSTON MATTHEW HADA MONTE RANKIN STEVE LUNDEEN ANDREW SEAMAN ALAN SPEIR GENE SHERROD

94 94 93 88 84 83 87 81 62 80 94 89 94 92 87 79 CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

SEAN MAINLAND

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! 20 GAUGE CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

ZACH KIENBAUM CLINT HINTON R HEYWARD OWENS DAVID SCHMIDT TREY SIDES MATTHEW HADA LEIF FRENCH RUSTY BURKETT GAVIN DAMRON MIGUEL ARMAS ANSLEY C JOHNSTON MATTHEW HADA GAVIN DAMRON R HEYWARD OWENS DAVID SCHMIDT STAN KATZ GENE SHERROD

28 GAUGE 94 93 93 93 92 88 87 83 87 84 85 88 87 93 93 79 80

CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

SCOTT ROBERTSON RICARDO OLIVIERI R HEYWARD OWENS JEFF WOLFE ZACH KIENBAUM PHILLIP TOM CONNOR BARKER BRIAN SKEUSE CHANDLER TOMASINI R DAVID WALKER AERIANNA PREBLE JACQUE PORTIER CONNOR BARKER R HEYWARD OWENS RICK MEIN STAN KATZ GENE SHERROD

.410 BORE

98 97 97 97 97 96 97 89 92 93 89 91 97 97 96 90 87

20 GAUGE FITASC CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

VAN DRAKE THOMAS JACOBS ALY BESTEIRO GREGORY NASSAR DWAYNE MCFARLAND JONATHAN RUMBARGER MATT MCKENZIE KURTIS NEAL GARRETT MULLANEY MARIO DAHIK ALEXANDRA WAMPLER THOMAS JACOBS GREGORY NASSAR VAN DRAKE DENNY IKER

SCOTT ROBERTSON SHAWN KEMETER JOHN PROCTOR MICHAEL MARELLI TREY SIDES BRIAN HUNTLEY HARVEY FRENZEL SCOTT CAUDILL NICK DILL ANDREW ULSHER ANSLEY C JOHNSTON ANSLEY C JOHNSTON GAGE FOWLKES TREY SIDES LYNN TALLEY ALBERT GARZA ROBERT HAYES

94 93 92 91 91 90 89 91 86 84 86 86 88 91 90 84 78

OCTOBER 19 - 27, 2024 28 GAUGE FITASC

49 48 48 48 47 47 47 46 45 44 45 48 48 49 42

CH RU 3RD M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

THOMAS JACOBS SAMUEL CONDETTE R HEYWARD OWENS TIM ROBINSON CARTER BURKHOLDER WIVERSON TRECENTI LEIF FRENCH JAMES SWANZY GARRETT MULLANEY JAMIE ZAMBRANO ALEXANDER WAMPLER THOMAS JACOBS R HEYWARD OWENS RODGER BECKER CARL SKIP ZAPFFE

48 47 47 47 46 45 45 46 45 40 43 48 47 45 44

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SUN'S OUT, TONGUE'S OUT

LADIES BLING!

NEIL CHADWICK WAVES HELLO

CENSORED FOR SENSITIVE READERS

DOGS ARE PHOTOGENIC TOO

SHELBY MOON

CAMERON HICKS

GRACE CALLAHAN

ROBERTO AND RICARDO OLIVIERI, LUCREZIA BANDINI

REANNA FRAUENS

BETTY KRIEGHOFF

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

NATIONAL SHOOTING COMPLEX

BILL MAGUIRE

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THE PROGRESSION OF A WINNING MOMENT

Interesting Data MAIN EVENT COURSE SCORE AVERAGES TAKEN FROM MASTER CLASS PLACEMENT

69.27%

70.78%

70.05%

KYLE MILLWOOD

CORY KRUSE & MO PARSONS

WE LOVE WHEN YOU INTERACT WITH THE CAMERA! THANKS MADISON MACFARLAND!

RICKY MARSHALL JR.

DAVID RADULOVICH AND HIS DOG, BELLA

DERRICK MEIN

71.67%

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

NORTH DAKOTA 2022 A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY

EDITORIAL BY MATTHEW GAY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROGER MARKS

Anyone who has ventured to the Dakotas is familiar with the windy nature of the weather, particularly at the dawn of a new season. What is truly magical about this place is the way wind seems to gently diminish into that good night at the close of the day. Near dusk, this pothole relaxes into a glassy state of tranquility.

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Mitakuye Owas’in

sunka (SHOON-kujh)

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With mere minutes left of legal hunting time, its likely a few teal snuck by while the hunters were mesmerized by the sight unfolding to the west. The colors and contrasts evoke a feeling of connectivity to the natural order of things, coupled with the realization that the individual human is but a tiny cog in the impossibly large machine that is nature.

The Lakota people, who’ve called this land home for centuries, have a phrase which speaks to the concept of harmony with the land. “Mitakuye Owas’in”, in the literal translation, means “my relatives you all are.” This sentiment applies to not only other nations and humans, but also to nature and all her inhabitants.

The Lakota held dogs, or “sunka,” in high regard, viewing them as sacred beings who offered protection and assistance to people, prior to the introduction of the horse

by Spanish conquistadors to North America in the late 1400s.

A great retriever is invaluable to the waterfowler, not only for the retrieval of game but also as a companion in life, with whom one can grow and experience the wonders of the natural world. The 14-month-old Deutsch Drahthaar, Briella, was simply brilliant as she discharged her duties with the proficiency of a master hunter and CLAYSHOOTINGUSA seasoned hunting pal. Trips to the Dakotas are not complete without a K9 companion.

Iya Tate

The Dakota prairie is part of the breadbasket of the world, producing food for millions of humans. Although sometimes an inhospitable climate, grains flourish here and stand resilient and defiant to the powerful “iya tate”, or wind. Pictured here we see what the Lakota referred to as “wagmeza”, corn.

The weather can change very quickly on the prairie. What is truly unique here is that one can see it coming from a long way off. The Lakota knew when “magazu”, or rain was on its way by simply looking to the sky.

The Lakota people have a word, “wani” that translates to “the four winds” or the “weather.” One could deduce that when the point comes where the tumbleweeds are throwing rooster tails, the “wani” is making itself known to all on the prairie.

The Lakota people referred to the sky and motion of the universe as "Skan." After reflecting upon himself, the Great Spirit "Wakan Tanka" created the four Superior Spirits. After rock and earth, "Skan" was created in order to surround the first two Superior Spirits and exists as the source of all life.

In the Lakota tradition, after creating rock or "Inyan", then "Makha" the earth and surrounding it with "Skan", the creation was dark. The Great Spirit then fashioned the final of the four Superior Spirits, "Wi", the Sun, chief of the Gods, bringing light to the planet. n

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PILGRIM’S FUN AT & GUN SHOOT NIGHT

BY MAGGIE KELCH

I

n Ohio, they say that if you don’t like the weather all you have to do is wait 10 minutes and it will change. That certainly held true on the weekend of November 9 – 12, when shooters experienced summer, fall and winter, while competing in the Pilgrim’s Fun and Gun Shoot at Night.

The event, held at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, started on Wednesday, November 9th with a number of people shooting 5-stand on a sunny 70-degree day. On Friday, November 11th, Tropical Storm Nicole brought torrential rains to Ohio. Then, winter arrived on Saturday morning, when the temperature started to drop and snow flurries made the event more challenging. Despite the weather, more than 300 hearty shooters participated in the Pilgrim’s Night Shoot. It is the second largest NSCA registered shoot in the state, second only to the Ohio State Sporting Clays Championships.

There really is something special about shooting sporting clays at night: huddling around burn barrels to stay warm and

sipping hot chocolate or coffee while you watch orange and white targets explode against the black night sky. Combine a challenging daytime shooting preliminary event with two different courses that are shot at night and it’s a formula for fun. When you add excellent food, you have the makings of a great weekend for shooters and spectators. In fact, shooters said that the Cardinal Center team, led by shooting sports operations manager Jake Spengler, really put on a stellar event this year. The participants raved about the food, which included Friday night dinner from the renowned Schmidt’s Sausage Haus in Columbus, awesome box lunches on Saturday and dinner on Saturday night from a wood-fired pizza truck.

L TO R: JASON RAMBO, JAKE SPENGLER, SEAN ALLEY CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

This was the sixth year that the Cardinal Center hosted the night shoot, and many shooters return every year to shoot what has become a fall tradition. This year, shooters came from as far away as Vermont, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada. The 2022 shoot included two 100-target main events, as well as a 100-target preliminary event that was held during the daytime. In addition, the Cardinal Center offered a 50-bird 5-stand event for shooters who arrived on Wednesday or Thursday.

The Red and Blue main events are both shot after dark. Many of the shooters participated both nights, shooting the Blue on one night and the Red on the other.

Seventy giant light towers, like those you see on interstate highway construction sites at night, were used to illuminate each station on the main event courses.

Dead Pair Podcast Prelim Once again, this year, the 100-target preliminary event was sponsored by the Dead Pair Podcast. In addition to providing trophies for the winners, podcast hosts Sean Alley and Jason Rambo, set the targets on the course.

Rambo set the targets on the odd numbered stations and Alley had responsibility for the even numbered ones. They were on hand to broadcast some of the action on their YouTube channel and to compete in the main event.

There were 127 shooters on the course for the Dead Pair Podcast prelim, which was held on Saturday morning and afternoon.

The prelim was held on Cardinal Center’s Red Course which features both wooded stations and open fields. Rambo said the Cardinal Center team decided to hold the Prelim on the Red course rather than the Blue field course.

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THE DEAD PAIR PODCAST CREW

“They wanted to give us a more diverse background and landscape to play with this year. We had an excellent opportunity to be more creative with the targets,” Rambo said. Shooters agreed, stating they really enjoyed the challenging course. The blustery wind, snow squalls and cold temperatures led the shooters to appreciate the comfortable wooden shooting stations that provide cover from the elements.

DEAD PAIR PODCAST PRELIMINARY CH RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

DUSTIN MAROON ADAM WISE PAUL PERITI DANIEL WILLIAMS JEFF MILLER DOUG HINDERER WILLIAM BONNELL ANDREW LIDDERDALE LEX URAM ALICIA LOWERY LOGAN KING PAUL PERITI MICHAEL ADAMS BILL NICKELSON ARTHUR HOHENSTEIN

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

94 93 91 90 85 81 74 70 76 84 89 91 88 72 79

Dustin Maroon, who was the 2022 Ohio State Resident Sporting Clays Champion, took HOA honors in the Prelim event with a 94. He was followed closely by runner-up Adam Wise of Michigan, who shot a 93. High lady in the prelim was Alicia Lowery of New York, with an 84. Taking junior honors was Logan King of Pennsylvania with an 89. High veteran was Paul Periti of Ontario, with a 91 and super veteran winner was Michael Adams of Ohio with an 88. Senior super vet winner was Bill Nickelson of Ohio with a 72, and legacy champion was Arthur Hohenstein of Ohio with a 79.

Main Events Under the Lights Two 100-target main events are held on both nights of the Pilgrim’s Shoot. Shooters can choose to compete in just one event, or they can shoot both the Red and the Blue main courses. Targets for the main event courses were set by Spengler and Justin Ketcham of the Cardinal Shooting Center. The

Blue main event course is situated in a field, with wide open backgrounds. Conversely, the Red main course features a mixture of both a wooded and field backgrounds. There were 239 shooters in the Red main and 188 in the Blue over the two nights.

Both courses were set with an equal level of difficulty. However, the blustery winds made the Blue course (and portions of the Red main event course that were in the open fields) even more challenging. To make things even more fun, they used flash targets on station one, on the Blue course and station six on Red. Seeing those targets explode into a puff ball in the dark night sky made those stations even more exciting.

Shooting started after the sun set.

The light towers did an outstanding job of lighting up the area surrounding each shooting station, and the targets were brightly illuminated.

Angelo Toto, who travelled from New York to compete under the lights, was High Over All on both the Blue and Red main

courses. Toto posted an 89 in the Red and a 90 in the Blue main.

Ohioan Kevin Parsons put up an 89 and ended as runner-up on the Red main event. On the Blue course, William Browning, from Ohio, took runner-up honors and was high junior with an 87. Another New Yorker, Alicia Lowery also took home multiple honors. She earned high lady in the Dead Pair Podcast Prelim and on both main event courses, where she broke 69 and 79 respectively.

RED MAIN EVENT UNDER THE LIGHTS CH RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

ANGELO TOTO KEVIN PARSONS JEFFREY MILLER ZACH KAISER CARL GIOFFRE AUSTIN WHITED BEN KLOTZSCHE SCOTT PFEIFFER LEX URAM ALICIA LOWERY WILLIAM BODEN III LOGAN O’BRIEN KEVIN PARSONS DALE DIRMEYER BILL NICKELSON

89 89 88 83 83 84 83 78 70 69 82 79 89 83 75

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Several Sub Junior and Junior shooters from a youth shooting team in Pennsylvania took honors in the main events. Members of the Hunting Hills Hawkeyes, who compete in Scholastic Clay Target Program events, travelled to the shoot together. Logan O’Brien,

William Boden III, Benjamin Horne and A.J. Diamond each earned punches in their classes.

On the Red course, O’Brien finished third in B class, Boden finished second in C class, Horne was second in D class and Diamond was fourth in D class.

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Three members of the Hawkeyes team also claimed concurrent honors. In Sub Junior competition, Boden was first with an 82 on the Red course and Horne took first with a 73 on the Blue course. On the Red course, O’Brien was high junior with a 79.

Two Ohio shooters won the veteran’s concurrent honors: Kevin Parsons with an 89 on the Red course and Kurt Waninger with an 86 on Blue. Super vet honors under the lights went to Ohioans Dale Dirmeyer with an 83 on the Red, and Gary Contner with an 86 on Blue. Rounding out the wins for Ohio shooters in the main events were senior super vets; Bill Nickelson posting a 75 on the Red course and John Smith with a 74 on Blue.

After a full weekend of good food, challenging stations and

BLUE MAIN EVENT UNDER THE LIGHTS CH RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

ANGELO TOTO WILLIAM BROWNING JONATHAN RUMBARGER STEVE STRAUB GARY CONTNER JASON WINGET MARCUS HERSHBERGER RICHARD BATES LEX URAM ALICIA LOWERY BENJAMIN HORNE WILLIAM BROWNING KURT WANINGER GARY CONTNER JOHN SMITH

90 87 87 83 86 79 84 76 71 79 73 87 86 86 74

exploding targets in the night sky, shooters left tired and happy.

Many are already booking their camping spots or cabins at the Cardinal Center Campgrounds for next year. n

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NEWPRODUCT

86

&

SHOT TRACKER CLAY TRACKER

BY JOHN CAFFEY

A

s the continual struggle with finding and affording shells impacts everyone’s time on the range, the need for quality practice is becoming more important. It used to be that a day at the range included shooting a case of shells. Now that has been reduced to only two or three boxes in many cases. I know a number of shooters that are now relying more on dryfire practice to keep their mount consistent. I can’t tell you how many inquiries I have had about other options for practice since my last article on the True Clays indoor training simulator.

New ideas, products and technology are born from necessity. When necessity arises there is someone who recognizes that need and responds by providing for that need.

That is what brought Jim Pautler and Robert Noble together. Both of them grew up hunting and shooting.

Jim, hunting and target shooting on an Illinois Dairy farm, Robert, a fifth generation Texan and gun enthusiast. Fast forward, Jim gets his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering followed by his Masters in Electrical Engineering as well as his MBA. He spent a large part of his working career designing

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

“Space Laser Communications Systems’’ for the US Government.

Robert has his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, along with 40 years and several US Patents creating high technology products and solutions. When you get people together with a desire to find a better way something good is going to come from it.

Many times I’ve been at the range and heard a backyard instructor answering a new shooter’s question of ‘where did I miss it’ ,with ‘you were behind it’, while I see that the wad was in front and high. Most shooters can’t

afford that luxury to have a coach with them every time they go to the range, but now with Shot Tracker® & Clay Tracker® Pro technology that gap is closing.

Technology When Jim and Robert developed the Shot Tracker®, they took the technical aspects and physics of shooting and incorporated it into a plug-and-play device that any shooter can attach to their gun and have a coach with them every time they shoot.

How It Works If you talk to Jim and Robert they will tell you about the gyroscopes and laser technology that’s way above my understanding so here’s the regular answer. The Smart Shot software uses the Shot Tracker's integrated sensors to monitor the motion of the shooter and his/her shotgun. When the sensors detect a shot, the video frames from the onboard camera are analyzed to compute the flight path and speed of the clay target.

The flight path and speed of the pellet cloud is calculated to determine the point where the clay target and the pellets will meet. At that point of intersection, the Smart Shot algorithms determine the number of pellets that can impact the clay target and how much kinetic energy they contain.

All of this information is used to compute the probability of breaking the clay. After this is done the software computes the corrections needed to make the next shot with success.

Technology is a wonderful thing

NEWPRODUCT

87

a

smart devices. This Patented Smart Shot technology will provide feedback that includes:

when it can turn the barrel of your shotgun into a smart device. The most interesting thing is that the information is sent directly to your smartphone via a program called Clay Tracker® Pro. After each shot the corrections that are needed to be successful are provided visually as to where the clay target was as well as where the shot was. The Clay Tracker® Pro program also provides an audible response describing the shot accuracy as well as the range and speed of the target, and the motion of the shooter, and the corrections that are needed all within five seconds of the shot.

The Device The Shot Tracker® can be mounted to both semi autos and over/under shotguns in 12ga., 20 ga. ,28 ga., and 410 bore. I found the unit itself to be very compact when mounted with a length of only 6.0” and the barrel mounting bracket being only 3.6” and weighing a mere 6.5 oz. Physically I could tell no difference in it being attached.

The Clay Tracker® Pro cell phone Application took about 20 minutes to install and can interface with all Shot Tracker® models. It is also available for iOS or Android

•R ange to the Clay Target • Crossing speed of the Clay Target • Clay Target's Probability of Breakage • Assessment of where your shot was aimed • Correction needed to make your next shot on target • Records shot History and Statistics of hit and miss data Additional detailed feedback includes Simple Panoramic Imagery of the entire shot, Choke Configuration along with Shot Shell information including: • Pellet Size • Oz. Load • Pellet Type • Muzzle Velocity All are inputted for a full shot analysis. The Clay Tracker® Pro provides feedback on all of the shotgun sports: Skeet & Skeet Doubles, Trap and Trap Doubles, as well as Sporting Clays and FITASC. That’s an enormous amount of information for

one portable device and more information than any one person could provide during a shooting session. All this is powered by two CR-123 batteries that will power the Shot Tracker for several hours of shooting.

The Shot Tracker® / Clay Tracker® Pro is by far one of the most innovative training systems for shooters both new and experienced that I have ever seen.

Shot Tracker® removes personal opinion from the learning curve providing the shooter not only instant feedback based on technology but a shooting history for later review. The entire package ships in a portable travel case with everything that you need to start tracking your shots and improving your shooting scores.

Shot Tracker® is the first generation of personal training available outside of military applications. I am looking forward to what advancements Robert and Jim have coming. n To see the full list of Shot Tracker® videos and visit their website click the attached QR code or visit: www.takeaimtech.com

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

MENTALGAME

88

BECOME AN

INDISTRACTABLE SHOOTER JOHN D. SHIMA SAN ANTONIO, TX

I

often download classic movies to watch during my many nights on the road. One evening after a day of coaching three shooters about the importance of concentration I decided to watch Cool Hand Luke.

As I was about to doze off a phrase jumped out at me. It was the scene after Luke’s second escape attempt and the Road Captain said, “You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains. You run twice you got yourself two sets. You ain’t gonna need no third set, ’cause you gonna get your mind right.”

Get Your Mind Right The importance of “getting your mind right” before calling for a target was exactly what I was attempting to communicate to those three shooters. Most people believe a clay target sport involves a contest between the shooter and the target, so they rely on tactics to attack the targets. In reality, the contest is between the shooter and his or her ability to resist mental and visual distractions that suddenly disrupt the shooter’s concentration and ability to correctly watch and focus on the target.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

While listening to Nir Eyal’s book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, I discovered that self-sabotaging distractions are a common phenomenon among clay target shooters. The theme of Eyal’s narrative relates to the process of setting a specific goal, and then sabotaging the goal when it actually comes time to do it. I see this phenomenon occurring when I tell shooters how they need to shoot to eliminate a bad habit, and they keep shooting the way they want to shoot because it feels right.

When I was a kid my eyesight and reflexes were great. I could hold my gun in tight, look into the window, call pull and move out with the target. Nowadays I need to hold my gun out much farther and use my expanded soft focus to detect the emerging target with my

peripheral vision. Yet, once or twice during each event a distraction will disrupt my concentration, and my inner teenager will tell me to look into the window just before I call for the target. And every time I do it the target blows past me.

I’ve always known my mind was wired differently. I eventually came to learn that I was, and still am, severely dyslexic. Although I struggled to compete with my classmates in the classroom at school, I had no problem competing with adults on the skeet field. Watching clay targets was so much easier for me than trying to read a sentence. More importantly, my father was proud of me when I

shot well, so I had a reason to concentrate on watching the targets. I seldom succumbed to distractions during competitions while my father was alive. Seeking my father’s admiration was my reason to concentrate.

Concentration When it Matters My personal experiences coaching individuals who struggle to pay attention (e.g., ADHD) have provided me with some insight into helping clay target shooters become less susceptible to distractions.

Each shooter must go through a process of trial and error to discover which strategies help them improve his or her concentration.

Elite clay target shooters have a highly developed ability to pay attention during the moment of truth. I introduced the importance of this concept in my first book, The Moment of Truth: How You

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Look Determines What You See. I described the moment of truth as the period of time between when the shooter prepares to call for the target, and when the target passes through the ideal break zone.

Paying attention during the entire moment of truth requires monotonous mental and visual discipline. In other words, shooters must get their mind right before calling for every target, so they see the emerging target, and then watch it continuously until it breaks. Getting the mind right is a process that minimizes the intrusion of negative distractions during the moment of truth by employing an effective positive distraction.

Negative distractions can be divided into external and internal.

External distractions are environmental conditions that are perceived by the shooter’s senses.

Although auditory distractions can occur while a shooter is on a station, the most common external distractions are visual. Internal distractions are associated with the 60,000 thoughts that float through a shooter’s mind every day. The stress associated with striving to achieve a specific performance goal causes a negative emotion, such as fear or doubt, to become “hooked” onto one of these random thoughts that creep into the shooter’s mind while he or she is trying to concentrate and focus on the next target. Once hooked, the negative emotion invariably substitutes a bad shooting habit for the proper acquisition of the target, and execution of the appropriate pre-planned move.

Positive distractions - In his book The Power of Habit, researcher Charles Duhigg described the three elements of a habit: a trigger that tells the brain which habit to use; a routine which activates the habitual behavior; CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

and a reward which reinforces the emotion that is attached to the behavior. This begs the question, why are so many negative distractions triggered by the desire to break clay targets? The simple answer is that the desire to break the next target activates the wrong habitual behavior.

Shooters must concentrate on using their working memory (conscious mind) to manage the watching reflex and allow their procedural memory (unconscious mind) to automatically manage the shooting reflex. Shooters must develop confidence in the tasks they can control, such as watching and focusing on the target; and

Tools to Manage the Mental Game Apply Kinetic Visualization - The pre-station routine should help the shooter see and feel the speed of the target. This awakens the correct pre-planned move (habit).

Use Your Mind Right If we view the shooter’s mind as a computer it would consist of three areas of memory: stowed (explicit), working (short-term), and procedural (implicit). Stowed memory is the hard drive than contains all the shooter’s knowledge. Working memory is the RAM, which is a portion of the shooter’s knowledge that relates to the tasks that are active on the desktop. Procedural memory is linked to a desktop icon that activates a specific program when it has been triggered.

You would use working memory to make a conscious decision about which desktop icon to click, in order to accomplish a specific task, and then you would rely on the procedural memory within the computer to automatically complete the pre-programmed action linked to the icon.

they must develop trust in the good habits they can’t control, such as the automatic pre-planned move that will break the target.

The clay target sports seem paradoxical to most recreational shooters because average shooters tend to rely exclusively on their working memory to execute every element of the shot sequence.

Logical reasoning implies that moving the muzzle of the shotgun to a precise place in front of the moving target and firing when the picture looks right will cause the target to break. It seems counterintuitive to suggest that by simply watching the target continuously the muzzle of the shotgun will automatically point to the correct lead in front of the target.

Shooters cannot control the random thoughts that enter their mind. However, they can strive to understand how their mind functions so they can develop strategies to get their mind right before every shot.

• Embrace Acceptance Recognize that negative distractions are usually caused by the tension of execution, which commonly arises during the pre-shot routine.

Acknowledge the distraction for what it is, accept it, and then ignore it.

• Be Curious - Begin each shot with curiosity to trick the conscious mind into looking for an unexpected target to emerge.

This creates a state of readiness.

• Exercise Patience - Allow the target to emerge into your expanded soft focus, which optimizes visual acquisition of the emerging target at the eye hold. Allow the target to emerge into your visual field.

• Manage Intensity of Focus Adjust the transition from soft focus to hard focus according to the distance between the acquisition zone and the break zone. The greater the distance between the two zones the more time spent in soft focus.

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MENTALGAME

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Applying the Science Psychologist Jonathan Bricker developed a technique called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which disarms the emotional discomfort that often promotes negative distractions. Instead of trying to suppress the tendency to react to the sudden urge precipitated by a negative emotion, Bricker recommends stepping back to acknowledge the emotional hook that prompted the distraction, and allow the emotional hook (fear or doubt) to be released naturally. Then repeat the normal pre-shot routine to get the mind right. Settling your eyes into expanded soft focus quiets the mind before calling for the target.

Helping clay target shooters discover the awesome potential that exists within their procedural memory is a deliberate process that requires considerable time and effort.

Foremost among all the suggested remedies are: accept that negative distractions are part of every clay target sport, and just commit to hard focus and fire at the break point.

The Shima Shooting ExperienceTM is a three-day small group clinic conducted by me in San Antonio, TX. These SSEs involve several drills that I designed to help serious shooters develop the mental and visual discipline that enables them to become indistractable during competition. A quiet mind is an indistractable mind. n Editor’s Note: John Shima is a former five-time World Skeet Champion and was high average in 12 gauge for two years. John is the leading authority on detection of visual deceptions and prescribing appropriate visual training to unleash the power of reality for clay target shooters. For more information about the Shima Shooting MethodSM, the Clinic Schedule, his new Shima Shooting ExperienceSM, or to arrange a Private Consultation, contact John via email at john@ johnshima.com To order his books or view previous articles go to www.johnshima.com/publications

Tools to Manage the Mental Game Continued • Commit to the Break Point - Override the twinge of uncertainty near the break zone by committing to hard focusing and firing at the intended break point. The focus and fire strategy eliminates defocusing to verify the lead picture.

• Avoid Analyzing Imperfect Shots - The analysis of less than perfect breaks or misses activates working memory and blocks the ability to trust procedural memory, which is necessary to automatically activate the appropriate pre-planned move to engage the target. The purpose of getting the mind right is to stop analytical self-talk and rely on good habits.

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THEWAYITIS

94

“THE WAY IT IS – YOU’RE THINKING IT, WE SAY IT”

THE CLUB WANKER

BY KIPLING LOREE

E

very gun club in the galaxy has one of these beauties. That guy who is simply contemptable and makes one seriously consider donning ugly pants and chasing a little white ball around a piece of underutilized, perfectly good goose hunting ground. It seems to just be the penance we all must pay, for having found the perfect pastime that efficiently changes our money into empty hulls and clay dust. Below we examine the patently annoying traits and actions of this person, along with the skills and tools necessary to deal with such an individual while maintaining one’s sanity and the ability to pass a background check.

Board Meetings Yeah, these are so much fun.

Typically gun club boards consist of folks who are dog tired of carrying all the weight on their shoulders but are more afraid of what could happen if the club “tool” was to get elected president.

Consequently, these individuals who should be nominated for sainthood, stick it out in the best interest of the club and its legacy.

What tends to happen though is the club wanker gets a burr under his saddle because the already overworked volunteer staff forgot to refill the pretzel bowl, thirty seconds after it was emptied by his blowhard pals, who reek of Drakkar Noir and cheap cigars. It is this instant that such a goofball makes his mind up to attend the next board meeting with the intent of chastising the poor souls who work tirelessly for free to keep pretzels in the pantry. During such meetings the loudmouth bloviates about how “things are really getting lax around here” and how “maybe it’s time for a change in leadership.” Its painful watching the look of fatigued disgust in the CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

eyes of the board as they watch this yahoo spout off. They listen to his rant, pretending to care about his nonsense, then gracefully thank him for his comments and go about the actual business of the club. Such an endearing response is necessary from those of us who face the likes of wanker-boy, if for no other reason than to keep our blood pressure in check and avoid legal defense costs. Never argue with an idiot, for they will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience. Just smile, nod, and let it roll off like water off a Mallard’s back.

Club Clean-Up Day Most clubs have these on a regular basis. The intent is to bring everyone together in order to

complete tasks around the club for beautification, maintenance and projects that add to the offerings of the club. I know what you are thinking, “there’s no way this clown shows up to work.” You would be right and wrong at the same time. You see, a wanker will show up with the intent to claim responsibility for productivity, but from a practical standpoint, he will be nothing but a hinderance. This type of person wants to re-engineer every single thing being done, because “you’re doing it all wrong.” You must have missed the part where his uncle’s, cousin’s, mother’s hairdresser once built a birdhouse so that makes him an expert on all things related to

THEWAYITIS

storage shed construction.

Meaning, in wanker-vision, the lifelong super-humble club member who owns a multi-milliondollar commercial construction business and has donated all the material for this project, hasn’t the first clue how to build this 120 square foot box to store the lawn mower in.

This generous contractor loves the club but is extremely busy being a productive member of society, which severely limits his available time to hang out at the club. Consequently, the wanker doesn’t actually know him by sight...but on this day the contractor is on site to help. Our gracious contractor listens intently at the ramblings of the wanker spouting off about how to properly assemble this shed, then gently points out to the club wanker that his pristine, and obviously un-used, drill driver secured in a brand new drill holster on his tool belt requires that a battery be inserted in order for it to work.

The conversation typically ends there. Take this gentleman contractor’s approach with people like this and remember the famous quote, “Tis better to remain quiet and be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt”

Stolen Valor Folks are usually caught by surprise with this one. It never fails, you are sitting with your work pals at the Friday fish fry and the topic of the club comes up. Your co-worker says, “hey I hear Tommy Tool is running a great youth program over at your club.” You are confused, stunned and a bit angry considering that Tommy Tool (the wanker), has not been to any of the Saturday morning youth events to help load machines, prepare lunch

or instruct kids on proper technique. But let’s be honest, the guy can’t spell “technique” so that last one isn’t really a bad thing. You cock your head and just give a nod of

acknowledgement that your co-worker spoke words that somewhat registered in your brain, but no additional commentary is necessary on the subject and discussion would be turning to college football or pedicures. Here we must again act like a fat drake mallard with oil laden back feathers…and let it go.

advice, which is almost exclusively wrong by the way, and throws your neighbor into a state of confusion about his lessons with you.

Unlike the gentleman contractor above or the saintly board members who could employ strategies to ignore this guy, the aforementioned situation requires a little more direct approach. In this case, I would tell the wanker that you think you just saw someone lurking around his Escalade and that he

95

ought to check it out without delay…. or you could just tell him to shut the hell up….

predicated of course with, “with all due respect”, after all this is a gentleman’s game. Choose your response wisely and don’t be a wanker. n

New Shooter Instruction To be honest here this particular cardinal sin is one that still drives this writer’s blood pressure into the stratosphere. Tommy Tool decides to take a little time off from his barroom pontificating to bring his 870 out to the practice skeet field, in an effort to build some street cred for himself in the eyes of other club members. It never fails, he gets put on your squad with your new neighbor who has taken a keen interest in the shooting sports but is very green. After you’ve spent time with your neighbor working on gun mounts, technique, stance and hold points, his first target out of the high house is lost. Rather than accept the fact that your neighbor simply missed, Tommy the wanker starts to spew unsolicited shooting CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

96

PEOPLE, NEWS AND EVENTS

IN THE HEADLINES

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NEWS UPDATES

Product manufacturers, retailers and club managers wanting to submit news for the next issue should email: editor@clayshootingusa.com

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING TEAM HONORED IN OHIO SENATE

By Maggie Kelch Photo Provided by Ohio State Senator Nathan Manning Columbus, Ohio – Members of a high school shotgun sports team were honored by the Ohio State Senate in November for their outstanding performance during the 2022 season.

The North Ridgeville High School Trap Team has more than 70 members who compete in a variety of shotgun sports including trap, skeet and sporting clays.

The students, in grades seven through 12, compete in the Ohio State High School Clay Target League, USA High School Clay Target League and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) competitions.

They practice trap and skeet shooting at Sportsman’s Gun and Reel Club in Amherst, OH and sporting clays at South Cuyahoga Sportsmen’s Club in Medina, OH. Senator Nathan Manning (R-N. Ridgeville) honored the team members on the floor of the Ohio State Senate in recognition of their outstanding performance at the 2022 Ohio State High School Clay Target Championships. At the State Championships, the team won first place in the skeet competition and earned second in the trap competition, losing by only one target.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” said Manning.

“World class marksmanship requires tremendous mental focus and concentration, which will greatly help these students succeed no matter what career they choose to make their mark.”

In addition to the team winning top honors, several individual team members excelled at the state championships, said Grant Comnick, one of the coaches and founder of the team. Junior Lillian West won the individual skeet championship and Senior Vanessa Donato won the individual trap championship.

Comnick said that West and Donato repeated their excellent performances at the 2022 USA High School Clay Target Championships which were held in July at Michigan’s Trap Association home shooting grounds. West was the

national ladies trap champion and Donato finished in sixth place.

Another team member, Jesse Scott, tied in score for first place in the men’s national trap Championship but finished as runner-up in the event.

The North Ridgeville High School team was founded in 2017 with 19 shooters. Most of the team members are from North Ridgeville High School but the team can have up to 25% of its members from neighboring school districts, Comnick said. “To get more students involved, we are allowed to include students from neighboring school districts. If a student gets approval from their athletic director, then they can shoot for the North Ridgeville team,” he said.

MEMBERS OF THE NORTH RIDGEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM WERE HONORED ON THE FOLLOW OF THE OHIO SENATE IN NOVEMBER

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Recob's Target Shop

Decot Hy-Wyd Sports Glasses Inc

92

Recoil Systems

E.A.R. Inc.

34

Remington Ammunition

38-39

Fabarm USA

Cover 4

Shamrock Leathers

60

Cover 2, 3

SKB Shotguns

53

Federal Premium Ammunition

47,85 95

Graco Corporation

65

SoftTouch Custom Stocks

84

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65

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Guns Unlimited

27-29

Syren USA

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International Case Company

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TakeAIM Technologies

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Jaqua's Fine Guns, Inc.

81

Target Shotguns

55

Joel Etchen Guns

83

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The Sporting Life

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Wenig Custom Gunstocks

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Krieghoff

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Zoli USA

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L&M Lenses

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