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CONTENTS JOURNAL NO. 114

JESSICA BARRETT THADDIUS BEDFORD ANDREA BOGARD DON BRUNT BRUCE BUCK PAUL COOK BILL ELLIOTT MATTHEW GAY JIM KRALIK KERRY LUFT TOM MACK DEREK MOORE DEE ORR LOUISE TERRY SPENCER TOMB

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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.

10 FROM THE EDITOR 12 A TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL BRUNTON IN HONOR OF CLAYSHOOTINGUSA FOUNDER

14 28TH ANNUAL SEMINOLE CUP

SEA ISLAND HOSTS THIS CLASSIC

60 IT’S A MIND GAME

BY DAWN GRANT

64 THE AFS EVO CUP

FIRST LEG OF THE AMERICAN FIELD SPORT GAMEBORE CLASSIC SERIES

70 BRILEY SUB GAUGE TUBE SETS

EXPLORING SMALL GAUGE OPTIONS

76 SCTP COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIP

SEMINOLE CUP

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22 THE 2021 GATOR CUP

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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.

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92 ACUI NATIONALS

COPYRIGHT

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CHRISTIAN CRAWFORD wins the AFS Evo Cup Photo Credit: Matthew Gay

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FROMTHEEDITOR

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from

THE D I T O R W

e lost two shooting industry visionaries since the last issue of ClayShootingUSA went to press.

Sadly, ClayShootingUSA founder Michael Brunton recently died of complications resulting from a stroke, just four years after retirement. Michael was admired for his generosity, guidance, and business acumen, bringing reading enjoyment to thousands who enjoy the shotgun sports.

Michael was a beloved father and husband, a true leader in the publishing industry, a friend to countless people, and a mentor to me. I am but one person of many who will miss him. I will forever be CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

grateful for his leadership and the opportunities he gifted me with.

Our hearts here at ClayShootingUSA go out to Michael’s family and friends.

Longtime ClayShootingUSA contributor Derek Moore has been with our magazine from its inception in 2002. Derek’s long history with Michael included traveling to the U.K. as Michael’s guest to shoot the first leg of the Triple Classic on the grounds of Highclere Castle. It was only appropriate that it be Derek who wrote a tribute honoring the life of Michael Brunton.

It is impossible to overstate the influence the late Hal duPont had

on sporting clays and the shotgun sports in general. An offspring of the duPont gunpowder family, Mr. duPont went on to found the duPont/Krieghoff dealership and sit at the helm of the NSSA. He helped forge the formation, structure and direction of the NSCA at a time when organized sporting clays in America was but a pipedream. He was known and respected for his boundless energy, strength of character and philanthropy. He leaves a lasting legacy that will stand for generations.

Louise Terry was a close friend of Mr. duPont and compiled a heartfelt tribute to her friend of

many years, sharing many intriguing highlights of his long and fruitful life. Reading Louise’s account of Mr. duPont’s life brings to mind the phrase “A life welllived.” The staff of ClayShootingUSA magazine extends our deepest sympathies to the duPont family, and to all of Mr. duPont’s friends whose lives he so deeply touched.

I’m thankful that 2021 is shaping up to be a better year for shooting events than the pandemic compromised year 2020. With any luck, ammunition shortages will soon ease up, affording us the opportunity to more fully participate in the shooting sports that we, as Americans, have historically enjoyed. n See you on the range.

Dana Farrell, Editor

MICHAEL BRUNTON

MICHAEL BRUNTON B.E.M. 1947 – 2021 A TRIBUTE BY DEREK MOORE

O

n the 3rd of March, 2021, we lost Michael Brunton— the man who started this glossy clay shooting magazine in all its glory. Michael sadly suffered a massive stroke and never recovered. His family and friends were devastated. I have such fond memories of Michael and would like to tell you the story of how he and I met and give tribute to my old friend and mentor.

In 2001 I was writing for a newspaper run by Neil Chadwick and Debbie Philips (now Chadwick) called The Clay Pigeon.

The publication only employed a few writers—enough for an everyother-week publication. It was becoming difficult to sustain advertising, the life blood for all magazines, so when the opportunity arose it was only natural to fold Clay Pigeon into ClayShootingUSA. Neil’s sale of Clay Pigeon to Brunton publications began my long relationship with Michael Brunton.

Michael and I spoke at length about the new magazine and how he envisioned it working. I suggested taking on writers like CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

Bruce Buck, as he had a well-liked column in Clay Pigeon called The Technoid, and his gun reviews were excellent.

Michael invited me to England for the first leg of the Triple Classic, which was held on the grounds of Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed.

He paid for everything, putting me up in a great hotel nearby and treating me to perhaps the best run shoot I have ever experienced.

Everything ran like clockwork, from the transit that took us out to the courses, to the smallest details—everything was spot on. In the week I was there I never saw a single trap being loaded.

When in England I was treated to a warm evening at the Brunton home, where I met Fiona, Michael’s beautiful wife, while British shooting legend John Bidwell sat nonchalantly in the corner of the room. Everything was done with a certain level of class not often found anymore.

Michael was meticulous in his level of detail and you always felt you were in good hands when he

edited your work. He had a way of nurturing I had not experienced before. He did not tell you what to do, instead guided with gentle suggestions as to what he was looking for.

I asked a few choice shooters for input on this article. Following are their heartfelt responses.

Mike Brunton was one of my very first “sponsors” when I was a junior shooter. Right from the beginning he was undoubtedly one of the most professional businessmen you’d ever wish to meet, with a clear passion for the clay shooting world.

His influence on me was strong... he was always impeccably dressed, knew exactly what he wanted from life and was extremely generous to boot.

Since Mike took a step back from the shooting world a few years ago, he was instantly missed by everyone who knew him, but he has left a legacy in the memory of a lot of people who shot the events that he put on around the world.

It was a great shock to hear of Mike passing away.

I will never forget this man, as he was a great inspiration to a lot of people, including myself, for what he brought to the clay shooting world and organizing some of the best competitions.

During those years he was a man who made it happen, not just talking about it—he just did it, organizing some of the best sponsored and prestigious events the sport has seen and giving shooters the best of the best.

I remember when High Lodge organized one of the FITASC Classics, which was sponsored by Krieghoff. Mike looked at the layout and said to me ‘The targets look good, but I would like one layout with extreme targets, something shooters will talk about’ so we made the K80 layout tough, and that layout is still talked about, even today.

Well done Mike, I shall never forget you.

John Bidwell

Richard Faulds MBE Owls Lodge Shooting School

MICHAEL BRUNTON

more behind the scenes for shooting than people will ever realize.

George Digweed MBE

It’s a rare thing when someone is a great innovator/ promoter in the ‘game’, and they have a total altruistic outlook for the sport, and all in it... Michael Brunton was such a man! I personally, and the sport as a whole, owe this man greatly. Vaya Con Dios my friend!

Will Fennell

Michael will be greatly missed.

The staff of both TrapShootingUSA and ClayShootingUSA magazines are better off having been mentored by him. Thanks, Michael for being there for all of us and for

passing us into good hands when you left.

Rest in peace my friend. n A full obituary can be found at www.thepackagingportal.com If you would like to make a donation to ‘Stars Appeal’, Michael’s chosen charity, please visit: michaelbrunton.muchloved.com Kate Digweed reports that a Michael Brunton memorial shoot will be held at Richard Faulds’ Owls Lodge Shooting School on Saturday July 3rd. This is just before the World Sporting at E.J. Churchill shooting grounds.

MICHAEL AND GEORGE DIGWEED

Mike was a total legend in the sport of clay shooting. The ‘Classics’ he ran were world class events. It was a privilege to have been around in those days to witness how professional clay shoots were run by Mike and his team. Mike was a wonderful husband, a fabulous father and grandfather, and a true long term friend to George and I. I hope they have plenty of Silk Cuts and red wine for you in heaven…

Kate Digweed

Michael Brunton was the one person throughout my career that ‘got’ how to run a proper shoot. Mike was a top man, with top values, and the shooting World will be a far worse place without him.

He will always be remembered for the Classics, but he did a lot

MICHAEL WITH SONS DAN (L) AND BEN (R) CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SEMINOLECUP

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SEA ISLAND SPORTING CLASSIC

PHIL HUGHES PRELIM AT 2021 SEMINOLE CUP

THE 28TH ANNUAL SEMINOLE CUP

BY LOUISE TERRY WITH HELP BY HARVEY SCHWARTZ

S

ea Island, Georgia, welcomed 605 entrants for the 28th annual Seminole Cup held for the 7th year at beautiful Broadfield Plantation March 3rd -7th, 2021. There were very heavy rains leading up the tournament, but Jon Kent and his team did a CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

great job preparing the grounds and redirecting vendors and cart traffic from the wet areas. New this year was a texting service, which was very helpful in getting the latest news blasts out to competitors. Registration and FITASC opened Wednesday for the early birds, with cool and windy weather, but the weather gods smiled on South Georgia on Thursday with spectacular deep blue skies, and temperatures in the high 60s.

Thursday The traditional Phil Hughes Preliminary, shot Thursday, was set on the Red course by Jon Kent and Mike Bashaw. It was an enjoyable event with great targets, thoughtfully set for visibility on the woods stations while taking advantage of the open spaces on Stations 11 - 14 to throw some more distant, challenging stuff.

That “out in the open” sequence of the last four stations

were the ones that either won or lost this event, with Station 12 being the one everyone will remember the most. It was four true pairs, with a climbing A bird off to the right and a steep teal way out in front, heading away at 11 o’clock. While most of us on our squad never touched that B bird, several of our squad did manage to connect with a few, proving it really was hittable if you dared to take it first! In fairness, on most stations where a very challenging bird was

SEMINOLECUP

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

VIRGIL MINSHEW WILL FENNELL MICHAEL LUONGO THOMAS JACOBS KIM SHEFFIELD ADAM RULE TAYLOR WRAY GAINES SCOTT AVERY BILES HAYLYN HANKS LOGAN NEASE JAKE HUTCHISON VIRGIL MINSHEW PAUL MCCORMICK BUD WILLIAMS EDWARD COUTURE

EZ-GO PRELIM 95 91 91 88 83 81 79 76 75 82 24 89 95 89 75 63

presented, the other target gave shooters plenty of chance to score at least half of them.

The day ended with Virgil Minshew scoring a 95 for the win.

Will Fennell and Michael Luongo tied on 91s with Fennell coming out runner-up. Texan Haylyn Hanks scored the Ladies win with her 82 signaling to everyone to watch out for the weekend she was about to have. With the beautiful weather, it was just a great day to be outdoors! Also, by end of day Thursday about 35% of the field had completed their FITASC with Jonathan Henrici on top at that point with his 87. On the 50-bird 5-Stand, Derrick Mein and Minshew were tied the first day with 47s with Kemble duPont leading Ladies with a 38.

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

DERRICK MEIN DOMINIC GROSS TODD HITCH LUKE TRUSCOTT BRENDAN RIGGINS WESLEY MILLER SETH CANTERBURY RICH SCHOOLEY CHARLES DEKLE MADISON SHARPE BRENDAN RIGGINS TODD HITCH VIRGIL MINSHEW LESTER PRIDE RON JEITZ WILLIAM JANKOWSKI

15

5-STAND 95 93 92 87 87 87 81 81 79 87 87 92 95 87 69 64

50+ yards away, throwing an orange dome/black rim target high and away with a lot of spring, coupled with a 50 yard green crosser. Only two of the 316 entrants ran this station! In the end, Derrick Mein’s 95 captured the win, while Dominic Gross and Todd Hitch tied on 92s. Gross

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

DERRICK MEIN VIRGIL MINSHEW THEO RIBBS LANDON DELOACH BRAYDEN FLOYD WILLIAM HOWARD JAKE KINLAW PHILLIP JONES AVERY BILES HAYLYN HANKS CONNOR DANIEL JOSEPH PINCHIN VIRGIL MINSHEW PAUL MCCORMICK STEVEN SWAILS

FITASC 47 47 47 42 44 43 44 38 37 43 41 45 47 43 34

came out runner-up, and Hitch placed third along with taking the Junior title. South Carolina’s Madison Sharpe shot a strong 87 to win Ladies.

Tournament Director Jon Kent explained that, though labeled as a prelim, this EZ-GO event is unique in that it is really the qualifier for the biggest prize of the shoot. The

HOA RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

ANTHONY I. MATARESE JR. ZACHARY GUERRETTAZ JOSEPH PINCHIN HAYDEN FISHER WILLIAM PARKER ADAM RULE ANDREW DROUGHT RICH SCHOOLEY MARY HUNTZ SHELBY MOON JOSEPH PINCHIN WILL FENNELL GLENN DAVIS EDWIN WAHLEN

93 92 92 84 81 75 74 76 55 82 92 86 86 84

top three finishers in each class on Friday become finalists in a highlyanticipated shoot-off under the lights on Saturday night for a chance to win a brand new EZ-GO clays cart. So, the “real” EZ-GO winner was determined on Saturday evening when Todd Hitch won the shoot-out and drove away in the new EZ-GO clays cart!

His coach Wendell Cherry was just

Friday Friday was another nice day with lots of action. The field was quickly loading up with 316 participating on the Blue course in the EZ-GO Prelim. There were three rotations with 15 stations, set by Savannah’s Zac Guerrettaz. Station 7 was arguably the hardest station on that course. The A trap was located

FITASC PARCOUR 1 CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SEMINOLECUP

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TODD HITCH’S NEW EZ-GO CART!

as excited as Todd was!

Also on Friday, FITASC continued with three new scores in the 90s being posted to that leaderboard. This event was set by Mike Bashaw and presented challenging targets which I felt were a great test and just plain fun to shoot. Set in the back right section of Broadfield behind the lake, Parcour 3 offered some big stuff with several targets coming off a very high tower behind some trees off to the right. I felt Parcour 4 was the toughest, especially the green C bird that was launched low, off to the left, headed into the

trees. There seemed to be no good place to take that bird on any of the three pegs before it quickly disappeared into the trees. Parcour 1, which we shot last, was somewhat friendlier because of the wind direction late Friday afternoon. Several of the highest targets were still really affected by the wind, but in our case several others were presenting themselves a little closer than they had been the day before. As the weekend progressed there were only three more 90s posted, so by the end of Sunday, only six scores made it into the 90s. I was fortunate to be

MEIN (CH) AND MINSHEW (RU) AFTER THEIR 5-STAND SHOOT-OFF

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

ANTHONY SHOWS HOW IT’S DONE ON FITASC PARCOUR 4

squadded with Anthony I. Matarese, Jr. on Friday afternoon so I had a front row seat to watch him shoot a very smooth 93 to take the top spot on the board, while Zac Guerrettaz posted a 92 and Derrick Mein also put up a 90 on Friday. The top Ladies scores were all bunched together with Shelby Moon, Madison Sharpe and Haylyn Hanks all posting 82s, with Shelby Moon being named the final Ladies winner.

In the 5-Stand on Friday, Theo Ribbs added his 47 to the crowd at the top of that board while Haylyn Hanks posted a 43 to bump Kemble duPont back to second place in Ladies. When the 5-Stand finished up early Sunday afternoon, it caused a four-way shoot-off of 47s resulting in Mein, Minshew and Ribbs straight on the first volley. The second volley,

Ribbs dropped back into M1 while Mein took the win in a head-tohead third round with Minshew finishing runner-up. Some great shooting, guys! Haylyn Hanks held on to win the Ladies title with her 43, while Madison Sharpe slipped in with a 41 for runner-up.

Sub-Gauge The 50-bird sub-gauge course was set in the area known as the crossroads, close to the entrance to the Main Event Blue course. The four sub-gauge events might be the hardest for the target setter since they must throw targets that are user friendly for all gauges. This event featured eight stations with three or four pairs for 20G, 28G, .410 bore and 12G. Station 4 had a quartering away orange target, an

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SUB GAUGE STATION 8

SUB GAUGE

SUPER SPORTING

.410 STEVE NAATJES 38 M1 28G STEVE NAATJES 40 AA1 20G STEVE NAATJES 43 A1 12G JASPER COPELAN 49 B1

C1 SUB GAUGE FITASC D1 20G FITASC RONALD KELLEY 41 E1 28G FITASC DUANE KNAPP 46 LADY SUB-JR. JR. VET Warren tied for first place on 41s, SUP VET with Ron Kelley being named SR SUP VET

HOA. The 28 gauge event had 71 entrants and was won by Wayne Knapp with a score of 46 out of 50.

Super Sporting Though only held on Sunday, set in the area where the sub-gauges and two practice stations had been the rest of the weekend, 204 entrants took full advantage of the opportunity to get in 50 more

DERRICK MEIN JACKSON SCHAAF BARTON CHANDLER RILEY DOWNS OWEN THOMAS WILLIAM FORAN AVERY BILES TAYLOR WRAY CHASE HANDY JACKSON SCHAAF TODD SIMMONS STEVE NAATJES RON JEITZ

targets. Shooting on the first flight Sunday morning, Derrick Mein posted the only perfect score of 50 for a runaway win. By the end of the day, there was a raft of 49s, including Colin Davis, Todd Simmons, Michael Luongo, Christian Crawford, Jackson Schaaf, and D class shooter William Foran. Taylor Wray’s 47

SAVANNAH’S JEREMY SUMMERELL ON SUPER SPORTING

orange bottom left to right crosser and a rabbue. A rabbue is a somewhat new presentation which involves a rabbit thrown in the air similarly to a battue target. Station 8 was one of the most unique I have ever seen, featuring three traps approximately 20 yards in front of the stand. A pair of pine fences blocked the traps from view, with a two-foot-wide gap between the fences. The A target was allorange, the B target was allorange, and the C target was an ATA (orange dome/black rim) target. The traps were all in a row with A being a short rising teal, B a higher rising teal and C was the highest rising teal. It was a wellthought-out presentation, and I watched several squads shoot it with varying success.

The 12 Gauge event with 152 shooters was won by Georgia’s own Jasper Copelan and Steve Naatjes was on a roll, coming in CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

late on the last afternoon to win the .410, 28 and 20 gauges.

Sub-Gauge FITASC The 20 and 28 sub-gauge FITASC events were also located in the cross-roads in the open area which has held the 12 gauge FITASC the past couple of years. Interestingly, during one of our lunch breaks, we talked to Anthony I. Matarese, Jr. who first introduced sub-gauge FITASC at the U.S. Open at M&M back in 2011. Anthony explained his intention was simply to encourage more people to try the sport by making the target presentations more fun and easier to break than regular FITASC. There were two parcours, each utilizing five traps with separate hoops for each of the gauges. With 68 entrants in the 20 gauge event, Ron Kelly, Will Fennell, and James

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earned her the Ladies title. It should be pointed out at the NSCA 2020 National Championships, even with a limited field due to COVID 19, Super Sporting was the third most popular event behind the Main Event and the Krieghoff Kup.

The Seminole Cup Which just leaves the Main Event Seminole Cup race! 524 competitors made their way out to the Red and Blue courses over the weekend for the Main Event. It soon became obvious on Saturday that the Red course was shooting tougher than the Blue, which resulted in a lot of intriguing scoreboard watching and excitement as Saturday wore on.

By Saturday night, Mike Luongo and Todd Simmons had managed 98s on Blue and, in fact, the top eleven scores on Blue were 96 or above. By contrast, only four scores on Red were posted in the 90s: Clint Hinton was tops on Red with a strong 95 followed by Joseph Pinchin at 92, then Derrick Mein and Savannah’s Jeremy Summerell both on 90s. Sunday was going to be very interesting!

Sunday Finale Luongo shot early and only managed a disappointing 87 on Red. When Matarese, Jr. had finished his work, he had added a 96 on Red—in fact, the highest score and the only 96 that was shot on Red all weekend, but with his 193 on top, he had to leave for the airport before the last flight finished. Simmons added a 95 on Red which, along with his big 98 from Saturday also tied him with Matarese Jr. Hinton and Mein went out on the last flight. Already CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

LEFT TO RIGHT: HOA TODD SIMMONS, TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR JON KENT, AND RU CLINT HINTON

SEMINOLE CUP CH TODD SIMMONS RU CLINT HINTON M1 ANTHONY I. MATARESE JR. AA1 WILLIAM HEWITT A1 COLTON EVANS B1 DAYNE CADWELL C1 AUSTIN COOPER D1 JOSH SKALLA E1 AVERY BILES LADY HAYLYN HANKS SUB JR BRENDAN RIGGINS JR. AUSTIN CAGLE VET TODD SIMMONS SUP VET MALCOLM PARKER SR SUP VET LARRY FARROW

193 193 193 180 179 179 173 166 166 180 174 188 193 181 162

down 10 from Saturday, Mein knew he couldn’t beat the 193s on the board, but he gave up no more ground as he proceeded to blast thru the only 100 straight of the weekend—on top of his 50 straight on Super Sporting that morning, it was a “no-miss” day for him! That left Mein at 190, joining the likes of two-time past champion Zach Kienbaum, local favorite Kevin deMichiel, and Kyle Millwood.

Even Todd Hitch, who poured in a hot 99 on Blue on Sunday, couldn’t make up for the 89 he had posted on Red the day before, so he had to be satisfied with M7.

It came down to Hinton on the last flight as the last possible contender. He had a big smile of relief when he finished on Blue with that big 98, but he laughed as he told me his sad story about his 95 on Saturday on Red. Four of his five misses Saturday were on Red 7’s three true pairs—a screaming right to left black overhead 70mm off the high tower from behind the trees, paired with a standard, fastrising teal out in front. It was an intimidating pair, but Hinton explained that he had crushed the first pair, so he felt like he had it made. He then proceeded to “dutch” the second and third pairs for a 2 x 6! Still, he was able to hold

on to the 98 Sunday afternoon which put him in the 193 shoot-off against defending champ Simmons.

The HOA shoot-off was the last of several Sunday evening, just after the sun had set and the light was going fast. Given the fading daylight, they agreed to shoot 4 pairs head-to-head with Simmons breaking five to Hinton’s four to claim his second Seminole Cup HOA by one bird! Congratulations to Todd Simmons, Clint Hinton and Anthony I. Matarese Jr. for some great shooting. Texan Haylyn Hanks continued her winning weekend with a strong 180 to top the Ladies field.

By the way, the Seminole Cup was a major stop on the joint 2021 NSCA/SCTP Tour, and for anyone who has not been aware of the positive impact from our flourishing youth shooting organizations, take note that in Fridays’ EZ-GO event, there were 52 Juniors and 27 Sub-Juniors— representing 25% of the field, and there were 41 Sub-Juniors and 99 Juniors accounting for 27% of the Main Event.

We were also pleased to see a special surprise guest late Friday afternoon. Shereen Fiorito, the

“gearbox” involved in organizing this event for over 20 years, has been in a tough battle with cancer this past year. A special “Shots for Shereen” event (a mini-long bird) was held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to raise funds to help her in her breast cancer fight. We have all missed her, so it was wonderful to see her, and she and her family remain in our prayers.

As always, Jon Kent acknowledges and thanks his team, the target setters and referees, and the wonderful sponsors who make this event possible, including EZ-GO, MEC, Long Range LLC, White Flyer, Rhino Chokes, Daniel Defense, Cole Gunsmithing, AGPro Brunswick, Outlaw Powersports of Brunswick, Ranger Ready and Southern Proper.

Jon invites everyone to put this event on your 2022 calendars and come join the fun. n

Special thanks to Harvey Schwartz who contributed the Sub-Gauge, FITASC SubGauge, Super Sporting and the EZ-GO Prelim reports. All scores are posted on winscoreonline.com

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THE 2021

T

he 2021 Gator Cup was held at Quail Creek Plantation February 9th through 14th. It seems, due to popular demand, it starts earlier each year. If you shot the Caribbean Classic the previous week you could be on your seventh day of quality Florida competition targets, with five more to go. The local weather was getting back to normal, and a beautiful week was forecasted—with maybe just a spot of rain on the weekend.

Lois Neely, Casey Chase and Becky Rodgers handled registration and scoring. Maria Fanizzi’s all-star staff was in the CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

clubhouse doing what they do best: keeping shooters happy.

Cody and Jeannie were in the Pavilion whipping up wonderful meals. Rick, Abraham and the field gang were keeping things running on the courses. Rick Hemingway, John Snowden, Sean Powers, and Eric Dorsey were managing the courses. Fred and Joe Fanizzi, Joe Scull and Doug Vine were setting targets. General manager Fred Fanizzi had everything in place for all to have a quality experience.

Need something? Anything?

You could get it there with 30 vendors set up for you to see, touch and buy all things sporting

clays. Glasses to guns, it is all here.

Shooting got underway Tuesday with the 100 bird FITASC and the sub-gauge events. Practice courses were open, and it was a beautiful day!

Briley Sub-Gauge The Briley Sub gauge events were set by Fred Fanizzi on the White course and would run through Friday. Eight stations with four LaPorte traps per station nicely accommodated all four gauges. By

BY DEE ORR the finish of the second day, only one 50 straight had been posted.

Steve Naatjes hit them all with his .410! Shoot-offs were held on Friday evening to sort out the winners. Some took their titles with just two shots as their opponents were not present.

Naatjes’ 50 held strong and he added another win with a 48 in 28 gauge. 20 gauge went to John Maroulis, also on a 48 and Jared Rumor took the 12 gauge win,

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STEVEN PARR

again with a 48. Fun fact: it looks to me like Steven Parr won the race to sub-gauge Master class. He had 16 punches from the Zoli Classic and got another seven here.

However, Steve Naatjes was also gathering punches; he got four at Zoli, four at Caribbean and 18 at the Gator. Technically, on Friday 2/12, when the sporting sub-gauge events finished up, Parr reached 20 and Naatjes was at 19. Of course, that is only the view from here in my little window to the world.

Kolar FITASC I shot the 100 target FITASC event Tuesday afternoon. It was set on the south side of Route 68, near the Red Stag fields. Vine set the targets for this event; this is the fifth year he has set the FITASC in this area and he knows it well.

Parcour 1 was set way in the back.

The stations were in the shaded area, but the targets were not. This is one where Mr. Vine likes to see us dance for the pairs, including one from the far left the next from the far right, and so on.

The A bird was a rising crosser with lots of spring. The C was a rabbue, but it was a friendly one

23

KEVIN DEMICHIEL

SIDE EVENTS 12G JARED RUMER 48 20G JOHN MAROULIS 48 28G STEVE NAATJES 48 .410 BORE STEVE NAATJES 50 SUPER SPORTING KEVIN DEMICHIEL 50 5-STAND BILL MCGUIRE 49 20G FITASC RUBEN SPELL 48 28G FITASC FRANK BRUNO 47

showing all face at the end. A low incomer, a belly crosser and a chandelle in the adjacent field rounded out the card for the first two pegs. The F bird, a teal, going entirely in the opposite direction was added on Peg 3.

Parcour 2 was for sure the friendliest of the group; an edgy rising battue showed full face by Peg 3, some fast, low birds required quick action. Parcour 3 was deceivingly challenging. Its big air targets were covering a lot of ground. The E bird from Peg 1 was challenging, as it immediately rose up behind a tree and the next you saw of it, it was falling with some edge. Pretty cool target. This parcour became more forgiving as you traveled the pegs. Parcour 4, the land of the driven bird—not one but two! The C bird was a battue and the B a standard, both from a 100 foot tower. We saw a many of these, however, they

became kinder as the pegs moved west and they turned into heavenly crossers. The D was a screaming crossing rabbit and when paired true from Peg 2 with the crossing A bird, it became a challenging set.

All in all it was a fun, frustrating, challenging and awesome set of targets. Not necessarily in that order.

After the first day, Eric Harvey led the pack with his 93. By the end of shooting on Friday Gebben Miles and Tom Seay were on top of the leader board with 96s and Karen Shedd had posted a 93 for the Ladies that stood. Once all 297 participants had finished, a shootoff Sunday night determined the

FITASC HOA GEBBEN MILES

FITASC AND 5-STAND LADY CHAMP KAREN SHEDD

FITASC HOA RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

GEBBEN MILES ANTHONY I. MATARESE, JR TOM SEAY BRADLAN MCDONALD LANDON DELOACH WARREN STRICKLAND RICK HALL KEN RUDOLPH YUSSEF HADDAD KAREN SHEDD KAREN SHEDD WENDELL CHERRY BRIAN DU QUESNAY GEORGE BOGNER ED GOTT

96 96 96 88 84 71 76 53 69 93 93 94 85 81 56

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

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24

winner: Miles HOA, Anthony I. Matarese, Jr. runner-up, and Seay M1.

Sub-Gauge FITASC The Elite Shotgun 20 and 28 gauge FITASC was set by Vine, facing south in the area across Route 68.

There were five traps per parcour, with a shooting square for each gauge. Parcour 2 offered a battue as the D bird and a 70mm as the E. Both were face out from Peg 1, and

by Peg 3 were very edgy. A shootoff was required to separate the three 28 gauge 47s turned in. It resulted Frank Bruno, Trevor Human and Jared Rumer.

Alexandra Wampler was Lady champ with 44. One hundred-fortyeight shooters shot the 20 gauge, with Senior Super Veteran Ruben Spell taking HOA with his 48. I won ladies with my 44.

5-Stand and Prelims Wednesday added the 5-Stand event to the mix. It was set by Joe Fanizzi, his first target setting appearance—impressive at only 17 years old. I shot it on Wednesday afternoon, and that young man set some very big targets! Someone decided to grab a marker stone from the front of the Fanizzi home, brought it to the 5-Stand and surrounded it with flowers for a little comic relief. News of the difficulty of these targets travelled fast, I am not sure if it helped or hindered the turnout, but by the end of the week 300 shooters had taken a shot at it.

Layout 1 offered some very tightly sprung crossing birds, the 1 bird fast and low at about 35 yards that became 50 or 60 by the time you shot. Number 2 was high and crossing, starting at about 50 yards CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

and stretching out. It got a little friendlier from there with some incoming teals, but it was still a stout set of targets. Layout 2 seemed kinder, but still the targets stayed out with a good bit of distance. The exception was the number 6 rabbit, fast and crossing into some palmettos which shortened the shooting window, the 1 bird, a quick and quartering from the left, offered a bit of relief.

A high incoming midi, incoming teal and a high quartering out 5 bird completed the set. The true pair combinations were challenging, and each layout was shot single, report pair, true pair.

Bill McGuire posted an astounding 49 to win this event (Joe’s new best friend).

The trophies for the 5-Stand event had a logo on the top right corner that acknowledged Chuck Frazier of Promatic who passed last summer. Chuck had been an integral force behind this event and the Gator Cup since its inception and is dearly missed.

Wednesday was a picture perfect day, warm with no wind. As the day came to a close all of the sporting courses were set and ready. Quail Creek is blessed with a large amount of real estate which facilitated both of the 100 target sporting courses to be set over 17 stations. One four bird station and

BILL MCGUIRE SHOT A 49 ON THE 5-STAND SET BY JOSEPH FANIZZI

5-STAND

all of the rest six, would keep the mass of shooters moving nicely.

The Blue course was set by Doug Vine and overlaid with six traps per station, allowing for a fast transition each evening. The Red course, set by Joe Scull, had four traps per station. The Promatic team brought in 160 traps to make this happen. These guys, nice as they can be, are all business and their logistics are stellar.

Thursday: BEAUTIFUL, again!

The Thursday Blue Prelim set by Vine was shot over 17 stations and hosted 288 shooters. Several challenging true pairs added a good degree of difficulty to the event. Grace Callahan shot a stellar 97 to put her in a tie for HOA with Wendell Cherry and Zach Kienbaum! I was pretty sure there would be a large gathering at the Friday night shoot-off—and there was. As it turned out, only Callahan and Kienbaum showed. Joe Fanizzi set the shoot-off targets and they were stout. Lester Pride won Super Veteran over Malcolm Parker in a tight race. In the finale, Kienbaum took the HOA spot and Callahan the runner-up.

Friday, ditto on the weather, mid 80s. It’s hard to believe that just a week ago we were in our winter clothes. Today’s agenda

THURSDAY PRELIM BLUE HOA RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

ZACHARY KIENBAUM GRACE CALLAHAN WENDELL CHERRY BEN SHEWMAKER THOMAS JACOBS ROBBIE SMITH SEAN MAINLAND TED DEPPE YUSSEF HADDAD GRACE CALLAHAN KAYLA WILGUS HUNTER STOVER WENDELL CHERRY LESTER PRIDE GEORGE BOGNER JIM THOMAS

97 97 97 88 90 80 81 73 66 97 63 94 97 89 86 77

FRIDAY PRELIM BLUE HOA RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

ANTHONY I. MATARESE, JR ZACHARY KIENBAUM DERRICK MEIN PAUL MAULDIN JAY MCKNIGHT DUSTIN KRAUSS RICK HALL JEFREY STONE LAURA STEES SHELBY MOON BRAYDEN WOJCIESZAK JOSEPH PINCHIN J. KEITH HIGGINS MALCOLM PARKER TOM SMITH JIM THOMAS

96 96 95 84 81 71 72 68 55 90 84 90 91 88 87 68

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FRIDAY PRELIM RED HOA RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

ZACHARY KIENBAUM J. KEITH HIGGINS RYAN HARPER KAYLA KANE JACKSON SCHAAF CONNOR DANIEL CHARLES SPRUILL CHARLES SHULL JACK MCKENZIE SHELBY MOON CHARLES SPRUILL TODD HITCH J. KEITH HIGGINS PAUL MCCORMICK RUBEN SPELL RICHARD HERRIFORD

100 99 98 92 92 80 88 79 81 94 88 98 99 96 88 87

added two more prelims. I shot the Red, set by Joe Scull at 11:30. This course normally hosts 14 stations, but three more were squeezed in making for a tight fit with bumper to bumper carts throughout.

Fortunately, they held off the incoming rotation until the course was clear from the prior. It was a pretty friendly course, with the biggest challenge a true pair off a tower on Station 12. Zach Kienbaum managed to ace the course with 100 straight, runner-up was J. Keith Higgins with a 99.

Over on the Blue course things were not so forgiving. Station 11

offered a true pair of perpendicular rabbits; the right was full spring and the left off-speed. That was just one of several challenging pairs.

Top scores were two 96s, shot by Anthony I. Matarese, Jr. and Zack Kienbaum and was resolved by a shoot-off that went two rounds, with Matarese taking the win. This shoot-off gave an appreciative crowd a nice opportunity to see some stellar shooting. Shelby Moon took the Ladies win on both Friday prelims with a 90 on Blue and a 94 on Red, which put her in a tie with Diane Sorantino, who had already left the range. The Okeechobee County Tourist Development Council sponsored all three prelim events.

Super Sporting The PMS Firearms Super Sporting event started on Saturday. The White course had been transitioned from sub-gauges to Super Sporting overnight, with Vine being the new target maestro.

It was a fun, yet challenging course. I was squadded with Kevin DeMichiel at 3pm Sunday. This gave me the opportunity to watch him run it, firsthand. More FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

impressive was that he did it with 51 shells, only because he had a no bird on one of the pairs. Center punched them all. Six on 49 followed, a shoot-off gave Clint Hinton the runner-up position, and Todd Hitch M1.

There are groups that support our sport in a manner unlike any other. Natalie’s Orchard Island Juice Company, of Fort Pierce, Florida is one of those. They donate an enormous amount of product to shoots, not just the big registered events in the southeast, but also to many, many charity fundraiser events here in Florida.

This year alone in just the big three local events, The Zoli, The Caribbean and Gator, they donated 15,000 units of juice that were spread throughout the courses in coolers. They also provided gift bags to all of the RV campers. The juice is fresh and delicious! Shout out to John Martinelli for heading up this program.

Cole Fine Guns/ Beretta Main Event Large payouts in class and concurrents helped draw 536 shooters to this event. Saturday was a beautiful day with a little south wind. The Red course, set by Scull, was looking just a tad kinder after the first day when I analyzed the scores. However, it did have its own set of challenges, like the report pair on Station 11. The first, a black trap shot from 30 yards in front of the station, which rose away quickly then faded left, followed by a swift orange crosser from the far left. Station 16 offered a true pair from overhead, one directly over the station going straight away, the other quartering from the left and crossing the first at about 20 yards. Awesome pair!

Over on the Blue course, set by

Vine, were several eye catchers (and crossers) as well. Station 10 was a report pair coming from the far left off a 100 foot tower—the first, a black bottomed international target, stayed high as it began as a crosser, then turned away, and the second a fast orange target that made a 45 degree beeline from the tower to the woods. Station 14, a true pair off the wooden tower from the right, came out of the treetops about two seconds after the call, with a lot of distance between. This was one of the few times when a shorter person had an advantage, because they were so high, the roof of the station was an impediment to tall folks. Once all the scores from the first day of the Main Event were posted, Jasper Copeland and Zach Kienbaum both had 96s on the Red and high score on the Blue was a 95 by Brad Kidd Jr. Saturday’s social event was a bit different this year due to the virus. Instead of the usual big Saturday night extravaganza, the same wonderful prime rib dinner was available from 11am until 4pm to spread out the crowd. Awards from the completed events and the 30 gun giveaway began at noon.

Due to the new format, you did not have to be present to win. In addition to the guns were several gift certificates, two sets of ESPs, a three lens Pilla kit, shooting glasses from SGS and several gift certificates from Briley. The big prize winner, courtesy of Beretta and Cole Gunsmithing was SubJunior Connor Daniel of Georgia, who took home the DT-11 Gold Sporting with matching TSK Stock.

Connor had a big weekend and made several trips to the podium Sunday night.

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RICH COLE AND BRIAN BUZZI AWARD CONNOR DANIELS A BERETTA DT11 WITH COLE TSK STOCK

southwest where some FITASC shooters got wet, but Range Manager Rick Pittenger felt comfortable and allowed shooters to begin their rotations on time. It turned into a really nice day with a bit of wind from the south. When the scores came in Sunday evening, as is often the case, the courses had leveled out score-wise.

It seems first day nerves and tightness, vs. second day pressure and fatigue or vice versa seemed to have more impact on the numbers than target difficulty. Upon close examination, it was a wash. I find that these men and women at the top are so good that looking at scores in the lower classes often tells a clearer story.

Kienbaum took the HOA with 189, Kidd Jr. (187) was runner-up, Matarese Jr. was M1 (186). Diane Sorantino was Lady Champion with 90 and 88 for a 178.

Remarkably, very few shoot-offs were required in the Main Event.

FITASC and Super Sporting did have some ties to resolve, which were sorted out in short order.

As the light began to fade, the awards ceremony began, many had already begun their journeys home. Heavy hors d’oeuvres were put out (Gator bites included) and Club Manager Fred Fanizzi began the show. As is tradition here, it ended with Gator Cup HOA winner CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

GATOR CUP HOA RU M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

ZACHARY KIENBAUM BRAD KIDD, JR ANTHONY I. MATARESE, JR BRADLAN MCDONALD LUKE TRUSCOTT MAX PITCHER ISAAC MAIR GABE COLLINS PAUL MILES II DIANE SORANTINO BRAYDEN WOJCIESZAK TODD HITCH BILL MCGUIRE MALCOLM PARKER TOM SMITH DONALD LAMPUS

189 187 186 172 165 160 148 158 143 178 171 184 184 179 161 134

Zachary Kienbaum being sprayed with champagne from the right by Doug Vine and doused with an icy water cooler from the left by Joe Fanizzi. Easing the blow is the big winnings check that accompanies the “shower.”

Another awesome Gator Cup was in the books! It takes an army

TOP THREE MAIN EVENT WINNERS - MATARESE JR. (M1), KIENBAUM (HOA) AND KIDD JR. RU

of people to make something this big go this smoothly. Also, hats off and thanks to all of the industry sponsors who support these events. Finally, I can never say enough good things about the Quail Creek Plantation staff, both full-time and those brought in for this shoot work tirelessly to

THE FANIZZI FAMILY PULLED OFF ANOTHER STELLAR EVENT

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IN REMEMBRANCE

S. HALLOCK DUPONT, JR. JUNE 8, 1936 – FEBRUARY 23, 2021 ... A CAREER COMPLETED! A TRIBUTE BY LOUISE TERRY

R

emember the song from the 1960s musical “The Sound of Music” describing the Julie Andrews’ character Maria?

Maria was a young girl who was destined to enter the convent, but once there the nuns kept asking themselves “How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?”

Well, when I first sat down to write this article about my longtime friend, Hal duPont, that song kept running through my head.

Eventually, it dawned on me why.

Describing the life of Hal duPont was posing a similar challenge to understanding the problem of Maria. How do you capture the essence of a high-energy person with a love of life and a positive outlook on all possibilities, a love of people and a sincerity of purpose in all things he did? How do you start to describe a life lived for almost 85 years that was so active, full and impactful... a guy my husband and I long ago nicknamed “the Energizer Bunny!”

Well, I guess it’s best to start at CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

the beginning. Hal was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the eldest of three sons into the fifth generation of the duPont gunpowder fortune and family in America — a child brought up in privilege with amazing opportunities as a young boy for education, international travel and adventure. You might assume it could lead him down the path to discover a kicked-back life of leisure, as is a path often taken by those born into such circumstances. But then, you didn’t know Hal duPont!

Yes, Hal was certainly a product of his famous family’s gunpowder history, but he was also as much a product of his mother’s love of travel and adventure, photography, nature and people, all of which rubbed off early and shaped his life. At an influential time in their lives, like many others their age, Hal and his brothers grew up duck hunting with their dad near the Delaware River, but he also spent time in Africa with his mother—back

when that was most unusual.

International air travel was nothing like we know today, not to mention there was no modern means of staying in touch with those back home. So, Hal was exposed to numerous opportunities in his young life where he learned to appreciate all the excitement and challenges the world had to offer.

Well-educated in private schools, he was a good student who had the benefit of being inspired by new and unusual challenges. He was active in student politics, worked as the school photographer, ran on the track team and excelled in math and physics. There was no “take the safe path” approach to life for him. He wanted to do it all.

As a curious and exceptional science student, Hal took flying lessons as a teenager—against his father’s wishes—to learn all about the science and challenge of

aviation. It didn’t take him long to understand the freedom and excitement it could provide an ambitious young man. He left home in Delaware at the young age of 18 to attend college in Miami, Florida. The warm, sunny weather there suited his personality perfectly, and he soon ended up setting up shop, and creating a home base in Florida where he lived for the rest of his life. Highly unusual for a young man his age, he purchased a Cessna dealership at 20 years old, and created his own aviation company, duJet, to provide elite corporate jet travel between Miami and the Bahamas. Seizing blooming opportunities, Hal also made investments in property and restaurants in the Miami area in the 1960s and ‘70s at a time when Florida was starting to boom.

Based on his childhood exposure

IN REMEMBRANCE

HAL DUPONT WITH DAUGHTERS GINNY (L) AND KEMBLE (R)

to American art in the traditionrich Brandywine region of Delaware and Pennsylvania, he also invested in art and opened a gallery in Miami. Today, those same art interests are carried on by his eldest daughter, Virginia.

Hal was an ROTC student in school, and in line with his love of aviation, he followed up with a career in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). He joined the CAP as a cadet at age 19 and was active for many years. Following his appointment as Florida Wing Commander, Hal ultimately became the youngest person ever to attain the rank of Brigadier General and National Commander in the CAP. Hal then turned his love of both shooting and travel into a full-force venture when he became a partner in the Europa Corporation, founded in Germany in 1955.

Europa had purchased the rights and blueprints for the Remington model 32 shotgun design, and they

were shopping the post-war European market for a manufacturer. Family-owned Krieghoff Gun Company in Ulm, Germany, built protypes and bid on manufacturing this gun, which they won as a contract manufacturer. Hal was an early partner of the original Europa founders in Germany, who he bought out in the 1960s and began shipping the monthly production from Krieghoff to America into the U.S. marketplace.

Dieter Krieghoff recalls his father, Heinz, first came to the U.S. in 1967 to attend the Grand American Trap Championships in Vandalia, Ohio, with Hal. Hal eventually developed his Krieghoff dealer network in the U.S., traveling to Germany at least once each year as their K-32 business relationship developed. This continued for almost 20 years until the introduction of what became the venerable K-80 and ultimately the establishment of Krieghoff International (KI) in Ottsville, Pennsylvania. Based on his unique relationship with the Krieghoff Company, Hal was the only dealer/ partner who was ever allowed to use the Krieghoff name in his company name, duPont/Krieghoff.

His company continues today under the stewardship of his daughter, Kemble duPont.

The gun business led Hal into the world of trap and skeet shooting, where he established himself as the purveyor in America of fine Krieghoff shotguns. Hal joined NSSA in November of 1965 as member #44757 and went on to shoot 368,795 registered NSSA lifetime targets. He became interested in governance of NSSA by the late 60s/early 70s, initially being most active in the Florida and Zone 4 shooting organizations.

As his horizons expanded, he became more involved in NSSA

politics and was instrumental in promoting the original Zone Championships and the NSSA U.S. Open in the 70s.

Hal really came into his own in his most influential period with NSSA in the mid-80s. Skeet was growing but organizationally was faced with some big challenges.

Hal saw several things that had to be done to address this. First, he was instrumental in moving the schedule of the World Shoot to October, which not only improved the weather situation, but also extended the skeet season another three months. Second, he was the driving force to add doubles to registered skeet programs, and in 1981 it first became a championship event at the World Shoot in San Antonio. By the mid80s, doubles was established as the standard format for World Skeet Championship shoot-offs.

Arguably his most important contributions in that same period were his four years of service as NSSA president. When Hal took over as president in 1986, NSSA was without an executive director.

Hal saw what had to be done to re-establish leadership in the organization and jumped in with both feet. One of only two people who served as NSSA president for four consecutive years—the first had been Alex Kerr from 19601964—Hal took on the de facto job of the executive director as well as president. He traveled back and forth weekly between Florida and Texas to right the ship, while also searching for the next executive director. In late 1987 he hired Mike Hampton, Sr., who would serve as NSSA executive director for the next 15 years.

Also during the mid-80s, Hal foresaw the developing phenomenon that was to become sporting clays in the U.S. and had the vision to realize the opportunity

it would present. In 1986, he set up a five station “quail walk” at the NSC to offer an introduction to this new sport at the World Skeet Championships. In 1987, he started discussions about hosting a weekend “think tank” meeting in Houston to introduce some skeet and industry people to this new sporting clays thing. There was a lot of discussion at that time about whether this was a fad or had potential as a real discipline with a long-term future.

Interest led to a second meeting in Maryland in 1988, this time with people involved in early introductions to the sport—both here and in England. Dieter Krieghoff, Jim Hollingsworth, Skip Hoaglund, King Howington, Hampton Sr. and Hal were some of the attendees. By the end of 1988 the decision was made to create the NSCA as a new division of NSSA, under the direction of the executive director.

Hampton Sr. and Hal worked to define the governance structure, including the concept of an Advisory Council which began with five shooters, five range owners and five industry reps. So, the NSCA was born and with that the defining of a rule book, classification structure, records keeping and a new membership numbering scheme to take advantage of the NSSA membership infrastructure that already existed. Mike Hampton became NSCA member #500,000 and Hal was member 500,001. The first NSCA Nationals were held at Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club in 1989.

Clay shooters around back then will recall there were several other early groups that gave a try at organizing sporting clays, but none had the depth, staff, property, infrastructure or organizational structure the NSCA offered.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

IN REMEMBRANCE

There were other early NSCA efforts that contributed to the successful launch, including the relationship with Red Wing shoes, resulting in a traveling road show headed up by NSC’s Pete Masch, which lent trap machines and expertise to inexperienced member clubs. Eventually, three more mobile rigs were added to promote 5-Stand to clubs wanting to try the sporting discipline but didn’t have the real estate for full courses. Many clubs got their feet wet using these 5-Stand overlays on their existing layouts.

Hal was a master at identifying and convincing the right people to come together to make positive things happen. Based on the early organization here in the U.S., he also cultivated important relationships with the CPSA in the U.K. and the FITASC organization in Europe to bring the U.S. into those venues and be recognized by those organizations. He served for many years as the North American rep to the FITASC board of directors, traveling the world to participate in their events and represent our shooters worldwide.

His other great love from childhood was photography, which he came back to often throughout his life. As he was able to do less shooting later in his life due to

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

shoulder problems, Hal took many trips to Africa, Wales, Antarctica, Japan, Alaska, and all over the U.S. photographing scenery, animals, and flowers. He had a keen eye and gave many friends enlargements of his beautiful photos taken over the years, including his annual trips to Albuquerque for the famous hot-air balloon festival.

Hal also had an extremely generous nature and reached out to help many people. Most of these gestures were unheralded and happened behind the scenes, but there will be many who read this life story who will relate to his generosity in their times of need.

Anyone who spent any time around Hal will also remember that he always carried a little notebook in his shirt pocket to capture his thoughts, no matter what his activity was that day. And he always used his trademark green felt-tipped pen to capture them. It was fitting that just before he was laid to rest, his daughter, Kemble, made sure he went out of this world with several of his beloved Peters .410 shells in his right pants pocket, his green pen in his shirt pocket and a small trademark bottle of Wite-Out close at hand in his jacket.

So, to characterize in the end what Hal’s legacy will be and summing up his life and impact on our shotgun sports, Mike Hampton, Sr. expressed it like this.

“No one person will ever be a bigger clay target promoter than Hal. From his first days at trap, then skeet, then sporting clays, Hal always recognized and understood the big picture. He understood the benefit of these organizations working together to find common ground, and he dedicated a large part of his energy and his life to promoting the clay target sports to the largest audience possible.”

I was fortunate to know and work with Hal for many years and to be invited to several multi-day “think tank” events that Hal hosted in the mid-80s and early 90s to identify challenges and define the direction and future of our organization. He never stopped seeking, never stopped questioning how to improve, and he embraced any ideas that would grow and promote the clay target sports.

We are the fortunate ones who today are Hal duPont’s beneficiaries. He was a larger than life guy who lived a very full life and left some big shoes to fill. We strive to carry on his legacy. n

Donations may be made in Hal’s name to Dogs and Cats Forever- PO Box 880043 Port Saint Lucie, FL 34988 or the Salvation Army of Vero Beach- PO Box 2864 Vero Beach, FL 32962, or the NSSA/ NSCA - 5931 Roft Road San Antonio, TX 78253. At the request of the du Pont family, the NSSA has created a memorial fund to honor his legacy. The Hal du Pont Development Fund will be used to advance and sustain the future of the Association and perpetuate the clays culture that Hal loved and championed for over six decades.

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WOODENGRAVING

34

JOHN REESE ENGRAVING T

he proverb: “Necessity is the mother of invention” came to mind, but with a different twist, when John Reese told me his life story. John didn’t invent something; he re-invented himself when a back injury forced him to leave the construction industry and find a new way to put food on the family table.

John was injured while building gas stations in Florida, when he CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

found himself in need of a job. At the urging of his brother, he moved from sunny Florida to Polson, Montana, where local gunstock maker Bob James was looking for a stock checkerer.

John, who had been an artist since his youth, jumped at the chance to learn a new skill that might eventually also serve as a creative outlet.

Early Days Bob James showed John a few checkering basics—like laying out the master line. The rest he learned from instruction books.

Despite having no prior experience, he learned quickly by checkering scrap wood eight hours a day, sanding it off, and repeating the process until he became proficient.

CUSTOM STOCK CHECKERING, RESTORATION AND CUSTOMIZATION

BY DANA FARRELL After just two weeks of intense practice James was ready to use him on some Brownings he was processing for their custom shop.

Twenty to 30 Browning Superposed over/unders would arrive for stocking at a time. The checkering needed was “manufacturer grade” and wasn’t expected to be too exacting, according to John. This opportunity turned out to be the

WOODENGRAVING

perfect training ground for a budding checkerer with an artistic background.

After three months on the job John did his first fleur-de-lis pattern, and six months after first picking up the checkering tools, he did his first “stock engraving.”

I asked him why he calls this practice engraving, as opposed to carving like I’ve heard it referred to in the past.

John says he likens the intricate work he performs on stocks to metal engraving, in that it’s more two-dimensional than what usually comes to mind when he hears the term “carving.” In fact, at times he actually emulates the metal engraving on firearms he’s working on.

Striking Out On His Own His work with Bob James lasted around four years. Then in 2004 John struck out on his own. He paged through gun magazines for leads and started cold calling companies. He sent out CDs of his work. He started to get his name out there and the jobs began rolling in.

Much of John’s early work was retracing laser applied checkering on high end stocks. Laser

35

BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED CHECKERING AND BORDER

engraving is great for mass production, but lasers cannot detect the subtle differences in oils and resins in the wood, often resulting in a melted or staggered look. This is where a skilled human touch is invaluable.

The 45 year old Reese admits to a love/hate relationship with wood. He loves the challenge of working with it because “every piece of wood is different and no matter how perfect you want it to be, sometimes the wood won’t let you have your way.” But, he “can’t get too crazy on certain pieces of wood” and has to back off, because the particular piece of wood just won’t allow it. This stifling of his creativity is where the hate comes

in.

Interestingly enough, it’s often the inexpensive guns that clients want more elaborate designs on. Common, working class folks bring him their production grade guns and want high-grade wood embellishments because the gun has sentimental value. John has checkered all different types of wood and even engraved a plastic Xbox controller—and “it came out awesome,” he told me.

Another important segment of John’s work is purely utilitarian.

“Half of my work is just purely function—clients with hunting guns. When they call me, they’re not asking to make their gun look pretty, they’re saying they’ve lost

the grip on their gun because it’s worn out. They don’t want to spend $300 on their $500 gun” he said.

Gun restoration is also a service John provides, which can include stock refinishing and re-checkering and/or stock engraving. He’s been entrusted to restore the finish and checkering on many guns over a century old, by several collectors—sometimes with the priceless metal still attached.

Twenty years ago, checkering as an art and occupation was beginning to die off due to the emergence of automated machinery. When John first started out, carbide blades for power checkering tools were readily available, but within a few years there was a three to six month wait for blades—or even to have power tools rebuilt. He attributes that to lack of demand, due to the practice of laser engraving. For a while he was “cutting with dull blades and his power tools were falling apart.”

Luckily, that trend has now stabilized and there is plenty of hand engraving work coming in.

A large percentage of John’s customers find him by word of mouth, because people willing to send their gun to a stranger across the country “tend to want to know CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

WOODENGRAVING

36

that someone they are acquainted with had a good experience.”

Unleashing His Creativity What kind of job enthuses Reese the most? “The harder, the better” he says. He loves it when a customer wants to employ stock engraving in combination with checkering and enjoys the creative process of drawing up a unique pattern. Many customers referred by past clients have enough faith in his abilities to give him free creative reign—an artist’s dream.

Those are the jobs he lives for.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

They might give him a few details of what style they like and let him build upon the idea from there.

John has even engraved gamebirds on stocks and would like to do more game scenes.

He has plans to eventually take up metal engraving and build a one-of-a-kind custom gun, “front to back,” learning each aspect of the business as he goes. He’s excited at the thought of adding metal engraving to his talent portfolio and is confident he will be a quick study. Metal engraving, he feels, will more fully allow him to unlock his creativity potential.

In the meantime, you can check out John Reese Engraving (formally Custom Diamonds

Engraving Inc.) at https://checkeringgunstocks.com n

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NEWAUTOLOADER

40

BENELLI ETHOS SUPER SPORT MATTHEW GAY TAKES A LOOK

N

othing is more enjoyable to this writer than getting a new shotgun to test. As I opened the package, I was quite impressed with the supplied Benelli branded fitted case. This thing is nice. This case was durable with modern styling accompanied by attractive and functional padding for protection.

Benelli prides themselves on being unique with their designs and the Ethos Super Sport is no different. The model assembled easily and was provided with five extended choke tubes in their own sturdy case along with stock shims, a gun “multi-tool”, oil bottle and a manual. After inserting an IC choke into the barrel for testing, I opened the action and mounted the gun.

Right away the difference between this model and my

almost tenpound sporter was noticeable.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

But that is the nature of autoloaders and many shooters excel with models like this. Off to the course we go.

The Stock Benelli utilizes serious technology in the design and

manufacture of their stocks.

The Ethos Super Sport comes with a synthetic carbon fiber stock which makes it nearly impervious in any weather. Benelli employs their Comfort Tech 3 recoil reduction system as an integral part of the stock that combines with other features to reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip.

The design splits the stock diagonally and adds what they call “shock absorbing chevrons” in key places throughout, to essentially create a dynamic buttstock.

Benelli’s stated goal was to turn the entire stock into a recoil pad.

This is the third evolution of Comfort Tech and with that

engineers have optimized the location of these shock absorbing chevrons.

Along with the new technology, this model comes a new cheek pad called Combtech. The pad reduces impact from recoil that would affect the face and reduces vibrations caused by the firing of a shell and the action of the shotgun.

Comfortable to shoulder and soft on the face is the formula for a pleasant shooting shotgun by any standard.

The forearm is slim, as to be expected on a sleek auto sporter but widens out slightly at the position where the forehand would rest while the gun is

mounted. The checkering on both the pistol grip and the forearm provides positive grip and is comfortable on the hand. Benelli employs what they call the “Shell View System.” Basically, there is a red follower in the magazine tube which can be viewed from the under portion of the forearm.

Depending on the position of this red follower, the user can determine how many shells are in the magazine with a simple glance.

This would likely be helpful on those three bird events from both a practical and safety standpoint.

Adjustability comes standard with the Ethos. There are multiple stock shims provided which will allow the shooter to fine tune the stock to their desired fit and point of impact. Spending a little time at the patterning board will yield big

BENELLI’S COMFORT TECH 3 RECOIL REDUCTION SYSTEM IS INTEGRAL TO THE STOCK

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NEWAUTOLOADER

42

results with this shotgun and translate into better scores and improved confidence that the gun is shooting precisely where the shooter is looking.

The Receiver Italians are known for their predisposition to style. The Ethos Super Sport receiver drips of that modern style. Sleek lines and a contrast between the main part of the receiver in nickel plating and the bolt carrier housing in black keeps true to this standard.

“Ethos” is engraved just above the trigger in the side of the receiver while Benelli placed “Super Sport” below the bolt opening, both in black, which contrasts from the nickel finish of the receiver. The bolt handle is a bit oversized to facilitate comfortable repetitive use that comes with shooting high volume sporting events. The controls on the receiver are typical of previous Benelli models. The speed feed/bolt lock-back button is situated adjacent to the front portion of the trigger guard on the load side, while the bolt release is on the side of the receiver in a familiar location. The trigger on this model has surprisingly little creep for an autoloader and breaks nicely at 4 ¾ pounds.

The Benelli design is commonly known as a rotary bolt operated action, they use the terminology “Inertia Driven.” The simplicity of the system is widely associated with excellent reliability. Being a recoil operated design, the action remains cleaner than those on gas guns. There are only three main parts of the bolt; the bolt body, the inertia spring THE SHELL VIEW SYSTEM ALLOWS SHOOTER TO VISUALLY DETERMINE HOW MANY SHELLS ARE IN THE MAGAZINE CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

and the rotating bolt head.

Maintaining all combustion within the barrel eliminates the opportunity for gases and residue to enter the gun’s mechanism, thus reducing frequency of cleaning.

One of the most impressive things about this design is the ease with which the action can be broken down for cleaning. You remove the barrel, the action shroud pops off and the bolt slides right out providing direct easy access to the balance of the receiver.

The Barrels The 28-inch barrel on this model is built utilizing Benelli’s Crio technology. After building the barrel they treat it to a deep freeze, bringing the temperature of the steel down to -300 degrees Fahrenheit. This methodology is commonly applied in other metal equipment or instrument manufacturing, such as bladesmithing. This treatment relieves the stresses caused by hammer forging and evens out the microscopic grains of the steel creating a more uniform and slicked up surface. Benelli states this process allows for less resistance of the wad as it passes through the barrel and consequently more consistent patterns. Their tests determined that patterns shot from their barrels produced 13.2 percent more pellets on target.

It is important to note that Benelli performs the same Crio treatment on their chokes to offer consistency throughout. In addition to the more uniform pattern, this operation helps decrease wad and residue deposit on the chokes themselves.

Because, who really wants to clean chokes more frequently anyway?

The porting on this model adds

another element to the system that reduces recoil and muzzle flip.

Fear not the heavy loads. Atop the barrel you will find a carbon fiber tapered rib which is slightly higher than a flat rib. This rib has a slight step a few inches in front of the receiver. There is a small silver mid bead and a red fiber optic front bead. Serrations and opposing surface cuts in the top of the rib are designed to eliminate glare.

Shooting the Ethos Super Sport Grand Blanc Huntsman’s Club is my primary testing ground and home club. My friend and fellow shooter Folke Boman accompanied me on this excursion to put the Ethos Super Sport through its paces. We decided the training course would allow us the freedom to test the gun not only on pairs of targets, but triples as well.

The gun functioned flawlessly and as designed. The cycling was quick and smooth no matter the number of shells we put into it. We ran 1 1/8 oz., 1 oz., and 7/8 oz. ammo through it without a fail to cycle. Recoil was non-existent with all ammunition and ejection of spent hulls was perfect.

A buyer must understand that this gun is very responsive. Being less than 7 pounds loaded, the Ethos can get ahead of you if you let it. Its weight and balance are such that very little effort is required to move to the breakpoint. The fact that there are no components of substantial weight in the forearm, makes for a gun that is well suited for females or younger shooters who are sensitive to the weight out front that was present in autoloading shotguns of yesteryear.

Overall, I found the Ethos Super Sport to be quite fun to

Introducing the new 360CLICK quick change choke system:

CHOKE ADAPTER

360CLICK COMPLETE

360CLICK CHOKE

(Mounts in 1 turn)

No twisting? No wrench?

No time wasted? No sh*t?

We’re all human.

than shaving valuable seconds off a necessary choke change so you can spend those seconds planning your shot. What could actually be better than making an easy, quick change—

Let’s face it. We’re all human, and we’re much more likely to do something we should do, when it’s easy. It’s just human nature. All other One and Done things being equal, we’ll make the c’mon, you know you should make that 1-Turn Choke Connection System P Briley from easy choice. change—to score better, no matter Well, what if the easy choice was more what your game. than just easier? What if the results were better?

The 360CLICK What if it was easier, faster, and better? The connection system is also 360CLICK 1-turn choke connection system is the available in Helix. first major leap forward in choke design in years.

And we mean major!

Is there an easy way to get your hands on 2

It’s all so simple.

360CLICK chokes, after installing adapter, solidly mount with slightly less than one full turn as compared with currently existing chokes that require up to 18 turns to securely mount.

360CLICK?

Absolutely! Come by the Briley showroom in Houston, or go to Briley.com for more information.

It’s really very easy.

Sorry, no more excuses.

What could be easier? Nothing we know of!

What could be faster? Doesn’t exist!

What could be better? What could be better

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NEWAUTOLOADER

44

For additional information or to find a dealer near you visit Beretta USA at: benelliusa.com shoot. Light and agile, easy to clean and supplied with all the necessities to fine tune performance makes for an attractive option for shooters seeking a workhorse sporter, built with the aesthetics of an Italian sports car. n

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

Editor’s Note: Matthew Gay is a shooting instructor from Michigan, the Head Coach of the Olivet College Shotgun Team, Vice President of the Michigan Scholastic Clay Target Program and an NSCA Master class competitor.

SPECIFICATIONS MODEL: GAUGE: BARRELS: LOP: DAC: DAH: WEIGHT: CHOKES: SUGGESTED RETAIL:

BENELLI ETHOS SUPER SPORT 12 GAUGE 28” 14 3/8” WITH FACTORY PAD (THICKER PADS AND SPACERS ARE AVAILABLE) 1 1/2” (AS TESTED) 2 1/4” (AS TESTED) 6LBS 14OZ 5 EXTENDED CRIO CHOKES (C, IC, M, IM, F) $2299

TECHNOID’SCOLUMN

46

SHOT STRING OFTEN IN ERROR, NEVER IN DOUBT

BY BRUCE BUCK

A

s shotgun shooters we are most accustomed to think of our shot patterns as two dimensional. We count the holes on a piece of paper inside a 30” circle at 40 yards and compare it to the total number of pellets in the load to come up with the choke effectiveness. We expect a Full choke to produce about a 70% pattern in a 30” circle at 40 yards, a Modified 60%, IC 50%, etc.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

And yes, we also know that the center of the pattern is denser than the outskirts. I am told that this is due to the demands of the Gaussian distribution but, to be honest, I slept through most of math class. Anyway, the result is that the pattern gets weaker as you move farther from the center.

The problem with all this patterning stuff is that it is two dimensional and we live in a world with three physical dimensions: height, width and depth. Where is the depth dimension in these patterns? Does it matter?

Enter the shot string. When the shot comes out of your barrel it doesn’t fly down the range in a flat sheet like it ends up on your

pattern paper. It comes out in a swarm with some shot in front and some trailing. The farther from the muzzle you go, the longer the shot string gets. At 40 yards, a shot string from a target shell can be six feet or a good bit longer.

What causes the shot string?

Pellet deformation mostly.

Assuming that you start out with all the lead pellets in the shell being the same size and nice and round, that isn’t the way they leave the muzzle. The pellets have a rough journey down that barrel.

First there is set-back. When the primer gets whacked and the powder goes off, the shot wad and the shot get a sudden violent push of around 10,000 pounds per

square inch. Physics being what it is, the shot at the back of the wad gets pushed first into the still stationary shot at the front of the wad. This puts a lot of pressure on the lead pellets— and the lead, being fairly soft, tends to deform.

Some of the pellets get flattened a bit.

There is more distortion when the shot enters the forcing cone from the cartridge and gets squeezed down to the bore. More abrupt forcing cones can increase distortion more than elongated cones if you listen to those who make a business out of lengthening cones.

Not only do the pellets have to go through initial set-back and the

TECHNOID’SCOLUMN

forcing cone, they have to endure barrel scrub as they go down the tube and rub against the barrel walls. Modern plastic wads do not fully protect against this as shot often gets a bit ahead of the wad as it goes down the barrel.

Then the shot hits the choke for its fourth deformation. The squeezing of the choke flattens some more shot. In all it is a miracle that any shot comes out of the barrel round, but most of it does—especially if it is hard shot.

You will notice a difference between 2% antimony “soft” shot and 6% antimony hard or “magnum” shot. Antimony is that expensive hard semi-metal added to lead shot to make it more dent resistant. The difference between patterns of hard shot and soft shot in target sizes can approach almost one choke designation, i.e.

Modified down to IC. The bottom line is that what leaves your barrel when you shoot a new shell isn’t all nice round shot. Some is round, some has sides that are flattened a bit. The amount of flattening can vary with the hardness of the shot, the wad used, the barrel in which it is shot

and the velocity. If you have ever seen reclaimed shot you will note this. That pellet distortion didn’t happen when the pellet hit the ground, it happened in the barrel.

Here’s where shot string comes in. Due to wind resistance, round pellets are more aerodynamic and fly faster than flattened pellets.

Round pellets lead the shot string, damaged ones bring up the rear.

You can’t see this on a stationary sheet of paper, but you sure can if your paper is moving.

Back about 100 years ago Maj. Sir Gerald Burrard in England tested shot string by attaching an elongated steel plate to a Model T and having it driven by at its top speed of 40 mph, about the same speed as some of our sporting clays targets today. He felt that the shot string was around 5.5 feet long with an IC choke and a foot longer with Full. He concluded that shot string really didn’t matter much.

At about the same time as Burrard was doing his experiments, John Olin of Winchester-Western was working on hard plated shot and progressive burning powder to

lessen the shot string, which he felt was of significant importance.

Many others were testing shot string using falling steel plates, spinning discs and other imaginative methods. Answers varied.

Bob Brister in his seminal 1976 book “Shotgunning, the Art and Science” got his wife to drive the family station wagon towing a trailer with a long piece of paper on it. His results were different from Burrard’s and closer to Olin’s. He found that the shot string varied quite a bit, depending on the load used. The longer and heavier the payload, the more the distortion and the longer the string. The softer and smaller the shot, the longer the string. The larger the bore, the shorter the string, as shown by comparing a 3” .410 to a 28 gauge. He used household flour to buffer some shells and got shorter shot strings.

The shot string is going to produce a less dense pattern on a crossing target than you see after

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shooting at a stationary piece of pattern paper because all the shot doesn’t arrive at the same time and the target is moving through the pattern, basically moving out of the way of some pellets.

Larry Nailon of Clearview Products did the math some years ago, so I don’t have to inflict my lack of numeric precision on you.

Larry said that a six foot shot string would have to be going 1500 fps at 40 yards to allow all the pellets in the string to pass through a 30” pattern before a 35 mph target could get across it. A #8 pellet starting at 1200 fps has slowed to 660 fps at 40 yards, so this ain’t gonna happen. He says, ”Full choke gun performance is 75% at 40 yards, so a six foot shot string with 75% of the original shot charge in the 30” pattern, will deliver only 30% of the original shot charge at 40 yards before the target passes across the 30 inch pattern at 35 miles per hour.”

Brister’s testing showed that an IC choke with soft shot target load

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

TECHNOID’SCOLUMN

of #8s which should produce a pattern of 230 pellets in the 30” circle, produced the greatest loss of center density due to a 12 foot shot string and only hit the center 30” circle with 76 pellets. His trap load of #8s with hard shot had a much shorter shot string and put over twice as many pellets in the 30” circle, but still was 30% less dense than the pattern would have been on paper that was stationary.

You can see that these test results vary, but in all cases the shot string makes the 30” center of the pattern less dense for a crossing target when using standard lead target loads. This is born out by today’s high speed photography, a more convenient method than shooting at cars towing paper.

And don’t for a second think that you can overcome shot string by swinging the gun to spray the shot laterally. The shot can only be spread laterally when the shot is half in and half out of the barrel.

This happens in milliseconds, so quickly that the speed of the swing is immaterial. If you want to test this, just shoot into a pond of water. Do it once not moving the gun and again swinging the gun like crazy. You won’t see the slightest difference in the width of CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

the splash.

And that’s the deal on shot string. It basically thins your pattern on crossing shots because so many pellets arrive late and outside the moving 30” circle.

Open chokes and soft lead produce the longest strings and greatest pattern loss. The farther away the target is, the longer the shot string and the more the pattern is thinned out. Shot string is shorter on closer targets so it matters less there.

There is no real shot string effect on straight away shots. In between angles are in between. A short shot string will give you a higher chance of breaking a target due to the denser pattern if you can center it. However, a long shot string gives some vague hope to the rest of us. If you miss in front of the target, a long shot string just might possibly produce a one or two pellet hit from those trailing pellets. If you miss behind, nothing ever helps. But you knew that. n That’s all for now. If you have a question, email me at TheTechnoid@gmail.com For more endless Technoidal shotgun drivel, check out www.ShotgunReport.com Until then, boots off, beer open.

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EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP HOA WESLEY ELLIOTT

AT HUNTERS POINTE MARCH 11 – 14

DEREK MOORE COVERS THIS PERENNIAL FAVORITE

F

or over 25 years the East Coast Championship has had the reputation of being one of the best Big Blast events on the East Coast. Its home, Hunters Pointe Sporting Clays, is located in Washington, North Carolina, on the banks of the beautiful Pamlico River.

I had not been to Hunters Pointe for years—since the days it CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

was owned by David and Rita Downs. Now owned by the Oliver family, Mike Oliver and son Braxton are heading the charge to retain this shoot as one of the East Coast jewels.

We were helped at registration

by Casey Chase, the owner of Score Chaser—the new scoring program now being used widely throughout the country. Score

Chaser is truly interactive, allowing you to check your scores as they are added in real time. It gives you the availability to see the breakdown of each stand and compare how you shot a particular stand against the other competitors.

On offer starting on Thursday were side events including FITASC, sub-gauges, Super

CASEY CHASE OF SCORE CHASER

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Sporting, 5-Stand, and a 200 target Main Event on Saturday and Sunday.

Lunch was available onsite each day from multiple food truck vendors. And the Friday and Saturday night Make-A- Break shoot-outs were fun to watch.

There was a Friday night social and seafood buffet on Saturday night. Vendors included Granny and Mike Sherman, with their PMS truck, with Mike constantly busy fixing guns and Granny making ear molds and selling all the shooting toys to keep things interesting. It all adds to the “feel” of a large tournament to be able to spend time checking out the goodies. Near the vendor area was the practice 5-Stand, which was overflowing with as many as 10 shooters at a time, shaking off the rust after a long winter.

the Homestead many years ago.

He always mixes it up a little different from everybody else, and Eric took that same stance. I found this way of shooting the 50 bird game worked really well—five stations of 10 birds each, with three report pairs and two true pairs at each station.

The 5-Stand was set up in an open space between two sets of trees maybe 30 feet apart. The targets were all good and clearly visible, the most difficult pair being the two true tower birds, because of speed and angle. The targets were such that you got to look at each of the two targets in the true pairs before your turn came around. It was excellently laid out

by Eric Dorsey and trapped by Mariana Ulloa, who announced every set of targets before they came and called out the results loud and clear. Bart Otvos, the score keeper, recorded results.

Very well done.

Rennie Wilson won the 5-Stand with an awesome 50 straight. Lady champ was Grace Callahan with a 46. Andrea Seefeldt Knight also had 46 and took runner-up.

The 5-Stand I had never shot Eric Dorsey targets, but I felt his thought process was very “Rick Hemingway-esque.” My first time for Rick’s version of 5-Stand was at

PROPRIETOR AND TARGET SETTER BRAXTON OLIVER

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MARIANA ULLOA AND BART OTVOS, TRAPPERS/SCORERS EXTRAORDINAIRE

Side Events I really enjoyed the 50 bird Super Sporting, set on eight stations in the back field. Once again, the weather was kind to us, and we were treated to more targets set by Eric Dorsey. The event used the same birds as the small gauge, but with the stands set at least 10 feet back and farther to the right. Each station had four different birds.

The trappers were young but tried hard to get it right. Cameron Hicks took HOA with 50 straight with Grace Callahan taking high Lady with a 47.

Friday’s Scott Downs Memorial, with targets set by Braxton Oliver, made for a pleasant afternoon. It was shot on the rolling meadows of the main course, which presented great terrain. Braxton used the terrain well to establish some tricky pairs that kept you on your toes. Out of 222 shooters, Wesley Elliott’s 97 was the best score of the day— providing a sign of things to come over the weekend. High Lady was Andrea Seefeldt Knight with an 86.

I shot with Andrea and Jared Rumer all weekend, and they both shot very well. Andrea had

SIDE EVENTS THURSDAY PRELIM CH JAMES MCGOWAN 100 SCOTT DOWNS MEMORIAL CH WESLEY ELLIOTT 97 5-STAND CH RENNIE WILSON III 50 SUPER SPORTING CH CAMERON HICKS 50 12G TURNER PARCELL 47 SXS DAVID COLLINS JR. 50 PUMP GUN BRITTON CONDON 46 20G JOHN MAROULIS 47 28G WESLEY ELLIOTT 49 .410 BORE MARK NEFF 47

considerable problems with her trigger, but rebuilt the trigger from parts from her bag on the fly and held it together for the win.

FITASC One hundred targets were on the FITASC menu, featuring four old style parcours, set up by Braxton Oliver—who was everywhere all weekend making sure everything ran “just so.”

Parcours 1 and 3 were thought to be the easier of the four parcours, if you could call them that.

I spoke to Jared Rumer about CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

BIGBLAST

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JARED RUMER WITH SQUADMATE ANDREA SEEFELDT KNIGHT LOOKING ON

Hicks placed first with an outstanding 97. Hicks has been an Army Special Forces Green Beret for eight years now. He is yet another Dan Carlisle student. I knew his dad, Greg Hicks, very well, so I was very pleased to make his acquaintance. As Cameron tells it, after his dad died, he found over 500,000 shotgun shells and decided to shoot them up, getting hooked into the sporting clays game in the process. Lady high gun for Saturday was Grace Callahan.

the course and the most memorable of the targets shot.

When you shoot everything that moves, like he does, the best targets tend to stand out. He thought the target skipping off the pond stood out in his mind over all others.

When all was accounted for, Jasper Copelan took HOA with 97, and high Lady was Grace Callahan, having a great weekend with a 93.

FITASC M1 M2 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET LEGACY

JASPER COPELAN WILLIAM WALLIS COREY BRADFORD EDUARD DABRAZHYNET NICK GURKINS ANTWON PORTER CAMERON BACON ALEXANDER MARVIN GRACE CALLAHAN TODD HITCH MAHMOUD SADIGHI BENJAMIN REYNOLDS HAL COTTINGHAM RON NIST

97 96 91 88 85 82 83 67 93 94 93 91 75 47

Main Event The Main Event format was 15 Stations—10 with six targets and five with eight targets, both days.

Rick Hemingway set Saturday’s leg, and he ramped it up a bit. Rick CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

GRACE CALLAHAN WITH JUNIOR SHOOTER LANDON BRADFORD

is a master target setter who likes to play with angles that make you uneasy, taking you out of your game a bit. For example, Station 8 had three pairs of report birds from one of the many towers: a diving target from the right side, followed by a left to right, full face target from the far left, lulling you into complacency. Station 14 presented a conundrum—a screamer down at an angle from a tower, along with a curling bird, as a true pair. Which to take first? I saw it taken both ways, but the smoothest approach seemed to be the screamer first, followed by the curler.

At the end of the day, Cameron

We started the Main Event Sunday at 8:30 a.m. after a Daylight Savings Time “spring forward” time change, with our bodies telling us it was still 7:30 a.m.

Sunday’s course was a little different, having been set by Braxton Oliver. We were off on Station 2, with four true pairs from the right, both slowly curling in before diving to the ground.

If I had to pick a target Sunday that was truly a “big boy” target to separate the top shooters, it would be Station 5, which presented a difficult shot from the left—a long target going all the way over to the right and gently dropping, with the rolling terrain making it difficult to read paired with a flat battue going out from far right and curling left.

The scores in the lower classes showed lots of zeros, ones and twos on this stand.

Station 12 featured a right to left rabbit and an outward bound, diving 110mm target as a true pair.

It was better to take the rabbit first and then the 110 as it was right there in front of you in the back of the clearing.

When the dust settled it was Wesley Elliott with a 96 Saturday

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BIGBLAST

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

WESLEY ELLIOTT CAMERON HICKS TURNER PARCELL WILLIAM HEMINGWAY WILLIAM MOORE GARRETT BARBOUR SHANE BIGGS JACK ANDREWS JUSTIN MULLINS GRACE CALLAHAN WILLIAM HEMINGWAY TURNER PARCELL SCOTT JONES STAN RADFORD RON LANGLEY PHILIP SMITH

193 190 189 172 177 165 164 144 132 173 172 189 186 179 152 117

and 97 Sunday (193) for the win, with Cameron Hicks right behind with a 97 Saturday, but only a 93 Sunday (190), for runner-up. Lady champion was Grace Callahan with a 173. n

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PURDEYEXCELLENCE

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THE PURDEY 20 BORE Sporting Gun

BY JOHN CAFFEY

J

ames Purdey and Sons has been making fine shotguns and rifles since 1814 and has been headquartered in its flagship store in Mayfair, in London’s West End since 1883. Purdey is the first choice when seeking a fine English-made gun, having over the years built bespoke guns for royalty from all across the world.

In 2020 Purdey and Sons introduced the 12 bore Purdey trigger plate game gun to great fanfare. The great success of the 12 gauge led to the request for a matching 20 gauge companion gun. In response to the growing demand for smaller bores, along with the success of Purdey trigger plate design, the 20 gauge trigger plate was born. This fully scaled action is an excellent choice for those who love beautifully made, lighter carrying small bore guns.

The Purdey trigger plate is made entirely by hand in Purdey’s Hammersmith, London workshop from beginning to end. No gun leaves Purdey unless it passes through seven stages of gun CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

making, overseen by the company’s craftsman. Their timeless gunsmithing traditions combined with the most up to date technology arguably produces the best and most elegant London made shotguns in the world.

The new 20 gauge trigger plate was extensively tested to make sure it can comfortably meet the demands of today’s sporting lifestyle—be it the clay field or the hunting field. I personally like a shotgun that is not sport specific, but multi-dimensional, with a broad spectrum of function. I personally know many shooters who prefer using a 20 gauge, either

for the challenge or for lighter carry, and this Purdey gun combines the craftsmanship and features of the larger bores to a smaller bore gun.

Looking at the Purdey 20 gauge sporting gun makes you quickly realize that it is built on the same action as the award winning 12 bore Purdey trigger plate gun. The furniture is exhibition grade Turkish walnut, with a handrubbed satin oil finish that exemplifies a Purdey. The customer also has the option to choose from a choice of available stock blanks. The trigger group is push button dropout inertia style,

allowing for easy removal for cleaning, as well as extra gun security while traveling.

The stock sports an engraved oval insert that is available in silver or gold and can be fitted with a leather covered recoil pad. The side plates can be adorned with the traditional rose and scroll engraving or customized to the shooter’s preference. Receiver finish is available in silver or color case hardened.

Barrels are custom made by

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Purdey craftsman with the buyer’s choice in lengths from 26 to 32 inches, chambered for 2 ¾ or 3 inch shells. All of Purdey’s ribs are manufactured in-house with the buyer’s choice of solid or ventilated. This sporting gun comes with Teague or fixed chokes and are proofed for steel shot. As with most fine Purdey Guns, they are cased in Purdey ABS or custom leather.

Don’t expect Purdy to have one of these guns sitting on the shelf. Guns of this quality have a production lead time of 12 - 14 months from the confirmation of an order. The starting price of the Purdey 20 Bore is 65,000 British pounds, or $86,627 in American dollars.

Having experienced both the 12 bore sporting gun and the 20 bore, I can say that they had excellent handling and balance and the level of quality that only comes with a Purdey. It leaves me wondering when to expect a complete collection to include both 28 gauge and .410 bore. n

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MINDGAME

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IT’S A MIND GAME

Y

es, it is highly likely my last article, “It’s 100% Mental” (ClayShootingUSA, March/April 2021, pp. 72-76), ruffled the feathers of many shooting instructors. An activity I have become quite familiar with over the last 12 years of my work as a mental trainer helping clay shooters with their mind game.

But having facts related to the mind, cellular activity, synopsis pathways, neurotransmitters, premotor cortex, basal ganglia, and procedural memory, makes the argument of whether “it’s 100% mental” a moot point.

Now that I have proven that even your mechanics are mental…

I am going to help you to see how and why It’s A Mind Game.

Let’s walk through the journey CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

of a common clay target shooter’s life. An enthusiast of the outdoors who has hunted for many years of his life, or who has enjoyed outdoor competitive sports… stumbles upon the sport of clay target shooting. He has a great day with a friend shooting his shotgun at various flying orange saucers soaring through the air. He is intrigued by the strategically set targets at the many stations which meander through a beautiful winding path among the peaceful, gorgeous outdoors. At the end of the day, he has a natural high from spending hours shooting a gun and blowing things up.

He is immediately hooked.

The adventure begins. He buys a starter shotgun and gets his ammo from Walmart. The more

often he goes to the club, the more he sees that the regulars have shooting vests, colorful shooting glasses, fancy custom molded ear protection, their own transported golf cart, better guns, and better ammo. He invests in the better!

He works up his courage to go to his first competition, but has so much anxiety that he can’t sleep, and it doesn’t help that the bed is hard and the pillow is flat. As he arrives at the event he doesn’t know where to register, and doesn’t know where he is shooting.

As the anxiety grows, he then realizes he forgot his special colored shooting glasses. In spite of the obstacles, he stumbles through the day, but his scores reflect his difficulties.

No worries, he’s got that

BY DAWN GRANT competitive nature that can’t be denied, so he continues to go to competitions. With each return he is more comfortable and more aware of handling the important technicalities of packing all his shooting equipment and having a good bed, a good pillow, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and water.

Oh, the beautiful life of the competitive shotgun shooter.

Great friendly people that are like an extended family, gorgeous locations—all with fun and unique target presentations set by masterminds who enjoy messing with your head.

By now, all the upgrades have happened, including the heated and air conditioned enclosed cab

MINDGAME

Polaris. If he’s lucky, each week is filled with instruction from a pro, the emptying of several flats of ammo, and the breaking of hundreds of targets.

He doesn’t tell his wife the cost of the new gun (or that he even bought another one), or the hundreds to thousands of dollars he spends in a month.

Most shooters I have worked with would prefer not to tally up the cost of this sport that they love.

But we can safely assume that anyone going to regular competitions, practicing a decent amount, getting instruction from a pro, and owning good equipment is spending tens of thousands of dollars a year. We can also safely assume they have a competitive spirit that they can’t deny… which means they want to win (or at least feel they have done their best), will keep trying to get better, and will not give up!

But check this out, in spite of that inner drive, determination, commitment, and love of the sport, many will end up considering quitting, contemplating leaving in the middle of an event, and even hating it. This happens because they get frustrated with their inability to perform as well as they practice, their inability to break as many targets as they believe they should be able to, and/or their

inability to be or stay focused.

Instead, they are angry, regretful, worried, trying too hard, trying to duplicate good shots, distracted,

over-analyzing, thinking about previous bad shots, thinking about their score, thinking about work, thinking about previous conversations or arguments, thinking about loved ones, and even thinking about what’s for dinner—which is probably going to be steak.

Guess what happens when their mind goes off in all these different directions? They lose their all too important focus on the targets, and their scores reflect it.

All their skills go out the window.

Suddenly it doesn’t even matter that they have the best vest, the best gun, the best ammo, the best glasses, the best ear protection,

the best chokes, the best side by side, or even the best instruction from the best pro.

Let me be very clear, there is unquestionable, undeniable value in taking this sport seriously and investing in all the tools, and instruction that will help you to experience your best performance.

Magnificent minds have invented and created for you great equipment, and great programs.

Absolutely find and buy the best of everything for you and your game, within your budget! Get the better gun, better ammo, better shooting glasses, better ear protection, better vest… and maybe even better chokes. But from this

moment forward, know that your better mind is just as important.

Your Mind Game consists of your mindset, thoughts, beliefs,

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expectations, and your level of skill at being calm, present and focused.

And I don’t just mean “focused” with your eyes, I also mean focused with your mind. Having good focus with your mind means you are no longer distracted by the wanderings of your conscious mind. Having a good mind game means that when you are shooting you no longer: get angry/ regretful/worried/distracted, overanalyze/think about previous bad shots/think about your score/ think about work/think about previous conversations or arguments/think about loved ones/think about what’s for dinner (even though the steak is going to be delicious). You no longer try too hard or try to duplicate good shots.

Instead, you will be calm, present, engaged, focused, and genuinely give each target your undivided attention.

It’s A Mind Game because your mental state will always trump your mechanics, expensive gun, best ammo, fancy chokes, custom fitted ear protection, and stylish prescription shooting glasses. You can be the best of the best competitive shooters, with world titles and your name in the Hall of Fame, but if your mind is in the gutter, so are your scores. No exception.

Several years ago, I was

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working with a notable PGA tour pro who said to me, “Every golfer who has earned their card to be on the PGA tour has undeniable great mechanics. Some have mechanics so good that their scores may have them dancing around the top 20 or top 10. But unless they also have a great mind game, they won’t stay there. They will fall apart on the final round or holes, miss the easy shots, or win once but never again.

It is only those with a strong mind game combined with their awesome mechanics who will perform consistently at the top of their game and the scoreboard.”

Take a look in the mirror and see how much of what I have explained applies to you. And know, if you keep doing the same thing you are going to keep getting the same results. Isn’t it time you take your mind game more seriously? Isn’t it time you perform as well as you practice, get your money’s worth out of your efforts, feel like you’ve done your best, and

actually have fun doing the sport that you love? If so, then let the mental training begin. n

Dawn Grant has had a private practice as a mental trainer and hypnotist since 2001, where her main clientele has been elite competitive athletes, and Olympic hopefuls, who live all over the world.

They hold credentials in PGA TOUR, LPGA, Web.com TOUR, IJGA, USA Shooting, ISSF, PSCA, USA Sporting Clays Team, WBA, Ironman, and NCAA. Her work has contributed to multiple world champion titles and hall of fame honors. Most notably, she assisted Vijay Singh in winning the 2008 FedEx Cup Championship. Her Clay Shooter’s Mind Game Mastery Online Course, Clay Shooter’s Hypnosis Audios, Custom Hypnosis Audios, and Private Sessions have helped several thousand clay shooters all over the world to have consistent focus and peak

DAWN GRANT

performance. Dawn is the owner of Amelia Shotgun Sports in Yulee, Florida where she offers lectures, clinics and workshops at her Mind Training School. She is also the author of 7 Strokes In 7 Days: Quick and Easy Break-Through Mental Training That Will Revolutionize Your Golf Game And Life; and the inventor of MindMastered.com You can learn more about Dawn, and her Online and Live training programs at DawnGrant.com Check out her shotgun club here AmeliaShotgunSports.com

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AFSEVOCUP

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AMERICAN FIELD SPORTING THE EVO CUP

GAMEBORE CLASSIC QUALIFIER #1

BY MATTHEW GAY CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

AFSEVOCUP

T

he response to American Field Sporting as a discipline has been tremendous, with many shooters really liking the format, the flow and the target layouts. With such growing popularity, it only made sense for the powers that be within the organization to offer a series of shoots throughout the country.

Enter the American Field Sporting Gamebore Classic.

This series has three qualifying events and a final in December, and ranks a shooter based on their performance at the best two events they participate in. The first event and topic of this article was held at the Meadows Gun Club and Shooting School located in Forsyth, Georgia. Having always heard great things about this club but never having the opportunity to shoot the Meadows, made for the perfect chance to participate in what is quickly becoming my favorite discipline at a “new to me” venue.

The Meadows is owned and operated by Dominic Bethel, who gave me the rundown on the property. While spanning 500 acres about five miles south of Forsyth, Georgia, the club utilizes 230 acres for normal operations, reserving the balance of the property for major shoots like the Southeast Regional the end of April.

Evo Cup Qualifier #1 offered two events for shooters. The primary event was of course the AFS Evo Cup. This 100-target event was spread across four fields, Red, White, Blue and Green. If you are new to AFS you may be thinking this is just a new version of FITASC, but I assure you that is not an accurate assessment. Each field has

different rules for how the targets are viewed and attempted and an X-bird worth two points if hit on the first shot. It’s truly an American original.

Eric Dorsey was the target setter for the entire event and challenged the shooters with fun, fair and sporty target presentations. We started on the White field, which I had heard was the most challenging layout of the bunch. The targets were phenomenal, but the shooter had to pay attention to the location of the traps in relation to their feet. This field was set in a bowl, which gave the impression of a flat, or even rising trajectories, when the target was actually dropping. The X-bird on White was probably the most challenging of all the fields. A long, fast crossing standard, cooking at about Mach 1.5, with what I estimated was a true 45 to 50 yard breakpoint.

Recognizing this target would require maximum lead my insert and pull-away method did the trick on the first shot for two points.

The Blue field was a little less technical but had no “gimme” targets. The X-bird was a full spring 90mm teal from a trap about 25 yards from the shooter.

It got up and out in a hurry so hold point was critical if a shooter wanted the two points on this target. Blue also required one to pay attention to the true pairs.

Some appeared straightforward but after watching the first shooter attempt the pair, a re-evaluation of the sequence had me changing my plan twice on pairs.

Next, we sauntered over to the Green field. This field was about the same in terms of technical difficulty as the Blue, but the rotation and shooting sequence is a bit different, having five shooting

positions where the shooter will step into the station and shoot the entire menu (do yourself a favor and go to americanfieldsporting.com and check out the differences in the layouts). Green had a tall

65

chandelle X-bird that ran the far tree line and offered plenty of opportunity for a follow-up shot if one was needed.

The Red field was our final 25 targets and presented some CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

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EVO CUP CH M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

unique birds. Probably the most frustrating was a flat, on edge incoming chandelle that never got more than ten feet off the ground.

From different vantage points, this tricky little bugger gave some shooters fits. This field was the perfect example of where the shooter needed to pay attention to the pairs. Full disclosure, I shot two pairs on this field backwards after stepping back and looking at the targets a second time. This field was set to be my best score until the tall standard chandelle X-bird ruined it, leaving me with a lost final target.

The AFS discipline is just a thing of beauty for those shooters that enjoy challenging targets.

When (AFS founder) Mark Baltazar started discussing this game and its potential, I thought perhaps the most brilliant aspect was having a low-gun requirement only for AA and Master class shooters. This game is inviting to A through E shooters because they can experience the targets without the additional complexity of a low mount.

Christian Crawford shot an absolute monster score of 94 to take the Cup. He did so with the assistance of only two X-bird target kills, meaning he was extremely efficient on the layouts. Robert Purser claimed M1, only one target back from Crawford. As you look at the scores its pretty easy to see

BETHANY HIGH TOOK D1 HONORS IN THE PURE GOLD AND D2 IN THE AFS EVENT

CHRISTIAN CRAWFORD ROBERT PURSER DREW GOLDMAN TJ HAWK TAYLOR WRAY JAMES FELTMAN GABBY DECASTRO CAREY GARRISON GRACE CALLAHAN BRYCE FLOYD ROBERT PURSER JAMES GILMAN EDWIN WAHLEN

94 93 81 90 84 77 75 70 86 87 93 90 81

the delineation between premounted shooters and AA or Master class shooters. In this

GRIFFIN HOWE (L) TOOK SUB JUNIOR HONORS IN THE PURE GOLD SPORTING, SHOWN HERE WITH AUTHOR MATT GAY

event both A1 and B1 would have beat out the AA1 score. The complexity of the mount is the obvious common denominator. It’s entirely possible that when this event gets to the finals in Arkansas, a shooter who is not in Master class could win the whole thing.

Pure Gold Sporting Eric Dorsey set a course of wonderful targets utilizing what is normally the Red sporting course at the Meadows for the Pure Gold Sporting event. 100 grinding CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

targets put shooters to the test in some interesting weather on day one and day three. Multiple lightning delays combined with refreshing (sarcasm) Georgia downpours to slow shooting at points in both the Friday and Sunday rotations. Fortunately, the shooters persevered and experienced great tournament targets on this picturesque course.

Todd Hitch claimed the champion and Junior champion slots with a dominating 97, a full four targets ahead of M1 Jasper Copelan and M2/Lady champ Shelby Moon, who both posted 93s.

Hitch and Moon were not the

only youth shooters to make their presence known. Georgia’s Taylor

PURE GOLD SPORTING CH M1 AA1 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 LADY SUB JR JR VET SUP VET SR SUP VET

TODD HITCH JASPER COLEMAN BRIAN DEMICHIEL TJ HAWK TAYLOR WRAY JACK CLOWER BETHANY HIGH CAREY GARRISON SHELBY MOON GRIFFIN HOWE TODD HITCH JAMES WARREN FRANK SHOOK DOUGLAS BRIDGES

97 93 86 92 85 83 73 71 93 90 97 90 86 57

AFSEVOCUP

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PURE GOLD M2 AND LADY CHAMP SHELBY MOON AND M1 JASPER COPELAN

PURE GOLD COURSE

Wray announced her arrival with a couple of class wins. She’s currently in B class but that will not last for long. Michigan’s Griffin Howe, who we’ve mentioned before in this publication, took the

Sub Junior champion spot with a 90 on the Pure Gold course and has been shooting in Master class since last season. A squad mate of mine for the AFS event, Bethany High, took D1 honors in the Pure

Gold and D2 in the AFS event. It is great to see these youth shooters moving up through the ranks, performing at a high level and winning.

Summing it Up

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I thought this was a great kick-off to the inaugural championship series for the American Field Sporting discipline. The Meadows was an excellent venue choice with wonderful staff, beautiful grounds and well-set targets. The atmosphere and excitement around AFS was clear in the competitors, who thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. As many shooters have noticed, awards ceremonies have largely been canceled for sporting events due to the concern over COVID. That was not the case at this event. The large pavilion provided ample space to conduct a proper awards ceremony, and the AFS folks did it right.

After participating in the very first AFS event in the United States at the Eagle’s Nest in Ohio, the person responsible for AFS as a concept (Mark Baltazar) shared champagne with the remaining competitors after the conclusion of

shooting. This has since become a tradition. Now with AFS branded champagne bottles in hand the awards ceremony was conducted more like that of a Formula One ceremony, complete with a champagne shower for the champion. I like where this is going and am looking forward to more AFS events in the future. n To learn more about American Field Sporting, visit their website at: americanfieldsporting.com For more information on The Meadows Gun Club and Shooting School find them at: meadowsgunclub.com Editor’s note: Matthew Gay is a shooting instructor from Michigan, the Head Coach of the Olivet College Clay Target Team, Vice-President of the Michigan Scholastic Clay Target Program Board of Directors, a bunker trap junkie and Master class Sporting Clays competitor.

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SUBGAUGETUBES

70

BRILEY SUB GAUGE TUBE SETS

MACHINING EXCELLENCE BY DANA FARRELL

W

ith the NSCA’s recent adoption of a separate sub-gauge classification system, the time is ripe to consider the options available for participating in small gauge events.

A separate NSCA sub-gauge classification system will likely accomplish two things: it should put an end to the complaints about shooters reaching Master class via sub-gauge punches, and it will create a way for dedicated subgauge afficionados to truly measure their talent against other likeminded shooters.

Sub-gauge sporting clays has been around for a long time, but CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

these days sub-gaugers have another reason to pack their small gauge gear when attending larger shoots: sub-gauge FITASC. The advent of registered sub-gauge FITASC back in 2011 advanced the interest of small gauge shooting in a big way, with many shooters now calling it their favorite event. This phenomenon, coupled with the influx of new shooters each year, warrants a sub-gauge equipment discussion. Briley Manufacturing, of Houston, Texas, is at the forefront of all things related to shotgun machining. In this issue we will be looking at Briley’s line of tube sets.

A Little History Before sporting clays made its way to the U.S., registered skeet shooters were shooting small gauge guns routinely in competition. Back in the day, dedicated guns or barrel sets were the only two available options.

“An early manufacturer made entirely aluminum tube sets that required the changing out of the host barrels’ ejectors every time the tubes were used,” which was complicated and problematic, according to John Barnes, Briley Vice President of Operations.

Along came the oh-so talented

Jess Briley, a sub-gauge tube pioneer, who began handcrafting tube sets in his home garage back in the early 1970s. The late Mr. Briley took the then-novel tube set idea and furthered it by installing integral extractors that worked in combination with the ejectors of the host barrel. This was a gamechanger and made things much less complicated, bringing subgauge tubes into the clay shooting mainstream.

Back in the day, the original Briley tube sets weighed almost two pounds per pair for a 28 inch barrel gun, but thanks to modern machining and aircraft grade

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materials today’s 32 inch tubes weigh significantly less than that— less than one pound per pair. The chambers on contemporary Briley tube sets are all either stainless steel or titanium, depending upon the model, and in contrast to earlier tube sets, full length modern Briley tube sets now feature screw-in choke tubes.

Many Options Available The advent of tube sets made it much more affordable versus using dedicated barrel sets — and certainly more affordable than purchasing dedicated guns for each gauge.

“The scores all just skyrocketed” according to John Barnes. “Barrel sets are fun, especially if you’re a gear junkie” he said. “There’s nothing cooler than a set of 32 inch .410 barrels.

But, if you’re really trying to shoot well, a tube set can be a very good route to go.”

Briley’s tube sets come in many variations. There are “drop-in” tubes that will work in just about any break action gun and there are tube sets that are custom fitted by Briley to a specific firearm. We’ll start by covering the drop-in varieties.

Drop-In Tube Sets The little brother in the Briley subgauge tube system is the Side-Kick 2.0. At around 12 inches long, the Side-Kicks are a one-size-fits-all, drop-in fit product. They provide a good entry into the world of subgauge tubes, with the drawback that they don’t allow control over the choke, since the shot charge leaves the Side-Kick tube and opens up into the larger 12 gauge CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SIDE-KICKS 2.0 ARE A GREAT ENTRY INTO SUB-GAUGE TUBES

barrel. Some people have had luck using a tight 12 gauge choke, but Mr. Barnes says this doesn’t have a significant effect on the pattern the way a true, designated choke system does.

Side-Kicks are generally considered effective out to around 30-35 yards, which is about the longest targets seen in most subgauge competition. “They’re easy to carry, light, and not too expensive” says Mr. Barnes, and “a great start for many shooters who want to get into sub-gauge.”

Side-Kicks can also be upgraded later to a set of full length Briley Companion tubes, complete with a

COMPANION TUBE SETS ARE FULL-LENGTH AND ARE CHANGEABLE FROM GUN TO GUN

screw-in choke system. To accomplish the conversion, Briley reuses the Side-Kick chambers and changes out the tubes to full length aluminum. A three gauge, full set of Side-Kick 2.0 tubes (20G, 28G and .410) retails for $799.

The next step up, both in terms of performance and price point, is the Briley Companion Drop-In tube sets. Companions are made to be just shy in length of the host barrel, to accommodate the varying barrel lengths of different

manufacturers. A little known fact is that some Italian guns are “… in reality a little shorter than what they are marketed as,” says Barnes. For instance, some Italian “30 inch” guns are in fact only 29 ½ inches long. Making the drop-in

tubes around a half-inch shorter ensures they can be used in most manufacturer’s products, and in fact makes it possible to use them in multiple guns.

Drop in tube sets (both SideKick and Companion models) feature a nylon block, milled into the side of the chamber to help snug the tube up in the chamber, making it

possible to use in various chamber sizes. They are made ever so slightly undersized to accommodate the various bore sizes of different guns. Drop-in tubes shoot just as well as the more expensive fitted tubes, but because they’re just a shade undersize, they can make a little bit of noise when closing the gun.

Barnes says putting a tighter choke in the end of the host barrel will often reduce that rattle.

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SUBGAUGETUBES

74

Companion Drop-In tube sets come in both standard weight and UltraLite versions, the latter shaving off a few ounces of weight.

They come with one flush mount choke tube of your choice each.

Extra chokes and/or choke upgrades are available ala carte.

Complete (three gauge) standard weight Companion sets run $1,695.

A full set of UltraLite tubes go for $1,850.

Fitted Tube Sets The crème de la crème of Briley sub-gauge tubes are the fitted tube sets. Like the Companion drop-in tubes, they come in both standard weight and UltraLite versions and feature integral screw-in chokes.

Fitted tube sets require sending

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

Briley your barrels, and once custom made to your barrels, are only usable in the original gun they are crafted for. Fitted tube sets typically add around 10 to 12 ounces to the weight of the gun, but many opt for the carrier barrel option, which effectively matches the weight to that of the host gun’s 12 gauge set-up, but adds the extra cost of the carrier barrel.

Carrier barrels are fashioned out of an extra set of 12 gauge barrels and are made expressly for the purpose of using in combination with sub-gauge tube sets. The process of creating a carrier barrel set involves back boring to an extreme degree to fit the added tube sets, while strategically matching the weight of the carrier barrel/tube set combination to the 12 gauge barrel

ALL BRILEY FULL LENGTH TUBES ARE AVAILABLE IN STANDARD OR ULTRALITE VERSIONS

set. The finished carrier barrel/ tube set ends up being very close in weight to the 12 gauge barrel — usually within a couple of ounces.

Using a carrier barrel set-up makes it very seamless when switching gauges from a gun balance/weight standpoint, providing the ultimate small gauge tube set scenario.

Once converted to carrier barrels, they are no longer usable for 12 gauge, and in fact Briley installs a set of pins in the chamber area, making it impossible to load a 12 gauge shell. Converting a customer provided 12 gauge barrel set to carriers is a service Briley offers for $595.

When buying a fitted tube set, the price includes four flush chokes of your choice, or upgrade to extended chokes for $30/choke.

Briley’s top of the line fitted tube offering is called the Ultimate UltraLite Conversion, which features straight-rifled full length tubes in all three gauges. The

straight rifling provides better patterning at longer distances. The Ultimate UltraLite Conversion kit sells for $1,995.

Custom Requests In addition to 20 gauge, 28 gauge and .410 drop-in tubes (Sidekicks and Companion) for 12 gauge guns, .410 tubes are available for 20 gauge guns, and 28 gauge fitted tubes can be made for 20 gauge guns. Something that is rarely requested, but possible, is to fit a set of .410 tubes to a 28 gauge gun.

Trigger conversions are necessary for those guns having inertia triggers when using .410 tube sets — a service costing between $140 to $195, depending upon the gun. n You can see Briley’s full array of products and services at www.Briley.com

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SCTPCOLLEGIATE

76

2020 2021 SCTP COLLEGE NATIONALS

BY MATTHEW GAY

Y

es, you read that correctly, the 2020 College Nationals were rescheduled from their normal October slot, because of COVID-19, and were held March 18th through March 21st, 2021 at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio. A challenging 12 months of lockdowns and closures still saw several colleges and universities represented by more than 200 shooters at this event.

The folks at the Cardinal Center set a pair of challenging courses for the sporting event. The newest layout, which is mostly thrown over open terrain, offered CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

some very technical targets on day one. Complicating things was the weather, which is so often questionable in this region in early spring. Shooters faced wind gusts over 30 miles per hour and temps in the high 20s to start the first day. Targets that were set in normal 5 mph wind the day prior got pretty interesting, with the gusts driving them to unpredictable trajectories.

On day two the wind settled down a bit and temperatures warmed up enough to make shooting pleasant for the woods course. Some shorter windows and

that wonderful morning strobe effect that we shooters love so much provided a different challenge than the cold, wind and long flight times of the prior day’s presentations. Both courses offered true championship level targets for this year’s national event.

Top team honors were taken by Emmanuel College with a 907 out of 1000 targets attempted, just barely outpacing their division rival Fort Hayes State, by a single target. Division One Martin Methodist took third, only six targets back from the leader. After

SPORTING CLAYS - TEAMS DIVISION I CH MARTIN METHODIST 901/1000 RU LINDENWOOD 886/1000

DIVISION II CH EMANUEL COLLEGE 907/1000 RU FORT HAYES STATE 906/1000

DIVISION III CH HILLSDALE 848/1000 RU GRANDVILLE UNIV. 743/1000

DIVISION IV CH HAWKEYE COMM COLL 706/1000 RU INDIAN HILLS COMM COLL 667/1000

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a tie breaker, the individual honor was claimed by Martin Methodist’s Austin Carleton, posting an impressive 188/200 on a pair of tough tournament courses. Cordell Waggoner from Fort Hayes State took home the Silver, with Emmanuel College’s Wyatt Hargrove claiming Bronze with a 186/200. In the Ladies division the Gold was earned by Sara Ratliff from Martin Methodist with a 166/200. Nipping on her heels and just five targets back was Hillsdale’s Jessica Strasser, claiming the Silver medal. Just one target behind Jessica was Katie Dettmann from Fort Hayes State who posted a 160/200.

5-Stand Martin Methodist made a strong showing to claim top honors in the 100 target 5-Stand event, with a 394 out of 500 targets attempted. This year’s 5-Stand was no joke.

Between the weather, the wind, and some great target presentations, shooters had their work cut out for them. Emmanuel College claimed Silver with a 352/500.

Leading his team to a National Championship, Martin Methodist’s Steven Brown claimed individual

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SPORTING CLAYS INDIVIDUAL MEN’S CH AUSTIN CARETON MEN’S RU CORDELL WAGGONER

LADY CH SARA RATLIFF LADY RU JESSICA STRASSER

186/200 186/200 166/200 161/200

Gold with an 83/100. Teammates Brantley Whitwell and Seth Ratliff took Silver and Bronze with scores of 82/100 and 78/100 consecutively. In the Ladies division Grace College’s Erin Lawhon posted a 66/100 to claim Gold. Eight targets back for Silver was Alexis Teribury from Hawkeye Community College. In her first National tournament as a collegiate competitor with Montreat College, Makayla Scott earned the Bronze with a 56/100.

To Sum It Up For a year fraught with challenges and obstacles, it was good to experience some semblance of normalcy. Many shooters have had their practice regimens abruptly altered or reduced to facilitate dealing with the pandemic, or because of the ammunition shortage. Nonetheless they showed up, they competed and put

5-STAND - TEAM DIVISION I CH MARTIN METHODIST 394/500 RU BETHEL 332/500

DIVISION II CH EMMANUEL COLLEGE 352/500 RU UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA 279/500

DIVISION III CH GRACE COLLEGE 273/500

DIVISION IV CH HAWKEYE COMM COLL 267/500 RU INDIAN HILLS COMM COLL 240/500

forth their best effort to represent their school, their team and their sport. My favorite quote comes

5-STAND INDIVIDUAL MEN’S CH STEVEN BROWN MEN’S RU BRANTLEY WHITWELL

LADY CH ERIN LAWHON LADY RU ALEXIS TERIBURY

83/100 82/100 66/100 57/100

from a speech given by Teddy Roosevelt. The section of the speech is called “The man in the arena.” If you are familiar with this quote, you’ll understand its pertinence to the concept of perseverance. If you have never heard this speech, look it up.

These athletes persevered because they showed up. n

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80

BLUEGRASS PROVISIONS CO. AMERICAN MADE QUALITY FORMALLY KNOWN AS BLUEGRASS BELTS BY DANA FARRELL

A

t the NSCA National Championship last October I met a pretty, darkhaired woman set up in the vendor mall in front of a beautiful display of handcrafted leather belts and other accessories. Striking up a conversation, I learned the company, then known as Bluegrass Belts, featured handmade belts, bracelets, and bags of saddle grade leather—all made in or around Lexington, Kentucky.

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

Equestrian Themed Lifestyle Bluegrass Provisions Co. owner Crystal Baker is passionate about her products, and proud of the brand she acquired a couple of years backs. A former Atlanta store owner, back in the day Crystal carried the Bluegrass Belts product line in her store. When she learned the founder of the company wanted to move on, she believed enough in the quality of

the products to make an offer to purchase the company.

“The owner at the time was a young man in his twenties who frequented horse tracks and horse farms as a kid. He wanted to go work for his dad, so I offered to buy the company” she said. After the sale she closed her store to focus solely on the brand.

Crystal expanded both the product line and its retail presence in the South and up and down the East Coast. At the time of the

purchase, the company’s products were carried in only one store.

Now Bluegrass Provisions Co. can be found in about 70 stores—and the list is growing.

An Expanded Product Line Bluegrass Provisions Co. might have its origins in belts, but at sporting clays events Crystal found people were asking for other

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THE HOOF PICK BELT AND BLUEGRASS PROVISIONS CO. SHOOTING POUCH PAIR NICELY

products, such as shell pouches.

The expanded product line now includes a lot more than just belts, but she’s quick to point out that everything is still handmade in Kentucky and Indiana. Her shell pouches and Dual-Purpose bags, for example, are made by an Amish gentleman in Indiana, just across the Kentucky border.

Another motivator for expanding the product line, she explained, was because the belts are so well made, they don’t wear out, so customers were not coming back. “They had no reason to come back, because they have a belt that would last them forever” she said.

All her belts are made of superdurable bridal leather—same as that used for saddles, halters and other horse tack.

“The main thing that makes us unique and different is the hoof pick buckle” she said. “In addition to our belts, you see it on different products like the Dual-Purpose Bag.” For the uninitiated, the hoof pick is an equestrian tool traditionally used for clearing CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

something lodged in a horse’s hoof. It also makes for an interesting and attractive belt buckle.

Included in Bluegrass’s expanded product line is a 1 ½ inch wide hoof pick belt that pairs perfectly with their leather shell pouch. The belt is also well suited for using along with a gun holster.

Taking it on and off is fast and easy, making it really handy— especially for a shell pouch belt.

Reaching the Consumer There are three ways Crystal gets her products into consumers’ hands: retail stores, direct through her website, and setting up at special events—such as steeplechases, horse races and sporting clays shoots.

COVID made it extremely hard to do business in 2020 because there were less events to sell at. On the wholesale side, stores were closed, and retailers were not

reordering merchandise. This year equestrian events are beginning to start back up with spectators, which for a specialty merchandiser steeped in equestrian tradition, is a really good thing.

Last year the company was named the official belt of the Breeders’ Cup, a thoroughbred race held in Lexington—but with the pandemic raging, there were no spectators allowed in the stands. The Kentucky Derby will be run with spectators this year, something those in the horse racing world are grateful for.

Crystal took Bluegrass Provisions Co. on the road to the Seminole Cup, Gator Cup and Southeast Regional this year, with

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plans to set up at several equestrian events, including the Carolina Cup steeplechase in North Carolina, and the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville. She will also be at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

“The most important thing that I feel very strongly about, is that our products are made in the U.S.” She told me the Amish man who makes her shell pouch and Dual-Purpose Bag doesn’t have a phone or a computer. “We write each other letters… seriously” she said. The latest box of leather products he sent included a gift jar of maple syrup, made on his farm, along with a personalized note.

“All the people who make things for me— that’s how they are… really good people. When people buy a Bluegrass Provisions Co. product, they’re really buying a little piece of America.” n www.bluegrassprovisionsco.com

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CLUBCALL

CLUB CALL

BY KERRY LUFT

86

IF YOU BUILD IT

JIMBO GEISLER HAS BIG PLANS FOR LOUISIANA’S COVEY RISE LODGE – STARTING WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL

C

ovey Rise Lodge in south Louisiana is many things to many people.

Epicures know it as a specialty farm that provides heirloom produce for many of New Orleans’ finest restaurants.

For others, it’s a weekend retreat from urban life. Hunters know it as a preserve specializing in quail, pheasant, chukar partridge and flighted mallards.

Above all, as one member offered without prompting, it’s a place where “they really take care of you.”

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

Sporting clays shooters are about to know it as something else—a premier destination capable of hosting some of the sport’s largest events, starting in September with the NSCA’s South Central Regional and American Field Sporting Gamebore Classic.

It’s a rapid and thorough transformation. Though it has hosted Louisiana state sporting clays championships, Covey Rise’s day-to-day clay target program has been limited to

skeet, 5-stand and a small, scenic course nestled amid tall pine trees.

But six months before the regional, changes were afoot all over the property’s 600 acres. The framing of a new, 8,000-square-foot dining and meeting facility was in full swing, while not far away, endless loads of clay and gravel had been scooped from the land, creating and enlarging ponds and providing raw material for more than a mile of cart paths wending through fields studded with majestic live oaks.

At the middle of it all was owner Jimbo Geisler, a dynamo whose favorite phrase is, “I had an idea.”

CLUBCALL

88

JIMBO GEISLER AND HIS SOON TO BE 8,000-SQUARE-FOOT DINING AND MEETING FACILITY

Not content to concentrate solely on competition, Geisler wants the regional to be equally memorable for its hospitality. “I want you to spend the day here, not shoot and leave,” he explained.

“It’s about the experience, and that’s what we provide.”

For local shooters, the excitement is palpable. Louisiana has not had a club capable of hosting a regional or similarly sized event since Cajun Elite Shooting Club closed several years ago.

“It just opens you up to so many opportunities,” said Dan Lavergne, president of the Louisiana Sporting Clays Association, who is working closely with state and local tourism officials to promote the event.

Those officials are “all excited about Covey Rise” and the regional, Lavergne said, adding that he hopes that the regional could lead to more signature events that draw shooters from across the country.

Though much work remained to be done, Geisler appears to relish the challenge. In a sense, it is a natural extension of the work he began 20 years ago to transform a thick pine forest into a sportsman’s retreat, clearing spaces for luxury cabins, a CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

comfortable lodge for dining and overnight visitors, and his farming and hunting operations.

Louisiana shooters, hungry for more places to shoot, took notice and urged Geisler to think big. He did not need a great deal of encouragement.

“The association has been encouraging him (to apply for a regional), his friends have been encouraging him—maybe he just did it to get everyone off his back,” Lavergne joked. “We all see the potential out there, and we love to go there so much. Next thing I know, he’s going for it.”

Geisler said that once Covey Rise was awarded the regional, he began consulting with renowned target setter Neil Chadwick as well as club managers and owners who were experienced in throwing regionals and other big events, such as Anthony I. Matarese, Jr. of M&M Sporting Clays in New Jersey and Brett Seibert, general manager of Northbrook Sports Club near Chicago. He also traveled to Northbrook for the 2020 North Central Regional.

“His eyes were as wide as can be as he was walking around Northbrook,” said Julia Gilman, who worked closely with Seibert during the regional. “It was the

first big shoot he had been to in years, so he hadn’t seen the evolution the sport (and big events) had been going through.”

Gilman explained her duties to Geisler, including her coordination of volunteer trappers and other support work for the regional. That led to an offer for her to do the same for Covey Rise, bringing her experience to an area that is critical yet often overlooked.

“This is a ton of work infrastructure wise,” she explained.

“You can’t overlook the small stuff, as well as the things like parking and roads. The only thing I’m not working on is setting the targets.”

Besides the 200-bird Main Event, the regional will offer a 100bird preliminary, 5-stand, Super Sporting and FITASC side events, and 50-bird FITASC and sporting sub-gauge events. In addition, the 100-bird White Gold Cup will double as a qualifier for the American Field Sporting Gamebore Classic Invitational in December.

Most events will be held on Covey Rise’s land, except for FITASC. The parcours will be set on a property ½ mile away, which has been used for past Louisiana state sporting clays championships.

This year’s state championship, scheduled for May 13th – 16th, will be a trial run of sorts. Lavergne said he hoped to attract 250 shooters, about half of what might be expected for a regional. “You can plan stuff on paper, but when you have people running from station to station or event to event, sometimes it can get balled up,” he said.

Yet Covey Rise boasts the two most essential ingredients for a successful event: The necessary space, and the willingness to take on the work.

“The property is fantastic,” Gilman said. “Jimbo has done a phenomenal job. He’s made the most out of what he has, and he’s setting himself up in the best way possible to throw a great regional.

“Sponsors are jumping all over it.,” she added. “It’s like a shiny new toy. They’ve never been there, and they want to be the first ones there.”

One idea for hospitality stemmed from past World FITASC Championships. Struck by the “shooters’ village” at those events, the team developed a plan to carve out a spot behind the existing lodge and the new dining facility, which when completed will seat up to 200 people.

SEE Y’ALL ON THE ROAD SOON

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We apologize to all our customers in the southeast, but due to some family health issues we will not be able to attend any of the summer tournaments. The first tournament for us after the Southeast Regionals in May will be the South Carolina State shoot at Rocky Creek, September 8-12. Granny & Mike will do all we can to service our loyal customers during this time from our home base. Thanks for your understanding. Please check our website for schedule updates.

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CLUBCALL

90

Vendors Row will be nearby, and Geisler would like to erect a giant screen TV to provide live broadcasts of Make-A-Break competitions and other side events. The goal is to encourage shooters to enjoy the atmosphere even after shooting has ended for the day.

And of course, given that the regional is in Louisiana, the food promises to be spectacular.

“Jimbo wants to do it right, and he doesn’t want to cut any corners,” Gilman said.

If You Go Covey Rise is in Husser, Louisiana, just over an hour’s drive from New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

International Airport. That makes a stay in the Crescent City an appealing option before or after the regional. The marshes south of New Orleans offer terrific fishing opportunities, as do numerous offshore charter boats operating out of Venice, at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Those who want to stay close to the tournament location can find lodging and food in Hammond or Covington, each about a half-hour away. There also are RV facilities nearby.

The Louisiana Sporting Clays Association is working with tourism officials from the state and Tangipahoa Parish to develop suggested itineraries for out-oftown shooters and their families.

“We want you to be able to tap into

good restaurants, sporting goods stores, and point out places you can take your family while you’re shooting,” said Dan Lavergne, president of the state sporting clays association. n Registration for the 2021 South Central Regional and the American Field Sporting Gamebore Classic, as well as the Louisiana state championship, is at www.scorechaser.com

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ACUICHAMPIONSHIPS

92

THE 2021 ACUI NATIONALS

MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY SHOTGUN TEAM

BY ALYSSA DREW

T

he 2021 ACUI Collegiate Clay Targets Championships took place March 25-27, 2021 at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio.

A total of 562 competitors gathered, representing 49 schools throughout the country. American Trap, American Skeet, Sporting Clays, and Super Sporting were offered as part of the national competition this year, with CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

American Trap, American Skeet, and Sporting Clays representing the high overall awards.

Despite facing a difficult school year and season, the competitors put forth solid performances, with many shooting personal bests.

Nine teams in attendance were competing at an ACUI Nationals event for the very first time. Those teams represented the following institutions: Cowley College, Drury

University, Eastern Oklahoma State College, Georgia Southern University, Northwest Kansas Technical College, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Southern Arkansas University, University of Jamestown, and Western Oklahoma State College.

It was ultimately Texas A&M University that walked away with the biggest prize, winning the Division I High Overall and official

title of the 2021 ACUI National Champions. The Texas A&M team took a narrow victory over Schreiner University with just eight targets and a total score of 1,414 out of 1,500. Martin Methodist College took first place in Division II with 1,397 targets.

The Division III team was Hillsdale College with 1,350, and newcomers Georgia Southern University took first in Division IV with 1,359.

ACUICHAMPIONSHIPS

94

MEMBERS OF HILLSDALE COLLEGE SHOOTING TEAM ON SPORTING CLAYS STATION 2

ACUI offers four divisions at the national competition, which are broken down as follows: n Division I – Teams with 21+ student athletes n Division II – Teams with 11-20 student athletes n Division III – Teams with 1-10 student athletes n Division IV – Junior college, community college, career college (technical or vocational) or any institution competing at nationals for the first time.

Garrett LeJeune, representing Schreiner University, won the Men’s High Overall with a total of 289 of 300 targets broken. Meagan Harrington, representing Texas A&M University, won the Women’s High Overall with a total of 276 targets broken. Both competitors received a $1,000 scholarship for their performance, which was provided at the generosity of the Higgins Branchini Shooting Foundation.

Women represented a total of 21% of competitors onsite this year, CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

which is consistent with data from the 2019 competition. New teams represented 18% of teams onsite this year, which provides some glimpse as to the growth occurring in the collegiate shotgun sports world.

The 2021 competition was only a shadow of what it normally is, as changes to the program were

made in light of the pandemic. The competition typically offers a total of six events, all of which are recognized as part of the high overall. In addition, a sporting clays fundraiser is offered, along with other games and raffles, throughout the course of a week.

The 2020 ACUI Collegiate Clay Targets Championships was ultimately cancelled less than two weeks prior to the competition dates. At the time of cancellation, a record number of just over 1,000 competitors were registered.

Although the 2021 entries were limited due to COVID and the ammo shortage, we hope to reach 1,000 competitors again in 2022.

The 2022 ACUI Collegiate Clay Targets Championships will take place March 21-26, 2022 at the National Shooting Complex. Full results for the 2021 competition can be found at www.acui.org/claytargets n

The ACUI Clay Targets program is a nonprofit, student-centered, campus-based community of student athletes, volunteer and paid coaches, range facilities, sponsors, friends, families, and ACUI staff.

The program originated in 1968 and has been growing and evolving over the last 53 years.

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MENTALGAME

96

MAKE ANXIETY YOUR PARTNER PART I

BY JOHN D. SHIMA

I

magine you are a rancher who is tracking a mountain lion that has been killing your cattle and scaring your family. Suddenly you hear a snarl coming from the underbrush 20 yards away.

Realizing that you will only have time for one shot to protect yourself, a surge of adrenaline and cortisol floods your body to arouse it for the eminent and potentially fatal attack. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tense, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper.

Anxiety produces a heightened state of awareness that is intended to make you ready to react and respond to a stimulus. Situations that cause everyday anxiety are seldom a life or death circumstance; however, our primitive brain is hijacked by the surge of adrenaline and cortisol CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

that accompanies anxiety, which makes us feel like a mountain lion is preparing to pounce. Anxiety can work for you during actual life threatening circumstances, and it can work against you when your personality causes you to react to an everyday experience as a life threatening circumstance.

Personality and Anxiety I explained in my previous article, Overcoming the Challenges of TwoEyed Shooting that stress and anxiety can adversely affect a shooter’s visual processing ability.

Therefore, misguided anxiety can become a clay target shooter’s worst enemy. Psychologist Bob Rosen, author of Conscious: The Power of Awareness in Business and

Life suggests we take a rational approach and analyze any circumstance that precipitates our anxiety, and then determine whether it is producing negative or positive energy.

Rational thinking tells us that anxiety is really just a wake-up call that is telling us to pay attention.

An individual’s personality significantly influences whether anxiety produces positive or negative energy. Anxiety creates positive energy in people who are open to new experiences. Hence, positive energy can become a powerful force that heightens awareness, enhances

AN INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONALITY SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCES WHETHER ANXIETY PRODUCES POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE ENERGY

MENTALGAME

98

responsiveness, and promotes peak performances. Anxiety produces negative energy in people who need to be right, strive to exert power, attempt to be in control, and focus on winning.

Negative energy creates uncertainty and vulnerability in these individuals. There are three types of anxiety that promote negative energy: performance anxiety, social anxiety, and status anxiety.

Performance Anxiety In my article, It’s Just a Target I introduced the concept of valence to shooting clay targets. I explained that valence is used by psychologists to measure the value you place on the outcome of an event or situation, and the emotional impact of that outcome.

For example, if you are elated every time you break a clay target the valence is very positive. If you are very angry whenever you miss

a target the valence is very negative. If you are ambivalent about breaking a target or missing a target the valence is neutral.

The valence a shooter places on each clay target varies with the circumstance. For example, a low 8 target during a practice round of skeet likely carries relatively low valence, whereas a low 8 option target when you are 99 straight in a world championship probably carries a very high valence.

Nonetheless, the low 8 target is just a low 8 target. My point is that the relative importance you place on each target before you call for it is completely within your rational control.

Introspection is necessary to assess your vulnerability to judgments by others. Sometimes watching a video of your performance will enable to see yourself as others do. Paul Silva conducted an experiment with psychologically healthy adults who watched themselves giving group presentations. They often cued into their faults (comparing the

“real me” to the “ideal self”) and judged themselves much more harshly than if they had relied only on their own impression of their actual performance.

Cognitive busyness relates to the talking, listening, and reacting to your interactions with others.

These experiences are modified by your perceptions and interpretations of non-verbal cues.

The traits on which other people base their judgments of us are visible and invisible. Psychologist David Funder opined that other people judge our visible traits more favorably than we judge them ourselves. In a study of anxious public speakers, the speakers usually rated their own performance much lower than the audience rated them.

In her article entitled The Psychology of Goal Setting, Anna Keglar described the potent influence goal setting has on the human brain. According to Keglar, once you set a goal it has a powerful effect on how you see yourself. This new identity

THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE YOU PLACE ON EACH TARGET BEFORE YOU CALL FOR IT IS COMPLETELY WITHIN YOUR RATIONAL CONTROL

develops because “the human brain can’t tell the difference between what we want and what we have.” Technically speaking, this means your brain incorporates the desired outcome of your major goal into your self-image and it begins to influence your perception of who you believe you are. When you fail to attain the big goal your self-image conflicts with your reality and creates constant performance anxiety.

I’ve told many clients, “Your score does not define you.” This maxim applies to your highest score, and your lowest score.

Hedonic adaptation dictates that regardless of how elated you become following a personal best, or how discouraged you become after your worst performance in years, you will eventually return to your base emotional state. When you set rational goals that are consistent with your actual shooting ability it dramatically reduces the emotional tension between your self-image and reality.

Social Anxiety Social anxiety is an innate response to the threat of exclusion; the feeling that a group does not accept us. Carlin Flora stated, “To navigate the social universe you must understand your self-concept; you need to know what others think of you – although the clearest view depends on how you see yourself.” It is also important to understand that other people have their own idiosyncratic way of sizing you up, which is greatly influenced by their own selfconcept. Moreover, the setting and role you happen to be playing at the time of the interaction also affects what people think of you.

Henri Tajfel’s social identity

CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

100

MENTALGAME

In his controversial book The Social Animal journalist David Brooks asserted that a person’s subconscious mind largely determines who they are and how they behave. Brooks concluded that humans are emotionally driven by a subconscious fear of loneliness, which precipitates the need to belong to a group of people who understand them. According to Brooks, “Emotion assigns value to things, and reason can only make choices on the basis of those valuations.” His most significant conclusion was that our lives and conduct are less under our conscious control than we think. n

theory states that a person’s sense of who they are is based upon their group memberships. The groups into which people were accepted become a source of pride and selfesteem. The theory is based upon the innate desire of most humans to identify as being part of a group that shares similar characteristics.

This group thinking is most evident in team sports with established competitive rivalries, but also relates to individuals regarding their self-identity and self-esteem.

Essentially, we need to feel good about our group to feel good about ourselves. This “us-andthem” thinking creates an in-group and an out-group mentality that provides the basis for social anxiety. There are three mental processes involved when members of a group evaluate an individual as being one of “us” or one of “them.”

The first step in the process is categorization (similar characteristics), identification (conforming behaviors), and comparison (superiority). A classic example of social identity theory is CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

membership in an exclusive gun club because some gun clubs are better than others. Moreover, even within the most exclusive gun clubs the membership will be divided into out-groups and in-groups. A shooter’s preoccupation with the factors that determine whether he or she will be included in, or excluded from, a specific group based upon their shooting averages can be a source of social anxiety.

Status Anxiety There is a long-standing belief that fear of judgment is the root cause of status anxiety. In the context of clay target sports, individuals worry about how others will judge them on the basis of what discipline they shoot, how well they shoot, what shotgun they shoot, and how they behave after shooting well or poorly.

More recently Alain de Botton opined that meritocracy causes status anxiety due to American’s emphasis on materialism. The

concept of meritocracy is based upon the belief that only talented individuals within a defined group merit a place at the top. De Botton suggested that the underlying drive to achieve status is to make the “neighbors” envious.

The more pernicious aspect of status anxiety is that it invades the shooter’s mind and erodes his or her self-esteem. Just as Mark Twain lamented, “I’ve had lots of worries in my life, most of which never happened,” a shooter with status anxiety will worry how others are judging his or her actions.

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

STATUS ANXIETY CAN INVADE THE SHOOTER’S MIND AND ERODES HIS OR HER SELF-ESTEEM

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PEOPLE, NEWS AND EVENTS

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During the 2021 shoot year ONLY, the NSCA is giving host clubs the OPTION to allow handloaded ammunition at the Regionals, U.S. Open, and National Championship for all sporting events. This DOES NOT include FITASC events where reloads are still prohibited. Each club will be responsible for making their decision known to the participants prior to the start of the event. If you have any questions about use of reloads, please contact the club directly.

U.K. will return stateside in 2022.

The contest will be held at the National Shooting Complex April 20-24, 2022 and feature a 200-target main event sporting clays contest, a 100-target old-style FITASC, and numerous side events.

NSCA ANNOUNCES 2022 REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CLUBS Four clubs have been selected to host their region’s 2022 Regional Championship, while a re-vote is being held to determine the fifth and final club. Clubs selected are: n North Central Region Northbrook Sports Club (IL) n Southeast Region Cross Creek Clays (TN) n South Central Region Providence Hill Farm (MS) n Western Region Coyote Springs Sporting Clays (AZ) n Northeast Region TBD - tie between Cardinal Shooting Center (OH) and Hopkins Game Farm (MD) Dates for the events have not been finalized and will be announced later.

NEWS UPDATES

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

Introducing MHS 360™ — E.A.R.’s New Modular Hearing System Just like sports glasses with different lenses for variable light conditions, E.A.R.’s new MHS 360™ system comes with different modules for variable sound conditions.

E.A.R. is pleased to present its new high quality multifunctional modular hearing system.

Modular units can be purchased with generic foam tips and used right out of the box. For maximum attenuation, comfort, and fit, they can also be used with a set of custom earmolds made from soft heat-curable silicone, which provide substantially more sound suppression than products made from hard acrylic. These require accurate impressions of your ears. Contact E.A.R. to assist you in getting properly fit. Impressions are digitally recorded and allow clients to order other custom products without having to be refit.

Use them for: Hunting, Shooting, Industrial, Military, Motorsports, Music, Aviation, Agriculture, or any setting where noise can be detrimental to hearing.

E.A.R.’s MHS 360™ modules provide differing levels of noise protection for various listening situations.

SOLID MODULES provide maximum attenuation.

FILTERED MODULES preserve quality of sound to hear better while dropping intensity to a safer level.

• DEC Filtered. Good for suppressing impact sounds like gun shots.

• Earasers™ Filtered. Reduce the most harmful frequencies, while providing a flat frequency response. A great option to maintain clarity, especially for music and conversations, while reducing overall sound to a more comfortable level. Not recommended for impact sounds such as shooting.

• HearDefenders-DF™. Dual Filtered Module with Variable Attenuation.

As noise levels go up, so does attenuation, allowing you to hear critical environmental sounds while suppressing unwanted noise. Good for both continuous and impact sounds.

ELECTRONIC MODULES amplify quiet sounds while blocking loud noise.

• 2-Channel Basic Electronic Module comes with a spin dial for volume control and a push button to change memories that filter out background sounds such as wind. 2-channel units have been the backbone of our digital technology providing high quality acoustics.

• 8 Channel Primo™Module features advanced layered noise reduction to process noise shielding for advanced clarity. It utilizes an easy MultiMemory Button Push Button that controls both volume and multimemory functions, with 4 popular memory modes: 1. Full spectrum of environmental sound.

2. First level electronic filtering for background sounds such as wind.

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E.A.R.’s electronic modules also include a low battery indicator which beeps continuously when replacement is due, moisture protection coating, and digital circuitry that minimizes the danger of impact sounds. All units use a size 13 battery for maximum battery life.

Color Options Electronic Modules Faceplate: Black or Hunter Tan Solid or Filtered Modules: Red and Blue Custom Earmolds: Chameleon Ears solid colors and swirls WARRANTY: 1-year. Contact your provider or E.A.R. for extended warranty.

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© 2020

”High rib options for maximum field of view, ideal balance and a trigger that is second to none.

The F3 is shotgun technology at the top of its class; Made in Germany.“ Bill McGuire, 2019 World English Sporting Veteran Champion