A Sizzler in Houston - Clay Shooting USA

SHOOTREPORTTRÉ SIDES – US OPEN 2004 CHAMPION.THE EYES OF THESPORTING WORLD WERETURNED TOWARDSHOUSTON, TEXAS THEWEEKEND OF JUNE 6TH,AS AMERICANSHOOTING CENTERSONCE AGAIN HOSTED AU.S. OPEN SPORTINGCHAMPIONSHIP.ASC is a large and sprawling shootingcomplex, covering a sizeable slice ofGeorge Bush Park – an area of theBuffalo Bayou lowlands which alsoserves as a reservoir for excessivewaters for flood control in theHouston area. Just about two weeksbefore the start of this year’s Open,Houston experienced some majorrainfall – and ASC was flooded out andunder water! It almost becamenecessary to move the shoot at thevery last minute. Thankfully, the rainsbacked off for a while allowing thegrounds to drain and dry off and thesunken machines to be recovered andA SIZZLER IN HOUSTON!STEVE FISCHER REPORTS FROM THE 2004 U.S. OPEN

SHOOTREPORTrepaired as necessary. The shoothowever, was not yet out of thewoods and attendance was wellbelow expectations at only 678guns. In comparison to previousOpens, this one was down a thirdor more in competitors. Certainlynot because of lack of events, asthere were Pre-lims, sub-gaugeevents, the Kemen Cup side event,200 sporting in the Main, 100FITASC targets available to all andthe usual side games includingHélice (ZZ birds) and Make-A-Break.It would be difficult to evenventure a guess as to why thisevent fell off in participation, but alikely suspect would be theweather. It was hot and humid tothe point of misery. It may be thatshooters familiar with the Houstonarea temperatures and humidityjust decided to pass up theopportunity, hoping for a coolerlocation for next year. Anotherpossibility is that each year, alarger number of big events arebecoming strung out very closetogether and that could be taking atoll on the traveling competitorsdiscretionary funds, forcing themto pick and choose events and toallow a bit more time betweenshoots to recoup funds. Even morebasic would be the available timeoff from jobs and families to attendso many Big Blasts in a row.THE KEMEN CUPThis event was one of those “theysure look easier than they are!” typeof events. Or maybe it was just adifferent style of targets than wewere used to. Either way, someshooters struggled while others justzipped on through. Bobby Fowleronce again showed the way, postingan incredible 96. Federico Del Toroand Jerome Holden tied at 94 forMaster 1 and 2, with Jon Kruger,Dale Willroth and Cory Krusefinishing 2nd through 5th, all tied at 93.BRIAN DUQUESNAY ‘RE-GROUPING’ ON THE KEMEN CUP COURSE.AA class found Doug Vaughn(85) in the top spot with SammyClifton second (85) and KeithGoutreaux, William Shaffer andWyatt Hepper finishing 3rd through5th, tied at 84. A class Chris Kramertopped the field with an excellent91 followed by Toby Wood (85) andTroy Behrens third (82). B Classwas won with 89 by Grant Gerety,while Cory Pabody and Dr.Charles Crumpler took second andthird spot with an 88 and an 83.C class was won by the 84 of BryanGutermuth. Eric Jensen (77) tooksecond place followed by WardHepper (74). D class RebeccaMohan and Justin Monroe tied apair of 75s for first and second withMichelle Krier third (73). E classJim Maxey took the top spot with75 followed by Josh Miller (71) andCoke Waggener third (66).Super-Veteran David Skewessqueaked two past W. Ray Newmanand Gary McStay for HOA with 82,just ahead of the two-way tie of 80for second and third. VeteranJerome Holden spanked the ratherlarge Veteran’s Concurrent with asparkling 94. Dr. Gonzalo Vargastook second (89) while VanceBarnes was close behind with 88.Junior Chris Mc Clelland washaving a great weekend taking thehonors with 92, just one up on ChrisKramer at 91. Third place went toBrandon Powell (88). HunterEpperson, another fine youngshooter that you will be hearing moreof, won the Sub-Junior title with an87. Logan Gaskins took secondplace (78) followed by Justin Fox (76).The Lady Concurrent was wonby Janet Tausch with a fine 85.Linda Joy Sosebee finished second(82) while third place went toJamie Riggs (80).RED, WHITE AND BLUEOver the three days of the event,the three main courses were shotover virgin land – partly because ofthe previous weeks flooding andpartly to present targets no one hadseen before. Popular opinion wasthat the targets were less thananticipated. After the rousingapproval of the targets at theBrowning/Briley event on thesesame grounds less than two monthsbefore, it was a shame that so manyshooters gave the targets of thisevent such low marks. Most of thecourses were a bit heavy on truepairs, trap shots and for many of uslacked the entertainment qualitythat the traveling shooter demands.Several of the aerial targets were inshort windows, or presented fallingand dropping. Nevertheless, somepretty big scores were put upCLAYSHOOTINGUSA 9

SHOOTREPORTLOTS OF ROOM ONTHE RED COURSE.WHAT YOU CAN’TSEE IS THE HEAT!THIS EVENT WAS ONE OF THOSE “THEY SURE LOOK EASIER THAN THEY ARE!” TYPE OF EVENTS. ORMAYBE IT WAS JUST A DIFFERENT STYLE OF TARGETS THAN WE WERE USED TO. EITHER WAY, SOMESHOOTERS STRUGGLED WHILE OTHERS JUST ZIPPED ON THROUGH.attesting to the fact that the targetswere hittable if you did your part.The 2004 U.S.Open Championwas Tré Sides, shooting aconsistent 62-62-62=186.Congratulations for a fineperformance! Runner-up, just oneshot back was Junior ChrisMcClelland at 59-62-64=185 andSecond Runner-up was AlbertBogetti Jr. (63-58-63=184). Masterfirst went to Rick Camuglia on 182with Bobby Fowler second, also at182. Scott Robertson was thirdwith 181. The awards were 10 deepand the rest of the Master classnames read like the ‘Who’s Who’.Fourth through tenth place wentto: Mick Howells (180), AnthonyMatarese Jr. (179), Jon Kruger(179), Rick Mein (179), BenBrunton (178), Andy Duffy (178)and Tom Mack (178).AA class went to the 168 of KeithGoutreaux with Chad La Fleur (165)second and Wyatt Hepper (165)third. A class winner was G. HarrisMcGough (158) followed byWilliam Henderson (157) and the155 of Chris Kramer for third.B class winner, Willy Cherry,shot a 156, tied with Justin Fox insecond and Logan Gaskins third(154). C class went to David Simerka(154), also tied with BryanGutermuth and in third place wasTrey Williams (151). D class PamelaLee shot the top score of 136, oneahead of Charles Ray (135). Thirdwent to Todd Kramer (134). E classwas won by Willam C. Harris (137)followed by a pair of 132s shot byJoe Williams and Jim Maxey.Diane Nelson has been on atear with no signs of letting up andLADY CHAMP DIANE NELSON RECEIVING ONE OF HER MANYAWARDS.SUB-JUNIOR CHAMP HUNTER EPPERSON.KEEP AN EYE ON THIS FINE SHOOTER!topped the Lady Concurrent with afine score of 168. Second placewent to Diane Sorantino (165) andthird was Jamie Riggs (162). Sub-Junior, Hunter Epperson, who wonthe Make-a-Break in a shoot-offagainst Brandon Powell and tookhome $2500 bucks, also won theChampion title of Sub-Junior (158),just squeaking past the 157 ofWilliam Henderson and the 156 ofJustin Fox in third place. Thestrength of the Junior Concurrentis just awesome – and ChampionChris McClelland’s 185 was goodfor over-all Runner-up. Nice jobChris! Travis Mears was second(172) and Brandon Powell tookthird (171). The Veteran’s top gunwas Vance Barnes (174) followedby Mark Kiddie, also at 174, withthird spot going to Robert Davis(171). The Super-Veteran winnerwas Ronald Shafer (158) tied withGary McStay. Third spot went tothe venerable Gene Sears (157).THE 5-STANDTargets on the 5-stand werechallenging and fun with BobbyFowler topping the event with a10 CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SHOOTREPORTscore of 95. On loan from Great Britain,Ben Brunton took the Runner-up spot at94. Masters one through three went toMick Howells (93), Brent Barrett (93)and Albert Bogetti Jr. (92). AA classwinner was Junior Hub Johnson (84) withGreg Jackson and David Bragg tied at 83for second and third. A class was won byBobby Swineford (79) with BarrettThomas second (77) and Chris Kramerthird (76). B class honors went to SteveWilbanks (77) with second place going tothe 75 of Logan Gaskins and third toJennifer Walton (74). C class Championwas Anthony Gagliardo (73) with secondplace going to Don Stallings and third toTrey Williams. D class winner wasMichael Soileau (74) with Pamela Leesecond (66), one up on Todd Cramer (65).E class Champion was Joe Williams, tiedat 63 with second place winner CodyDurio. Third place was taken by MattDavidson (56).Junior shooter Chris McClelland tookyet another first place, winning the 5-stand on 91. Brandon Powell took second(89) with third place going to HubJohnson (84). Sub Junior top gun wasLogan Gaskins (75) and Justin Fox wassecond on 73, one ahead of Justin Royal inthird place. Lady Champion is no strangerto the winner’s circle – Diane Nelsontaking yet another title at 5-stand with an85. Mari McStay was second (77) tiedwith Tina Williams in third place. DavidChandler was the Veteran 5-standChampion with 85, followed by CurtisAnderson (84) and Vance Barnes (83).Super-Veteran W. Ray Newman shot afine 80 for top gun, with Dan Floecksecond (77) and David Skewes third (75).SOME OF NEIL’S BEST!The targets of Neil Chadwick’s FITASCParcours received great reviews and werethoroughly enjoyable while beingrespectfully challenging for the shooters.Again, the top guns were lined up in aneat row – Wendell Cherry down but sixtargets for a 94 and the Gold medal slot ofChampion (94). Mick Howells fought ahard battle to take the Slver spot (93) andBen Brunton topped the Master classwith 92 along with Andy Duffy also at 92in second spot. Master three went toArnie Palmer (91).Parcours three and four were prettyuser friendly with some nice tower shots,a great battue on Parcour 4 and a nicemidi going away on Parcour 3. Parcours 1and 2 were a bit testy – and on the Sundayleg with the wind picking up to about 25knots became even longer and tougher. Avery edgy midi teal challenged you on allthree pegs, showing all edge on peg 1,and giving some dome as you movedthrough the pegs.The E target, a long crosser onParcour 3, was now pushed out and awayfrom the shooter on peg three making forabout a 60 yard screaming crosser!Parcour 4 included a couple of fast trapshots on the ground and some even fastermidi’s from a scissor lift that could do realdamage to a scorecard if you were slow oroverly careful. They were all infinitelyhittable, but punished you for mental ortechnique mistakes. All in all, these weresome of the best targets of the event.AA class winner was Paul Shepardson(83) followed by Hub Johnson one back at82 and Mark Landry third (80). A classwent to Paula Moore (78) followed by the76 of Ted Slade. Baxter Canady claimedthird (72). B class was won by BrentNewman (72) with B-2 going to MikeGrand Jean, also at 72, and JenniferWalton third, at 72. C class Eric Jensontook top gun honors tied three ways at 65,followed by Keith Walton and JamieJohnson. Michelle Krier won D class with56, and Mollie La Croix was second at 51and Butch Miller third (49). E class waswon by Michael Lehman.Super Veteran W. Ray Newman tooktop honors with a 76 and Dick Phillipsshot second at 74. Ronald Shaffer wasthird (72). Team USA member Bruce Neytook home the Veteran HOA with an 88and Ron Honefenger was second (86)with Tom Traylor in third spot (85). TheLady Team USA Captain, Casey Atkinson,showed us why she is always a favorite,topping the Lady Concurrent (86).Second place went to Linda Joy Sosebeeand third place to Diane Sorentino (80).The Junior Champion was Cory Kruse1 CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SHOOTREPORTUS OPEN Main Event ResultsRED WHT BLUE TotalHOA TRÉ SIDES 62 62 62 186RU CHRIS MC CLELLAND 59 62 64 1853rd ALBERT BOGETTI JR 63 58 63 184Class MM1 RICK CAMUGLIA 61 60 61 182M2 BOBBY V FOWLER 61 57 64 182M3 SCOTT ROBERTSON 61 59 61 181M4 MICK HOWELLS 62 58 60 180M5 ANTHONY MATARESE JR 60 61 58 179Class AAAA1 KEITH GOUTREAUX 53 61 54 168AA2 CHAD LA FLEUR 60 55 50 165AA3 WYATT HEPPER 56 57 52 165AA4 JOHN SPIARS 55 57 51 163AA5 CHRIS FORD 55 51 56 162Class AA1 G HARRIS MC GOUGH 56 55 47 158A2 J WILLIAM HENDERSON 53 54 50 157A3 CHRIS KRAMER 53 51 51 155A4 BAXTER L CANADY 55 57 42 154A5 JIM ROWELL 57 48 45 150Class BB1 WILLY CHERRY 57 50 49 156B2 JUSTIN FOX 48 52 56 156B3 LOGAN GASKINS 53 50 51 154B4 DOUG JACKSON 51 54 48 153B5 RICK IZARD 52 48 50 150Class CC1 DAVID SIMERKA 47 51 56 154C2 BRYAN GUTERMUTH 55 52 47 154C3 TREY WILLIAMS 53 49 49 151C4 RANDY DOTSON 51 50 45 146C5 WAGNER E PERES 47 48 50 145Class DD1 PAMELA W LEE 47 47 42 136D2 CHARLES E RAY 51 38 46 135D3 TODD KRAMER 41 43 50 134D4 MICHAEL SOILEAU 45 41 45 131D5 ANGEL RAMOS 48 39 43 130Class EE1 WILLIAM C HARRIS 48 42 47 137E2 JOE WILLIAMS 50 44 38 132E3 JIM MAXEY 47 36 49 132E4 CODY DURIO 44 37 44 125E5 MATT DAVIDSON 37 41 44 122LADY CHAMPIONDIANE S NELSON 54 52 62 1682nd DIANE M SORANTINO 55 59 51 1653rd JAMIE RIGGS 57 52 53 162US OPEN SUB JR CHAMPIONHUNTER EPPERSON 52 51 55 1582nd J WILLIAM HENDERSON 53 54 50 1573rd JUSTIN FOX 48 52 56 156JUNIOR CHAMPIONCHRIS MC CLELLAND 59 62 64 1852nd R TRAVIS MEARS 59 58 55 1723rd BRANDON POWELL 62 53 56 171VETERAN CHAMPIONVANCE L BARNES 57 55 62 1742nd MARK L KIDDIE 58 56 60 1743rd ROBERT L DAVIS 54 58 59 171SUPER VETERAN CHAMPIONRONALD SHAFER 57 45 56 1582nd GARY M MC STAY 57 49 52 1583rd GENE SEARS 58 50 49 157with a fine score of 91, with BrandonPowell and Gebben Miles both tiedat 90 for second and third.All the shooters scores and theother events such as the sub-gauge,and side by side can be found intheir entirety on Lois Lessing’sweb site: www.wyshotgun.com .LOOKING BACKAmerican Shooting Centers is nostranger to large tournaments.Their food service and attention todetail in the overall operation ofmultiple events is generally as goodas it gets. With the exception ofsome negative opinions on thequality of the Main Event targets,the shoot was run extremely well –with the overly hot and humidweather an act of God, and nothingmore. If there were to be anysuggestions made for further largeevents on these grounds, themanagement might considerhosting earlier in the year, beforethe summer sun, heat and humiditybecome a factor. Also, the awardsceremony and shoot-offs need to becondensed into a shorter timeperiod – as many of the awardwinners had left the range headedfor plane reservations, home oranticipating long drives. Theawards lasted until 8.40pm in theevening and at some point becameembarrassing as to how manywinners had already left – includingthe over-all Champion. However,some of the responsibility stillremains with the shooters andwinners to have the courtesy toreceive their awards, or torecognize those who win withencouragement of applause.ASC did an excellent job ofhosting this tournament. Theirhospitality was genuine and sincereand they did all in their power tokeep the shooters well watered, fedand moving through the coursesunder extreme conditions. Here’sto a job well done! ■