The San Antonio Livestock Exposition, Inc. (S.A.L.E.) hosted its inaugural S.A.L.E. Junior Shoot Out at the National Shooting Complex in February as part of the 2013 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. You can watch some of the action: The 100-bird youth trap shoot was open to 4-H and FFA students who are members of an organized 4-H shooting club or who participate in the Ag Clays Program – a Texas Parks & Wildlife program that introduces clay target shooting to FFA students who participate in agriculture, wildlife, fisheries and ecology management or science courses. Scholarships and prizes were awarded in several divisions/classes in this year’s competition.  Read More →

This shooting tip is provided by NSCA Level III instructor Dan Whitehead. We’ve heard it a million times, “Sporting clays is like golf with a shotgun.” Aside from the simple 18 holes comparison, the walk, cart ride, or the practice range, these two sports share many more intricacies. One that quickly comes to mind is the all-important mental game. Here’s a simple mental concept to work on: the tempo or the speed of taking your shots. Think about it like this: recall a band or orchestra that you have heard, and the band leader or conductor counts out the tempo or speed of the piece like this, “1-2-3.” Every target presentation has a shot tempo or speed. It is up to you to establish the proper tempo in your... [SEE MORE]

Team USA won gold medals in every national team category at the 2013 World English Sporting Clays Championship, while Team England’s Richard Faulds edged out silver L-R, Team USA Open Team: Jon Kruger, Bill McGuire, Scott Robertson, Wendell Cherry, Gebben Milesmedalist Bobby Fowler and bronze medalist Brian Hughes for the individual gold and his fifth World Championship. In addition, 14-year-old Annabelle Ayres captured the attention of the international audience as she shot her way to two World Championships, winning gold for both the Lady and Sub-Junior categories. David Radulovich won his second consecutive Junior World Championship, Pete Hendrick won Veteran’s gold, and Bill Ray was the Senior Super Veteran champion. England’s... [SEE MORE]

The Scholastic Clay Target Program’s (SCTP) Regional High School Tournament was a huge success, running concurrently with the Scholastic Pistol Program’s (SPP) Midwest Spring Regional, April 5-6 at the World Shooting and Recreation Complex in Sparta, IL. This was the first of several SCTP/SPP combined regional events that are scheduled for this season throughout the country. Both the SCTP and SPP programs are administered by the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF). “Several of the athletes and coaches came up to us and commented on how much they enjoyed the opportunity to be able to compete in both our clay target and pistol programs at the same event,” said Dan Hathaway, Executive Director of the SSSF. “By... [SEE MORE]

This post has been updated on Thursday, April 18, 2013, at 1:45 p.m., to reflect new information and directions to the blood donor center. Many people have inquired about donating blood to benefit Wayne Mayes, who received serious burns in an accident last month and is undergoing numerous skin grafts. Wayne’s blood type is O Positive, meaning that the only types of blood he can receive directly are O positive and O negative. It must be donated at the blood donor center at the facility where he is hospitalized, Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Since many of us are familiar with the American Red Cross blood donation system, there is the assumption that donations could be made anywhere in the country to benefit Wayne. That is... [SEE MORE]

Many sponsors helped make last week’s Southwestern Grand Trap Shoot the tremendous success that it was, and we wish to recognize them. On behalf of the National Shooting Complex and the ATA, we thank the following companies: Browning Chick-Fil-A Decot E-Z-GO Federal Kolar Perazzi Remington Sportsman’s Insurance Agency, Inc. Speedbump Stockworks White Flyer Winchester  Read More →

The National Shooting Complex hosted ACUI’s 45th Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships last week, with 546 students from 65 schools and 34 states competing in a combined 2612 events. It was the 28th straight year that the event has been held at the NSC. The Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships are the only national tournament in which collegiate shooters may compete in six different clay target events within the same program — International Skeet, International Trap, American Skeet, American Trap, Sporting Clays, and Five-Stand. The aggregate scores of the six events were used to determine men’s, women’s and team national champions. Lindenwood University won its 10th consecutive National Championship, capturing... [SEE MORE]

Anyone who has ever shot a round of skeet or sporting clays knows it isn’t cheap to shoot and train enough to become good. Nobody knows that better than college students who are navigating the funding challenges of their education while paying their own way to compete in shooting tournaments on behalf of their college. Even those on scholarship or whose entry fees are paid by the school may have prohibitive travel costs and the need to buy thousands of shotshells per month. Enter Higgins Branchini Shooting Foundation (HBSF), a charitable organization in its second year whose mission is to support college students competing in collegiate, national, and international clay target shooting sports, helping to ensure a pipeline of educated... [SEE MORE]

Michael Schmidt is the 2013 Blaser Skeet Classic Champion, winning the HOA title at last weekend’s annual event at the National Shooting Complex. Schmidt and runner-up David Starrett both finished at 396×400, followed by 3rd place Van Boerner at 395. Bailey Glenewinkel was the top Lady at 391. Event winners include: 400 HOA Champion Michael Schmidt (396) 400 HOA Runner-up David Starrett (396) 400 HOA 3rd Place Van Boerner (395) 400 HOA Lady Champion Bailey Glenewinkel (391) 400 HOA Lady Runner-up Abby Leeder (386) 500 HAA Champion Michael Schmidt (495) Federal Doubles Michael Galo III Laporte 12 Gauge Dan Morris White Flyer 20 Gauge Donald Snyder Briley 28 Gauge Cameron Schuster... [SEE MORE]

The freshman squad of Lindenwood University’s nine-time National Champion Shotgun Sports team presented a challenge to coach Shawn Dulohery this year: they asked if the team could do something significant for a special cause to show that the team cares for more than just victories. They decided that special cause would be the children who battle sickness at Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The team also wanted to follow the lead of the MLB and NFL players who wear the color that signifies their cause — in Lindenwood’s case, this would be lavender, the color that represents all forms of cancer research. Thus, this year the team is being seen wearing lavender caps and t-shirts to show their support to all the children... [SEE MORE]