The big guns in shotgun shooting will converge in Texas from March 8 through 16. Shooters will be vying for spots on the 2008 US Olympic Team and will be selected based on the aggregate score from the Fall Selection competition, which was held last August, and this shoot. Only eight spots are available: two for Men’s Skeet, two for Men’s Trap, two for Men’s Double Trap, one for Women’s Skeet, and one for Women’s Trap. No doubt the shooting sports will be covered and aired when most people are asleep, but it will be worth it to stay up to 4 a.m. for the 5-second highlight. Here’s who to watch for in Bejing this summer.

• Men’s Trap: Three-time Olympian and 1996 bronze medalist Lance Bade from WA is current top gun with a score of 246, while three-time Olympian Bret Erickson of NE is in second place with 244. Third place is held by Brian Burrows of CA.
• Women’s Trap: 2004 Olympian Collyn Loper of AL is in first place with 234, but Amanda Dorman of CO is a very close second with 233. Dorman however is expecting a baby in April and will not compete at the trials. That leaves Susan Sledge of CA with 231 targets and 1996 Olympian and U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) member Theresa DeWitt of OH with 230.
• Men’s Double Trap: Two-time Olympian and USAMU shooter Glenn Eller of TX is in first place with a score of 288, and his USAMU teammates Jeff Holguin of CA and Josh Richmond of PA are in second and third place respectively with scores of 286 and 278 targets. Eller shot gold at the World Cup in Korea in April of 2007 as well as the World Cup final in October. Richmond took the gold at World Cup Italy in June. Richmond and Holguin also claimed the gold and silver in Men’s Double Trap at the 2007 Pan American Games.
• Men’s Skeet: USAMU member Vincent Hancock of GA is the 2007 World Cup Italy Champion/world record holder and 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist, and naturally in first place with a score of 247. Sean McLelland of TX is in second with 243 with USAMU member Mark Weeks of MI holds third with 238.
• Women’s Skeet: Kim Rhode of CA is in first with 238. Rhodes is a three-time Olympic medalist (1996 and 2004 gold medalist, 2000 bronze medalist) in Women’s Double Trap, and made the switch to skeet following the 2004 Olympic Games after the Women’s Double Trap event was eliminated from Olympic competition. Two-time Olympian Connie Smotek of TX and 2007 World Cup Santo Domingo and Pan American Games gold medalist Haley Dunn of IA are second and third place with 236 and 234 respectively.

Posted by robert at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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This year’s Vintage Cup or the 11th Annual Side-by-Side Championships and Exhibition will be held September 27 thru 30 at Pintail Point in Queenstown on MD’s Eastern Shore. This is the Vintager’s big event and if you don’t know who the Vintagers are then blimey, where the bleeding hell you been? It is a most decidedly Edwardian shooting experience for gentlemen and gentlewomen who appreciate the guns, attire and habits of Edwardian-Era England. Think of guys in tweed breeks (that would be breeches or trousers) and gals in long skirts with petticoats and long sleeve, high-neck blouses buttoned up to the chin. The guns are side-by-sides usually Scottish and English in make

Continue reading "Breeks, Hammer Guns, and Petticoats in Maryland" »

Posted by robert at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Ironic little gem I picked up while looking at past Olympic shooting medal winners. This past 2004 Olymics in Athens saw Andrea Benelli win gold in skeet for team Italy. Want to know what type of shotgun he was using? Benelli used a Beretta. Sounds like an Abbott and Costello routine to me.

Posted by robert at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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A few weeks ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the 2007 Pan American Games, 22-year-old Haley Dunn won the Gold Medal at the Women's Olympic Skeet event. Not only is that an accomplishment in itself, this is Dunn’s her first go at the Pan American Games as a USA Shooting Team member. Dunn is drawing a bead on bring home the Gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She’s also a full-time student at the University of Columbia-Missouri and has recently claiming the title of 2007 Women's National Champion at the ACUI Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships. And she also works with the Scholastic Clay Target Program, an organization that introduces shooting sports to kids. Dunn is considered by many to be the US's best chance for Olympic Gold in the Women's Skeet event next year in China. Let’s keep an eye out for her.

Posted by SwampYankee at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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American Sports Data (ASD), a consumer research firm for the sporting goods, fitness and health club industries, has just release a report that says target shooting—with rifle, handgun and shotgun—is actually more popular than many pastimes historically considered mainstays of warm-season recreation. In fact, participation in shooting sports tops tennis, softball, jet skiing, water skiing, mountain biking, most team sports and virtually all of the seasonal technical sports like rock climbing and kayaking. Look at the data on the National Sport Shooting Foundation website and check out the state-by-state run down. Some of it is obvious—of course jet skiing is low in Arizona. And, no fooling, tennis ranks as the number one pastime in Connecticut, but what was surprising is shooting ranked second edging out softball. I’ve always held the belief summer shotgun sports take the rust off for fall bird hunting season, and a friendly game of Annie Oakley helps subsidize the cost of shells.

Posted by ras400 at 05:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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Sports are sports and it is nice to see that ESPNU and ESPN2 will televise the 39th Annual ACUI Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships. Throughout June and July millions of viewers will get to see the action and excitement of trap, skeet and five-stand. What a great way to put shooting sports in the limelight with over 30 colleges and universities competing. The international skeet competition finals will air on July 12. Is there some college rivalry in the air?

Posted by ras400 at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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It's still not too late to take part in the the Ruffed Grouse Society's (RGS) New England Sporting Clays Championship at Addieville East Farm, Mapleville, RI on Sunday, June 10. Warm-ups are from 8:30 - 10 a.m. and t main event begins at 10 a.m. Proceeds from the event will be used to restore and protect grouse and woodcock habitat. This National Sporting Clay Association sanctioned event 100 targets, four boxes of shells, continental breakfast, traditional New England style lobster dinner, one-hour open bar after the shoot, RGS membership and RGS shooters favors. What a nice package for $175 per shooter.

Posted by ras400 at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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NIKE sponsors the likes of Michael Jordon and Tiger Woods and now they may sponsor a shooter. Nike is expected to announce that Kim Rhode will become the first shooter to wear the Nike swoosh. It’s fantasic to have a sports brand powerhouse show shooting in a positive light, just like they do with tennis, basketball and golf. In the last three Olympics, Rhode won two golds and a bronze in women’s double trap.

Posted by ras400 at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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