VOLUME ONE
ISSUE TWO
June, 2000
KSSA President Don Hansen of Spring Hill announced the 1999 KSSA State Teams at the Southern Zone held in Wichita over the weekend of June 9-11. Team members in attendance were presented commemorative KSSA belt buckles in their honor.
The 1st Team is comprised of the top five HOA leaders who have shot KSSA minimums. The 2nd Team is comprised of the top five individual guns for those shooting the KSSA minimums. In our first newsletter, your editor mistakenly listed criteria as attendance at 2 of the 4 major shoots in Kansas. Actually, it is 3 of the 4 majors, which can also include the Zone 5 Championships. Shooters also must shoot 500 targets in the 4 gauges and 300 doubles. Finally, our awards are based on performance in the 1999 shooting year, so our awards are for the 1999 team. You will see from the March 2000 Skeet Shooting Review that NSSA awards for 2000 teams. However state residency plays no part in national teams, so we award for the year when the scores are recorded.
KSSA 1999 FIRST TEAM
Brad Goodart (.9781)
Van Lewis (.9755)
Wayne Brown (.9684)
David Blomeyer (.9659)
Vickie Stevens (.9659)
KSSA 1999 SECOND TEAM
John Beardslee (12/.9850)
Len Friesz (20/.9713)
David Willey (28/.9681)
Whitney Damron (.410/.9463)
Dan Hardesty (Doubles/.9620)
Several Kansas shooter were recently named to the NSSA 2000 All-American Teams. Those receiving the highest performance honors for our national organization this year and a few of their accomplishments are as follows:
Rick Fleming of Wichita; Honorable Mention Military Team and 28 Gauge Military Champion at the 1999 World.
Len Friesz of Leavenworth; Honorable Mention Senior Team and 28 Gauge Retired Military Champion at the 1999 World.
Chris Harter of Wichita; Rookie First Team.
Van Lewis of Winfield; Triple Sub Honorable Mention Team and AA1 HOA and HAA at the 1999 World.
ARK VALLEY HOSTS SOUTHERN ZONE
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The Southern Zone was held on the skeet fields of Ark Valley Gun Club on the weekend of June 9-11, with over 30 participants taking part in the second of the "Big Four" Kansas shoots. Top gun for the weekend was Dan Hardesty of Clearwater, with a very strong 395 HOA. Dan also captured the 20 and 28 gauge Southern Zone titles along the way.
HOA-RU honors went to John Beardslee of Rose Hill, with a 393. His 99 in the .410 bore gave him the small gun championship and the long-run for HOA-RU honors, as Rick "Flash" Gage of Wichita shot an identical 393 as well. Beardslee also took the Doubles championship with his 96.
The only shooter to take a Southern Zone title more than 20 miles away from Ark Valley was David Willey of Osawatomie, with a 100 in the 12 gauge and a subsequent multi-station shoot-off victory for that championship.
Photo: Doubles &.410 Gun Champion John Beardslee (L), 12 Gauge Gun Champion David Willey (C), and 20/28 Gauge & HOA Champion Dan Hardesty (R).
As noted in the title of this article, KSSA contributed $1,000 in added money for the Southern Zone. At the Fall 1999 meeting of the KSSA Board, it was decided to increase target fees by a penny a bird and use the proceeds for added money at the Northern and Southern Zone shoots, in alternating years. 2000 was chosen for the Southern Zone and next year the added money will go to the Northern Zone.
KSSA ZONE SHOOT REPORTS
Northern Zone Southern Zone Ark Valley is the most active skeet club in the state with more registered, league, and recreational skeet shooters around. If you are not shooting at Ark Valley, you're missing more than great targets.
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Bruner Memorial Fort Leavenworth |
June 23-25 |
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Summertime Open Powder Creek |
June 30-July 2 |
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Capital Classic Capital City Gun Club |
July 21-23 |
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KSSA Pre-State Powder Creek |
August 4-6 |
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KSSA State Shoot Ark Valley Gun Club |
August 18-20 |
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NSSA World Championships San Antonio, TX |
October 13-21 |
Click [HERE] to see the complete KSSA shoot schedule.
Photo: Former Kansas shooter and All-American Veteran Harry Wilber of Arizona show how they do it down South.
Are you still a Kansas skeet shooter if you don't shoot any registered targets in Kansas? Based on the participation at our Kansas registered events, we seem to be missing a few people who regularly shot on the Kansas circuit a few years ago. The shooters I am referring to are not the ones who have retired from the sport or taken a sabbatical, but rather the ones seemingly only shooting out-of-state events. I can understand shooters who breathe the rarified air readily available to those who consistently shoot in the upper 390's and have more hundreds under their belt than hulls on the ground after the 12 gauge shoot-off at the World. But not to shoot a single Kansas registered target in a season? Look at the 2000 Open Team All-Americans and you will see that at least three of the seven shot their respective state shoots. From the accomplishments of the other four, I can see that at least three of them shot something in their home state.
For skeet shooting to remain strong at the national level, it must remain strong at the state and local level, too. Many would argue that our sport is nether strong at the national or local level. But there continues to be an energetic core of skeet shooters who prefer the challenges of a consistent high and low house to the flight patterns found at a trap or sporting clays range. I encourage you to support our sport and to support our state: Kansas Skeet Shooting. __Whitney Damron
At the Southern Zone held on June 9-11 at Ark Valley Gun Club in Wichita, KSSA President Don Hansen announced that the 2000 KSSA Friends of Skeet Award would go to Tom Shepherd and Bob Hodgdon of Hodgdon Powder Company. Plaques for KSSA's highest honor were presented to Tom Shepherd, General Manager/National Sales Manager for Hodgdon Powder Company, headquartered in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Tom also accepted a plaque for Bob Hodgdon, President of the company.
Hodgdon Powder Company has been an industry leader in the shooting sports and the company has been a tremendous supporter of Kansas skeet shooting and its participants.
Tom Shepherd, although a Missouri resident, is a frequent participant at our Kansas shoots. Tom ranks among the top competitors on the national circuit, particularly after shooting a 4x4 and taking the HOA Championship honors at the Great Eastern two years ago (NSSA Top 5 Shoot in 1999). While at the Southern Zone, Tom faired pretty well there, too: 98 in the 12; 100's in the 20 and 28 and a 94 in the .410. Pretty salty stuff!
The KSSA Friend of Skeet Award foes to an individual, or in this case individuals and the company behind them, for their commitment to the game of skeet and Kansas skeet shooters in particular. Thank you again Bob Hodgdon, Tom Shepherd and the Hodgdon Powder Company. We appreciate everything you do for us!
With just over two months of prep time to go before the KSSA State Championships are scheduled to be held, the shooters of Ark Valley are quickly moving beyond the Southern Zone to get ready for the state shoot (August 18-40).
Putting on a great state shoot is kind of like swimming ducks—there is a lot more going on below the surface than above. For a little insight (and speaking from some experience), let's look at what it takes to put on a successful state shoot:
Field and machine maintenance to insure machines are in proper working order and fields and facilities are well-maintained.
Referees. It is getting tougher and tougher to find qualified individuals who are willing to pull targets. When you see a registered shooter pulling targets, keep in mind the sacrifice they are making for you. Those who shoot and pull extensively are sacrificing thier scores for yours, as it is virtually impossible to shoot a competitive HOA and pull targets, too.
Preparation of a shoot program and solicitation of sponsors.
Selection and ordering of medals, trophies and awards.
Meals, water, ice, state shoot dinner, etc.
Registration, core tabulation, shoot-offs for every class and concurrents.
Tabulation and payouts.
Now, what are the people of Ark Valley doing about this? Plenty! Just read on...
Jim Stephenson of Augusta is challenging all business owners (and anyone else for that matter) to pledge $100.00 for added money to be distributed through all classes. Signed up so far are Larry Hicks of Lenexa and Whitney Damron of Topeka. Are you in yet?
Chris Harter of Wichita is working the state program and sponsorships ever day and is well on his way to a great program.
R.G. "Doc" Funderburg of Wichita and his crew have the grounds and machines at Ark Valley in first rate condition.
Dan Hardesty, fresh off a great Southern Zone, is very much on top the state shoot as well.
Keep in mind that Ark Valley has three skeet fields and thus our 2000 State Championships will be "closed" to out of state shooter registration until August 8. However, Ark Valley intends to shoot early and keep the pace of squads moving so they believe they can accommodate nearly 60 participants, which should take care of everyone.
The following is a reprint of an article from the March, 1966 American Rifleman, which details the history of Capital City Gun Club up to that date. The article was written by Gene Smith, a longtime writer for the Topeka Capital Journal, who still writes for the paper from time to time:
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Be sure to check out the club's web site for schedules, contact names and numbers, a map to the club, membership applications, shooting hours and related information. The website address is: http://www.capitalcitygunclub.com
The Fort holds more registered shots than any club in Kansas with at least one a month. Preparations are underway for the Brunner Memorial on June 23-25, with Added Money from KSSA State Shoot T-Shirt sales.
The Brunner Range houses a top flight pro shop with shells, reloading supplies and gun ordering capabilities. The website address is: http://www.geocities.com/kansasskeet/leavenworth.html
The biggest Added Money shoot in Kansas for years has been the Summertime Open at KFGDA. With shooters limited to 45 in number, this 4th of July annual event fills up early. Powder Creek will also play host to the KSSA Pre-State in August and several other registered skeet shooting events. Their website address is: http://www.powdercreek.com
Located in southeast Kansas, SCP host some of the most friendly skeet shoots in the Midwest. Jon Holt and his crew always put on a great shoot, complete with wild game feeds and the famous spoonbill open.
Myth 1: "I like to load a high velocity shell for skeet shooting. That way, I don’t have to lead ‘em as far!"
This can be disproved with simple math. For this exercise, we will assume that "standard" muzzle velocity of a target load is 1200 fps. A new 3-dram AA will actually chronograph a bit higher, but that is OK—I like round numbers. We are also going to pick a specific area on the skeet field and measure the target's speed as it passes through this area. Since most shooters agree that we should try to break the target at or near the center stake, let’s start 10’ before the center stake and end our measurements 10’ after the center stake. This should cover an area where most shooters break the target.
Having measured the speed of skeet targets with a radar gun, and from talking with others who pioneered the concept of setting skeet machines using radar guns, I have found that the generally-agreed upon speed is about 45 mph for a high house target. Remember this is the target’s maximum velocity, which is achieved as soon as it leaves the house. By the time the target reaches a point 10’ before the center stake, it has already slowed slightly, but again, I like round numbers so we will assume this target is still traveling 45 mph, or 66 fps. At the center stake, this target is traveling 61 fps and 10’ after the center stake it has slowed to 51 fps—still screaming if you are trying to shoot one!
The distance from the pad to the center stake is 21 yards, so the maximum distance for a target inside our 20’ area is about 22 yards, or 66 feet. All the constants in the formula are now complete. At 1200 fps, the shot will travel 66 feet in about 0.055 second. This is based on a muzzle velocity of 1200 fps, and in reality the shot string will be much slower after it has traveled 66 feet in the air. (#9 shot, with a muzzle velocity or 1200 fps, has slowed to about 940 fps at 22 yards!) If we were to make a hot load that achieves a muzzle velocity of 1400 fps, how much would it reduce the lead on a High 5? At 1400 fps, the shot travels the same 66 feet in about 0.047 seconds. Again, this calculation uses the muzzle velocity, not the actual velocity at 22 yards. This all equates to reveal that the shot string of the 1400 fps load reaches the target 0.008 seconds faster a standard 1200 fps load.
At 10 feet before the center stake, this changes the lead 0.528" and at 10 feet after the center stake it reduces the lead by 0.408". This is to say about half-an-inch reduction in lead for 200 fps extra velocity!!! Seems hardly worth it to me for all that extra recoil, expense, and noise the hotter loads create.
NOTE: I realize that the skeptical amongst you may dispute these findings and point out that the shape of the shot string varies between the different gauges and different velocities. I won’t dispute these claims, but I can’t find a meaningful method to measure them either. The information I have presented takes the entire pattern into account, because the total pattern speed and density is the only thing the average shooter can measure on a static scale. Good Shooting & Question the "Experts" ___Rick Carver
| KSSA News is published by KSSA three times per year. For information,
please contact:
Whitney Damron, Editor |
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Last Updated: Monday, June 19, 2000 09:36
