The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) is pleased to welcome the addition of the Sheboygan County High School Trap and Team League. Founded in 1979 by Bill Lorenz, the league has 12 teams, including 400 athletes from the Sheboygan, Wis., area. Lorenz says he’s excited about the opportunities afforded the youth athletes by the SCTP. “The kids have a lot to look forward to,” Lorenz said. “Through the SCTP they’ll be participating in more and bigger tournaments than what they did before. They’re also excited about the scholarship opportunities. My hope is that some of them will be able to eventually shoot on the Olympic level.” Lorenz said he started the Sheboygan League the year after he graduated from high school. “When I was in school, there was just one team and no league,” Lorenz said. “So after I graduated, I took it upon myself to put together a high school program. By five years in we had 57 members. Our organization holds round robin tournaments. As we started going from club to club, we’d pick up more high schools. By 1986, we had 100 members.” Lorenz said he simply enjoys shooting and wants to help the youth members become better shooters. “I work in conservation, so it’s important to me that hunters make a clean shot,” he said. “That was one of the primary motivations for me. I want these kids to take good shots when they’re out hunting and to not be careless.”

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is pleased to offer a highly engraved GLOCK G17 as part of a raffle package benefiting the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP).  To commemorate 30 years of GLOCK, 30 pistols have been uniquely hand-engraved by five master engravers. The exclusive SSSF pistol (S/N 30USA18) was presented to the SSSF for its significant contributions to the success of GLOCK and is part of a raffle package to be drawn on July 15 as part of the SASP National Championships in Marengo, Ohio. “With GLOCK celebrating its 30th Anniversary in the United States, we are excited to include the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) as one of the recipients of our specially engraved pistols to celebrate the occasion,” said Ed Fitzgerald, special projects manager for GLOCK.  “We hope that GLOCK and SSSF will continue to grow together for the future of junior shooters looking to start their shooting experience in a safe and structured environment.” “We are so appreciative of GLOCK’s support of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program as a founding partner and as one of the recipients of a 30^th Anniversary GLOCK G17s,” Tammy Mowry, national program director for the Scholastic Action Shooting Program.  “We look forward to the continued opportunity to work with GLOCK and introduce more youth to the great sport of competitive shooting.” The commemorative GLOCK 17 is one of five prizes in the raffle benefiting both local SASP teams and the national organization.  Other great prizes include steel targets from Action Target, two Smith and Wesson M&P 9 pistols and a Volquartsen Ultralite rifle.  For more information, contact Tammy Mowry, national director for the Scholastic Action Shooting Program. tmowry@sssfonline.com

Colleges and Universities with shooting programs are invited to attend the SSSF’s annual College Recruiting Day on July 14 in Marengo, Ohio, as part of the SCTP and SASP National Championships.  With over 3,000 prospective college students and their families expected to attend, what better place to promote your school and collegiate shooting program?  Exhibits will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  All schools planning to exhibit must have current, member teams with the SCTP and/or SASP. RSVP with school name, contact name, email address and phone number to Ben Berka, bberka@sssfonline.com prior to June 18th.

As part of an annual program that encourages youth participation in the shooting sports, the National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®) is once again partnering with Boy Scouts of America Councils. Through this partnership, BSA Councils can receive a portion of $100,000 in grant funds provided by NSSF to develop or expand their troop activities in target shooting and marksmanship. Target shooting programs continue to rank among Scouting’s most popular activities, teaching firearms and range safety, teamwork building and fundraising skills.

“Now in its sixth year, NSSF’s BSA Council Grant Program has an enormous impact in encouraging both local council leaders and their troop members to further their firearms safety education and sharpen their marksmanship skills,” said Samantha Pedder, NSSF Manager, Outreach and Diversity. “These grants continue the mutually supportive relationship the Boy Scouts of America have long shared with NSSF and they are yet another way NSSF is able to further its mission of promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports.”

BSA Councils wishing to apply for grants should visit the grant guidelines and application procedures at nssf.org/bsagrant. Councils awarded funds through NSSF’s BSA Grant Program must use those grants to purchase of equipment and supplies for their shooting sports activities from an NSSF Member Retailer. The full list of these retailers is available at nssf.org/retailers/find. Examples of qualifying purchases are ammunition, eye and ear protection, firearms, targets and shooting vests. For more information on this special program and qualifications, contact Samantha Pedder at spedder@nssf.org or 203-0426-1320 ext. 286.

Ruger has stepped up its sponsorship of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) to the Gold level.  Ruger is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of rugged, reliable firearms for the commercial sporting market.  The only full-line manufacturer of American-made firearms, Ruger offers consumers over 400 variations of more than 30 product lines. “Ruger is pleased and proud to support the SASP program where young people can learn safe and responsible firearms usage and be introduced to a life-long recreational activity,” Ken Jorgenson, director of media relations and shooting sports coordinator, said. “We are so happy to have Ruger on board as Gold Level Sponsor this year and appreciate everything they do to support our program," Tammy Mowry, national program director, SASP, said.  

Text and images by Michael Boyd, Coach, Wheeler County Rangers On April 23, 2016, teams from the Great Northwest converged at the Central Oregon Shooting Sports Association Range outside Bend for the 2016 Oregon State Championships. We had 21 shooters representing the Wheeler County Rangers (8), Team Gotta of Custer, WA (9) and the Renton (WA) with 12 shooters. In addition, 10 adults joined in the shooting. Weather was cool and windy, but the shooting was very hot. Overall top rimfire shooter was Austin Ogier of the Wheeler County Rangers with a time of 42.63 seconds. Second overall was Naomi McKay from Team Gotta with an amazing time of 42.96 seconds! The difference between Austin and Naomi was .33 seconds. When one considers the fact that it takes most people about .20 of a second to blink, .33 of a second is a very slight margin. One of the great things about the format of the SASP is that anyone can be a star. Girls won two of the four stages outright at the Oregon State match. This is outstanding and exactly what we want in our sport. Congratulations to Naomi McKay (Go Fast – 7.03 seconds!) and Addison Larson (Speed Trap – 8.03 Seconds!) Team Gotta’s A Team crushed the teams by just under 90 seconds (189.89 to the Wheeler County Rangers’ 279.44). It was a great match, made even better by the new “Open” team category. For a small community, it’s very tough to get four juniors or seniors on a squad. Thanks SASP. We also threw in a team shoot-off at the end of the match. The Wheeler County Rangers took top honors in a shoot-off which had each of four shooters engaging a different challenge in a relay style match. We’re already planning next year’s match. Special Thanks to the other teams and to the Central Oregon Shooting Sports Association range for use of their excellent facility.  

Text and photos by Brandon Ironmonger Rain and chilly temps could not keep 67 hardcore pistol shooters from slinging a lot of lead downrange at the Kentucky State SASP match on April 30th. Wisconsin's Union Grove Broncos, Indiana's Hoosier Daddy's Shooting Team, Ohio Steel Stingers, Eastern Kentucky University, and two of Tennessee's finest the Plateau Pistol Shooters and William Blount Shooting Team came to challenge the home team Bluegrass Sportsmen's League Steel Cats. Thirty-eight shooters stayed around for the 2-stage rifle side match. The Hoosier Daddy's showed us they were a force to be reckoned by taking HOA Pistol and Rifle with Collin Campbell, High Lady Pistol by Sydnye Todd, 1st place in Varsity Centerfire and 3rd JV Rimfire. Union Grove took 1st JV Rimfire and 1st Open Rimfire. The Ohio Steel Stingers came to play with 2nd JV Rimfire, as well as 1st and 2nd Entry Rimfire. EKU barely edged out William Blount in the Collegiate CF. William Blount also placed 1st Open Centerfire and 1st Intermediate Rimfire. The Plateau Pistol Shooters took 2nd Open Rimfire. The host team BGSL Steel Cat's took the high team score of the day to secure a 1st place Open Rimfire with 217.70 and a High Lady in rifle by Hannah Ironmonger. Full scores for the match including the 2-stage rifle side match can be found at practiscore.com by searching for "Steel Cats." I want to thank all of the teams, coaches and parents for making the trip to our range.