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Written by Tom Gilmore
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 My introduction to sporting clays came on a frigid January afternoon at
Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays, a 125–acre facility built on the site of
an abandoned limestone quarry near Allentown, Pa. Having never held a
shotgun, I didn’t know what to expect, and, to be honest, I was a
little intimidated. But I figured the best way to tackle this article
was to experience the sport for myself.
LVCS is a three-quarter mile looped path with 17 stations. The shooter
has the option of targeting beginner or advanced level trajectories. A
typical round consists of 100 targets, with each station differing from
the others to keep the session interesting and challenging. Not only
are there variations in trap position, speed, shooting position and the
size of the targets, but the flight paths include targets that soar
through the trees, from under your feet, straight up, over your head,
left to right, right to left and over the water. This randomness sets
sporting clays apart from the more predictable trajectories involved in
trap and skeet shooting.
Along the path, I met Tom Messner and his son, Pat, from Downington,
who were taking aim at LVCS for the second weekend in a row. “My son
and I have been shooting sporting clays for a couple of years,” he
said. “We usually shoot over in New Jersey. This is a new location for
us. It’s something different, shooting over the water, shooting through
these old buildings.”
According to the National Sporting Clays Association Web site, this is
a sport dating back to the early 1900s in England, when trap shooting
used live pigeons. It was not until later, with the introduction of
clay targets, that the sport began to take on the popular form known
today. With courses designed to simulate actual hunting conditions, and
the varying sizes of clay targets, sporting clays have become very
popular among hunters.
“I think that you’ll find that all the guys that shoot here are
hunters, or at least at one time were hunters,” said Ed Krensel, from
Doylestown. Indeed, one of the reasons Tom Messner said he likes to
shoot clays so much is because he feels that it provides “good training
for shooting small game.” Krensel, however, said he simply likes to
handle guns and is not a hunter.
“I’m 73. I used to hunt when I was 18 up until I was about 50 or 55,
and I just stopped hunting. I lost my taste for it, and I picked up
with this,” he said.
When asked if more people seem to be showing interest in clay shooting
as an alternative to hunting, Laura Bachenberg, the vice president of
LVSC, admitted that the facility has “noticed a marked increase in
youth and female shooters over the years.” But she couldn’t “decisively
determine whether hunters are turning to clays instead of hunting.” In
her opinion, they simply enjoy both activities.
“It’s a sport that I’ve watched over the past several years develop
from almost nothing to a family event,” Krensel said. “When I first
started I just saw other guys coming out here. Then I started to see
the appearance of guys and their girlfriends, guys and wives, and now,
for the first year, I see families—husbands, wives, daughters and
sons—and it’s really like a phenomenon the way it has grown and been
accepted on a family level.
”Fittingly, Krensel was accompanied by his grandson, Dylan Fisher, who
was clay shooting for the first time. Fisher admitted that his favorite
part of the day was riding the golf carts, making the kid in me regret
opting for the walk. And although the bitter chill of January had me
seeking shelter after 13 of the 17 stations, I think it’s safe to say
that I found a new hobby.For more information about sporting clays,
please visit the LVSC Web site www.lvsclays.com or call the clubhouse at (610) 261-9616.
Tom Gilmore lives in Philadelphia, where he has been known to enjoy
the occasional pint while gathering ideas for his next story.
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